639 He’s a Money-spinner

Dongtianwang City, Central Zone.

Central Zone was the most prosperous area of Dongtianwang City. There wasn't a supreme faction here.

If there was one.

The headquarters of the Magic Pill Technicians Association, the headquarters of the Spirit Array Caster Association, the headquarters of the Blacksmith Association... If these were in other territories, they would have been the supreme factions.

However, in the Central Zone, there was a supreme tribunal that could ride on top of all these factions, the Holy Divine Palace!

Surrounded by numerous buildings, the Holy Divine Palace was the most eye-catching one. It stood at the core of the protective barrier of the entire Dongtianwang City.

On top of that, a plaque with the words "Holy Divine Palace" engraved on it hung above the palace.

With these four words alone, it was enough to overshadow the other factions.

At this moment.

Inside the Holy Divine Palace, in the conference hall.

After sending off the envoy from the Grand Yuan Mansion of East Yuan Region, Cheng Ji was unfurling his eyebrows, looking tired. He looked up at the middle-aged man beside him, Chu Lisheng.

On the surface, he was the person in charge of the Imperial City trials.

However, the Imperial City trials could be conducted according to the usual rules. There wouldn't be any major mistakes in general.

Therefore, secretly, Chu Lisheng had another mission.

"How's it on the Abyss Island?" Cheng Ji asked.

Chu Lisheng retracted his gaze from the envoy of the Zhaoluo Heavenly Palace in the Grand Yuan Mansion.

He recollected and replied, "I have basically figured out the location of the Abyss Island. It is for sure the Dongtianwang City, not anywhere else."

"In terms of time, it will be during the Imperial City trial."

"Perhaps it will be a little later, or it will be halfway through the trial."

"But we are trying our best to avoid the latter, as in not to let the Abyss Island affect the Imperial City trial. But you know it too..."

He paused for a moment, then met Cheng Ji's eyes as he looked back. Then, he said with a bitter smile, "We are trying our best to stop it. People inside and outside the Abyss Island are trying hard, so we could only do our best. We can't really make a promise."

"Understood."

How could Cheng Ji not know the situation?

Many Demi-Saints of the Holy Divine Palace had banished the Abyss Island to the dimensional void for countless years.

This inexplicable landing must have been the result of the everyone hidden inside and outside the Abyss Island together.

As for those who wanted the Abyss Island to land, their plans were basically laid out in the Holy Divine Palace's defense loopholes.

After years of exile, the members of the Holy Divine Palace had become less wary of Abyss Island.

Those people used this opportunity to catch the Holy Divine Palace off guard!

"How about the news? Did you manage to block it? "Cheng Ji asked again.

The descent of Abyss Island wasn't too shocking.

After all, it happened before.

The Holy Divine Palace only had to gather manpower and seal it again, so that they could avoid disaster in the mainland.

Of course.

Before that, they needed to block the news so that no one would come over. That way, they could minimize the number of casualties.

"Master Cheng, rest assured that we can keep this a secret," Chu Lisheng replied with a smile.

Cheng Ji stared at the Elder in front of him for a long time. Then, he said with a solemn look, "As far as I know, many Higher Void families that are not related to the Imperial City trial have entered Dongtianwang city recently."

He glanced at the empty entrance of the hall. The envoy from Zhaoluo Heavenly Palace had left for some time.

However, from their conversation just now, the envoy did not seem to be suspicious of the news regarding the Sky City.

On the contrary, he was very certain!

Chu Lisheng was a little embarrassed, but he continued in a serious manner,

"Although we are trying our best to block the news, it is difficult for us to stop people with insider news."

"The only thing we can do now is to minimize the number of these people. At the same time, we have to prevent the news from spreading widely."

"There will be bad apples everywhere."

"The Holy Divine Palace is no exception."

Cheng Li narrowed his eyes.

He had just taken office, and someone stirred up trouble right under his nose.

He had to take revenge for this when he had more free time later.

But now...

"Keep an eye on these people. Once this matter is over, we will deal with them."

He walked to the window and looked at the noisy scene on the street.

He said solemnly, "Also, go and find out about all the major factions, especially the Night Cat."

"If something big happens, you and I won't be able to take responsibility. Do you understand?"

Chu Lisheng immediately replied, "Master Cheng, don't worry. I've visited all the major factions, especially the Night Cat. I don't think they dare to cause trouble."

"Is that so?"

