The Devil's Tribulation

Chapter 462: Zhong Family Background (Long Chapter)

Qingxu Town, Fancheng, Great Zhou. Qian'er heard that the three sects had offered a new price, but she still had no intention of stopping. He Yan said anxiously: "Master Zhong, what do you want? Just tell me directly. What do you need? As long as the three sects have it, we will definitely not be stingy." Qian'er stopped and said without turning her head: "Don't you three really know what the Zhong family wants?" He Yan bowed and said: "Please tell me clearly, Master Zhong."

Qian'er slowly turned around and said, "Okay, then I'll make it clear. Great Chu will immediately submit a letter of surrender and personally go to the capital of Great Zhou to accept the reward from the Great Zhou Emperor. The same goes for the three of you. From now on, you will become a subsidiary of the Zhong family. The Great Zhou Emperor will not mistreat the King of Chu, and the Zhong family will not mistreat the three of you." Hearing this condition, the three of them were shocked. Mei Hua shouted, "Impossible! Great Zhou is going too far! The Zhong family is simply going too far!" Bai Mu, who was standing aside, also showed anger on his face, but he knew that it was useless to speak harshly now, and he might even get a lesson.

Qian'er had no intention of continuing to tangle with them. After stating her conditions, she left directly. Leng Jun and Ming Xue also stood up and casually bowed, saying, "Master Lian, the sect still has things to do, so we are going back too." Lian Hongtao also returned the greeting, saying, "Take care, both of you. In fact, our sect is also quite busy~" Ming Xue left coldly. Lian Hongtao looked at the three sect masters who were still in a daze and laughed secretly, "You were so arrogant before, but now you are dumbfounded, right?" However, he couldn't say such words that would poke people in the heart. Lian Hongtao also planned to follow them to the Zhong family's Juxian Manor, so he said, "Do you three have anything else to do? Otherwise, I'm sorry that our sect won't entertain you~"

He Yan and the other two didn't know what to do. The Great Zhou was still attacking the cities of the Great Chu, and the Chu army was defeated again and again. With the Great Chu being like this, it was only a matter of time before it was destroyed, otherwise the three clans would not be willing to spend money to avoid disaster. But the problem now is that they don't want your money at all, but want to swallow you up. If it was before they didn't know the details of the Zhong family, they would still dare to take a gamble. Now~ He Yan sighed and said, "Let's go back first."

After the people from the three sects left, Lian Hongtao immediately followed Ming Xue and Leng Jun, and the three of them came to the Zhong family's old house, Juxian Villa. Qian'er knew they were coming and was waiting for them in the reception hall. Qing'er led the three to the hall. Seeing that the three had arrived, Qian'er smiled and said, "If you have anything to say, just ask someone to pass on the message. Why come here in person?" Lian Hongtao smiled and said, "This is a serious matter. It's better to ask it yourself to make sure it's clear." The other two also nodded. They also wanted to know what the Zhong family meant.

Qian'er knew what they were thinking, so she chuckled and said, "Everyone, I know what you are worried about. The Zhong family has indeed developed to a considerable strength, but the Zhong family will never do such a thing as crossing the river and destroying the bridge." After hearing Qian'er's words, the few people felt relieved. Mingxue smiled and said, "Sister, I heard you say that you want Da Chu to surrender voluntarily? And you want the three sects of Da Chu to become affiliated with the Zhong family?"

Qian'er smiled and waved her hands, saying, "That's the condition, but the three sects will never agree to it." Several people were shocked at the same time. You knew they wouldn't agree, so why did you ask that? Lian Hongtao rolled his eyes and exclaimed, "Could it be that Patriarch Zhong wants to..." Qian'er nodded and said, "Yes, Patriarch Lian should have thought of it. This is the first battle of the Great Zhou's war to destroy the country. We must use iron-blooded means to intimidate the cultivators of the nearby countries. This is also what my husband meant." Leng Jun said indifferently, "Since Patriarch Zhong has made a decision, does he have a corresponding response plan for the Blood Demon Sect?"

Speaking of the Blood Demon Sect, Qian'er sneered, "The Blood Demon Patriarch just advanced to the late stage of the Void Refinement a few years ago, and his realm has not yet been consolidated, but he wants to take advantage of it." Lian Hongtao said, "He is in the late stage of the Void Refinement. All of us combined are no match for him~" Qian'er smiled and said, "Don't worry, everyone, you still do the same as before, each of you keep an eye on the three sects of Da Chu, and the Blood Demon Sect will be handed over to the Zhong family." Mingxue smiled and said, "That's great, my sect has been a bit busy recently." Qian'er knew that the Ziwei Sect had something big recently, so she congratulated in advance, "I would like to congratulate your sect first for adding another Void Refinement cultivator."

