Chapter 203: Using money to buy strength
The Chu Family headquarters. There were several hundred Chu Family swordsman respectfully forming two columns, even the Chu Family Head Chu Shanhe personally came out to welcome the guest. The Chu Family was in a dire situation, but with the remote great elder personally returning, it would bring a boost to the Chu Family!
The remote great elder Chu Shi was in the True Soul Realm, not being any weaker than that old undying Yun Tianhe. His battle power was even higher than Yun Tianhe's!
The three great families had suffered losses one after the other because they didn't have a True Soul Realm expert in command, so they had to do things carefully. They allowed Chu Tian to rise step by step, to the point where they could no longer take care of him.
Chu Shanhe cupped his hands towards Chu Shi, "Remote great elder….."
"No need to say anything, I understand it all!" Chu Shi's sharp as blade eyes swept over everyone, "What is Xinghe's current condition? Bring me to see him!"
Chu Xinghe had been stabilized, but he wasn't out of danger yet.
The Netherworld Ghost Flame was too vicious, not using heat to burn things, but rather using source spirit to cause damage to one's cultivation. Chu Tian's Netherworld Ghost Flame was completely different compared to normal Netherworld Flame. It had been refined by the Spirit King for over ten thousand years, creating a powerful strength that could corrode meridians and deal permanent damage.
When Chu Xinghe had been hit by the Raging Flame Slash, a large amount of Netherworld Flames instantly entered into his body's meridians. This injury was very serious and it was very difficult to restore Chu Xinghe's cultivation in a short period of time.
Chu Xinghe had slashed Chu Tian once, almost crippling him.
Chu Tian had also given Chu Xinghe a slash, also almost crippling him.
For this grudge, it had to be repaid sooner or later!
Chu Shanhe was filled with hate, "That damn brat Chu Tian. With serious injuries like this, Xinghe will not be able to recover himself in a short period of time!"
"The body is easy to cure, the heart is very difficult." Chu Shi looked at Chu Xinghe lying on the bed with his hair down and his pale white face, "Xinghe has had talent since he was a child and never lost a fight against anyone unless it was someone of the older generation. Now that he has been defeated by a unknown, younger person with a lower cultivation base, it will leave a heart demon inside of him."
Chu Shanhe knit his brows. Chu Xinghe was the future of the Chu Family. The family counted on him to gain the title of marquis and bring their family to new heights. How could it end just like this?
"This heart's knot is related to Chu Tian. I will immediately gather the family's powers and spare nothing to kill him!"
"No!" Chu Shi stopped Chu Shanhe. With Chen Bingyu at his side, it was hard for the Chu Family to fight them. If they thoroughly enraged that madman, then nothing good would come to their Chu Family, "Xinghe's road from now on is very long. He will meet many other geniuses, but we can't just solve everything for him, right? He has to personally fix his own heart demon!"
Chu Shi entered the room.
Chu Xinghe slowly opened his eyes, "Remote great elder?"
Chu Shi severely said, "Xinghe, have you resigned yourself to being defeated?"
Chu Xinghe's eyes flashed with a deep rage and hatred, but this loss was a very big hit to him.
"Very good, your eyes are very satisfying. Remember, no matter how strong a person is, they will never always win!" Chu Shi could see the deep hatred within Chu Xinghe's eyes. With deep hate, he would not give up, "If you can't even bear the blow of a single hit, how could you bear the responsibility of raising up the Chu Family? Rise! Tell me! Do you think you are weaker than Chu Tian?"
"No!" Chu Xinghe tightly gripped his fists, "That's impossible! He just won using the opportunity given to him. In a head on fight, I would be able to kill him in a single slash!"
There was no need to doubt that!
From his previous battle, it was clear that he had to go all out against Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang. Although Chu Tian's battle strength was not normal, it was not enough for him to fight Chu Xinghe yet!
"You should not lie down here and waste time!" Chu Shi severely said, "You have to regain the honor that you have lost. I have already sent a challenge to Chu Tian and once you're healed up, you will immediately duel with him!"
Chu Shanhe was shocked, "Remote great elder, this might not be right. I'm afraid Xinghe's injuries won't recover in a short period of time….."
"Why do you think that I came back so suddenly?" Chu Shi took out a jade box from his chest, "Take a look at this!"
Chu Shanhe opened the jade box.
A shocking amount of spiritual energy poured out, like a wave of wind inside the hall. Many illusions appeared around the box, sending everyone into a daze.
Chu Shi replied, "This is the Seven Song Spirit Ginseng that I accidently obtained. The Seven Song Spirit Ginseng is a natural Elixir and this one is thirty-forty thousand years old, already turning into a Sacred Medicine, coming close to becoming an Immortal Medicine.
"It's actually a half step Immortal Grade Elixir!"
"It still hasn't reached that grade yet. Immortal Medicine are very precious and with the dry spiritual vein of the Southern Summer Country, how could one be grown? Although it isn't a half step Immortal Medicine, it is a top class Sacred Medicine, easily being worth billions of gold coins. This medicine can cure all injuries and increase one's cultivation base quickly, allowing Xinghe to breakthrough."
Top class Sacred Medicine?!
Materials were divided into the following grades: Normal Grade, Spiritual Grade, Sacred Grade, Immortal Grade, and Divine Grade.
Same grade materials were also divided into low class, medium class, high class, and top class. The Dirt Burrowing Fruit that Chu Tian spent a large amount of points for was only a medium grade Sacred Medicine. It was easy to imagine what kind of value this Seven Song Spirit Ginseng had, it was hard to find many like it in the Southern Summer Country. It was a priceless super class Sacred Medicine!
Chu Shanhe finally realized how precious this medicine was. He said to Chu Xinghe with an excited voice, "Why have you not given your thanks yet!"
Chu Xinghe quickly tried to bow, "Many thanks remote great elder!"
Chu Shanhe said, "In the current Four Young Masters, Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang are crippled and Yun Yao is a servant to Chu Tian, so they will not be able to do much. As long as you can defeat Chu Tian, there will be no matches for you in Central State and your prestige will be even higher than before!"
Chu Shanhe held the jade box and a cruel glow flashed in his eyes.
He needed to make Chu Tian suffer one hundred times the shame he suffered!
"Don't cause any troubles for Miracle Commerce right now. We'll let them have a period of peace and quiet."
"If we don't do anything, won't the people of Central State think our Chu Family is afraid of them?"
"It's fine. I want to stop Chu Tian, so we won't do anything for now. Once we do make a move, we must destroy Miracle Commerce." Chu Shi revealed a cruel expression, "The Ye and Luo Family's old monsters have been near Imperial City lately and I have already written a letter to them. Once they come back to Central State, at that time….."
If the three remote great elders worked together.
It was completely different from the three great families working together!
Chu Shanhe nodded. If it was like this, there was no way for them to lose.
Out of the family heads thirty-forty years ago, Yun Tianhe was the strongest.
However, the other three remote great elders had found suitable successors and could feel relaxed leaving their families. They could wander and practice their cultivations, gaining chances to become stronger. Only Yun Tianhe had no successor, so he had no choice but to stay. Adding in the fact that his family focused on academics, he did not chase after becoming stronger.
Because he had stayed in Central State City, the difference between them had been surpassed.
"Trees will be blown down by wind, grass on the side will stay safe." Chu Shi was old but powerful, "The Divine Wind Marquis is strong and Chu Tian is famous right now, so we will bide our time to strike."
The three great families had all lasted several hundred years, they were not easy to defeat. As long as they can preserve their family's cores and the three remote great elders work together, even the Divine Wind Marquis had to be apprehensive. Once the right opportunity came, wouldn't it be as easy as pie to kill Chu Tian?
It was no big deal causing some criticism!
Because the result would prove everything!
The one thing that Chu Shi was worried about was that Chu Xinghe might not be able to kill Chu Tian. Of course Chu Shi was not worried that Chu Xinghe would lose, but rather he was worried that the Divine Wind Marquis would interfere and stop Chu Xinghe from killing Chu Tian.
Chu Shanhe let out a long sigh!
With the remote great elder's plan, there was no need to worry about anything.
Most of the Chu Family's territory had been obtained by the great remote elder and the rest had been obtained by the various experts of the Chu Family. They all had ruthless hearts, not a single one was normal. What did the Divine Wind Marquis count for? Even if he was a marquis and a veteran of the battlefield, he was not better than the three families in terms of strategizing.
Just wait!
Chu Tian did not have much time left!
...
The next day.
It had spread all over Central State City that the Chu Family's remote great elder was back and Chu Xinghe had challenged Chu Tian!
The Chu Family had even held a press released. In a very arrogant manner, they said, "Chu Tian is too weak right now. Even if Chu Xinghe defeated him, it would not be a meaningful victory. They could give Chu Tian a period of time to break through into the Illustrious Soul Realm before they would fight him!"
After this news was spread, the entirety of Central State City shook!
Chu Xinghe challenging Chu Tian was a battle that everyone was looking forward to!
Was Chu Tian weak?
Of course he wasn't!
He had defeated Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang by himself!
A single person defeating two young masters at once!
