Lord of Time: From a Five Elements Cultivator to a Master of All Daos

Chapter 163 Martial Arts
Wei Zhong recalled that Miao Lishan had left early just now, and he knew that the other party was busy with important matters, but he did not expect that he would send Yan Wanhong to come.

"Excuse me, Elder Yan!"

Wei Zhong bowed, and the other party returned the greeting:
"It's just a matter of duty."

After saying that, he led Wei Zhong out of the market:

"Is this Fellow Daoist Wei's first visit to Yunzhou City?"

Wei Zhong nodded slowly.

"Then Fellow Daoist Wei must stay for a few more days to take a good look at the prosperity of Yunzhou City."

The two talked in detail while walking.

“Although Yunzhou City has the suffix of ‘city’, it does not refer to a city, but a vast area in the central and western part of Yunzhou.

"Its size is much larger than that of an ordinary 'mansion'. Luohe Prefecture is only 20% or 30% of it."

No wonder Wei Zhong didn't see any city walls along the way. Is this similar to the "city" in his previous life?

“This Jinping Market is located in the northeast corner of Yunzhou City and is one of the businesses under the Yunji Chamber of Commerce.

"The market is located next to a fourth-level spiritual land. There are several third-level spiritual lands inside. The courtyard where Daoist friend lives is one of them."

At this point, Yan Wanhong pointed to the small sacred mountain in the west:

"That is the core of the fourth-level spiritual land, named Xiaohe Mountain, and it is the retreat of the leader."

Wei Zhong nodded. He had just come down from this sacred mountain, so he naturally knew about this matter.

“In addition to this Xiaohe Spiritual Mountain, my Yunji Chamber of Commerce also has many fourth-tier spiritual places, among which the Yunji Mountain Range is the most important.

“Its mountain range stretches for hundreds of miles, and the spiritual land levels range from level one to level four.

“Even more valuable are the various earth veins, which are extremely rich in spiritual stones or various spiritual material veins, which together form the backbone of my Yunji Chamber of Commerce.

"At the same time, there is an extremely active underground fire deep in the mountains, which provides great convenience for our guild monks to make pills and weapons."

When Yan Wanhong introduced them, he had already taken Wei Zhong away from Jinpingfang City and headed northwest.

After walking for only half an hour, they arrived at the Yunji Mountains that he mentioned.

It spans hundreds of miles, and Wei Zhong can't see the end at a glance. In addition, the mountains are so high that clouds gather above them. This must be the origin of the name of the Yunji Chamber of Commerce.

"The outskirts of the Yunji Mountains are where the market place opened by our Chamber of Commerce is located. It is open to independent cultivators and major forces, and is used to sell the various products of the Chamber of Commerce."

Yan Wanhong pointed to the market in the distance and said.

Wei Zhong looked in the direction he pointed, and indeed saw a rather vast market town that occupied several hilltops. There was even a magical formation covering the top, and cultivators were seen coming in and out of it from time to time.

What a lively scene!
"Go a little further in, and you will find the real core of our Yunji Chamber of Commerce. There are two large halls and several small halls in the Chamber of Commerce, namely the two major halls of elixir and weapon, as well as the smaller halls of talismans, tea, formations, puppets, etc.

"You have the titles of a third-level alchemist and a third-level weapon refiner. You are also a prominent figure in this chamber of commerce."

Wei Zhong just smiled softly, and then Yan Wanhong continued to add:

“The Chamber of Commerce has many formations and guards.

"The guest token in your hand is the local pass token. If someone blocks your way, or you are trapped by a formation, you can just take out the token and get out of trouble.

"Of course, one token does not allow you to go everywhere. There are still many forbidden areas that you cannot set foot in. I will point them out to you one by one later."

When Yan Wanhong finished speaking, the two of them had already gone deep into the mountains along the edge of Yunji Market.

Wei Zhong saw the spiritual light of the formation in front of him, which almost merged into the clouds from the rocks under his feet. It stretched for an unknown number of miles, and Wei Zhong could not see the end with his eyes.

"It is definitely a fourth-tier magic circle. It covers such a wide area, and it is not an ordinary product. It is much stronger than the fourth-tier magic circle I have seen in the Dongting Secret Realm."

Yan Wanhong took out a token and waved it towards the formation. A ray of light suddenly shone from the token into the formation. The defensive light suddenly opened, and a passage that was only wide enough for one person to pass through appeared in front of Yan Wanhong.

Seeing this, Wei Zhong also followed suit. Sure enough, after he took out the token, a passage in the formation opened up.

The two of them stepped in simultaneously.

In an instant, the sky and the earth changed color.

The clouds in the sky disappeared, leaving only the dark blue sky. The sound of constant conversations around him entered Wei Zhong's ears. Compared with the quiet forest outside the formation, this place was much noisier.

"So it's Brother Yan, who is this?"