Leng Jun and Lian Hongtao also bowed and congratulated at the same time. Ming Xue returned the greetings one by one, then looked at Lian Hongtao and said, "Master Lian, I see that you are about to make a breakthrough, why don't you go into seclusion?" Lian Hongtao smiled bitterly and said, "Hey, I'm destined to be a hard worker. I was really planning to go into seclusion, but now I've encountered these things~" Leng Jun said lightly, "It's you who can't let it go. You can't get involved in what happens next, so let your two disciples come forward." It might be time to take action next. Lian Hongtao is still at the peak of the Spirit Transformation stage.

The three sects of Da Zhou were discussing what to do next. On the other side, the people of the three sects of Da Chu also gathered together. There were a total of six refining masters from the three sects, discussing around an eight-immortal table. Among them, a pale-faced middle-aged man had the strongest aura and had reached the peak of the middle stage of refining, but the mana in his body fluctuated greatly, sometimes strong and sometimes weak. He coughed lightly and said, "Okay, it's useless to talk about this now. He Yan, didn't you three see the peak refining master who was intimidating you?"

He Yan said with lingering fear: "I didn't see it, and my consciousness couldn't capture it, but it is definitely at the peak of the Void Refining Realm, there is no doubt about that. However, I feel that the senior seems to have been injured, and his magic power is not that full." Bai Mu and Mei Hua also nodded and said, "Indeed." The middle-aged man sighed and said, "I didn't expect the Zhong family of the Great Zhou to hide so deeply. How is your investigation?" Bai Mu said, "I checked. The Zhong family has suddenly risen in the past ten years. It was originally an inconspicuous small family in the Great Zhou, not even a third-rate one. Later, because the wine business grew bigger and bigger, it became the first family in the Great Zhou."

He Yan shook his head and said, "Fellow Daoist Bai only found out some superficial things. Our sect knows more details." Several people looked at He Yan. Mei Hua asked, "What did Sect Master He find out?" He Yan said, "Li Qian'er, the head of the Zhong family, was still in the Nascent Soul stage more than ten years ago. Suddenly, she and the ancestor of the Zhong family both broke through to the Spiritualization stage. Now, not many years have passed, and they have reached the middle stage of the Spiritualization stage. Such a fast cultivation speed, except for some evil cultivators, must be someone who invested a lot of rare resources in the Zhong family. And the person who invested resources in the Zhong family, you should have heard of..."

"Who is it?" Several people asked almost in unison. He Yan said with a stern face, "The new number one direct disciple of the Thunder Sect, Pan Chengfeng." Several people's minds suddenly went blank. Thunder Sect! The number one direct disciple of the largest sect in Dongzhou, who dares to mess with this? He Yan continued, "This Pan Chengfeng also appeared out of nowhere. I had never heard of him before. I only knew that the Great Elder of the Thunder Sect, Qiu Xiaotian, suddenly accepted such a direct disciple."

Bai Mu murmured, "I heard that Pan Chengfeng is very special. He seems to have just reached the Golden Core level, but he has overwhelmed hundreds of disciples of the Thunder Sect. Even Yun Feiyang was defeated by him. I didn't expect it to be him..." Mei Hua also muttered, "I heard that Pan Chengfeng is arrogant and lustful. Could it be that he has taken a fancy to Li Qian'er from the Zhong family?" He Yan smiled bitterly and said, "Daoyou Mei is right. They are Taoist couples and have made their relationship public, but they didn't hold a dual cultivation ceremony..."

I thought it was an inconspicuous small family, but I didn't expect it to be a giant. With this relationship, the three sects of Da Chu can't afford to offend. He Yan said: "From the tone of the Zhong family's head before, it seems that the ancestor of the Blood Evil Sect knows the background of the Zhong family. But now the Blood Evil Ancestor wants to get involved. Should we choose to cooperate with the Blood Evil Ancestor, or choose the conditions proposed by the Zhong family?" The master of Mei Hua of the Blood Sword Hall is also the second cultivator in the middle stage of the Void Refining Realm present. He is the founder of the Blood Sword Hall, Qian Jun.

Qian Jun said calmly: "The Blood Evil Ancestor is not a pushover, don't let her be devoured until nothing is left." The pale-faced Seven Profound Sect Ancestor He Chong said: "Does Daoist Fellow Qian mean to accept the conditions of the Zhong Family of the Great Zhou?" Qian Jun sighed and said: "I know a little about the Zhong Family of the Great Zhou. During their rise, they have not done anything to exterminate families. If we accept her conditions, our sects may still be able to survive in the cracks. I'm sure you all know what the Blood Evil Ancestor did back then."

Several people fell into deep thought. After a while, He Chong said, "I really don't want to admit defeat like this. If we are united, we are not without the strength to fight against the Great Zhou." Qian Jun looked at He Chong calmly and asked, "Fellow Daoist He, are you going to agree to the Blood Demon Ancestor's condition of 500 million crystal beads every year?" He Chong nodded and said, "If we agree to the Great Zhou's conditions, we have to make a deal now. We even have lost our own territory, so what development can we talk about? If we give the Blood Demon Sect 500 million crystal beads every year, we can at least delay for a hundred or eighty years. Over time, you and I will have the opportunity to advance to the late stage of refining emptiness. At that time, we can tear up the treaty, and the Blood Demon Ancestor can't do anything to us."