Cheng Ji shifted his gaze away from the bustling city and locked onto an extremely tall building nearby. He asked, "I heard that they're planning to hold a spirit gem trade fair, why is that so? There's even a clue to the void token at the trade fair, right?"

"Erm..."

Chu Li Sheng stammered. He had a bad headache whenever he thought of this. "That is really an accident. We've basically held onto all the clues to the void token."

"I suspect the last piece of information is released by the Black and White Veins inside the Abyss Island."

"You know, those people have stayed there for a long time. They have tried all kinds of methods to come out but failed. Yet, they could have taken out a small item from inside."

"As for the void token, it is invaluable."

"I've been to the Night Cat, they behave very well. However, they won't just give us clues for free. Their request is for us to pay for it."

"Pay for it?" Cheng Ji looked back, his eyes flickering with a threatening light.

"Yes."

Chu Lisheng replied, "The Night Cat controls the entire Dongtianwang City's underground news. They are huge, but they have been well-behaved these years. We have cooperated before and they have provided a lot of information."

"If we do it forcefully, that would be too hurtful."

"If they want money, we will go ahead and pay for it. At that time, no one would dare to turn down the Holy Divine Palace."

Chu Lisheng raised his head slightly.

In Dongtianwang City, the Holy Divine Palace was the judicial place.

If they made a request, who would dare to disobey?

Would the disobedient ones be able to withstand the investigation?

Chu Lisheng was confident that not a single faction in the vast Dongtianwang city would be able to withstand the investigation!

By then, who would dare to cause trouble when the Holy Divine Palace make a request?

"Night Cat..."

Cheng ji muttered, "It's good that you know what you're doing."

He knew that the Night Cat was unwilling to give out any clues so easily. Instead, they insisted on a meetup with the Holy Divine Palace.

To put it bluntly, the reason was that Cheng Ji was newly appointed, he did not have much prestige.

Similar incidents happened over and over again recently.

Various factions were probing and testing.

They wanted to test Cheng Ji's bottom line!

However, he couldn't deal with these issues right now.

After all, he had to respond to the trap cast on him.

Cheng Ji lifted his lip corners with a cold look.

It had taken Jiang Bianyan so many years to obtain the public's prestige from the chaos in the Imperial City. Then, the White Cave War made all his efforts go to waste.

Cheng Ji did not have that much time, but he had the Cheng family.

Therefore, he did not plan to follow Jiang Bianyan's gentle path. Instead, he wanted to go the rough way. Via the Imperial City Trial and the Abyss Island, he wished to unite the entire Dongtianwang City!

Leaning against the window, Cheng Ji put this matter aside. He stared at the tall building nearby for a long time. He asked, "What's going on with the Pilgrimage Tower?"

The old building within his sight was a landmark of the early days when Dongtianwang city was built. It was located at the center of the entire Imperial City.

At that time, there was no supreme faction in Dongtianwang City, and fighting within the city was strictly prohibited.

Therefore, the tower was built to be the highest of Dongtianwang City. It had 99 floors!

All the buildings in the city were instructed not to go beyond the height of the Pilgrimage Tower.

It was the same for the Holy Divine Palace.

This was because the Pilgrimage Tower was facing the headquarters of the Central Region Holy Divine Palace. It was the faith of the entire Dongtianwang City.

Later on, various supreme factions emerged and the Imperial City grew stronger. It wasn't easy to stop the fights between the spiritual cultivator. Thus, the rules of no-war was loosened up.

With that, "Air battle" and "Domain battle" emerged later on.

Nevertheless, in the battle of the Sovereign and Cutting Path, a lot of tall buildings weren't spared.

On the contrary, the short and average buildings were not affected by the battles. They were perfectly preserved.

That explained why the buildings of the highest faction had only 50 to 60 floors.

The Pilgrimage Tower was the only exception.

At the early stage, it was listed as one of the three great array cores of the protective barriers. It was the only ancient building in the city that had been preserved to this day with a height of 99 floors.

Till today, the plaque of the "Pilgrimage Tower" was not taken down.

At the lowest level, an extremely eye-catching "First Pavilion in the Sky" was hung outside the door!

Cheng Ji frowned.

This was "blasphemy"!

Even if the Pilgrimage Tower was empty, it should not be sold.

How could someone hang a plaque up there? Also, it was so ridiculous... What's with the "First Pavilion in the Sky"?

Chu Lisheng took a few steps forward and looked down from the window. He saw the golden words and showed a stunned expression.

