Chapter 173: The Zhou Family

　　Baili Gongjin’s face grew serious as well, and he said in a deep voice, “I remember when Supreme Palace was just established, the imperial Temple of Revered Elders had sent someone to the north to investigate, but to no avail. The only valuable piece of information was that Supreme Palace and Beiming Dark Palace in the north seem to be inextricably linked. In the beginning, everybody thought Beiming Dark Palace was eyeing Mount Meru. However, they did not make any move for the one hundred years that followed, and therefore the various major powers in Firecrow Empire allowed it to develop further.”

　　“That’s right!” said Cheng Feng, “Beiming Dark Palace is one of the few superpowers on the continent, so who dares to touch Supreme Palace? But, they are showing their tails now. I just don’t understand why the Xingyang family would want to steal from their treasury? Such an act is intolerable by any power. That sly old fox Xingyang Yi had been in charge of his family for over thirty years, and I knew him quite well. He was not a fool who would do that. I’m sure there must be something we don’t know!”

　　“It is no longer important whether there is a secret,” Baili Gongjin sighed. “The Xingyang family is completely gone, and Xingyang Huo is the last man of the family. I reckon he will attack Supreme Palace as soon as he learns about what happened to his family. That’s good, for we can take the opportunity to find out Supreme Palace’s strength. Xingyang Huo is already a peak nine-stars Martial Grandmaster, isn’t he?”

　　Cheng Feng said coldly, “Mount Meru is about to open, and various powers are stirring. I fear the incident of the Xingyang family is not as simple as we thought. But, everything will be clear in a few months.”

　　Baili Gongjin looked thoughtful. With his eyebrows frowned tightly, he said, “I suddenly feel that Yanwu’s inexplicable rise is not so simple. They had not only offended the Xingyang family, Cheng family, and Zhou family, but also had ties with the Wang family. I heard they even fought against the crown prince during the auction. Tsk, tsk, the Zhou family lost their Cauldron of Five Elements after the auction. Do you think Yanwu is the one who took it?”

　　“In this chaotic situation, the only way to protect oneself is to plan before action,” Cheng Feng sneered. “By standing in the center of the storm, Yanwu is either a group of fools or a pawn pushed to the front by some major power to observe the tide. As the most prosperous city of Tianshui, it is no doubt the best choice for that.”

　　Baili Gongjin said softly, “It’s said that Myriad Treasures Store is the power behind Yanwu…”

　　Cheng Feng was silent. He pondered for a long time, and only then did he say, “I’ve asked Myriad Treasures Store about this, and the answer they gave me is negative. But, at this juncture, I don’t know if they are telling the truth. In any case, both Beiming Dark Palace and Myriad Treasures Store are existences we can’t afford to offend, so we can only wait and see.”

　　After talking for a while more, they turned their attention back to the ‘Game of Heaven and Earth’.

　　At the same time, a group of senior members of the Zhou family was also discussing and analyzing the destruction of the Xingyang family.

　　The family head, Zhou Yangbiao, said softly, “It is a herald of chaos that such a serious incident happened at this time. Supreme Palace is not necessarily the culprit, and it might be the power behind them. We must not get involved in the storm. Mount Meru is nothing when compared to Yushan, and we can’t let anything happen to him at this critical moment.”

　　One of the elders, Zhou Chu, frowned and said, “But, our men are still trying to find out who robbed the Cauldron of Five Elements from us. It is said that someone saw the City Lord of Yanwu use it, but that has not been confirmed. Do we need to send someone to verify this?”

　　Zhou Yangbiao’s face grew cold as he said, “This City Lord of Yanwu, Li Yunxiao, is the same person who has a bet with Yushan. Yes, he does have the motive to rob the cauldron, but he doesn’t have the strength. I suspect he is a puppet pushed forward by some major power. Everything from the bet with Yushan to the robbery of the cauldron was premeditated, and the purpose is to lure us into action so they can do what they want.”

　　Another elder, Zhou Xing, said with shock, “Who are they? How dare they openly provoke us?”

　　Zhou Yangbiao said coldly, “I don’t know who they are yet, but this Li Yunxiao had not only offended us, but also killed Cheng Feiche from the Cheng family and Xingyang Jie from the Xingyang family. Putting aside the fact whether he had the strength to do so, just the courage alone is not something that an ordinary city lord could have. There must certainly be someone behind him!”

　　“Could it be that Li Yunxiao was also involved in the destruction of the Xingyang family?” said Zhou Chu, aghast.

　　Zhou Yangbiao frowned as he pondered for a moment and said, “It’s hard to say. Supreme Palace is more likely the one who did that, but we can’t rule out the involvement of Li Yunxiao either. Maybe the two of them were working together. There are also rumors that Myriad Treasures Store is behind Yanwu, but I don’t think that’s likely. As the number one trading company on the continent, Myriad Treasures Store’s power is not weaker than any of the superpowers. However, they never took part in any disputes, and they would never cultivate such a pawn force.”

