"Damn it, why didn't you tell me earlier? Do you know how long it took me to refine this Air-frozen Bead?"
"Of course I know. If it weren't for my guidance, how could you refine the Air-frozen Bead so quickly?" Green Spirit didn't care at all. Looking at Zhou Bao whose face had begun to twist, he said calmly, "Didn't you already know that the Air-frozen Bead was not a complete material? If it was a Pure Yang Celestial Device, such a situation wouldn't have happened at all. Unfortunately, it's just a celestial device at the Mysterious Level. Do you think it's so easy to conquer the Essential Qi Tide that has baffled all the experts in the world? It's good enough for a fake Air-frozen Bead like yours to hold on until now! "
"You should have told me earlier!"
"What's the difference between telling you earlier and telling you now? If I had told you earlier, would you have been able to turn this Air-frozen Bead into a Pure Yang one? If I had told you earlier, would you not have entered the Azure Secret Area? " Green Spirit sneered again and again, "Boy, you've gained enough benefits in the Azure Secret Area. Be content!"
"Yes, be content, be content!" Zhou Bao thought about it and felt that this was also a very helpless thing. Although he was very distressed about the materials he had used to refine the Air-frozen Bead, he had no regrets when he thought about the gains he had made in the Azure Secret Area. Since he had already recovered the cost and made a lot of money, he had no regrets. Besides, although those materials were precious, since he could gather one set, he could naturally gather another set. With his current strength and resources, one day he would refine the Air-frozen Bead at the Pure Yang Celestial Device level. At that time, wouldn't the Azure Secret Area also become his private property?
Having figured this out, he let go of the unhappiness in his heart.
Compared with entering the Azure Secret Area, the way back was much smoother. Because he was afraid that the Air-frozen Bead would suddenly lose its effect, Zhou Bao reduced its coverage to a radius of half a foot and left the Azure Secret Area and the Azure Cave Heaven as fast as he could. When he appeared at the exit of his mining vein, he was shocked.
Why?
There were too many people here. In addition to Wang She, Golden Rooster, Moon Deer of Extended Net, and Sun Rat of Emptiness, Elder Qing was also here. There were four people behind Elder Qing. Judging from their breaths, they were all experts at Level Seven or Eight. Wearing the clothes of the 28 constellations, they must be members of the 28 constellations of the Immortal Palace.
Since the magic formation at the entrance shone, everyone's eyes were fixed on the smooth, glass-like wall. When Zhou Bao appeared, their eyes turned to him, making his heart twitch.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Zhou Bao asked, twitching the corner of his mouth.
"You've refined the Air-frozen Bead?" This was Elder Qing's first sentence. The second sentence was, "Can the Air-frozen Bead really enter and exit the Essential Qi Tide naturally?"
Zhou Bao was stunned for a moment. Then, looking at Elder Qing's shiny eyes, he laughed and said, "Yes, the Air-frozen Bead can indeed enter and exit the Essential Qi Tide freely. Unfortunately, it can only be regarded as a disposable item!"
As he spoke, he took out the Air-frozen Bead, which was on the verge of collapse. "Look, I can enter and exit it. Although it keeps me safe, it's also ruined!"
Elder Qing hurriedly grabbed the Air-frozen Bead from Zhou Bao and looked it up and down carefully. A gleam of joy flashed in his eyes.
"A disposable item? It doesn't matter. As long as I can enter it! " Speaking of this, he looked up at Zhou Bao and said, "It's hard on you to collect so many materials in such a short time!"
"I have no choice. I was forced to do so!" Zhou Bao said with a wry smile, "However, with the strength of the Immortal Palace, it shouldn't be difficult to find enough materials, right?"