This meant that Chu Tian had the qualification to share a title with Chu Xinghe.
Right now, many places had listed Chu TIan as a super talent and had even created the "Netherworld Young Master" title for him. Obtaining his fame from that strange sword and obtaining this title meant that Chu Tian had the qualification to fill a place in people's hearts!
When the Chu Family's news had been sent over.
Chu Tian revealed a calm smile. The Chu Family would play nice and let him breakthrough? What bullshit! This was nothing more than Chu Xinghe being injured and not being able to fight. They were pretending to give Chu Tian time to give a step up to the Chu Family and show off their spirit!
Chu Tian could guess most of it, but he could not guess everything.
Chu Xinghe's injuries weren't fake, but this time wasn't just for healing himself, rather also to breakthrough in strength!
This top class Sacred Medicine could not be directly swallowed!
That would be too much of a waste!
In order to display the might of the Sacred Medicine, one had to find the appropriate auxiliary medicine!
Yun Yao couldn't think this through, "Are you really prepared to declare war on them? Chu Xinghe is completely different from the two you defeated!"
"I'm very clear on his strength!" Chu Tian had fought Chu Xinghe in the trial space and knew how profound his sword art was. Moreover with Chu Xinghe's full strength attack, it was enough for him to skip several levels, "Let him come! If he dares challenge me, then I'll fight him!"
Yun Yao really did not believe that Chu Tian could defeat Chu Xinghe.
Only Chu Tian's creations were too miraculous, so Yun Yao was feeling conflicted.
He could not compete with Chu Xinghe in any perspective, but what if he revealed a shocking surprise? Back in the trial tower, didn't no one believe in him as well? Finally he had made everyone's eyes pop out wide!
Chu Tian put away this matter first and focused fully on helping the young miss, Yingying, Nangong, and the others cultivate.
The young miss and Yingying were both in the 1st Awakened Soul Layer and their Starlight Immortal Bodies were in the peak of the Glass Body Realm.
Chu Tian used the Starlight Stone and other medicines to help them break through the peak of the Glass Body Realm and to help them reach the 2nd Awakened Soul Layer!
Not just this, Chu Tian also brought out a bunch of half step Sacred Medicine and combined it with the ten thousand year old spiritual honey, allowing them to break through to the 3rd Awakened Soul Layer!
The young miss and Yingying were not combatants, so they did not need to stabilize their realm or practice cultivation techniques. Chu Tian spared no effort in increasing their cultivation base, so their promotion speed was quite fast. It was expected that in ten days, they would reach the peak of the 3rd Awakened Soul Layer.
Chu Tian and Nangong Yun were not slacking off, they were trying to break through to the peak 3rd Awakened Soul Layer.
They used quite a bit of money over this time period, spending a total of one-two hundred million gold coins! Even to the Four Great Families, this was not a small figure! Miracle Commerce was expanding quickly, but most of its profit was put into development and investment. They could only use the company's name to take out a loan from the Yun Family for now.
This was not a small figure to the Yun Family, so Chu Tian helped the Yun Family refine a Sacred Grade Pill. It would increase the chances of Yun Yao breaking through to the 5th Awakened Soul Layer, and it would count as a bit of interest.
It had to be know.
This era's alchemy technique was very crude!
The pills made from middle class Sacred Medicine refined by the Southern Summer Country's alchemy masters could not compare to the pill made from low class Sacred Medicine refined by Chu Tian. So, Chu Tian helping Yun Yao refine a Sacred Pill meant that the quality of the pill would double!
Yun Yao's potential was not bad.
Her current cultivation technique was personally reformed by Chu Tian.
Yun Yao had a large chance of attacking the 5th Awakened Soul Layer now!
Lin Mu, Fang Han, and Yun Xiao also quickly reached the 3rd Awakened Soul Layer. Lin Mu and Fang Han exchanged for a Sacred Medicine from the tower in order to prepare for attacking the 4th Awakened Soul Layer and Yun Xiao had the support of his family. Their strength weren't bad, so they would have a large room to grow.
The consumption of resources was getting faster!
Chu Tian's focus was to refine a Sacred Pill for the young miss, Yingying, Lin Mu, Fang Han, and Nangong. To refine this kind of Sacred Pill, quite a bit of half step Sacred Materials were needed and the one hundred million borrowed from the Yun Family was not enough. In the end, they took several tens of millions from Miracle Commerce which satisfied their needs!
Their cultivation needs were too big!
Chu Tian needed to spare no efforts in expanding the company!
The Four Great Families only focused on training four successors, why was that? Were the other talents of the families not good enough?
Wrong! There were several people in their families with talent, but even with the power of the Four Great Families, training them at the same time was too hard, so they could only pick a few key individuals to focus on! Chu Tian realized this a long time ago. The top powers of the continent did not have the most talents, but rather they had the greatest monopoly on resources!
Training from a power and training alone was not that different at all!
Chapter 204: New Yun Sect
When the news of the Chu Family challenging Chu Tian was spread, Central State City once again shook. The various parties involved all entered into a period of calm.
The three great clans all calmed down and avoided conflicts with Miracle Commerce.
Miracle Commerce continued charging forth, uniting the Yun Family and several other families under their banner. Other than the Four Great Family, they had become the other super power!
Mayor Feng Yunlong gritted his teeth in hate, but stopped because of the Divine Wind Marquis' intervention. His current power had been given to him by his cousin. If the Divine Wind Marquis gave it to them, he could also take it back.
Letting Shangguan Ming deal with Chu Tian last time had already made the Divine Wind Marquis very dissatisfied!
Feng Yunlong had no choice but to consider his clansmen's attitudes. Moreover, the Feng Family's roots were not as deep as the Four Great Families in Central State City and even the Four Great Families did not dare make a move. If the mayor made any mistakes and angered the middle sized families, then there was a chance of being taken down.
He could only helplessly observe Miracle Commerce.
Currently, it had been half a month since Chu Tian's duel with Luo Xianglong and Ye Tianlang.
Meng Yingying, Meng Qingwu, Lin Mu, Fang Han, and Chu Tian had all reached the peak 3rd Awakened Soul Layer, and Yun Yao had reached the peak 4th Awakened Soul Layer. Nangong Yun, Feng Caidie, and Yun Yao made quite fast progress, and all their necessary resources had been gathered.
Chu Tian used the Limitless Gourd to personally refine Saint Grade Pills for the three of them.
Chu Tian's alchemy skills far surpassed the current era. The low class Sacred Pills that Chu Tian refined had effects that surpassed most middle class Sacred Pills. The Limitless Gourd was a very rare treasure and pills refined with it contained a large amount of spiritual energy, raising the pill's effect by another level.
Yun Yao broke through the peak 4th Awakened Soul Layer to reach the 5th Awakened Soul Layer. She did not feel a bottleneck and broke through with no hesitation.
Nangong Yun and Feng Caidie were going from the Void Soul Realm to the Illustrious Soul Realm, so there was a very difficult bottleneck to break through. However with Chu Tian's help and guidance, they had 70-80% confidence in succeeding.
The effects of the Limitless Gourd shocked Chu Tian.
Because during the pill refining process using the Limitless Gourd, the gourd itself added spiritual energy into the pill. As well, the waste product left behind by the process was absorbed by the gourd, turning it into nourishment for the gourd.
The gourd was not a dead item.
It was a seedling that was full of life. Chu Tian used the Water of Life to water it and then refined more pills with the gourd. The Limitless Gourd would slowly grow, making the storage space even bigger. When it was fully grown, then it would display a variety of other abilities.
"Chu Tian! Chu Tian! Come out now!" Meng Yingying excitedly ran to the door, "I want to tell you some good news!"
Chu Tian was a little curious, "What is it?"
Meng Yingying said with a happy look on her face, "I went to the Xiong Family with uncle Xiong. We've reached an agreement with general Xiong and the Central State Xiong Family will work with Miracle Commerce!"
This really was a good thing!
The Xiong Family had a high status in Central State, only being below the Four Great Families. Only, the Xiong Family was a military family and bad at doing business, so they did not have the income of the Four Great Families. The family did not have many resources and could not train a genius on the level of the Four Young Masters.
Xiong Tianyan acted as an intermediate.
Meng Yingying went to meet the great general and had reached an agreement with the Xiong Family.
Meng Yingying was planning to open ten large canned food factories and if Miracle Commerce used their own people, it would take a long time. Therefore, they chose to find a reliable partner.
The Xiong Family had people in this field and they had a large reliable influence. Meng Yingying went to Meng Family to sign a cooperation agreement, letting the Xiong Family handle this matter. After this business was agreed on, the Xiong Family would receive over a hundred million gold coins per year, almost doubling their family income. This would become the main income for the Xiong Family which was a matter truly worth celebrating for them.
This to Miracle Commerce was the fastest way to improving their canned food production speed. When the ten canned food factories were established, they would be able to produce five-six million cans per month. Adding in a few small canned food factories, it would be enough to satisfy the entire Southern Summer Country's market.
Letting the Xiong Family produce the items and gain production fees, it would closely tie the Xiong Family to Miracle Commerce.
This was a very cost effective way of doing business!
