Chapter 377 Thousand-Mile Trading Company
Night was already deep.
On Miaomiao Mountain, a courtyard still shone brightly with light.
Within the glow of the lamps, a figure sat cross-legged, quietly cultivating.
Inside the room, after receiving the cultivation method bestowed by master, Shi Xuan had immediately begun studying it with eagerness.
This method was called the Nine Secrets, composed of the nine-character true mantra: Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Shu, Zu, Qian, Xing.
Each character represented a supreme divine art.
After reading the introduction to the Nine Secrets, Shi Xuan slowly opened his eyes and murmured, “So, master had already foreseen everything.”
In the “Master Embracing Simplicity” that master had previously given him, there had already been records of the Nine Secrets.
At first, Shi Xuan had found the mysterious scripture difficult to comprehend, but after this, he finally understood why master wanted him to study it.
If he could comprehend the teachings within “Master Embracing Simplicity,” mastering the divine arts of the Nine Secrets would follow naturally.
Shi Xuan then set aside the Nine Secrets and continued reading “Master Embracing Simplicity.”
In the days that followed, Miaomiao Mountain often echoed with the sound of Shi Xuan reciting the scripture.
Though senior brothers and sisters were puzzled that he did not seem to be cultivating but only reading Daoist texts daily, they did not question him further.
In the Miscellaneous Dao Institute, everyone’s cultivation path was different.
Only by grasping true meaning would one know what road lay ahead.
Chu Feng listened daily to Shi Xuan’s chanting and was very satisfied with this little disciple.
Even after learning he was a great villain of fate, Shi Xuan was neither impatient nor rash. Simply being able to calm his heart in cultivation was something ordinary prodigies could not match.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away.
Two figures, one large and one small, were suppressing a group of rogue cultivators in the mountains.
With a series of crackling thunderclaps, all the rogue cultivators collapsed lifeless to the ground.
The twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl turned to the woman beside her. “Senior sister Qianqian, wasn’t my move Fivefold Thunderstrike really powerful?”
The senior sister in the pale yellow dress said, “Junior sister Bai, your thunder arts are becoming ever more refined.”
These two were none other than Chen Qianqian and Bai Qian.
As they were about to leave, an elder from the rescued caravan stepped forward, clasped his fists, and said respectfully, “Many thanks to the two fairies for your assistance.”
Chen Qianqian smiled. “We are no fairies. If you wish to thank us, then address us as heroines.”
Bai Qian nodded, approving of the title. Back on Miaomiao Mountain, the two little girls often listened to master’s stories of heroines upholding justice.
At that time, they had secretly vowed to one day become chivalrous women renowned across the world.
After master permitted them to descend the mountain for training, they journeyed south together.
Now they had reached the borders of the Southern Barbarian region. Upon seeing cultivators committing murder and robbery, they immediately acted.
The elder hesitated briefly, then said respectfully, “Many thanks, heroines. May I ask where you intend to go?”
“We plan to explore the Southern Barbarian lands,” Chen Qianqian replied without hesitation.
Hearing this, the elder’s heart leapt with joy. Smiling, he said, “What fortune! We too are bound for the Hundred Tribes City of the Southern Barbarians. If the heroines do not mind, we would be honored to escort you.”
“Very well.”
“Master Ba, we are nearing the Hundred Tribes City.”
The two, who had been cultivating, opened their eyes at once and lifted the carriage curtain to look outside.
They saw a grand city standing amidst the mountains.
Master Ba rode up beside the carriage and said respectfully, “Heroines, do you have lodgings in the Hundred Tribes City? If not, our Thousand-Mile Trading Company can provide accommodations for you.”
“No need.”
Chen Qianqian refused without a thought.
Master had often taught them: one who eats another’s food cannot speak freely, and one who takes another’s hand cannot act freely.
Though they had saved the trading company, that favor was not enough to justify being held up high by them. If they lived under their roof, they would have to intervene whenever the company faced trouble.
Chen Qianqian was not afraid of the cultivators in the Hundred Tribes City, but she did not wish to be entangled in trouble every day.
“In that case, I will not disturb the two heroines.”
Though Master Ba felt some regret, he could not shamelessly insist on bringing them to the trading company.
The caravan soon entered the city.
Chen Qianqian and Bai Qian bid farewell to the people of the Thousand-Mile Trading Company.
Master Ba looked at their disappearing figures and sighed. “Alas… what a pity.”
A low-level cultivator following behind him asked, “Master Ba, why did you not offer them greater rewards to invite those two fairies to reside in our trading company? If we could secure them, the elders of the company surely would not begrudge a little profit.”
Master Ba shook his head. “It is not so simple. We hold little authority in the company. If we rashly made promises and the elders disapproved, we would offend the two fairies.
“On the other hand, even if the elders agreed, letting them occupy our trading company would be like inviting wolves into the house.”
The cultivator muttered, “That should not be the case. I think those two fairies are of extraordinary origin and would not care for our trading company.”
“Perhaps once they would not, but now who can say?”
As Master Ba spoke, his brows furrowed unconsciously. Truly, it was a troubled season.
The low-level cultivator whispered, “Master Ba, do you mean the rumors outside are true—that our company really possesses an extraordinary treasure?”
Master Ba shook his head. “Whether true or false, it matters little. Even if we brought that item out now, outsiders would not believe it. Let us return to the company. If the sky falls, the elders above will bear it.”
“Yes.”
At the same time, Chen Qianqian and Bai Qian lodged at an inn run by a fox demon.
The two did not immediately return to their room but sat in the first-floor hall, listening to the chatter of cultivators from various clans.
As its name implied, the Hundred Tribes City was home to over a hundred races.
Though the ‘hundred tribes’ referred mainly to demon clans, there were also many human cultivators within.
This was a neutral city, born of compromise between humans and demons.
It served as a hub for trade between the two races. Thus, the city was filled with trading companies and was also a gathering place for rogue cultivators.
Pairs like Chen Qianqian and Bai Qian, one human and one demon, were a common sight in the Hundred Tribes City.
After several cups of wine, Chen Qianqian pricked up her ears to listen more closely.
“Everyone, has there been any news about the Thousand-Mile Trading Company recently?”
“You asked the right person. It’s said the city’s factions have given the company an ultimatum—within seven days they must hand over that treasure, or they will be wiped out completely.”
“Even figures from the city lord’s mansion have made their move.”
“Then it seems the Hundred Tribes City is about to fall into chaos again.”
“….”
Hearing this, Chen Qianqian thought to herself: So it is that Thousand-Mile Trading Company again. Clearly, the ambush they suffered outside the city was no coincidence.
Beside her, Bai Qian whispered, “Senior sister, if we had known the Thousand-Mile Trading Company had a treasure, we should have agreed to them.”
Chen Qianqian smiled. “Even if we did not agree, if you wish to see the treasure, we can always look when the time comes, can we not?”
Bai Qian’s eyes lit up. “I wonder if it will truly be worthy of being called a treasure?”
“We will know once the chaos begins.”
Chen Qianqian was unconcerned. Both of them were personal disciples of a great sage. What treasures had they not seen? For them, such so-called treasures from a small force hardly counted.
“True. Senior sister, do you know where to find your younger brothers?”
Bai Qian also paid the matter no mind and changed the subject.
Chen Qianqian replied, “I do not. But when we were young, we had a secret signal. If I blow the jade leaf sound tonight, so long as they are alive, they will surely come to meet me.”
“That makes it much easier. Let us eat first,” Bai Qian said.
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