"Yes, it's not difficult. Within a year, we should be able to collect five or six sets of materials to make the Air-frozen Bead!" Speaking of this, he looked at Zhou Bao thoughtfully and said, "This Air-frozen Bead should belong to you, Water Leopard of Winnowing Basket. But last time, I gave you a piece of 10,000-year Peach Wood because we didn't have enough materials. This time, no matter why you entered the Azure Secret Area, it proves that the Air-frozen Bead can enter and exit the Essential Qi Tide freely. Moreover, you discovered the entrance to the Azure Secret Area and made a great contribution to the Immortal Palace. Since your Air-frozen Bead is destroyed, we will naturally compensate you. You're one of the materials we collected this time. Of course, one set of materials for the Air-frozen Bead can't completely match your contribution. When this matter is over, we will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation!"
"How could there be such a good thing?"
Obviously, Zhou Bao did not expect that Elder Qing would say this. He was stunned for a moment and then laughed. "Good, that's really good. Elder Qing, you're so wise and extremely wise. With a leader like you, how can the Immortal Palace not develop? Hahahaha! "
"Come on, don't flatter me!" Hearing Zhou Bao's words, Elder Qing could not help but smile. He waved his hand and said, "I'm not a leader of the Immortal Palace. I'm just in charge of the 28 constellations and external affairs!"
"But you're still our leader!" Zhou Bao said shamelessly.
"Stop flattering me. Let's get down to business. Boy, you've gained a lot this time, haven't you?"
"Bullsh * t benefits. All the pneuma are stuck together. I just collected a little bit of extreme Yin Evil Qi and practiced a special technique. It's not a big deal!"
"Practice a special technique?!" Elder Qing was stunned for a moment and seemed to be a little surprised. Then he laughed and said, "I'm afraid it's not just a special technique. Boy, your cultivation should have broken through Level Eight. But your Internal Qi is special, so it hasn't been tempered!"
"Elder Qing, you have a good eye!"
"We're all on the same side here. There's no need to hide so much!" Elder Qing laughed and pointed at several people behind him. Then he pointed at Golden Rooster and the others. "These guys don't follow the rules. They only recognize strength. The stronger you are, the more they will recognize you. So, if you have strength, don't hide it. Just hide one or two trump cards!"
His words made everyone laugh.
"It seems that the Azure Secret Area is much more valuable than I thought since it could trouble Boss Qing!"
"If it's only worth one or two months, I don't need to come here. But if I can go in and out during the Essential Qi Tide, the value will be quite different. You've been there once, so you know what I'm talking about!"
"Of course. As long as I have the Air-frozen Bead, entering the Essential Qi Tide to condense Gang Qi is undoubtedly the best choice!" Zhou Bao said resolutely, "And practicing special techniques is also twice the result with half the effort. As long as you have patience, you can sort out the Evil Qi!"
Hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up. These people were all experts at Level Seven or Eight, and they had condensed Gang Qi. Therefore, entering the Essential Qi Tide to practice Gang Qi was not necessary, but it did not mean that others did not need it. Among the 28 constellations of the Immortal Palace, many of them had dual identities.
Many of the 28 constellations of the Immortal Palace had dual identities, just like Zhou Bao and Wang She. In addition to being constellations of the Immortal Palace, they also had another identity in the secular world, which would not be too low. Many of them had disciples. If some of them had good aptitude and high cultivation and needed to condense Gang Qi, then the Azure Secret Area, which was in the Essential Qi Tide, was the best choice. Moreover, in addition to condensing Gang Qi, the various spiritual qi and Evil Qi in the Azure Secret Area were also suitable for practicing various powerful special techniques. After all, the Azure Secret Area was the only place in the world that was filled with Evil Qi for 10 months a year.
Looking at these excited constellations, Zhou Bao seemed to hear their excited heartbeats and excited blood circulation. Their Level Eight cultivation and cultivation could not hide their wolf-like greedy eyes.
"There's one thing I have to warn you first!" Zhou Bao suddenly said, "I don't care how the entrance and exit of the Azure Secret Area is used, but I don't want this matter to be known by everyone in the world!"
