HSSB1129: Finally, after a long time
After leaving Wind Thunder Manor, Yan Zhaoge set off for Kunlun Mountain.
He first made a trip to the Concealed Sovereign’s dao arena at Restful Immortal Valley.
There were no pleasant surprises to be had as the Concealed Sovereign was still in seclusion there.
Yan Zhaoge could naturally only hold on to what Chu Lili had entrusted him with in the Roving Jade Heavens.
After leaving Restful Immortal Valley, Yan Zhaoge headed to Northern High Peak’s Jade Capital Crag where he said hi to Wang Pu and the others.
Qiu Jiahai was currently working on the establishing of the Heavenly Mysteries Pavilion as requested by Yan Zhaoge as he was away from the mountain.
Xiao Ai had gone off with him too.
Right, Xiao Ai was the person whom Yan Zhaoge had arranged for to manage the Heavenly Mysteries Pavilion’s general affairs.
While she would go man-crazy and money-mad once in a while, always acting like a little girl in front of Yan Zhaoge, she had experienced much in having roamed the world with Xue Chuqing in the past as she had the capability to hold her own as was necessary.
While she might still be somewhat inexperienced, she had the potential and was worth developing.
Along with Qiu Jiahai to watch over her, nothing should go wrong.
As for whether she might give some customer a discount because she found them handsome after operations had begun, Yan Zhaoge could only feign obliviousness then.
“As long as she doesn’t fall prey to some pretty boy scheme and get taken down, it should be fine,” Yan Zhaoge thought rather ignobly.
Managing a treasure trove like this was truly a wonderful job for someone like her whose eyes sparkled when she saw money.
Even though she did not own them, just being part of the process gave her great fulfilment.
Still, with that, Xiao Ai lost her status as maid as she was unable to serve Yan Zhaoge all the time as she wanted. Xiao Ai felt somewhat regretful at losing this status.
She had still not gotten used to the change in having gone from a maid to a supervisor.
“The things you have asked for have mostly already been sent to Dragon Butterfly Valley,” Wang Pu said, “Some of them are rather low in quantity. When more arrives, they will be sent over as quickly as possible too.”
Yan Zhaoge clapped his hands, “That’s wonderful. Thank you, senior apprentice-brother Wang.”
He also described his experiences this time to Wang Pu and the others in a succinct manner, meanwhile omitting the parts that were inconvenient.
“We should pay close attention to the Brocade Emperor’s situation.”
Wang Pu had originally been of the same opinion as Liu Zhenggu on the contest between the white and black Brocade Emperors.
After communicating with Yan Zhaoge, he too changed his stance, coming to support the white-clothed Brocade Emperor.
Still, as the whereabouts of the two were currently unknown, he too could not do anything about this even if he wanted to as he could only wait and see.
“If your judgment of their temperaments is correct, there is something you must be wary of,” Wang Pu suddenly said after pondering for a time, “You must beware the black-clothed Brocade Emperor openly attacking the east but actually attacking the west. He could draw the attention of the white-clothed Brocade Emperor with the Four Grands Earlier Heaven Flag before suddenly turning around and launching a strong offensive.”
Yan Zhaoge understood what he was getting at. The black-clothed Brocade Emperor might suddenly shake off the white-clothed Brocade Emperor before murderously returning to the World beyond Worlds, launching a sneak attack on Fu Ting and Meng Wan as well as Yan Di, the owner of the Grand Simplicity Splendour Cloud.
“Your reminder makes much sense, senior apprentice-brother Wang,” Yan Zhaoge nodded, “I too discussed the possibility with my father earlier. While it is somewhat less likely to happen, it is true that it must be guarded against.”
The current situation was such that for either the white or black-clothed Brocade Emperor to continue advancing their cultivation bases, they would first have to get rid of the other party.
This was the foundation of everything which had to be settled before anything else was even discussed.
In the competition between the two, the Four Grands Earlier Heaven Flag naturally served an integral role as an Immortal Artifact.
