Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

The recent movements of Baidi City seem unrelated to him, but the numerous personnel mobilizations, the proactive efforts to bring wandering scholars back to Dizhou, and the close ties with the Bianzhou Cultivator Alliance to expand trade... all make Chu Xunfeng wonder what Baidi City is up to.

Bianzhou is the region with the weakest influence of the Xu Kingdom's imperial power. After this incident, if Baidi City wants to peacefully pass through a period of development, the best way is to remain silent and outwardly present a friendly relationship with the Xu Kingdom's emperor.

Such blatant contact and cooperation with the Bianzhou Cultivator Alliance... Are you afraid that the petty emperor won't find a reason to target you?

Chu Xunfeng put down the letter, put the letters back into the envelope one by one, and pushed it in front of the shopkeeper. "Thank you, shopkeeper. I already know what happened outside."

"What does Leng Junzi think?"

"Not a single one of them has a brain," Chu Xunfeng rarely uttered a curse. "It seems like multiple forces are standing up for me, but the problem is, isn't this just putting me on the hot seat...?"

Chu Xunfeng, feeling somewhat weary, raised his hand and pinched the corner of his eye, trying to release the fatigue in his heart in this way. "What I hope most right now is that the contents of these letters are all false, that no one actually cares about my situation. Once things calm down and I leave the Black Forest, I will naturally disappear like a drop in the ocean, blending into the crowd."

“Young Master Chu is underestimating himself.” The shopkeeper smiled. “A man like Leng Junzi stands out even in a crowd, not to mention the storms that have always surrounded you.”

"There's a hidden meaning in the shopkeeper's words." Chu Xunfeng glanced at the shopkeeper, becoming more wary. From the beginning, the shopkeeper had given Chu Xunfeng the impression of being overly enthusiastic and overly friendly.

"Hehe, Mr. Leng, there's no need to worry. Since the upheaval many years ago, the Seven Star Tower will absolutely not get involved in anything anymore. But not getting involved doesn't mean we don't know. We have no right to demand anything, but we are happy to see some changes in the world."

"These three regions of the Nine Provinces have been occupied by far too much of the forbidden lands. This world is simply too small."

Chapter Twenty: Tickets to the Grand Show

Upon hearing the shopkeeper suddenly bring up the matter of the forbidden land, Chu Xunfeng frowned slightly. "Shopkeeper, what is the meaning of this?"

The woman sitting opposite Chu Xunfeng raised her hand to cover her mouth, smiled and shook her head, "This humble woman doesn't know whether you truly don't know or are pretending not to know, but in any case, this shouldn't be my business."

Chu Xunfeng squinted, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest of the chair. "Could you please enlighten me, shopkeeper?"

Although his expression remained impassive, it was clear that Chu Xunfeng's attitude had changed. The shopkeeper also sensed the unfriendly undertone in Chu Xunfeng's words. After a moment's thought, the woman sat up slightly and said, "Young master, the destruction of the Chu family was not simply a matter of deceiving the emperor. You should understand this yourself, otherwise you wouldn't have come to the Ghost Market. But besides that, even if I told you, would you really believe me?"

"..." Chu Xunfeng nodded slightly, having to admit that the woman in front of him had a point.

"So, young master, why don't you use your own eyes to see for yourself? Once you set foot in the Nine Provinces, visit the Three Lands, break through the Three Profound Realms, and sever the bonds of life and death, then all the problems will no longer be problems for you, will they?" The shopkeeper looked at Chu Xunfeng with a smile.

She seemed certain that the young man before her could do something that none of the millions of other living beings in the world could.

“Then let me ask you a question you know.” Chu Xunfeng gently lowered his raised finger. “I heard that Prince Zou is leading a group of bronze beasts to capture me in the Black Forest.”

"You can rest assured about that, Young Master Chu." The shopkeeper smiled nonchalantly. "The Ghost Clan has its own rules. The decrees of the Xu Kingdom cannot leave Xu Kingdom, and often cannot even reach Bianzhou, let alone come to the Ghost Clan to take charge. You can be quite unrestrained in the Ghost Clan. Those who dare to cause trouble and make a scene in the Ghost Market never have a good ending."

