Chapter 1165: Heavenly Secret Trade Alliance Shopkeeper

The Divine Sea Realm cultivator was portly with a genial smile, his face radiating warmth. Dressed in gold-inlaid and jade-adorned garments, he looked less like a cultivator and more like a wealthy gentleman.

Lu Ye suddenly understood who this person was.

Noticing Lu Ye's gaze, the portly Divine Sea Realm cultivator swept his large sleeves and drifted towards him, landing right before Lu Ye. With a beaming smile, he cupped his fist and greeted, "Greetings, young friend Lu. I am Jin Fuhai of the Heavenly Mystery Alliance, humbly serving as a steward. I have been ordered to come here and arrange some handovers with you."

At these words, even Shui Yuan, standing beside him, was moved. Stewards of the Heavenly Mystery Alliance were unlike ordinary merchants' stewards. The Alliance's influence spanned across all nine provinces, including the mainland and the two battlefields of the Spirit Stream and Cloud Stream Realms. It was no exaggeration to say that this organization had eyes and ears everywhere.

The Heavenly Mystery Alliance could be considered a third-party faction in the nine provinces, but its guiding principle was to foster wealth through harmony. It never interfered with or participated in the conflicts between the Haotian Alliance and the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge. All cultivators within the Heavenly Mystery Alliance focused primarily on commerce and trade.

This organization's reach extended throughout the nine provinces. Even a Spirit Stream Realm cultivator would interact with them, but the more one dealt with them, the more their mysterious nature became apparent.

The most mysterious among them were the individuals known as stewards, the most powerful figures in the entire Heavenly Mystery Alliance. Their numbers were small, totaling only ten.

Each of these individuals was an entity not to be trifled with, regardless of their cultivation or strength, for they themselves represented the colossal Heavenly Mystery Alliance.

Such individuals held positions at the pinnacle of the nine provinces, yet they were not easily accessible to just anyone. Only the sect masters and elders of the top sects were qualified to meet them.

Each of the nine provinces had a dedicated steward. In addition to these, there was also a Grand Steward who managed the entire Heavenly Mystery Alliance.

Historically, stewards from the seventh to the fourth rank had not been seen, but only the Grand Steward had never been recorded as seen by anyone. There were even rumors that this Grand Steward didn't exist at all, and that the Heavenly Mystery Alliance only had four stewards in total.

Naturally, Lu Ye had also heard rumors about the Heavenly Mystery Alliance's stewards. He hadn't paid much attention to them before, thinking he wouldn't need to deal with the Alliance deeply enough to warrant concern over such matters.

Now... he roughly understood the situation with the legendary Grand Steward, who was said to be like a dragon, seen only by its tail but never its head.

For such a behemoth as the Heavenly Mystery Alliance to have stood firm in the nine provinces for so many years, with its booming business and unassailed by the tentacles of the two major factions, it was clear that it was backed by an incredibly powerful force. This power was surely enough to make both major factions wary; otherwise, such a lucrative entity would have long been divided and devoured.

Furthermore, the goods within the Heavenly Mystery Alliance often interlinked with those in the Heavenly Treasury... The situation was now quite clear. The so-called Heavenly Mystery Alliance was undoubtedly a product secretly supported by the Little Four.

The so-called Grand Steward was none other than the Little Four.

Not only had outsiders never seen the Grand Steward's true face, but even stewards within the Heavenly Mystery Alliance, from the second to the fourth rank, had not.

The Heavenly Mystery would not easily reveal itself to others. As the Little Four had told Lu Ye before, it needed to maintain its mystery, for only mystery could inspire awe.

When Jin Fuhai said he had been ordered to come and arrange a handover with Lu Ye, Lu Ye immediately understood what was happening.

He had previously instructed Lan Qiyue to collect spirit rice from nearby human villages. This was so that when the two-realm passage opened, he could send the spirit rice back to the nine provinces, easing the urgent needs of the mortals there.

He had been troubled about how to send the spirit rice back and how to distribute it once it arrived. Now that the Little Four had brought the Heavenly Mystery Alliance into the fold, it saved him a lot of trouble.

With the Heavenly Mystery Alliance personnel working here, he only needed to hand over the spirit rice to them. They would transport it back to the nine provinces, and there was no need to worry about distribution. The Heavenly Mystery Alliance's reach extended throughout all nine provinces, and they were perfectly clear on which mortal populations urgently needed food.

It could be said that this single order from the Little Four saved him a great deal of trouble.

"What is your rank, Steward Jin?" Lu Ye asked.

Jin Fuhai smiled amiably, "I am ranked eighth, specifically responsible for trade matters in Bing Province. If young friend Lu has anything you wish to buy or sell in the future, feel free to find me... Hmm, I wonder if it would be convenient for you to exchange imprints?"

Individuals of the Heavenly Mystery Alliance's steward rank were all extremely discerning, and few in this world could easily impress them. However, Lu Ye was different. This was an order personally issued by the mysterious Grand Steward; how could Jin Fuhai not take it seriously?

To be honest, not only were there rumors outside that the Heavenly Mystery Alliance had no Grand Steward, but even within the Alliance, stewards like themselves had doubted whether there truly was such a figure, precisely because no one had ever seen him! However, this time, Jin Fuhai personally experienced the Grand Steward's formidable power.

