Chapter 974

However, thinking of the Xiao clan from a thousand years ago, Lin Feng couldn't help but shake his head.

A family that possessed the peak of nine-star Dou Saint could still be said to have vanished just like that; the Zhao clan, which initially only had a six-star Dou Saint ancestor guarding it, after enduring two blows was nearly exterminated, which now seems quite normal.

But thinking of this, Lin Feng couldn't help but frown, and secretly thought: "From the various events of those years, it should be that the other ancient seven clans, seeing that the external threat of the Dan Ta Tower Master and the Burning Flame Valley Ancestor was gone, began to let the Soul Clan deal with the Xiao clan, this 'greatest' threat; finally, they watched helplessly as the Soul Heavenly Emperor designed and killed Xiao Xuan."

After that, on the Dou Qi Continent, there was no opponent left that could make the Soul and Ancient two clans wary. They then allied with the other five clans, began to slaughter other non-bloodline Dou Saints, in order to eliminate external opponents and achieve their goal of eternally ruling the Dou Qi Continent.

Lin Feng thought about it and felt this possibility was extremely high.

After all, even the emperors of Blue Star hope that their throne can be passed down forever, eternally ruling the land.

Moreover, the benefits of gaining hegemony over the Dou Qi Continent are far greater than those of the Blue Star emperors.

After all, no matter how capable an emperor is, can they live for over a thousand years?

Even if one's lifespan is nearing its end, could they extend their life by a few hundred years?

But on the Dou Qi Continent, if you could, like the ancient clan, directly incorporate the eastern territory of Zhongzhou and the entire Eastern Continent into your domain, or like the Medicine Clan, control the area south of the Beast Realm together with the Southern Continent, gathering all the good cultivation resources from those places.

Even if it were a pig, relying on these resources to wildly increase its strength, it could live for over a thousand years, and then extend its life by a few hundred years.

As long as no one is killed midway, there is absolutely no problem!

Moreover, in the Dou Qi Continent, by relying on these countless resources, you can become the foremost powerhouse, dominate the world, and rule over vast territories of billions of miles.

The feeling of holding such great power can be countless times more exhilarating than that of the Blue Star emperors who need fine food and drink, support a huge bureaucratic apparatus, and day and night guard against military leaders.

Therefore, faced with these countless benefits, Lin Feng simply does not believe.

Those ancient clans would simply watch as the non-bloodline forces on the Dou Qi Continent rise to power completely.

Then they would compete with them for territory and for high-level cultivation resources.

And while the former was spacing out, Zhao Ran began to popularize that period's history to him.

"Back then, during the period when my Zhao clan was slaughtered by the Hall Master of the Soul Hall leading people, the four forces within the Zhongzhou Seven Sects were also successively annihilated; moreover, due to their weaker strength, those four sects suffered even worse than my Zhao clan, completely cutting off their inheritance, with not a single disciple escaping."

"The Zhongzhou Seven Sects?"

Upon hearing this new term, Lin Feng, who had been deep in thought, instantly snapped back to attention, his face full of curiosity as he asked: "Zhao Sister, this is the first time I've heard of the Zhongzhou Seven Sects; which forces are they exactly?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ran saw that Lin Feng didn't understand and immediately explained: "The Zhongzhou Seven Sects are respectively the Earth Travel Sect, the Void Mysterious Gate, the Treasure Appraisal Mountain, the Void Mysterious Mansion, the Responding Dragon Gate, and the Heaven One Sect. These seven forces, back then, were jointly known with our Zhongzhou Five Clans as the 'Five Clans Seven Sects'; a thousand years ago, even the weakest among them had a four-star Dou Saint presiding over it."

"But unfortunately, times have changed; the current Five Clans Seven Sects are no longer what they were. Moreover, the latter four sects of the Zhongzhou Seven Sects were already annihilated a thousand years ago by the Hall Master of the Soul Hall, Hun Mie Sheng. Therefore, at present, only the Earth Travel Sect, the Void Mysterious Gate, and the Treasure Appraisal Mountain still exist."

"And the reason Hun Mie Sheng dared to do this was that their own ancestor had already been slaughtered by the ancient clans before their sect was destroyed."

Upon saying this, Zhao Ran also let out a heavy sigh and said: "Because of that bloody show of strength by the Soul Hall, the four surviving clans and three surviving sects of the Five Clans Seven Sects now all believe in keeping a low profile, having abandoned ninety-nine percent of their territory, carefully shrinking into a corner."

