Chapter 532

Chapter 532 Undercurrents, Transmission Talisman

“Is Tianjifang planning to take action?”

The red-faced old man was taken aback.

How could Tianjifang be so bold as to disregard the rules of Canglan City and directly attack?

“The Vice Pavilion Master has misunderstood. Tianjifang isn’t planning to take action directly. They’ve sent someone to convey their intention to join forces with us to put pressure on Zhenbao Tower,”

Deacon Shen explained.

“Tianjifang wants to join forces with us?”

The red-faced old man was taken aback again.

“Yes, it’s not just us. They have also united with other large and small businesses in Canglan City to put pressure on the Treasure House.” Deacon Shen said, “Deputy Pavilion Master, should we join forces with them?” “

Of course. It’s rare that someone is willing to charge in the front. Isn’t this a good thing?” said the red-faced old man, “It’s just right. Let Tianjifang test what trump card that woman has that dares to make such a big fuss.”

“Yes, I heard that every three years, the upper realm will send people down to check the accounts and collect profits from Tianjifang.

Calculating the time, it’s about time.

If the current situation of Tianjifang is seen by the venerables in the upper realm,

the owner of Tianjifang will probably be punished, and of course he will be anxious.”

“It’s better to be anxious. If they are anxious, they can help us explore the way and reply to Tianjifang, saying that our Wanxiang Pavilion agrees.”

…

“Miss, this is an invitation sent by Tianjifang.”

Inside the Treasure House, Uncle Fu said to the owner of the Treasure House, holding a golden invitation.

“Oh, handing us an invitation at this time?” The Treasure House owner raised an eyebrow. “What does the invitation say?”

“It says that Tianjifang, Wanxiang Pavilion, and many other businesses in Canglan City want to hold a meeting to discuss important matters, and they hope that our Treasure House will be there.”

Uncle Fu opened the invitation and glanced at the contents.

“Discuss important matters? I’m afraid they’re trying to put pressure on us together?” The Treasure House owner sneered. “It seems these guys are finally getting impatient.”

“Miss, what should we do? With so many businesses in the city united, even the City Lord wouldn’t dare to underestimate them. If they really attack us, what should we do?”

Uncle Fu said with some concern.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Fu. Canglan City is one of the largest cities in the Lesser Cang Realm.

The City Lord has inextricable ties to the Upper Realm. He won’t tolerate anyone challenging his authority or violating his established rules.

It’s for this reason that Tianjifang and the others have united to put pressure on us.

They have no other means of dealing with us,”

the Treasure House Master said slowly.

Uncle Fu thought about it, and felt relieved.

“So, Miss, should we go to the appointment?”

“Of course not!” the Treasure House Master said bluntly. “No banquet is good. This situation is clearly disadvantageous to us. Why give them this opportunity?

Just decline. Say that we at Treasure House are busy with business lately and don’t have time for the banquet.”

Upon hearing the Treasure House’s refusal,

the middle-aged, elegantly dressed Tianjifang Master’s face darkened.

“Damn you, you slut! You’re so shameless!”

“Master, if Treasure House refuses to keep our appointment, what should we do now?

In less than ten days, the venerable from the upper realm will descend.

If he sees us in this state, he’ll probably be furious,”

a brightly dressed woman said worriedly.

“Damn you, you’re just relying on the protection of Canglan City’s rules to act so recklessly. If it weren’t for the City Lord’s restraint, I’d capture her right now, cripple her cultivation, and sell her to a brothel!”

Master Tianji’s face was filled with fury, and he emanated a terrifying aura that shook the very laws surrounding him.

His cultivation was remarkably that of a powerful cultivator who had reached the seventh stage of the late Jindan stage or higher.

“Master, be careful what you say!” The beautiful woman’s face changed, and she said hurriedly, “It’s said that the owner of the Treasure House is a woman favored by a figure in the upper realm. If your words get out, I’m afraid it will be very inappropriate.”

“It’s just a rumor. It’s been circulating for years, but there’s no real evidence.

I now suspect that the rumor was spread by that lowly servant herself.

She’s deliberately trying to confuse people and make them afraid to touch her.”

The Master of the Secret House sneered.

The beautiful woman fell silent.

Many people had made this kind of speculation.

But it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Without real confirmation, no one dared to ignore this matter.

After all, the rumor was said to have originated from the City Lord’s Mansion.

Moreover, over the years, the City Lord’s Mansion has favored the Treasure House, and many things have subtly favored them, which is also obvious to many forces.

Otherwise, a woman, and only a mid-grade Jindan, whose own strength is not even at the late Jindan stage, would be a big deal.

How could he establish himself in Canglan City, a city of mixed fortunes and powerful individuals, establish a vast Treasure House, and control such vast wealth?

But the beautiful woman knew that the Pavilion Master was furious and would likely not listen, so she didn’t dare to offer any advice.

