Da Qian, Shunzhi Eleventh Year, January Fifteenth.
The Immortal-Mortal Passage, which opened once every ten years, officially opened on this day.
At this moment, within the Jiang Family's territory, three men and two women stood before the Immortal-Mortal Passage's teleportation Formation.
Among them, the three male Cultivators had ordinary appearances, and their cultivation Realms were all at the Qi Training Late Stage.
One female Cultivator was an old woman, whose cultivation Realm had actually reached the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
The other female Cultivator, though charming in appearance and well-proportioned, was only at the Qi Training Middle Stage, making her the lowest-cultivated person in this group.
However, what was strange was that both the three male Cultivators at the Qi Training Late Stage and the old woman at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage all deferred to the charming woman.
These five people were the chosen ones responsible for inspecting the Fan Realm and collecting the Immortal Tax from the Fan Realm this time.
The three male Cultivators, seeing that the Immortal-Mortal Passage had opened and the teleportation Formation was glowing, all turned their gazes towards the charming woman.
One of the male Cultivators asked, "Captain, the Immortal-Mortal Passage is open. Should we go in now?"
The charming woman, hearing this, first glanced at the three male Cultivators, then raised her eyebrows and reprimanded them arrogantly.
"Are you three pigs? Do you still need to ask Young Miss about such a simple matter?"
"How did the teams that went to the Fan Realm to collect taxes in previous years do it? Don't you three know?"
The three male Cultivators were mercilessly scolded by a woman with a lower cultivation Realm than themselves, and their expressions were all somewhat displeased.
But when the woman noticed this, instead of restraining herself, she intensified her scolding.
"You three idiots, don't you know that before crossing a teleportation Formation, you should first send a reconnaissance Puppet to check if the environment on the other side of the teleportation Formation is safe?"
"You're truly a bunch of brainless worms!"
"But Captain, in previous years, this reconnaissance Puppet was usually provided by the team leader."
"Our cultivation Realms are low; we are only at the Qi Training Realm. We really don't have the spare money to purchase a reconnaissance Puppet."
"Yes, Captain, you are so wise and intelligent, you must have prepared a reconnaissance Puppet in advance, right?"
As the three male Cultivators spoke, one after another, they all used Yin and Yang sarcasm to express their dissatisfaction.
The charming woman, hearing this, instantly became like an ignited powder keg, her tone furious: "What do you three idiots mean? Do you still want to carry out this mission?!"
"I'm telling you, the mission to collect taxes in the Fan Realm is simple and lucrative. If you three don't want to go, our Jiang Family has plenty of people scrambling to go!"
"Are you three not wanting to work anymore? Speak up! Have you all become mute? Weren't you quite talkative just now?!"
The three male Cultivators exchanged glances, anger hidden in their eyes, but when they thought of the woman's close relationship with the Qilin Child of the Earthly Spiritual Root in the Family, and how much they truly wanted to carry out this mission, the three of them had no choice but to forcibly suppress the anger in their hearts.
However, they indeed did not have reconnaissance Puppets, so they all lowered their heads, no longer engaging with the arrogant Young Miss's words.
Seeing this, Jiang Mei wanted to scold them further, but the old woman standing beside her felt that the time was right, so she spoke up to mediate.
"Alright, Mei'er, say less. It's normal for Hongtao and the other three, as Qi Training Cultivators, not to have reconnaissance Puppets."
"Coincidentally, I brought a reconnaissance Puppet today, so let me send the Puppet over to investigate first."
"Alright then, thank you for your trouble, elder."
Jiang Mei knew that for her tax collection trip to the Fan Realm, she would have to rely heavily on this Foundation Establishment Stage old woman, so she said arrogantly.
"You three good-for-nothings, why aren't you thanking Grandma Li? If, after entering the Fan Realm, you still dare not listen to my commands, none of you will receive the Spirit Stones issued by the Mission Hall!"
The three male Cultivators, hearing this, no longer retorted.
Through this incident, they had clearly seen that Jiang Mei was a brainless, arrogant Young Miss, and reasoning with her was completely futile.
For this mission, they would just act as human Puppets. Whatever this Young Miss told them to do, they would do, since there shouldn't be anything in the Fan Realm that could threaten their lives anyway.
Once the three decided to act as Puppets, the atmosphere in the team instantly relaxed a lot, and the reconnaissance Puppet released by Li Laoyu quickly returned with intelligence confirming the safety of the area around the teleportation Formation.
Jiang Mei swiftly ordered the three male Cultivators to lead the way into the Fan Realm, and if they encountered danger, they could use their Family jade token to call for help.
The three entered the Fan Realm with their Protective Magical Artifacts, carefully checked the surroundings of the teleportation Formation, and finding no difference from ten years ago and no danger, they quietly waited for Jiang Mei and the old woman to arrive.
Not long after, Jiang Mei and the old woman descended together into this Fan Realm Small World.
The five of them re-checked the Protective Formation around the teleportation Formation, confirmed that the Formation was operating without issues, then walked out of the Protective Formation and appeared in the Immortal Welcoming Hall specially built for them by the Fan Realm imperial palace.
As soon as the five appeared in the Immortal Welcoming Hall, they noticed Jiang Shiliu, dressed in imperial robes.
"You are the current Emperor of the Da Qian Dynasty?"
Jiang Mei's tone was indifferent; she could sense that this Emperor was a Mortal with no cultivation Realm.
"Replying to the Immortals, my name is Jiang Shiliu, and I have been on the throne for nearly ten years."
Jiang Shiliu seemed very honest, and Jiang Mei said even more casually: "Having been on the throne for so long, you should know what to prepare every ten years when the Immortal-Mortal Passage opens, right?"
"I know, I know."
Jiang Shiliu took out a somewhat old-looking Storage Pouch and respectfully presented it to Jiang Mei.
"Reporting to the Immortal, this Storage Pouch contains a total of one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, one hundred Golden Qian Grass, three Void Gazer Stones..."
Jiang Shiliu systematically informed them of all the Immortal Dao resources within the Storage Pouch, clearly having done his homework before the five Immortals arrived.
Jiang Mei listened to the Fan Realm Emperor's respectful report and found that this year's tax quota was a full one and a half tenths more than in previous years. She couldn't help but let out a soft snort in her heart, after all, that extra one and a half tenths was all hers.
But then Jiang Mei immediately thought of the Foundation Establishment Stage Li Laoyu who was accompanying her. Although this old thing's Lifespan was nearing its end, she was still a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
So she still had to give her half a tenth; otherwise, it would look too greedy, and it would be bad if rumors reached Brother Jiang Yan.
But in that case, only one tenth would be left for her, which felt a bit little.
At this thought, Jiang Mei frowned and said with a frosty tone: "Your Fan Realm imperial Family only collected these things in ten years? Are you hiding something?"
Jiang Shiliu, hearing this, quickly said: "Immortal, please don't be angry. The materials in the Storage Pouch are truly all that the Da Qian Dynasty has collected in these ten years."
"If the Immortal doesn't believe it, you can go to my Great Qian Dynasty's treasury to take a look; there are truly only a few Fan Realm items left inside."
Jiang Mei saw that Jiang Shiliu spoke sincerely and thought that this Fan Realm was a poor and remote place with thin Spiritual Qi, so being able to gather these materials in ten years was already quite good.
So she stopped pressing him, merely continuing with the routine inquiry: "Has anyone with a Spiritual Root appeared in your imperial Family in the past ten years?"