Chapter 1885: Noise and Undercurrents

Everyone looked at him with sympathetic eyes. Old Ding shook his head. "The Jinna Temple took your money, and yet your family has had one misfortune after another. If your mother goes to inquire again, they'll just say she didn't give enough to atone for her sins."

He scoffed, "If the Jinna God was truly omnipotent and all-powerful, why did it die? Why did it die at the hands of the Dragon God?"

The man scratched the back of his head. "So... so my family was swindled?"

Everyone nodded in unison.

"Can I get my money back then?"

"You can try asking the Jinna Temple. But if you go too late, the benches in the temple might already be gone." Old Ding sighed, "You're probably not the only one who wants to get their money back from the Jinna God."

"Huh?" The man immediately stood up and ran out.

A waiter reached out to stop him. "Hey, you haven't paid for your meal!"

Fang Canran wiped his mouth and tossed out a few copper coins. "Let him go, I'll pay for him."

This storyteller was quite clever, or rather, the power behind this storyteller was clever. They knew it was useless to tell the common people that the Heavenly Gods created unrest and absorbed 'Nightmare Qi'. What exactly was 'Nightmare Qi'? The common people didn't know and didn't care; after all, they weren't the only ones being drained. But if you told them that the Heavenly Gods were swindling their medical funds and emptying their rice sacks, the people would understand and gnash their teeth. Because that kind of suffering was truly direct and tangible.

Two more outsiders asked Old Ding, "How do you know the Dragon God wants to help the Blazing Gold people eliminate their suffering? Did the Dragon God tell you personally, or did he send you a dream at night?" The two chuckled, amused by their own joke, but the people around them all wore serious expressions, so they awkwardly stopped smiling.

Only then did Old Ding say, "Oh, you outsiders don't know, but who in all of Blazing Gold doesn't know that the Great Emperor of Nine Netherworlds is the reincarnation of the Dragon God!" He pointed north. "That White-Haired Mountain to the north was originally called Dragon Head Mountain, where the Dragon God fell long ago! The Blazing Gold Plains have been in turmoil for eight hundred years, and we common people have suffered for eight hundred years. He couldn't bear to see it anymore, so he broke through the Nine Netherworlds to return to the human realm, transforming into the Great Emperor of Nine Netherworlds to set things right! If you don't believe me, just ask everyone: when corrupt gentry bullied us, what did the Great Emperor of Nine Netherworlds and the Black Armored Army do?"

The crowd roared in unison, "Kill!"

"When powerful bullies oppressed us, what did he and the Black Armored Army do?"

"Kill!"

"When fierce bandits, powerful demons, evil ghosts, and even the man-eating demon king from the former Yao Kingdom bullied and devoured people, what did the Great Emperor of Nine Netherworlds do?"

"Kill!"

Old Ding raised his voice, "And when the deities worshipped by the Yao Kingdom sucked the marrow from our bones, trying to drain us of our last drop of vitality, what did the Dragon God do?"

"Kill!" The roar nearly lifted the roof.

"Was it a good kill?"

"Good!"

"Since the Dragon God has appeared, should we welcome the Dragon God, receive the Black Armored, and kill the wicked?"

"We should!"

Slurp, Fang Canran finished his last noodle, wiped his mouth, and stood up. Seeing the fervent atmosphere in the tavern, he threw out a silver ingot. "Pour everyone a drink, it's on me." Everyone was even happier.

After leaving the Conch Tavern, Fang Canran wandered around. Giant Deer Port was even livelier than his last visit. Yangshan had already mapped out major trade routes, maintained basic road safety in the central and western parts of Blazing Gold, and introduced many effective regulations and strategies. As a result, more and more overseas merchants and organizations were coming to this continent to explore business opportunities. As long as there was enough incentive, merchants didn't mind taking risks.

Fang Canran also saw vendors at the port selling malt candy paintings, something that hadn't appeared a few months prior. With children watching, a vendor was drawing a coiled dragon with hot malt candy threads. He said it was the best-selling item recently.

Fang Canran also visited the Floating Isle Ghost Market. It wasn't as lively during the day as at night, but there were always many people gathered around the notice board, discussing quietly. He knew this board was a good place for martial artists to exchange information and for various organizations to post announcements. On the notice board, there were dozens of "recruitment" announcements for the Black Armored Army alone. Fang Canran wondered how many were real—he thought for a moment and smiled. Probably none, at least not yet. The board also contained various strange codes.

Then, he went to the Yangshan Merchant Guild, knowing the way well. Qiu Hu, the familiar face he'd seen last time, was not there. Du Shan came out to greet him instead. Fang Canran had only met Du Shan twice, even on the Yangshan Archipelago. He knew that despite his unremarkable appearance, Du Shan was a highly talented scholar who had returned from studying in Beijia and was greatly valued by He Lingchuan.

"Mr. Fang, you've finally arrived."

Fang Canran pointed toward the pier. "The assets that Island Master He entrusted me to oversee have all been safely delivered and are currently being unloaded at Giant Deer Port."

The Yangshan Archipelago began moving several months ago, but with so many belongings, they hadn't finished even after all this time. Furthermore, important figures like Qiu Hu and Guan Ke had already been stationed in the Blazing Gold Plains, so the last dozen or so ships of materials from the Yangshan Archipelago were entrusted to Fang Canran for escort.

Du Shan immediately invited him into the guild hall to rest. As Fang Canran observed, the entire guild hall was exceptionally busy, with people rushing in and out constantly. Du Shan walked with him for a hundred paces, and four different groups of subordinates came to consult him.

Fang Canran chuckled, "I thought Yangshan's new center would be in Ju City. I didn't expect it to be placed in Giant Deer Port." Ju City was located slightly west of the center of Blazing Gold, which would logically make it more suitable as a central stronghold.

"That was the original plan, but Ju City is, after all, someone else's territory." Ju City was within the allied forces' domain, so Yangshan might face some inconvenience in its future operations. "The owner changed his mind a few months ago, deciding to make Giant Deer Port the most important starting point."

"As soon as I landed at the pier, I heard that Wonderful Zenith had fallen, and that it was the work of the Dragon God?"

Du Shan: "Yes, that's correct, it really happened!"

"Where did Wonderful Zenith fall? Inverted Sea?"

"Precisely."

"And the Great Emperor of Nine Netherworlds is the reincarnation of the Dragon God?"

Du Shan's expression was serious. "Absolutely, no doubt about it."

Fang Canran couldn't help but smile. "Then, where is the Great Emperor of Nine Netherworlds?"

"He will enter the world soon."

Fang Canran let out a long breath, unsure what to say for a moment. Considering the dates, Wonderful Zenith would certainly have fallen in the Inverted Sea. Which factions should be in the Inverted Sea at this time? Long ago, it was Fang Canran himself who handed the Spirit Mountain mission "Searching for True Lord Thousand Illusions" to He Lingchuan. So, of course, he knew that besides Wonderful Zenith and the Illusion Sect, He Lingchuan and others were also in the Inverted Sea! The Inverted Sea was a strange realm that moved in real-time; how could outsiders find it so easily? And how could a Great Emperor of Nine Netherworlds just suddenly appear out of nowhere and kill Wonderful Zenith in a disagreement?

Therefore, the most reasonable deduction, the most reliable conclusion, was— No, no, Fang Canran pressed his forehead. Rationally speaking, he still found it unreasonable and unreliable. That was Wonderful Zenith!