Yingying had accomplished a great merit to Miracle Commerce!
As the two of them spoke, a sudden terrifying divine beast pressure enveloped the sky. The entire sky turned red, and it cause the entire Miracle Commerce Headquarters to tremble.
Meng Yingying said in a surprised voice, "Fire Phoenix!"
"It's Nangong!" Chu Tian gave a satisfied laugh, "Nangong has smoothly broken through. Seeing as she has already broken through, the Saint Pill was not wasted!"
Out of the Miracle Commerce Group, Nangong Yun had broken through to the Illustrious Soul Realm the quickest. Nangong Yun's strength was already very strong, but now that she had broken through to the 4th Awakened Soul Layer, her strength might even be higher than Ye Tianlang and Luo Xianglong!
Chu Tian would not be able to beat her!
Nangong Yun had the Starlight Immortal Body, a 4th Awakened Soul Layer cultivation, several high grade cultivation techniques and martial arts, and the amplifying effect of her God Level Source Spirit. Her current strength was higher than Chu Tian's, but lower than Chu Xinghe, being situated right in between them.
Another powerful person being born in Miracle Commerce naturally made everyone excited. They all ran over to congratulate Nangong Yun.
No one expected that two days later.
Thunder filled the sky of the Yun Family's Headquarters, signifying that Yun Yao had broken through.
Yun Yao was the first Four Young Master to break through to the 4th Awakened Soul Layer. Yun Yao who everyone thought would fall behind was now walking at the front of the Four Young Masters. The strong and weak had changed, reversing the situation, painting a new picture.
So.
The Central State Four Young Masters had changed!
They were now: Heavenly Sword Young Master Chu Xinghe, Netherworld Young Master Chu Tian, Phoenix Young Master Nangong Yun, and the Purple Lightning Young Master Yun Yao.
As for the Heavenly Wolf Young Master and Dragon Tiger Young Master, ever since they had been defeated in the battle, they could no longer catch up to these four.
No one knew who was the strongest, but now the Purple Lightning Young Master Yun Yao had the highest cultivation!
Yun Tianhe naturally went wild with join. He immediately hosted a grand feast in the Yun Family headquarters and mainly invited Miracle Commerce and their partners to participate.
Yun Yao's breakthrough was a huge boost of morale to the Miracle Commerce alliance and made the three great families' arrogance suffer a heavy blow.
Chu Tian naturally had to personally attend.
He had his bodyguard Chen Bingyu and vice chairman Meng Qingwu accompany him.
Meng Qingwu coming attracted the attention of many people. Not only was Meng Qingwu's appearance and figure on the nation collapsing level, after she had come to Central State, her series of quick actions and plans showed that there was no doubt when it came to her talent.
Chu Tian's status in Miracle Commerce could not be matched by everyone, but most of the company's decisions were all made by Meng Qingwu.
Chu Tian gave people the feeling of being eccentric and a bit moody. In comparison to this beautiful and wise young lady who was easy to approach, many people felt they could gain a bit of benefits from her.
Xiong Wuji cupped his hands, "Little brother Chu, when we met in Yellowstone City, I knew you were not a normal person, but I never thought that you would be able to turn over Central State City like this. Powerful, truly powerful!"
Chu Tian gave a laugh, "I have to thank the Xiong Family's support for this!"
"We are all part of a family now. The Xiong Family was poor, but now we hope that Miracle Commerce will help us get rid of that." Xiong Wu Ji greeted Chu Tian. Then immediately he gave a laugh as he said to Meng Qingwu, "Vice chairmen Meng's cultivation is increasing quite fast! I can see that you're already at the peak 3rd Awakened Soul Layer!"
Meng Qingwu gave a polite smile, "Compared to the grand general, Qingwu is still lacking."
"How could you say that! I am already a forty-fifty year old man, already passing my peak condition, it's no longer easy for me to increase my cultivation. On the contrary, vice chairman Meng is still around twenty, currently in the period of greatest growth." Xiong Wuji waved his hand and several officers came in holding a box, "Right, I heard that Miracle Commerce was collecting a few materials. The general's manor had a few, so I came to give you some!"
Meng Qingwu's heart skipped a beat.
Miracle Commerce needed quite a bit of resources for the Saint Pill. After combing through the Central State market, they still had not found everything they needed. Of course they didn't rule out the possibility of the three great families secretly causing trouble, making it harder for Chu Tian to practice his cultivation.
"No work will yield no harvest, Miracle Commerce will not take advantage of anyone." Meng Qingwu accepted them, "We'll calculate the value and then send the money over to the general's palace."
Xiong Wuji gave a few crisp laughs, "Too polite, too polite!"
Xiong Wuji had just left before Jing Family's Jing Hao came over with some resources which were all things Miracle Commerce needed.
Chu Tian just accepted them.
Some materials couldn't be bought with money.
In the end, by attending the Yun Family's banquet, they had gained quite a few of them!
Could these fellows have known that Miracle Commerce needed these items and then purposefully bought them first? Then they gave them to Miracle Commerce as gifts in order to gain favour with Miracle Commerce?
Of course.
This just showed how much influence Miracle Commerce had now!
Only with power would others come and flatter them.
Chu Tian did not have time to talk with the merchants, so he left it all to Meng Qingwu. Chu Tian ran off to find Yun Tianhe, "Old Yun, congratulations, the Yun Family now has a successor! The Yun Family's future achievements will be above that of an old man like you!"
Yun Tianhe's face was exuding light, showing that he was clearly very excited.
They had swept away the decline of their family, how could Yun Tianhe not be happy?
"You came right on time, I have a new idea. I've already talked to the elders and now I want to hear your opinion." Yun Tianhe seemed like he made a decision, "I've decided to make Yun Yao the head and sending several of the Yun Family's senior elders to help her. I will then step down from my position.
These words had a significant meaning.
Yun Tianhe was giving control of authority over to Yun Yao and Yun Yao had a very close relation to Chu Tian. Yun Yao was managing Qilin Hall with Nangong Yun, and could be considered a high level member of Miracle Commerce. After Yun Yao gained control over the Yun Family, they would cooperate even further with Miracle Commerce.
Chu Tian laughed and said, "Old Yun is not that old yet, so why do you want to retire already?"
Yun Tianhe's old eyes flashed with the light of wisdom, "Family matters would be given to the next generation sooner or later. I am an old man that can only live a few more years, so lifting them up is also a good thing. Letting them take over is a releasing feeling and will allow my to pursue something even more meaningful."
"Your meaning is….."
"I plan to facilitate a cooperation between the Yun Sect and Miracle Commerce Research, with the best condition being combining the two into one. We'll create a large scale research and academics organization."
Chu Tian was shocked.
He really had to admire Yun Tianhe's courage.
The Yun Sect was the foundation of the family and the family's main focus!
The reputation that the Yun Family had established over the Southern Summer Country, 90% of it came from the Yun Sect. The Yun Sect's talismans, pills, martial arts, and other inventions were the main sources of income for the Yun Family.
If the Yun Sect and Miracle Research combine, then that was basically giving half the Yun Sect to Miracle Commerce.
Miracle Commerce's influence was increasing fast, and they were constantly recruiting new talents. Soon, many people would only remember Miracle Research and would forget about the Yun Sect.
This was not a good thing to the Yun Family.
However this was a large advantage to Miracle Commerce.
Because of Miracle Commerce's quick development, it wouldn't even take half a year before they were known as a new power. However, the recruitment of people could not be completed in a single day and required a long period of time!
If the Yun Sect with hundreds of years of history merged with Miracle Research, it would save them a large amount of time. It would instantly allow Miracle Commerce reach the peak of the Southern Summer Country in terms of research and academics!
"Alright, but having two names is troublesome." Chu Tian thought about it, "From this day forth, Miracle Commerce's research facility will be known as the 'Yun Sect'!"
This time, Yun Tianhe was shocked!
Chu Tian abandoning the Miracle Commerce Name was without a doubt, a large gift to the Yun Family. The name of a research facility was not important to Chu Tian, it was a dispensable thing, something that just gave reputation.
However, to a family, this reputation was a sharp weapon!
Yun Tianhe was delighted, "From this day forth, the New Yun Sect is established!"
In just a few words.
Chu Tian and Yun Tianhe had formed a cooperation that shook Central State City!
Henceforth, the Yun Sect left the Yun Family and became a research facility that worked for Miracle Commerce. The Yun Sect's several headquarters, equipment, and hundreds of years worth of materials and stockpiles was now open to Miracle Commerce.
The Yun Sect was like a new influence.
Miracle Commerce and the Yun Family both owned half of it.
Yun Tianhe believed that his decision was not wrong. Miracle Commerce needed the Yun Sect's resources, but Miracle Commerce would lead the Yun Sect out of Central State, out of Southern Summer, letting their fame spread across the continent!
The basic framework of the Miracle Group was set.
There was Miracle Dining, specially in charge of the source energy pot restaurants.
There was Miracle Media, specially in charge of broadcasting, communications, and other services.
There was Southern Cloud Commerce, specially in charge of the talisman and pills business.
