Business

Changjun City, the Demon Refining Hall's guest room.

Hall Master Yun Guantian and Vice Hall Master Zhang Xiu were both there.

Before them, Zhou Yunyi sat calmly, waiting with an air of unshakable composure.

Before long, Yun Guantian's disciple Yu Daoquan returned with several people. His expression was awkward, with a thread of suppressed fury in his eyes. "Master, we examined Fang Cai's corpse. The wounds on Liehun are exactly the same as his."

"Actually, if you don't trust me, you can also go and ask the Yellow Heaven Sect. Two of their elders were likewise killed by the same sword technique."

Zhou Yunyi sipped his tea leisurely as he spoke with indifference.

"Gu Jinlai!"

Yun Guantian's gaze turned icy. "What enormous nerve!"

"Actually, there are only a few dozen Core Forming cultivators in Changjun City. A Core Forming cultivator with strength surpassing ordinary Core Forming cultivators—other than Gu Jinlai, who fell from the Spirit Refining Realm, who else could there be?"

Zhou Yunyi said.

"An ungrateful white-eyed wolf! When he first joined our Demon Refining Hall, I received him with the utmost goodwill. And this is how he repays our kindness?"

Zhang Xiu slammed his hand heavily onto the tea table.

"This wasn't the first or second time Gu Jinlai had shown himself ungrateful. He even betrayed the Purgatory Sect, which had painstakingly nurtured him to the realm of a Spirit Refining True Person?"

Yun Guantian said.

The matter of betrayal was still at the reporting stage. As for what decision to make, they still had to see what the sect master intended.

After all, this involved an elder, and Lin Xiao lacked the authority to directly convict one.

Therefore, Zhou Yunyi did not want to get involved. His purpose in coming was simple.

"I've provided the killer's information. As for the reward Hall Master Yun mentioned..."

"These are thirty Qi Refining Pills."

Yun Guantian was not stingy. He took out a treasure box containing precisely thirty pills.

Qi Refining Pills were the most important hard currency in the cultivation world. They could refine qi and open the meridians, and could also nourish the spirit after Core Forming.

The Alchemists Association had set the price at ten thousand taels each, but because demand exceeded supply, the price often rose slightly.

"Hall Master Yun is indeed magnanimous."

Zhou Yunyi smiled as he put the box away.

At the same time, he sighed inwardly. With the Heaven and Earth Universe Diagram as a resource channel, the Demon Refining Hall was far wealthier than ordinary people could imagine.

They were both Spirit Refining cultivators, yet this Demon Sect elder's total wealth was probably less than a tenth of Yun Guantian's.

Having accepted the Qi Refining Pills, he was in a good mood and continued, "Gu Jinlai refused the sect's transfer order and did not take office in Huayin County. To put it seriously, this can indeed be viewed as betraying the sect. If he can find someone with influence, there is naturally hope of turning a great matter into a small one and a small matter into nothing. But if he cannot find anyone..."

"Even if something happens to him, the sect will not pursue the matter any further. He will simply be dealt with as a traitor."

"I understand."

Yun Guantian gave a slight nod.

That meant he no longer had to worry about Gu Jinlai's status as an elder of the Purgatory Demon Sect.

"Farewell."

Zhou Yunyi cupped his hands and left.

Only after Zhou Yunyi had departed did Yun Guantian lift his tea, narrowing his eyes as though lost in thought.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiu could only ask, "Hall Master, that Gu Jinlai..."

Yun Guantian took a sip. "He dared to take something belonging to me, Yun Guantian. What a fool courting death."

He glanced at Yu Daoquan and said flatly, "What are you still standing there for? Have Jinyin take his people there. Three days. I want to see that old dog Gu Jinlai kneeling before me."

Although his tone was casual, Yu Daoquan understood that his master was truly furious.

With his master's exalted status, once he genuinely lost his temper, it would be a thunderous blaze that incinerated everything. Never mind that Gu Jinlai had fallen from the Spirit Refining Realm—even if he were still in the Divine Realm, death would be his only road.

