Chapter 99: The Most Powerful Weapon of the Commerce
Chapter 99: The Most Powerful Weapon of the Commerce
Fang Qingyun yawned out of sheer boredom, with less than half an hour to go until the grand festivities of the Spring Harvest Festival. Fortunately, they had made early preparations, and various emergency plans were in place, so far, the festival had gone without a hitch.
During the day, Fang Qingyun heard about the elephant falling into the water and then flying out. He sent someone to warn that flying was not allowed in the county without permission, as it was too dangerous. Additionally, bringing a demon beast into the city without registration was forbidden, so the elephant's owner obediently went to register the animal.
Fang Qingyun dealt with such minor matters throughout the day.
"Hopefully, there won't be any trouble tonight, no one starting a bonfire causing a forest fire, no stampede because of watching plays, no fights over jealousy in the streets..."
Fang Qingyun rambled on, listing accidents that had occurred in past years.
"Qingyun, I'm leaving now." City Governor Li bid farewell to Fang Qingyun before leaving.
"Take care." Fang Qingyun showed more respect than usual to City Governor Li, having heard that he could take over City Governor Li's position thanks to Li's good word.
He couldn't forget this favor.
Normally, City Governor Li wouldn't need to come during the Spring Harvest Festival, but being seen working hard could enhance his reputation.
City Governor Li always cared about his reputation, discovering that speaking well made promotion easier than actual work.
Promotion also required reaching a certain cultivation level, an unspoken rule of the bureaucracy.
"Soon, once I advance to the Nascent Soul stage today, both my identities, as county governor and helmsman, will change." Thinking of this, City Governor Li quickened his pace.
He entered a small alley, changed his face, and then put on a mask. This way, even if someone took off the mask, they would assume that was his true face and wouldn't suspect the identity of City Governor Li.
Walking between the righteous and demonic paths, caution was necessary.
With his talent, he was not supposed to advance past the late Golden Core stage, but mingling in both righteous and demonic paths allowed him access to resources beyond what ordinary people could imagine, enabling him to reach his current status. Recently, he hit a bottleneck, realizing the normal methods wouldn't allow him to reach the Nascent Soul stage. To advance both his status and cultivation level, he thought of the Life-draining Array.
"It's strange, the inspector should have arrived in Yanjiang County before noon today, but there's no sign of him yet?"
City Governor Li, no, with the mask on, he was Helmsman Chu, was somewhat dissatisfied with the inspector's tardiness. He had specifically told the inspector to come before noon today, promising a surprise.
The "surprise" was to activate the Life-draining Array with the inspector, simultaneously boosting their cultivation levels.
"Could there have been an accident? I specifically waited for the most crowded moment to activate the formation. Well, if he doesn't come, then I'll just elevate my cultivation level alone."
Song Mountain was secluded, with trees growing wildly, and the mountain paths were worn by travelers. People coming to the Spring Harvest Festival wouldn't find Song Mountain appealing.
Helmsman Chu concealed his aura as he walked towards Song Mountain, encountering fewer and fewer tourists. By the time he reached the base of Song Mountain, there was no one around.
Finally, he stopped at a flat area, surrounded by trees on which hung talismans slightly different from the ordinary Life-draining Talismans, serving as the array's focal points.
He sat cross-legged, adjusted his state, and quietly awaited the moment the array would activate. He had instructed six stewards to perform the blood sacrifice task, calculating the timing to be just right!
"Life-draining Array, activate!" Helmsman Chu raised his hands towards the sky, initiating the formation.
Centered on him, the silent power of the formation spread outward, reaching a certain point and then abruptly stopping.
"Someone removed the flags!" Helmsman Chu momentarily lost focus, quickly realizing what had happened.
This wasn't a random act of removing one or two flags; the person definitely had knowledge of the Life-draining Array, or they wouldn't have removed them so precisely.
"Who is it! Someone from the government? No, that's impossible; nothing in the government escapes my notice."
"An unknown traveler, or perhaps... Lu Yang, who has seen the Life-draining Array before!"
Lu Yang's actions were unusual, making him capable of doing such a thing!
Helmsman Chu's gaze turned cold; this was equivalent to cutting off his own path, even more painful than killing him!
"Oh, am I such a person in your eyes, Helmsman Chu?" Lu Yang's lazy voice sounded nearby.
"Lu Yang!" Seeing Lu Yang, Helmsman Chu's anger surged, "Don't think just because the sect leader favors you, I can't kill you. It's common for demonic cultivators to die by accident. Give me a reason for doing this!"
After thinking, Lu Yang seriously said, "Didn't you say to cause trouble during the Spring Harvest Festival? I thought the biggest trouble would be to take down the county governor. It just so happens, after following the county governor for several days, we discovered you are the governor."
"I thought about seeing things through, might as well take you down, following our demonic sect's tradition of rebellion." Lu Yang said with a smile.
"You're seeking death!" Helmsman Chu was furious.
"How could I? I still wish for eternal life."
"A mere Foundation Establishment stage dares to talk big here, die!" Helmsman Chu, enraged, launched a palm strike with terrifying power, turning the trees it touched to dust!
Lu Yang used a technique to quickly move away, avoiding the strike. Helmsman Chu stomped on the ground, turning it upside down, and Lu Yang was thrown out.
Lu Yang was startled; this is the power of a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, kicking him out with a single foot.
"Quite troublesome."
Helmsman Chu, like thunder, quickly approached Lu Yang, preparing to strike with his fists. Lu Yang positioned his sword in front of him, ready to slice off Helmsman Chu's fist if he dared to strike.
Helmsman Chu immediately withdrew his fist, launching a kick instead. Anticipating this, Lu Yang also kicked out, using the force to propel himself away.
Helmsman Chu attacked again but found he couldn't muster any spiritual power, as if it was locked away.
"A Spirit-Sealing Formation, just like the prison! You do understand formations!" Helmsman Chu glared at Lu Yang. Although he couldn't use spiritual power, his physical defense was strong enough that Lu Yang couldn't harm him.
The Spirit-Sealing Formation was temporarily set up by Lan Ting, with Lu Yang's goal to lure Helmsman Chu here.
Lu Yang smiled and waved goodbye to Helmsman Chu.
Helmsman Chu looked around, noticing nothing unusual. He suddenly looked up to see a flying boat hovering above.
The flying boat Meng Jingzhou had just purchased from the commerce.
Now it was night, and in the darkness of Song Mountain, Helmsman Chu hadn't noticed he was under a shadow.
Spiritual power couldn't be used above the Spirit-Sealing Formation, causing the flying boat to lose power and crash down rapidly, with Meng Jingzhou jumping down with a parachute.
The boat was too large, and with Helmsman Chu unable to use spiritual power, he couldn't dodge in time. Lu Yang calculated the distance and moved to a safe spot.
The flying boat, like a meteor, crashed down, hitting Helmsman Chu!
Boom!
The impact stirred up endless dust, creating a thunderous noise that shook the entire Song Mountain.
The boat seemed to be loaded with explosives, detonating upon impact, sending flames soaring into the sky, deafeningly loud!
Lu Yang gave Meng Jingzhou a thumbs up, "Money talks, buying a flying boat on the spot!"
Meng Jingzhou also gave a thumbs up, "If the merchant had more than one flying boat, I would have bought several!"
No treasure from the commerce could match the power of a flying boat crashing down directly.
Fang Qingyun, who was appreciating the peaceful moments, was startled by the crashing flying boat, nearly having a heart attack.
"Are you kidding me?!"
(End of the chapter)