Becoming an immortal and ancestor begins with the golden toad spitting out money.

Chapter 144 Chamber of Commerce Merger, Luhu Grand Gathering

On the night the Taibai Dragon Clan returned to Qili Lake, demons, ghosts, and cultivators all witnessed the shocking scene, and even the common people noticed many strange occurrences from various aspects.

The once ordinary Qili Lake was suddenly enveloped in thick fog, making it look like it was seventy miles long rather than seven.

Suddenly, spring water gushed forth from the long-dried-up ancient well outside Hutan Village. The water was clear and sweet, and some people who were feeling unwell recovered immediately after drinking a few mouthfuls of the well water!
For several days in a row, muddy water surged up from Ono Marsh, which was filled with miasma. Within a few days, it grew several times larger and flooded many nearby farmlands. Some people even saw what appeared to be a huge creature breathing out miasma in Ono Marsh while herding cattle.

Of course, some people have said that they heard the sound of the tide in the river at night, and when they dared to look, they actually saw the legendary scene of fish and dragons walking in the river.

Zhou Lan of Dongsang Village was a man who could see ghosts and gods in his dreams, and he witnessed a scene that seemed to be straight out of a myth.

The fish and dragons in the stream were barely visible, but the enormous blood dragon above the stream, formed from dense blood energy, was a full twenty or thirty feet long. The blood dragon soared above the river, sweeping away branches and leaves when it encountered trees, and leaping across bridges.

Along the way, not only ghosts and spirits, but even gods gave way...

Even after several days, Zhou Lan still remembers that the water level of the entire river rose by more than three feet that night, the paddy fields along the way were flooded, and even the newly enclosed fishponds were swept away by a lot of fish.

Outside the village, countless villagers chatted idly, some excited and others looking distressed.

"We were just trying to find a way to divert water to plant rice when this flood came. After opening the paddy dikes to release some water, the remaining water was just enough for the rice seedlings to grow!"

The fertile fields on both sides of the river refer to paddy fields. Rice seeds are sown in early April to cultivate seedlings, transplanted in early May, and harvested in September, with a very good yield.

Li Jiahe went to Qianbian Town to learn how to make waterwheels in order to increase grain production. Now, many places have water, and the size of rice fields has more than doubled!

Once Li Jiahe completes the waterwheel construction, these new rice paddies will have guaranteed irrigation, turning the dry land into paddy fields and increasing grain production significantly.

The people suffering are naturally the fishermen who have contracted the ponds.

Some paddy fields are flooded all year round, and even if rice is planted there, problems such as root rot and flooding will occur. So they simply changed to fish farming in ponds.

The flood brought by the fish crossing the river a few days ago caused at least half of the fish fry to escape. Although they had only been raising them for a little over a month and the investment was not too large, it still caused the fishermen pain as if their flesh and blood had been cut off.

Many villagers were powerless to do anything about it.

Fishermen often lose money in their first year. Some have silkworm farming businesses, so they can manage, but others have used all their savings to raise fish, which is a major blow.

Just then, Zhou Lan, representing the East-West Chamber of Commerce, reassured everyone, saying, "The East-West Chamber of Commerce will bear half of the damage caused by this flood and will also provide corresponding interest-free loans to help the fishermen overcome their difficulties!"

The government's loans to the people, namely "green seedling loans" and "pre-purchase silk loans," were targeted at agriculture and sericulture. Loans were issued in the spring and harvested in the autumn, with a loan interest rate of 10% to 20%.

The East-West Chamber of Commerce first borne half of the losses and then provided interest-free loans to the fishermen, which was already a very courageous thing to do.

In fact, if it were three days ago, the East-West Chamber of Commerce might not have had this kind of courage, but a major event happened the day before yesterday, which greatly increased the East-West Chamber of Commerce's financial strength and foundation.

It turns out that since the Cai family's ascendants were wiped out, Cai Family Village has been greatly affected. Several high-ranking members of the Cai family have mysteriously disappeared, and the Cai Family Village's land temple has undergone a complete overhaul.

Currently, the land god Cai Gong of Yemo Village is in charge of the land god temple of Caijia Village. However, there is no nepotism. Six of the twelve spirit soldiers have been re-selected, three of whom are surnamed Cai and three of whom are not. The remaining six are four sent by the state land god temple and two sent by the city god temple.

If Wang Meng hadn't become a spirit soldier monitoring the sun, he would definitely have been among the spirit soldiers at the Caijia Village Earth Temple this time.

The Cai family's black gold mine suffered heavy losses, first with the ore being burned, and then with the loss of twelve cattle, leaving them in a state of near collapse.

