Scourge Messenger

Chapter 393 Imperial Court

East Sea, the seventh level of the Great Secret Realm, Haiqingtian.

Every second, more than eight million tons of seawater are poured from the ocean into the sky, like a waterfall wall enclosing a huge hole of more than three million acres in the sea. Unless you have an entry and exit token or it is the only open day of the year, no one can cross the inverted waterfall to enter the secret realm.

Inside the inverted waterfall lies a magnificent city, perpetually bright, surrounded by neighborhoods housing over five million people. Many here have never left this hidden realm in their entire lives; for them, night is a strange and unfamiliar concept, and the sky is a bounded circle enclosed by eight million tons of seawater.

However, the central area of ​​the secret realm is an inland sea, in which there is a giant turtle that occupies 70% of the entire secret realm. Even from the sky, it is impossible to see its entire body at a glance. It is the strongest creature in this secret realm, the seventh-rank Desolate Beast King [Sea Calamity Turtle-Snake]!
But at this moment, its two heads and four legs were all bound by hundreds of ice crystal chains. It had been bound in this way for thousands of years, and in the foreseeable future, it would be bound for the next thousand years, and the next thousand years after that... because its tortoise shell carried the strongest power in the history of the East Sea, the violent center that ruled the nine sea regions: Yu Liu Ting!
A seagull spread its wings and flew towards the Royal Pavilion atop the tortoise shell, swooping past messenger apprentices rushing to class and Foundation Establishment messengers testing the supernatural powers of their tokens. After flying over a spacious courtyard, it spotted fruit under a tree and landed to peck at it, remaining vigilant as it observed its surroundings. However, because the area was very quiet, and the neighboring space was merely an art gallery containing nothing but ink paintings, it quickly relaxed and began to feast.

Suddenly, the seagull trembled, as if greatly frightened, and staggered away from the courtyard. In the courtyard's gallery, a slender figure in ink wash painting stepped out of the painting and calmly said, "Just a beast."

"How cautious," another ink-painting scholar chuckled. "Does the Second Academy Dean believe there might be spies within the Imperial Court spying on the Deans' meetings?"

"It might not be an outside spy; it could be someone colluding with external forces," the short, ink-painted man said. "Dean Guiyin, aren't your subordinates interacting with the Southern Yue's Fire Worship too frequently?"

"Trade with the Southern Yue is simply the responsibility of my Seventh Academy. Last time, the Academy Head gave me an excellent rating. I think it's none of your Nineth Academy's business to question the affairs of my Seventh Academy. On the other hand, the Ninth Academy has been in charge of the Extreme Path Sequence for over thirty years. I think it should be able to deliver a good result in the next audit, right?" Even without seeing his expression, one could hear the insincere sarcasm in Shui Mo Ren's words.

"Can't you young people consider the feelings of us old folks?" A tall, ink-painted figure stroked his chin and sighed, "Your hard work and achievements make it seem like we're just wasting our days."

“It’s just you,” someone else said. “Nobody else is at the bottom every day like you.”

“If my master were the head of the academy and my grandmaster were the lord of the palace, I would be happy to indulge in pleasure every day.” The ink-wash man known as Guiyin laughed, “But if I dare to be so lax, the head of the academy would probably expel me from the Imperial Flowing Court. At that time, let alone the head of the academy, I’m afraid I won’t even be able to keep my immortal position, right? Red Dust Immortal, Red Dust Immortal, after going through ninety-nine cycles of reincarnation, it is difficult to sever the mortal world and cannot be called an immortal.”

"Silence," someone suddenly said.

An immense pressure filled the room like mercury spilling out, and an old man with white hair stepped out of the ink painting hanging at the front. Others could only manage to materialize clothing with ink, but he looked almost indistinguishable from a real person, even down to the finest wrinkles on his face.

He wore a magnificent and fitted robe with an lining embroidered with the blazing sun, making the old man appear as radiant as the sun itself. It was said that he only wore each outfit once; in fact, the deans had never seen him wear the same clothes twice. Over two hundred thousand people in the Sea-Overturning Heaven Secret Realm were responsible for making his clothes, and any set of his attire that occasionally leaked out became the most sought-after fashion trend in the East Sea.

"Meeting."

Ten ink-painting figures sat cross-legged on either side, and together with the old man, this place became the power center of the Imperial Court and even the entire East Sea. Every word and punctuation mark appearing here could stir up a storm outside.

This old man was Fang Zheng, the Dean and Head of the First Academy of Yu Liu Ting, and the Head of the Silent Extinction Academy.

“In the past two months, Jubaoge has been making frequent unusual moves, which I’m sure you’ve all heard about,” said the Master of the Silent Extinction Academy. “However, they’ve only been selling mortal-grade goods, and the five academy deans haven’t been able to find any clues about their business from the goods. So I’ve only sent people to investigate in various places and haven’t paid much attention to it.”

Everyone looked at the refined and cultured Dean of the Fifth Academy, who shrugged to indicate that he had indeed found nothing. The Dean of the Fifth Academy had been astonishingly powerful in his life-related abilities since the Foundation Establishment stage, and after ascending to immortality in the mortal world, he became the most outstanding wise immortal in the Imperial Flowing Court. Even he could not find any clues, which meant that either the other party was hiding very well, or the Treasure Pavilion could naturally block the investigation.