Fortunately, the Pavilion Master was merely venting his anger, and his rationality remained.

He soon regained his composure.

“Pavilion Master, the Treasure House is unwilling to attend to our meeting. It’s obvious that they don’t want to resolve this matter peacefully with us. What should we do?” the beautiful woman asked.

“According to the intelligence we have, the reason Treasure House is constantly selling new talismans

is clearly tied to the mysterious talisman maker who appeared a few days ago.

If we can eliminate this individual, all problems will be solved,”

the Tianji Shop owner said solemnly.

“But our spies have also reported that this individual is extremely mysterious. Since moving into Treasure House, he has maintained a low profile, rarely going out, and not vying for power.

He spends his days hiding in his cave, socializing with no one.

Aside from a few, no one else can contact him.

Furthermore, he likely possesses a rare treasure that conceals the secrets of the heavens.

Even our best masters of divination have been unable to deduce his origins.

Therefore, eliminating him will be extremely difficult,”

the beautiful woman said with embarrassment.

“No matter what, we must find a way to contact him, preferably by luring him out of the Treasure House. If

our people can’t reach him, then we’ll start from within.

I don’t believe that the Treasure House is truly a monolithic entity, with no one harboring any ulterior motives.

Now that the Treasure House owner is promoting new talismans and removing the old ones,

won’t the other talisman makers object? You know, if their talismans can’t sell, they’ll also lose a significant amount of income.

In short, whether it’s bribery or threats, whether it’s sacrificing spirit stones or magic weapons, there will always be brave men willing to take the plunge when there’s a huge reward!”

The Tianji House owner gritted his teeth and said viciously.

“Other talisman makers…”

The beautiful woman’s expression faltered upon hearing this, then a thought flashed through her mind, and her eyes lit up slightly.

“Pavilion Master, if that’s the case, I’m afraid I do have a candidate.

According to spies, within the Treasure House, there’s a master appraiser named Qiu Rong, who’s also a talisman maker.

He’s arrogant and narrow-minded, and reportedly clashed with the mysterious talisman maker.

He even caused trouble when the Treasure House released a new talisman.

Now, he’s being punished by the Treasure House Master, confined to his cave, facing the wall and forbidden from leaving.

Given his magnanimity, he’s bound to harbor resentment towards the Treasure House, and perhaps we could be a source of leverage.”

Upon hearing this, the Master of the Heavenly Secrets Workshop was delighted. “Yes, this is a great candidate! Send someone there immediately to contact Qiu Rong.

Don’t skimp on spirit stones; we must persuade him to become our traitor.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

After the beautiful woman respectfully withdrew, the Master of the Heavenly Secrets Workshop’s expression darkened again.

Within ten days at most, someone from the higher realms would arrive. If he hadn’t resolved the situation by then…

Not only would he lose his lucrative position as the Master, he’d also likely be punished.

Given that master’s temper, if he were to be punished, what would the outcome be?…

Thinking of this, Master Tianji couldn’t help but shudder, a chill rising from his heart.

The resolute expression on his face deepened.

If that fate was truly imminent, he might as well give it a try!

…

Amidst the undercurrents outside, Lu Qing continued to cultivate peacefully within his cave.

“Finally, I’ve fully comprehended and mastered it.”

Lu Qing opened his eyes, runes flowing in them.

These days, besides refining the necessary talismans for daily use, he’d devoted the vast majority of his time to comprehending the inherited teleportation formation.

Now, he’d finally grasped it completely, no longer harboring any doubts.

“Still, even with the aid of my supernatural powers, it still took me this long to master it.

This teleportation formation is truly profound and abstruse.

The way of space is truly a realm reserved for those with great spiritual powers,”

Lu Qing sighed.

Although he had now fully comprehended the teleportation formation in Starry Sky City,

he was still unable to fully deploy it at his current level of cultivation.

The teleportation formation involved the laws of space, which could only be comprehended by those with great spiritual powers.

Even if a formation master could communicate these laws through runes, without sufficient cultivation, it would still be difficult to deploy such a complex formation.

So, although Lu Qing had now fully comprehended the teleportation formation in Starry Sky City through his supernatural powers,

knowing was easier said than done; understanding and being able to do were two completely different things.

With his current level of cultivation, deploying a teleportation formation as vast as Starry Sky City was currently impossible.

“I was thinking that if I could fully comprehend this teleportation formation, would it be possible to deploy it directly to the Tianyuan World?

That way, I could save a large amount of spirit stones.

Now it seems that was too far-fetched,”

Lu Qing thought of his previous wishful thinking and couldn’t help but laugh.

“However, I’m currently unable to deploy a boundary-breaking teleportation array capable of breaking through the membranes of worlds.