　　Zhou Chu’s face was dark as he said angrily, “What annoyed me the most is that this Li Yunxiao managed to solve the mystery of the painting left behind by Yang Di, but in the end, he gave the reward to the Wang family for the sake of a girl! It is like Yushan delivered a great gift right to the doorstep of the Wang family! Why don’t we just make that girl Yushan’s concubine now? By doing so, the Wang family would have failed to fulfill what they had promised Li Yunxiao, and they would not get the reward promised by Yang Di.”

　　“No!” Zhou Yangbiao narrowed his eyes and said in a cold voice, “At least half of Wang family’s experts are hanging around us every day, and hundreds of divine senses are sweeping back and forth through our mansion in every moment. They know everything about us, and by watching us so openly, it proves that they are determined to fulfill their promise. If we do anything to Qin Ruxue, I’m sure they will rush in to save her in the next moment. Yushan is cultivating in seclusion now, and it is a sensitive time whence we can’t afford for anything to go wrong!”

　　“That’s right! And the Wang family is only responsible for protecting the girl for three months. After that, we will drag her out and play as we please. Let’s see what that Li Yunxiao can do to us then!” Zhou Xing sneered. “But, what should we do about the Cauldron of Five Elements? If we continue the investigation, we might drag ourselves into troubled waters. But, if we stop, what about Yushan?”

　　Zhou Yangbiao drummed his fingers on the table and said calmly, “I’ve found two cultivation vessels for him, so the Cauldron of Five Elements is no longer vital.”

　　That startled everyone and filled their hearts with chills.

　　What he meant was he had found two experts to forcibly transfer their Primordial Qi to Yushan. In that way, Yushan could gain a significant improvement in a short time. However, the strength obtained through such a method was not only limited, but a large part of it was hollow, and how much he could get in the end depended entirely on himself.

　　For someone poorly gifted, even if the method pushed him up one major realm, he might end up with an improvement of less than a star after stabilizing his cultivation base. Moreover, the cultivation base of the vessels must be at least two realms higher than the receiver, and the vessels would become cripples, with their Primordial Qi completely gone after that.

　　Zhou Yushan was a Martial Lord, so only Martial Grandmasters or above could be his cultivation vessels. And after they gave him their Primordial Qi, they would be crippled completely, no matter how much his strength had improved. In the southern region of Heavenly Martial Continent, a Martial Grandmaster could already establish his own sect and rule a land, and yet two experts of such level were wasted just to improve the strength of a junior. Only the four major aristocratic families had the reserves to do this.

　　No one could tell anything from Zhou Yangbiao’s face, but they guessed he did not feel any pain over the great cost. After all, it was to improve the strength of his son, and he was most likely overjoyed in his heart. “Still, we can’t just drop the matter, but we can’t be trapped in it either,” he said in a flat tone. “I think we will send two elders to investigate, one to Yanwu and the other to Supreme Palace. Remember, you must not attack them, and report back immediately if there is any news. The opening of Mount Meru this time may be riskier than any previous one. Apart from great strength, the reason why our family could survive for thousands of years was caution. We will rather miss a good opportunity than take the wrong step. Zhou Chu, Zhou Xing, I will have to trouble you this time.”

　　“Understood, my lord!”

　　Both men stood up hurriedly and answered. Zhou Yangbiao waved, and the two elders took their leave under the complicated glances of the others, heading toward Yanwu and Supreme Palace respectively.

　　…

　　Yunxiao drove the chariot in the direction of Supreme Palace and made a large round before stealthily returning to Yanwu.

　　“Although we fooled that old man, I wonder if we can deceive those aristocratic families.” Xiao Qingwang said worriedly. “Also, the Xingyang family has a patriarch who is an elder in Jutian Sect, and his cultivation base is unfathomable. We will be in huge trouble if he found out that we are the culprits.”

　　Yunxiao said calmly, “Even if we can deceive them, it is only temporary. If it weren’t for Uncle Chen’s death, I wouldn’t have attacked the Xingyang family so early. You don’t have to be too worried though. The most important thing for us now is to improve our strength. The destruction of the Xingyang family will at least slightly deter those aristocratic families who think they are so noble, and no one would harbor any ill intention against Yanwu for the time being. We need to take this period to improve everyone’s cultivation base.”

　　Afterward, everyone was brought into the Divine Realm Tablet. The newly recruited warriors were completely stunned; the disciples of Dhyana Sect, who had their own base, were awestruck when they were brought into the boundless independent space with Primordial Qi several times richer than the outside world. Meanwhile, the members of Dubhe, who were also the students of Jialan Academy, had never seen such an amazing place before, and each of them glanced around blankly like idiots.

　　Neng Feichen said excitedly, “No wonder Yanwu could become so strong in such a short time! It turns out you have such an amazing thing! An independent space with spirituality! Young Master Yun, this mystic artifact must be of high level, right?”

　　Yunxiao smiled and nodded. “Sect Leader Neng, are you satisfied with what I’ve promised you?”

　　Neng Feichen laughed and said, “Satisfied? I could not be more satisfied! With this mystic artifact and the Primordial Qi endlessly supplied by the Nine Dragons Energy Absorbing Array, the treatment is much better than what you’d promised! I believe that with these resources, Yanwu will become a superpower in Firecrow Empire sooner or later.”