A voice fell into Wei Zhong's ears. It turned out that there were several people guarding this place. In addition to the array protection, there was also a cultivator protection.

Yan Wanhong smiled:
"Brother Hu is on duty today? But is there something big going on in our Yunji Chamber of Commerce?"

Wei Zhong looked at his clothes, a red Taoist robe with bright yellow flame patterns on it.

His cultivation level is also in the late Jindan stage, which is the same realm as Yan Wanhong.

"It's really a waste of talent to use this level of skill to guard the gate."

"Something has happened. Brother Yan will know if you ask around," he then turned his gaze to Wei Zhong.

"My name is Wei Zhong, and I am one of the Chamber of Commerce's external guests."

After saying this, Wei Zhong showed the token in his hand so that Hu Ming could verify its authenticity.

"Hello, Fellow Daoist Wei!"

Hu Ming bowed to Wei Zhong with a serious look on his face.

'Yan Wanhong is Miss Shan's confidant, but he was sent here as a guide for a guest from the outside world. This person is not simple!'

Hu Ming has already greatly elevated Wei Zhong's status in his heart, and verbally treats him as a peer.

Wei Zhong exchanged a few polite words with him, and then followed Yan Wanhong's lead into the interior.

"Fellow Daoist Yan, is the guard just now someone you know?"

Yan Wanhong nodded:

“His name is Hu Ming, and he is a cultivator who reached the Jindan stage at the same time as me. He belongs to the Qi Palace among the two major palaces, and is good at using fire magic.

“This person usually studies the art of refining weapons in the temple, and only occasionally does he take on the duty of guarding the formation passage.

"Maybe our Yunji Chamber of Commerce has had an important visitor recently, otherwise..."

From his words, Wei Zhong learned that there were nearly a hundred such formation passages that allowed cultivators to enter and exit, and most of the guards among them were only in the late foundation building stage or some in the early stage of Jindan stage.

After all, a formation barrier can block most external enemies, and internal garrisoning to identify outsiders is just icing on the cake.

Therefore, it is rare for a late Jindan master to guard the place personally. This means that Yunji Chamber of Commerce has recently received an important guest.

"Which palace does Brother Yan belong to?" Wei Zhong asked doubtfully.

"I am listed in the Palace of Art, but I do not enjoy the Palace's offerings. Instead, I am the young lady's confidant, and all my salary is paid by the young lady."

'This status is quite special, no wonder Hu Ming is so polite to him.'

"If I join the Chamber of Commerce, which hall should I register under?"

"This..." Yan Wanhong was suddenly in trouble. Wei Zhong possessed many skills, and it was difficult to judge their specific division.

"This still needs to be allocated by the young lady. Maybe there will be a few figureheads like the old Taoist priest, but they are actually the young lady's subordinates."

Wei Zhong nodded without asking any more questions.

In his mind, he recalled what Shan Gu said. As long as he joined the Chamber of Commerce, the status he would obtain would probably be second only to a few other people.

"The Xiaowu Mountain is ahead. It is where our Chamber of Commerce issues tasks and allocates resources."

Yan Wanhong said this while pointing to the busy hill ahead.

“Although the Chamber of Commerce missions can be accepted with the guest token, the rare missions or those that can only be completed locally will only be released in Xiaowu Mountain.

"Moreover, most of them are very profitable and attract a lot of attention. If you have the time, you can try to take one or two."

After crossing Xiaowu Mountain, the two arrived at a mountain range with thick smoke.

"This place is called Juyuan Mountain Range, and underneath it is the underground fire."

Wei Zhong saw a patch of thick smoke billowing from the middle of the mountain range. With his eyes blessed by the spirit-seeking technique, he could immediately see the red light from the mountains and underground, which was dazzling and blinding.

"This branch of the underground fire vein is extremely vast. According to rumors within the Chamber of Commerce, it is a fifth-order fire vein. The place in the middle where the thick smoke rises is the fifth-order core. It is a forbidden area for us, so Fellow Daoist Wei, please do not trespass.

And where it spreads to both ends is the fourth level.

The left side belongs to the Dan Palace, while the right side belongs to the Qi Palace..."

When Wei Zhong looked, he saw that there were indeed many pavilions built on the mountainside. Disciples were coming and going on the pavilions, making it a bit more lively than the Xiaowu Mountain.

"Where is the Puppet Hall that Daoist Fellow Yan mentioned?"

Yan Wanhong smiled and pointed to the far right corner of the fire vein:

“The Puppet Hall and the Weapon Hall are adjacent to each other, and the territories between the two are intertwined. The same is true for the disciples under the two halls. While mastering the art of refining weapons, they will also be slightly involved in the art of puppetry…”

“Each hall does not have a hall master, but only has a hall supervisor and his/her disciples.

“The supervisors are nominated by the Council of Elders, and the disciples in charge are selected by outstanding representatives from each hall, and then decided by the Council of Elders through voting.

