The Fairy: From the Traveling Merchant

Chapter 918 Dead Land
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Chen finally decided to "sell" Peng Qi into Xingcha and turn him into "one of their own".

Firstly, she has not yet achieved supernatural powers. Although her destiny surpasses that of cultivators at the same level, it is still limited and should not bring too much karma.

Secondly, regardless of the origin of the so-called "Holy Mother of Precious Flower," since I have taken what she wanted, the feud between us has already been established, so it doesn't matter if I lose one more Gang Sha cultivator.

Thirdly, Peng Qi is actually a "hot potato." Killing him would easily escalate the conflict and provoke retaliation from the person behind him; while keeping him locked up or letting him go also poses a great risk. What if the "Holy Mother of Precious Flower" were to descend upon him one day?

Therefore, after much consideration, turning them into "one of our own" is arguably the safest approach.

It might even mislead that "saintly mother," making her think that Peng Qi had taken the "treasure" and escaped after breaking free of the brand... In this way, even the pressure on "Young Master Wang" could be relieved, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Inside the "Star Chariot," Zhao Chen opened some of Peng Qi's "memory blind boxes," compared their contents with her own account, and after confirming that there were no conflicts and that they were basically credible, he returned to Ye Nan Town through the "Black Domain" and took a short nap on the bed in the inn.

After dawn, he ate a simple breakfast, then led out his demon horse, preparing to continue north to Yeyi, the capital of Qizhou.

Although flying magic would make it faster, his purpose was to travel, to comprehend the laws and principles, and to seek opportunities, rather than simply to travel. Therefore, he could not be a "god" in the clouds, but rather to be a "human" with his feet on the ground.

As soon as Zhao Chen stepped out of the inn, he saw Meng Zhengyin and Meng Zhenshou approaching together. The former had a serious expression and, after a brief greeting, began to recount Peng Qi's escape the previous night:

"We never expected Peng Qi to have been hiding her strength. Not only did our momentary lapse in attention allow her to break free of the spell's bindings, but she also managed to sneak into that cave and steal most of the magical artifacts and scriptures inside..."

Zhao Chen's lips twitched a few times as he listened, thinking to himself: Look at that solemn little face, if I hadn't been the one who took Peng Qi away, I might have actually believed your nonsense!

This kind of floating trick is something that everyone in every world is familiar with...

But this suits me just fine, it saves me the trouble of leaving a message... It would be even better if the so-called "Holy Mother of Precious Flowers" could really misunderstand! Although the chances are slim...

As his thoughts raced, Zhao Chen simply waved his hand and said, "Since the Six Doors have taken over the follow-up to this matter, there's no need to tell me any more."

These words undoubtedly tacitly approved of the Meng brothers' underhanded actions. Meng Zhengyin and Meng Zhenshou both smiled, and the latter quickly took out a storage bag and handed it to Zhao Chen, saying:
"This is a token of gratitude raised by the people at the Zong family compound who saved your life yesterday. Although it cannot repay even a fraction of the life-saving grace, it is still a small token of our appreciation from the cultivators of Ye Nan. Please accept it, young master."

The reason was perfectly valid, and Zhao Chen didn't mince words. He went straight to the storage bag, scanned it with his divine sense, and found that there were quite a few things inside, all sorts of things. The most valuable item was a magic weapon-level "Spring Equinox Sword".

This is also the ancestral sword of the Zong family. The sword itself possesses the power of the Nine Revolutions magic. If Zong Fangqing had not cultivated the Demonic Sect sword technique, which conflicted with the attributes of this sword, he would not have lost so quickly in yesterday's battle against Peng Qi, who was not using his full strength.

To be honest, the reason Zong Fangqing chose to activate the formation to refine the cultivators present only after fighting Peng Qi was initially to force Peng Qi into a desperate situation and test whether Xue Bailing was hiding in the shadows...

As a result, he suffered a crushing defeat and had no choice but to retaliate in a fit of rage.

Zhao Chen took out the "Spring Equinox Sword," performed a simple refinement on it, and instead of putting it back in his storage bag, he wore it directly on his waist.

His previous magical sword, which he had used for disguise, was destroyed by the corpse refiner, so this was a good replacement. "A fine sword is worthy of a hero. It is a blessing for this ancestral magical sword of the clan to be with you, Young Master Wang," Commander Meng said with a smile.

Having accepted the gifts, the matter in Ye Nan Town was officially concluded. Zhao Chen didn't exchange any more pleasantries with the two men surnamed Meng. He leaped onto his demon horse and rode away along the official road.

Watching his retreating figure, Meng Zhenshou couldn't help but sigh, "Even the young masters of collateral branches of prominent families have such demeanor; I wonder what the scions of aristocratic families and senior clans must be like."

Meng Zhengyin glanced at him and said, "Don't overthink it. This time, the Zong and Peng families were destroyed, and we also obtained many magical artifacts from that cave. Our Meng family has benefited a lot... Send a telegram to Ye Yi later and tell your family to be polite to this Young Master Wang when they encounter him, and not to offend him."

Their branch is based in Yeyi, the capital of the state. There are three magical cultivators in the family, one of whom is Meng Feigong, the current head constable.

"I already informed them without your reminder..." Meng Zhenshou nodded, then said with some worry, "However, that cave in the mountain wall was likely opened by 'Calamity God' Song Wurui. What if the people from the 'Ten Thousand Beasts Sect' hear about it and come looking for us?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Feigong, the head constable, sneered and said, "Ha!"

"The earth cracks and mountains collapse, yet the hatred remains; the sins of the mortal world are buried for miles. All things are peaceful and harmonious, yet there is no auspicious sign; the gods of calamity are praised for their compassion for all living beings."

"Song Wurui is truly impressive and domineering! He's making a name for himself by stepping on all the cultivators in Qizhou!"
"Based on the outrageous thing he did in Qizhou, how could the people of the 'Ten Thousand Beasts Sect' have the face to set foot on Qizhou's soil?"
"Moreover, the Zhuge family of Xuzhou and the Meng family of Qingzhou have both made it clear that they will not allow the disciples of the 'Ten Thousand Beasts Sect' to set foot in the three states of Qing, Xu and Qi again."

……

Ye Nan is only 500 li away from Ye Yi, the capital of the prefecture, as the crow flies, but there are several rivers in between, as well as a hundred-li "dead zone" created by Song Wu Rui, so the road is quite winding.

Zhao Chen rode the demon horse for a whole morning before finally managing to bypass the "dead zone" and arrive at a village that wasn't very large.

Because it is adjacent to the area destroyed by the "Yonghe Wanhua, Fuliaocangsheng" supernatural power, the land here is relatively barren and lacks spiritual energy, so it cannot produce cash crops and is only densely planted with sweet potatoes.

After dismounting, Zhao Chen stood at the boundary between the village and the "dead land," and used his "Vision Eye" to carefully observe the area that Song Wurui had destroyed with his great supernatural powers. After a long while, he couldn't help but frown.

"The Qi is chaotic, and the power of calamity lingers for a long time. No wonder all living beings have disappeared... Perhaps Song Wurui borrowed the position granted by the 'Earthly Star' back then."

"Either this area itself has some problems, and the 'calamity' it contains was unintentionally triggered by Song Wurui."

"To restore this area, we'll probably need to find a cultivator skilled in 'fate'-related supernatural abilities to provide long-term care..."

"Hmm, maybe I can give it a try once I've truly mastered supernatural powers."

(End of this chapter)