Chapter 522 - 475: Bazhou Alliance

Chapter 522: Chapter 475: Bazhou Alliance

The reception hall on the second floor of the True Understanding Pavilion, long since fallen quiet, had become bustling again ever since Chu Mu’s return from the Demon Suppression Islands.

In just a few short months, the "guests" visiting the pavilion had become a veritable, endless stream.

Though it was only early morning, a guest was already seated in the reception hall. Several Maids waited on him respectfully. Chang Er sat to one side, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, he made an excuse to leave. He descended from the second floor, wove between the display shelves, and after a few paces, turned into a side hall of the shop.

Inside the hall, a young woman sat behind a desk, casually looking through Jade Scrolls that detailed the affairs of the True Understanding Pavilion.

It was clear that all matters of the True Understanding Pavilion, large and small, were decided by this woman’s will alone.

"Fairy."

Chang Er arrived before the desk and bowed respectfully.

"This visitor should be Hu Yunjiang, the first disciple of Mountain Rock True Master from the Celestial Star Alliance."

"I understand. You may go."

Chang Hongyi’s expression was serene. With a wave of her hand, a projection of the second-floor reception hall materialized.

After watching for a moment, Chang Hongyi slowly rose to her feet. A long, bright red dress hugged her body, accentuating her graceful figure. Yet, it carried not a hint of Charm, giving off a strange sense of sanctity instead.

Chang Er kept his gaze fixed ahead. After another respectful bow, he quickly withdrew.

The young woman turned her head to look at the backyard beyond the window. An Array Prohibition shrouded it in a thick mist, making it impossible to see a thing. As if a thought crossed her mind, her eyes darkened for a moment, but she soon regained her serene composure. She walked out gracefully, ascended the stairs, and stepped into the reception hall on the second floor.

Seeing Chang Hongyi appear, the somewhat anxious man in the reception hall immediately stood up. He cupped his hands in a bow and said, "On my master’s orders, I have traveled a thousand miles to Chixia for the express purpose of seeing Chu True Master. I hope the Fairy might be able to accommodate me."

Chang Hongyi explained with a gentle smile.

"Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist. The True Master has been in seclusion for quite some time, and it is unknown when he will emerge."

"How about this, Fellow Daoist? Why don’t you take up temporary residence in Chixia for a while? Once the True Master emerges from seclusion, Hongyi will certainly inform him at the first opportunity..."

"I hope the Fairy can accommodate me. Is it possible to inform Chu True Master right now?"

Hu Yunjiang froze for a moment, then smiled and cupped his hands in another bow.

"The True Master is in seclusion for his Cultivation. How could we juniors dare to disturb him?"

Chang Hongyi looked troubled. "I hope you can be understanding as well, Fellow Daoist..."

"Fairy..."

Hu Yunjiang was clearly not ready to give up, continuing to press his case.

Chang Hongyi showed no sign of impatience, maintaining her troubled expression and deflecting his requests one by one.

After a great deal of back-and-forth, she finally saw Hu Yunjiang out of the True Understanding Pavilion.

The young woman seemed to heave a sigh of relief. Once Hu Yunjiang was a good distance away, she turned and walked straight into the backyard.

"You’re certainly taking it easy, Brother Chu. All these guests coming and going from the True Understanding Pavilion are here for you..."

Seeing Chu Mu seated in the stone pavilion, leisurely fiddling with a Jade Scroll, the young woman couldn’t help but make a complaint.

Chu Mu paused, setting down the Jade Scroll. He turned to look at the young woman, who was still muttering complaints, and couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile.

There was truly nothing he could do about it.

He had returned from the Demon Suppression Islands, and while he had escaped the turmoil there and no longer had to be wary of the Profound Serpent Race, it was clear that as long as he remained in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, he could not avoid its endless troubles.

The True Understanding Pavilion still stood tall and imposing, though its surging expansion had long been forcibly halted by his command.

