“What did you say?” Yi Yun’s words stunned Rain Numinous. This punk had such an arrogant tone. He was actually saying that his ambition did not lie in the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins?
What did this mean? Was he saying that the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins was too tiny, that he wasn’t impressed by it?
His sister could become crown designate; thus, Jiang Xiaorou might possibly become Ruins Empress one day. That would make her one of the most honored persons in the Chaos Heavens. Above the Ruins Emperor, there were only figures like the Fey Patriarchs or Soul Patriarchs. Many of those patriarchs had lived for hundreds of millions of years to billions of years.
With such a sister, anyone would wish to use her as leverage to advance themselves, riding that advantage as high as they could. If they were talented, it was possible for them to receive the bloodline transplantation of the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins to become a postnatal Fey.
Although the Fey were not fond of postnatal Fey, since the idea had the sense of abandoning their own roots, thriving in the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins was impossible to do as a human. So what if one became a postnatal Fey in order to thrive?
Furthermore, Jiang Xiaorou’s trust in and feelings for Yi Yun would definitely result in her transplanting him with the best royal bloodline. That would have been a huge opportunity for Yi Yun.
Despite having such a promising future to look forward to, Yi Yun seemed to think nothing of it. This left Rain Numinous feeling displeased. She felt that not only was Yi Yun ambitious, but that he was ridiculously ambitious.
If he did not think the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins was good enough, was he thinking of becoming Ruins Emperor or the Fey Patriarch?
Yi Yun guessed at what Rain Numinous was thinking and said, “Senior Rain, I do not think much of this position as housekeeper, nor do I intend to use it to soar. My stay here is firstly to refine pills and secondly to help my sister!
“I wish to refine a special kind of pill. This pill will be very beneficial to Sis Xiaorou. I need the authority for the allocation of resources.”
If this was fifteen minutes before, Yi Yun’s words would have caused him to be thrown out by Rain Numinous. But it was different now. A person’s strength gave him the right to speak. Even if a person’s strength was uncorrelated with their ability to refine pills.
Rain Numinous said, “I previously mentioned that there will be a Competition of the Fey Altar Spot in two years. It will influence Xiaorou’s future. Although the Blood King has given a sizable amount of resources, using them would burn a hole in our pocket. If you want to buy the things you want, it’s unknown how expensive it will be!”
Yi Yun laughed. “The enhancement of bloodline cannot be bought for any price. Limited resources should be employed where they are needed most. So what if you have many guest mercenaries? All they do is some chores or allow for a show of force by publicly announcing that you have three thousand guest mercenaries. It’s all pointless. If one has redoubtable strength, why would one need to hire guest mercenaries? Just one’s title would make the populace submit to them. When the time comes, there will be people racking their brains, hoping to become Sis Xiaorou’s servant.”
Upon hearing Yi Yun’s words, Rain Numinous was at a loss for words and was enraged.
Wasn’t this obvious? Who didn’t know that being strong was the best? You might as well talk about breaking through to the Godly Monarch realm tomorrow. What’s the point in saying any of this?
If one’s strength was unable to stand out among all the royal candidates, they could only compete using the power and size of the faction they could amass. The stronger the faction, the more evident of a candidate’s prestige and ability. And being Ruins Emperor required the ability to rally the masses.
Rain Numinous did not wish to be bothered with Yi Yun any further, and Yi Yun didn’t care either. He continued asking, “What is the Competition of the Fey Altar Spot?”
Rain Numinous could not be bothered to explain, but since it was not a secret in the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins, she said, “In two years, the few top royalty clans in the Chaos Heavens will jointly hold a trial for the members of the royalty that tests them on every aspect! At the end of the trial, not only will one’s reputation be affected, the results will also influence the allocation of a mystic realm spots.
“All the Heaven Fey candidates for crown designate will be participating! The disciples who obtain first place would receive handsome rewards, and one of them being… the entry into the Fey Altar!
“The Fey Altar is an altar that worships the heavens in one of the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins’ forbidden grounds. Over the billions of years, the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins has had many powerful Fey choose to die in there before their natural death. The lifeblood powers that release upon their death continue lingering in the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins’ forbidden ground. If one used a mystic technique to stir the powers, especially if it was a peerless genius, they could call upon the Heavenly Tribulation on the altar!
“That Heavenly Tribulation can reach up the twelfth stage. It is the most supreme Heavenly Tribulation that can temper one’s body!
“This is a dream every prince or princess yearns for. However, the Heavenly Tribulation is too intense. If they aren’t careful, they can end up completely annihilated.
“Xiaorou has cultivated for too short a time. She is in need of such supreme Heavenly Tribulation body tempering. This is also fundamental to the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins.”
Yi Yun’s eyes lit up when Rain Numinous mentioned that.
The supreme twelve Heavenly Tribulations. He never expected such a prize!
Indeed. Heavenly Tribulations were something the Fey had to experience. It was not strange that there was such a reward.