They had also purchased the Underworld Mercenary Group, letting them train a special fighting force.
Finally in terms of research, they had merged with the Yun Sect, allowing them to create a super powerful team.
Also, there was Qilin Hall acting as the training location for Miracle Commerce. It continued to train new talents, pumping new blood into Miracle Commerce. It trained new personnel for Miracle Commerce, letting them continue to expand.
Meng Qingwu had personally built the Miracle Commerce business alliance.
Now the middle and low class families of Central State all joined in. They were responsible for production, transporting, material handling, etc.
From top to bottom, everything was planned for, creating an internal ecosystem.
Miracle Commerce establishing themselves here was equivalent to taking off. Once they eliminated the barriers in front of them, they would set off on the wide open road in front of them.
Chapter 205: Emergency mission
Yun Tianhe announced his decision in front of everyone!
The old patriarch that had led the family for over fifty years!
This was the most significant decision he ever made and also the last decision he made before resigning!
The Yun Family used their strength and would die with Miracle Commerce. If Miracle Commerce prospered, the Yun Family would prospered. If Miracle Commerce died, then the Yun Family's vitality would suffer a heavy blow!
This old patriarch was filled with courage and ambitions!
An ancient family with two-three hundred years of history had this kind of decisiveness!
Then what did these new families that only existed for a few decades have to worry about? Even if the sky fell, they would fight against it!
More people decided to follow along Miracle Commerce. As long as Miracle Commerce became bigger, they would earn more money.
Meng Qingwu was filled with joy.
She never thought that old senior Yun would trust Chu Tian this much!
This time, the Chu, Luo, and Ye Families would not dare to act rashly. However, while the atmosphere of the banquet was raised with this decision, bad news soon came.
A voice entered the Yun Family, "Sir mayor is here!"
With this one sentence, everyone was shocked.
Who didn't know Chu Tian's relation with the mayor?
Why did the mayor come to the Yun Family at this time?
But no matter what, the mayor was one of the people in Central State City with the highest position. In accordance to etiquette, they still had to greet him.
"What are you here for?" A Yun Family member revealed their hostility. Yun Tianhe was still calm, "The mayor is here, why have you not greeted him yet?"
The elite bodyguards of the mayor's palace came in. Their armours were drenched in killing intent and their weapons released a cold glow. Tightly standing in two rows, the killing intent they released completely destroyed the festive atmosphere of the banquet.
They came with ill intent!
Then let's just observe them for now!
Feng Yunlong was wearing a palace robe with the mayor's jade crown atop his head. There were several guards and ministers following closely behind him.
"Old Yun!" Feng Yunlong came in with a wide smile. With a look of complaint, he said, "The Purple Lightning Young Master's cultivation has taken a large step forward and is a very happy event for Central State City, how could you not inform this mayor? This mayor should sent a congratulatory gift no matter what!"
Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay!
If they didn't know the inside story, they would have thought that the Yun Family and the mayor's palace still had good relations!
Yun Tianhe cupped his hands to the mayor and humbly said, "It's just a small step forward, we didn't dare to bother the mayor!"
"Humble, too humble!" Mayor Feng Yunlong waved his hand, "Come, bring in the gift!"
Two guards brought a large box in.
Everyone looked at each other, no one daring to say a thing. What kind of medicine was this mayor taking?!
"Civilian Chu Tian is here to greet the mayor!" Chu Tian came forward and greeted the mayor in an exaggerated manner, "I hope the mayor lives for a thousand years and for the mayor's son to recover soon, bringing brilliance to Central State City once again!"
Pu!
People couldn't help breaking out in laughter.
Chu Tian was clearly trying to anger the mayor!
Feng Yunlong's acting skills were very deep, but he couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from twitching. With gritted teeth, he said, "Chairman Chu Tian is truly generous. The mayor had a spur of the moment impulse and had a misunderstanding with your excellency, I hope you will not hold a grudge."
Chu Tian gave a laugh, "How could I? I am innately born with the trait of being bothered by others, so I would be bitten by dogs when going out. However, this kind of thing happens a lot, so I ignore all of it with a smile. I only hope that the mayor will not hold a grudge against this little one!"
The vein popped out on Feng Yunlong's forehead...Going too far!
Wasn't this saying that the mayor was not comparable to a dog?
Chu Tian's sarcasm was very clear and everyone on the scene could hear it. If the mayor ignored it, then he would be bringing despise on himself. Yun Tianhe saw that the mayor was about to explode, so he could only give a bitter laugh as he came forward, "Please sit in the seat of honor, sir mayor."
"No need!" The mayor did not continue pretending and used a cold voice to say, "This mayor has a reason for coming to your Yun Family. There is an emergency mission sent down to Central State City!"
Everyone was stunned hearing this.
The mayor took out a black token, "Look carefully at what this is!"
This was a token with a short sword engraved on it. Although the materials of this token was not rare, it released a very strong killing intent. There was a large "Wu" character engraved on it.
"The ruler's token!"
Yun Tianhe and everyone else revealed a look of shock!
Feng Yunlong coldly said, "This is the command of the Calm Martial Ruler, why are you not kneeling yet!"
Like being awakened from a dream, everyone quickly formed rows and respectfully bowed down. Yun Tianhe and Xiong Wuji both gave a deep bow.
Chu Tian was pulled to the side by Meng Qingwu. When he saw something wrong with Meng Qingwu's expression, he was a little curious, "What is the ruler's token?"
"Be quiet!" Meng Qingwu lowered her voice, "The so called ruler's token is the token of a ruler. There are only three ranks in the Southern Summer Country, Marquis, Ruler, and King! The Marquis rank refers to the eight marquis of the Southern Summer Country, the Ruler rank refer to the three lords of the Imperial City, and the highest King rank refers to the king of the Southern Summer Country!"
Three ruler lords?
They had a higher status than the eight marquis?
Meng Qingwu continued to explain, "The three ruler lords of the Southern Summer Country are the Burning Sun Ruler, Nangong Yan, the Calm Martial Ruler, Dongfang Gan, and the Refined Ruler, Shangguan Cangfeng!"
Burning Sun Ruler, Calm Martial Ruler, and Refined Ruler?
Even if Chu Tian was a fool, he would be able to recognize that these people were from the Three Great Clans of the Southern Summer Country!
It was no wonder the Three Great Clans had that kind of reputation, the three Ruler ranks were all in the Three Great Clans' hands. The Calm Martial Ruler was the Dongfang Family's head. It could be said that the Dongfang Family was in control of the country's military, controlling the majority of the armies, cavalries, and fleets.
It could be said.
The Calm Martial Ruler had the highest might out of the three Rulers and could be considered the protecting god of the Southern Summer Country in the citizen's eyes. He had led the over a million people army to fight against the Spirit Beasts, allowing the over two hundred million citizens of the Southern Summer Country enjoy peaceful lives. Otherwise, if the northern frontier broke, the beasts would sweep through the Southern Summer Country, exterminating it!
This kind of important person in the kingdom actually personally sending a command to Central State was hard to believe for everyone!
Yun Tianhe's heart began to feel a little anxious. The Calm Martial Ruler was a very ruthless person, no one dared to disobey his commands, even the Three Great Clans. There was no need to mention the Four Great Families of Central State.
The ruler's token could not be forged.
Feng Yunlong would not dare to forge the Calm Ruler's token, otherwise even the Divine Wind Marquis would not be able to protect him!
With the token here, there would definitely be orders. The token was just a sign of faith, the real orders came from the ruler's orders. What was inside the ruler's orders? This was an unusual matter. If the mayor used this chance to deal with Chu Tian, Chu Tian could not reject it at all.
The mayor loudly shouted, "Recite the ruler's orders!"
Two ministers respectfully stood up and carefully opened a purple gold box, taking out a dragon engraved scroll from within. They slowly began to read out the orders.
Calm Martial Ruler's orders:
The center south area of the kingdom has encountered a disaster. There was a Burning Demon Stone that fell from the sky, destroying the center of Thunder State. It has destroyed a city and exterminating over a million civilians. There has also been an outbreak of demons, polluting the kingdom's soil, causing serious damage!
The orders for Southern State and Central State are to send help to exterminate the demons and to rescue Thunder State. The youths of the kingdom will use this chance to gain experience. The Main City mayors will choose the participants who are not allowed to reject or run away. The participants will be heavily awarded by this ruler!
This must be carried out immediately!
Signed, the Three Great Clans!
....
Feng Yunlong respectfully put away the orders and then looked at everyone with a cold smile, "The ruler's orders have clearly explained everything, do you still have doubts?"
Yun Tianhe's heart sank.
This is bad!
A disaster occurred in Thunder State.
Central State and Southern State were the closest, so it was right for them to send help. However, the Calm Martial Ruler has decided to make this a chance to train the younger generation and allowed Feng Yunlong to pick the participants.
Although the orders were simple, it stated that it wanted the other States to send help. This meant that the situation in Thunder State was very bad and this trip would be filled with danger!
What was the worst part was that the one picking the participants was the mayor himself.
