After emerging from the secret hoard, Chen Chuan did not head straight back to the airship. Instead, he strolled around the scenic tourist spots he had passed by yesterday, sampling the local street food along the way.
There was an impressive variety of noodles, pastries, and meats here, all extraordinarily delicious. He sampled them as he walked along and picked up a few specialty souvenirs on a whim.
Longyou Dao was not like Jibei Dao's Center City, where leaving the city meant finding nothing but industrial zones and wasteland. It retained many pavilions, towers, and temples from the old era, every single one boasting a storied history. Many of these famous sites had been restored by later generations and were open to tourists.
The sunlight was brilliant today, and with time on his hands, he toured several of these sites. Guides nearby were explaining the architecture's origins and historical lore, quite a few of which touched upon Emperor Ying and Yuwen Yuanqi.
Having crossed paths with these two historical luminaries just last night, hearing about them from others made him suddenly realize that these were figures from well over a millennium ago. Yet merely half a day earlier, their lives had intersected with his own, leaving him stirred with profound sentiment.
Because there were so many historic ruins and ancient buildings, he did not return to the airship. In the afternoon, he found lodging in an ancient residence specifically catering to travelers. As chance would have it, a traditional folk lantern fair was being held that evening, so he went out alongside the other tourists to watch.
After watching for a while, he noticed that the lantern fair carried traces of a ritual. Upon inquiring, he learned that there was a local lore about a "ghost bride." She supposedly held weddings strictly at night; anyone who saw her—man, woman, young, or old—would be invited as a wedding guest, only to lose their soul after returning home. Therefore, around this time of year, locals would usher the immortal deities out of their temples for protection. Over time, this had gradually evolved into a tradition.
Chen Chuan surmised that this was very likely some sort of urban legend. Places like this, steeped in history and densely inhabited, usually developed their own methods for dealing with urban legends.
Moreover, historically speaking, the sheer number of local temples meant that such incidents could never be stamped out completely, yet neither did they ever escalate to an excessively catastrophic degree.
He stayed the night here. The next day, after visiting a renowned Buddhist pagoda, he brought Chaoming back to the airship mooring tower.
Entering the airship's main cabin, he settled into a seat. This trip had proved thoroughly rewarding. Even setting aside the treasures yet to be excavated from the hoard, the battle two nights ago had made his spirit visage far more consolidated. He had also acquired an esoteric art and a set of armored battle-gear, greatly boosting his combat prowess.
Beyond these, there was one more item. He opened his suitcase and retrieved the crimson egg.
Following his exchange with Xu Mutang the other day, he was now certain that this object had to be a flood dragon egg.
And a rather unique one at that.
Cultivated with an untold number of human lives and sacrificial offerings, its life essence felt exceptionally dense and substantial when cradled in his palm.
When his spirit brushed against it, a faint palpitation stirred within—a rare phenomenon indicating that this entity had long since developed its own consciousness. Moreover, a vicious, bloodthirsty nature seeped from within.
He shook his head. A platinum glow radiated from his hand alongside the brilliance of the Great Bright Light Form. In an instant, the egg began to tremble. A wisp of crimson light flickered within, conveying a plea of mercy through its spiritual presence, but he remained unmoved.
Realizing his resolve was unshakeable, the consciousness abruptly turned feral and tyrannical, thrashing as if trying to burst out. Yet all its efforts were in vain. After a moment, the consciousness dissipated, and thin wisps of black smoke wafted out from within.
In the end, the scarlet egg transformed into an egg tinged with a cyan-red hue, giving off a delicate fragrance.
Catching the scent, Chaoming could not resist bounding over.
Chen Chuan smiled. With a flick of his wrist, the outer shell cracked and fell away completely, revealing a tender, pale egg. At the same time, a rich, exotic fragrance filled the air. He handed it directly to Chaoming, who let out a cheerful chirp and held it with both claws, nibbling on it at a leisurely pace.
Right then, the stone plaque in his pocket vibrated softly. The civet urban legend hopped out and began crunching on the eggshells scattered across the floor, making clicking noises while eyeing the aromatic flood dragon egg clutched in Chaoming's claws.
Chen Chuan reached out and picked up recent newspapers from Longyou Dao, gathered from Center City by an orderly aboard his airship. Now that he was here, he meant to get a feel for the local situation.
Apart from the news, the topic most hotly debated across editorial columns was none other than perspectives on the Skyline. Both pros and cons were argued extensively. But with matters like this, stances were taken before arguments were made; regardless of the angle, either side could spin a plausible rationale. Neither party would ever convince the other; the real point was merely swaying third parties or rallying those kept in the dark.
The fact that this topic had been tabled meant the Longyou Dao Government Affairs Department truly entertained intentions to make a move.
After reading through the papers, he saw that Chaoming had finished the flood dragon egg and was now dozing off as though intoxicated. Realizing it was likely suffering from an overload of absorbed nutrients, he let it sleep off to the side.