"Of course, even if you don't tell us the entrance and exit of the Azure Secret Area, we will keep it a secret!"
"That's good!" Zhou Bao smiled happily and walked up to Elder Qing. "Elder Qing, I'm here. "Elder Qing, brothers, you must be tired after such a long journey. Now that you are in my territory, I must entertain you well. Come on, please!"
"There's no need for that. Our purpose for coming here is to confirm that the entrance has been completed. Secondly, it's to confirm your safety. Since you're fine, there's no need for us to stay here!" Elder Qing smiled and patted Zhou Bao's shoulder. "What's more, if we stay here for a long time, we may be seen by others. Maybe there will be some trouble!"
Zhou Bao nodded and said no more. He respectfully saw Elder Qing and the others off.
After several months of closed-door training in the Azure Secret Area, a lot of things were left in his territory, waiting for him to decide.
Although he had always been a hands-off manager, he was a lord after all. Moreover, as he opened up the passageway of the entire Blacktail Plain, the whole northwest region began to prosper. As the starting point and transfer station of the entire passageway, his territory naturally became the focus of the whole north. There were many things that Jiang Xiao and Zhu Ba could not do.
As for Wang She, he came to Zhou Bao's territory just to be a bystander. Obviously, the experts he brought with him were here to do the same business. Apart from swindling food and drinks, they did not have any proper business. In Wang She's words, he came here mainly to be a thug. However, no one dared to come to Zhou Bao's territory to make trouble. Therefore, there was no need for these thugs to take action.
Indeed, no one dared to cause trouble for Zhou Bao anymore. Instead, there were more and more envoys from well-known families, schools, and business groups. They came here mainly to discuss the future cooperation with Zhou Bao.
Jiang Xiao could make decisions on some of these matters, but he could not make decisions on some others.
This time, Zhou Bao opened the passageway of the Blacktail Plain with the Golden Flame Mirror. But he did not do it alone. The Blacktail Plain was huge, and there was an evil beast that had been tamed by him. Naturally, Zhou Bao would not turn such a large area of the Blacktail Plain into a passageway. In fact, he just opened a straight passageway from the Dragon-pressing River to his territory. All the goods from the Dragon-pressing River could reach Zhou Bao's territory through this passageway. As for the territories of other lords bordering the Blacktail Plain, they did not have such a good treatment. Zhou Bao also opened the passageway for them. But this passageway led directly from their territory to Zhou Bao's. If they wanted goods, they had to transport them through Zhou Bao's territory, just like River Heart Island in those years. The Navy of Jiang City was very familiar with this kind of thing.
The Navy of Jiang City was very familiar with this kind of thing. Therefore, at the beginning, Jiang Xiao and his companions did not encounter any difficulties. But as time went by, more and more people realized the importance of the shortcut of the Blacktail Plain. More and more people realized the value of the transit point between Zhou Bao's territory and the Blacktail Plain. More and more businessmen saw great business opportunities and swarmed there. In a few months, Jiang Xiao was so busy that he almost cried.
There were too many people to receive them all. To put it bluntly, Zhou Bao's territory was a wasteland without any facilities. Even the transit point between Zhou Bao's territory and the Blacktail Plain was just a wide grassland, with no human habitation at all. Jiang Xiao and his companions originally wanted to build a big goods and pass first, just like what they had done in River Heart Island in those days. But they forgot that this was not River Heart Island, and the market they faced was not a small Jiang City, but the whole north of the Dragon-pressing River and the whole northwest. Although it was deserted now, business opportunities were created. Never underestimate the shrewd vision of businessmen.
Therefore, soon, many simple temporary tents were set up on the vast grassland to store goods, and more and more people came to see Zhou Bao.
Of course, not everyone was qualified to see Zhou Bao. Most of them came to see Jiang Xiao. Now everyone knew that he was Zhou Bao's housekeeper and also the upstart of the northwest territory.