Yu Daoquan shuddered inwardly and hurriedly answered, "Yes."

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

It had to be said that the Jiang family's channels were extremely covert. Gu Jinlai had been in Starlight City for more than half a month, and had finally enjoyed a stretch of calm and still waters.

At this moment, Gu Jinlai, who had slightly altered his appearance to make himself look a year younger, was sitting in an upscale brothel.

Gu Chaoyang and Su Nanxing, clad in a suit of treasure armor, stood guard on either side of him.

The establishment was called Watercloud Ravine and consisted of three floors and six courtyards.

Because this world had cultivators, its resources were abundant. Green jade served as stone, white jade formed the walls, and pearls and jewels glittered everywhere. Gauze and brocade drifted through the air in layers of delicate splendor.

With one exquisitely trained, graceful songstress after another serving as decoration, the entrance fee alone for this building was ten taels of silver.

That was already three or four months of an ordinary person's income.

Gu Jinlai had naturally not come to Watercloud Ravine to experience the charms of ancient customs. He was waiting for someone.

He had intended to sell the carbon-steel treasure armor from the moment he began refining it, so he naturally needed to choose a suitable buyer.

Compared with Changjun City, Starlight City still possessed order on the whole, but the various forces were likewise tangled together in a complicated web.

They could roughly be divided into the Four Great Families, the Longque Mountain Villa branch, the Black Tortoise Gate, and the Heavenly Herb Pavilion.

Of course, there were also the Provincial Governor's Office and the Demon Refining Hall.

These seven forces could further be divided into two camps.

The Provincial Governor's Office, the Demon Refining Hall, and the Four Great Families formed one side, while the three great sects formed the other.

The Provincial Governor's Office had long wished to swallow up the Black Tortoise Gate and the Heavenly Herb Pavilion, forcing the two to invite Longque Mountain Villa, one of the Six Immortal Sects, into the game.

However, the Heavenly Herb Pavilion and the Black Tortoise Gate also feared that inviting a deity would be easy but sending it away would be difficult. They were not of one mind with Longque Mountain Villa.

Moreover, the Provincial Governor's Office was wildly ambitious, while the Four Great Families were unwilling to bow their heads to anyone. Afraid that the Provincial Governor's Office would seize an opportunity to swallow them up, they too flirted back and forth with the Heavenly Herb Pavilion and the Black Tortoise Gate.

Each of the four families had disciples who had joined the two sects.

In the shadows, there were also the Cold Moon Demon Sect, the Yellow Springs Demon Sect, the Purgatory Demon Sect, and even the neighboring Yellow Heaven Dao Sect constantly making moves. Even when the two sides joined forces to suppress them, their deep foundations made them impossible to eradicate completely.

At this moment, a commotion came from below.

A middle-aged man entered Watercloud Ravine surrounded by several people, drawing countless songstresses forward to surround him.

"Master, that's Bai Yang, the vice pavilion master of the Heavenly Herb Pavilion."

Beside Gu Jinlai, Gu Chaoyang spoke in a low voice. "He spends half of every month in Watercloud Ravine."

"Half the month? With Watercloud Ravine's expenses, he must spend more than ten thousand taels of silver every month."

Looking at Zhu Chi, who was immersed in a sea of beauties, Gu Jinlai was filled with righteous indignation. "These country bumpkins who grow medicine and refine pills are truly rich. We absolutely have to set the price higher when the time comes."

Yes.

The Heavenly Herb Pavilion was the buyer Gu Jinlai had chosen for the treasure armor.

"Master is right. That way, Master can stay in Watercloud Ravine every day, just like him."

Su Nanxing nodded.

"You look like a thick-browed, big-eyed fellow. How is it that your mind is full of these things every day?"

Gu Jinlai glared at Su Nanxing.

"Then shall we... go to the Jade House you mentioned last time?"

Su Nanxing ventured.

At once, Gu Chaoyang's gaze fell on Gu Jinlai.