Qian Jun glanced at He Chong and said, "Fellow Daoist He, I am not pessimistic. With your current state, is it possible for you to break through within a hundred years? Besides, after making this decision, we will inevitably have to fight with others. Your old opponent has already obtained a Shuiyun Pill and his injury will be healed soon." He Chong smiled and said, "I have already made an agreement with Pavilion Master Huang of Wanbao Pavilion. There will be news about Shuiyun Pill this year. Pavilion Master Huang also promised me to apply to the Dongzhou branch of Wanbao Pavilion for the auction rights of a Lingyuan Pill!"

"Spiritual Source Pill!" Everyone was shocked. He Chong smiled and said, "That's right! As long as I have the Spiritual Source Pill, I can start to break through as soon as my injury heals! The problem now is that there will definitely be more people vying for a treasure like the Spiritual Source Pill than just the cultivators from the nearby countries. By then, we must be fully prepared for our crystal beads." Several people were a little excited. The Spiritual Source Pill, the last time it appeared was a thousand years ago. This kind of pill that improves the corresponding cultivation level is basically impossible to appear at an auction. Even if you have just transformed into a spirit, you will keep it for your own refining. Not to mention the cultivators of the refining stage, they don't even have enough for themselves, how can they sell it? The cultivators of the combined stage are not short of that little money, they will only leave it to the younger generation, and it is impossible to sell it.

Qian Jun suppressed his restlessness, regained his composure, and thought of a question. Huang Shan, the head of Wanbao Pavilion of Da Chu, was an ugly woman. Not only was her face full of pockmarks, but she weighed at least 300 kilograms, which was really fat and ugly. It stands to reason that people who can cultivate immortality should not be so bad in appearance, but things are not absolute. For example, the people of the Yugui Sect, due to the special practice of their cultivation, have pale faces, and because of long-term contact with ghosts, their faces are somewhat distorted.

The biggest problem of the Yugui Sect is that it is difficult to find a Taoist partner. The same is true for Pavilion Master Huang. The technique she practices is also a special one, so her whole body has become deformed. Thinking of this, He Chong guessed, "Did Daoist He agree to Pavilion Master Huang's conditions?" He Chong said a little embarrassedly, "I have practiced for four or five thousand years, and it is time to find a Taoist partner. Although Shan'er is ugly, she has a kind heart. And as long as she breaks through to the Refining Void, the defects of the technique will no longer exist." He Yan couldn't bear it and said, "Master, you have sacrificed so much for the sect, and your disciple... your disciple is really useless!" The other people also showed admiration. They didn't expect He Chong to sacrifice his appearance for Da Chu and the sect.

Now that the decision has been made, the next step is to discuss how to delay the Great Zhou army. He Chong thought for a while and said, "I have heard of Qi Hong. How come he has been defeated so many times this time?" How could the ancestors and masters of their sects know about the dirty things in the court? Only the people in charge of these things in the sect know clearly.

So He Yan called the sect steward to ask. The person in charge of the handover between Qixuan Sect and the Great Chu royal family was named Gong, and he had been in charge of the connection with Great Chu for more than a hundred years. He was naturally well-informed about the affairs of Great Chu. Steward Gong was only at the Nascent Soul stage, and was a little nervous when he was called in for questioning. It was the first time he faced so many questions from bigwigs, and he said awkwardly: "Disciple Gong Qin greets the ancestor, the sect master, and all the seniors."

Seeing that Gong Qin was a little nervous, He Yan comforted him, "Deacon Gong, I just called you here to ask about the situation of Da Chu. You don't have to be so nervous." Gong Qin quickly bowed and said, "Disciple will tell you everything I know." Qian Jun asked first, "Why did the Chu army lose repeatedly during the war between Zhou and Chu this time? Do you know the reason?" Gong Qin quickly replied, "Da Zhou raised an army of 8.5 million and also had secretly trained body forging warriors. General Qi had less than a million troops and could not resist at all. So in order to preserve his manpower, General Qi did not confront Da Zhou head-on, but just spread some rumors to slow down Da Zhou's march."

Mei Hua frowned and said angrily: "With insufficient troops, won't you ask for help from the court?! I think Qi Hong is just a name for nothing!" So, women are all long-haired and short-sighted. It's such a simple thing, why do they not know how to teach you? There must be a reason. But Gong Qin didn't dare to offend these big guys, and hurriedly clarified for Qi Hong: "Marshal Qi had already asked for help from the country, but the reinforcements were slow to arrive. Marshal Qi had no choice but to abandon several cities, stretch the supply line of the Zhou army, and delay time to wait for the reinforcements from the court."