Reaching out again, he grabbed the civet urban legend by the scruff of its neck while it was still licking up the crumbs of the flood dragon egg, shoved it back into his pocket, and headed to the training room to cultivate.
That afternoon, a response arrived from Longyou Dao. Xu Mutang came aboard the airship in person, bringing an inventoried catalog of everything found within the secret hoard.
Taking the catalog, Chen Chuan flipped through it. He found that it not only listed the quantities and appraised values of every category of item in the hoard, but also included detailed recommendations for distribution.
The opening section addressed the gold and silver statues, proposing that Longyou Dao could convert the gold and silver into equivalent amounts of Jianyuan currency or items of his choosing, based on a mutually agreed allocation ratio.
He thought about it. At his current rank, most daily necessities were provided by the state, leaving few opportunities for personal expenses. Furthermore, the crucial resources he needed for cultivation these days were often things money could not buy.
Yet to the Longyou Dao Government Affairs Department, gold and silver served as industrial raw materials whose value far exceeded their function as mere currency, playing vital roles across numerous sectors. Thus, he had no objections and checked it off directly.
Next were the medicinal compounds used to rear flood dragons. An expert panel had provided a reasonable appraisal with an option similar to the previous one. This too posed no problem; he had no use for such things, so he checked it off as well.
After that came the elixir formulas, classical texts, esoteric cult ritual scrolls, and other documents. Because of their sheer volume and convoluted contents, sorting through them immediately was impossible. Longyou Dao pledged to transcribe and deliver a copy of everything to him once processed, while the division of irreplaceable rare tomes could be discussed in detail later. This, too, presented no issues.
For all the subsequent items, Longyou Dao had put forward reasonable proposals, and he checked them off one by one. Finally, the two Lianshan branches appeared at the bottom of the list.
Regarding these, the Longyou Dao Government Affairs Department explicitly stated that they would not participate in the division of the two plants—including the items preserved upon them—leaving them entirely to his disposal.
Having proactively displayed generosity and magnanimity this time, Longyou Dao and Xu Mutang had returned the courtesy in kind. They had proposed a very fair distribution for everything and specifically asked for his input, noting that adjustments could be made if anything was not to his satisfaction. Clearly, rather than squabbling over the hoard, they cared far more about fostering goodwill with him.
Chen Chuan pondered for a moment, then lifted his pen to tweak some of the allocation ratios, mostly tilting slightly more toward the other side. He had already reaped plenty of benefits this time around. For things he had no pressing need for and which offered almost no aid to combat cultivation, there was no reason to hoard them. It was far better for both sides to take what they needed and walk away satisfied.
After handing the revised document back to Xu Mutang, the latter looked it over and said with solemn sincerity, "Section Chief Chen, Longyou Dao will remember your assistance."
Chen Chuan replied, "You're too courteous, Chief Inspector Xu."
Xu Mutang said with grave earnestness, "We know you have pressing official duties, Section Chief Chen. Rest assured, we will handle this matter as swiftly as possible so as not to detain you here for long."
Chen Chuan said, "Then I'll leave it in your capable hands."
Xu Mutang nodded, exchanged a few more brief pleasantries, and departed with the forms.
Chen Chuan stayed there for three days. Once everything had been settled, he departed Longyou Dao and began his journey back to Jibei Dao.
This time, the airship was loaded with a substantial haul, particularly the medicinal supplies exchanged with Longyou Dao. And that was not even the full sum; certain items had to be requisitioned from state-owned enterprises, quotas that could never have been secured without the Government Affairs Department stepping forward on his behalf.
Of course, the most valuable of all remained the Lianshan branch. He had only taken one of them, allocating the other to Longyou Dao.
In truth, this plant had demanding environmental requirements, needing to be planted in special soil that had to be replaced monthly. For him personally, one was plenty; he lacked the spare time to tend to more.
Four days later, the airship returned to Jibei Dao.
Upon returning to the Center City metropolitan area, a transmission came from the Government Affairs Department. It was Qi Weizhao reaching out directly to inform him that representatives from the Ocean Exploration Group and Canglong Company had already arrived, were studying matters regarding the Skyline, and intended to push it forward before year's end.
Chen Chuan could not help but ask, "They're moving that fast?"
Qi Weizhao said, "They have no choice but to be quick. Every day of delay brings an extra day of variables. Furthermore, we received word from the capital that the Linax Federation delegation sent several invitations to our country, inviting some of our government personnel and martial artists over for a visit.
"Because you left a deep impression on them, an invitation was addressed to you. Under the current circumstances, higher-ups are likely still deliberating and have not made a formal decision yet, but I've received word that they lean toward agreeing.
"Since we now hold the Outer Ocean islands and need time to assimilate and secure them, we must offer a response given their overture of goodwill. Of course, the ultimate decision still rests upon your personal stance, Section Chief Chen."
After hearing this, Chen Chuan gave it a moment of thought and said, "Understood. Thank you for letting me know, Chief Administrator. I'll keep it in mind."
Chapter 969