The Nian Household Elder rejoiced inwardly and hurriedly turned around.
Qing Chen followed behind him. If there really was a treasure, everything could be discussed.
But if this so-called "important matter," this so-called "treasure," was merely a pretext the Nian Household had devised to coax him out of seclusion...
A streak of scarlet bloodlight flashed through Qing Chen's eyes.
The Northwestern Circuit was vast and its situation complex, with countless Demon Calamities, Barbarian Cultivators, ancient restrictions, and sandstorms.
There were simply too many ways to wipe out a lineage.
"You had best behave yourselves." Qing Chen boarded the Black-Gold Warship already waiting outside the Governor-General's Office and looked toward Liangzhou.
More than eighty thousand li west of Liangzhou's provincial capital lay a Red Copper Mountain Range shrouded year-round in gray-white wind and snow.
The Nian Household Branch Hall was built within the mountains.
On the surface, this was merely the base of a merchant association dealing in war spiritwood, red copper ore, and Demon Beast leather armor. There were only a little over a hundred halls within a hundred-li radius, and most of the cultivators coming and going were merely at Foundation Establishment or Qi Refining.
Yet before Qing Chen's Black-Gold Warship had even landed, his half-Primordial Spirit-level divine sense had already detected dozens of interlocking formations concealed deep inside the mountain.
The Spirit-Locking Grand Formation in the deepest reaches was at least fourth-tier mid-grade, and a Fate-Shielding Spirit Talisman with an inscrutable aura anchored its core.
Such elaborate arrangements. Interesting.
"Governor-General, please."
The Nian Household Nascent Soul Elder personally led the way through more than a dozen stone gates, then used his essence blood to activate a Teleportation Formation hidden behind a mountain wall.
Qing Chen glanced at the man without asking any questions.
With his current strength,