Mu Bai picked up the brocade box and tried everything he could, but could not open it. Then he noticed another object still in the man's hand. There was no need to think-he surely had not had time to give it to him.
He picked it up and examined it. It was a pure white jade token, its carved, openwork patterns possessing an antique elegance. One side bore the two characters "Spirit Command," while the other bore only the character for "token."
"A fine thing. Just holding it feels as though my mind and spirit are being bathed." Mu Bai sensed the information coming from the jade token. "'Spirit Command' should have something to do with spirit beasts. If this man was a Xiu Zun and still only an elder, wouldn't the Spirit Taming Sect's sect master be a Dao Zun?"
A Dao Zun was someone who had broken through the limits of human strength and entered the realm of comprehending the Great Dao, truly capable of moving mountains, filling seas, shattering the heavens, and splitting the earth. If he could become a Dao Zun's disciple, the day he avenged his tribe would be within sight!
Mu Bai pondered it and thought it was worth making the trip. Leaving aside the poison keeping him under control, if there really was an opportunity awaiting him as this man had said, it would indeed be a heaven-sent chance.
The man was dead anyway, and could not take his treasures to the Nether Death Realm. It would be a pity to throw them away, so Mu Bai searched the Man in Green once more and, sure enough, found a Mustard Seed Bag.
Now this was a fine thing. Mu Bai had stayed inside Mi Yan's Mustard Seed Bag and knew that this little pouch contained a vast world. It surely held plenty of fine treasures. His Soul Power was still too weak at present, however, and he could not open it.
"No matter. I'll leave it for another day. I refuse to believe a duck already at my lips can still fly away!"
After several days of nonstop exertion, the man and bird first slept soundly for an entire day. Night had already fallen when they awoke. After briefly putting things in order, Mu Bai leaped onto the Golden Roc and soared into the sky, speeding westward, truly taking the first step of his journey through the vast Origin Realm.
The cave abode Mu Bai had hollowed out in the gorge thus became the Man in Green's burial place.
"The Spirit Taming Sect must have plenty of beautiful, rare beasts and birds, like peacocks and colorful phoenixes. You won't be lonely there. Let your eldest and second little sweethearts wait here for you a while..."
Mu Bai lightly patted the Golden Roc's feathered back. The Golden Roc gave a joyful cry, a strange light flashing in his little eyes, then beat his wings fiercely and flew westward toward those countless rare beasts and birds with a "Gah, gah!"
Resting by day and traveling by night, they had flown west for four or five days before they knew it, and saw an inhabited tribe in the distance beneath the night sky. At the foot of the mountains, beside a cliff, lay a small tribe whose people worked at sunrise and rested at sunset, quiet and peaceful.
"I wonder whether this tribe's Clan Patriarch is kind, whether it has a Chief of Fangs like Hai Ang, a brother named Hai Chen, or a girl named Ling’er..."
Flying over the nameless tribe, Mu Bai remembered those he had known, a thousand thoughts running through his mind.
Ximu City lay in the northwest of the Eastern Ridge region, jointly controlled by the Xishui Great Tribe and the Zhimu Great Tribe. Ling’er traveled with the caravan toward Ximu City, pressing onward day and night.
The Taiyuan Merchant Guild had just established a branch in Ximu City and sent Mi Yan, Ling’er, and the others there to manage it.
Beneath the night sky, the immense Ximu City resembled an ancient Fierce Beast, sleeping in silence.
"The moon shines upon a thousand lamps, kept lit for one alone..."
A great city jointly governed by two great tribes was far larger than the tribal markets under the Eastern Nether Great Tribe or the White Wolf Tribe. Even Third Level cultivators could be seen on its streets, swaggering and showing off, as though afraid others might not know how powerful they were.
Xiong Ba was a Third-Level Peak Soul Cultivator with an exceptionally powerful build. He commanded a hunting party and enjoyed good relations with both the Xishui Great Tribe and the Tiemu Great Tribe. He swaggered through Ximu City, and few dared provoke him.
Originally, Xiong Ba had led his hunting party to kill Fierce Beasts, earning considerable profits by selling their Beast Cores, beast materials, and other spoils on consignment through trading houses. But what normal person would willingly spend every day in a trade where he had to be ready to lose his head at any moment? To keep middlemen from pocketing the difference, Xiong Ba opened a trading house himself, hired an old shopkeeper and a few assistants to manage it, and put the hunting party's second-in-command in charge of the hunters. He then spent his days drinking and carousing, enjoying himself immensely.
For the first few months after Xiong Ba's trading house opened, business bustled. Everyone praised him as not only a first-rate hunter, but a businessman without equal among ten thousand. These flattering words left Xiong Ba thoroughly pleased with himself. Unfortunately, his trading house happened to stand right beside a property belonging to the Taiyuan Merchant Guild. Less than a month after the guild's Peony Pavilion opened, his doorway had grown so deserted that one could catch sparrows there.
Mi Yan loved peonies most of all. Wherever she went, the Taiyuan Merchant Guild's branches were named Peony Pavilion, and she managed every one of them with flourishing success. Opening a branch here in Ximu City naturally posed no challenge to her abilities.
"Master Xiong, you must think of something. Keeping our doors open only to go back to sleep all day is no lasting solution..."
The old shopkeeper of Xiong Ba Trading Company was at his wits' end. Watching business grow bleaker by the day, he had no choice but to come to Xiong Ba for ideas.
"Useless bastard! You're the shopkeeper, yet you won't think of a solution? Do you really think earning your rice from Master Xiong is that easy?"
