Each of the nine dragon maidens possesses extraordinary abilities.

"Did you hear that?"

"Oh dear, this is really..."

Jing Xingzhou picked up the fan beside him in distress and scratched his forehead.

It was clear that he wasn't as tough as he claimed. Going to war with the Jiuyi Sect would be extremely troublesome. He activated his fan-shaped magical artifact and began to negotiate with some being.

After a long while, he finally put down his fan.

"I'm sorry, sir, I agree with what you just said. Dignity is a very important thing, so we cannot allow you to mess around in the ley lines."

"Go to hell with your kidney deficiency, you think I'm giving you any face?"

The maid cursed, "You call us here like a big shot, wasting our time and threatening us. Do you think we, the Zaishan Clan, are easily intimidated? Let's start a war! Our Zaishan Clan can wipe out your pathetic Langya Gang. We'll also throw you, you weakling, into our Heavenly Pool to feed the fish. Oh, and your god behind you too. I'll make Him watch helplessly as His agents and followers are tortured to death by me."

It is well known that members of the Jiuyi sect have a habit of greeting other people's mothers.

The maid was furious. She felt that the Zai Shan lineage was far too easy to talk to. If it were one of those hot-tempered individuals, the Langya Gang would have been wiped out long ago. She had heard that when the lineage protectors arrived in other people's territories, they either sowed discord among the local forces or cultivated their own agents. But when the Zai Shan lineage came here, they didn't care about the local forces, they helped purge the corrupt elements, and they even took some of the lineage's energy. How dare you resist?

"My lord, please calm down. I didn't mean for this to happen either. We can talk about the ley lines again. If that doesn't work, I'll send you some beautiful women and gold and silver jewelry to calm you down."

"Screw you!"

The maid Teng stood up: "What use do I have for these mundane things? All I need is the earth vein energy that belongs to me."

Jing Xingzhou: "......"

Even someone as good-tempered as him is almost driven to the brink of collapse by the bandit mentality of the Jiuyi Sect.

Seeing that Jing Xingzhou had stopped speaking, the atmosphere became tense.

The maid glanced at the girl Qing Zai Shan beside her, who then stood up.

Behind the two, a faint phantom appeared; it was a stone tablet with a giant dragon coiled around it, humming softly.

Jing Xingzhou narrowed his eyes, looking at his fan-shaped magical artifact in his hand.

A spiritual energy flashed by, and someone sent him a message.

He slightly opened the fan, and with his divine sense penetrating deep, he discovered it was Vice Leader Wen Ciji.

Wen Ciji: [Have you resolved this issue?]

Jing Xingzhou: [No, and it looks like I'm probably going to get beaten up.]

Wen Ciji: [Their ceremony is over, and I'm on my way back... Is the Hermit Protector there to protect you?]

Jing Xingzhou: [Yes, yes, don't worry. At most, I'll get beaten up, and I'll just kowtow to them a few times. Anyway, this isn't the first time these people from the Jiuyi Sect have come to rob us. Aren't they just trying to get more benefits?]

Wen Ciji: 【…This time is different from before. I think you shouldn't listen to the gods anymore. Make up with them. Something feels off about me this time. Not only has the sect leader of the Jiuyi Sect changed, but also…】

Wen Ciji: [A few days ago, Wuming Peak next door was suddenly sealed off by a great formation. Then, at the new ceremony, I didn't see Ming Huaiwei. There's too much going on here. You agree first, and we'll talk about it when I get back.]

Jing Xingzhou: […………]

He fell silent.

Soon, his divine sense received the image sent by Wen Ciji.

Jing Xingzhou: [That's Wuming Peak? Could this remaining energy be the rhythm of the gods?]

Wen Ciji: [Hmm]

Jing Xingzhou: [Hahaha... Should I kowtow to them now?]

Wen Ciji: [No need. They're here for the earth's vein energy. Just agree to their request and give them a way out.]

Wen Ciji: [Don't listen to the gods anymore. Discuss things with the Hermit Hermit first, and we'll talk about the rest when I get back.]

Jing Xingzhou: 【......】

He slammed the fan shut.

Then, he stood up and, under the gaze of the maid and the young girl Qing Zai Shan, gave a deep ninety-degree bow.

Thus, the tense standoff ended.

He said, "You're right, I was too ignorant. You two can take the earth vein energy of Qingzhou as you please. I have indeed wasted your time today. To express my apology, I will offer you all kinds of cultivation supplies."

Chapter 65: The Boundless Roaring Land

What exactly does "history" represent?