Feng Yunlong said with a smile, "The most talented members of the younger generation are Chu Xinghe, Luo Xianglong, Ye Tianlang, and Yun Yao, so it is logical to send the four of them. However, three of them are heavily injured and are not suited to participating in this mission. It's a good thing that Yun Yao has broken through to the 5th Awakened Soul Layer and is capable of being the team leader!"
Yun Tianhe's face turned dark.
The mayor held the ruler's token and orders, he could not reject at all!
"Other than that, this mayor has recently heard of the 'New Four Young Masters'. The Netherworld Young Master Chu Tian and the Phoenix Young Master Nangong Yun would definitely be accepted by everyone!"
Meng Qingwu tightly clenched her fists.
This mayor was using this chance to take his revenge!
"Since it's like this, I can't do nothing." Yun Tianhe knew that he could not avoid this trouble, "This old man is willing to volunteer as the leader of the rescue forces!"
"The rescue forces naturally will require one or two True Soul experts to act as a leader, but old Yun is a scholar so this kind of mission is not suited for you." Feng Yunlong revealed a strange look, "I have a different candidate ready. The Chu Family's great remote elder Chu Shi has just returned. Chu Shi has a high cultivation and the Blood Drinking Sword, his reputation is not below old Yun's, so I want him to lead the team!"
Yun Tianhe finally could not hold back, "You're deliberately causing trouble! I don't agree to this!"
Letting Chu Shi lead Chu Tian's team to the far off Thunder State, would Chu Tian even be able to come back?
Feng Yunlong said with a cold smile, "This mayor is just considering the matter. Thunder State has suffered a catastrophe and it is very dangerous, so of course we need to send someone strong. While old Yun and Chu Shi are both True Soul experts, in terms of battle strength, I'm afraid Chu Shi would be a grade higher!"
With the ruler's token and orders.
I want to see where you run this time!
Feng Yunlong's arrangement was selfish, but it was very proper. Even the Imperial City would not be able to say anything.
"Chu Shi has just returned to Central State, we should let him have a good rest!" A gentle voice rang out, making everyone tremble, "As far as I know, Thunder State's Golden Arrow Marquis and Southern State's Western Marquis are both personally coming out, so our Central State cannot be inferior. This marquis will personally lead the team. This is a good chance for Cai'er to personally gain some experience."
Two human figures gently fell down.
The Divine Wind Marquis had rushed over with Feng Caidie.
Feng Caidie's aura was completely different. Feng Yunlong's face instantly fell because Feng Caidie's cultivation was now in the 4th Awakened Soul Layer!
He never thought that the Divine Wind Marquis would come out, damn!
This was a once in a thousand years chance, but once the Divine Wind Marquis came out, this matter became complicated!
The Divine Wind Marquis looked at Feng Yunlong, "Do you have an objection?"
"No…..I don't dare!" Feng Yunlong felt his cousin's dissatisfaction and anger, so he quickly bowed down and said, "We'll follow cousin's will!"
"This matter is decided." The Divine Wind Marquis waved his hand, "Prepare the ships and assemble the elites of the Storm Cavalry, we're leaving before tomorrow night! We have to arrive in Thunder State as soon as possible!"
Chapter 206: Abyss Demon
This matter had happened too fast.
No one could prepare at all!
The Calm Martial Ruler of the Southern Summer Three Rulers, even the Divine Wind Marquis had to obey his orders, how could one even mention the small families of Central State City?
"This matter is very dangerous, and the mayor is clearly using this opportunity to deal with you. Even if he cannot completely take care of you, he will try to clip your wings." The mayor had already left, so Meng Qingwu's beautiful face was filled with worry, "I think the Divine Wind Marquis owes you a favour, so he should be able to mediate this matter, right? The Ruler's orders are filled with danger, there is no need for you to put yourself in danger."
Chu Tian revealed a bad smile, "Is the young miss worried about me?"
"If you want to think so." Meng Qingwu's white cheeks turned a little red and her eyes looked away slightly, as she gave a gentle cough, "Who told you to be the chairman, we all depend on you to earn our meals. Miracle Commerce is at a critical point in its development, we can't allow for any accidents right now. Moreover…..who doesn't know about luring the tiger away from its mountain? If you leave with the Divine Wind Marquis, we in Central State will be very weak."
This girl loved her face.
She is very worried about me, but won't say it.
Chu Tian indeed did a large favour for the Divine Wind Marquis and could use it. Although the Calm Martial Ruler was a ruthless person, the Divine Wind Marquis was still an important person in the Southern Summer Country. Even if the Calm Martial Ruler did not have to give others face, he still had to give the Divine Wind Marquis face.
The Southern Summer's Three Rulers and Eight Marquises. The Three Rulers reigned over the Imperial City while the Eight Marquises managed the surrounding states. Although the Ruler rank was higher than the Marquis rank, the Marquis rank was still important.
"Opportunities follow danger." Chu Tian's manner was quite strange, "I'll make my decision after understanding the situation."
Did they think Chu Tian was stupid?
If the benefits did not outweigh the risks, of course he would not risk his life for no reason!
Actually, Chu Tian was very interested in this "Burning Demon Stone" described in the orders. This Burning Demon Stone that fell from the sky destroyed an entire city and killed over a million civilians, causing many others to be homeless, even making the local demons restless.
What was this Demon Stone?
Why was it this strong!
Therefore, he had to understand everything before making his decision.
"Chairman Chu, young miss Feng is asking you to come over!"
"They should have obtained the materials necessary, we'll go take a look!"
Feng Caidie, Nangong Yun, and Yun Yao were already in a private discussion. They were all super talents of Central State who were picked as members to help Thunder State. The Divine Wind Marquis brought a bunch of secret information as well as the ruler's orders.
"My god! There are two million casualties! As well as close to four-five million people becoming homeless!" After Nangong Yun examined the details, she could not help feeling dumbfounded, "The ruler's orders definitely did not make it sound this serious!"
Feng Caidie shook her head, "The ruler's orders are a public thing, so they had to make it seem smaller and reduce the consequences. However, from the reports, it seems like one fifth of people in Thunder State were affected somehow. It's just a Demon Stone, why does it have this kind of might!"
Yun Yao was also very shocked, "The Calm Martial Ruler has prepared some level two top class Sacred Medicine to award it to the person with the highest merit!"
Level two top class Sacred Medicine?
That would be valuable even to True Soul experts!
The Calm Martial Ruler was one of the Three Rulers of the Southern Summer Country, the things he took out were not ordinary!
Feng Caidie also nodded, "This is just the basic reward. Those who can obtain the recognition of the Calm Martial Ruler might be able to obtain something more precious than a Sacred Medicine!"
That's right!
The Calm Martial Ruler was one of the Three Rulers of Southern Summer, even regarded as an important minister by the Southern Summer King, what was more important than being noticed by the Calm Martial Ruler? Even if the Calm Martial Ruler just remembered their names, it would be a great thing!
This mission was also considered an opportunity!
At this moment, Chu Tian came in with Meng Qingwu and Chen Bingyu. Nangong Yun quickly called out to them, "Boss, come and take a look. It's quite a good event for us this time!"
Nangong Yun loved causing trouble, so she was very interested in taking risks.
Meng Qingwu took a quick look over the information and couldn't help feeling shocked. It was hard to imagine this reality. Why did this strange disaster suddenly occur? This was too terrifying! If it had appeared in Central State, it was unknown how much their lives would have changed.
The world was not as peaceful as they imagined!
Chu Tian knit his brows and pondered something, "Is there a detailed description of the Demon Stone?"
The Divine Wind Marquis walked in and revealed a faint smile to Chu Tian, "There were people who saw the Demon Stone from afar. It looked like a meteorite falling from the sky, but it was covered in green flames. It landed right on the city, causing severe damage to it. Because its destructive might was too great, it was hard to find any survivors close to where it landed."
A meteorite covered in green flames!
Just so happened to fall in the center of a city?
Chu Tian's brows slightly knit together. When the Divine Wind Marquis saw Chu Tian reveal this expression, his heart couldn't help skipping a beat. Did Chu Tian know something about this? Chu Tian's knowledge was admired by his daughter, which meant that his cognitive power was quite powerful. If they could find out the true identity of the Demon Stone, they wouldn't be as blind.
"The biggest headache right now for the Calm Martial Ruler is that he doesn't know what this thing is. Whether it is a natural disaster, or a man-made disaster, or whatever it is. As well as what kind of consequences it will bring….."
Chu Tian nodded, "After the Demon Stone fell down, what kind of disaster appeared in the surrounding area?"
"There were people who saw monsters of green flame that had shocking battle strength, who continued to attack the surrounding cities." The Divine Wind Marquis paused here, "That's right, it's said that after the civilians died, they also came back to life. Their bodies were completely burned and their eyes released green flames, attacking anyone close by...Based on this information, do you have any speculations?"
"No need for speculations!" Chu Tian directly replied, "This is an Abyss Demon!"
Everyone was stunned.
Abyss Demon? This name was very strange!
"The current world we live in is a plane formed after the great antique continent cracked. The cracks formed many different planes, with a certain plane that is filled with cold and darkness." Chu Tian paused here, "This endlessly empty world is called the Abyss World!"
