Chapter 296 - 121: Merchant Caravan, Zhao Tianming, Silvery-White Fur

On Cyan Mountain Peak, a group of Daoists exchanged glances but dared not intervene.

However, the Silver-White Dog Demon lying at the foot of the mountain sensed something. It leaped high into the air, shaking off the Little Red Fox on its back, and shot off like a gust of wind.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

The Little Red Fox took a hard tumble and stamped its feet in frustration, but how could it possibly keep up with the white dog?

After chasing for several miles without seeing a trace of him, it finally left, dejected.

Outside the mountain forest, Su Bai seemed to have no intention of riding the clouds. He condensed his surging True Qi into a thin, golden-purple cord and used it to lead the Silver-White Dog Demon, walking at a leisurely pace.

At one point, he caught the scent of fox on the white dog and couldn’t help but shake his head slightly.

"I told you to leave the mountain with Jin Yunfeng to gain some experience, but you weren’t too happy about it. You spend all day fooling around with that Little Red Fox. You reek so much, people would probably believe you if you said you were a fox spirit."

"Blessed Infinite Heavenly Venerable!"

The white dog chanted mysteriously, then added in a somewhat childish, high-pitched voice:

"Elder! I’m a good dog. She’s the one who gets pushy, there’s nothing I can do! I can’t just bite her to death, can I?"

During this time with Su Bai, the Silver-White Dog Demon had received significant benefits. Its bloodline had been greatly refined, making it no less inferior to some peerless Great Demons with terrifying bloodlines.

"You and that Little Red Fox certainly share a deep karmic bond. But one’s a white dog, the other’s a red fox. What’s there to it? Do you really want to find yourself a fox spirit?"

Su Bai teased, shaking the thin cord in his hand.

"Elder! I’m just a simple dog!"

the Silver-White Dog Demon hastily protested its innocence.

Su Bai chuckled. Compared to the old Daoist Cui Yanliang and the saber-wielding woman, this Silver-White Dog Demon had spent the most time with him.

As for Cui Yanliang and the saber-wielding woman, they had left the mountain to travel together several days ago.

"Elder! If you’re going to Yu Province, why not just ride the clouds?"

"Wouldn’t that be much faster?"

The white dog asked curiously, drooling from the corner of its mouth.

"That big-bearded guy seemed to be heading to Yu Province too, right?"

The "big-bearded guy" it mentioned was, of course, Jin Yunfeng, who had lost his physical body and whose Divine Spirit was now housed in a silver-white skeleton.

"The higher your Cultivation and the more time you spend soaring in the heavens, the more you forget how to walk. You still need to walk on the ground once in a while."

Su Bai replied casually.

That being said, his way of walking was different from that of an ordinary person.

As the Experience Points for his Fourth Immortal Golden Body Transformation increased, his Physique had strengthened considerably, becoming Extraordinary and transcendent. While it wasn’t apparent on the outside, his body had undergone earth-shattering changes within.

Every step he took covered a vast distance, effortless and graceful, as if the world itself were pushing him forward.

"I don’t get it!"

The Silver-White Dog Demon licked its teeth. Compared to this, it kind of missed the big-bearded guy.

’Those bones, that body... way more fun to play with than that Little Red Fox.’

...

The Dayu Immortal Dynasty was far vaster than the Great Xia Dynasty.

Take Desolate Province, for example. It was dotted with cities of all sizes, and one couldn’t count the number of large and small cities, commanderies, and counties within its borders.

Previously, due to frequent incidents of monsters and ghosts harming people in the forests and rivers, there were fewer traveling merchants. Even those who did travel would do so in groups, which in turn led to a significant decrease in the number of bandits.

It had to be said that the deterrent effect of demons, fiends, and ghosts was often far greater than that of the local Government Offices of the Dayu Immortal Dynasty.

As Su Bai’s Divine Thoughts grew stronger, the range of his perception expanded, and his understanding of Desolate Province became more comprehensive.

