Volcanic Age

"The Water Spiritual Fruit I consumed a few years ago wasn\'t actually found in an underwater cave, but from the treasury as well."

Zhou Xuchuan intentionally lied so that it sounded more believable to Li Yicai. The treasury of the Three-Eyed Godly Thief was so ridiculous that he had no choice but to fabricate things like this to make it more believable.

"What will you do?"

"Mm." Li Yicai groaned, visibly at a loss on how to take this in.

From the look in his eyes, he doesn\'t seem to be lying…

Zhou Xuchuan\'s gaze was unwavering. In fact, it was filled with conviction. His eyes were crystal clear.

His hesitation didn\'t last that long. Li Yicai set his trust aside briefly and voiced the question that came to mind.

"Putting aside the existence of the treasury itself, how do you plan to move all those treasures in secret? That\'s realistically impossible."

There was a large amount of treasure lying dormant in the treasury of the Three-Eyed Godly Thief. It would require many people to move all those treasures. That would inevitably expose the existence of the treasury.

What worried him the most was the people that would be involved in the transportation. Humans were weak in the face of wealth and might end up betraying them.

This meant that they would have to find people who were trustworthy, but that was easier said than done. The most surefire method was to mobilize members of the Mount Hua Sect, but that would in turn give little profits to Li Yicai.

No, he doubted he would partake in it at all.

"It\'s realistically impossible for us to possess all the treasures with our own power. I\'m not so sure about you, a member of the Lotus Pavilion of Mount Hua, but for a small merchant like me, bandits will aim for my head in no time."

"There\'s no need to acquire everything."

"What do you mean?"

"It can be a small amount, so find people you can trust. Then, I\'ll go inside the treasury with them and take out the most valuable items. Splitting that among ourselves should be enough."

"I see."

Originally, Zhou Xuchuan devised a plan to transport as much as he could. That was the reason why he was looking for the Merchant King. He thought that Li Yicai would be a lesser-known merchant at the moment, no matter how large his accomplishments were in the Era of War and Chaos.

The problem was that Li Yicai\'s circumstances were worse than he thought. He didn\'t realize that Li Yicai\'s company was so small. He devised a plan that required around a hundred to two hundred people, but he couldn\'t use it. He changed his plan to prioritize quality over quantity.

The little merchant, rather, the Merchant King in front of him, was just as valuable as the treasury, and what the Merchant King lacked right now was funding. As long as he received enough funding, he would grow big in no time. It would be incredibly beneficial to Zhou Xuchuan if he could make the Merchant King owe him a debt of gratitude.

While the Merchant King was obsessed with money, he was also the most reliable person when it came to trade.

"If you can keep this a secret and accept my proposal, I\'ll try my best to have the Gold Will Merchants take care of the provisions for Weng\'An."

"I understand. However, Great Hero. I can\'t help but ask. If the treasury really exists, what did you see in me to let me handle it?"

A mixture of puzzlement and confusion could be seen in Li Yicai\'s eyes.

"You see." Zhou Xuchuan laughed. "Even someone as desperate as you for sponsorship is half-doubtful about my story despite accepting my proposal. Who else would believe me? That\'s just how it is."

No, it was because he knew the future.

"We don\'t have a lot of time. I will probably depart from here tomorrow or the day after."

The Lotus Pavilion\'s trip wasn\'t that long to begin with. They had also gained plenty of real battle experience, so there was no reason for them to stay any longer.

"I accept."

Li Yicai didn\'t hesitate for long. If what Zhou Xuchuan was saying was true, this was a huge opportunity. Besides, even without the treasury of the Three-Eyed Godly Thief, the rights to sell provisions in Weng\'An held significant value. That was enough for him.

Above all else, his instincts were urging him not to miss this opportunity. His nose had already become numb for a while because of the smell of money. His body was heated up as though he had drank wine.

"Then let us talk about the details."

Zhou Xuchuan\'s smile widened.

*

Zhou Xuchuan shared a part of his plan with Li Yicai. It was about the treasury of the Three-Eyed Godly Thief. It didn\'t matter if Li Yicai believed it or not. As long as Li Yicai was given profit, the man would listen to his request.

After parting ways with Li Yicai, Zhou Xuchuan immediately returned to the Kaiyang branch and dispatched the homing pigeon that he had prepared in advance.

The receiver was Zhuang Tuo, the Second-Class cultivator who fought alongside him in Weng\'An.

Zhuang Tuo had a higher position in the Weng\'An branch than he originally thought. He was the right-hand man of the branch head who had participated in the battle in Kai\'An. Not only that, he had heard that he was going to get promoted to vice-head of the branch as a result of his recent accomplishments in Weng\'An.

Since he had received grace from Zhou Xuchuan, Zhuang Tuo would not just try to listen to his request but also try his best to make it happen. There were others in Weng\'An who owed him debts of gratitude, so he didn\'t worry about this.

In fact, he was worried about something else.

"We\'re going to return to the sect tomorrow, so make preparations."

The banquet was over, and the sect had ordered them to return. It was time to go back to the sect; they couldn\'t stay here any longer.

Zhang Hong and Zhang Xuen were disappointed. The hint of freedom they tasted out in the world was really sweet after living under strict rules as fourth-generation members. Despite the dangers, the freedom was really tempting.

"Aren\'t we going to visit the Shaolin Temple, the Wudang Sect, or the Martial Alliance Headquarters in Anhui?" Zhang Xuen tugged on Qiu Feng\'s sleeves and looked up at him. Her cuteness was enough to topple any man.

That\'s it! Keep it up! Zhou Xuchuan inwardly cheered for Zhang Xuen.