Xiong Ba stuffed a large chicken drumstick into his mouth, grease bubbling at his lips. His other thick arm held a delicate beauty as he toyed with her, and she opened her mouth to catch the bones he spat out.
"Hurry up and think of something, damn you, or watch those old bones of yours."
"Master Xiong, might we sell at a twenty-percent discount? And expand the range of goods we carry..."
"Bullshit! We men spend our days hunting beasts with our heads tied to our belts. How could I let you squander the finest Beast Cores and beast materials we risked our lives for at bargain prices!"
"But..."
"You can't even sell the Beast Cores and materials we hunt ourselves. Could you do any better with goods bought from outsiders with Soul Crystals?"
"Diversifying our stock would help attract customers..."
"Go on, go on, stop bothering me! I hired you to run the trading house, so shoulder the responsibility. Show some ability and initiative instead of coming to bother me all the time!" Xiong Ba tossed a chicken drumstick in front of the old shopkeeper. "Eat it. Once you've eaten, work hard for me!"
"Master, you have a bite too. I want you to work me hard as well..."
The beauty in his arms kept cooing, licking his fingers with her little mouth.
Humiliated, the old shopkeeper turned deathly pale with shame. He kicked the chicken drumstick on the floor far away, then turned to leave.
"Work, work, work-work your damned sister! A scholar may be killed, but never humiliated. This old man is done serving you!"
"Insolent old wretch! Have you grown tired of living?"
After that defiance, Xiong Ba would never let the old shopkeeper simply leave. He hurled the jade wine cup in his hand, wine and all, striking the old man squarely in the back of the head. Blood instantly stained the old shopkeeper's white hair, and his life was snuffed out.
"Useless trash, but what a vicious temper. Daring to throw your weight around with Master Xiong..."
"Master, now that the old thing's dead, what will happen to the trading house?"
"What's so difficult about that? Even a sow could do it if I told her to. Beauty, why don't you give it a try?"
"You're awful..."
"Hahaha, hahaha... come here, beauty..."
Fortunately, the old shopkeeper had already breathed his last. Otherwise, this scene of amorous pleasure would have shamed him to death.
Meanwhile, inside Peony Pavilion, Ling’er had blossomed into a lovely, fresh-faced, graceful young woman. Like Xiao Lan before her, she was thoroughly practiced at greeting the customers coming and going, and Peony Pavilion's patrons streamed through without end. Mi Yan was hosting a banquet in a private chamber on the third floor for Xi Hong, the Xishui Great Tribe's Chief of Fangs. Xi Hong had the cultivation of a Flesh Body Xiu Zun, and his offensive and defensive abilities ranked among the very best around Ximu City. Establishing a branch here, the Taiyuan Merchant Guild naturally had to maintain good relations with the local powers and offer generous gifts.
"With an elder as capable as Miss Mi Yan, no wonder the Taiyuan Merchant Guild has built such a vast business. Your arrival in Ximu City is an honor for our city as well."
"You flatter me far too much, Chief of Fangs. I'm merely earning a mouthful of rice on your territory." Mi Yan rose with her cup and said sweetly, "Allow me to offer you a respectful toast, my lord. From today onward, I'll be relying on your care..."
"Haha, certainly, certainly. Ximu City's administration has always been fair and strict. Feel free to conduct your business here without worry, Miss Mi Yan. Should anything arise, I will naturally step forward and settle it for you!"
"With those words from you, Lord Chief of Fangs, I feel much more at ease. This small gift hardly expresses my respect. I hope you won't disdain it. Xiao Lan, come."
At Mi Yan's soft call, Xiao Lan entered the private chamber, holding a tray of Soul Crystals in both hands. There were a full hundred high-grade Soul Crystals, glittering with dazzling light that stirred the heart.
"Miss Mi Yan, what is the meaning of this?"
"Our tribute will be paid on time, without the slightest shortfall. This little token is for you personally, my lord, so that you can make some distinction between those close to you and those distant, wouldn't you say?"
"Ah, Miss Mi Yan, they say even heroes struggle to pass the hurdle of a beautiful woman. The hurdle of wealth is truly no easier to pass."
With a sweep of his sleeve, Xi Hong put the hundred high-grade Soul Crystals into his Mustard Seed Bag, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.
"Haha, my lord, you truly speak your mind. What do you think of my Xiao Lan? She has followed me for years and is exceptionally obedient and charming. If you would favor her, it would be her good fortune..."
"It's not that I don't fancy her, but if Miss Mi Yan would part with that young lady downstairs, I would want for nothing else!"
As it happened, Xi Hong had been captivated by Ling’er the moment he entered Peony Pavilion. Something about her pretty, lively air had made his heart itch unbearably.
"You have a fine eye, Lord Chief of Fangs. Even if I wished to arrange it, that young lady is someone our guild leader has his eye on. How could I dare touch a hair on her head?"
"Oh, it seems I'm not blessed with such good fortune. Let us leave things here for today. There are still tribal affairs awaiting my attention, so I shall take my leave!"
Xi Hong knew that the Taiyuan Merchant Guild was immensely powerful, with the Taiyuan Pavilion sect backing it. It was not an organization he could force his will upon, so he pressed the matter no further.
Little did he know that this decision would have a considerable impact on his future.
After seeing Xi Hong off, Mi Yan returned to Peony Pavilion. Watching Ling’er’s pretty figure bustling about without pause, she looked remorseful.
"Your big sister lacks the ability to give you good cultivation conditions. All I can do is keep you beside me and spare you the coercion beneath the headquarters' eaves." Remembering Mu Bai's request, Mi Yan's expression dimmed somewhat. "I wonder how he's doing now..."
Before you continue