And recently, because Su Bai had gathered the world’s Daoists to live in seclusion in the mountains of Desolate Province, they had suppressed a number of Demon Fiends and ghosts, severing contact between the mountain Demon Ghosts and humans.

As a result, the number of traveling merchants throughout Desolate Province gradually increased.

"That’s Ningjiang City up ahead! While the Prefecture City is the most prosperous in Desolate Province, when it comes to wealth, it has to be our Ningjiang City!"

In a merchant caravan, Su Bai lay on a haystack in a flatbed cart, glancing up at a tall man who was giving him an introduction.

This caravan was from Ningjiang City, trading in the nearby cities. It numbered over a thousand people. Seeing Su Bai traveling alone, they had kindly invited him to join them.

Of course, anyone who dared to travel the world alone these days was likely someone truly capable, so no one tried to cause trouble. Instead, they were quite respectful toward Su Bai.

This was especially true after an incident on the road where Su Bai simply blew a breath of air and effortlessly healed the injuries several people had sustained from Demon Fiends. That naturally earned him even more awe and respect.

Before long, Su Bai looked up and could see the silhouette of a large, prosperous city at the end of the wide road.

The city nestled between the mountains, stretching for a hundred miles from east to west. Its walls towered hundreds of feet high, built entirely from a special black-and-gold material.

"Elder Su, if you have no place to stay after we enter the city, why not come and stay at my home for a few days?"

Not far away, a travel-worn, middle-aged man walked over quickly.

This middle-aged man was named Zhao Tianming, the organizer of the caravan. He held considerable prestige in Ningjiang City and was said to be immensely wealthy with a bevy of wives and concubines—a prominent figure in his own right.

If the goods the caravan was escorting weren’t so important that nothing could be allowed to go wrong, he wouldn’t have had to come out personally.

It was he who had first noticed there was something special about Su Bai and insisted on inviting him into the caravan.

"There’s no need. I won’t be staying long once I enter the city."

Su Bai waved his hand, declining the offer.

Zhao Tianming was a little disappointed but didn’t insist. He took out ten taels of gold and offered it respectfully.

"I can see that you, Elder, are a transcendent master who surely looks down on such worldly possessions. But in a big city, one inevitably has to spend a little. It’s still necessary to have some spending money on hand."

"If you do not find it beneath you, Elder, please accept this money. Consider it my treat for a few drinks."

"You’re quite generous."

Su Bai reached out, took the gold, and gave Zhao Tianming a deep look.

"Since you’ve given me a gift, I should give you one in return..."

He reached out and plucked a single silver-white hair from the yelping, snarling dog. It looked like a silver needle, glistening brightly in the sunlight.

Zhao Tianming was slightly stunned.

’What good is a dog hair?’

Still, he nodded and obediently accepted the hair.

As soon as Su Bai finished speaking, people in the distance began to shout that they were entering the city.

Su Bai said no more, hopped off the wooden cart, and walked toward Ningjiang City.

Beside him, the Silver-White Dog Demon glanced back at Zhao Tianming and bared its teeth in a snarl.

"Brother Zhao, what’s wrong?"

Seeing Zhao Tianming silent for a long time, a stocky guard walked over. "Did that man say something to you?"

"Hey! Don’t believe him. These days, the ones who love spouting mystical nonsense the most are these people who act all profound and mysterious."

"You don’t understand!"

Zhao Tianming, however, shook his head. He carefully put away the hair as if it were a Supreme Treasure.

"That Elder is a person of real ability."

’Someone who dares to travel the world alone can’t be an ordinary person, can they?’

Coming back to his senses, he immediately gave an order:

"Tell the men to pick up the pace. The sooner we finish our business, the sooner we can all go home."

He had been roughing it on the road for more than three months and hadn’t been home. He dearly missed everything about his home.

The procedures for a merchant caravan to enter the city were quite complicated, but Zhao Tianming was a man of status, and he had everything taken care of in no time.

Afterwards, he booked an entire restaurant and held a banquet for everyone in the caravan.