Therefore, after a month of open and covert struggles, the Cai family selected a new leader and, on the advice of the acting local deity Cai Gong, contacted the East-West Chamber of Commerce the day before yesterday.

Currently, the East-West Chamber of Commerce and the Cai Family Chamber of Commerce are discussing in-depth cooperation. The Cai Family will leverage the influence of the East-West Chamber of Commerce to reopen its sales channels, while the East-West Chamber of Commerce will control the sales channels for black gold stone. Both sides are ready to make a big splash.

Black gold stone can be used not only as fuel for cooking but also for heating in winter, making it an important resource for development.

Nowadays, many people live in thatched houses, and only those with some spare money build wooden houses and brick houses. With the black gold stone, the East-West Chamber of Commerce is preparing to vigorously develop brick kilns.

The two villages are about eighteen miles apart, but if you follow the winding road, it would be more than twenty miles apart. The brick kiln was chosen to be located outside a clay mine west of Yemo Village.

It's currently the off-season for farming, so hiring workers isn't difficult, and finding channels to sell bricks and stones isn't hard either. At least many people in Dongsang and Xisang villages earn money by raising silkworms, and after the autumn harvest, it will be time to renovate their houses...

The addition of the Cai Family Chamber of Commerce greatly increased the strength of the East-West Chamber of Commerce, bringing the entire northern part of Jinfeng County under its control.

Moreover, the Ren family's business association in the east of the city had long been cooperating with the East-West Business Association, which then extended its reach to the east of the city.

Although the Mo family of Qianbian Town did not discuss cooperation, they sent a mechanical sorcerer to serve as a retainer of the East-West Chamber of Commerce, which was quite popular in the countryside west of the city.

Furthermore, the East-West Chamber of Commerce, leveraging Su Ji's relationship with the local deity Zhao Gong, planned to expand into the market south of the city. If successful, they would not only be able to establish trade connections with major chambers of commerce in the Dazhen Prefecture area, but also completely surround the Qian family chamber of commerce in Jinfeng County...

"The countryside surrounds the city; the Golden Toad Messenger is indeed brilliant!" Zhou Lan exclaimed, then looked at the vast expanse of fishponds.

The East-West Chamber of Commerce said it would bear half of the loss of the fishpond, so it began to assess the amount of loss. No one needed to go into the water; the East-West Chamber of Commerce's enshrined monk, Zhu Nanshan, could tell at a glance.

With the help of the crow spirit, Zhu Nanshan quickly assessed the losses of several fish ponds. Not long after, he suddenly discovered a creature that shouldn't have been in the fish ponds.

"A pig-dragon at the level of a demon general?"

Zhu Nanshan was startled, and after confirming that what was in the fishpond was indeed a piglet, he felt even more frightened.

There had never been any trace of the pufferfish in the river before, so it must have been because the fish-dragons had wandered into the river a few days ago. It's nothing if the pufferfish eats a few fish, but if it hurts someone, that would be a serious matter that's hard to handle.

Before long, news of Zhu Polong reached Su Ji's ears, and he immediately went to see Zhu Polong.

Although Zhu Polong was at the level of a demon general, he did not have much wisdom. After communicating for a long time, Yan Tianchou finally came to some conclusions.

It turns out that when one branch of the Taibai Dragon Clan migrated, many aquatic spirits followed them, and many aquatic spirits were also caught up in the migration.

This pig-dragon was the unlucky one who got caught up in it. It took a long time to move to the edge of the Fish-Dragon River and escape when the Qi-blood dragon flew over the East Mulberry and West Mulberry Stone Bridge.

The sight of fish and dragons swimming in the river may seem impressive, but it requires a great deal of energy and blood to maintain a blood dragon that is twenty or thirty feet long, in order to intimidate the demons, monsters, and even gods encountered along the way.

The pig dragon's vital energy was almost completely drained. After leaving the fish and dragon swimming group, it stayed in the fish pond to recuperate in secret. It also knew the danger of humans and planned to recover three to five tenths of its strength before going to Qili Lake to make a living.

"I see!"

Su Ji knew the power of the Tiger King in the White Rock Mountains. The long dragon of blood and qi formed by the fish and dragon swimming in the river was probably maintained to intimidate the Tiger King.

The existence of the Pig Dragon Demon General gave Su Ji some new ideas.

The stream flows directly from Dongsang and Xisang villages to Qili Lake. Although it may not be as grand as it was in ancient times, it will certainly be more lively due to the return of the Taibai Dragon Clan.

In the future, there will inevitably be monsters coming and going in the river, which will bring considerable risks to the fishpond. This section of the river in Dongsang and Xisang villages will need a monster to guard it.

The Pig Dragon is said to be a dragon, but it is actually a crocodile with degenerated bloodline. It may have been a mythical beast in ancient times, but now it can only be called a monster.