Since the torrential rain at Wuming Peak, the climate in Zhongzhou has suddenly become hot and humid. Although this has no effect on the immortals, Baidi City, as a mortal city, has begun to sell items to relieve the heat.

The cicadas were chirping loudly, especially those in the Zaishan Pavilion. Lu Yueyuan took this as a welcome to him and entered the Zaishan Pavilion under the guidance of a disciple of the Zaishan lineage.

The mountain path is a spiraling plank road, with a sheer drop of a valley on the outside and a library embedded in the rock wall on the inside. The library has no doors or any rain shelter, but the books are exposed to the air in a blatant manner. There is everything: bamboo slips, silk books, jade tablets, palm-leaf scriptures... The pages turn in the wind, and the bamboo slips yellow in the sunlight, but not a single piece of paper is blown away by the wind, and not a single scroll is wetted by the rain. There is a special magic protecting this place.

"Lord Lu, what region's history would you like to learn about?"

The leading disciple asked. He was wearing a light green shirt and a white mask on his head. This was the attire of the disciples of the Zai Shan lineage; everyone in their lineage dressed like this.

"Qingzhou."

Lu Yueyuan said. In fact, he had already figured out all the secrets of Qingzhou by simulating the future. He came here now only to leave a trace and let Qing Zaishan know that he had come to investigate.

"Does Lord Lu intend to go to Qingzhou?"

"Yes, I feel very reassured that the sect leader's lineage is being looked after by my aunt. I plan to go out and have some fun."

The two walked up the mountain path, chatting casually. Lu Yueyuan hadn't become the sect leader, but the disciples before him showed no sign of neglecting him.

"We've arrived. This is where the history of Qingzhou is kept. I'll be waiting for you outside. You can come out when you've finished reading. Also, you must maintain basic respect for history," the disciple said, opening a door in the stone wall.

Lu Yueyuan nodded and entered through the stone gate.

Qingzhou is dominated by merchant guilds, the largest of which is the Langya Guild. The guild leader's surname is Jing, and the deputy leader's surname is Wen. Qingzhou is rich in bamboo forests, and the name Langya itself is derived from the shape of the mountains resembling Langya jade. The names of these two individuals, one from the mountain and the other from the water, reflect this connection.

Jing Xingzhou's father was the former head of Langya Pavilion, and his mother was the daughter of a bamboo craftsman deep in the bamboo forest of Qingzhou. The two secretly pledged their love in the bamboo forest. On the evening of the day he was born, a strange phenomenon occurred: a thin mist rose from the depths of the bamboo forest, and a small boat could be vaguely seen slowly passing by at the end of the bamboo forest. His father thought this scene was auspicious, so he named him Xingzhou (meaning "Walking Boat").

The Langya Gang is currently led by Jing Xingzhou. From an outsider's perspective, the strongest fighter in Qingzhou is the Hermit Hermit, but only Lu Yueyuan understands that Jing Xingzhou is actually more difficult to deal with than the Hermit Hermit.

Because he is the agent of the gods.

Qingzhou has two deities: Lord Hengjun and the Immortal Craftsman. The former governs the market and trade, while the latter governs magical artifacts and mechanical creations. Despite the Langya Gang's connection to the Mohist school and its members' skill in crafting magical artifacts, its essence is that of a merchant guild, and its deity is naturally Lord Hengjun.

However, to be honest, this god has no faith whatsoever.

Lu Yueyuan reached out and took a bamboo slip from the bookshelf, slowly unfolding it to reveal information about Lord Hengjun.

Lord Hengjun is the god who governs commerce.

The people of Qingzhou firmly believe that any transaction permitted by Lord Hengjun, no matter how outrageous its contents, is essentially valid. Value shouldn't have a reasonable range; as long as both parties are willing, a transaction established under Lord Hengjun's watchful eye will be without problem. Legend has it that long ago, Qingzhou, like other places, was a mortal kingdom ruled by sects. However, the sect leader, to win the love of a demoness from a demonic cult, offered his sect and kingdom in exchange for her love. She agreed, and with Lord Hengjun's permission, this absurd transaction was completed, with both the sect and the kingdom becoming sacrifices to the demonic cult.

This is the power of the Lord of Balance. In His eyes, the value of a transaction is not important; the transaction itself is the most important. He does not need believers; as long as the act of trading exists in the world, He will continue to exist.

It is precisely because such a deity resides in Qingzhou that the atmosphere there is so corrupt. Don't be fooled by the Qingzhou people's constant talk of their homeland; it's all just a ploy to get a better price someday. By the grace of Lord Hengjun, as long as both parties are willing, nothing in this world is off-limits for trade, and nothing is beyond the reach of human emotions.