The peerless Fey geniuses would undergo a lifeblood Heavenly Tribulation to temper their body and obtain tremendous opportunities before they cultivated to become Fey Thearchs.
Human Divine Lords could condense Divine Lord Royal Seals to enhance their strengths. But for Fey Lords, they similarly had to temper their Fey cores. The number of temperings corresponded to the number of Divine Lord Royal Seals condensed. It was difficult to tell which was better.
And under such circumstances, peerless Fey geniuses had an additional aspect of Heavenly Tribulation. It was something humans lacked!
This was also why, among the top races in the Chaos Heavens, humans were especially repressed by the Fey.
Yi Yun’s body tempering was in dire need of a Heavenly Tribulation. His Dragon Emperor bloodline had only experienced a Heavenly Tribulation once in the Sinkhole, but it was only a quasi-Heavenly Tribulation. It was artificial and was far weaker than the Heavenly Dao’s Heavenly Tribulation.
If he were to experience the twelve Heavenly Tribulations, the benefits were obvious.
However, it was impossible for the Fey to allow humans to enter their Fey altar.
Regardless, he had to help Jiang Xiaorou win that spot first. If not, there was no chance at all.
Rain Numinous said,” Young Master Lin, you are Soft Clouds Mountain Manor’s housekeeper. There are many of the Soft Clouds Mountain Manor resources which you can allocate, but the things you need will not be affordable even if you bankrupt it. As for the rest, you could apply for them from the Blood King.”
Yi Yun smiled. “Senior Rain, I did not say that all the resources are to be paid for by Soft Clouds Mountain Manor. I will also be earning large amounts of wealth in the coming days. Perhaps when the time comes, Soft Clouds Mountain Manor might not need to come up with much of it.”
Upon hearing that, Rain Numinous was left speechless. To buy that much precious items, anything less than a thousand or two thousand Chaos Crystals was insufficient. What did Yi Yun have that could allow him to earn that much?
Rain Numinous could not be bothered wasting her breath on him when she saw how confident he was.
If one was able to earn that much wealth in a short period of time, even the various Fey Thearchs in Heaven Fey City would be far inferior to them. Even the Blood King was inferior to that.
“I’ll leave you to your own devices.”
Rain Numinous walked off and left the numerous mercenaries looking at Yi Yun in apprehension.
“Take me to the Soft Clouds Mountain Manor’s storehouse,” said Yi Yun. Being in charge of the Soft Clouds Mountain Manor’s resources was a manifestation of his power as housekeeper.
“Soft Clouds Mountain Manor’s storehouse is on Marquis Bi Lin’s hand. That ring with swirling clouds…” said a mercenary.
The storehouse was brought around by the housekeeper, but an inventory check had to be made every day. Every item that entered and taken out was recorded.
Yi Yun beckoned his hand, causing the ring in Marquis Bi Lin’s hand to fly into his hand. Marquis Bi Lin was filled with hatred, but he did not dare resist. Instead, he took the initiative to wipe off the mental imprint in the ring. If Yi Yun were to wipe it off by force, it would damage his psyche severely.
“Audit the accounts!”
Yi Yun went straight to the auditing room. He knew that Marquis Bi Lin’s accounts were definitely faked! It would not surprise him if Marquis Bi Lin had siphoned off many resources while he was housekeeper of Soft Clouds Mountain Manor.
However, this was likely something Rain Numinous knew very well. It was just unknown how much he had siphoned off.
Yi Yun did not plan on using this to put Marquis Bi Lin to death since his appointment as housekeeper was a form of compensation to Consort Bi Yun.
It was not necessary to audit the accounts. All Yi Yun wanted to do was ensure that the accounts were square, that they matched the records.
The Soft Clouds Mountain Manor’s reserves were nothing impressive. All the various treasures within when converted to Chaos Crystal amounted to about fifty.
It was identical to the records. Even though Marquis Bi Lin had faked the accounts, he did not siphon off things that were clearly recorded in the books.
“Fifty Chaos Crystals. It can be used to buy a few treasured herbs, but it would not be enough to buy Fey cores of powerful Fey or Celestial Blood.”
“And to earn that many resources in a short period of time, even an Alchemy Thearch or a Godly Monarch-ranked Crystal Refinement Grandmaster would find it difficult.”
Yi Yun was pondering over the matter when a voice transmission talisman lit up in front of him.
It was sent by Jiang Xiaorou. She had informed the Treasure Fey Pagoda to spread the news that a Fey Thearch was purchasing some treasures. An ancient Fey clan had produced one of them—Golden Feather Immortal Pistil.
Yi Yun was delighted. Only he knew that to receive news this fast was probably not as simple as Jiang Xiaorou had depicted.
The Golden Feather Immortal Pistil was offered for twelve Chaos Crystals. According to Yi Yun’s understanding of market prices, it was considered cheap. Perhaps the ancient Fey clan had the intention to befriend the Blood King.
