Chapter 245: Ruling the World (14) — Pavilion General Alliance

Hearing this, Zhang Yuanyuan's eyes filled with shock and uncertainty. She answered him carefully. Having worked at Precious Heaven Pavilion for over a decade, she had long mastered the art of reading people; as she spoke, she quietly observed Jiuyou's expression and mannerisms, her attitude respectful yet constrained.

"To think Senior could perceive my ancestral homeland. Your divine abilities are truly unfathomable," she said. "This junior indeed hails from Dahan, and my ancestors did include someone named Zhang Qingling, though she lived hundreds of years ago. My name is Zhang Yuanyuan. I wonder, Senior... did you truly know my ancestor?"

Jiuyou let out a low chuckle, his tone carrying a time-tempered detachment. "Naturally, I knew her. I watched that girl grow up with my own eyes."

Before his words even faded, he lightly raised his fingertips. A gentle, invisible stream of spiritual energy brushed out. The quaint jade pendant around Zhang Yuanyuan's neck slipped from its cord and flew through the air, coming to rest in Jiuyou's palm. He gently rubbed the chipped edge of the jade with his thumb, his gaze darkening slightly as he traced the word "Peace" carved into the stone.

"I carved this jade myself back then," he said. "That little girl traded bundle after bundle of mountain herbs for it."

Zhang Yuanyuan froze in place, her face full of disbelief. The nearby shopkeeper was even more shaken. From those few words alone, he deduced that the man before them was a top-tier mighty figure—at least in the Nascent Soul Stage—and absolutely beyond comparison to any ordinary cultivator. His expression grew increasingly respectful. Not daring to intrude, he hurriedly bowed and retreated to the side, tactfully giving the two of them space.

Once they were alone in the hall, Jiuyou slowly asked about what had happened to Zhang Qingling later in life, and why the Zhang descendants had migrated millions of miles to settle in Dayan.

Through Zhang Yuanyuan's fragmented recounting, Jiuyou learned the whole story.

Hundreds of years ago, a massive upheaval suddenly erupted in Southern Frost. Countless demonic beasts and rogue cultivators wreaked havoc, throwing the borders into endless turmoil. Hundred Declarations City, bordering the southern frontier, descended into complete chaos. Desperate for a sliver of safety, Zhang Qingling and her husband moved their entire family. After a long, arduous journey full of displacement and twists of fate, they arrived in the Dayan Empire, a land of booming commerce and abundant resources.

The cultivation environment here far surpassed the war-torn borders. To ensure their descendants could practice and establish themselves in peace, the Zhang family settled down, multiplying generation after generation. By the time it reached Zhang Yuanyuan's generation, she was the sole surviving heir. Burdened with ordinary Three Spiritual Roots and mediocre aptitude, she had no choice but to work year-round at Precious Heaven Pavilion to make a living. More than a decade had passed in a flash.

Jiuyou listened quietly to the whole tale. From start to finish, his face remained as indifferent as calm water, not a single ripple showing in his eyes.

The chaos in Southern Frost back then had been stirred up single-handedly by him, causing countless commoners to lose their homes and clans to migrate. But his pursuit of the Great Dao had long since forged his Dao heart to be as solid as a boulder. The rise and fall of the masses and the partings of the mortal world could no longer stir his emotions in the slightest. He felt no guilt or remorse.

The turning of karma and the shifting tides of the world were nothing more than mere drops in his Mortal World Heart Tempering.

Jiuyou raised his hand and returned the jade pendant to Zhang Yuanyuan. With a casual wave, he took out a few spare low-grade magical artifacts and several bottles of ordinary medicinal pills, handing them over. The items were common and not particularly precious, but they were enough to aid her cultivation and self-defense without being flashy enough to draw greedy, prying eyes.

Filled with trepidation, Zhang Yuanyuan initially wanted to bow and decline. However, faced with a gift from a senior expert, she ultimately didn't dare refuse. She could only accept the storage pouch with both hands, kowtowing repeatedly in thanks.

Looking at the inexperienced young woman, Jiuyou remembered the innocent and pure Zhang Qingling from years ago, and offered a light warning. "This place will not be peaceful in the near future. If you get the chance, leave the imperial capital as soon as possible."

As he finished speaking, his body shifted slightly. His figure dissipated like a light breeze at the pavilion's entrance, leaving absolutely no trace.

From the moment he stepped into Precious Heaven Pavilion, Jiuyou's divine sense had already completely swept through the entire building. He had even secretly activated the Five Origins Universal Hub to sense the surrounding spiritual energy veins and lingering auras. There wasn't the slightest trace of Fang Buxin here; the man must have already left.