To become the representative of such a god, Jing Xingzhou must have something in common with this god. It's just a pity that Lu Yueyuan doesn't see most of the simulated future. This merchant guild leader is cursed and basically doesn't live to the middle stage.

When the later major plans began, the people in charge of Qingzhou were basically the Hermit Hermit and Wen Ciji, but the Hermit Hermit was still the main figure.

However, the reclusive hermit was unable to control the two gods of Qingzhou, which led to Qingzhou suffering a great loss in the battle between the gods.

Lord Hengjun is truly a despicable god. The agents of the Four Gods made a deal with Him, asking Him to betray His followers and Qingzhou. He actually agreed, and later betrayed His followers without hesitation. The followers followed suit, one by one betraying the local interests of Qingzhou in exchange for their own place among the Four Gods.

Later, when resistance forces were formed in the Nine Provinces, Qingzhou was left with only the academy of the reclusive hermit and the group of people who created mechanical artifacts from the Mo family. Thus, on the day of the merger of Guixu, Qingzhou became the first place to be destroyed.

After each review, Lu Yueyuan would think: if he had given Qingzhou some support beforehand, would it have given them an extra ally in the final battle? Maybe Qingzhou also had some hidden talents. If they could be nurtured, the final battle wouldn't have been so difficult.

But Lu Yueyuan later gave up on the idea. There were indeed many hidden geniuses among the people of Qingzhou, but they were all extremely selfish and ruthless when they betrayed others. Lu Yueyuan had become numb to it. He would rather do it himself than try to win over the people of Qingzhou.

This is the last time, and he has no chance to back out. Although he has decided to win over the Hermit Hermit, he must carefully consider the other high-level combatants in Qingzhou.

He flipped through the bamboo slips and saw the comments Qing Zaishan had written on them.

They were inelegant and uncultured barbarians. Before the reclusive hermit established the academy, and after that shameful deal, Qingzhou faced only endless merchant guild wars. After the largest merchant guild war began, the noble Qingluan bloodline families were completely shattered. They showed no mercy to those in power, even though the Qingluan bloodline had a natural benefit to Qingzhou's ley lineage energy; they didn't consider that. The fire burned for days and nights, everything was gone. The rich were replaced by new rich, and the poor remained poor forever. Lord Hengjun watched helplessly as his messenger descendants perished, as his followers were displaced and suffered the ravages of war. He would not respond to the desperate hopes of his followers; he would only seize the opportunity to make a deal with them.

They were right in their homeland, yet their homeland roared at them.

Chapter 66: The Secret History of Qingzhou's Return

The Zaishan lineage takes writing history as its guiding principle. This writing is not only about the history of the Jiuyi Sect, but also about the history of various regions in Kyushu.

"Clear the weeds and clear the land, and the fields will be lush and green." Clearing the land means removing weeds and clearing the wasteland, which is the beginning of farming. The so-called "clearing the land" lineage means cutting away the weeds and defining the true nature of the land, so that future generations will only see the seedlings she left behind.

The Zaishan Pavilion is the iconic building of their lineage. However, in the game, this dilapidated place is used to display introductions of various characters and the customs and traditions of various parts of Kyushu, in order to recreate the world setting. Few players have the patience to read the game settings of Jiuyi, so apart from those who are into historical research, basically no one will come here.

It wasn't until the preview livestream, when the planners said that Qing Zaishan would have a major reversal and that Zaishan Shige would play a real role, that players flocked to the site, trying to exploit bugs and find Easter eggs, but of course, they found nothing.

"That planner is really good at hiding things," was Lu Yueyuan's thought after he transmigrated here and started simulating the situation. He had roughly figured out the powers and abilities of the other dragon girls, but why did he hide Qing Zaishan so well?

"The Zai Shan lineage... Sigh, even I can't figure this lineage out. But I'm very interested in that one, the one in the corner. Lu Yueyuan, take a look." The Holy Emperor's voice suddenly rang in Lu Yueyuan's mind. Although he told the Holy Emperor to try not to talk to him in the Dragon Girls' stronghold, lest he be ambushed by unknown means, the Holy Emperor obviously didn't care.

"Let me see." Lu Yueyuan put down the bamboo slip in his hand.

The item the Holy Emperor mentioned was in a corner, an ordinary bamboo slip covered in dust. Lu Yueyuan examined it and found no magic on it. He even used the Holy Emperor's all-knowing power, but couldn't discern anything special. He could only tell that the bamboo slip was written by Qing Zaishan.

But it's no use, everything here was written by Qing Zaishan. Writing history is the duty of those who protect the Zaishan lineage.