Nangong Yun and Feng Caidie revealed looks of excitement.
They had never heard of something like this before!
The Divine Wind Marquis was also very curious, "What kind of thing is this Abyss Demon?"
Chu Tian replied, "The Abyss seems to be empty, but there are countless lifeforms within it. These lifeforms are very ancient, with some appearing even before the great antique continent cracked. However, the Abyss is very barren and there is a lack of resources. There are lifeforms that formed in this barren and desolate environment, so they must be very powerful and incredibly cruel. Killing and plundering is in their nature, seeping into their bones after millions of years. So, we call them Demons!"
It wasn't that the Divine Wind Marquis did not believe Chu Tian. Concerning the other planes theory, there was no proof, not to mention any traces of this so called Abyss World, "How are you certain it is an Abyss Demon?"
"First, before the meteorite fell down from the sky, a strange phenomenon appeared in Thunder State which was the planar crack. Second, the land with human activity covers less than a hundred millionth of the world, yet it feel right in the center of a city. Don't you think that this is too much of a coincidence?"
Nangong Yun rubbed her chin, "It is too much of a coincidence!"
"Third, after the Demon Stone fell down, it corrupted a large piece of land, creating many demonic beasts, and even controlled the dead humans. This is something done with demonic power. These controlled evil beings began to attack the surrounding cities, meaning that there was a force controlling it."
The Divine Wind Marquis' heart was shocked.
He had thought that it was just a natural disaster.
He never thought that it would be a lifeform he had never heard of before.
Chu Tian's confirmatory words had great significance!
Chu Tian said this and then asked, "What does the Calm Martial Ruler plan to do?"
"Three states will attack from three directions, first focusing on retaking the captured cities. Then we'll use those cities as bases to accept refugees, while sweeping away the surrounding monsters. Once the outer regions are controlled and the spread is stopped, we will attack the core city and destroy the being inside the city."
"This plan seems like it's safe, but it is a big mistake!"
Everyone's expression fell. The Calm Martial Ruler was the war god of Southern Summer Country, but Chu Tian was actually going against the Calm Martial Ruler's plan. If this were spread out, Chu Tian would not be able to keep his head!
"The Abyss Demon has just passed through the dimensional crack, so its vitality must be damaged, reducing its strength by quite a bit. It will need to recover its strength for a period of time. It needs to swallow a large amount of blood energy and vitality to recover its strength and that's why it fell onto a densely populated area. The evil spirits sent out are just to collect more spirits and blood energy to help it recover, while also stalling for time."
"Your meaning is...."
"For an Abyss Demon that has just crossed dimensions, action must be quickly taken! This cannot be delayed!" Chu Tian stopped and then said with more emphasis, "If we wait another half a month, even if the Calm Martial Ruler personally comes out, we will not be able to stop it!"
The Divine Wind Marquis said, "There are too many monsters, so if we attack head on, we will suffer quite a bit of casualty. Moreover, once the army charges in, if the surrounding monsters come back, wouldn't they be trapped inside?"
"There's no other choice, we have to stake everything on a single chance. We have to kill the demon and solve the big problem because once we take care of the Abyss Demon, the pawns can be easily defeated!" Chu Tian directly stated, "If the Calm Martial Ruler does not follow my suggestion, it would be better for me to stay in Central State. I don't want to die with you guys!"
Nangong Yun also said, "If boss doesn't go, then I won't go!"
She was 100% confident in Chu Tian. If Chu Tian said that this was seeking death, there would be no life to bring back!
The Divine Wind Marquis pondered for a few seconds, "I'll go report to the Calm Martial Ruler."
......
After several hours.
In Southern Summer's Imperial City.
In a tightly guarded manor.
A person wearing a blood red set of armour charged into the main hall, respectfully kneeling by the door, "Reporting to the Calm Martial Ruler, the Divine Wind Marquis has sent an urgent message with the thousand li stone!"
The thousand li stone was a very expensive thing!
Each county only had one-two of them. The Southern Summer Country was a small country that only covered several tens of thousand so kilometers with a population of only two hundred million. Communication was inconvenient and crude. If something happened in a county, it would be too late once it was reported back to the Imperial City.
This thousand li stone was used to send the most urgent military reports, like a foreign invasion or the Thunder State matter. It would allow the Imperial City to find out as soon as possible.
For Central State to use a thousand li stone meant that this matter was incredibly important.
The Calm Martial Ruler received the report from the Divine Wind Marquis. After reading its contents, his brows tightly knit together and he hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Chu Tian?"
This common name, it was the first time it entered the Calm Martial Ruler's ears.
"The Divine Wind Marquis is a prudent person, to put so much faith in a young man, this person must not be ordinary." However, the Calm Martial Ruler still felt that this strategy was too crazy. Without knowing the enemy and charging in, this would present many dangers, "Call the great scholar over!"
Around ten minutes.
A white haired, young looking old man came into the main hall.
The Calm Martial Ruler explained the situation to him, "What does the great scholar think about this?"
Gu Qianqiu, the number one scholar of the Southern Summer Country, hesitated for a minute, "I don't know who mentioned this, but they have quite the insight. Other planes do exist, and so does the Abyss, but as for this Abyss Demon…..this old man is not sure. This old man is certain that when facing strange things, it is better to believe!"
If the great scholar said this, the Calm Martial Ruler would no longer hesitate, "There's a change in strategy! Send out a special envoy! Have them bring the ruler's token to Thunder State!"
Several blood coloured armoured guards quickly rushed out.
The Calm Martial Monarch looked at the paper once again, "A young man who can solve the eternally lost problem? I hope you're right and won't disappoint me!"
Chapter 207: The cursed lake
The next morning in Miracle Commerce Headquarters.
Chu Tian gave several things to Meng Qingwu last night. These were all things related to Miracle Commerce, like the core mechanisms of the electromagnetic communication device.
The Yun Sect's research could not stop.
With Chu Tian not in Central State, Meng Qingwu would take responsibility for it!
The New Yun Sect had over a hundred elite scholars mainly responsible for finding flaws, fixing defects, and running tests to obtain data. They would use this data to improve their research and make it applicable.
Meng Qingwu had the Heavenly Book Source Spirit, which increased her intellect, shortening the time needed. Just by learning from the memories within her Heavenly Book Source Spirit, she had already surpassed normal scholars.
He would let her be in charge with Yun Tianhe acting as support.
This arrangement made Chu Tian feel assured.
Meng Qingwu had a depressed look on her face, "So you still decided to participate in the end?"
"This is not related to the Calm Martial Ruler's orders at all." Chu Tian had a very mysterious smile, "I am actually very interested in the mission, or rather very interested in the Abyss Demon that fell over Thunder State. Perhaps it has what I need on its body!"
"You don't even know how strong it is and you dare risk your life this easily?"
"Relax, I have a secret weapon on me."
The diluted Spiritual God blood that Chu Tian had was not only good at dealing with curses, but it was also very useful against demons. An Abyss Demon that had just arrived for a few days wouldn't be that strong.
This was not her first day knowing Chu Tian, so she knew this person kept his promises. Since he said he was going, she could not stop him at all.
Meng Qingwu was a smart girl. Since she couldn't stop him, she would support him, "What do you need? I'll help you prepare it!"
"I need a high class beast pelt and a silver forged pole….."
Chu Tian listed a large amount of materials.
Meng Qingwu could tell that these things were used for an array. With Miracle Commerce's current strength, it was not hard to prepare these, so she called someone to prepare them without saying anything else.
"Chu Tian! Chu Tian!" Meng Yingying anxiously ran inside, "I saw the announcement. Are you really going to Thunder State?"
Chu Tian nodded, "I'm leaving tonight!"
Meng Yingying quickly shouted, "Take me with you!"
"Yingying!" Meng Qingwu's beautiful eyes stared at her and she severely reprimanded her, "You're not allowed to create more chaos!"
"I'm not creating more chaos!" Meng Yingying grabbed Chu Tian's arm and forcefully swung it, "I want to go and take a look with you. I've never been to anywhere further than the Main City. Thunder State, that is a place that's ten thousand miles away. Isn't it alright for me to go for experience?"
"No!" Meng Qingwu was normally gentle, but once she became serious, she was very strong and decisive, "Chu Tian is going for an important mission and not going there to play. Do you plan on distracting Chu Tian?"
"I…..I also have a mission!" Meng Yingying did not dare look at her elder sister. She hid behind Chu Tian and revealed a rebellious look, "We are cooperating with the great general to produce food cans, so our production has increased. Sooner or later, we will have to sell outside of Central State. The military is focused on Thunder State right now, it is a good opportunity to open the market! Don't you think so? Chu Tian!"
The little girl forcefully winked at Chu Tian.
No matter what her little sister said, Meng Qingwu would definitely not agree.
After all, her little sister was the most important family member for Meng Qingwu. She would not allow her little sister encounter any danger.
"Think about it young miss. Yingying is already in the 3rd Awakened Soul Layer and has reached the Diamond Body Realm with the Starlight Immortal Body. No one will be able to hurt her with this defensive power." Chu Tian was helping Meng Yingying, "Yingying wants experience, so let her come. I will call Lin Mu and Fang Han to protect her. She will not enter the disaster zone and will just provide support, so there won't be a problem."
