Trial Opening

031 Trial Operation

Starfall landed again in the guest room area of Baishi Village's outer courtyard as the last of the sunset vanished.

Chong Li decrypted the information and obtained a large amount of the latest intelligence.

That night, she and Ming Shu and others organized and summarized it in the inner courtyard.

People were assigned to oversee the night watch at all four courtyard walls: Old Zhao at the north back wall, Ren Yuan to the east, Zhao Dun at the south main gate, and Zhao Chuan at the west courtyard wall.

Chong Li, Zhao Siqi, and Lü E, the three of them, set up several desks in Ming Shu's study, complete with brush, ink, paper, and inkstones. Ming Shu watched them busy themselves.

Zhao Siqi had already changed her hairstyle, tying it up into a bun, no longer sporting the long, black, flowing hair seen when they first interacted in the small courtyard.

Instead, she wore a set of light and flexible clothing, her feet clad in a pair of simple boots, suitable for her running errands inside and out. Now, all domestic affairs required her personal attention.

Although Ming Shu had told her before that he didn't want an overly assertive wife, he was now acting like a hands-off boss, making Zhao Siqi handle everything.

The manual for unsealing the underground spiritual veins and spiritual eyes had also arrived. Chong Li could start preparing in the next few days and attempt to break the seal herself. If that didn't work, she would have to call for backup.

This was a matter of direct personal interest, so Chong Li placed it in the most important and urgent position. Ming Shu and the others needed to know first, but only professionals would know how to operate it.

Next was the information regarding the Butcher and the Hunter--

The Butcher was a retired Demon Hunter, still quite capable, fifty years old, and only decided to retire a few years ago. He then settled down in this area.

[Demonic Spirit: Zhen Guanxi]'s ability was related to butchery skills, with incredibly high proficiency in using a cleaver.

The Hunter was an outer member of the Demon Hunters, without a Demonic Spirit. He was a master of the Martial Artist's fourth stage, the Meridian Breaking and Origin Opening Realm. He was also in his forties.

They had met while working on missions together in the past. The Hunter's family lived nearby.

A few years ago, pirates had threatened their safety.

The Hunter decided to return to protect his family, and his good brother, the Butcher, also came to settle there with him.

Although the Sky-Toppling Observatory recorded it this way, Ming Shu subjectively believed that the Director, that big shot, had arranged this as a foreshadowing several years in advance.

He didn't have any proof yet, though.

The Sky-Toppling Observatory guaranteed that they were trustworthy and could be relied upon.

The next matter was the agreed-upon time for the Qingtian Gate's next few shipments of grain to arrive.

Warehouses needed to be constructed here first, especially with measures for waterproofing, fireproofing, and theft prevention.

Following that were some major events happening in the world--

First: King Chu had launched continuous campaigns, and more than half of the regions and powers south of the Great River had already pledged allegiance to him.

Contending for the world was about population, wealth, and resources. With the support of the Daoist Sect, King Chu, who lacked no top-tier combat power, was in no hurry to march north. Developing slowly was more crucial.

Second: The Han Clan, one of the Three Great Families, had left the royal capital and headed south to pledge allegiance to King Chu.

This significantly boosted the southern forces' morale and made them even more arrogant. Their pace of recruiting soldiers and horses quickened. Previously, some major families had secretly resisted, but now they all obediently pledged their allegiance.

It seemed that contending for the world also required reputation, popular support, destiny, and other intangible things.

Conversely, the Zhao Clan, whose supported prince had died on the spot, became a target for the new emperor's appeasement and was temporarily out of danger.

Meanwhile, the prince supported by the Han Clan had gone south, and they faced immense internal pressure. In past situations, without the threat of chaos, and if the northern Barbarians and the Daoist Sect were not so powerful, the Three Great Families might have joined forces to help stabilize the situation.

Now, everyone was looking out for themselves, attempting to get a piece of the pie, or even contend for the position of ruler of the world.

The Wei Clan, though seemingly the biggest winner, actually had other arrangements internally. In the end, interests were the most important thing.

Just as Zhao Siqi was diligently organizing this information, Chong Li deciphered the last encrypted message--it was about the pirates.

Qunwa Island: On the border of the East Sea and the North Sea, an originally nameless island had suddenly become home to a group of pirates over the last decade or so. Almost every one of them possessed a Demonic Spirit.

And they were all relatively fragile amphibian frog-like Demonic Spirits, but easy to cultivate.

Each time, large numbers of tadpoles were bred in the north, sent to Qunwa Island for distribution, and then given to them to raise and nurture.

However, the island's great island master had never appeared on shore. According to intelligence dug up by the Sky-Toppling Observatory, it should be the master of an old turtle Demonic Spirit.

It was most adept at turtling, hiding, and escaping.

These were the same pirates they had encountered before. With this information, they would have more confidence when facing the pirates again.

No wonder they could appear and disappear without a trace. Their ships were still at sea, but they had already landed ashore. Inland areas, as long as they had rivers, could become targets for their attacks.

It turned out they carried Demonic Spirits, relying on the spirits' power to sneak in underwater.

Ming Shu combined this with the information he had previously obtained through the Fate Book, seeing not only frog-like Demonic Spirits but also turtle-like ones.

Ming Shu silently wrote down the information he knew and had Zhao Siqi compile it, so it could be shared with Old Zhao and the others later.

This would improve their ability to deal with pirate threats.

At this point, Zhao Siqi finally realized that the big shot who had previously traded with Zhao Wuxu was actually the Sky-Toppling Observatory.

Before Ming Shu could ask Chong Li, Chong Li informed Ming Shu that after the underground spiritual eye was unsealed, she could teach him the second stage of cultivation.

The Sky-Toppling Observatory would place some easily cultivable spiritual plant seeds in the next grain transport convoy, and a spiritual plant master would also come along to guide them.

Cultivation required a lot of money and resources. The family had only just started and needed to develop its own industries first.

Artifact refining, alchemy, and array formations were not skills that could be learned in a short period, nor did they have the corresponding channels. Should they ask the Sky-Toppling Observatory again?

They've already arranged for spiritual plants; it seems farming is a necessary step. Zhao Siqi also helped plan it out this way.

Ming Shu quietly opened the Fate Book, wanting to see if there were any ways to make money.

When he randomly flipped to a page and wrote "The most profitable method," it surprisingly showed that murder, arson, and wealth.

As well as discussions on funding war with war, alternative mining—grave robbing, robbing the rich to aid the poor and brigandage, and fortune-telling!

Fortune-telling could also make one rich?

Ming Shu flipped to another page and wrote the words "fortune-telling." Immediately, a large amount of related content appeared. In particular, several complete sets of rituals opened Ming Shu's eyes.

This seemed more reliable; one could really make money through fortune-telling. The cost was low, the risk was low, and he could try it first.