A few days later.
Ian Song arrived at a stretch of wilderness. This place belonged neither to the Eight Immortal Domains nor to the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens or the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands; it was simply a remote corner of the Langya Immortal World.
Relatively speaking, more ascended Immortals could be found in places like this.
After consulting the map in his mind, he found a small town called Greenrock about two hundred li away.
Although the System had given him fifty years, he couldn't wait until he reached Ancestral Immortal to start planning. So now, Ian was beginning his layout.
Actually, the most convenient approach would be to join the Saint Alliance, but their thinking was too outdated. If he joined, he'd face all sorts of restrictions and it would be hard to rise to the top.
Since that's the case, why not build his own?
That same day, Ian spent two hundred thousand immortal stones to buy a large estate in Greenrock Town.
This estate spanned several hundred mu and was the largest compound in Greenrock Town. It had once been the residence of an Earth Immortal expert, but after offending a Golden Immortal and being killed, the property was reclaimed by Greenvine City and listed for sale through Greenrock.
However, since Greenrock Town was remote and the price high, the estate had sat vacant for decades with no buyers.
Now that it had finally sold, even knowing Ian was an ascender, the town chief Leonard Liu treated him warmly—mostly because Ian had revealed late-stage Earth Immortal cultivation.
Among ascenders, every Golden Immortal was especially eye-catching. To avoid drawing attention from native Immortal clans, he not only hid his true realm but also changed his name to Evan Chu.
Anyway, he'd used this name in a previous world before.
"Brother Chu, here is your identity token!"
After completing the estate handover, a minor official brought a wooden box. Leonard Liu took it and, smiling, handed it to Ian.
It was his newly processed identity token.
"Chief Liu, thank you for your trouble! Just a small token of appreciation."
After receiving the identity token, Ian handed Leonard Liu a ring. The chief probed it with his immortal sense and discovered it held ten thousand immortal stones, making his face bloom with delight.
"Brother Chu, as a newcomer, I should be the one to show hospitality. How about a welcome banquet for you tonight at Skycrane Pavilion?"
"I wouldn't dare! Why not let me arrange it instead?"
"How could that be...!"
"There will surely be times I'll need to rely on Chief Liu in the future. I hope you won't refuse!"
"Very well, in that case, tonight at Skycrane Pavilion—let's not go home until we're drunk!"
After seeing Leonard Liu off, Ian began inspecting his new estate. Though it had been ownerless for decades, there was little dust inside thanks to a dust-removal array.
That night, Ian hosted Leonard Liu and the town officials at Skycrane Pavilion, spending over a thousand immortal stones. The banquet was a great success, and as everyone left, each received a top-grade Immortal Yuan Pill from Ian. For a time, every official in Greenrock Town held a much higher opinion of him.
The next morning.
A notice was posted outside Ian's newly purchased estate: it announced the recruitment of guards, servants, and maids.
Guard requirements: male or female Immortal, cultivation at least mid-stage Human Immortal, annual salary of five hundred immortal stones.
Servant requirements: male Immortal, cultivation at least early-stage Human Immortal, annual salary of three hundred immortal stones.
Maid requirements: female Immortal, cultivation at least mid-stage Human Immortal, annual salary of six hundred immortal stones.
The notice caused a stir throughout Greenrock Town—the salaries Ian offered were simply too high. Anyone selected could work a few years at Chu Estate and then afford entry to the Immortalization Pool to condense an immortal body.
So, less than a quarter-hour after the notice was posted, a large number of Immortals flocked to apply. However, Lena Wei, acting as the estate's steward, informed them that recruitment would not happen immediately—interviews would be held in the afternoon.
Although some were disappointed not to apply right away, no one dared complain, since the salaries offered by Chu Estate were so tempting.
In the crowd, a young woman in green showed a flash of regret in her eyes. Her cultivation was only early-stage Human Immortal, so she wasn't qualified for either guard or maid, but her master and junior sister were suitable.
Before ascending to the Immortal World, everyone imagined it was a paradise, but after arriving, they found it was far more cruel than they had ever imagined.
The sense of falling from the heights to the bottom was especially hard to bear.
"Fortunately, Junior Sister Jasmine has outstanding talent and reached peak Human Immortal. Otherwise, life for me and Master would be even more miserable!"
With this thought, the young woman in green quickened her pace toward the shabby courtyard where the three of them lived. The salary offered by Chu Estate was just too tempting; by afternoon, there would surely be a flood of applicants, so she had to notify her master and junior sister to prepare early.
"Master, Junior Sister, I'm back! I have good news for you!"
A short while later, Lana Gale rushed into a rundown courtyard—the place they rented for a hundred immortal stones a year.
"You really can't get rid of that impulsive streak, can you!"
A beautiful middle-aged woman sat in the courtyard, looking at Lana Gale and gently chiding her.
Lana Gale smiled sheepishly, then blurted out, "Master, do you know? The biggest estate in our town has been bought by an Earth Immortal surnamed Chu. He's recruiting guards, servants, and maids now!"
"Oh? What does that have to do with us?" the middle-aged woman asked, puzzled.
"Of course it matters! The salary offered by Lord Chu is really high!"
This caught the woman's interest. "How high?"
"Guards get five hundred a year, servants three hundred, maids six hundred!"
"That high?"
The middle-aged woman couldn't help but look tempted.
Lana Gale said a bit gloomily, "It's just a shame I'm only early-stage Human Immortal, so I don't qualify!"
After hearing all the requirements, the woman lowered her head, lost in thought. She decided to discuss it with her disciples. The three of them had been in the Immortal World for decades, but life had been hard until Jasmine Jiang broke through to late-stage Human Immortal.
An hour later, the three gathered together.
"Master, is something the matter?" Jasmine Jiang asked with a smile.
"Jasmine, your senior sister brought back some news..." Faye Moon explained the whole situation.
Jasmine Jiang vaguely understood her master's intent. "Master, do you want me to apply?"
Faye Moon nodded. "That's right. I'll go with you to apply for the guard position. As long as we work three years, we'll have enough immortal stones for you to enter the Immortalization Pool and condense your immortal body!"
Jasmine Jiang nodded. "Alright, I'll go with Master this afternoon!"
Just after noon, more than two thousand Immortals gathered outside Chu Estate to apply.
After waiting half an hour, the estate's gates finally opened. A beautiful woman appeared before the crowd, glanced at the chaotic scene, and said calmly, "Line up in three rows according to the position you're applying for. Remember, no noise or you'll lose your chance!"
The previously noisy crowd fell silent and quickly formed three orderly lines. Faye Moon and Jasmine Jiang also stood in the guards' line, drawing attention—although both genders could apply, over ninety-nine percent of guard candidates were male.