However, if I use my supernatural powers to simplify this array, turning it into a small-scale teleportation array capable of simply traversing the void and shifting space, it seems possible.”

Even teleportation arrays come in different levels.

From inter-domain teleportation arrays capable of directly crossing the boundless starry sky, to boundary-breaking teleportation arrays capable of breaking through the membranes of worlds and teleporting between worlds,

to micro-sized teleportation arrays capable of short distances within the same world.

The power of these arrays varies greatly, and the profound spatial laws they apply also vary.

For example, the teleportation array inherited by Lu Qing in the Starry Sky City is a very high-level boundary-breaking teleportation array.

This powerful formation can only be deployed by a senior Yuanshen realm cultivator with a deep understanding of spatial laws and mastery of rune formations.

With his current abilities, it’s far from possible to deploy one.

However, while he’s powerless against boundary-breaking teleportation arrays, he has a slight chance of deploying the lowest-level micro-sized teleportation array.

Lu Qing closed his eyes again and activated his supernatural powers to cultivate.

This time, the direction of his comprehension shifted.

Driven by his mind, he continuously simplified the teleportation formation he had already mastered.

As Lu Qing continued to deduce, a flood of insights emerged from his mind.

After an unknown amount of time, a simple yet remarkable miniature formation finally emerged from his mind.

“I’ve finally figured it out,”

Lu Qing felt a surge of joy.

However, he quickly suppressed his feelings.

For now, he had merely deduced the formation; the true effects would only be revealed through practical application. After a moment of

thought, Lu Qing pulled a piece of spiritual jade from his storage bag and began to engrave it.

Strands of runes condensed from the void.

These runes were so profound that, as soon as they were condensed, they caused the surrounding space to tremble slightly.

These were the runes Lu Qing had comprehended from the teleportation formation, the formation runes that could activate the laws of space.

Under normal circumstances, comprehending and mastering such runes was extremely difficult for a Jindan realm cultivator.

However, Lu Qing possessed supernatural powers. Upon unlocking them, his comprehension soared, coupled with his inherent talent for runes.

This allowed him to accomplish something seemingly unimaginable to ordinary cultivators.

As Lu Qing’s mind urged him on, the condensed runes began to sink into the spirit jade in his hand.

However, the next moment, with a crisp sound, the spirit jade cracked and shattered.

“It seems that lower-grade spirit jade cannot support formation runes of this level…”

Lu Qing wasn’t surprised. Teleportation formations involved the laws of space.

Even if the one he had engraved was a heavily simplified miniature teleportation formation, its power was beyond the reach of lower-grade spirit jade.

After a moment’s thought, Lu Qing produced a communication talisman and transmitted a message.

Soon, the vibrations of the formation could be heard from outside the cave.

Lu Qing opened the cave and stepped outside, seeing Ziyuan standing respectfully outside.

“Senior Lu, these are the top-grade and ultimate spiritual jades you wanted.”

Ziyuan presented a brocade box. Lu Qing took it and opened it. He saw that the inside was smooth and flowing, and dozens of spiritual jades were neatly placed inside.

“The treasury’s stock of high-grade spirit jade is low. Senior Lu, you need it urgently, so I’ll bring over the remaining ones. If it’s not enough, the building owner said he’ll transfer some from other branches,”

Ziyuan explained.

“That’s enough, for now.”

Lu Qing took a look. The brocade box contained nearly forty spirit jades, ten of which were top-grade, and the rest were high-grade.

Like spirit stones, spirit jade increases in value with each grade increase.

So, while the spirit jade here may seem small, it’s actually quite valuable.

“Senior Lu, are you refining high-grade talismans?” Ziyuan asked curiously.

Lu Qing had always used low-grade spirit jade for talismans, and this was the first time he’d asked for high-grade jade.

“I’d like to try refining some special talismans,” Lu Qing replied.

Ziyuan understood and didn’t notice anything unusual.

In fact, the talisman makers in the building often requested high-grade spirit jade for their talismans.

On the contrary, those like Lu Qing, who only wanted lower-grade spirit jade, were the outliers.

After Ziyuan left, Lu Qing returned to his cave and picked up a piece of high-grade spirit jade.

With his mind, he once again traced the profound runes, immersing them within the jade.

High-grade spirit jade’s ability to withstand the power of rune formations far surpassed that of lower-grade jade.

A vast number of runes surged into the jade, yet it didn’t shatter as it had before.

However, Lu Qing didn’t dare to be careless. He concentrated fully, drawing each rune with all his might, controlling their gradual formation within the jade.

Finally, as the last rune was entrenched, a radiant light shone on the jade’s surface.

As the light faded, a mysterious aura emanated from within.

“It’s done,”

Lu Qing observed, a faint smile on his face.

Just as Lu Qing successfully refined the talisman,

a stealthy figure gradually approached a cave on the other side of the Treasure House.

(End of Chapter)