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng, thinking thoughtfully, said: "Although I've never heard of the 'Five Clans Seven Sects' before, I do know some news about the Earth Travel Sect, the Void Mysterious Gate, and the Treasure Appraisal Mountain due to the space auction house. Earlier I wondered why they all liked to keep a low profile, but after hearing you say that, I now understand."

"Eh, I didn't expect you little brat to also know about the space trade fair."

Upon hearing the former mention the space trade fair, Zhao Ran was also surprised.

But immediately after, she curled the corner of her mouth into a forced smile and said: "The next space trade fair will be hosted by the Treasure Appraisal Mountain; given your current strength, you will likely receive an invitation from the Old Man of Treasure Mountain before the fair begins in a year and a half."

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng's heart stirred, and he immediately exclaimed in surprise: "Zhao Sister, from your tone it seems you are quite familiar with this space trade fair and the Treasure Appraisal Mountain."

"Hehe, I'm not only familiar with the Treasure Appraisal Mountain, but also equally familiar with the Earth Travel Sect and the Void Mysterious Gate."

In response to the former's surprise, Zhao Ran chuckled and then explained: "The space trade fair, at its very beginning, was actually initiated by the remaining forces within our 'Five Clans Seven Sects' taking the lead."

"After all, back then each of the major forces had abandoned the vast majority of their territory, but the need to nurture the next generation and maintain the safety of their forces not only did not diminish, it actually grew day by day. For a time, how to create income and obtain cultivation resources for their own sect or clan members became a top priority for all the forces."

"Thus, against this backdrop, the remaining leaders of the forces within the 'Five Clans Seven Sects' put their heads together and decided to simply hold a trade fair in a barren desert in the northeastern region of Zhongzhou; we would be responsible for maintaining order and collecting a certain fee. As for why we chose the desert, it is because the sandstorms rage there, the land is barren, and the Soul Hall and other ancient clans have no interest whatsoever, so they would not clash with other ancient forces."

However, Zhao Ran turned the conversation and continued: "Actually, when the trade fair first began, the several major forces simply drew a circle in the desert and started holding the trade fair."

Only later, as this trade fair gradually developed and grew, did our several major forces begin to establish detailed rules, open up an independent space to hold the trade fair, set entry thresholds, and assign the Earth Travel Sect, the Void Mysterious Gate, and the Treasure Appraisal Mountain to handle the outward work.

As for our Zhao, Ouyang, and Doubo three great families, we are responsible for providing information, negotiating with some treasure owners, and letting them come here to auction items, etc.

No wonder I said, Zhao Sister, you seem so familiar with the space trade fair; it turns out your Zhao family is one of the founders of the trade fair!

After hearing the former's explanation, Lin Feng finally came to a sudden realization.

He just said, in the former's words, there was a hint of familiarity with that space trade fair.

As a result, the other party turned out to be a shareholder of the trade fair.

However, judging from how poor Zhao Ran is now, it's probably because she exhausted the family fortune to give Zhao Yuan a chance to break through to Dou Saint; otherwise, a shareholder of such a top-tier trade fair could not possibly be this impoverished.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng unconsciously rubbed his chin with his palm.

However, thinking about that independent space of the space trade fair.

Next, he raised his head and gazed at the opposite side's charming, mature face, curiously asking: "Zhao Sister, since your several major forces have joined together to create this space trade fair, you must be quite familiar with each other, right? Do you know the details of those other forces?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ran helplessly shook her head, opened her red lips slightly, and said: "You little brat, your curiosity is truly vigorous; today I happen to be free, and besides, although our several major forces cannot be said to be inseparable, we can also be said to share the same fate, and we understand each other quite a bit, so I'll tell you."

As soon as her words fell, she explained: "Currently, among our several major forces, only the Doubo clan, the Ouyang clan, and the Treasure Appraisal Mountain still have Dou Saint experts holding the fort. And within these three forces, the Dou Saint experts of the Doubo and Ouyang clans are at the early stage of three-star Dou Saint, while the Dou Saint expert of the Treasure Appraisal Mountain is slightly weaker, at the late stage of two-star Dou Saint."

"And aside from the Dou Saint experts, these three forces also possess half-saint experts; therefore, looking across the Zhongzhou Continent, aside from those ancient clans, there are not many people who can shake these three forces."

Upon hearing this, Lin Feng was astonished at the strength of these three forces, and secretly thought: "Not to mention other forces, even the ancient clans—currently the Nine Netherworld Earth Abyss Python and East Dragon Island—are difficult to defeat these three forces."

Of course, the East Dragon Island referred to here is before Zi Yan leaves seclusion.

If that girl successfully absorbs the Dragon-Phoenix Origin Fruit completely, then East Dragon Island would directly thrash these three forces.

