[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-watching-the-immortals-fall":3,"chapter-watching-the-immortals-fall-watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-357":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Watching the Immortals Fall",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2260230,4410,"Chapter 357: The Aristocratic Families Are Returning the Grain?!","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-357",357,"\u003Cp>“It’s not about selling grain—he wants to reallocate resources through his own hands…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How dare he?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above the mist-shrouded cliff of Tian Shu Academy, the five Hall Masters who received the message could not help but gaze toward the bustling Wulü Trading House in the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, only after receiving the message from Shanhai Pavilion did they understand exactly what Ji You intended to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As one of the immortals who received the people’s offerings, apart from the stoic Zuo Qiuyang and the secluded You Yingqiu, the other three Hall Masters wore solemn, unreadable expressions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the Elders of the Elder Hall, their gazes had already turned sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Regarding this matter, he has gone too far. As a disciple of Tian Shu Academy, we have the duty to stop him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lü Fengchuan, Hall Master of Wu Yu Hall, gazed from the cliff toward Zuo Qiuyang, the acting Headmaster, his words earnest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Zuo Qiuyang spoke softly: “Change is not always pure misfortune without blessing. When Ji You suppressed all the immortal estates in Fengzhou, did any of their cultivators starve?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you believe Ji You’s actions are right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am not taking his side—I am merely filling in for my sister. My decisions represent her will, so I must observe more carefully.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also furrowing their brows were the high-ranking figures of Ling Jian Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Yan Jingxiang, the Peak Master of Xuan Jian Peak, and his younger brother Yan Jingrui stood before the Peak Master Hall, both unable to tear their eyes from the majestic Yun Ding Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, after reading the message from Shanhai Pavilion, Yan Jingxiang immediately brought Yan Jingrui up the mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his daughter refused to receive them, granting only an audience with the palace guard, Yan Chuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Yan Chuan, the Master of the Mirror was in a critical phase of seclusion and would not see visitors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So they returned to the Peak Master Hall and, from their elevated position on Xuan Jian Peak, gazed toward the grain-distribution caravans in the southern city of Nanfeng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thousand-year-old tax and tribute system had guaranteed the transcendence of cultivators, ensuring they could live in ease without engaging in production, untouched by worldly burdens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if this were truly rewritten, the consequences would be cataclysmic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people of Qingyun Realm could now receive grain from Fengzhou through labor, no longer dependent on local harvests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet if eighty percent of the nine realms’ grain output were diverted, there would no longer be enough to sustain the system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the aristocratic families still threatened the people to seize the grain meant for their households, nothing would be straightforward anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most crucially, during these ten years of land leasing, no one could predict what else Ji You might do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Remember, from the moment he entered Tian Shu Academy until his repeated influence on this world, only five years had passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More critically, once grain production was centralized in his hands, he could use offerings to court other aristocratic families—even immortal sects—whether splitting the harvest fifty-fifty or seventy-thirty, he had countless ways to rewrite the world’s balance and fracture the Nine Realms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And since the aristocratic families and immortal sects already engaged in open and covert rivalry, they would inevitably fracture further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who gained tax and tribute power from Ji You would seize the chance to uphold this new order, using the guise of justice to expand and suppress all rivals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the founding of Great Xia, to the emergence of immortal sects, to the thousand-year mischief of aristocratic clans, such events had long been commonplace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, regardless of the method, this was a plan requiring time—but even its first move had already roared like thunder and wind, striking fear into all who heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Peak Master!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Yan Jingxiang gazed at his daughter’s main hall, a serving disciple rushed up, his waist sword clattering with each step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the disciple before him, Yan Jingxiang turned and spoke: “Speak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Report, Peak Master: Messengers from outside the sect report that Shanhai Pavilion, the Chen Shixian Clan, and Wenda Sect have all dispatched large groups of elders and disciples down the mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then let us observe the changes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Jingxiang spoke softly, exchanging a glance with his brother Yan Jingrui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had not rushed because they knew that even if Ling Jian Mountain and Tian Shu Academy remained still, the other three immortal sects would not sit idle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, disciples of the three immortal sects flooded into their respective prefectures and jointly issued imperial edicts to the vassal aristocratic families, ordering them to halt all seizures of grain from Wulü Trading House.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The edicts also demanded that the vassal families immediately distribute the collected grain in sufficient portions to the refugees, retain only what they needed, pay market price for it, and return all remaining grain immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would not allow Ji You to complete this scheme, so they must reclaim the signed fish-scale registers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after the human catastrophe, all six immortal sects except Yu Danzong had suffered heavy losses; uncertain of Tian Shu Academy’s and Ling Jian Mountain’s positions, they dared not risk confrontation, so their tone was undeniably mild.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was their sincerity—and their test.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet their sincerity sought the same in return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three sects’ edicts came unexpectedly, leaving many aristocratic families stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You had already run out of options; their granaries were nearly overflowing—this was the perfect moment to crush him completely. They could not understand why the immortal sects had suddenly issued such orders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it had been only Tian Shu Academy, it might have made sense—but for Shanhai Pavilion, Wenda Sect, and the Chen Shixian Clan to demand the grain be returned? This was even harder to comprehend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Shang, Ji You has no more tricks—why return the grain?