“That’s not what I’m worried about…” Chu Xunfeng raised his hand and pinched the corner of his eye. “Is there any news on when Prince Zou will arrive in the Black Forest?”

"It will arrive in three days at the earliest, and five days at the latest." The shopkeeper gave a rather vague timeframe, which Chu Xunfeng could barely accept.

"Then let me ask another question: within the Oni race, what kind of business can attract the attention of the Oni Council?"

"That would require Young Master Chu to pay Seven Star Tower a substantial intelligence fee." The shopkeeper smiled, sat up straight, and his smile was tinged with shrewdness and greed. "Everything in the Ghost Clan is based on transactions and voluntariness. If you cannot offer Seven Star Tower a price that satisfies you, I cannot reveal anything to you."

"..." Chu Xunfeng stared at the shopkeeper sitting opposite him, then suddenly frowned. "So that's how it is... You're from the Dark Star Pavilion."

The woman's smile froze. She quickly realized she had lost her composure, but trying to cover it up now would only make things worse. Her smile gradually softened, which made Chu Xunfeng find her much more pleasing to the eye. "How did you figure that out, young master?"

"In fact, you didn't hide anything at all, and even hinted at it..." Chu Xunfeng shook his head. "Dark Star Pavilion and Seven Star Tower are inextricably linked. If Seven Star Tower and Dark Star Pavilion are now completely cut off and have no connection, then I would think that something is wrong with this world."

"Let's continue. What price does Seven Star Tower offer?"

Hearing Chu Xunfeng's words, the shopkeeper shook his head. "Since you've seen through it, I can't charge you any more. It's actually very simple. Wherever the Ghost Clan's lifeline is, the business related to it will receive the attention of the Ghost Council."

"So it really is the Yin Sha Pearl." Chu Xunfeng breathed a sigh of relief.

The incident at Longquan Sword Manor clearly shows that the Ghost Clan personally investigated the origin and details of the Yin Sha Pearl used by the Ghost Soldiers. This alone demonstrates how much the Ghost Clan cares about the Yin Sha Pearl.

But now the problem is back on my own. What leverage do I have to persuade the Foreign Council to cooperate with me by using the Yin Sha Pearl as a starting point, instead of revealing the information and then tricking Ghost Seven, and letting the Foreign Council extend their business to the Bronze Fang Beast?

After all, in just a few days, Chu Xunfeng had already gained a fairly clear understanding of ghosts. There probably weren't many ghosts with a conscience, and he didn't have any unnecessary expectations of the ghost race's bottom line.

"The Yin Sha Pearl is the foundation of the Ghost Clan's existence. After the Ghost Clan perishes, the Yin Sha Pearl will inevitably remain as a remnant. The Yin Sha Pearl is both the Ghost Clan's currency and the foundation of all their cultivation. The business of Yin Sha Pearl will definitely attract the attention of the Ghost Council." The shopkeeper smiled gently, confirming Chu Xunfeng's thoughts.

But then she immediately rejected the idea, saying, "However, the production of the Ghost Clan's Yin Sha Pearls has been limited for a long time. After all, it is not something that can be mass-produced. It is not a wise choice to set our sights on Yin Sha Pearls."

“Indeed, this is not a gamble…” Chu Xunfeng pondered for a while, “I’ll keep it as a backup for myself… I remember, Seven Star Tower also offers letter delivery services?”

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Of course."

"What's the price for the fastest delivery?" Chu Xunfeng had already made up his mind and looked at the shopkeeper.

The woman met Chu Xunfeng's gaze, her heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously raised her hand to lightly press her chest. Even when Chu Xunfeng had threatened her with his words just now, she had never felt this flustered.

"Young master, do you intend to..."

"Let's talk about how much the Seven Star Tower's mail delivery service costs first." Chu Xunfeng's mind raced, and he had already laid out his plan. Not only was the current situation different, but his plan was extremely bold... However, he had already planned to break through his predicament through this gamble, so being bold was not a bad thing.

