Chapter 357

Chapter 357: The Great Calamity of Wutu!!!

"Boss, bad news! The sun has disappeared, and a dark moon has appeared in the sky!" Chef Zhao rushed back to report after going out to buy ingredients.

When he entered, he realized he was the last to return. Wuchun and Sanxiang stood by Li Hui, listening closely, while Huo Qiniang was assigning tasks: "Brother Jing is responsible for purchasing talisman-making supplies, Sister Night Owl and I will sell medicinal herbs, Liu Ying and the Cicada Dancer will visit the Artifact Pavilion for artifact fragments and fragments of treasures to assist with body refinement cultivation, and Brother Li will gather information from the bookstore and tea house…"

Everyone had their assignments; this was Li Hui’s intention.

In the end, Wuchun and Sanxiang left with a few gray talismans, as they also had the task of finding suitable candidates to join the Jade Symbol Sect in the royal city of the Great Xia.

Li Hui approached the window. The building stood thirteen zhang tall, and they were on the top floor. Looking out, the palace towers were abundant; if it weren’t for the dark moon, it would have been a breathtaking scene. Everywhere held rare treasures, every temple radiated Buddhist light, roads were paved with dragon scale gold, and frost silver adorned the gardens. On the street, any large cart that passed by was either a jade carriage or a treasure vehicle, and Condensed Essence Stage practitioners were as numerous as the hairs on a cow, while those at the Gathering Spirit stage needed to be extra cautious while strolling around!

This was Ruijin City, one of the five royal cities of the Great Xia.

It bordered five great kingdoms, had multiple teleportation arrays, and merchants often came to trade spiritual beasts. Originally an inconspicuous little mountain village on the border, over time it developed to such a scale. After constructing palaces, the royalty often came to reside here, making it a royal stronghold.

To guard their territory!

Did the Great Xia still need to defend its land?

The answer was yes. To the north was the Barbarian Nation, and to the west lay the Giant Armored Tribe. They dined on raw flesh, supported by fierce cultivators and shamans. They often demanded unreasonable things at the borders, and when refused, sought every means to wage war.

But right now! The Barbarian Nation and the Giant Armored Tribe were behaving themselves, all due to the appearance of the dark moon.

Li Hui looked up and murmured, "Such a powerful dark energy. If the waxing crescent is this strong, how powerful will it be when it becomes a full moon? All the graves across the land will surely experience phenomena, and a great number of lost souls will rapidly strengthen their cultivation. The Wutu Continent is in trouble! I wonder if the Haotu Sect can hold onto Yunzhou. We practitioners must eradicate demons and safeguard the righteous path! We shall draw the sword to cut down the moon! Let’s first draw billions of ghost-repelling talismans to shield the people from disaster."

Even in the Great Xia, due to its vast territory, while they might secure the cities, they couldn’t protect the regions. The common folk might become the hardest hit.

In the face of such a calamity, it was time to show their strength. How many lives could be saved with billions of spirit talismans? Li Hui didn’t even plan to profit from it.

After a day of running around, everyone returned with plenty of news in the evening.

Li Changtian wore a grim face and said, "Due to the influence of the dark moon, all teleportation arrays cannot be activated. It’s just like when I was back in my hometown; to reach other cities, we can only force our way through the skies! The Jin Tian Sect has a temple located in a nearby city, and it will take us four days and four nights to fly there because of our pace. I hear there are many family ancestral halls, ancient battlefields, and mass graves along the way, all producing strange phenomena. The monks are busy with rituals, but they end up harmed; after completing their ceremonies, they turn into evil and lascivious monks."

Huo Qiniang added, "The price of medicinal herbs has quadrupled; all the herbs we took today were snatched up immediately. After searching the herb market, we found that the big merchants began hoarding supplies. These scoundrels want to profit from the dead!"

Night Owl scoffed, "The world of merchants is all the same; it’s not just the herb dealers. Shops selling artifacts, talismans, and alchemy have all posted sold-out signs; there’s nothing left on the market."