"As for the Council of Elders, it is centered around the Council Master, and consists of Nascent Soul cultivators and cultivators with fourth-order skills."

'Nascent Soul cultivator and fourth-level technician?'

Wei Zhong couldn't help but ask Yan Wanhong:
"As a Daoist who has reached the Jindan stage, you seem to enjoy the title of elder. I wonder why?"

The latter smiled bitterly:
"It's just an empty title. Those who have reached the Jindan stage in the meeting have the empty title of elder, but they don't have a seat. You have to improve a skill to the fourth level, or simply enter the Yuanying stage, to be considered a real elder.

"In addition, there are six special seats in the Council of Elders, which are contested by the elders. Those who occupy a special seat enjoy a special status in the council, participate in the resolution of special events in the council, and receive preferential treatment in the allocation of corresponding resources."

"Is Senior Miao one of the seats?"

Yan Wanhong nodded:

"As the master's disciple, Senior Miao has extraordinary combat power, so he is naturally qualified to take a seat. In addition, there are Elder Du Longfeng from the Alchemy Hall, Elder Du from the Instrument Hall...
"There are five in total, which are all the current special seats. The remaining seat has been vacant until now because Senior Jie left.

"Now the elders of each hall are arguing over this position."

Wei Zhong then remembered what Tao Ming had said about the internal struggle within the Chamber of Commerce. It had even become known to outsiders. It seemed that the competition was really fierce.

"It seems that there is no place for Miss Shan among them?"

Yan Wanhong glanced around and replied cautiously:
"As a descendant of the association, Miss Shan has a very special status and does not enjoy the authority of an elder. However, her status is not much different from that of an elder.

"Plus, Miss is currently in the late Jindan stage, which means she is not far from Yuanying. The president of the association is still undecided about the last seat, and many people are speculating that he deliberately left this seat for Miss."

Wei Zhong was stunned. No wonder Yan Wanhong wanted to send a message to explain the matter. It was indeed a huge inside story or rumor.

If his words fell into the ears of Shan Qin or Shan Gu, they would surely scold him.

"Of course, these are just rumors within the guild. The guild master and the young lady have never made any statement on this matter, so it cannot be taken as true. Fellow Daoist Wei, just listen to it and do not spread it outside."

Wei Zhong nodded, indicating that he would remain silent.

While the two were talking, some of their colleagues were greeting Yan Wanhong, and when they saw Wei Zhong, a strange face standing nearby, they immediately showed some curiosity.

Yan Wanhong stepped forward to explain and also asked if there were any special guests at the meeting.

After a moment, he turned back to Wei Zhong's side:

"It turns out that it is someone from the Puyang family."

Wei Zhong had a strange look on his face, thinking of Xun Yangzi who had gone to Yunzhou City with him.

"Could it be that we have been separated for only one day and we will meet again in this Yunji Chamber of Commerce?"

"This Puyang family must have been invited by the Wang family, and is now being received by the young lady in person in the Hall of Weapons."

"It makes sense that the weapon refining family would gather at the Chamber of Commerce to reach the Weapon Hall."

"Friend Wei, would you like to go with me to the Hall of Weapons to see the appearance of this visitor from the Puyang family?"

Wei Zhong hesitated and responded carefully:
"Will this affect Miss Shan's reception of visitors?"

Yan Wanhong smiled:

“There aren’t so many concerns in my chamber of commerce.

"As a family of weapon refiners, the Puyang family is also well-known in Yunzhou City. Now, their visitors have attracted many disciples from various halls to go and watch the fun.

"I'm afraid there will be a fight by then."

Wei Zhong recalled what Xun Yangzi said about him not being good at refining weapons, and suddenly felt something was wrong.

"I wonder if this duel will evolve from a weapon-refining duel to a physical duel?"

As he was thinking, Wei Zhong had already followed Yan Wanhong's footsteps and headed towards the Weapon Hall.

Looking at the people nearby, many of them were heading in the same direction as Wei Zhong and the others. After talking to them, they learned that they were just bored and went to see the fun.

After walking for several miles, going up the stone steps on the mountain road and passing through layers of pavilions, they finally saw an extremely vast fighting arena that almost occupied half of the mountain.

The formation was shrouded in spiritual light, the magic inside was soaring, the light of escape was flashing, and the cheers from the onlookers below were rising and falling.

Wei Zhong understood instantly that the fighting had already begun.

The two squeezed into the crowd, and the light of escape just stopped, and a black-robed figure fell from the sky. His clothes were disheveled, he knelt on one knee, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. It was obvious that he had lost the fight.

A yellow-robed figure slowly descended from the sky. It was Xun Yangzi, who had met Wei Zhong once before. He bowed to the person below and said:
"Concession!"

The latter also raised his hand and said:

"Concession!"

Then he left here with a bit of dejection.

"Senior Brother Yu actually lost!"

(End of this chapter)