"I understand. The fastest and safest way to send a letter is with ten top-grade spirit stones. Within two days, it will be safely delivered to any corner of the Nine Provinces and Three Regions, no matter where a name is known."

"Can I pay on credit for ten days?" Chu Xunfeng didn't care about the Seven Star Tower's price at all.

"This..." The woman hesitated for a few seconds, "There has never been a precedent for this."

"You want to know what I'm going to do, right?" Chu Xunfeng raised his right hand slightly, which was resting on the armrest of the chair, and then gently lowered it. "Ten days on credit, thirty top-grade spirit stones. I'll treat the Seven Star Tower and the Dark Star Pavilion to a grand show."

"A grand show..." The woman's heart pounded wildly. This feeling of palpitation was due to Chu Xunfeng's aura, which was unstoppable and unparalleled, and carried a terrifying spirit that seemed to cleave the heavens and earth.

"A storm brewing within the Ghost Clan, shaking the entire Xu Kingdom..."

"Big, show."

After the young man's resounding words, there was an eerie silence.

After a while, the shopkeeper suddenly laughed.

"Seven Star Tower cannot have any outstanding debts... but I will lend it to Young Master Chu privately."

"If your show is truly spectacular, why not pay for a ticket?"

"Thank you."

Chapter Twenty-One: Anecdotes

The three letters have been entrusted to the manager of Qixinglou to be mailed.

If the Prince of Zou arrives in the Black Forest at a delay of three to five days, I still have some time to make my moves.

So next...

If sending those three letters doesn't achieve the desired effect, I'll need a backup plan.

It can't be an ordinary replacement. If the plan on the surface fails, in order to stabilize the council of elders, I must have a trump card to back me up. When I play it, it has to be a decisive blow.

So, do I really not have this resource?

Actually, yes...

System, you've been slacking off for so long, it's time to put something to use.

[The system is online. Do users have any system function requirements?]

I remember you told me from the very beginning that your purpose was to serve the users, which is me.

【Yes. 】

You need energy, and you can also use energy to create items, such as the three options for beginners: Phoenix Blood Dragon Bone Pill, Top-Grade Spiritual Root, and Supreme Weapon Bone. You can use energy to produce or process these items, right?

【Yes. 】

You should be able to create the Yin Sha Pearl, right? What kind of energy do you need?

【I can’t do it.】

The three large, bright characters on the system screen made the young man walking down Ghost Market Street frown slightly.

You can create even a ninth-grade supreme pill and a top-grade spiritual root, yet you can't even make a few Yin Sha beads?

【I can’t do it.】

I need you to give me a convincing reason.

[The Yin Sha Pearl is of extremely low quality; a small amount of pure Yin Sha is mixed with a large amount of turbid energy. The energy type processed by this system is too pure to create such a low-quality item.]

Chu Xunfeng calmed down a little.

Let me put it another way: Can you create something similar to the Yin Sha Pearl? Something even more advanced.

[Yes, but this system doesn't know the user's needs. The user can use the refining function in the lower right corner of the system panel to randomly try different items.]

Refining, oh, it has this function too...

That makes sense. Since it can refine pills and forge weapons, it's essentially just purifying and fusing energy, much like how the system's inventory function can have unexpected uses.

I just didn't study the development carefully, or even ask the system for advice.

That's all...

During the refining process, users can communicate with the system at any time to make targeted adjustments to the results.

Chu Xunfeng narrowed his eyes. After thinking for a moment, he opened the backpack function on the system panel and dragged the two sesame cakes that Hongzhu had brought him that morning into the refining interface.

[Should we begin refining pure Yin energy?]

Is this the result of targeting?

Chu Xunfeng answered "confirm" in his mind. Then, the pancake in the refining interface disappeared in a burst of shattering effects. A circular progress bar instantly filled the entire interface, and a row of small squares appeared below the circle.

Miscellaneous items: [Cooked noodles] x1, [Cooked oil] x1