Speaking of which...
Chen Yuan suddenly cast his gaze toward the dimly glowing grand array in the distance.
He lowered his voice and said softly, "If the Wusang Sect investigates, they will certainly start with the Banzi Chamber of Commerce... They saw everything that happened today from beginning to end."
"If we want to cut off all loose ends and leave no future trouble..." Chen Yuan took a deep breath, a trace of undisguised murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
After all, as a Dao Sect disciple, once his own survival was at stake,he would never show a hint of womanly compassion when it was time to be ruthless.Uprooting the problem at its source was the most fundamental Law of survival in Yunmeng Realm.
Sensing the gaze from this direction,the damaged grand array suddenly flickered violently.
Then, the light extinguished completely.
The old man at the lead did not hesitate at all; leading several trusted stewards, he took to the air in a streak of light and flew straight toward them.
Landing before the group,
Lu Bancheng showed none of the arrogance of a chamber of commerce head; his knees buckled as he knelt heavily on the ground.
The several stewards behind him also knelt in unison.
"Lu Bancheng pays his respects to the esteemed lords of the Jieqing Sect! Today, the disciples of the Wusang Sect acted overbearingly, drawing demons to slaughter my Banzi City. Fortunately, the lords of the Jieqing Sect arrived in time to slay the demons."
"As for those three lords from the Wusang Sect..." Lu Bancheng's voice did not tremble in the slightest; every word was firm.
"They all perished in the mouths of demons; they brought it upon themselves! All one thousand three hundred members of my Banzi Chamber of Commerce can testify to this!"
Chen Yuan's brow furrowed slightly.
This old fellow was quite clever, shifting all the blame onto the demons in just a few words.
But words alone were no proof.
Who knew if he would turn around and sell them out...
As if sensing the murderous intent that had yet to fade from Chen Yuan's eyes,
Lu Bancheng suddenly looked up and reached into his robes. He pulled out a command medallion and held it high above his head with both hands: "This is the lifeblood of my Banzi Chamber of Commerce. The treasury seal and the chamber's registry are both within.From this day forth, the Banzi Chamber of Commerce completely submits to the Jieqing Sect as a vassal.If there is a single false word or any leak of information, may my entire Lu family have their Divine Souls obliterated and never be reincarnated!"
The old man's gaze was resolute. Having lived for most of his life, he knew all too well what these Dao Sect Cultivators were thinking.To survive, one had to surrender all their trump cards.One had to proactively hand their own lifeline over to the other party.
Jiang Yuechu quietly looked at the old man kneeling before her.
She did not immediately take the medallion.
She simply turned her head and looked at Chen Yuan: "What do you think?"
Hearing Jiang Yuechu's question,
Chen Yuan's body stiffened slightly as he fell into a long silence.
Actually, if possible, he was naturally extremely eager to complete this trial.The Banzi Chamber of Commerce had a deep foundation. If it could be brought entirely under the Jieqing Sect, this immense contribution would be enough for him, Junior Sister Su Liu, and the others to rise rapidly within the inner sect.
But in the end, it concerned everyone's lives.
The unnatural death of a Wusang Sect Direct Disciple was no small matter.If they were careless, not only would they fail to gain merit, but they would also lose their lives.
Chen Yuan took a deep breath.
Suppressing the greed and trepidation in his heart, he turned and bowed solemnly toward Jiang Yuechu.
He laid out the pros and cons in detail: "Guest Elder.If the Banzi Chamber of Commerce submits, our trial will reach Perfection, and the merit will naturally be very substantial.Furthermore, this chamber has accumulated wealth over many years; it is very lucrative and will be of great benefit to your future endeavors within the sect."
Chen Yuan paused, his gaze sweeping over the members of the Lu family kneeling on the ground.
"But the drawbacks are also extremely dangerous... Although Manager Lu has sworn a toxic oath and the chamber's members are willing to keep their mouths shut, there are countless insidious methods for soul-searching and spirit-capturing in Yunmeng Realm. Not to mention, it is just an oath; even if broken, it would only cost some reputation..."
As soon as these words were spoken,Lu Bancheng, kneeling on the ground, shuddered violently.
He had no doubt that these seemingly gentle Jieqing Sect Inner Sect Disciples truly possessed the ruthless intent to slaughter every member of the chamber.
Hearing this, Jiang Yuechu lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on Lu Bancheng's raised hands.
"Kill them all?" Jiang Yuechu shook her head slightly in her heart.
If she killed them all, wouldn't her trip have been for nothing?Without merit, how could she go to the Five Qi Treasure Land for Condensing the Chess Piece?
The path of cultivation is one where opportunity is accompanied by risk.
If one is afraid of this and that, they might as well hide back in the Great Tang.