It could be said that Jiang Xiao was now the most popular person in the whole northwest. He was very busy welcoming and seeing people off all day long. How could Jiang Xiao, a small Navy Captain, compare with him?
However, he also understood that it was all thanks to Zhou Bao that he could have such a high position today. If Zhou Bao had not done so many things, how could those high and mighty bigwigs like him, who was born in a low position, take a fancy to such a lad?
Therefore, the more it was like this, the more cautious he was. Many things that he could make decisions on, he did not dare to make random decisions. Therefore, when Zhou Bao returned to his residence, he was stunned when he saw the stack of more than a foot thick official documents on the table.
"Jiang Xiao, what do you mean? Are you doing this on purpose? I've just come back, and you want me to deal with so many things, right?"
"No, Your Excellency, these are very important things. I dare not make decisions on my own. I can only wait for you to come back!"
"How important are they? As I said, you can deal with the affairs of the territory as you see fit. Don't bother me with these things. If you really can't do it, just call some people over. If there's anything, just tell me. Don't put so many things in front of me. I'm not in the mood to read them!"
"Yes, Your Excellency, I understand!" Jiang Xiao smiled bitterly. "Your Excellency, even if you don't read these official documents, there are some things that should be done. You've opened up the passage to the Blacktail Plain and made us the center of the northwest. Now I'm short of manpower and can't deal with a lot of things. Besides …!"
"If you're short of manpower, you can recruit people. As long as there are enough people, there's nothing you can't handle. Do you need to tell me these things?" Zhou Bao glared at him. "Jiang Xiao, I've told you to do it boldly. Don't worry about me. My mind is not on this, so you don't have to worry about it!"
"Also, Your Excellency, besides these official documents, during your closed-door training, many people asked to see you, but they were all stopped by me. However, there are a few people whose identities are really special. I'm afraid you have to see them!"
"Oh, special identities? Tell me about them!"
… …
… …
There were many people who wanted to see Zhou Bao, but only a few were really qualified to see him.
Zhou Bao's status was mainly composed of three aspects. One was the title of nobility given to him by the imperial court of Jin. From this aspect, many people were qualified to see him. Most of the people Jiang Xiao met were qualified to see him. Another aspect was that he was a Level Seven expert. Now he was a Level Eight expert, but others didn't know it. His combat capability was close to Level Nine. This aspect eliminated more than half of the people. The third aspect was that he was the spokesperson that Tian Long Taoism had tried its best to cultivate in the northwest!
Combining these three aspects, among all the people who came to the northwest, there were only two people who were qualified to see him in person. One was Yun Peng, the vice president of Xinglong Chamber of Commerce in Jin, and the other was Nie Wushang, the imperial envoy of the imperial court.
Xinglong Chamber of Commerce was a very vulgar name, but it had existed for tens of thousands of years. It was one of the three biggest chambers of commerce in Jin, even in the whole Central Plains. Behind it stood numerous well-known families, big and small, as well as some mysterious schools. This seemingly ordinary chamber of commerce could be even more powerful than Jin if it really exerted its strength. Jin had only been founded for hundreds of years, but this chamber of commerce had existed for tens of thousands of years. Compared with Zhou Bao's Anyuan Store and Xinglong Chamber of Commerce, the difference was not like the difference between an ant and an elephant, but the difference between an ant and a blue whale, or a king's face. As long as Xinglong Chamber of Commerce wanted to, it could easily poke Anyuan Store to death with one finger. Similarly, as long as Xinglong Chamber of Commerce was happy, it could easily make Anyuan Store prosper.
No one knew who the president of Xinglong Chamber of Commerce was. Yun Peng was the person in charge of Xinglong Chamber of Commerce on the surface and had a very high status. Therefore, Jiang Xiao listed him on the list of people that Zhou Bao had to see. As for Nie Wushang, needless to say, the imperial envoy of the imperial court represented the face of the imperial court. No matter what, Zhou Bao was still a member of Jin, so he naturally couldn't be neglected.