“But at noon today, Jubao Pavilion put a batch of new products on the shelves, and the situation has become serious enough for us to take it seriously.” The Master of the Silent Court snapped his fingers, and ink formed words in front of everyone: “Those with tokens can look at them themselves, and those without tokens can look at the orders I have listed.”

Immediately, someone exclaimed in shock, "Two hundred materials for two beginner master books? The price is fine, but this is really a clearance sale... Wait, a lightning eagle? Isn't this top-quality lightning-based material? So many materials for just two beginner master books and one master book?"

"Ten portions of 'Thunder Heart Blood,' capable of restoring the durability of Thunder Dao tokens, are only exchanged for Mastery and Basic Footwork?"

"Ten level four rare tokens for this?" "Just how much stuff does this guy have? He's selling them in sets of ten... If I dared to waste things like this during my Foundation Establishment stage, I probably wouldn't even make it to level six... Buying these is like making a profit! Someone buy them for me!"

"Don't even think about it. Except for the last four orders, all the other orders have been completed."

"Four last orders?" The previously boisterous ink-wash artist continued reading: "A fourth-tier rare treasure, the 'Thunder Pearl in the Palm', exchanged for a rare Foundation Establishment Pill... This seller is really strange. He was so generous buying the Master's Book earlier, but now he's so stingy with Foundation Establishment Pills? With this little money, you couldn't even buy a rare Foundation Establishment Pill, let alone a truly rare one. A master alchemist only gets a few rare Foundation Establishment Pills per furnace operation; there aren't even enough for their own people, so who would put them up for sale?"

"A fourth-tier legendary weapon, 'Double Bright Eyes,' for ten points of gold attribute... Ten points of gold attribute, what a ridiculous price he's willing to pay. He's just showing off, isn't he? This guy is really despicable. I'd better not find out who he is, or I'll definitely rob him."

"You're already a seventh-level Immortal Lord, why do you still care about these things?" someone laughed.

Even a seventh-level Immortal Lord would yearn for a fourth-level legendary token when he reached the fourth level.

"Alright," said the Abbot of the Silent Extinction Academy, and the murmurs in the meeting room immediately subsided. "Now you know why I called this meeting to discuss this matter, don't you?"

“The Treasure Pavilion is very dangerous,” the Second Academy Dean said. “It can transport large amounts of resources over long distances without any cost, rendering logistics completely meaningless. If other forces control the Treasure Pavilion, it’s equivalent to being able to gather all the resources of all their secret realms at any time and place to wage a protracted war. They can fight on the front lines while continuing to fight in the secret realms from the rear. We cannot stop their supply routes.”

"It's not just about fighting and killing; what's even more terrifying is its anonymous trading and anti-analysis capabilities," the Ninth Academy Director said. "For example, if someone within our organization colludes with outsiders, they can directly trade specific items through the Treasure Pavilion without anyone being able to stop them or detect it. In this way, many conspiracies and schemes have a safer breeding ground."

"You're all thinking too extremely. In fact, as long as the Treasure Pavilion's functions are used normally, any force can become the strongest as everyone expects it to be," the Eighth Academy Dean said lazily. "Let alone Foundation Establishment cultivators, even we Seventh-Rank Immortal Lords find it difficult to exchange things. We don't know what the other party has, and we dare not easily reveal what good things we have hidden. The greatest significance of the Treasure Pavilion is that anyone can take out their treasures to exchange for what they need without any scruples, and without fear of being plundered."

"If everyone in a faction can freely use the Treasure Pavilion, their resource utilization efficiency will be ten or even a hundred times that of other factions. Anyone with ambition and drive will inevitably join this faction, and then the waves will rise up, the tides will form a tsunami, and in the end, everything will be overthrown in a grand manner, and the old ships of the old era will only be crushed into broken planks."

"Dean Huayue, aren't you exaggerating a bit too much?" the Fourth Dean said. "This is just an auxiliary tool for transactions, not a Dao Lord descending to earth."

“This is far more powerful than the Dao Lord’s descent into the world.” The Dean of the Eighth Academy shook his head: “The Dao Lord will eventually pass away, but if we control the Treasure Pavilion, it may be the foundation of an eternal hegemon.”

Not everyone agreed with the Eighth Academy Director's opinion, but when they looked at the transaction orders in front of them again, everyone became noticeably more serious.

"The Treasure Pavilion must be in our hands." The Master of the Silent Extinction Academy set the tone: "If such a precious treasure is taken away by other forces, it would be tantamount to betraying the Lord's trust."

"Yes!"

"The investigation within the East Sea is entrusted to you, Hua Yue. Turn the tide, however thorough, and don't miss a single clue about the Treasure Pavilion Master," said the Master of the Silent Extinction Academy. "As for the investigation in the outer realms..."

“Leave it to us,” the Second Academy Dean said. “The Hidden Sequence Foundation Building was created for this purpose.”

“I’ll take charge,” the Sixth Academy Director said. “The Sixth Academy can probe key figures from various factions through formal diplomatic channels.”

"Then I'll leave it to you. One in the open and one in the shadows is the essence of military strategy." The Master of the Silent Extinction Academy said decisively, "In addition, each of you should carry a treasure-hunting token with you. If you can buy as many items as possible from the Treasure Pavilion Master, they might contain clues about him."

"understand!"

(End of this chapter)