Chapter 158 - The Planet Tianxuan

Several days before Zhou Donghuang had attained the middle Connate stage, the golden-crowned eagle Big Gold had also smoothly attained the Connate stage and become a Connate-stage demon!

As a Connate-stage demon, Big Gold’s physical form had grown a size bigger, and his fully expanded wingspan was over ten meters. His speed was in a completely different league compared to before it had broken through.

“This golden-crowned eagle has just broken through to the Connate stage, and in terms of speed, it is a match for my own trusty mount…”

At that moment, after getting confirmation from the youth himself, Su Mo gazed at the golden-crowned eagle he was standing on as though in a daze, thinking of the Connate demon silver-crowned crane, previously held by the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

That silver-crowned crane had been killed by his current master Zhou Donghuang half a year ago.

“Where exactly is the black market of the Shenguang empire?”

Zhou Donghuang looked down through the clouds at the half-seen wilderness which seemed never-ending as he questioned Su Mo.

When leaving the Valley of the Medicine Masters by this route to travel to the Shenguang empire, all there was to see were mountain ranges and desolate wilderness. Even small villages were seldom seen. Now, Zhou Donghuang could completely understand why the Shenguang empire would not bother to occupy the land of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley.

The Sixteen Countries of the East Valley was simply too remote.

In the eyes of the Shenguang empire, the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley were a worthless backwater, one that yielded no value through occupation.

“Master.”

Su Mo replied to Zhou Donghuang’s question. “The black market of the Shenguang empire is in the empire’s capital city. Previously, in my free time after practicing, I reviewed the personal letter left behind by the founding valley lord of the Valley of the Medicine Masters before he passed on and gained a better understanding of the Shenguang black market.”

“The imperial court of the Shenguang empire, and even the Shenguang sect that backs the imperial court, is unable to rein in the black market of the Shenguang empire. This is because the powers behind the black market include the five elite sects of Ziyun, including the Shenguang sect and also the Xuanyin sect.”

“The black market’s existence is monitored jointly by the five great sects. Occasionally one of the sects will send someone undercover to do business, and if fighting erupts between the parties involved, they will ferret out the culprits. The sect that is backing the culprit will have to cough up four thousand spirit stones as a fine, paid to the other four sects in equal shares.”

“Under such circumstances, none of the five great sects dares to steal a profit from the black market.”

“The black market has five gathering points, which are in the capital cities of the empires under the five elite sects of the planet of Ziyun.”

…

Su Mo’s explanation gave Zhou Donghuang a better understanding of the black market in the Shenguang empire.

In actual fact, the black market was something that the five elite sects of Ziyun had created together, and the yearly profits of the black market were split equally by the five sects.

“The profits from the black market are enormous. For example, we might want to exchange two spirit stones for a product. When we receive our product, one of the two spirit stones will be kept by the black market, and the other spirit stone will be given to the seller.”

Su Mo click could not help clicking his tongue at this.

“As that founding forefather of the Valley of the Medicine Masters knew, the price paid to the black market could actually be exchanged for two spirit stones. But because the black market took half, the other half could only be exchanged for one spirit stone.”

Su Mo’s more detailed explanation gave Zhou Donghuang an understanding of the rules of the black market.

The black market guaranteed absolute privacy of both the buyer and seller.

However, the party who initiated the transaction would have to pay a significant price.

“I never imagined that such a market would exist on a small planet like Ziyun.” Zhou Donghuang was startled.

Black markets like the one on the planet of Ziyun were not uncommon in the myriad civilizations of the universe.

“How long will it take to reach the capital of the Shenguang empire from the Valley of the Medicine Masters at the speed of my golden-crowned eagle?” Zhou Donghuang asked Su Mo.

“That silver-crowned crane of the Valley of the Medicine Masters carried me once to the capital of the Shenguang empire when it had just attained the Connate stage and become a Connate stage demon. That time it took a little over three months.”

Su Mo answered, “More than two of those months was spent traveling from the Valley of the Medicine Masters to the southeast border of the Shenguang empire. After arriving at the southeast border of the Shenguang empire, the silver-crowned crane that had just attained the Connate stage took about twenty days to arrive at the capital of the Shenguang empire.”

Su Mo paused and could not help sighing. “The Valley of the Medicine Masters, and even the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, is simply too far from the Shenguang empire. Nevertheless, the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley and even the Valley of the Medicine Masters have not been annexed by the Shenguang empire.”

Su Mo’s statement was something that Zhou Donghuang had guessed at long before, and it did not surprise him.

Three months later.