Why bother coming out at all?
With this thought,the young girl slowly reached out her hand.
Her fair, slender fingers reached past Chen Yuan.
She gently took hold of that seal.
Lu Bancheng felt the weight in his hands vanish.
His heartstrings, which had been strained to the limit, finally relaxed completely at this moment.
His whole body seemed drained of all strength as he collapsed onto the ground.
"Thank you, Elder... Thank you, Elder!"
The other party had taken the foundation his chamber had painstakingly built for over half a lifetime, yet he still had to kneel and offer thanks with deep gratitude.
Such an absurd situation did not evoke the slightest bit of resentment in Lu Bancheng's heart.
Today's disaster, which had nearly wiped out his entire clan, had made him see everything clearly.
All that talk of being slick and versatile,and being able to please all sides, was all vanity in this unreasonable Yunmeng Realm. If you don't have the strength to truly hold the floor, or a backer that others fear,no matter how skilled you are at maneuvering, in the eyes of those great cultivators, you are nothing more than fattened livestock waiting to be slaughtered.
To continue developing the chamber in the future... one must have a powerful banner to wave and intimidate others.
Jiang Yuechu looked at the medallion in her hand and pondered for a moment: "Since your chamber has a deep foundation, do you have any objects of dao integration?"
Hearing this, Lu Bancheng thought for a moment before replying: "In response to your question, Elder... there happens to be one dao-merging object in the chamber's treasury.It was originally intended to be the grand finale at the Banzi City auction in a few days, but since you desire it, I shall naturally present it with both hands."
Lu Bancheng did not dare to hesitate for a moment. He hurriedly scrambled up from the ground, not even bothering to brush the dust off his clothes.
He walked ahead with a bowed back. "This way, please, Elder."
Amidst the ruins, the group stepped over broken bricks and shattered tiles as they headed deeper into the chamber's grounds.
Chen Yuan and the other three followed behind, their expressions still somewhat dazed.
The twists and turns of today's task were simply too great.
A Wusang Sect Direct Disciple had died, and the Banzi Chamber of Commerce had submitted.
Each of these events, if reported back to the Jieqing Sect, would certainly cause no small stir.
However...
Chen Yuan instinctively looked forward.
The young girl walking at the very front seemed to not care about any of this at all.
Chen Yuan sighed.Such a Mental state.It was simply not something common disciples like them could compare to.
Before long,the group arrived before a dilapidated pavilion.
The exterior was already in ruins from the demons' rampage, but fortunately, the entrance to the treasury was still intact.
The treasury was vast, with a dazzling array of items neatly arranged.
Lu Bancheng walked straight to a stone platform at the very back.
On the stone platform sat a simple sandalwood box.He held the box up with both hands and respectfully presented it to Jiang Yuechu. "Elder, this is that precious-grade dao-merging object."
Jiang Yuechu took it casually.With a slight flick of her finger, the box opened.After just a brief glance, she put the box directly into her Storage Bag.
She turned her head and looked at Chen Yuan."You handle the handover of the trial."
Chen Yuan quickly bowed with hands clasped. "Rest assured, Guest Elder, this disciple will certainly see to it." Jiang Yuechu nodded and said no more.
She turned and left the treasury. With this dao-merging object and the merit from this mission,
it would be enough to raise her cultivation to around the level of four chess pieces.
Only...
Now that she had the dao chess pieces...
she seemed to be lacking demons again...
========================================================================
"Phew" *Exhausted and dramatically wipes sweat* "Guys this was hard to do but i did it-" {Boom} *Turns head swiftly to see laptop exploding in the background.* "Oh No! wait noooooo-" *Falls to the ground wailing over the ashes* "It's so over its never been more over" *Hangs head* "Or is it? Remeber the words of your childhood youtuber" *Pulls out wallet crying manly tears* "As long as the chances aren't zero that means it's one hundred percent! With a credit card!" *Swipes card at checkout for internet service upgrade.* {Card Declines} "Okay now it's over." *Posts chapter on Phone instead.*
"GomenaSorry Every Nyan! I will do my best!"(๑•̀ ᴗ•́)૭✧
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⠀⣿⣛⣻⣿⡿⠿⠟⠗⠶⠶⠶⠶⠤⠤⢤⠤⡤⢤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣄⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣣⢹⣷⣶⣿⣿⣦⣴⣟⣛⣯⣤⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣌⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣄
⠀⠉⠙⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠻⠿⠿⠿⠷⠶⠶⢶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣤⣤⣤⣤⣤⣥⣬⣭⣭⣉⣩⣍⣙⣏⣉⣏⣽⣶⣶⣶⣤⣤⣬⣤⣤⣾⣿⠶⠾⠿⠿⠿⠿⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠃
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠉⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠛⠋⠉⠉⠉⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