This was because the command message had been issued directly through his battlefield imprint. By tracing the message, Jin Fuhai discovered an additional imprint in his own battlefield imprint that he had never added.

This was simply impossible. Imprints could only be exchanged and stored mutually, just as he was proposing to Lu Ye now: if Lu Ye agreed, they could exchange imprints for future convenience in contacting each other.

For an unseen imprint to suddenly appear was deeply unsettling. It meant someone had left an imprint in his without his knowledge, and anyone capable of such a feat could easily take his life.

What frightened Jin Fuhai even more was that he tried to send a message to the other party but found it impossible.

The Grand Steward's abilities utterly surpassed his imagination.

And how could he dare to defy an order issued by the Grand Steward?

Moreover, Lu Ye himself was currently the most prominent rising talent in the nine provinces. Building a good relationship with such a person also aligned with the Heavenly Mystery Alliance's pursuit of profit.

Therefore, both officially and personally, exchanging imprints with Lu Ye offered nothing but benefits for him.

Naturally, Lu Ye had no reason to refuse. Although he had already discerned the Grand Steward's true identity, the Little Four often adopted a business-like approach. He might one day genuinely need to rely on the Heavenly Mystery Alliance.

As the saying goes, 'an extra friend is an extra path.'

They exchanged battlefield imprints.

Lu Ye looked up and asked, "Junior Sister Lan, where is all the spirit rice stored?"

"Follow me," Lan Qiyue said, leading the way.

Lu Ye and Jin Fuhai quickly followed. They soon arrived at the storage location for the spirit rice. Sacks upon sacks of spirit rice immediately filled their view. However, due to time constraints, not too much had been collected. Still, with careful use, it would be enough to alleviate the immediate needs of the mortals in the nine provinces.

And once this initial phase passed, more and more spirit rice could be sent back to the nine provinces.

It was only then that Jin Fuhai realized what he was supposed to hand over with Lu Ye, and he couldn't help but be moved. "Young friend Lu, to be in another realm and still care so deeply for the human race in the nine provinces, it truly makes me admire you. Please rest assured, I guarantee, with the integrity of the Heavenly Mystery Alliance, that this spirit rice will surely be delivered to where it is most needed."

"Then I will trouble your esteemed Alliance," Lu Ye replied.

The matter of the spirit rice was a minor concern. How to more effectively and swiftly conquer the entire Blood Refinery Realm was what the cultivation world of the nine provinces needed to consider most right now.

If cultivators from other realms were operating, there might not be many areas where they could assist each other. In such a vast realm, cultivators would likely scatter, forming their own groups and acting independently.

However, cultivators from the nine provinces were different. With the Little Four present, it could manage overall coordination and deployment.

Lu Ye already had some ideas in mind, but he lacked a way to communicate with the Little Four. Now, that should no longer be an issue.

So he left Jin Fuhai and the Heavenly Mystery Alliance personnel to handle the spirit rice. He then quietly called out in his mind.

After calling several times with no response, Lu Ye couldn't help but frown. He looked up at the sky, which remained covered by dark clouds. The mysterious struggle above the heavens was still ongoing. This made Lu Ye wonder if the Little Four was unable to respond because it was preoccupied battling this realm's will of heaven and earth.

But then he reconsidered: the Little Four was merely an artifact spirit, so it shouldn't have such a problem.

If that were the case, then his method of calling the Little Four must be incorrect. In the nine provinces, the Heavenly Mystery was omnipresent, allowing him to communicate with the Little Four anytime, anywhere. But this was, after all, the Blood Refinery Realm, where the will of heaven and earth still existed. Without an intermediary, he wouldn't be able to contact the Little Four.

The only possible intermediaries were the Heavenly Mystery Pillars or his own battlefield imprint.

He raised his hand and tapped his battlefield imprint, calling out again.

Fortunately, this time, he finally received a response from the Little Four: "I am here!"

"How is the battle?" Lu Ye asked.

He couldn't perceive the superiority or inferiority of the clash between the wills of heaven and earth, so he could only ask the Little Four, who was directly involved.

"Under control," the Little Four's response was standard, yet its tone carried a hint of disdain and pride.

Lu Ye chuckled. He hadn't realized the Little Four had such a side to it.

However, on second thought, if the Little Four wasn't gaining the upper hand, the Heavenly Punishment would have already descended. It was precisely because the Little Four had the advantage that no Heavenly Punishment had appeared, allowing the cultivators of the nine provinces to invade the Blood Refinery Realm safely.

"There are three things I need your help with," Lu Ye began.

"Tell me."

"The first matter concerns the spirit rice. I haven't been able to collect much on my own, so I hope more cultivators can help gather it and send it back to the nine provinces."

One person's strength is limited, but combined strength is immense. If cultivators from other anchor points also helped collect spirit rice, the efficiency would be significantly higher.

"That's simple. I can assign them tasks to collect spirit rice!" the Little Four replied.

Lu Ye nodded. That was indeed a good idea. For cultivators in the nine provinces, only two things could truly motivate them: contribution points needed when their cultivation was low, and military merits required as their cultivation grew!

Since they were tasks, completing them would naturally bring rewards, which would greatly ignite their enthusiasm. It was likely that large quantities of spirit rice would soon be sent back to the nine provinces from various teleportation anchor points.

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