Chapter 99: The Most Powerful Weapon of the Chamber of Commerce

Fang Qingyun let out a yawn born of utter boredom. Less than an hour remained before the grand commencement of the Spring Gathering. Fortunately, they had prepared well in advance, and various contingency plans were securely in place; thus far, the Spring Gathering had proceeded without a single mishap.

During the day, Fang Qingyun had heard of an elephant falling into the water and subsequently flying out of it. He sent men to deliver a stern warning: without permission, flying was strictly forbidden within the county commandery as it was far too perilous. Furthermore, since the demonic beast had not been registered upon entering the city, the elephant's master submissively led the creature away to complete the paperwork.

It was minor annoyances of this sort that Fang Qingyun had spent the entire day managing.

"Let us hope nothing goes awry tonight—no one lighting campfires that set the mountain forests ablaze, no stampedes caused by spectators crowding for the plays, no one driven by jealousy to brawling in the streets..."

Fang Qingyun muttered incessantly to himself, recounting the precise mishaps that had plagued previous years.

"Qingyun, I shall take my leave now," County Governor Li said, offering a casual greeting before his departure.

"Safe travels," Fang Qingyun replied, showing far greater deference to Governor Li than was his usual custom. He had heard rumors that no superior would be parachuted in from above this time, and that his own advancement to succeed Governor Li was entirely thanks to the elder man's glowing recommendations.

Such kindness was not something to be lightly forgotten.

In truth, Governor Li had no real need to show his face during the Spring Gathering, yet doing so served to project an image of diligent labor, making for excellent public relations.

Governor Li had ever been fiercely protective of his own reputation; he had long since discovered that compared to actually executing tasks, speaking pleasant words made the path to promotion far smoother.

Promotion within the bureaucracy also carried requirements regarding one's realm of cultivation; this was an unspoken rule of officialdom.

"Soon. Once I break through to the Nascent Soul stage tonight, both my status as Governor and my identity as the Helm Master will undergo a transformation." At this thought, Governor Li's steps grew a few shades lighter.

Slipping into a secluded alleyway, he first altered his countenance before donning a mask. In this manner, even if someone were to strip the mask away, they would merely take the altered face for his true visage, never suspecting the identity of Governor Li.

Walking the line between the orthodox and demonic paths made such prudence an absolute necessity.

Given his natural talent, he should never have been able to reach the late stage of the Golden Core. It was solely because he straddled both the righteous and demonic worlds, commanding resources far beyond the imagination of ordinary men, that he had achieved his present self. Yet over the past decade, he found himself hitting a bottleneck, unable to reach the Nascent Soul stage through conventional means. To advance both his rank and his cultivation realm a step further, his thoughts had turned to the Reversal of Longevity Formation.

"Strange. The Inspector-General ought to have arrived in Yanjiang County before noon today. Why is he still not here?"

Governor Li—or rather, the masked Helm Master Chu—felt a swell of displeasure at the Inspector-General's lack of punctuality. He had explicitly instructed the man to arrive before noon today, promising a pleasant surprise.

The so-called surprise was none other than initiating the Reversal of Longevity Formation alongside the Inspector-General, raising both their cultivation realms simultaneously.

"Could some mishap have befallen him? To think I deliberately waited for the hour of the densest crowds to activate the grand array. Ah, well. Since he fails to appear, I shall ascend to the next realm alone."

Mount Song was a desolate place, choked with wild trees and traced only by mountain paths forged by the footsteps of vagabonds. Travelers coming to enjoy the Spring Gathering would never seek to court misery in a place like this.

Helm Master Chu concealed his aura as he advanced toward Mount Song. The further he walked, the scarcer the tourists became, until he reached the foot of the mountain where not a single soul remained.

Ultimately, he came to a halt upon a stretch of level ground. Affixed to the surrounding branches were talismans that differed slightly from ordinary Reversal of Longevity Charms, serving here as the eyes of the formation.

He sat cross-legged, adjusting his internal state to a perfect composure as he quietly awaited the precise moment the grand array would detonate into life. He had already dispatched six deacons to execute the sacrifice of vital blood; by his calculations, the time was exactly now!

"Reversal of Longevity Formation, arise!" Helm Master Chu raised both hands toward the heavens, igniting the array.

With him as the epicenter, the silent, invisible power of the formation rippled outward, only to grind to an abrupt and absolute halt upon reaching a certain perimeter.

"Someone has pulled up a marker flag!" Helm Master Chu lost his composure for a fleeting instant, but swiftly realized what had transpired.

This was no accidental removal of a flag or two; the interloper possessed a profound understanding of the Reversal of Longevity Formation, otherwise they could never have uprooted them with such unerring precision!

"Who is it? Men of the government? No, nothing within the official ranks can escape my gaze."

"An ordinary traveler unknown to me? Or perhaps... Lu Yang, who has witnessed the Reversal of Longevity Formation before!"