Zhou Donghuang’s eyes gleamed, and he sat down cross-legged to prepare to begin practicing. “It seems that I have a chance of attaining the late Connate stage by the time we arrive at the capital of the Shenguang empire, and even if I have not, my level of practice by that time will not be far from the late Connate stage.”

Ever since he had formulated the Connate elixir, Zhou Donghuang’s level of practice had advanced at an unimaginable rate.

With the Connate elixir added to the Buddha’s lifeblood in his body, along with the technique of the Lord of the Four Supremes, which had a superior Connate stage component even compared to the top techniques of the Way of the Thousand-star Sword and Fiery Thunder Training Regimen, Zhou Donghuang had already smoothly attained the middle Connate stage in just over a month after arriving at the Valley of the Medicine Masters.

According to his calculations, he would be able to attain the late Connate stage in roughly two to three months.

Without the help of spirit stones, it would take at least half a year to practice from the late Connate stage to the supreme Connate stage. Proceeding from the supreme Connate stage to the Primal Core stage would take from a year to one-and-a-half years, or even up to two years!

Advancing at this rate of practice was too slow! Zhou Donghuang longed for a spirit stone to help him attain the Primal Core stage as soon as possible so to become a Primal Core adept!

“For the remainder of the journey until we reach the capital city of the Shenguang empire, if there is nothing that you must absolutely wake me for, don’t interrupt my practice.”

After exchanging some pleasantries with Su Mo, Zhou Donghuang immersed himself in his practice, devoting himself fully to the Lord of the Four Supremes. As he used the effects of the Connate elixir in his body, the Buddha’s lifeblood extended and integrated itself into his body’s qi.

…

In the boundless universe, there are uncountable stars, and Earth is just one of them, as is the planet of Ziyun.

The planet of Tianxuan was also just one of them.

However, Earth, Ziyun, and Tianxuan each do not belong to the same region of space, and the distance between them is vast. However, the distance between the regions of space in which they are located is not considered vast.

The planet of Tianxuan is located in a region of space called the ‘Luohe stars’. It is one of the larger planets and is better endowed with resources for practice. The martial scene was thriving, and Primal Core adepts were numerous as dogs, Connate adepts were everywhere, and there were even many Dharma Laws adepts.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the sky above a vast mansion on the planet of Ziyun was tense and hostile.

“Hand over He Meng; otherwise we will completely wipe out the He family today!”

A stick-thin old woman in a wide, loose, green long robe floated in the air, staring coldly at the three people as she growled at them.

An image of an ape over thirty meters tall appeared over the old woman’s body. This giant ape was robust and muscular, in stark contrast to the old woman’s stick-thin body, and it beat its chest with its thick, muscled arms as it roared.

Now, blood dripped from the corners of the mouths of the three people facing her, and they looked dispirited.

A ten-meter-tall image appeared over each of them: a tiger, a sword, and a flame.

These ten-meter-tall images were like three-year-old children standing before an adult compared to the image of the giant ape. The larger would be able to abuse the smaller at will, and the smaller would have absolutely no power to retaliate.

“Young Mistress Luo, you have known my daughter He Meng for many years. Must you be so intent on killing her?”

The middle-aged man who projected the image of the giant tiger looked pleadingly at the young lady beside the green-robed old lady, and asked with a bitter expression, “This whole issue is because she has been confused. If you’ll spare her, I will give her to you as a slave for a hundred years to do with as you please. How about that?”

The lady, Luo Qinghan, was the first among the young generation of the Luo family, the pride of the Luo family, the future hope of the Luo family.

His daughter, He Ming, was the pride of the He family, the future hope of the He family.

“Patriarch He, if, after ten breaths, He Meng has still not shown herself, as of today the He family will no longer exist.”

The girl standing beside the old lady was about twenty years old, with long hair that flowed down like a waterfall, beautiful and elegant features, and vermillion lips. She was wearing a light green long dress and a stunning face that was now radiating coldness.

In addition to her icy expression and her freezing gaze, her tone was completely emotionless.

Just as the girl had finished speaking.

“Luo Qinghan!”

With a shrill cry, a girl in a pink long-sleeved dress was borne aloft from the mansion below on the back of a flying demon and was staring at the girl in the green dress.

“Young Lord Yuan is handsome, and exceeds you in martial talent, and I, He Meng, have pursued him for many years and failed. What I did that day was also to help you benefit, so that the Luo family could use him and the sect behind him to benefit all parties. Don’t be ungrateful!”

The girl in the pink dress stood on the back of the flying demon with a look of indignation. She had never imagined that the man who said he would protect her had still not come back.

Evidently he had abandoned her.

“To him … I am only a pawn.”