Hearing Jiang Xiao's explanation, Zhou Bao thought for a while and said, "Where is Yun Peng? I'll go to see him now. As for Nie Wushang, since he has been waiting for so long, let him wait for two more days! "
"Yes, I'll go to invite Yun Peng here right away!"
"No, no, no. I'll go to see him in person!" Zhou Bao waved his hand and said. Since he had decided to do it, he had to do it properly. He couldn't let others pick the gifts. Otherwise, he might as well not do it.
Yun Peng and Nie Wushang were both arranged in the best yards. What made Jiang Xiao feel lucky was that their yards were far away from each other. Otherwise, if Zhou Bao went to see Yun Peng alone but left Nie Wushang aside, it would really be a disgrace to the imperial court.
Yun Peng looked young, just in his early forties. He was in the prime of his life and his cultivation was not weak. He was a Level Five expert. In Jianghu, he could be regarded as a famous figure. However, as the vice president of Xinglong Chamber of Commerce, his strength seemed to be of little value, especially when there was a Level Eight expert standing beside him.
A Level Eight expert!
Since when did experts become so worthless that they had all run to his territory?
How generous Xinglong Chamber of Commerce was to ask a Level Eight expert to be his bodyguard!
As soon as the Level Eight expert saw Zhou Bao, his expression changed. He knew that Zhou Bao was a Level Seven expert with a Pure Yang Celestial Device. He had cooperated with Wang She to plot against other Level Nine experts. Therefore, he had thought highly of Zhou Bao. However, after seeing Zhou Bao, he was surprised to find that he still underestimated Zhou Bao.
He couldn't see through Zhou Bao's cultivation.
At this time, Zhou Bao's essence, qi, and spirit were completely restrained, with not a trace of spirit leaking out. He looked like an ordinary 17- or 18-year-old teenager, but his eyes revealed a kind of maturity that did not match his age.
"Junior Zhou Bao pays respect to President Yun!"
After entering the door, Zhou Bao first cupped his hands in obeisance, with a very reserved smile on his face.
"Hahaha, I've long heard that Yunzhou Zhou Bao is the first young hero of our Jin. Today, I see that he deserves his reputation!"
Yunpeng came up to him with a big smile. "I came to see Your Excellency Zhou the day before yesterday. I heard that you were in closed-door training, so I didn't dare to disturb you. Now that you've come out, I guess your cultivation must be a higher level, right?"
"President Yun, you must be joking. Zhou Bao's sudden advancement has led to an unstable foundation. Therefore, he often needs closed-door training to stabilize his foundation. Sorry to make you laugh!"
After exchanging some pleasantries, the two foxes got down to business.
Having received more than 10 years of education, Zhou Bao, who knew a little about economics, would naturally not do stupid things like setting up checkpoints to collect tariffs as was often mentioned in books. In fact, as a desolate place without independent industries and products, the most important thing was not to collect taxes, but to exempt taxes and attract businessmen, people, and business.
Therefore, the two sides talked happily. In fact, there was nothing to talk about. The specific matters had been discussed by Yunpeng's steward and Jiang Xiao. Zhou Bao came here today just to show respect to Yunpeng and the Xinglong Chamber of Commerce. Then, they just went through the motions and signed their names, which was a bit like the signing ceremony in later generations.
Therefore, after pretentiously chatting for a while, telling a few dirty jokes and exchanging gifts, they began to eat, drink, and have fun. They did not talk about any substantive content, but only confirmed the cooperation between Anyuan Store and Xinglong Chamber of Commerce and Zhou Bao's opening of the northwest market. That was all.
After seeing Yunpeng off, Zhou Bao directly went back to rest. As for the imperial envoy of the imperial court, he planned to see him in two days.
Unexpectedly, early the next morning, Nie Wushang came to see him. Obviously, he had heard the news that Zhou Bao went to see Yunpeng yesterday.
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