Scholar

Yue Qianchou rolled his eyes. "What's your rush? Did I say I needed money?" Ignoring Nong Zhu's astonished expression, he asked Lu Yanqing, "Senior Lu, how many plants do you need?"

The others were taken aback by his words. Wen Lanfeng's eyes were filled with approval, and he nodded slightly. Lu Yanqing said somewhat embarrassedly, "How can I take your things for free? You're here to make money."

Yue Qianchou waved his hand generously and said, "I didn't say I'd give it to you for free."

Upon hearing this, Wen Lanfeng and Nong Zhu's faces darkened simultaneously. Lu Yanqing was speechless. She had just felt embarrassed, but it turned out she hadn't given it away for nothing. She asked somewhat awkwardly, "What are your conditions?"

Ignoring the murderous glares from Wen Lanfeng and Nong Zhu, Yue Qianchou pondered, "Do me a favor, take two people to your Lingfang Valley and protect their safety for now."

Wen Lanfeng and Nong Zhu were slightly taken aback, Lu Yanqing asked with some curiosity, "Which two people? Why don't you tell me first? If they're suitable, I can agree to your request."

"Perfect, they'd be perfect to go to your place, since they're two women." Yue Qianchou smiled somewhat helplessly. "One of them is Ye Qun, who lives here. And the other one is Yan Yu, the proprietress of Spring Sleep Tower. Please help me take them both away."

Wen Lanfeng was finally relieved to hear that there were two women. However, he asked with some curiosity, "Ye Qun is understandable, but what is your relationship with Yan Yu? Why did you take her away?"

Yue Qianchou shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Niu Youde had some business to attend to and left. I was entrusted by Niu Youde to protect her safety for the time being."

"Oh! I see." Wen Lanfeng believed it. But knowing that Yue Qianchou was Niu Youde's Nong Zhu and Lu Yanqing, they exchanged glances and understood.

"Okay, I promise you." Lu Yanqing nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, senior." Yue Qianchou thanked her first, then frowned and said, "However, I'm worried that Yan Yu doesn't want to leave. I'll trouble you to tell her that it was Niu Youde's idea. If she still doesn't want to leave, you might as well take her away by force."

"Take him away by force?" Lu Yanqing hesitated.

"I know you might not be willing to do this, senior." Yue Qianchou turned to Senior Wen Lanfeng and said, "I wonder if you could help me with this and escort them to Lingfang Valley."

Nong Zhu remained silent. This guy really knew how to pick people. Wen Lanfeng would probably be more than willing to go to Lingfang Valley, especially with such a high-sounding reason. But why did this kid seem to be making arrangements for his own funeral? Could something really big be about to happen at the Treasure Gathering Basin?

Sure enough, Wen Lanfeng's eyes lit up, but he still found a way to back down, saying with a smile, "It's not impossible for me to help you with this, the key is how many Seven Star Blood Orchid you are willing to offer."

"That's not a problem." Yue Qianchou waved his hand and asked Lu Yanqing, "How many plants does Senior want?"

Lu Yanqing asked hesitantly, "How about five? If not, less is fine too." She really wanted five, but considering that one was worth two hundred million, five would be one billion high-grade Spirit Stones. Compared to protecting two people, she was getting a huge bargain.

"Ten plants." Yue Qianchou didn't reply to Lu Yanqing's words, but instead said to Wen Lanfeng, "How about giving Senior Wen Lu ten Seven Star Blood Orchid?"

Lu Yanqing was furious. Why did she keep dragging Wen Lanfeng into this when it was clearly her business? Wen Lanfeng glanced at Lu Yanqing with some apprehension and said, "Don't ask me about this. Ask her."

Knowing what the two were thinking, Nong Zhu immediately interjected, "Alright! Alright! It's settled then."

"Alright!" Yue Qianchou readily agreed, and immediately took out ten pots of Seven Star Blood Orchid from his Storage Bag and arranged them on the ground. Seeing that things had come to this, Lu Yanqing didn't bother with any pretense and put away the ten pots of beautiful blood orchids.

After the handover was completed, Yue Qianchou said to Nong Zhu, "You should take Furong and Ziyi back as soon as possible! Things might get a little unsettled here recently."

"Don't worry about me, I have my own trump card to deal with this." Nong Zhu chuckled for a while, then scolded him, "You should take care of yourself! You made Hu Changshou lose face in front of all the heroes in the world this time. He will come after you sooner or later. Be careful."

Seeing his confidence, Yue Qianchou paused for a moment, then cupped his hands to the three of them and said, "I won't disturb you any longer. I have something to do and need to go to the shops in the Ice Palace."

Nong Zhu exclaimed, "What are you doing there? The grudge against the second disciple of the Ice Demon King has been held against you for a long time. Do you want to go and die?"

"Hmph!" Yue Qianchou said arrogantly, "Although his cultivation is high, killing me won't be so easy. Don't worry! He can't kill me." After saying that, he turned and left.

"You little brat, don't be so arrogant. Nong Zhu shouted from behind.

Inside the main hall of the Black Pool Palace, the noble and aloof Madam Black Pool, her long train trailing behind her, walked gracefully through the hall, her eyes flickering uncertainly for a long time. Suddenly, with a wave of her sleeve, she transformed into a ball of black light and soared out of the palace, flying directly towards the highest peak guarded by the five peaks.

