Chapter 346: Partnership

After some thought, the Yong'an Emperor decided, "Summon Chu Qiguang to see me in the capital."

"I heard that the newly founded Cloud Sun Trade Association is currently extremely busy, and Chu Qiguang has been working from sunrise to sundown every day. Wouldn't summoning him to the capital now interfere with his work?" Chen Zhong asked.

The Yong'an Emperor considered this for a moment before nodding. "You're right. If I summon him to the capital at a time like this, the prominent clans of Spirit Province may try some funny business in his absence, and that could have a detrimental effect on the Cloud Sun Trade Association and its stock price.

“Instead, send someone from the Ministry of Divination and the Demon Vanquishing Department to see him. Have them settle this matter once and for all and confirm whether he's one of the Eight Han Resurgence Generals. Make sure it's done in secret so no one finds out."

***

Chu Qiguang's rise had truly been meteoric.

At fifteen, he had nothing to his name. By sixteen, he already had his own trade association, and now, at seventeen, he was on the verge of becoming one of the empire's wealthiest and most influential figures.

Once upon a time, he had been forced to sell "supplements" in Azure Sun County just to make a living, but now, he had built his own business empire in Spirit Province.

It was truly an inspirational rags-to-riches story.

At this moment, Chu Qiguang was walking through the archive building of Spirit Province's Demon Vanquishing Department. Zhong Shan'e himself had granted him permission to enter, and his Ring of Ignorance was blazing hot from all the books of interest within.

He was accompanied by Hundred-Man Commander Liu Fang of Spirit Province's Demon Vanquishing Department, who was grinning from ear to ear as he asked, "Is that true, Brother Chu? Are you really planning to give us that much money?"

"It's an investment," Chu Qiguang confirmed with a nod. "Right now, there are still too many cults in Spirit Province. The likes of the Immortal Dao and the Imperial Heavenly Dao are severely disrupting our business, so the shareholders and I have agreed to donate fifty thousand taels of silver every year to establish a cult eradication squad in partnership with Spirit Province's Demon Vanquishing Department. This squad will be solely responsible for wiping out cults and collecting their sensitive scriptures."

Liu Fang was naturally ecstatic to hear this.

"Rest assured, we'll assign our best available personnel to the squad and restore peace and prosperity to Spirit Province!"

"One of the main reasons cults have been so difficult to stamp out is that their scriptures continue to circulate among the general public, so their doctrines continue to spread even after their members are eradicated," Chu Qiguang said. "Hence, it's of the utmost importance that we collect all of these sensitive scriptures and keep them out of the hands of the public."

On one hand, Chu Qiguang wanted to use Spirit Province's Demon Vanquishing Department to help him collect ancient scriptures. On the other hand, he genuinely wanted to eradicate the cults, as their negative influence on the general public could impede the trade association's future development.

After Liu Fang left, Chu Qiguang remained in the archive building, searching for books under the guidance of the Ring of Ignorance.

The collection in this archive building was inferior to the one on Jade Face Mountain, but it was still much more diverse and extensive than anything that could be found in an average prominent clan or Daoist temple.

Even though Chu Qiguang had just defeated Jin Haitian with ease, he knew that he couldn't afford to grow complacent, and he was still eager to accumulate more power.

At the moment, he was definitely no match for Dao Comprehension-state cultivators. Even among those below the Dao Comprehension state, some cult members with supernatural powers could still pose a threat to him.

He was still far from invincible, so there was still much room for improvement.

His current plan was to remain in Spirit Province for some time, so he might as well use this opportunity to have others collect ancient scriptures for him.

As he walked along, a particular book caught his attention. The moment his gaze fell upon it, a passage of text appeared before his Dao pursuer eyes.

"Ever since the departure of the Imperial High God, His followers have made countless attempts to communicate with him. This is a journal compiled by those who have heard the voice of the Imperial High World."

The title on the cover of the book read "Journal of the Imperial High God's Teachings," and it told the story of several followers who wished to contact the Imperial High God.

These followers were quite affluent, and they began purchasing all kinds of incantations and ritual instruments related to the Imperial High God from wherever they could.

Using these purchases, they carried out countless experiments, but several years passed without a single success.

That was until they purchased a strange wooden carving from a farmer. Following the incantation engraved on the carving, they attempted to summon the Imperial High God. No one knew what they heard or saw, but after the event, they gradually began to lose their sanity.

They would occasionally point up at the stars in the night sky, claiming that the stars were speaking to them. During the final ritual they carried out, one of them turned into a demon and devoured all of the other followers.

By the time members of the Demon Vanquishing Department arrived at the scene, the demon had already demolished five wooden houses and devoured six people, four pigs, and a cow.

After reading through the deranged ramblings recorded in the journal, Chu Qiguang felt a surge of warmth emanate from his Ring of Ignorance. However, much to his disappointment, the book seemed to be a dud.

That afternoon, Chu Qiguang read three books of interest, but didn't receive even a single boon.

Has the Ring of Ignorance run out of boons, or is it saving up for something?

Chu Qiguang was in no hurry to go anywhere, and there were still plenty of books of interest in the archive building. Thus, he decided to read at least seven and bring the total up to ten. If all ten books turned out to be duds, he would temporarily stop reading and explore some other avenue for gaining power.

After returning to his residence, Chu Qiguang spotted Qiao Zhi laying on the roof, and the latter reported, Luo Binghong's back, and she's looking for trouble.

This came as no surprise to Chu Qiguang. He entered his study with a smile and greeted, "Long time no see. What're you doing hiding under the desk like that?"

Sure enough, Luo Binghong was curled up under the desk, clutching a large bowl of blood-red talismanic water that was giving off a very dangerous aura.

"Chu Qiguang! You've ruined me!" she spat through gritted teeth. "There's no way the pope is going to spare me. If I'm going to die, then I'll take you down with me!"

"Didn't I tell you to hold onto your shares? How is it my fault that you suffered losses after refusing to heed my advice?" Chu Qiguang asked.

"B-But you disappeared! We couldn't find you, so I thought—"

"How much money did you lose?" Chu Qiguang asked, cutting her off.

"One hundred and forty thousand," Luo Binghong replied in a trembling voice.

"Will killing me help you recoup those losses?" Chu Qiguang asked. "It won't benefit you in any way."

As he spoke, he pulled a stack of papers from the drawer of his desk. "Here are thirty thousand taels of silver in silver notes, along with the deed to an estate and a thousand acres of farmland in Shu Province. I can also use my connections to give you a new identity there.

"You can join the Demon Vanquishing Department or the Heavenly Master Religion, or become an ordinary merchant or farmer. Whatever you want. As long as you're willing to do a few things for me, I can help you start a new life whenever you choose."

Staring at the silver notes and the deed in Chu Qiguang's hand, Luo Binghong slowly lowered the bowl of talismanic water.