Meng Yingying had the Starlight Immortal Body. Even if her battle strength was not high, her defense was indeed very strong!
Even a normal 4th Awakened Soul Layer Cultivator would not be able to hurt her. Making her do support work placed her in no danger at all.
Meng Qingwu knit her brows, still feeling a little bit hesitant, "This..."
Chu Tian said, "Yingying cannot live in a safe environment forever, and letting her see the disaster zone is a good thing. With me there, it'll be fine!"
Meng Qingwu clenched her teeth and stared at her little sister as she said, "You have to listen to Chu Tian's words!"
"Yeah! Long live Chu Tian! Solving it this easily!" Meng Yingying happily rushed out the door, "I have to make some preparations!"
Meng Qingwu felt a headache come on.
"Think of it all as an exercise." Chu Tian did not feel like anything was improper, "We would have left Central State sooner or later, even leaving the Southern Summer Country. There will be many unknown dangers in the future and many things we have to face."
Meng Qingwu could say nothing.
Yingying was leading mercenaries to provide support, this really would not be dangerous.
Just like Meng Yingying said, this disaster really was a business opportunity. It would allow them to enter the other three counties and would expand the influence of their company, allowing them to open market routes outside of Central State.
"I'll leave the eighteen Yin Corpses to protect you." Chu Tian did not allow the young miss to reject by saying, "Chen Bingyu is enough to protect me."
The young miss had already learned how to use the Yin Corpses to create an array.
These eighteen divine blood refined Yin Corpses were amazing. If they coordinated using the array Chu Tian invented, they could surpass an expert of the 5th Awakened Soul Layer, even being able to stall someone at the 6th Awakened Soul Layer.
The young miss had the Starlight Immortal Body and these eighteen divine blood refined Yin Corpses, so there was no need to worry about her safety.
This mission was very urgent, but if they followed Chu Tian's plan, it wouldn't take too long. It would just take seven-eight days to complete and the three great clans will not have enough courage to act in this time! Even if they did take action, there were Yun Tianhe and Xiong Wuji still in Central State, so they could stall for a few days.
Chu Tian found Chen Bingyu in the practice room.
Chen Bingyu had followed Chu Tian for a while now and her cultivation techniques flaw had been solved, even increasing its level by a step. She could finally feel movement from her bottleneck and she would breakthrough soon.
Chen Bingyu was already at the peak of the 8th Awakened Soul Layer!
Her strength could be imagined!
Chu Tian did not say anything.
Chen Bingyu had taken the initiative to offer her protection, which surprised Chu Tian. It seemed like this beautiful girl was dead set on him!
On the other hand, with a super powerful bodyguard by his side, even if he encountered the worst scenario, he would be able to run away without a problem.
...…
On the same day.
At dusk.
Everyone gathered at Central State City's dock.
Meng Qingwu had sent over all the materials Chu Tian wanted. Chu Tian could use the several days long boat trip to prepare them.
Meng Yingying had the Underworld Mercenary Group send over a hundred boxes of canned food to signify Miracle Commerce's support for this mission.
All the soldiers cheered.
How precious was canned food from Miracle Commerce?
It had all been snatched in Central State and was hard to find! The underground market was selling out even with four-five times the normal price, normal people did not have a chance to taste this stuff!
Meng Yingying's one hundred boxes raised morale because everyone was happy about having good things to eat!
In this kind of disaster relief mission, speed was of the utmost importance. Even the ruler's orders said that they had to be quick and could not dawdle. The rescue army was as small as possible. The Divine Wind Marquis picked one thousand and five hundred cavalry members, and only brought rations needed for the journey, getting rid of all their supplies to rush to Thunder State as quickly as possible.
The vanguard army would follow Chu Tian's suggestion. They would ignore the captured cities and charge right to the center of the disaster zone. Thunder State would provide a normal army to bring supplies and guard the rear.
If the vanguard army encountered anything in the disaster zone, they would have support and could easily retreat if need be!
"The ship is here!"
Five giant warships slowly approached the shore.
This was Chu Tian's first time seeing the warships from close range.
The ship was very ancient, actually using wood as its base. However, the ship had various arrays engraved on it to reduce its weight, increase its speed, and strengthen its hull.
The model of the five ships were alright. The size of the main ship was a little bigger, being fifty meters long, twelve meters wide, and having a mast of thirty meters tall. It seemed to weigh around six-seven hundred tons judging with one's eyes. There were fourteen different cabins inside the ship divided into two levels. The nine lower deck spaces were used to store the mounts of the cavalry and the five cabins up top were ordinary cabins.
Even this slightly bigger flagship could only hold four hundred people, including their mounts. This was the limit.
Nangong Yun asked in a curious voice, "Do we have to take a boat to Thunder State?"
"We have to go by ship!" Yun Yao explained, "Thunder State is to the northeast of Central State and there is a primitive mountain range to the east of Central State that has a giant lake to the north of it. We cannot pass through the Demon Beast Range to the east because there are more Demon Beasts there than people in Central State, and the area is very precocious. In comparison, it is more convenient to go on the water route!"
"These are the fastest ships in Central State!" This was Feng Caidie's first time going out, so she was clearly very excited, "The hull is built with strong and firm lumber that are engraved with "Falling Feather Arrays", significantly reducing its weight. The sails are engraved with "Wind Gathering Arrays" so even with calm weather, there will be wind blowing us forward. The speed moving forward is sixty kilometers per hour and the maximum speed is eighty kilometers per hour!"
When Meng Yingying heard this, she immediately began to calculate with her fingers, "Like this, if we move smoothly, won't we be able to reach Thunder State in two days? Wa! It's so fast!"
This was the most advanced warship?
Chu Tian gave a helpless sigh!
The Divine Wind Marquis even found a guide. This guide was an old sailor, sailing the Four State Lake for over twenty years now, so they were very clear about the layout of the Four State Lake.
"Prepare to leave!"
Chu Tian's group boarded the main ship.
Meng Yingying's little face turned red with excitement. Standing on the deck, she raised her hands and loudly shouted to land, "Elder sister, you can be assured! Yingying will come back safely! Yingying will develop the canned food business in the other states! You can be assured in buying ships to ship the canned food with!"
Meng Qingwu watched her little sister disappearing into the distance and a helpless smile appeared on her face.
This little girl was getting harder to control!
The Four State Lake was the largest lake in the Southern Summer Country!
Because it flowed into four states, that's how it obtained its name. The lake was very calm, with nothing happening for a thousand miles, so they took advantage of the situation. After the five warships left Central State, they continued forward for around seven to eight hours.
Meng Yingying and Nangong Yun were shouting on the deck.
When night fell, those two ran out of energy and went back into the cabin to eat canned food with everyone else. The two of them had not seen Chu Tian today. They asked Yun Yao and found that Chu Tian had locked himself up, secretly preparing something.
This fellow was very mysterious, the two of them were already used to it.
At this moment, an old man with a flustered expression came in, "Marquis! Marquis! I have something important to report!"
"What is so important?" The Divine Wind Marquis was a little surprised to see this old person.
This person was the guide that they found, the experienced old sailor.
"We can't keep going forward!" The old man said with a voice full of fear, "If we continue forward, we'll enter an area of death! It is the graveyard of ships, the place of lake gods. It is the most forbidden area of the Four State Lakes!"
The Divine Wind Marquis asked the captain, "How long would a detour take?"
"It would add around a day to our journey!"
The Divine Wind Marquis frowned, "Have you heard of this forbidden area before?"
"This…..I have heard rumours!" The captain gave a slight nod, "It is the forbidden area of the lake. It is a place with no wind, so normal ships cannot move through and that is why it is known as the graveyard of ships."
This was a problem to a normal ship.
These five warships were very advanced, what did it matter if there was no wind?
The old sailor kneeled on the ground, "Marquis, you really cannot enter! There has never been a person who came out after going in! It is the territory of the lake gods! If we intrude on the lake gods' territory, the lake gods will punish us!"
The Divine Wind Marquis asked, "What are the lake gods?"
The captain disdainfully said, "The merchants and ordinary warships bypass this area because this place has no wind, so it is a very dangerous location. The pirates are very fierce and Southern Summer has sent soldiers to capture them, but they gave up in the end…..As for lake gods? I see it as nothing but pure nonsense!"
The Four State Lake was very wide, spreading out like an ocean, so it was not strange to find pirates on these waters.
They only had strength equal to normal people.
Would the Divine Wind Marquis have to fear them?
"We don't have time to take a detour!" The Divine Wind Marquis ordered, "We won't change routes! Go straight forward and charge through!"
The old guide fell onto his butt, "It's over! It's over!"
His face paled with fright and his pants became wet.
Chapter 208: Mysterious pirates
As the dawn approached, the light blue sky still had a few stars left in it. There was a layer of fog on the lake, that looked like a fine layer of silver gauze over the water. The rosy red clouds filled the horizon, making it looked like it was soaked in blood, dying it a light red colour.
