From a carp to a dragon god

Fragrant Luomu Blessed Land.

The great merchant of Menzhou was actually just a rat demon with a mid-stage fifth-rank cultivation level, and he was practicing the incense and fire god path.

This rat immortal transformed into an obese person, his entire body covered in so much fat that it looked like a meat pie, and it seemed as if it would flow out with the slightest movement.

"Are you three distinguished guests from the East Sea?" the Fragrant Rat asked, lying in its chair without getting up.

Seeing this, Li Zhen frowned, his expression quite displeased, and said in a deep voice, "That's right, I wonder what business you have with us here?"

The fragrant rat seemed oblivious, its posture unchanged, and it spoke in its usual lazy tone: "I am the host of the Menzhou Maritime Trade. Since you come here to trade, we inevitably have to do business together."

There are some rules that need to be explained to you in advance, so that no one is in an awkward situation.

After saying that, the Scent-Eating Rat waved its hand, and the steward took out a bamboo-handled pipe from its pouch. The Scent-Eating Rat put it in its mouth and took two quick puffs.

The manager then stepped forward, took out another sheet of plain hemp paper, and said to Li Zhen with a smile, "Sir, these are the prices of our merchant guild. Please take a look."

Li Zhen casually picked it up, glanced at it quickly, and his expression turned somewhat grim. He forced a question in his voice: "What does this mean?"

The manager smiled and said, "Distinguished guest, you come from the East Sea and are on your way to the Great Snow Mountain to do business. What you're after is talisman money, aren't you?"

The merchants of Menzhou had dealings with various businesses, and each had its own business. To avoid making things difficult for each other, this list was created.

Since we're all trying to earn money through talismans, it's good to help each other out, don't you think?

Li Zhen clenched his fist. He was prepared before he came. The big merchants from Menzhou would definitely make demands of him, and he could negotiate with them.

Unexpectedly, he was given a price list, all of which were extremely high prices. How was he supposed to do business under such circumstances?
The maritime trade deals mainly with bulk commodities; high-priced rare and exotic items are always in the minority. The real core business is the low-priced everyday consumer goods.

If they did business according to the prices on the list, Li Zhen and his team could only deal in rare and high-quality items, and those items had to be expensive, which didn't align with his plans.

"Thank you in the end!"

Li Zhen bowed respectfully and then gestured for Yu Shuyang and Huang Wenxun to leave.

Although even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, he wasn't fighting alone after all; he also had the Great Snow Mountain White Fox. He didn't believe the White Fox Clan would be afraid of the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce.

"Honored guest, please wait!"

The scent-eating rat sat up from its bed, holding a long-stemmed pipe in its hand. It took a deep drag, and its fat instantly contracted, emitting a puff of smoke from its skin.

Yu Shuyang hurriedly used the Dongyuan Xuantian Banner to block it, as he could sense the strong poison of the divine incense smoke from the smoke.

While Li Zhen was talking to them, he had been secretly observing them and had already noticed something was wrong. Both the Incense-Eating Rat and the Steward had accumulated a large amount of Incense Poison in their bodies, yet they didn't need to suppress their emotions.

Especially just now, the smoker was smoking a pipe, and what was burning inside was not tobacco at all, but a mixture of spices, which also contained the power of incense.

This was clearly consuming "incense" directly, which made Yu Shuyang's heart pound with fear. He thought of the "divine salt" refined by the cave spirit Linjun.

Yu Shuyang activated the Qian Gang Dao Restriction, which transformed into a light shield to protect Li Zhen and Huang Wenxun from inhaling the smoke and being poisoned.

The scent-eating rat transformed its fat into fragrance, which, along with the embers from its pipe, fell and transformed into a long, colorful brocade robe.

"The three of you don't need to act like this. We can talk things over."

Business in Menzhou is limited; everyone sticks together for survival. You've come from the East Sea to earn talisman money, so why make things worse!

The fragrant rat said with a smile.

"I don't think that's necessary! If we follow your list, we'll only be able to sell rare and exotic treasures from now on."

"If that's the case, why bother sailing all the way from the East China Sea!" Li Zhen said through gritted teeth, his anger rising ever since he saw the fragrant rat.

"Oh dear, if that's the case, you can also hand over the goods to the Chamber of Commerce, and they will pay you 70% of the price listed on the invoice."

"What do you three think?" A glint of light flashed in the eyes of the Scent-Eating Rat, as if it had spotted its prey.

All the actions they had just displayed were tests, trying to find out what Li Zhen and his group were capable of. However, Li Zhen left as soon as he finished looking at the price list, which put the Fragrant Rat in a somewhat passive position.

Li Zhen was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. At the same time, he mentally estimated that the goods on the treasure ship were all transferred from Chaoju Island. Based on 70% of the price list, they could still make a profit of nearly 30%.

Before Li Zhen could speak, Yu Shuyang pulled him aside and said first, "The Menzhou Chamber of Commerce is paying such a high price, surely they're not just after a shipment of goods?"