On the roof of the ancient yet magnificent, sacred yet mysterious Nether Emperor Palace, a dozen people suddenly appeared. After glancing at the black light swirling in the sky, their expressions changed, and they disappeared again without a word.

The swirling black light seemed to have found its bearings, flashing towards the harem of the Nether Emperor Palace, directly shooting towards a small building surrounded by a forest of You wood. Just as it was about to rush into the building, a flash of light like a silver thunderbolt rang out, directly repelling the black light.

A black light materialized, Madam Black Pool staggered back more than ten steps until she caught herself on the trunk of a tree in a You wood. Her cold, beautiful face contorted in pain, Madam Black Pool shouted, "Qian Jun, how dare you lay a hand on me!"

At the entrance of the small building, a flash of silver light appeared, and a middle-aged man clad in silver armor, with long, flowing hair and a face covered in stubble, appeared. He stared at her indifferently and said, "Black Pool, this is not a place for you to run wild. Don't you know where you are? How can we allow you to trespass?"

Madam Black Pool gritted her teeth and said with venomous eyes, "I can go wherever I want, it's none of your business as a servant. Get out of my way, I want to see the Underworld Emperor."

The middle-aged man, known as Qian Jun, said expressionlessly, "The Underworld Emperor is painting and will not be disturbed. I advise you to leave quickly, or don't blame me for being impolite and throwing you out of the Nether Emperor Palace."

"You..." Madam Black Pool was speechless, but she knew she was no match for Qian Jun. She immediately lifted her long skirt and knelt down in front of the small building, saying, "Blackpool requests an audience with the Underworld Emperor. I have important matters to report."

After a brief silence, a soft voice came from inside the small building. "Qian Jun, let her in!" The tone was gentle, and hearing it made one feel comfortable and at ease, filled with a sense of tranquility and peace.

"Yes!" Qian Jun bowed towards the building, and with a flash of silver light, he disappeared.

Madam Black Pool then rose, her eyes sweeping around with resentment. With a flick of her wrist, she smoothed her long skirt, transforming into a refined and elegant lady. She slowly strode into the small building...

The interior of the small building was elegantly furnished, without a trace of luxury, but instead piled with many ancient scrolls. If one did not see it with their own eyes, who would believe that the King of the Underworld, who was so powerful in the underworld, would be here? One might easily mistake it for the humble abode of some scholar.

Madam Black Pool's gaze swept over the pile of books, a fleeting hint of disdain in her eyes. She then ascended the wooden stairs to the attic. Upon reaching the top, she immediately saw the back of a man in a thin white robe; from behind, he clearly resembled a scholar, holding a brush and writing at his desk.

"Black Pool greets the Underworld Emperor." Madam Black Pool knelt down again to pay her respects.

The scholar continued to write, saying without turning his head, "Black Pool, what urgent matter brings you to see me so urgently?" Seemingly a harmless scholar, who would have thought that he was the Underworld Emperor who ruled the Underworld!

Madam Black Pool stood up on her own, complaining, "Emperor of the Underworld, don't you control your subordinates? Look, they even dare to attack me. What will they be like in the future? They won't even respect the Emperor of the Underworld anymore."

The scholar gave an ambiguous laugh and said, "I just don't want to be in charge anymore, so I've delegated the power to you. If you're really not happy about it, I can consider taking charge again, so you can have some peace and quiet."

Madam Black Pool's expression changed, and she smiled, "The Underworld Emperor's mood swings are beyond Qian Jun's control. She shouldn't have argued with Qianjun. The Underworld Emperor has worked hard in the Underworld for many years. We, as his subordinates, should share his burdens and shouldn't have any complaints."

"Hmm! Hearing you say that, I'm relieved." The scholar's hands didn't stop; he dipped his brush in ink and asked, "What's the matter that you're in such a hurry to see me?"

"Here's what happened," Madam Black Pool said indignantly. "A few days ago, I sent people to inspect the underworld paths of the seventy-two realms in the human world. They discovered that the Netherworld Gate of one realm had been damaged, and someone had even stolen a Door Knocker Ring." "I never expected that someone would be so bold as to damage the Netherworld Gate. The people of the human world are getting bolder and bolder. They clearly don't take the Underworld Emperor seriously. I request that the Underworld Emperor send someone to punish them."

"Hmm?" The scholar let out a cold snort, his brush stopped moving, and he said coldly, "Black Pool, how dare you ignore my words. Have you forgotten my warning? No one from the Underworld is allowed to trespass into the mortal realm without my permission."

"The Underworld Emperor is pleased and angered, the Underworld Emperor is pleased and angered." Madam Black Pool knelt down again with a look of fear on her face, and explained repeatedly, "Black Pool did not allow anyone to enter the human world, but only sent people to check the passage to the Underworld. Black Pool has absolutely no selfish motives, everything is for the sake of the Underworld, so she specially sent two servants from the Nether Emperor Palace to carry out the order, and I believe they would never dare to disobey the Underworld Emperor's decree."

"Remember this: the human world is the foundation of the underworld. Without my permission, no one may trespass and disrupt the order of the human world." After saying this, the scholar continued to paint and write, saying as he painted, "It seems your prestige is growing, and you can even mobilize the people of my Nether Emperor Palace at will."

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