Lu Yang was a man whose conduct defied all convention; it was entirely possible he would perpetrate such a deed!

Helm Master Chu's eyes turned freezing cold. This act was tantamount to severing his path forward, a torment far worse than death itself!

"Oh? Am I truly that sort of person in your estimation, Helm Master Chu?" Lu Yang's lazy voice drifted from nearby.

"Lu Yang!" Upon sighting the youth, Helm Master Chu's fury erupted like a volcano. "Do not presume that simply because the Cult Leader favors you, I cannot slay you. Demonic cultivators dying of unforeseen accidents is a common enough occurrence. Give me one good reason for what you have done!"

Lu Yang pondered for a moment, then replied with utmost sincerity, "Did you not tell me yourself, sir, to stir up trouble during the Spring Gathering? I figured the greatest trouble I could possibly make would be to eliminate the Governor. And would you look at that—what a coincidence. We tracked the Governor for days, only to find out that you are the Governor."

"I believe in finishing what I start, so I figured I might as well finish you off. After all, isn't insubordination a time-honored tradition in our Demonic Cult?" Lu Yang said with a beaming smile.

"You court death!" Helm Master Chu roared in unbridled rage.

"How could I? I still wish for immortality, you know."

"A mere stripling at the Foundation Establishment stage dares to mouth such arrogance here? Die!" Driven by fury, Helm Master Chu unleashed a palm strike. The wind of his hand was terrifying, sweeping away everything in its path and reducing every tree it brushed against to absolute dust!

Lu Yang shrunk the earth to flee into the distance, evading the blow. Helm Master Chu stomped his right foot violently against the ground; like an earthen dragon turning in its sleep, the entire crust of the earth was upturned, throwing Lu Yang out into the open.

Lu Yang's heart skipped a beat; this was indeed a cultivator of the late Golden Core stage, capable of unearthing him with a single stomp.

"Tsk, a troublesome adversary indeed."

Like a bolt of lightning, Helm Master Chu closed the distance with terrifying speed, his hand forming a fist print as his momentum rushed like the wind, determined to crush Lu Yang to death.

The Azure Peak Sword swung across Lu Yang’s chest, its blade tilted upward. Should Helm Master Chu dare to strike downward, the sword would instantly shear through the bones of his fist!

Helm Master Chu checked his punch instantly and kicked out instead. Anticipating the move, Lu Yang launched a counter-kick; as their feet collided, Lu Yang used the momentum to hurl himself backward into the air!

Helm Master Chu prepared to strike anew, only to discover that the spiritual energy throughout his body felt utterly shackled, defying any attempt to summon it.

"A Spirit-Shackling Array that functions just like the grand prisons! You truly do understand formations!" Helm Master Chu glared death at Lu Yang. Yet though he was barred from employing his spiritual energy, given the sheer physical defense of his mortal frame, Lu Yang could not hope to harm a single hair on his head!

The Spirit-Shackling Array had been hastily laid by Lan Ting; Lu Yang's sole objective had been to lure Helm Master Chu to this exact spot.

Lu Yang smiled, waving a cheerful farewell to Helm Master Chu.

Helm Master Chu scanned his surroundings but discerned nothing amiss. He snapped his head upward, only to behold a massive flying vessel hovering directly above him.

It was the very vessel Meng Jingzhou had just purchased from the merchant guild.

Night had already fallen, and Mount Song was shrouded in a darkness so absolute that even human silhouettes were obscured; otherwise, Helm Master Chu would have noticed long ago that he stood within a colossal shadow.

Spiritual energy was equally useless in the airspace above the Spirit-Shackling Array. Deprived of its propulsion, the flying vessel plummeted at terrifying speed, while Meng Jingzhou leaped clear with a parachute strapped to his back.

The vessel was far too massive, and with Helm Master Chu unable to utilize his spiritual energy, his speed was constrained, leaving him unable to dodge. Lu Yang, having calculated the distance perfectly, retreated to a safe haven far away.

Like a descending meteorite, the flying vessel fell from the low sky, crashing straight toward Helm Master Chu!

The vessel struck the earth, churning up endless clouds of dust and sand with a thunderous roar that sent tremors through the entirety of Mount Song.

It seemed the vessel had been packed with explosives; the moment it crashed, the ordinance detonated, sending flames tearing into the heavens amid a deafening roar!

Lu Yang flashed a thumbs-up to Meng Jingzhou. "It is good to be rich. Buying a flying vessel on a whim like that!"

Meng Jingzhou returned the thumbs-up. "If the merchant guild hadn't possessed only a single vessel in stock, I would have bought a few more!"

No magical treasure in the merchant guild could match the raw, destructive impact of a flying vessel hurled directly from the sky.

Fang Qingyun, who had just been appreciating the profound tranquility of the evening, witnessed a flying vessel plunge to the earth. The sight nearly brought on a myocardial infarction.

"Are you mocking me?!"