In the following days, Yi Yun took up residence in Soft Clouds Mountain Manor. In the backyard of Soft Clouds Mountain Manor, there was an even smaller yard.
When Yi Yun first entered that yard, he was hit by countless memories. The yard was identical to the Soft Clouds Mountain Manor in the Tian Yuan world.
He knew very well that this tiny area was probably Jiang Xiaorou’s final bastion of peace. When she was exhausted both in body and mind from her battles in the Chaos Heavens, she would come here to calm her mind and rest.
“Behind this is Her Highness’s residence. Her Highness had specially left such a place when Soft Clouds Mountain Manor was built. It was renovated into such a garden.”
A Fey maidservant explained as she guided Yi Yun. Being new here, although many people did not like him because of his overbearing and violent nature, they had to show him fear and respect. Now, all the maidservants in Soft Clouds Mountain Manor shuddered in fear when they saw him.
In the coming days, Jiang Xiaorou also frequently came to the yard.
In her spare time, she would have tea, play chess, and chat with Yi Yun and Lin Xintong. They led warm and calm days like mortals. It was a happy time.
“Yun’er, Xintong, try this. This tea is brewed using Fey Spirit Fruits and ten-thousand-year-old spring water from the deepest lakes and boiled with a thousand-year fire plume. It has a very unique taste.” Jiang Xiaorou personally poured the tea for Yi Yun and Lin Xintong.
Although the maidservant pretended to ignore this scene, she felt mixed emotions. Her Highness Soft Clouds had deep feelings for this brother of hers. She had been serving the manor for more than a century, but she had never seen Jiang Xiaorou appear so close to anyone. Of course, if the Blood King came, Jiang Xiaorou would naturally show respect and love, but she would not look as relaxed.
“I definitely have to taste what Sis Xiaorou extols so much,” said Yi Yun with a smile.
At this moment, a voice transmission talisman suddenly flew to Jiang Xiaorou’s side. She hesitated for a moment before her expression changed slightly.
“What is it, Sis Xiaorou?”
“I had arranged the Treasure Fey Pagoda to purchase the herbs, but the Luyuan clan which had agreed to sell us the Golden Feather Immortal Pistil has gone back on their word! They plan on participating in an auction which sells their clan’s treasures. The Golden Feather Immortal Pistil will be one of the highlights of the auction.”
“Oh?” Yi Yun pricked up his brows. “An auction?”
Over the past few days, Yi Yun gained some understanding of the Luyuan clan because of the Golden Feather Immortal Pistil. It was not a huge clan, but at its level, it was completely inadequate to privately hold an auction.
“Where’s the auction venue?” asked Yi Yun.
“Nine Tribulations Veranda,” said Jiang Xiaorou. She had a general idea what Yi Yun was suspecting. She added, “Nine Tribulations Veranda is a faction under the Luo King. The Luo King’s grandson, Jiang Yuchan, is the sixteenth prince.”
In the Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins, only acknowledged princes and princesses were ranked according to age. The others were not even qualified to be given a ranking.
The Heaven Fey Ancient Ruins had so many princes and princesses, but there were fewer than forty who actually ranked.
With Jiang Xiaorou ranked nineteenth, Jiang Yuchan had the advantage over Jiang Xiaorou in the competition of being crown designate.
The main reason was that the Luo King had greater qualifications than the Blood King!
Although the Blood King was powerful, he had returned to the Chaos Heavens for less than a thousand years. However, the Luo King had been in power for a million years!
He had three main estates under him: The Nine Tribulations Veranda, Fey Blood Plains, and a large manor garden north of the city.
Among the three, the Fey Blood Plains had the highest income.
Jiang Xiaorou said, “The Nine Tribulations Veranda auction will be held about three days from now. I’m planning on letting Store Manager Yuchi to attend…”
“Forget it. Don’t bother going!” Yi Yun said.
Since he was Soft Clouds Mountain Manor’s housekeeper, he had a general understanding of the resources her competitors had. Jiang Yuchan’s grandfather, the Luo King, was not on good terms with the Blood King. It could even be said that they had a grudge.
Back when the Blood King’s talent was nothing to brag about, his mother had died from a scheming plot. Due to his lacking strength, he could only tolerate it. Later, he became a Fey Thearch and returned for revenge. Most of the people who participated in the plot to kill his mother were killed! And among them was the Luo King’s mother, who had some involvement in the plot. However, there was insufficient evidence and the Luo King’s mother had a significant background, so the matter was left at that.
As such, it was obvious how intense the competition between Jiang Xiaorou and Jiang Yuchan was.
There was a vendetta from both generations!
Under such circumstances, wouldn’t Jiang Yuchan get someone to bid up the prices on anything Jiang Xiaorou wanted to purchase? Especially the Golden Feather Immortal Pistil. It was also very useful to him, so it would not be a loss if he managed to purchase it.
Yi Yun said, “Since the Nine Tribulations Veranda is Jiang Yuchan’s territory, it will cost us at least thirty Chaos Crystals even if we win the bidding war.”