Chapter 529

"What? That immortal treasure was stolen?" The Prince of Jin put down the memorial in his hand in astonishment, his face full of disbelief.

Liu Quangong beside him said, "That is the latest news."

"What is the truth?"

Liu Quangong lowered his head and said, "As for the truth, I'm afraid no one knows."

The Prince of Jin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed and said, "I hadn't even had time to draft the imperial decree ordering him to present the treasure, and the immortal treasure is already lost. It really was lost at the right time."

"Isn't that just right? If this imperial decree were sent out, I'm afraid it would damage the dignity of the imperial court."

The Prince of Jin laughed heartily and said, "For an immortal treasure of this rank, let alone me not being able to get it, even if some immortal were to lower their old face to ask for it, they wouldn't be able to get it either. Do you think Wei Yuan would obediently send it over just because I issued an imperial decree? You don't believe it, and neither do I. The people who wanted me to draft this decree don't believe it either."

Liu Quangong lowered his head and said nothing.

The Prince of Jin suddenly said, "Go and bring all the memorials that have been sent in to me."

Liu Quangong hesitated slightly.

"Hurry up!"

Liu Quangong went and returned in a hurry, carrying a dozen memorials. The Prince of Jin looked through them one by one and asked slowly, "Is this all?"

"Only these."

"Good, you may go. Someone, prepare the carriage; I am going to the Chunhua Hall."

A moment later, the Prince of Jin sat opposite Imperial Consort Yuan, teased the little Prince of Chu in her arms for a while, and then said, "Have you heard? Wei Yuan's immortal treasure is lost."

"What immortal treasure? Is it very powerful?" Imperial Consort Yuan asked.

The Prince of Jin said, "It can shave ten thousand years off a person's lifespan; would you say it's powerful? But it's not too surprising that the immortal treasure is lost; what surprises me is that a few memorials are also lost."

Imperial Consort Yuan finally moved her gaze away from the little Prince of Chu, looked at the Prince of Jin, and asked, "What could be written on those memorials?"

"If I'm not mistaken, they should be urging me to issue an imperial decree to Wei Yuan, demanding he offer this immortal treasure as tribute."

A flash of light appeared in Imperial Consort Yuan's eyes, and she said as if nothing had happened, "It seems the palace is not peaceful, and neither is the imperial court."

Wei Yuan watched as crates of breastplates were loaded onto cargo trucks, then exchanged for crates of immortal silver.

Around him, more than a dozen principals of various chambers of commerce, forces, and large and small families formed a circle, inquiring about possible directions for cooperation.

Wei Yuan was very patient and said, "... I want silk; I will take as much of every variety of spiritual silk as you have. If you don't want immortal silver, you can also use silk to exchange for other supplies.... Also, spiritual wood; it doesn't need to be of very high rank or age; thirty years is enough, and if that's not enough, twenty years will do.... Refugees, this is the most important. If you can cumulatively transport ten thousand refugees here, then we will open up more trade...

Bandit suppression? This can't be suppressed; mainly because we can't beat them... It's best if you all don't think about suppressing them either; you really can't beat them... But the horse bandits here are very reasonable. If you are really worried, you can hire a team to help you escort your merchant caravans. In the Western Regions, first-class men become horse bandits, and second-class sons become government troops...

... It doesn't matter if you don't want to hire horse bandits. In our Western Regions, horse bandits follow the rules; when they encounter a merchant caravan, they will take at most twenty percent. If they have been robbed once, then other horse bandits will not rob them again..."

The crowd chatted for a long time and were all quite satisfied, seeing endless business opportunities and prospects for cooperation.

A family head of a small family, a beautiful woman who looked to be in her early thirties, leaned toward Wei Yuan and said in a soft voice, "Realm Lord Wei, you must pay attention to your own safety! If something were to happen to a person like you, wouldn't all the girls in the world be heartbroken to death?"

When this woman spoke, her voice trembled with every word, her charming eyes were like silk, and her voice was as sweet and greasy as boiled honey. If it weren't for Wei Yuan's great fame, she would have been afraid to hang directly onto him.

Wei Yuan smiled slightly and said, "Everyone, there is no need to worry; there are not many Dharma Form cultivators in the world who can beat me."

Everyone praised Wei Yuan's dominance and gained a bit more confidence in the trade. Finally, Wei Yuan added a temporary program, ordering people to take the group of leaders and family heads to the morgue where the Shaman corpses were piled up to take a look.

Everyone was seeing millions of corpses for the first time. Looking at that boundless, neatly stacked mountain of corpses, the crowd finally understood what level of battles Qingming had been fighting in the past.

In addition to the shock, a family head suddenly asked, "Realm Lord Wei, can this war be won?"

Wei Yuan looked toward the northwest; with his eyesight, he could vaguely see the greenness connecting heaven and earth in that direction. The power of heaven and earth in the Shaman Domain was like a ten-thousand-foot mountain range, looking down on Qingming.

Wei Yuan suddenly laughed and said, "Of course we can win! When have I ever lost?"

Although many people felt that Wei Yuan was suspected of bragging, seeing his smile full of sunshine, they inexplicably gained confidence. Indeed, Wei Yuan had never had a record of defeat in leading troops in battle in the past.

A family head shouted, "Lord Wei, although my Lu family is small, we are willing to contribute to resisting the foreign tribes! This time I brought a total of one thousand armored soldiers, willing to donate them to you, my lord! These people are all born and raised in my Lu family; they are loyal, reliable, and brave enough not to fear death." Wei Yuan was immediately moved and said, "The family head is offering charcoal in snowy weather, so I will accept it. In Dongzhike Town and Yong'an City, I will reserve a piece of the best land for the Lu family."