"I don't know what your ultimate goal is, so let's get this straight up beforehand so we can discuss it."

Yu Shuyang didn't have a good impression of the Fragrant Rat. He thought the rat was a bit crazy, or rather, he had always been resistant to those who practiced incense and deities, always thinking they were all lunatics.

The Scent-Eating Rat glanced at Yu Shuyang, revealed a very bright smile, and said, "This young man is quite straightforward."

Then I won't hide it anymore. Everyone knows that Menzhou is mainly inhabited by demon immortal families and Baiyi people, and the Baiyi people have the best relationship with the White Fox of the Great Snow Mountain.

I've heard you have connections to the Great Snow Mountain, so I suppose you're looking to do business with the Baiyi people.

The Menzhou Chamber of Commerce is a union of thirty-six demon immortal families, specializing in doing business with the Baiyi people—this has always been their rule.

Right now, a chamber of commerce from Lingzhou is heading north to Huzhou, taking a detour through the Great Snow Mountain, also to do business with the Baiyi people!

I don't know who you three are connected to, but I heard that your treasure ship is flying a dragon flag, so you must be disciples of some powerful lord.

"How about we make a deal? From now on, we'll hand over all our goods to the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce. There's no need for us to get involved in this dispute."

Upon hearing this, Yu Shuyang seemed to be deep in thought. The Baiyi were in Menzhou and the Quanyi were in Huzhou. Both of these were branches of the Dongyi, and they were currently being supported by the Dongyi Emperor.

Seeing the situation in Menzhou, the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce was actually blocking the Baiyi people. As a result, the White Fox Clan was brought in from Huzhou to the Lingzhou Chamber of Commerce.

"I have a question: since the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce is united by thirty-six demon immortal families, how can it allow the Lingzhou Chamber of Commerce to extend its reach?"

"We came from the East Sea and didn't intend to get involved in the merchant guild's disputes. However, we do have some connections with the White Fox of the Great Snow Mountain. It would be difficult to explain going back now that we've resold all our goods to you."

Li Zhen was quite astute and grasped some of the issues, then pressed for further information. The Fragrant Rat laughed and said, "As expected, I couldn't hide it from you two. It's nothing much, really. A great calamity has arisen in the Nine Provinces, and the five demonic sects have all dispatched disciples to face it."

The demon and immortal families in the Chamber of Commerce are all busy undergoing tribulations and cannot spare any time. Moreover, the Baiyi people are the only powerful family in Menzhou, and they also have the support of the Snow Mountain White Fox and the Spirit Serpent of Long Snake Island.

This has truly put us at a loss. You in the East Sea are protected by the Dragon King and unaffected by this calamity, unaware of our predicament.

The fragrant rat poured out his grievances without any pretense, as if he were being completely open and honest. His attitude made Yu Shuyang and Li Zhen quite wary, feeling that he was fearless and had nothing to hide.

"The three of you, what are your plans? Will you help us, or will you become enemies of the Chamber of Commerce?" the Fragrant Rat asked with a smile.

Yu Shuyang glanced at Li Zhen and secretly transmitted his voice, "Li Zhen, this rat spirit is fearless and doesn't know what he's up to. Why don't we just play along for a bit?"

Li Zhen nodded secretly and said, "The Rat Immortal has a good temper and speaks so frankly. We won't hide anything from you anymore."

We come from Lei Island Water Market in the desolate sea. I imagine you haven't heard of it before, but you should know about Huaihe Water Market.

The temple priest of the God of Goods rebuilt a floating market on Lei Island, located at the northern end of the Taodushan Islands, deep in the desolate sea.

We were entrusted by Shuishi to open up trade routes in Menzhou. Normally, we could sell our goods to anyone, but the Dragon Lord of the Desolate Sea and the Fox Kingdom of Qingqiu have both entrusted us to do business with the White Fox Clan in the Great Snow Mountain.

To be honest, even if you buy all the goods this time, what about next time? And the time after that? The market has no shortage of goods.”

Li Zhen used a strategy of retreat to advance. He didn't say whether he agreed or not, but instead pulled over the temple priest of the God of Goods and used the two water markets as an excuse to see how the Fragrant Rat would respond.

The fragrant rat was stunned, speechless for a moment. He had received the news earlier and guessed that the treasure ship was related to the Dragon Palace and the Water Mansion, thinking it was a business of the dragon prince and grandson.

After pondering for a moment, the Fragrant Rat spoke up and said, "I see. I also have some news. I heard that the Baiyi and Quanyi people are performing sacrifices in the Great Snow Mountain."

Preparing to rise up in rebellion and march south to attack the human dynasty, the Heavenly Army of the Overlord's Mansion has already stationed itself at the Menzhou Pass, ready to take action at any time.

"You must be careful when doing business with the White Fox Clan now, lest the human dynasty settle scores later!"