The five warships advanced at a steady pace.
After around half an hour, the five warships entered into the special area where there really was no wind at all. If the warships were not advanced and had prepared Wind Gathering Sails, then it would not be able to move at all.
Meng Yingying had a can of heated food in her hand as she gave a yawn while walking up to the deck. Taking a deep, cold breath, when they passed by the light fog, she could see the outlines of a few islands in front of them.
"Wa!"
"So many ships!"
Meng Yingying let out a surprised cry.
There were many ancient ships stopped on the tranquil lake. There were merchant ships, civilian ships, and military ships of all sizes and different shapes. There were some ships that were quite old, with even the wood and iron on the ships rotting away. It was estimated that they had been there over a hundred years.
Where did these ships come from?
They might have come from being blown here by storms, people wandering in, or they could have be forcefully dragged here.
These normal large ships entering this area with no wind could not leave, rotting away in these waters.
But there were too many of them here. Just from a simple glance, she could make out over a hundred ships. Just how many ships were in this area?
The sound of a horn came from in front of her.
Meng Yingying rubbed her eyes and stared hard into the fog in front of her. When her eyes passed through the fog, she saw seven-eight large black battleships that were neatly organized in a row, creating a blockade as they slowly approached the warships.
These black shapes seemed to be specially made, so they could move in places without any wind just like the warships.
Dang!
The alarms of the warships were sounded!
"There is something happening!"
The soldiers ran out of the cabins and they pulled out the crossbow carts. With the ballistas prepared, they were ready to fight. As this was the most advanced warship of the Southern Summer Country, so it's on board equipment was not lacking.
In addition to the armoured crossbow carts, there were also slots for shooting on the sides of the ship. Each ship had over sixty heavy crossbows, with each of them using arrows that were two meters long. They used high energy crystal stones to shoot, so they had a range of two thousand meters.
This kind of arrows were expensive to make because they did not depend on penetrating might to kill enemies, but rather the explosions from the crystal stones themselves.
For these ordinary medium sized ships, twelve arrows were enough to sink them!
"Ha, ha, ha, ha...So bold!"
"It has been many year since anyone dared to charge into the lake gods' territory!"
"Since you've dared to come in, then have a taste of Giant Shark Gang's might!"
Chu tian felt they strange circumstances, so he came out onto the deck to take a look.
Nangong Yun and Meng Yingying were pleasantly surprised, "Chu Tian, you came right on time! We've encountered pirates!"
"Pirates?" Chu Tian looked at the ten black ships in front of them, "This scale is quite big, there are two-three thousand pirates here alone!"
"This marquis never thought it would be like this." A terrifying spirit energy gathered around the Divine Wind Marquis as he calmly said, "I never thought there would be this kind of terrifying power in my Southern Summer Country!"
The Divine Wind Marquis' voice was not loud, but it reached the enemy's ears.
This Giant Shark Gang had sent ten battleships out. Although the ships weren't big, the deck was filled with people, having a total of around two-three thousand people!
These people were wearing barbaric and crude looking clothes which made them look like unprincipled savages.
"Go!"
"Their ship is pretty good!"
"We'll treat them as an offering to the lake gods!"
"Everyone go, don't break their ships!"
The pirate's ships gave a loud battle horn. Several hundred pirates carrying weapons and hooks jumped into the lake.
Everyone was shocked.
Why did they jump into the water?
Every one of them was wearing heavy armour and equipment!
A stunning scene appeared in front of them. The pirates did not sink into the water, but rather their feet landed right on the water. A surging wave suddenly appeared on the calm lake and they rode the wave, quickly encircling the warships.
"This is a little interesting. They've cultivated quite a strange cultivation technique!"
Chu Tian knew that the pirates being able to ride the water like this meant they had a special cultivation technique. This Giant Shark Gang seemed to have quite an uncommon inheritance.
"Kill!"
The pirates surfed over the waves in an aggressive manner, their hooks prepared to be thrown onto the side of the ships. In the end, the pirates did not even have time to come close before the five warships launched a wave of arrows!
"Ah!"
"I've been hit by an arrow!"
"Come shield me!"
What the pirates met were the most elite troop of Central State City. Could their motley crew plunder this kind of target? They were instantly shot down!
"Damn!"
"For the lake gods!"
"For the Giant Shark Gang!"
The pirates gave a loud roar and many people released their source spirits. All of them had the same giant shark source spirit. Their speed increased several times as they deflected the arrows and charged forward.
Yi?
These pirates did not have weak cultivations!
Because only peak 9th Layer Body Refinement could summon source spirits!
These pirates had 60-70% of a normal Awakened Soul Cultivator's might, with one in ten being an expert of the peak 9th Body Refinement Layer!
At this moment!
A vast as the sea amout of spirit energy erupted.
The Divine Wind Marquis jumped into the air from the deck. With a few leaps, he instantly charged out several thousand meters, creating a sound that was like the air being ripped apart. Where the Divine Wind Marquis flew, the mirror like lake was quickly split in half. The pirates lost their balance and fell into the water.
The Divine Wind Marquis' hands went in the air and a giant blue wind blade appeared in his hands!
Just like a dart, it slashed everything in its way!
Pa, pa, pa, pa!
With ten clear slashing sounds!
The pirate ships masts were all neatly cut in half!
At this moment, the Divine Wind Marquis' power poured out, surrounding the entire lake like blue dragons, blocking off every escape route. Thirty-forty meter wide and one hundred meters tall tornadoes formed in an instant.
The masts fell onto the deck, smashing the pirates standing there.
Without any time to respond, the pirate ships were tipped over by the strong winds.
"This is bad!
"Retreat! Retreat!"
The Divine Wind Marquis was too fast. First he sliced off the masts of the ten ships and then generated these destructive giant tornadoes.
"No!"
"The storm is coming!"
"Quickly! Jump into the water!"
The tornado slammed into the first ship and the terrifying force overturned it. It went to the second ship and overturned it without any hesitation. The third ship, fourth ship...tenth ship!
A total of ten ships were overturned in a matter of seconds. Countless people gave pitiful cries as they flew into the sky and fell down into the water like rain.
The calm lake was disrupted by a strong wave, this was a chaotic scene!
Meng Yingying was shocked, "These ships must weigh several tons, but they were all overturned by the marquis in an instant! What kind of power is this!"
Even the soldiers were all shocked!
Even if it was a strong Illustrious Soul expert, they would only be able to create a hole with their full strength attack. With the Divine Wind Marquis' strength, he overturned ten ships all weighing several tons!
What kind of strength was this?
He really was the strongest person in Central State!
The violent storm wreaked havoc. Even though they were far away, Chu Tian's group could still feel the waves generated on the water. Finally, wherever the blue tornadoes went, the ships were all shattered to pieces, as the pirates fled in all directions.
Meng Yingying said, "These fellows look like they're about to drown!"
Chu Tian gave a slight nod, but he did not say anything. He suddenly found something strange. Even though the ships had been shattered to pieces, there were countless pieces of wood floating on the surface of the water. Normally for people falling in water, they would try to find something that was floating, especially in this kind of situation.
Chu Tian was very shocked.
The pirates did not grab the wood fragments, but rather they all dived into the ocean. The people on the ships also threw away their weapons before diving in the ocean, disappearing into the depths of the water.
Several thousand people!
They all disappeared into the water!
The blood of the injured pirates appeared in the water. It was actually purple in colour, completely different from normal people.
The Divine Wind Marquis also saw this strange scene and stopped his violent storm. Before he had time to look over this phenomenon, a terrifying loud roar came from in front of him!
"What expert is intruding on my Giant Shark Gang's territory!"
"Are you not afraid of angering the lake gods?!"
A loud voice rang out with a clear and strong sound, overshadowing the sound of the waves.
Chen Bingyu was not interested at all, but she opened her eyes in this moment and a confused look flashed in her eyes, "These pirates actually have a True Soul expert!"
Impossible!
Everyone was shocked!
There were only a few True Soul experts in Central State!
If it really was a True Soul expert, why was he willing to become a pirate? No matter where he went in the Southern Summer Country, he would be someone respected by ten thousand people!
A robust man came on the waves, wielding a trident on his back. His hair was very wild and he had a beard covering his entire face. His chest was wide open, revealing his water blue skin. He looked just like a barbarian!
"Fifth master!"
"Fifth master is here to save us!"
When the True Soul Realm robust man appeared, the pirates that disappeared into the water popped out one after the other. These fellows did not drown to death, but rather they were hiding underwater.
Nangong Yun had a face filled with shock, "I thought they had all died, but it seems like they're still alive. However, how could they last so long without taking a breath?"
Feng Caidie revealed a frown, "Could the Giant Shark Gang have all practiced a turtle resting cultivation technique? That way they wouldn't have to take a breath for a long time!"
"It's not a cultivation technique, it's something to do with their bodies." Chu Tian finally obtained some clues and his lips curled into a faint smile, "No wonder they were able to rampage in the Four States Lake for so long without being exterminated! It looks like things are getting interesting. Nangong, help me prepare some things, I need to confirm something. If my guesses are correct, then these fellows have a large value."