He had deliberately come inside this time not to hunt his enemy or search for treasure, but simply because he had caught a glimpse of this old jade, touching upon a piece of old mortal karma from hundreds of years ago.

During his Mortal World Heart Tempering in the past, Xiao Ling'er's pure kindness had once brought a moment of peace to a heart that had weathered all the storms of the Cultivation World. It had also added a few meager insights to his Dao of Mortal World Heart Tempering. The long years had passed. His old acquaintance had long since turned to dust. Only the old jade and her descendant remained—that was all.

Leaving the Precious Heaven Pavilion branch, the spiritual light around Jiuyou suddenly retracted, then flared. He transformed into a streak of divine light, piercing through the clouds above the marketplace and shooting straight toward the Precious Heaven Pavilion General Alliance headquarters deep in the high sky.

The world knew of the Dayan Imperial Capital's booming prosperity, but very few knew that the true core foundation of Precious Heaven Pavilion was not located within any mortal city.

Its General Alliance was entrenched on a giant Dust Severing Stone. This stone was a wondrous spiritual ore of heaven and earth, so massive it rivaled the entire Dayan Imperial Capital. It hung suspended tens of thousands of feet in the air year-round, slowly drifting through the void with the wind. In recent years, it had just so happened to drift to the outskirts of the imperial capital.

The massive stone completely isolated the foul air of the mortal world. Palaces stretched endlessly across its surface, and immortal terraces stood in great numbers. The merchant guild's true core power and top-tier foundation were entirely hidden within this floating celestial rock.

Moving without a trace, Jiuyou quietly stepped onto the Dust Severing Stone secret realm. His majestic divine sense instantly rolled out over the entire floating mountain, sweeping through thousands of halls and pavilions. Ultimately, he failed to detect even a shred of Fang Buxin's lingering aura.

The man's whereabouts remained completely unknown.

His eyes turning slightly cold, Jiuyou casually cast a secret art, silently subduing and capturing a Nascent Soul Late Stage elder on duty. Using the Dream Induction Art, he peered into the man's secret memories.

After a thorough search, the truth became clear.

This elder held a high status, yet he only knew a few details. He only knew that Fang Buxin had undergone body seizing to be reborn and was hiding in the world. No one knew his current appearance or exact whereabouts. There was only one bizarre clue: ever since his rebirth, Fang Buxin had been frantically and secretly collecting soul origins.

Regardless of race, regardless of righteous or demonic paths, any cultivator or ancient demonic beast above the Nascent Soul Late Stage was on his hunting list.

From this, it was evident that even though Fang Buxin had single-handedly founded the massively prosperous Precious Heaven Pavilion, he remained wary of this very foundation. He hadn't revealed the slightest detail of his true circumstances even to his core higher-ups, hiding himself extremely deeply.

Jiuyou pondered this, unable to stop a sliver of impatience from rising within him.

He had originally planned to end this battle quickly, settling this old grudge so he could return to Tianyuan Mountain in the Heavenly Abyss Sea for the ten-year appointment. He didn't expect this man to be so good at running.

However, with just a bit of deduction, he guessed the other party's scheme.

By frantically gathering high-level souls, Fang Buxin was definitely trying to use the Blood Soul Restriction to forcefully break through his bottlenecks and charge at the Deity Transformation Realm.

At this thought, a cold gleam flashed through Jiuyou's eyes.

Outsiders didn't know the dangers of such a taboo, unorthodox method. Even he himself had nearly been fooled by its appearance back in the day. If Xuan Zhenzi hadn't seen through the flaw and revealed the heavenly secret with a single sentence, Jiuyou likely wouldn't have recognized its maliciousness either.

He just didn't know if Fang Buxin, lurking in the shadows, could see through this fatal trap.

But regardless of whether the other man knew or not, Jiuyou had absolutely no intention of letting him be.

During their deathmatch in the Cold Ruins back then, the two had been evenly matched, their enmity soaring to the heavens. He would absolutely not allow this archenemy even the slightest chance of ascending to Deity Transformation.

If Fang Buxin managed to succeed by some fluke and stepped into the ranks of Divine Lords, it would be as hard as ascending to heaven for Jiuyou to settle his old grudges and resolve their karma in the future.

His mind made up, Jiuyou stood atop the high-altitude wind terrace, gazing out at the endless expanse of Precious Heaven Pavilion's immortal palaces. His expression was indifferent, but murderous intent lay hidden beneath.

This hunt, spanning hundreds of years, was far from over.