By the time the banquet ended, the night had grown late and the moon was dim. With his family on his mind, he turned down friends who invited him to go out carousing.

Supported by a few servants, he swayed unsteadily on his way home.

The Zhao Family estate was vast and luxuriously built, complete with rockeries, pools, long corridors, and waterside pavilions—it had everything one could wish for.

But as soon as he stepped into his home, he sensed something was wrong.

The house was dark. Not a single lamp was lit.

"Where is everyone?"

He frowned and saw a servant beside him already pounding anxiously on the main door.

"The master is home! Where the hell is everybody?"

Eerily, there was still no response.

Under the deep, dark sky, sinister gusts of wind howled past.

Zhao Tianming shuddered, the alcohol leaving him in an instant. A wave of terror washed over his heart.

Something was wrong!

Zhao Tianming’s expression darkened. Just as he was about to take two steps forward...

CREAK!

The main door opened a crack, and a head poked out to look around.

Upon seeing Zhao Tianming, the person was overjoyed. "Master! You’re finally back!"

"Did something major happen at home?"

Zhao Tianming’s expression was grim as he stepped forward.

"Where are the ladies?"

"The ladies..."

The young servant hesitated, as if struggling to say something difficult. Then, a look of utter terror appeared on his face.

"Master, the ladies are all waiting in the rear courtyard..."

"Out of my way!"

Zhao Tianming shoved the door open and strode toward the rear courtyard.

WHOOSH—

The night wind howled, and the courtyard was chillingly cold.

SOB... SOB...

Just as he entered the rear courtyard, he heard a woman’s quiet sobbing coming from a candlelit room ahead.

"Lian’Er!"

Recognizing the cry, Zhao Tianming had a terrible feeling. He immediately drew the longsword from his waist, let out a loud cry, and burst into the room.

Although his aptitude for the Martial Dao was average, his family’s great wealth had allowed him to use countless resources to brute-force his way to the Divine Power Realm, giving him some ability to protect himself.

BANG!

As he threw the door open, the night wind rushed in, flooding the entire room.

Zhao Tianming glanced over and saw a woman behind a blue gauze curtain, crying with her face in her hands.

"Husband, you’re finally back!"

When the woman saw Zhao Tianming return, she cried out helplessly.

"Lian’Er, what’s wrong?"

Seeing his wife crying ceaselessly, Zhao Tianming’s heart ached.

His Divine Sense was sharp, and he saw at a glance that the woman before him was covered in bruises, with clear strangulation marks on her neck.

"Husband! You... you’ve brought such misery upon me... and upon our sisters..."

The woman just cried, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

Her sobs made Zhao Tianming’s heart tremble, and he asked urgently.

"What in the world happened!?"

The woman cried for a long while before saying between sobs, "Husband, do you remember... the God of Wealth you invited into our home some time ago?"

Zhao Tianming froze.

Of course, he remembered.

Some time ago, he had been hit by a string of bad luck for some reason. His business kept losing money, and he nearly lost the family fortune. Later, on a friend’s recommendation, he had invited a God of Wealth into his home.

Every day, he would worship it with sincere devotion, offering incense and incense money.

Sure enough, his business had started to get better and better. He made several large profits, and his family’s finances became solid again.

Because of this, he grew ever more grateful to this God of Wealth. He would kowtow and offer incense almost daily, and he would always worship it before leaving on a business trip.

’Could it be... there was something wrong with this God of Wealth?’

"Three months ago, the night you left... that God of Wealth suddenly appeared. It scared away the maids and servants, defiled me, and... and all of our sisters..."

As she spoke, the woman collapsed onto the table, sobbing. Tears streamed down her face, completely blurring her vision.

The overwhelming humiliation she felt reached its absolute peak in that moment.

Zhao Tianming stood as if struck by lightning, his body trembling violently. His eyes turned crimson, as if they were bleeding!

Then, a roar of pure, irrepressible fury burst from his chest:

"You lecherous Evil God!"

"How dare you wrong me so!?"