The Great Seminary

Chapter 413 Swallowed by Whales
In this world, beasts possess intelligence, and all living things can be considered 'monsters'.

The relationship between monsters and humans is roughly 20% friendly, 40% non-interacting, and 40% harboring evil intentions.

Great demons who have made their mark in history often go to two extremes.

Otherwise, they were extremely powerful allies of the human race, or even had intercourse with powerful human beings to produce offspring, and were gradually given the title of 'god'.

Otherwise, they would infiltrate the human world, bringing disaster to the country and its people, becoming a terrifying legend that will be passed down through the ages.

These two types of powerful demons, apart from their completely different natures of 'good' and 'evil', have almost the same goal.

That is, by either taking advantage of human destiny or slaughtering hundreds of millions of living people, they can manipulate various mysterious rules to seek huge rewards.

It seems that Abe no Seimei, the incarnation of the great demon 'White-faced Golden-haired Nine-Tailed Fox', has completely failed this time.
On the night he killed the ghost, Zhang Gui lay in wait on Zhenlong Island and did not make any rash moves.

The very next morning, they were immediately transported to the edge of the Xuanzhi Mountain Range in the Eastern Continent.

It caused its shadow to stand upright, using its 'Dharma Form' to envelop its 'true form,' and flew close to the ground towards Jinlingjing, the capital of the Southern Frontier of the Song-Ming Kingdom.

He covered hundreds of miles in no time, and along the way, he didn't see a single living creature.

Upon arriving at the location of Jinlingjing, they were astonished to find that only a sinkhole with a diameter of several hundred miles remained on the ground.

In other words, 'Jinlingjing' has completely disappeared!

Facing the enormous pit, where magma rippled and the surface was as vast as a sea of ​​fire, one could vaguely sense a terrifying aura brewing within.

Zhang Gui paused briefly, but didn't dispel the Dharma image at all; he simply turned and left.

They returned to the True Dragon Kingdom at a speed twice as fast as they had come.

Immediately afterwards, under the pretext of "Emperor Amaterasu, the Great God of the Human Realm, the Prince of Eiri, the Emperor of the Nation, and the Emperor of the Real Dragon Kingdom, under the guise of an envoy, ordered the army to march out in nine directions and attack Eiri in Zhuolu."

The proclamation read, "...They have ravaged the city, slaughtered its inhabitants, destroyed mountains and ruined temples; they must eradicate the altars of the state and annihilate ancestral rites!"

Later, as the southern territory of the Ming and Song dynasties was reduced to scorched earth, the story of the Ming and Song dynasties perishing together with their enemy, Ying and Ri, became widely known in Dongshengzhou.

The news that Yingri Island had been taken advantage of by the True Dragon Kingdom and swallowed up in one fell swoop slowly spread...

Time flows on, autumn goes and winter comes.

A heavy snowfall covered half of the Three Holy Swords Northern Sect's mountain gate, including Zhang Gui's 'Heroic Soldier Path'.

Since signing the contract, he has been dutifully processing materials for the Xuanwu Sword Master every day, indulging in his desires and ambitions.

And the amount was sufficient, without any ambiguity.

Furthermore, he did not use his status as a feudal lord of 'Xia Que' to obstruct or hinder others.

After the initial coldness and subsequent probing, Zhang Gui and the Northern Sect of the Three Holy Swords could never truly be connected due to their differing stances.

But at least on the surface, they gradually became more polite, even somewhat 'enthusiastic'.

He walked around the village in the snow and saw the Three Saints Sword Northern Sect's carts delivering millet. He leaped over with a light touch of his toes and greeted them with a smile:
"Steward Lü, you're here."

The person in charge of delivering the rice was a middle-aged, fat man with a friendly face.

Although he was already acquainted with Zhang Gui, he still bowed deeply upon meeting him.
"Lu Fangge, Inner Sect Steward of the Northern Sect of the Three Holy Swords, greets you..."

"Alright, alright, we're practically inseparable now, and you still pull this stunt every time. I'm getting annoyed, even if you're not."

"Lord Fang is of noble status, and according to etiquette, he is on par with our Sword Master."