By now, the True Understanding Pavilion had become a purely commercial Business Alliance, merely opening branch pavilions throughout the Vast Sea. Aided by his fame for Pill and Artifact Dual Proficiency, it had managed to maintain a relatively neutral position.

Be it the Chen Family or the so-called "Evil Cultivators," no one was willing to offend a top Master of Pills and Artifacts in the Vast Sea like him, at least not without a clear conflict of interest.

But despite that, being caught in the middle of it all, the constant attempts by various factions to woo him with promises and threats were inevitable.

He had long since instructed the True Understanding Pavilion to announce that he was in seclusion for his Cultivation. Even so, the calling cards sent from branch pavilions across the land to the Chixia True Understanding Pavilion Main Pavilion, not to mention the direct visits under all sorts of pretexts, were numerous—a practically ceaseless flow.

Seeing her fuming, Chu Mu offered a comforting smile. "Just keep turning them away. Don’t worry about it. If it gets to be too much, it’s fine for the True Understanding Pavilion to scale back its operations."

"As long as I’m around, the sky won’t fall on the True Understanding Pavilion."

"That’s easy for you to say, Brother Chu!"

Chang Hongyi shot Chu Mu a look, then picked up a pot and poured a cup of Spirit Wine. She handed it to him before taking a seat by his side.

By now, the young woman seemed to have calmed down. She frowned and looked at Chu Mu. "Given the current situation, I’m afraid we won’t be able to put them off forever. When that time comes, Brother Chu, what do you plan to do?"

Chu Mu narrowed his eyes, taking a sip of the Spirit Wine. After a long moment, he set the cup down and turned to the young woman.

"Delegate whatever trivial matters of the True Understanding Pavilion you can. Your own Cultivation is what’s truly fundamental."

As he spoke, Chu Mu took out more than ten Jade Bottles and passed them to her.

"These are all Flawless Pills. If you use them for your Cultivation alongside the Pill Pattern Elixirs, you should be able to avoid much of the Erysipelas."

Chang Hongyi looked at Chu Mu, a little confused.

But when she met his placid gaze, she froze, and a flicker of understanding crossed her face.

"Brother Chu, are you saying... if it comes to it, we should abandon the True Understanding Pavilion?"

Her voice was low.

Chu Mu fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "It might not come to that."

After a moment’s hesitation, Chu Mu waved his hand, and the Ninth True Inheritance Order appeared before the young woman.

The young woman froze, then snapped her head up, her eyes filled with shock and confusion.

"This order... it wasn’t my wish, but it’s not something I can refuse."

"The chaos in the Vast Sea was started by the Longevity Sect."

Having said this much, Chu Mu fell silent.

’To me, the True Understanding Pavilion is nothing more than a convenient tool.’

’If things become untenable, it doesn’t matter if I throw this tool away. As long as I’m still here, I can establish another True Understanding Pavilion whenever I want, another convenient tool.’

’My only concern is Chang Hongyi. After all, I’m just the hands-off boss; she’s the one who toils over every matter, large and small, for the True Understanding Pavilion.’

"Hong’Er understands."

The young woman’s face suddenly broke into a radiant smile, all trace of her previous dejection gone.

"Don’t worry, Brother Chu. Hong’Er will handle everything for the True Understanding Pavilion."

Chu Mu was taken aback by her sudden cheerfulness. Before he could react, she handed him a Storage Talisman.

"These are the Spiritual Objects you asked me to collect, Brother Chu. They’re all here. Please take a look."

"Alright."

Chu Mu didn’t dwell on it, casually accepting the Storage Talisman and tucking it away.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, the young woman exclaimed:

"Oh, right! Brother Chu, I have news about the Nine Heavens Profound Gold you asked me to look into."

Chu Mu asked eagerly, "Who has it? And what are their conditions?"

The young woman shook her head. "It’s not in anyone’s possession. It’s going to be at an auction held by the Bazhou Alliance."