And at this time, Zhao Ran continued: "As for our Zhao clan and the Tian clan, there's no need to say more; you already know some of that from before. As for the Earth Travel Sect and the Void Mysterious Gate, their internal sects each only have a mid-level half-saint former sect master and a supreme elder existing."

"Even so, in the Zhongzhou Continent, there are also not many people who would actively provoke them. After all, half-saint experts, when looking across the entire Zhongzhou Continent, are similarly not possessed by many forces."

"Tsk tsk, I never expected there to be so many half-saints and Dou Saints on the Zhongzhou Continent; I had no idea before."

After hearing the former's explanation, Lin Feng immediately clicked his tongue in wonder.

Regarding this matter, he truly felt astonished.

Before this, he thought that the Dou Saint experts on the Zhongzhou Continent were only the Flame Valley's Fire Cloud Ancestor, living at the gate of the Medicine Clan's small world, the Shen Nong Mountain Range, and the Shen Nong Old Man who has countless ties with the Medicine Clan.

But he never expected that today, from Zhao Ran's mouth, he would learn that there are still several other Dou Saint experts existing on the Zhongzhou Continent.

And Zhao Ran, upon hearing the former's words, rolled her eyes like a little girl, then said impatiently: "First, don't look at the other four continents; you yourself calculate roughly how many people there are in this Zhongzhou."

"And with so many people, the total number of living Dou Saint experts added together is still far inferior to that of any single family among the ancient seven clans, yet you still dare to say there are many?"

Hearing that, Lin Feng shook his head helplessly and said, "Although this number truly can't match any of the Ancient Seven Clans, it is already far higher than the number of Dou Saints I imagined. After all, we non‑bloodline people can't draw cards and rely on luck like the ancient races; only if we have good fortune can we obtain a high‑level bloodline holder who can directly reach the Dou Saint realm."

Moreover, now the major ancient races outside are fully suppressing the development of Zhongzhou Continent, monopolizing almost all opportunities to become saints, while inside various major forces are scrambling like dogs for the scraps the ancient races discard. Reaching the present state has already been extremely difficult.

"Sigh, you make a good point."

After hearing the former's words, Zhao Ran's momentum waned, and she let out a helpless sigh.

When Lin Feng finished speaking, an image of an item flashed in his mind, and he asked, "Zhao Sister, since your Zhao family is one of the founding forces of the Space Trade Association, you must have plenty of information channels and should be able to track down the whereabouts of many things, right?"

Hearing Lin Feng bring it up suddenly, she immediately retorted, "I can't claim we're that powerful, but as long as it isn't of too high a level or hidden by someone, I think we can still find out about anything no one else mentions."

Having said that, her beautiful eyes met Lin Feng's, and she shifted tone, continuing, "However, even if you can find it, judging from the things you little brat have shown so far, it must be something quite valuable. Let's be clear, I have no money to help you purchase anything; you'll have to trade with the other party yourself."

Hearing that, Lin Feng pounded his chest and said, "I'm not the kind to overreach; if I find the item, how could I let you—"

"Hm?"

Upon hearing the former's address, Zhao Ran's hand, which had been tugging at her outer robe to prevent a wardrobe malfunction, instantly stopped caring about modesty and, placed at her side, clenched into a tight fist.

The look was as if, should Lin Feng dare say another word, she would immediately smash her fist into his face.

"Zhao Sister, calm down, your front is exposed."

Halfway through, Lin Feng watched her movements and the dazzling two clusters of white and pink specks, and quickly changed his tone to remind her.

Seeing such a beautiful sight, his eyes widened slightly and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

"Hmph, little pervert, quickly tell me what you're looking for. Otherwise, sister won't help you any further."

Sensing the former's hopeful gesture, Zhao Ran also realized her outer robe had already opened, and as she swiftly closed it, a pleased hum escaped from her nose.

At the same time, she thought with secret delight, "Looks like my charm hasn't faded since back then."

When Lin Feng saw the beautiful scene vanish, he knew it was improper, yet for a brief instant a hint of disappointment flickered in his heart.

But soon he recovered, rubbing his hands with a grin, "Hehe, everyone has an eye for beauty; Zhao Sister, don't be angry. As for what I'm looking for, it's a fragment map that seems to have a considerable connection to the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire, which ranks third on the Exotic Fire ranking. I happen to have a great interest in the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire, so I want to find it and trade for it."

He added, "Of course, I will never have you, Zhao Sister, pay for my purchase. As long as I locate the item, and if the other party is willing to trade, I'll buy it myself with my own goods."