Fortunately, the Pig Dragon is a type of ferocious beast with excellent combat capabilities on both land and water. Even Pig Brother Three can serve as the Spirit General of Nanshan, so the Pig Dragon Demon General is more than qualified to serve as the Spirit General of the Fishpond.

With Zhu Nanshan and the crow spirit intervening, they quickly persuaded the Pig Dragon with generous offers. Zhu Nanshan even went so far as to give the Pig Dragon demon general the spiritual jade that had been with him for many years, hoping it would help the Pig Dragon cultivate a celestial soul and gain wisdom. When the villagers heard about the East-West Merchant Guild's decision, their joy far outweighed their shock.

To raise fish, you not only need to feed them on time, but also prevent water birds from preying on the fish in the pond. And the hog cichlid is a natural enemy of water birds.

Moreover, the pig dragon is not picky about food; it can eat shellfish, loach, and eel, as well as dead fish, thus maintaining the cleanliness of the water...

After Master Zhu Nanshan made his assurance, some of the fishermen who had been worried were relieved. Even a powerful being like the Wu family's walking corpse had been killed by Master Zhu Nanshan, so a pig dragon was nothing.

However, the Pig Dragon incident was merely an unintentional consequence of the Taibai Dragon Clan's return to Qili Lake; its true impact is still slowly brewing.

That evening, even the Earth Spirits of the Bright Moon Spirit Realm, upon seeing Su Ji, expressed some concern:

"The plans for the Bright Moon Wonderland and the Great Sun Wonderland will require the use of flowing clouds in the sky. At that time, the commotion above the City God Temple will not escape the notice of the Taibai Dragon Clan of Qili Lake..."

The return of the Taibai Dragon Clan that night put pressure on all the gods in the City God Temple.

The silver-white chariots in the sky were mostly high-grade spiritual artifacts, with the one in the middle being a divine treasure.

The Taibai dragons pulling the cart were mostly at the Dongxuan level, with more than ten high-level Dongxuan cultivators, and the leader was a true immortal dragon.

Among the massive procession of fish and dragons swimming in the river, the leader was a king-level Taibai dragon who cultivated bloodline spirit, and beside him was a white turtle who had cultivated into a bloodline demon king.

Even the demon king with bloodline from the deepest abyss of the lake didn't stir up the slightest ripple, and simply exiled himself to the Ono Marsh...

There may be immortals in Jinfeng County, but they are like hermit masters who keep a low profile. Now that the Taibai Dragon Clan has returned to Qili Lake in such a high-profile manner, the situation in the Yin-Yang realm of Jinfeng County has changed.

Even the City God Temple was somewhat worried, fearing that the Taibai Dragon Clan might have some impact on the Great Sun Wonderland and Bright Moon Wonderland plans.

Su Ji couldn't help but smile: "The Taibai Dragon Clan has made a strong comeback. Even though they are powerful dragons, they can't suppress the City God Temple, which has a divine background."

"Moreover, this branch of the Taibai Dragon Clan is ultimately just the lineage of Qili Lake. Although it seems powerful, it still needs to use the Fish-Dragon Formation to transform into a long dragon of blood and qi before it can intimidate the Tiger King of Baiyan Mountain Range."

"As for that dragon immortal, there's even less to worry about. If the dragon immortal dares to cause trouble, the Heavenly Court is not just for show. A mere dragon immortal can't stir up any trouble..."

Ultimately, the Earth Spirits' vision was somewhat narrow, focusing only on the Bright Moon Spirit Realm and the City God Temple, forgetting that the current Heavenly Emperor was the direct leader of the City God lineage, the Yellow Emperor.

In Su Ji's view, after the Taibai Dragon Clan returns, they will not only not show any strength, but will lie low for a while.

After all, even the Pig Dragon Demon General was almost overdrawn by the Fish Dragon Formation, and the Taibai Dragon Clan and demon beasts were even more exhausted, probably needing ten days to half a month to recover.

As for the Great Sun Wonderland Project and the Bright Moon Wonderland Project of the City God Temple, they involve the interests of the City God Temple of Jinfeng County and even the entire Yuzhou, so it is unlikely that the Taibai Dragon Clan will interfere.

After hearing Su Ji's words, the Earth Spirit finally understood the situation.

Subsequently, the Earth Spirit became his guide, leading Su Ji to cultivate throughout the Earth Spirit Realm.

Su Ji's Yang-type mystic art, "Earth Yang Surge," has already reached the intermediate level, and he cannot neglect Yin-type mystic arts either.