However, he seemed to have recalled something and said, "The First Pavilion in the Sky? I remember now. A few days ago, Young Master Xu from the Northern Region's Taixiang Xu family was here. I have yet to find out about him."

"Jiang Xian?" Cheng Ji turned around.

"No."

Chu Lisheng shook his head and said, "We have investigated the Jiang family. They are not after Abyss Island. As for Xu family..."

"Are they new?"

"Yes."

"Let's go and see what's going on!"

Cheng Xi couldn't stand the arrogant so-called "First Pavilion in the Sky".

They were brazen enough to call themselves that despite being next to the Holy Divine Palace. Were they seeking trouble?

Chu Lisheng hesitated for a moment and said, "From what I know, the Xu family seems to be a Demi-Saint family. They had a conflict with the Jiang family before. Even Jiang Xian was crushed."

"Oh?" Cheng Ji was surprised.

He met Jiang Xian before. That guy appeared extraordinary.

Even the Holy Divine Palace could only probe about such a Demi-Saint family.

But after that, a branch of the Holy Divine Palace couldn't control what they wanted to do.

Fortunately, they were not coming for Abyss Island.

So the Holy Divine Palace didn't interfere too much.

Chu Lisheng continued, "Although Xu family is a Demi-Saint family, I can't find any information about them. However, we know something very important."

"What?" Cheng Ji asked.

Chu Lisheng answered, "During Grand Master Xu's birthday celebration, no one from the Jiang family went to celebrate despite being in the same Northern Region."

"Because of that, Young Master Xu did not give Jiang Xian any respect. They had a conflict on the street, and Young Master Xu didn't sound nice to Jiang Xian."

Cheng Ji tapped his fingers on the windowsill. He frowned and said, "But what does this have to do with the Pilgrimage Tower?"

Chu Lisheng's expression turned awkward as he asked, "Master Cheng, have you forgotten?"

"Previously, when Master Jiang was preparing for the Imperial City trials, during the Abyss Island's exploration, the White Cave War, and the compensation afterward..."

"Basically, when all these things happened together, it almost depleted the Holy Divine Palace's inventory."

"At that time, we had no choice but to rent out the Pilgrimage Tower that no one had ever used. With the approval of the temporary master sent by the headquarters, we rented it thinking that it would be a waste to be left empty."

"But the rent is so expensive that no one made a move... Oh no, there's one now." Pointing at the signboard of First Pavilion in the Sky, he chuckled.

Cheng Ji couldn't care less about that. After hearing that, he was outraged. He slapped the window and shouted, "How is that relatable?"

"Jiang Bianyan created such a mess himself. How could he make the faith of Dongtianwang City to make up for it?"

"Also, what is the Pilgrimage Tower? That is..."

Seeing that things were going south, Chu Lisheng quickly interrupted, "When Master Cheng first took office, you used up a huge sum of money too... Oh yes, it was to make up for the previous deficit."

Cheng Ji was stunned for a moment. He seemed to have thought of something.

Chu Lisheng added, "Plus, the rent isn't cheap either. After all, it's a place of faith. Without selling it, we can rent it for one billion a month! Furthermore, it can be taken back at any time!"

He added a heavy tone to the words "one billion" and "taken back".

As expected, Cheng Ji's ears twitched and most of his anger dissipated. He asked, "How long have they been renting it?"

"Half a year."

Chu Lisheng hurriedly replied, "Half a year, six billion!"

Cheng Ji lowered his hand to cover the broken window. He silently stared at the ostentatious signboard, First Pavilion in the Sky.

"Six Billion?" He repeated.

"Yes."Chu Lissheng nodded.

Cheng Ji heaved a sigh of relief, "As expected of the temporary master sent by the headquarters. He indeed has a bit of foresight. It would be a waste to be left empty anyway..."

"Haha, he's not bad."

Chu Lisheng agreed and looked at the signboard below. He smiled and said, "He's a money-spinner. Coincidentally, we're going to participate in the trade fair, and we're lacking a little... Haha!"

"Find out more about him," Cheng Ji did not forget the main thing.

After all, it was a Demi-Saint family. When they appeared beside the Holy Divine Palace out of nowhere, they definitely deserved extra attention.

Chu Lisheng had yet to reply. Cheng Ji paused for a moment, then quickly added, "But don't go too far. The Pilgrimage Tower... Well, the First Pavilion in the Sky. Let them stay first. After all, it would be a waste to be left empty."

"Yes, yes," Chu Lisheng nodded with a smile.