Chang County, Demon Refining Hall Reception Room.
Palace Lord Yun Guantian and Vice Hall Master Zhang Xiu were both present.
In front of them, Zhou Yunyi was calmly waiting, looking completely composed.
Soon, Yun Guantian's disciple, Yu Daoquan, returned with several people, his expression uncomfortably mixed with a touch of repressed anger, "Master, we inspected Fang Cai's body. The wounds on Lie Hun are exactly the same as his."
"Actually, if you do not trust me, you can also inquire at Yellow Sky Sect. Two elders from Yellow Sky Sect were killed with the same swordsmanship as well."
Zhou Yunyi casually tasted his tea as he spoke indifferently.
"Gu Jinlai!"
Yun Guantian's eyes were cold, "What audacity!"
"In fact, there are only a few dozen Hugging Pill experts in Changjun City, and only Hugging Pill cultivators with strength beyond ordinary ones. Besides Gu Jinlai, who had fallen from the Refining God Realm, who else could it be?"
Zhou Yunyi said.
"An ungrateful wolf raised amongst us, when he first joined our Demon Refining Hall, I kindly welcomed him, and this is how he repays our kindness?"
Zhang Xiu slammed his hand hard on the tea table.
"Gu Jinlai has been ungrateful more than once or twice. Hasn't he even betrayed the Purgatory Sect that painstakingly raised him to the status of a Refining God Immortal?"
Yun Guantian said.
The accusation of betrayal was still in the reporting stage, and what decision would be made depended on the Sect Master's opinion.
After all, the matter concerned an elder, Lin Xiao had no authority to convict an elder directly.
Therefore, Zhou Yunyi did not want to get involved in this matter. His purpose here was very simple.
"I have provided the information about the murderer. Regarding the reward mentioned by Palace Lord Yun..."
"Here are thirty Qi Refining Pills."
Yun Guantian was not stingy, he brought out a treasure box containing thirty elixirs.
Qi Refining Pills were an essential currency in the Cultivation World, useful for refining Qi and nourishing the mind.
The Alchemy Association's standard price was ten thousand taels per pill, but due to high demand, the price was often slightly higher.
"Palace Lord Yun is generous."
Zhou Yunyi smiled as he took the box.
At the same time, he felt a sense of awe. The Demon Refining Hall, possessing the Heaven and Earth Qiankun Map as a resource channel, was far richer than one could imagine.
As a fellow Refining God, his wealth as a Demon Sect Elder might not be even one-tenth of Yun Guantian's.
After taking the Qi Refining Pills, he felt pleased and added, "Gu Jinlai refused the sect's order to take up his post in Huayin County. Such behavior is quite serious and can indeed be considered as a betrayal of the sect. If he can find the right connections, it's possible to downplay the severity. If he can't find connections... even if he encounters misfortune, the sect will not inquire further and will treat it as a traitor's affair."
"I understand."
Yun Guantian nodded slightly.
This meant they need not worry about Gu Jinlai's status as an elder of the Purgatory Demon Sect any longer.
"I take my leave."
Zhou Yunyi bowed and left.
Only after Zhou Yunyi had left did Yun Guantian take up his tea, squinting his eyes, contemplating silently.
Seeing this, Zhang Xiu felt compelled to ask, "Palace Lord, about that Gu Jinlai..."
Yun Guantian took a sip and said, "Daring to take my Yun Guantian's belongings, he doesn't know whether he's alive or dead."
He glanced at Yu Daoquan and stated calmly, "What are you standing around for? Have Golden Seal lead his team over there. Three days, I want to see Gu Jinlai, this old dog, kneeling before me."
Despite his casual tone, Yu Daoquan understood that his master was truly angry.
With his master's exalted status, once truly enraged, it was thunderous fury, burning everything to ashes. Gu Jinlai had fallen from the Refining God status, and even if he was still in the God Realm, he would only face a dead end.
Yu Daoquan felt a chill in his heart and hastily responded, "Yes."
...
Ten days passed quickly.
It must be said that the Jiang Family's channels were highly secretive. Gu Jinlai had been in Starlight City for half a month, having managed a brief period of calm.
At the moment, slightly altering his appearance to look a bit younger, Gu Jinlai was sitting in a high-class Qinglou.
Gu Chaoyang and Su Nanxing, clad in top-grade Treasure Armor, guarded his sides.
This Qinglou, named Shuiyun Jian, consisted of three floors and six courtyards.
Due to the presence of cultivators in this world, resources were abundant. The floors of Qinglou were made of green jade, and the walls were of white jade. Everywhere one looked, there were glints of pearl and jade, along with fluttering silks and thin muslins.
Embellished with a group of well-trained and attractive young ladies, just the entrance fee for this building was ten taels.
And this was already three to four months of income for the average person.
Gu Jinlai's visit to Shuiyun Jian wasn't to experience ancient customs; he was waiting for someone.
He had intended to sell the carbon steel Treasure Armor, naturally needing to choose a suitable buyer.
Compared to Changjun City, Starlight City generally maintained order, but the intricate power struggles were still prevalent.
The powers could generally be divided into the Four Great Families, the Dragon Sparrow Manor's station, Xuanwu Sect, and Heavenly Grass Pavilion.
Of course, there was also the State Governor's Mansion and the Demon Refining Hall.
The seven powers could be divided into two major camps.
The State Governor's Mansion, Demon Refining Hall, and the Four Great Families on one side, the three sects on the other.
The State Governor's Mansion had long been intending to annex Xuanwu Sect and Heavenly Grass Pavilion, forcing these two to invite Dragon Sparrow Manor from the Six Great Immortal Sects into the game.
However, Heavenly Grass Pavilion and Xuanwu Sect worried about the difficulty of dismissing the helped sect post-assistance, and were not inseparably united with Dragon Sparrow Manor.