Other merchant caravans and families also donated people one after another; those with warriors sent warriors, and those without warriors sent refugees. Wei Yuan immediately received nearly ten thousand skilled warriors and nearly one hundred thousand refugees.

After the crowd dispersed, Bao Yun appeared by Wei Yuan's side and sighed with emotion, "They really spent their capital; it seems the hearts of the people can be used."

These families and merchant caravans were all small and medium-sized forces, and being able to bring out one thousand people was already their limit. The things they donated to Qingming would probably take several years of business to earn back.

Wei Yuan understood that a small part of the reason these people wanted to have a good relationship with Qingming, but the greater part of the reason was that after seeing the mountain-like Shaman corpses, they wanted to contribute to resisting the Shaman tribes.

Wei Yuan also didn't expect that there would be such a side of disregarding gains and losses in these people who valued business and profit, and sighed, "Every time I feel a little disheartened, I can always see something inspiring."

Wei Yuan took a deep breath and said, "There is still a little trouble; once it is handled, I can free up my hands to focus on dealing with the Shaman tribes."

At the Bianning Commandery Governor's Mansion, Sun Sun Chaoen was holding a grand banquet to entertain the imperial envoy and his party.

Sitting in the seat of honor was a civil official with a dignified appearance, a solemn expression, and arrogant features. There was not much of a smile on his face, and the disdainful expression when looking at Sun Sun Chaoen was undisguised. He raised his wine glass and said, "A small place like Bai Feng Academy can still produce talents like Magistrate Sun; it is truly rare. Magistrate Sun has worked hard to reach his current position, so he should be diligent and work well for the imperial court. When you have time, read more books of the sages; what your Bai Feng Academy teaches is probably only enough to be a county magistrate."

The smile on Sun Sun Chaoen's face did not diminish, and he said repeatedly, "Lord Zhu's teaching is correct; the subordinate really should study hard. I will go and read Magistrate Zhang's collection later."

The civil official snorted, put down the wine in his cup without drinking it, and then said, "I should be on my way."

No errors in the first, no errors in the content, look at it one by one!

Subsequently, the imperial envoy's mission set off. Sun Sun Chaoen escorted them all the way to the city gate. Seeing that the mission had already walked several miles and was gradually disappearing at the end of the road, Sun Sun Chaoen still stood in place, unwilling to return to the city. His attitude of respect was simply beyond compare.

In the mission's carriage, the official sat in the carriage, wondering what he was thinking. The two accompanying civil officials sitting opposite said, "Magistrate Sun is still standing at the city gate!"

Another person said, "This Magistrate Sun is also from a scholarly background..."

The official suddenly opened his eyes and sneered, "Coming from a small academy I've never even heard of, what kind of scholar is that?"

The two attendants were startled and hurriedly changed their words to agree. Although a lot of the silver in their pockets was Sun Sun Chaoen's filial piety, their master was arrogant, and it was already considered worthy of Sun Sun Chaoen that they could say a few good words.

At this moment, an old man sitting beside the official suddenly opened his eyes, his voice filled with murderous intent, and he said coldly, "There is murderous intent; it seems this Western Regions section is still unwilling to be peaceful!"

The official also opened his eyes and said coldly, "There are actually Dharma Form cultivators robbing the road? Hehe, I want to see how many Dharma Forms the horse bandits of the Western Regions can have."

The old man said, "It's been a long time since I've exercised my muscles and bones; Junior Nephew, let's go and meet the experts here!"

"That should be the case."

The two slowly walked out of the carriage and saw a team of masked knights blocking the road opposite them. Standing above the knights were twelve Heavenly Soldiers!

The two attendants who got off the carriage later were momentarily dazed; these were twelve Dharma Forms?!

They immediately realized that these were not twelve Dharma Forms, but one person who had cultivated twelve Heavenly Soldier Dharma Forms. However, the pressure of the latter was no less than that of twelve basic Dharma Forms.

The expressions of the old man and the official became solemn. The old man saluted and said, "With such cultivation, you are definitely not an unknown person; why must you be a horse bandit?"

The knight laughed heartily and said, "Precisely because I am not an unknown person, I can become a horse bandit! Stop the nonsense; are you the imperial envoys from the capital?"

The official said sternly, "Since you know our background, you still dare to intercept and rob us; could it be..."

The knight interrupted him directly and shouted, "It's good that it's you! Do it!"

The official was so angry that he laughed, and shouted sternly, "With just you alone, I'm afraid..."

The knight interrupted him again: "Who said I was alone?"

In an instant, the heaven and earth around them changed drastically, the wind rose and the clouds surged. Suddenly, a cluster of orchids bloomed in the air, fragrant and beautiful! Subsequently, a giant scorpion carrying a medicine tripod and alchemy furnace rushed out from the orchids, leaving scorched earth wherever it passed; a small golden bird circled and danced in the air, and between its flapping wings, golden feathers drifted down with the heavenly music.

From all eight directions, a giant immortal sword appeared, shaking and standing tall, each with a different aura, but all with the intent of killing.

Amidst the clouds and mist, there were three mountain and sea exotic beasts appearing and disappearing, their giant eyes half-open and half-closed, deep as the sea, emitting the aura of the prehistoric era.

So many visions instantly left the entire imperial envoy mission and a thousand guards and soldiers dumbfounded, and also left the people on the city wall of Bianning Commandery dumbfounded!

Numerous Dharma Forms swarmed up, the earth suddenly shook violently, a hurricane rose into the sky, many soldiers were thrown into the sky, and the imperial envoy's carriage was thrown hundreds of feet away, shattering upon landing.

A moment later, the wind stopped and the clouds gathered. The earth was a mess, and the imperial envoys, guards, soldiers, and horse bandits were nowhere to be found.

Only then did Sun Sun Chaoen turn around and return to the commandery city leisurely.

(End of chapter)