After so many days of cultivation, the mid-grade mystic technique [Tongyou Xuanmen] only has one last rare and mysterious fragment left, while the mid-grade mystic technique [Yinguang Yingdun] is still missing three rare and mysterious fragments.

However, after several days, Su Ji still hadn't made any progress, so he could only turn his attention to the Yin Gate, which led directly to Wusheng's hometown.

Su Ji is now a true guardian spirit, not only appreciated by the City God, but also owed a favor by the judge of the underworld regarding the Blazing Crystal Treasure.

However, when Su Ji proposed to go to Wusheng's hometown in Jinfeng County to cultivate, the City God shook his head after a moment's thought.

"General of the Sun, no living creatures are allowed in Wusheng's hometown. Even if I wanted to let you pass, you cannot violate the rules to enter..."

The City God's words were all indisputable facts, and Su Ji couldn't help but sigh.

The Bright Moon Spirit Realm also has wondrous places, but they are nothing like the Lotus Wonderland of the Great Sun Spirit Realm.

However, the placenta that nurtured the Yin Earth Vein had long been refined into the underground palace by the previous generation of Yin Earth Spirits. Even the current generation of Yin Earth Spirits could not open the underground palace due to insufficient cultivation, let alone Su Ji, an outsider.

Just as Su Ji frowned, the City God suddenly smiled and said, "If the Sun-Watching Spirit General is in a hurry, why not start the Great Sun Immortal Realm and Bright Moon Immortal Realm plans ahead of schedule?"

The forging of a large-scale deflecting spiritual weapon is not a one-time success. Instead, Mo Linglong uses the power of the Xuanxian Dao Fruit [Scattered Gold] to pulverize various spiritual materials into golden energy and mysteries, and then refines them little by little into a spiritual weapon. There is no time to rush it.

Su Ji immediately understood what the City God meant: "Could it be that the City God intends to use the flowing clouds to cleanse the weather now and obtain weather raw materials containing the energy of the heavens and the sunlight?"

The fact that the large deflection artifact is not yet complete does not mean that raw materials cannot be stored. On the contrary, advance preparation can speed up the progress of the plan.

Su Ji was overjoyed, and then many thoughts came to mind.

The City God's early planning was probably an attempt to test the waters while the Taibai Dragon Clan was weakened.

And so, that very night, a colossal creature took flight in the Bright Moon Spirit Realm.

"Bright Moon Toad!"

Not to mention the many ghosts and gods in the City God Temple, even Su Ji was startled.

Previously, the local deity Zhang Gong and the spirit general who roamed the City God Temple at night only gave a general account, and the Yin Gate they later saw was just a doorway that opened from top to bottom. It wasn't until now that Su Ji realized that the previous generation of Bright Moon Spirit was actually a toad.

"The Moon Toad is the essence of the moon, and it makes sense that the Moon Toad was born in the Bright Moon Spirit Realm..."

This generation of Earth Yin Spirits usually looks like fat cultivators. When they leaped into the air, they transformed into the shape of a toad. They then merged into the remains of the Bright Moon Spirit and began to breathe in and out the flowing clouds in the air.

Soon, this scene came into the view of the Taibai Dragon Clan of Qili Lake.

Some members of the Taibai Dragon Clan didn't take it seriously, but many others looked grave and said, "Is the City God Temple in Jinfeng County trying to demonstrate its power against us?"

The Taibai Dragon Clan had just returned to Qili Lake and was very sensitive to reactions from all sides. As the largest power in Jinfeng County, the City God Temple could not be ignored.

Immediately, the Taibai Dragon Clan summoned the guardian spirit general Bai Yuan. However, the plans for the Great Sun Immortal Realm and the Bright Moon Immortal Realm were still in the secret stage, and not only Bai Yuan, but even the Water Palace Spirit Official did not know the reason.

Therefore, Bai Yuanling could only suggest, "The Taibai Dragon Clan has returned to Qili Lake after tens of thousands of years. They should invite the surrounding forces to a banquet. We can take this opportunity to find out the attitude of the City God Temple in Jinfeng County..."

The Taibai Dragon Clan appears powerful, but in reality, it has greatly declined due to the loss of the Earth Immortal Secret Realm and its ancestral land... The grand display when it returned a few days ago was a testament to the accumulated strength of tens of thousands of years.

Currently, the Earth Immortal Realm will not open for some time, and the high-ranking members of the Taibai Dragon Clan have no intention of causing trouble. Therefore, it is necessary for them to show goodwill to the surrounding forces.

As a result, the Taibai Dragon Clan quickly reached a consensus and began to invite surrounding forces to participate in the Qili Lake banquet three days later.

Because Qili Lake was called Luhu Lake in ancient times, this banquet is also known as the "Luhu Lake Grand Gathering".

(End of this chapter)