"What Jade House? I'm not interested in the Jade House."

Gu Jinlai waved his hands repeatedly and quickly added, "All right, let's go meet this vice pavilion master of the Heavenly Herb Pavilion."

The three of them walked toward the room where Bai Yang was.

At the door, seeing the three of them approach, a disciple was just about to stop them when Gu Jinlai spoke first. "Jiang Donglai wishes to see Pavilion Master Bai."

"Jiang?"

The disciple looked at Gu Jinlai.

Then he glanced at Su Nanxing, who was dressed in fine treasure armor like a guard, and his heart stirred. "The Jiang family?"

Gu Jinlai smiled faintly.

"Please wait."

The disciple said this and pushed open the door before entering.

Not long afterward, he returned and gestured inward with a raised hand. "The pavilion master invites you in."

The group entered the room.

This leisure room covered more than a hundred square meters. At that moment, three graceful women in light gauze were dancing. On a throne carved with dragons and phoenixes, Bai Yang held one woman in his arms while conversing with two other men who appeared to be under thirty. The atmosphere was harmonious.

Both men were elders of the Heavenly Herb Pavilion. Bai Yang often cultivated ties with them—not necessarily to bring them under his command, but at the very least to ensure that someone would help him settle matters when trouble arose.

"Please sit."

Not knowing the background of Gu Jinlai and the others, Bai Yang was relatively courteous. "Disciples of the Jiang family? Among the Jiang family's outstanding disciples, I don't seem to recognize any of you."

"I'm merely a marginal figure in the Jiang family. But that isn't the important point. The important point is why I've come."

Gu Jinlai said, "Pavilion Master Bai, would you be interested in a metal armor whose defensive power is comparable to a high-grade treasure armor?"

"Comparable to a high-grade treasure armor!?"

Bai Yang froze, and his expression turned somewhat more serious. "How many do you have?"

"Three or four suits a month should be possible."

"Are you a Heavenly Master?"

Bai Yang quickly reacted.

Only a Heavenly Master could supply goods continuously.

Gu Jinlai nodded slightly.

"So it is a Heavenly Master before me. My apologies for the discourtesy."

Bai Yang sat up straight.

Although a Heavenly Master's weight was not comparable to that of a Spirit Refining cultivator, they were still a cut above a Core Forming cultivator.

Despite holding the position of vice pavilion master of the Heavenly Herb Pavilion, when compared with a Heavenly Master, he could only stand on equal footing with the other party.

The two Core Forming elders beside him were no longer as casual as before.

"A member of the Jiang family, and a Heavenly Master?"

As Bai Yang guessed at Gu Jinlai's identity, he began discussing the treasure armor with him.

During the discussion, Gu Jinlai deliberately had Su Nanxing, who was wearing the armor, demonstrate its performance to the group.

Weighing eighty pounds and possessing defenses comparable to a high-grade treasure armor, the quality greatly satisfied Bai Yang.

For forces such as the Heavenly Herb Pavilion, the Guiyuan Sect, the Orthodox One Sect, and even the Purgatory Sect and the Yellow Heaven Sect, what they feared most was a great army surrounding their mountain.

Thus, training an elite force specifically for breaking formations had always been something every sect sought.

With the Provincial Governor's Office glaring like a tiger, eager to swallow the Heavenly Herb Pavilion, Gu Jinlai's battle armor had arrived at precisely the right time.

After a round of bargaining, the two sides soon reached a preliminary agreement at sixty-eight thousand taels per suit.

With a foundation for cooperation established, Bai Yang, this old hand at entertaining clients, naturally took Gu Jinlai on a fine tour of Watercloud Ravine. They did not disperse until midnight.

The next day, after returning to the Heavenly Herb Pavilion and discussing the matter with the sect's higher-ups, Bai Yang went to the address Gu Jinlai had left behind and ordered ten suits of treasure armor in one stroke, to be delivered three months later.

From then on, Gu Jinlai, the Heavenly Master of artifact refinement, had finally set foot on the right track.