"Daoist friend, to be honest, my name is Zhao Ping. I've only been in Luo Feng City for a few years. Don't let my calmness fool you—when I first arrived, I was just like you, curious about everything and asking endless questions. If there's anything you want to know, just ask. I promise I won't hide anything, and I'll answer to the best of my ability!"
Seeing Zhao Ping's overly warm enthusiasm, Liu Ba was almost certain something was amiss here.
But what choice did he have?
As long as he wanted to remain here and gather information, he couldn't afford to fall out with this man.
"Then I'll trouble Brother Zhao." Liu Ba thanked him with practiced composure, his expression showing just the right amount of gratitude.
The two walked side by side, passing hundreds of residences and shops, until they finally arrived before the City Lord's mansion.
The scale of this mansion dwarfed Zhao Ping's estate many times over. The walls of black stone gleamed with a cold sheen, two statues of fanged, green-faced demons stood lifelike at the gates, and the towering scarlet doors made the structure seem even more grand and imposing.
It was very likely the largest estate in the entire city.
And yet, despite such scale, there was no resistance at all within the compound.
Upon entering the mansion, not only did the servants fail to obstruct them, but the moment they saw the two, they immediately rushed over with broad smiles.
"Honored guests, are you here to conduct business? Where would you like to go? Allow me to guide you."
Such polite and thoughtful service made Liu Ba—who was long used to the cold cruelty of demonic sects—quietly astonished.
Suppressing his doubts, he asked in a steady voice:
"I wish to join Luo Feng City. What procedures must I follow?"
At these words, the servant's smile grew even brighter. He bowed respectfully and said:
"So you are a new Daoist friend! Welcome, welcome! It's simple—you only need to visit the Hall of Soul Binding, receive a copy of the Luo Feng Mantra, and then choose a Soul Banner. Once you cultivate the method, you'll officially be one of us here in Luo Feng City."
"And moreover," the servant added quickly, perhaps afraid Liu Ba might hesitate, "all new Daoist friends not only receive a Soul Banner for free from the City Lord's mansion, but also a beast soul at the early Qi Refining stage and a mortal soul, both for your initial cultivation."
Such generous terms?
Liu Ba froze for a moment, hardly believing his ears.
He recalled the brutal Hundred-Man Gu Refining trial of the Valley of Blood Feast, then the fate of new disciples at the Xuan Pin Gate—branded with the parasitic Mother-Child Curse and reduced to slaves. Compared to that, Luo Feng City's treatment was beyond kind, almost unbelievably so.
Had all the missing conscience of the other sects been gathered here instead?
Liu Ba did not believe the world offered kindness without hidden costs.
There had to be some price he could not yet see.
Still, he forced himself to act delighted, nodding rapidly to the servant:
"Good! Excellent! I'll go at once! I will join Luo Feng City immediately!"
The very act pained him.
Never had he imagined there would come a day where he'd have to put on such a show simply to "be deceived."
Once the servant left, Zhao Ping let out a long sigh and looked at Liu Ba.
"Daoist friend, do you feel that Luo Feng City seems almost… unreal, compared to the outside world? That everyone here is a little too warm and welcoming? That it feels like there are hidden traps everywhere, making you afraid to trust?"
Liu Ba's heart tightened. Clearly, his thoughts had been seen through.
After a brief pause, he nodded:
"Compared to the Valley of Blood Feast or the Xuan Pin Gate, this place truly does feel too good, so good that… it's like being in a dream."
"Isn't it exactly a dream?" Zhao Ping suddenly smiled.
"Daoist friend, did you think all this was real? We are all sharing in a grand, eternal dream. Within it, we build this city together, and we sustain its prosperity."
"This—this is the essence of Luo Feng City."
"The more people who join, the stronger and more vivid the dream becomes. The grander the city, the firmer our path of cultivation. That's why every disciple here is tasked with recruiting new cultivators to join us."
"To tell the truth, if I can successfully recruit you, not only will I fulfill my sect duty for this month, I'll also receive a handsome reward from the City Lord's mansion."
"Unfortunately…" his tone shifted, carrying a trace of sorrow, "no matter how generous the treatment, many still refuse to join. They stubbornly claim that all of this, no matter how beautiful, is fake—that we ghost cultivators are merely ignorant cowards who abandoned our flesh. Just like your companion from a few days ago… did he not leave without looking back, after hearing all this? And in only a few days, he was dead outside."
"Alas, too many simply cannot understand us. But tell me, Daoist friend—between truth and falsehood, what difference does it make? Is it not foolish to die in a cold reality rather than live in a dream where your every wish can come true?"
"Daoist friend, join us. I have a feeling you don't reject the path of soul cultivation. Since that's the case, why not walk this 'unfounded' Dao with me?"
Liu Ba's suspicions remained, but much of his guard had been lowered.
Overthinking would bring nothing—better to see this Hall of Soul Binding for himself.
He saluted Zhao Ping and then walked in the direction the servant had indicated.
Before long, a magnificent hall appeared before him.
Above its grand entrance hung a black plaque with golden ancient seal script: Hall of Soul Binding.
Together with Zhao Ping, Liu Ba stepped inside, preparing to ask how he might obtain the Luo Feng Mantra. But suddenly, a thought struck him.
He turned to Zhao Ping and asked:
"Brother Zhao, if all of you wish outsiders to join Luo Feng City, why can't you simply teach me the Luo Feng Mantra yourselves? If I practice it, wouldn't I then be able to remain here as one of you?"
At once Zhao Ping's expression changed drastically. He said in alarm:
"Daoist friend, you must never! You don't understand—the Luo Feng Mantra is no ordinary method. It must be practiced together with a specially refined Life-Bound Soul Banner!"
"The process of cultivating the mantra is the process of binding your soul to this banner. Only then will you have a place to anchor your existence within Luo Feng City!"
"If you cultivate without binding to a Soul Banner, your soul will be like rootless duckweed—an aimless ghost, without nourishment. Before long, you'll dissipate into nothingness!"
"And furthermore," Zhao Ping added gravely, "those Soul Banners sold in shops are of inferior quality. They can hinder your cultivation. Only the banners issued by the City Lord's mansion—refined by secret arts—are strong enough to support your path."
Liu Ba frowned, recalling the rows of cheap banners sold openly in shops.
"Then those banners… are useless? Yet I saw many buying them—why?"
"Ah, those…" Zhao Ping's expression softened.
"The Life-Bound Banner from the City Lord's mansion is your foundation. It must never leave Luo Feng City. But of course, we often need to go outside. That's when the other banners are used. They serve as temporary vessels for your soul—you don't need a physical body to leave the city as long as you are anchored in one."
Hearing this, Liu Ba immediately thought back to the gray-robed cultivator he encountered in Bluestone City.
It was now clear—that man must also have been a soul cultivator of Luo Feng City, and the banner he carried was one of those external vessels.
With this realization, Liu Ba's doubts lessened. He prepared to step forward and claim his own Luo Feng Mantra and Life-Bound Soul Banner.
But just then, a voice rang out from the front of the hall:
"Steward! I want to claim a secret art! The True Explanation of Dao Formation through Severing the Three Corpses! "