He slowly opened it, and the first sentence on it was enough to make one lose their composure.

Today is my first day in Qingzhou, and my money has been stolen.

What is this? Is it Qing Zaishan's diary from Qingzhou? Why is it in this place?

He continued reading.

I'm not the same person I used to be; I'm quite experienced in business now.

Business is a very mundane thing. I just mark up an item worth five spirit stones and sell it for ten spirit stones. The difference is my profit. It's not difficult at all.

After thinking it over, I think the restaurant business is easier. It's something most people can accept, and with my abilities, opening a restaurant that everyone finds delicious is more than enough!

【Ugh... I'm speechless. Why do we have to differentiate between pedestrian flow and customer flow? What does it mean that pedestrian flow doesn't equal customer flow? What does it mean that adding one more step reduces customer flow by 20%? What does it mean that I pay my employees too much? What does it mean that my employees not only don't work but also secretly steal my ingredients? Are you kidding me? Running a restaurant is just about making good food that customers enjoy. Why does that shady restaurant across the street earn more than me every day?!】

Wow, there's a huge restaurant franchise here! If I join them, they'll help me open a store, and I can even use their brand! What a great deal!

[What a beast! He took the franchise fee and ran away! Is that something a human being would do?!]

Lu Yueyuan: "........"

What exactly is Qing Zaishan doing?

The people here are shameless in their business dealings; I've never seen such beasts.

The Immortal Train started today. I must say, the mechanical creations of Qingzhou are quite remarkable. It only requires spirit stones to operate automatically, and the cost is not high. Even mortals can afford to build it. From this point of view, it can be considered a benefit.

[Damn it, are the people of Qingzhou crazy? Getting on the immortal train is free, then they take you to the top of the mountain, and then charge you five strings of cash to get down. This place is protected by a powerful formation; not only can mortals not get down, but even immortals can't. Is this something a human would do?]

[Oh, so they even sell spiritual food on the Immortal Train! You can buy it with mortal money, although it's a bit expensive. But this is one way for mortals to come into contact with cultivators. Spiritual food is good for cultivators, and it's even more beneficial for mortals. I'll buy some to try.]

[Fuck your mother, this is actually monster meat! What kind of genius can make this stuff look like spirit meat? Seriously, why the hell do you have this skill instead of swindling people? Is this even human?!]

[It's alright, just diarrhea. It doesn't seem to cause any harm to the bodies of mortals or cultivators.]

[Fuck you, I've had diarrhea for three days! What the hell is this meat that can make a descendant of the dragon god like me have diarrhea for three days?!]

"Wow, it looks so tragic." The Holy Emperor was also watching along with Lu Yueyuan.

“It’s not a good habit to pity the enemy,” Lu Yueyuan replied.

He had been here many times in the simulated reincarnation, and had entered all the places he could apply to enter, but he did not recall ever seeing this Qingzhou Diary, which was personally recorded by Qing Zai Shan.

Most importantly, the person who made this record does not match the Qing Zaishan that Lu Yueyuan remembered.

Before he could recall in detail, the Holy Emperor asked, "What is Qing Zaishan like in your memory?"

"Could you please stop reading my thoughts?"

"No, you're overthinking it. I'm not that despicable. It's just that I've seen your timeline and the scene where you confronted Qing Zai Shan. I was thinking that you should think that someone with Qing Zai Shan's personality couldn't write this kind of text."

Lu Yueyuan remained silent.

“A variable has appeared. My power is with you. You can see those lines. This bamboo slip is the same as the others. It must have been written by Qing Zaishan,” the Holy Emperor said.

"Let me give you a few possibilities. Oh, of course, I still want to emphasize that I don't know the answer. My perspective is the same as yours, so what I'm saying is just a possibility. The first possibility is that Qing Zai Shan has a split personality."

That's absolutely impossible. This isn't about simulating future memories, but rather memories of playing with Jiuyi in a past life. Creating a character with a split personality and then boasting about it as the twist in the new version—that's not something a game designer should do. But given the extent of the designer's erratic behavior, it's not impossible; it's just that Lu Yueyuan himself felt a game designer wouldn't create a character like that.

"The second possibility is that the person you are facing on the timeline is not the real Qing Zaishan; the real Qing Zaishan is someone else," the Holy Emperor said.

No, that's impossible. Lu Yueyuan was absolutely certain that he had killed Qing Zaishan back then, and the system had also confirmed this. Not long after Qing Zaishan was killed, the guardian mark of the Eighth Meridian disappeared from the records of the Nine Peaks Sect.