He Liu Ying smiled and said, "I had quite a smooth experience; I heard someone is buying artifact fragments. The Artifact Pavilion and the Refinement Chamber have taken out many discarded artifacts. They want to cash out quickly since these items are useless."

Jing Tian Tong sighed and shook his head, "The prices of talisman-making supplies and materials for talisman-making have skyrocketed. I forcibly acquired several batches, and when I looked for other merchants, they wouldn’t sell! I was so frustrated that I almost lost my temper."

Chef Zhao slammed the table and cursed, "Goodness! All the food ingredients are rising in price! The price of spiritual grains and spiritual rice has increased five times in a single day. We’re fine in terms of stock, but the price of seasonings has skyrocketed! What’s the meaning of this? Those things aren’t even food, yet they’re hoarding them!"

Li Hui learned about everything and finally said, "Everyone has seen it, in this current situation, we must band together. Since the prices of artifact fragments are low, let’s buy as much as we can and gather more information. We must quickly adapt to the cultivation world of the Great Xia. I need to know the location of the Jin Tian Sect’s Heart Refining Branch, so please keep an eye out."

"Oh? The master wants to go to the Heart Refining Branch?" Huang Shiqin was a bit surprised.

"Exactly. Do you know the specific location of the Heart Refining Branch?"

"I don’t know, but the female cultivators at the Heart Refining Branch are very famous. They enjoy making doubles to go out and mingle—some are chivalrous, others flirt with men. Some are righteous, some are wicked; a mix of both. I’ve heard it’s the most complex branch of the Jin Tian Sect."

"It does sound a bit complicated, but luckily I’m just tasked with a simple delivery," Li Hui chuckled, thinking of Su Qing’er, who had been taken away by the female practitioners of the Jin Tian Sect, feeling a headache coming on as he wondered where to find her. He turned to Peng Xiaoqing and asked, "Has your cousin mentioned when the Jin Tian Sect will hold its ceremony?"

"She hasn’t said. Now with such big changes in the world, and with the teleportation arrays being ineffective, even if a ceremony is held, it will probably be delayed," Peng Xiaoqing replied.

Li Hui took out a command token, which held a backstory; it represented the lineage of the Mirror Lake faction, and once it arrived in the Great Xia, it changed appearance, adorned with patterns of birds and beasts and ancient characters, with a prominent dark “Jin” character embossed on the front!

"Brother, is this the token for the outer disciples of the Jin Tian Sect?" Huang Shiqin’s eyes brightened upon seeing the token.

"Indeed, the Geng Gold branch of the Haotu Sect only has one person per generation; upon arriving in the Great Xia, they become an outer disciple of the Jin Tian Sect, which grants some identity while navigating Ruijin City," Li Hui said to Huo Qiniang, "Please investigate the treatment of outer disciples in the royal city of the Jin Tian Sect. I need to collect several items, and if the officials can facilitate the process and allow me to draw from the official treasury directly, it would save me a great deal of effort."

Li Hui looked at the seal ring on his finger. Now that he was an eighth-rank Inspector General, he also needed to upgrade his official robe. Perhaps he hadn’t been this proactive before, but with the dark moon appearing, he needed to wear an official robe from an ancient dynasty to suppress the evil spirits.

The Morning Rooster Dao Soldiers couldn’t guard for too long, so he also needed to think of ways to arm himself. Ultimately, his cultivation was still low, but if he strategized well, he could soon advance to the mid-Gather Spirit stage and finally take that step!

The next day, everyone continued to busy themselves. Even if they were proud, they had to concede to Li Hui. Not yielding was not an option; wherever the master went, he could adapt to the local cultivation world in the shortest time possible. After a series of swift measures, he moved the herb merchants, and Huo Qiniang transformed into the head manager, quickly operating behind the scenes. Living in Ruijin City felt even freer than in Nanxun City!