However, his cheers were ineffective as Qiu Feng gave a strained smile and shook his head.

"I wish I could show you more, but that will be difficult. I don\'t think my heart can bear it."

"Don\'t say that, Senior Uncle~" Zhang Hong also whined.

However, it was useless.

"The Lotus Pavilion\'s trip into the world is to gain experience, and it is usually not this dangerous. This time was an exception. Fortunately, none of you got hurt, but due to concerns, the sect has ordered our return, so there is no helping it."

The trip into the real world reached a sudden end. They had no choice but to return to the sect.

They say matters of the world don\'t go as you expect, but this…

Originally, Zhou Xuchuan planned to look for an opportunity while traveling around the world, receive help from Li Yicai and rob the treasury by the time they were returning to the sect. He needed some time, but that time was shortened significantly.

The silver lining was that the Zhuge Family also received orders to return, so they could accompany each other to the Chongqing province, where the treasury was located.

He needed Zhuge Shengji\'s help in dismantling the treasury\'s mechanisms.

The problem came after that.

Given our agreement, I can\'t have the Merchant King follow us. Even if we manage to rob the treasury in Chongqing, I would have to return to Guizhou to handle the rest. But how do I do that?

If he told Qiu Feng about the treasury, the sect would definitely intervene. Things would become worse if Zhuge Xiang heard about it.

No, they would never believe the treasury was real in the first place. Even if he sneaked out with Zhuge Shengji, it would be difficult to escape the senses of Qiu Feng, an Absolute Realm expert.

In the end, Zhou Xuchuan was seen off by many people as he left Guizhou, his worries unresolved.

The journey back didn\'t take that long. They had received high-quality horses, albeit not of the highest quality.

The Lotus Pavilion included horse riding in its curriculum. It wasn\'t an institute for geniuses without reason.

The reason they didn\'t ride horses from Mount Hua to Guizhou province was to train in their footwork and lightness arts, not because they couldn\'t ride.

The Zhuge Family members also showed considerable proficiency in horse riding. Even Zhuge Shengji, who looked like he had zero motor skills, was somewhat decent. This was because their clan didn\'t have good cultivation or martial prowess in general. Their skills weren\'t fit for lightness arts which consumed a lot of qi.

The horses kicked up clouds of dust as they galloped. There were eighteen horses in total. Four were ridden by the Mount Hua Sect, four were ridden by the Zhuge Family, and the remaining ten were ridden by cultivators of the Kaiyang branch of the Martial Alliance, who were ordered by Shen Tujun to escort them.

The group kept riding without rest, stopping only to eat and sleep. Thanks to that, they left the Guizhou province quite quickly. They occasionally encountered bandits, but the bandits ran away as soon as they spotted the group, realizing that the group was stronger than they were.

This was bad news for Zhou Xuchuan. Qiu Feng\'s gaze was annoying enough as is, but he was also under the vigilant watch of the escorts. He couldn\'t help but feel frustrated.

*

In the Evil Valley...

"Valley Lord, we have received word that the Fourteenth Sword Hero will soon arrive at the Yangtze River," reported Yue Guantai, the head supervisor of the Evil Valley.

"So he\'s on his way."

The Lord of the Evil Valley opened his eyes which looked like those of a viper, emitting killing intent mixed with displeasure and fury.

"My anger isn\'t soothed even after I beheaded the runaway idiots that attacked Weng\'An, so where does he think he\'s going?"

The incident in Kai\'An wasn\'t that important. Big and small skirmishes happened there very frequently. On worse days, the owner of that area would change a dozen times a day. The fact that the Evil Valley lost the battle there wasn\'t something he was angry about.

It was just everyday life, after all.

"If we lost like we normally did, I wouldn\'t be so furious right now."

Victory or loss didn\'t matter much. They happened so frequently that a loss just made him prepare for the next battle.

However, total loss was a different story altogether. Although it wasn\'t the Valley Lord himself who had devised the strategy, the Evil Valley put a considerable amount of effort into the conflict in Kai\'An. Yue Guantai, the head supervisor, was also involved to an extent as he reviewed the diversion plan and approved it.

The fact that the Fourteenth Sword Hero would lead troops to Kai\'An to partake in battle was within their expectations. However, not being able to conquer Weng\'An, the empty house, was problematic. If they had succeeded, they would have inflicted considerable damage to the Martial Alliance by taking hostages. However, they weren\'t able to do so and lost completely. That was what caused his embarrassment and anger.

Zhou Xuchuan\'s actions altered the course of the future. This wouldn\'t have happened originally. Weng\'An should have been conquered, and the Martial Alliance would have had no choice but to retreat from Kai\'An due to the hostages. However, the changed future brought about another change.

"Teach the brats of Mount Hua how harsh life can be."

The Lord of the Evil Valley\'s eyes gleamed with sinister intent.

*

At Yangtze River, near the boatyard, Qui Feng noticed something amiss.

"Hm?" Qiu Feng tilted his head.

"Fourteenth Sword Hero, what is it?"

Zhuge Xiao looked at him in puzzlement.

"Oh, I was just thinking that the boats were too few."

Hearing that, Zhuge Xiao looked around the boatyard.

Indeed, the number of boats were few. There were hardly any small boats either.

"It\'s a little puzzling, but nothing strange. People flock to the Yangtze River to enjoy the scenery around this season. Also, with our numbers, it doesn\'t really matter, does it? Haha." Zhuge Xiao laughed while stroking his beard.

The group boarded a middle-sized ship that could hold about fifty people instead of the small boat they used to come. They could split up and get smaller boats that way, but then there would be no point for the escorts.

They weren\'t short on money either, so there was no reason to inconvenience themselves.