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do as you’re told—and remember to be humble!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though many aristocratic families did not understand the decision, they noticed the immortal sect envoys’ expressions were urgent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More crucially, they saw that the grain carts originally taken up the mountain by the sects had now been pulled back down—even some carried magical artifacts and elixirs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though hesitant, the pressure from the immortal sects was real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gradually, some families ordered their grain collection to stop and began repacking the grain already unloaded into granaries back into sacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath a gloomy sky, a swift horse galloped nonstop from Qingzhou toward Fengzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the onset of Start of Winter, the air was bitterly cold; the wind slicing across the rider’s face felt like blades—but the horse did not slow a single pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a day and night of relentless galloping, the horse finally reached Fengzhou City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A man leapt from the saddle and hurried into Ji Zhai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a clerk from Qingzhou, not assigned to grain distribution at Wulü Trading House, but tasked with observation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You’s actions would profoundly impact Qingyun Realm, yet he remained alone in Fengzhou, unable to oversee all six prefectures—so before the plan began, he had placed spies to monitor all movements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh-huh—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Days of relentless riding had left the clerk exhausted; even his breaths sounded weary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he did not slow, sprinting through the compound until he reached the second courtyard and found Qiu Zhong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uncle Qiu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I need to see the Proprietor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiu Zhong’s expression grew serious, then led him into the main hall of the second courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As temperatures plummeted, every room in Ji Zhai had been lit with stoves—the main hall included.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Qiu Zhong lifted the curtain ahead, a wave of warm air rushed forth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clerk stepped into the hall, bowed before Ji You, and spoke: “Proprietor, the sixth warehouse’s grain has just arrived—the aristocratic families have suddenly halted collection, and the immortal sects have sent large groups of Elders and disciples into the city.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So they’ve noticed—faster than I expected.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji You frowned at Qiu Zhong: “Send word—tell every manager and clerk who leased land to return the remaining fish-scale registers to Fengzhou immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qiu Zhong bowed: “I’ll go at once.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, any further orders?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell them to watch their safety.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Qiu nodded and stepped toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Cao Jingsong and the others gathered around the other two sides of the stove could not help but stare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, they had not understood Ji You’s plan at first—only when contract after contract and fish-scale register after register were brought back did they grasp his ambition, trembling for days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was not bloodsucking—it was flaying alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rewriting Qingyun Realm’s tax and tribute system was something they had never dared imagine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only now, belatedly, did they realize they were witnessing history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Wen Zhengxin, Ding Yao, Zhuo Wanqiu, and the Lu sisters, their hearts churned in turmoil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless prodigies and noble sons filled the world; they had seen countless elegant, imposing figures—but never before had they seen someone whose mere gesture could overturn the world, their toes curling involuntarily inside their boots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The grain distribution in Fengzhou hasn’t ended yet?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No—several more carts arrived a few days ago, and they’ve only distributed perhaps two percent. It’s still early.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never anticipated Fengzhou’s grain output could be so terrifying…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What good is more? There are countless aristocratic families—no matter how much grain, they’ll never fail to swallow it all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Taiping Tower, Shengjing City, countless cultivators held teacups, leaning on the balustrade, murmuring among themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They still watched Ji You’s “helpless struggle,” enjoying it endlessly even after a month—happier than during the New Year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Fang Jincheng, who had mentally scripted multiple dramas: Ji You’s pale face, his desperate howls, his bitter regrets—he grinned daily, unable to close his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his view, this scene was the most satisfying, even brightening his Dao heart slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yunyue also leaned on the balustrade and spoke: “If he could just lower his pride, step forward, and apologize to the aristocratic families, perhaps there might still be room for compromise.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Apologize?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After so long of grain distribution, most aristocratic families have already received what they needed—what remains is merely punishing Ji You for his arrogance, making him understand his true worth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yunyue’s words were indeed correct—the aristocratic families had already gathered nearly enough grain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet they refused to stop, plainly aiming to teach Ji You a lesson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So if Ji You would only step forward, admit fault, and bow before the immortal families, even if he could not escape this quagmire, he would not be stripped so brutally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to this day, Ji You has not appeared—let alone bowed or begged for mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yunyue gazed at the thronging Trading House and murmured: “To cling to pride and refuse to bow—how foolish. He’s become the world’s laughingstock.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1793,"2026-06-19T15:28:41.422Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3a42c93c7f27edb38fc5129725e5e8b4bb6a5f29cbf0d7037ff81a404357ced4","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-358","watching-the-immortals-fall-chapter-356",430,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwatching-the-immortals-fall-cover.jpg"]