Chapter 167: Arrival of the Subordinates

At this moment, suddenly realizing that the treasure within the forbidden land—the supreme geomantic treasure trove meant for cultivating the spirit-seed Grand Plantation Art—was a reality, Zhang Pu felt an intense surge of excitement deep within his heart.

Yet, he had never anticipated that the phantom would be capable of summoning the descent of some divine entity, nearly resulting in his demise.

Zhang Pu's emotions at this juncture were, in truth, quite complex.

With the phantom having been rescued, there was no way of knowing when that summoned deity might manifest once more to deal with him.

Zhang Pu reflected that he could not simply sit passively and await his doom.

It was as if a psychological knot had formed within his mind.

Even so, life still had to go on.

Zhang Pu could only divide his focus between devising countermeasures and arranging the upcoming matters here.

He had initially assumed that after preliminarily handling the group from the provincial capital, astounding the township and village cadres, and waiting for Liu Yingde to arrive with another contingent, he could unfold his grand blueprint here. By then, the second Sea of Flowers Lodge would be built, and once alchemical pills were refined, wealth would roll in endlessly.

Everything was proceeding according to this blueprint, and he felt entirely in control. Even when the terrifying phantom subsequently appeared, he had not thought much of it, believing he could handle it—and indeed, he had managed to cope with it at the time.

He had even intended to profit from it, and the addition of Lin Zhifa to his side seemed like adding wings to a tiger. And yet—

How was it that such a difficult problem had suddenly been dropped into his lap?

Zhang Pu possessed profound insights into the top-tier powerhouses of the Immortal Realm, as well as the various Divine, Demonic, and Monstrous realms. Entities of that caliber, even if they merely projected a wisp of immortal, divine, demonic, or monstrous consciousness for some object to harness, could inflict devastating blows upon his current level of cultivation.

Lost in such erratic thoughts amidst his present circumstances, Zhang Pu unconsciously followed Ye Hui all the way to the branch headquarters of the Three Halls Society.

By this time, dawn had broken.

Gao Yun had probably been exhausted from the entire night and had gone to sleep, and Zhang Pu had no desire to linger at the Three Halls Society branch.

He merely instructed Ye Hui to give a few parting words to some members of the Three Halls Society stationed there, and then he and Ye Hui retraced their steps back to the leased mountain forests.

Upon returning, Zhang Pu did not feel particularly tired, but he nonetheless told Ye Hui to go and rest.

Zhang Pu simply gave Old Fu a brief summary that the matter concerning the Three Halls Society branch had been resolved, and then he returned to his own room.

Zhang Pu wanted to close his eyes for a moment, because the events of the previous night were undoubtedly the most arduous of his entire post-rebirth existence. Although the Sun and Moon Art prevented him from feeling overwhelmingly fatigued, a subtle sense of physical and mental exhaustion still lingered.

If the might of that lightning bolt last night had been even slightly stronger, Zhang Pu knew that even if he survived, he would have sustained severe injuries. And in a death trap like the forbidden area, once the phantom returned, a mere wave of its hand or foot would have finished him off...

Zhang Pu merely lay on his bed for a short while before opening his eyes once more.

At that moment, he sensed that people had arrived at the leased mountain forest, and there was more than one.

A moment later, checking his WeChat messages, he saw that it was indeed Liu Yingde who had arrived with several people.

Logically speaking, it was about time for Liu Yingde to arrive.

Ceasing his attempt to sleep, Zhang Pu opened the door and stepped outside.

Sure enough, it was Liu Yingde and his companions, and Old Fu was currently greeting the guests.

Liu Yingde had brought a total of six people, explaining that they were the core personnel capable of transforming this leased mountain forest into the second Sea of Flowers Lodge.

From the respectful attitude Liu Yingde and his men displayed toward Zhang Pu, to the moment someone finally and seemingly by accident addressed Zhang Pu as "Master" in front of Old Fu, the old fox that Old Fu was finally experienced a complete awakening of realization!

Given the prior incidents involving Zhang Pu and the masked men, his fluid defeat of the visitors from the provincial capital, and his dealings with the township and village cadres, Old Fu had already suspected that Zhang Pu was far from an ordinary student.

Now, seeing Old Fu in a state of near-boiling realization, Zhang Pu simply decided to lay all his cards on the table.

In any case, things had progressed to this stage; Zhang Pu felt there was no longer any need to conceal anything from Old Fu.

Although he had harbored vague guesses for some time, having it now confirmed that Liu Yingde, the formidable leader of the Sorcerer Ghost Sect, took orders entirely from Zhang Pu still gave Old Fu a mild shock.

Tu County, where Qingshan Township was located, was also a county within the Qingwu region. Throughout the Qingwu region—especially for an elderly resident like Old Fu—he was not only well aware of the Sorcerer Ghost Sect's renown locally, but he had even heard of Liu Yingde himself.

It was simply because Lingshi Village in Qingshan Township was a rather remote location that Old Fu, despite living to such an advanced age, was seeing Liu Yingde in person for the very first time today.

When Liu Yingde presented evidence of his identity and introduced himself, Old Fu had even trembled slightly.

And when a figure as prominent throughout the entire Qingwu region as Liu Yingde bowed in submission before Zhang Pu, the impact on Old Fu was far beyond mere shock.

Fortunately, he had been mentally prepared by Zhang Pu's previous "glory deeds" involving the masked men, the visitors from the provincial capital, and the township and village cadres. Fortunately, having lived to such a ripe old age, he could maintain composure even in the face of life and death; otherwise, he might have fainted on the spot from the sheer abruptness of the revelation.

He never would have imagined that the offspring of Zhang Ting, that young lad... Old Fu dared not let his thoughts wander any further. For he now realized that even the township and village cadres might grant Zhang Pu three points of respect simply because of Liu Yingde, yet Zhang Pu's actual status was even higher than Liu Yingde's!

Pondering these matters over and over, Old Fu no longer found it the least bit strange how Zhang Pu had so easily acquired that sum of six hundred thousand yuan.

At present, Old Fu mused that those masked men and the syndicate behind them were probably all subordinates of Zhang Pu as well.

Although these events initially seemed scattered and disjointed, in a flash, the old man managed to twist them together in his mind like a seasoned helmsman's sturdy rope.

Old Fu felt he no longer needed to concern himself with just how formidable Zhang Pu truly was; a single, overwhelming curiosity dominated his mind: how on earth had Zhang Pu attained such an astronomical level of formidable prowess?

Yet, having lived as long as he had, having eaten more salt than many people had eaten rice, he knew that unless Zhang Pu took the initiative to tell him, he would not bluntly press with questions; instead, he chose to keep his guesses to himself.

No matter how much he guessed, however, what could he possibly deduce?

Perhaps because his identity had been suddenly exposed, Zhang Pu felt it necessary to offer Old Fu some reassurance. Although he knew the old man was far from simple, he needed to utter the necessary words—at least on the surface—to make things feel appropriate!

Consequently, Zhang Pu spun a web of eloquent falsehoods for Old Fu, casually attributing his current brilliance to a fortuitous encounter with an esoteric master. He then added that Old Fu should continue to treat him just as before, with no need for unnatural awkwardness, assuring him that he would always respect Old Fu as an elder.

Zhang Pu's concluding remark was delivered as a solemn promise: he guaranteed that Old Fu would be able to live out the rest of his days on this mountain leading the exact life he desired.

In truth, it was this final promise and guarantee that truly caused ripples to stir in the deepest recesses of Old Fu's heart!