Additionally, given the State Governor's Mansion's ambitious nature, the Four Great Families were also unwilling to be subordinate, wary of being swallowed by the State Governor's Mansion at an opportune moment, and thus they also had ambiguous relations with Heavenly Grass Pavilion and Xuanwu Sect.
All four families had disciples who had joined the two sects.
Secretly, the Cold Moon Demon Sect, Netherworld Demon Sect, Purgatory Demon Sect, and the nearby Yellow Sky Dao Sect were continually active. Even though critical measures were taken in unison to suppress their movements, their profound roots and resources meant they were never truly eradicated.
At that moment, a commotion arose from below.
A middle-aged man appeared, flanked by several followers, as he entered Shuiyun Jian, drawing countless admiring young ladies around him.
"Master, that is Bai Yang, the Vice Pavilion Master of Heavenly Grass Pavilion."
Next to Gu Jinlai, Gu Chaoyang whispered, "He spends half of each month here in Shuiyun Jian."
"Half of each month? The expenses for staying here for a month must be over ten thousand taels of silver."
Watching Zhu Chi engulfed in a sea of flowers, Gu Jinlai, filled with righteous indignation, said, "These wealthy landlords of medicine and alchemy really have money. We must sell at a higher price later."
Yes.
Heavenly Grass Pavilion was chosen by Gu Jinlai as the buyer for the Treasure Armor.
"Master is right; by doing so, you could also stay every day at Shuiyun Jian like him."
Su Nanxing nodded in agreement.
"You, with your thick brows and big eyes, why are you always thinking about these things?"
Gu Jinlai glared at Su Nanxing.
"Shall we... go to Ru Yu Square like you mentioned last time?"
Su Nanxing ventured cautiously.
Instantly, Gu Chaoyang's gaze fell on Gu Jinlai.
"What's this about Ru Yu Square not being interesting? I'm not interested in Ru Yu Square."
Gu Jinlai quickly waved his hands, adding swiftly, "All right, let's go meet this Vice Pavilion Master of Heavenly Grass Pavilion."
The trio headed towards the room where Bai Yang was located.
At the entrance, a disciple who was about to stop them was preempted by Gu Jinlai, "Jiang Donglai seeks an audience with Pavilion Master Bai."
"Jiang?"
The disciple glanced at Gu Jinlai.
Then looked at Su Nanxing, clad in exquisite Treasure Armor like a guard, and thought, "Jiang Family?"
Gu Jinlai smiled slightly.
"Please wait a moment."
The disciple spoke, then pushed the door open and entered.
In a short while, he returned and gestured hospitably, "The Pavilion Master invites you in."
Immediately, the group entered the room.
This room, used for leisure, was hundreds of square meters in size. At the moment, three beautifully dressed young women were dancing gracefully. On a throne embellished with carved dragons and phoenixes, Bai Yang was holding a woman and conversing with two men who appeared to be under thirty, in a harmonious atmosphere.
These two men were elders of Heavenly Grass Pavilion, whom Bai Yang often recruited— not necessarily as subordinates but as dependable allies who could lend their strength in times of need.
"Please, take a seat."
Bai Yang, unaware of the background of Gu Jinlai and his group, was comparatively polite, "Members of the Jiang family? It seems that your esteemed clan lacks prominent youngsters like yourselves."
"I'm merely a peripheral figure of the Jiang Family. However, that's not important. The important thing is the purpose of my visit."
Gu Jinlai then said, "I wonder if you might be interested in a metal type Armor whose defensive power rivals that of top-grade Treasure Armor?"
"Comparable to top-grade Treasure Armor!?"
Bai Yang was startled, his expression turning slightly more serious, "How many do you have?"
"Three or four sets a month."
"Are you a Heavenly Master?"
Bai Yang quickly realized.
Only a Heavenly Master could continuously supply such goods.
Gu Jinlai nodded slightly.
"So it's a Heavenly Master in person, my apologies for the oversight," Bai Yang straightened up in his seat.
Although a Heavenly Master wasn't as revered as those in the Refining God Realm, they were indeed a notch above the Hugging Pill Elders.
Although he was the Vice Pavilion Master of Heavenly Grass Pavilion, compared to a Heavenly Master, it only made them equals.
The two Hugging Pill Elders by his side no longer acted as casually as before.
"A member of the Jiang Family, or a Heavenly Master?"
While Bai Yang speculated about Gu Jinlai's identity, he began discussing the matter of the Treasure Armor.
During this, Gu Jinlai specifically had Su Nanxing, who was wearing the Treasure Armor, demonstrate its capabilities to them.
With a weight of eighty catties and defensive power comparable to top-grade Treasure Armor, Bai Yang was very pleased with the quality.
Forces like Heavenly Grass Pavilion, Guiyuan Sect, Zhengyi Dao, and even including Purgatory Sect and Yellow Sky Dao, their greatest fear was a large army surrounding their mountains.
Thus, training a specialized unit for breaking enemy formations was always a priority for these sects.
Under the State Governor's Mansion's covetous gaze aiming to swallow up the Heavenly Grass Pavilion, Gu Jinlai's War Armor arrived just in time.
After some negotiations, they quickly agreed on a tentative price of sixty-eight thousand taels per set.
Having established a basis for cooperation, the experienced employer, Bai Yang, then took Gu Jinlai for a good time around Shuiyun Jian, parting only at midnight.
The next day, Bai Yang returned to Heavenly Grass Pavilion. After discussing with the sect's higher echelons, he went to the address Gu Jinlai had left and ordered ten sets of Treasure Armor, to be delivered in three months.
From then on, Gu Jinlai, the Artifact Refining Master, was on track.