"Just a few days ago, the Bazhou Alliance announced they would be holding a celebration at year’s end for the thousand-year anniversary of their founding. They’ll also be holding an auction as part of the festivities, and the Nine Heavens Profound Gold is on the list of items to be auctioned..."

"Bazhou Alliance?"

Chu Mu raised an eyebrow, his surprise unconcealed.

He had heard of the Bazhou Alliance, but since entering the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, he had always been active overseas around Chixia and naturally had little interaction with the powers, large or small, on the Southern Border Continent.

The Bazhou Alliance was located in Bazhou, and the famous mouth of the Chu River was within its territory.

It was a remote region, so he naturally had no dealings with them, having only ever heard their name.

Chu Mu spoke slowly. "Tell me about this Bazhou Alliance."

"The Bazhou Alliance..."

The young woman pondered for a moment before beginning her explanation. "Legend says the Bazhou Alliance was founded a thousand years ago by the famous Overlord Saber True Master. However, the True Monarch of Overlord Saber disappeared several hundred years ago."

"The one in control of the Bazhou Alliance now is Overlord Saber True Master’s first disciple, Ba Xing True Master. His Cultivation is rumored to have reached the Late Stage of Golden Core."

"The Bazhou Alliance has two other Golden Core cultivators: Ba Xing True Master’s junior brother, Chen Jun, also known as Chen True Master, and Ba Xing True Master’s disciple, Luo Hao, or Luo True Master..."

"Ever since the turmoil in the Vast Sea began, the Bazhou Alliance has sealed off Bazhou, prohibiting any outside Cultivators from entering. It’s said that everyone, from the Cultivators sent by the Chen Family to the people dispatched by the Celestial Star Alliance, was blocked outside of Bazhou and denied entry."

"It wasn’t until last month that the Bazhou Alliance suddenly lifted the blockade, and just a few days ago they announced their celebration to the entire Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World..."

Chu Mu’s brow furrowed. He asked, perplexed, "In a time like this, how can the Bazhou Alliance have the confidence to put on such a grand display?"

"There are rumors circulating that this millennial celebration is actually to celebrate the return of the Overlord Saber True Master..."

"Rumor has it he has already become a Nascent Soul Great Power and has returned to the Bazhou Alliance to lead them in a bid for supremacy over the Vast Sea."

Chu Mu nodded thoughtfully, then looked at the young woman. "Let me see the auction list."

She immediately handed him a Jade Scroll.

Chu Mu took the Jade Scroll and swept his Divine Sense inside. A dazzling list of items appeared before him, and the Nine Heavens Profound Gold was clearly one of the final, crowning treasures of the auction.

Chu Mu’s Divine Sense flickered, and the detailed spiritual image of the Nine Heavens Profound Gold recorded within the scroll manifested in his Divine Sense Perception.

The next second, Chu Mu’s body seemed to tremble, and his breathing grew heavy.

Within the spiritual image, a piece of Nine Heavens Profound Gold the size of a human head flickered into view. Even its inner patterns were clearly visible.

’It’s real!’

In that instant, Chu Mu knew the answer.

This head-sized piece of Nine Heavens Profound Gold was absolutely genuine!

’If I can obtain a piece this large, and add it to the Nine Heavens Profound Gold I’ve already collected... my Sword Intent Supreme Treasure, complete with its Big and Small Ruyi ability, can finally be forged!’

Seeing Chu Mu’s obvious interest, the young woman thought for a moment before speaking. "According to the information Hong’Er has gathered, the Chen Family will likely send people to the year-end celebration. The Celestial Star Alliance is also said to be making arrangements, and all the other powers, large and small, are preparing as well..."

"If you go, Brother Chu, will you go in disguise, or will you go in the name of the True Understanding Pavilion?"

"In the name of the True Understanding Pavilion. I must have that Nine Heavens Profound Gold!"

...