If the black-clothed Brocade Emperor forsook the Four Grands Earlier Heaven Flag and returned to the World beyond Worlds to first handle these other affairs, this would undoubtedly be taking a risk.
Still, having gone through the cost-benefit analysis, one had to conclude that the possibility did exist.
Although the black-clothed Brocade Emperor would not be able to defeat the white-clothed Brocade Emperor having lost the Four Grands Earlier Heaven Flag, it was actually not absolutely necessary for him to face the latter alone.
Such contests were not simply about martial superiority as the right of might existed with the victor.
“If Master returns, the black-clothed Brocade Emperor would not dare to take this risk,” Wang Pu said, “Master would definitely not let him go if he sought to do senior apprentice-uncle Yan harm.”
“If he wants to act against senior apprentice-uncle Yan, he must first be sufficiently confident of successfully advancing within a short period of time to become a Sovereign afterwards. Only with the ability to withstand Master’s wrath would it be possible for him to do so. Otherwise, calculating the gains and losses, he would definitely not choose to do so lightly.”
Still, Wang Pu too was not certain on when the Sword Sovereign might be able to return to the World beyond Worlds, “If Master does not return, I wonder how likely it is for the black-clothed Brocade Emperor to take this risk?”
“Perhaps he might be able to contact some others beforehand, receiving their aid in withstanding senior apprentice-uncle Yue,” Yan Zhaoge smiled, “If only he alone takes the risk, his chances now would be much lower.”
Hearing this, Wang Pu smiled too.
Nie Jingshen was not like any normal ninth level Martial Saint in having ascended to the Human Exalt stage.
As a sword cultivator who was proficient in offence rather than defence, he might not actually fare as well as Chen Qianhua could against a True Immortal.
Nie Jingshen was still effectively different from typical Human Immortals, though.
With him having ascended the Human Exalt stage, the pressure brought about by the Brocade Emperor had decreased greatly.
Moreover, the Sword Sovereign had also left an Immortal Artifact in the World beyond Worlds.
After finishing his discussion on some other matters with Wang Pu, Yan Zhaoge took his leave in departing Northern High Peak and heading towards Dragon Butterfly Valley.
There, many preparations had already been made beforehand with the help of Wang Pu and the other martial practitioners of Jade Capital Crag.
Ah Hu was waiting there for him as he instantly grinned widely upon seeing him, “You are finally back, Young Master.”
“It has certainly been eventful indeed,” Yan Zhaoge said, “Still, things have finally settled down somewhat, and I can finally get to doing these things that I have been planning for.”
As he stood at the centre of Dragon Butterfly Peak, a smile could be seen by the corners of his mouth as he sensed the spiritual fluctuations of the area.
He stomped lightly as the entire valley instantly shook in response.
Streams of radiance lit up, extending into the distance and forming a massive formation which enveloped the valley.
The radiance gradually dimmed now. Nothing could be seen from the outside though traces were still left behind on the ground of the valley.
Within the valley, the earth veins shook as multiple streams of spiritual qi shot out from the ground like geysers.
“Arise!” Ah Hu did as Yan Zhaoge had previously instructed, raising one large furnace after another which landed on the sources of those geysers from which spiritual qi was gushing.
A total of nine pill furnaces simultaneously opened now with their fires automatically coming alit.
The spiritual qi that surged from the earth veins was directed within, as though used as kindling.
As the nine pill furnaces circulated simultaneously, combining their strength in a formation, they gradually began drawing the spiritual qi cycle of the surrounding heavens and earth in converging towards the valley together.
A subtle change shockingly occurred with the spiritual qi flow about Kunlun Mountain with Dragon Butterfly Mountain as its centre.
“Very good,” Yan Zhaoge nodded satisfiedly as he saw this.
“Where do we start, Young Master?” Ah Hu asked in a simple and honest manner, “Vajra Thunder? That Wind Thunder Manor has been pretty diligent. Should we reward them so that they will work harder and more yearningly for us?”
Yan Zhaoge snapped his fingers, “Vajra Thunder will be second. Let us forge something else first.”
“Something that will be of use to we ourselves. I have been waiting for this day for a long time.”