Elders must bow to each other upon meeting, let alone someone of my status; please don't make things difficult for me.

If two people have vastly different statuses and positions, the person in the lower position should always be cautious and careful when facing the person in the higher position, and should not be too relaxed or presumptuous.

This is because human nature is subtle; sometimes a single disagreement can lead to unpleasantness.

If everyone is of similar status, they will usually swallow their anger and keep quiet, as it won't cause any real harm.

However, if their statuses are vastly different, one being higher and the other lower, the difference can lead to unforeseen disasters. This is the reason behind the saying, "Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger."

Zhang Gui understood this principle, so he didn't say anything more, only gently shaking his head.
"Let time tell."

Oh, and could you please bring some of the meatballs from my shop today on your way?

If your sect wants them, we'll exchange them for Earth Demon materials at wholesale prices.

However, I need to reserve at least 30% for my shop to take care of my regular customers.

Zhang Gui's secret realm, "Xiongbingchuan," has now been refilled with 108 precious cauldrons.

Among them, thirty-six cauldrons were used to refine the Mind-Controlling Monkey, thirty-six cauldrons were used to refine the Unfettered Horse, and thirty-six cauldrons were used to refine the Heart-Cleansing Pill.

Based on the twelve two-hour periods of a day, the furnace can be opened a total of three times.

Each batch can refine five "Rampaging Monkeys", twelve "Unleashed Horses", and fifty-five "Heart-Clearing Pills".

In this way, the total amount for one day is more than 1,600 "Restless Mind Pills", more than 3,800 "Unfettered Will Pills", and 17,800 "Heart-Clearing Pills".

Even after deducting the 500 each of 'Rampaging Monkey' and 'Unleashed Horse' pills that were refined for the Northern Sect of the Three Sacred Swords, the remaining quantity is still considerable.

In this bird season, even the white rice grown by farmers is in higher demand than usual, let alone the food pills refined by alchemists using the Yellow Millet Dream.

Hearing that he could easily obtain some desirable items from Zhang Gui again, Lü Fangge couldn't help but smile happily:
"That's wonderful, thank you so much for taking care of me, Uncle Fang."

Let your wild horse and unbridled monkey run free, and we'll take in as much as you can.

There's no need for Qingxin Pills.

Tsk tsk tsk, nowadays they can use rare materials to refine Five-Stone Powder like 'Rampaging Ape,' yet they insist on refining worthless Heart-Clearing Pills.

Only you, Lord Fang, possess such magnanimity.

"No matter when, the nobles never lacked the Five-Stone Powder they consumed."

But the common calming pills that are used by the general public are truly in short supply at times like these.

Consider it "buying" a good reputation.

Zhang Gui smiled faintly, turned around and pointed to the small lake in the distance.

“I’ve also opened up ‘Xiongbingchuan’ to you. You can go in and load the goods in a bit.”

Even though he had the status of a vassal lord of Xiaque, and the secret realm he possessed had become a fiefdom granted by the Great Qi Emperor.

Even if they were killed and then brought back to life, no one in the Three Saints Sword Sect would dare to lay a finger on them again.

But opening up one's secret realm itself represents a form of trust.

Lu Fangge was taken aback upon hearing this, then a warm feeling welled up in her heart, and she sincerely replied:
"Lü Fangge thanks Uncle for your trust."

Zhang Gui waved his hand without saying anything, then casually summoned a whirlwind, which flew towards the distant Great Wall as usual.

In mid-air, a white crane and a black bird transformed into swords accompanied him and stopped beside him, revealing the ethereal figures of Sun Chonghe and Wu Quezi.

Seeing this, Zhang Gui spoke first, and the Taoist priest chuckled and bowed, jokingly saying:

"You two, Lords Chonghe and Wuque, have arrived very early. I greet you."

Upon hearing this, the sparrow returned the joke.

“You are now the true ruler, while we are worlds apart from the former ruler. How unfair are our life circumstances.”

Then, together with Sun Chonghe, they cupped their hands and said, "Lord Fang, we return the greeting."

(End of this chapter)