Yu Shuyang and Li Zhen both nodded in agreement. At this moment, a huge weight was lifted off their shoulders. Their purpose in coming to support the Baiyi tribe was nothing more than to incite civil war among the human race.

"I see. Thank you for the reminder, Rat Immortal. By the way, doesn't your Menzhou Chamber of Commerce also do business with the Baiyi tribe? Aren't you afraid of being purged in the future?" Li Zhen asked with a smile.

"Alas! Born and raised here, our Menzhou Chamber of Commerce will always do business in Menzhou. Even if General Bafu knew, he couldn't really make things difficult for us."

That said, the Chamber of Commerce operates according to the rules; charging three to five times the market price means they're already working for the Tyrant's Mansion!

The Fragrant Rat's words had a hidden meaning. At this moment, he knew that he could no longer harass Li Zhen and the others, so he could only try to intimidate them by invoking the Heavenly Soldiers of the Overlord's Mansion and the Human Dynasty.

Li Zhen responded with a half-smile, then asked in return, "Rat Immortal, we can't make that decision either. If you want the goods on the treasure ship, just pay the price you just mentioned."

However, I must make this clear beforehand: once we get back, we'll report this information. If they come again next time, we'll simply have to report as instructed!

Li Zhen didn't care about the ownership of the cargo. His main purpose was to open up trade routes, and it would only take seven or eight days to travel from the desolate sea to Menzhou.

Currently, Li Zhen can mobilize goods from Jinlu Island, Qingqiu Island, and Chaoju Island. He also has dealings with the water market on Lei Island and Huanghai Longhou, and can mobilize some goods from the sea market as well.

Therefore, Li Zhen has no shortage of goods. To be honest, the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce, the Great Snow Mountain White Fox, and the Baiyi tribe all buy his goods, and he can handle the demand.

The Fragrant Rat smiled and said, "I understand. I also need to gather the members of the Chamber of Commerce. Next time you come, we can discuss the next shipment of goods."

Li Zhen nodded and then said, "There's one more thing. I'd like to ask the Rat Immortal if there's a 'Standing Earthly Tai Sui' in Menzhou, and what its origins are."

Upon hearing this, the fragrant rat was taken aback, and its smiling face stiffened slightly. Fortunately, it managed to control its expression and did not reveal it.

"Hey, what's gotten into you three? Why are you asking about this?" the Fragrant Rat inquired.

"Hey, I was just doing this on someone's behalf. Is there some other connection to this matter?" Li Zhen asked, feigning confusion.

"This matter involves many things, and I don't know how to explain it to you right now."

Speaking of which, it's also related to a few fox demons. They came to Menzhou to preach, and they were preaching to a dragon god.

This matter naturally alarmed the four water palaces of Menzhou. The Dragon God must have a very high status among the dragons.

Those fox demons were invited to the Dragon Palace and Water Mansion. Not long after, some people from the Baiyi tribe began to worship the Earth God.

That standing Tai Sui is a human deity, which is obvious to anyone with eyes. It is a divine method, and this matter seems to be related to the Fragrance Sect of the North.

Did you know that the Fragrance Scent Sect is extremely powerful? Its two founders were named Lady Tianxiang and Lady Xianggai.

The Incense Canopy Goddess is a deity, and this matter should be related to her, but the specific details are unclear.

The fragrant rat explained the whole story as it spoke.

Yu Shuyang frowned as he listened from the side. He really didn't expect that this matter would be related to the Fragrance Sect and the Water Mansion of Menzhou.

Judging from the words of the fragrant rat, Cao Xiaoshan and the others had been captured by the Water Palace, so he asked, "I wonder, which Dragon Palace or Water Palace captured them?"

"I'm not quite sure about that. It should be from the Southern Water Palace, but I don't know if it's Marquis Xuelong or Earl Binglong," said the Fragrant Rat.

Yu Shuyang didn't ask any further questions. He stopped there, focusing on the analysis of what exactly the Fragrance Sect and the Dragon Palace Water Mansion were all about. He just didn't know if the two sides were in cahoots.

"Rat Immortal, how do we handle the cargo on the treasure ship? We can't just let the ship go back empty, can we?" Li Zhen asked casually.

“This is simple. I’ll have the manager take you to Fengtian City. That’s where our guild is located, and it’s also a major city for the Baiyi people.”

"Where is the 'Standing Earth Tai Sui' you asked about? Once we get to the Chamber of Commerce, let's settle the transaction in half. Half will be paid as a talisman fee, and the other half will be exchanged for goods," said the Fragrant Rat in a very generous manner.

Li Zhen was quite satisfied and agreed, then tugged at Yu Shuyang, telling him to put away the Qian Gang Qi Shield.

Yu Shuyang was filled with speculation and didn't know whether to go to Nanjiang Water Mansion to rescue Cao Xiaoshan and the others first, or to go to Fengtian City with them.

(End of this chapter)