Qingshui Pier is an inland river dock, conveniently situated at the junction with another major inland river within the True Spirit Domain, the Dongping River. This strategic location has led to the prosperity of Qinghe Martial City, and has rendered both the large and small docks bustling with activity.
Among them, Pingqing Dock is the largest dock in Qinghe Martial City, controlled by a subdivision of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect established here. The Qingshui Pier, which Ye Zhen was now observing, is several times smaller than Pingqing Dock, yet the traffic of cargo ships coming and going was still unending.
Despite being several times smaller, the warehouses were very numerous!
Thus, Qingshui Pier was also a treasure basin, especially for private individuals to whom it brought a colossal accumulation of wealth.
Even if it was two to three times smaller in scale than Pingqing Dock, just the daily revenue from ships entering and leaving the dock could reach tens of thousands of Low Grade Spirit Crystals, let alone the numerous large and small merchandise transactions that could easily amount to several hundred thousand Low Grade Spirit Crystals a day.
Converted to Mid-grade Spirit Crystals, that would still be several thousand a day, adding up to nearly a million Mid-grade Spirit Crystals in annual income, truly a modest-sounding but substantial treasure basin.
However, the martial artist controlling this treasure basin was a rather unknown Vein Forging Realm Sixth Stage martial artist named Zhu Zhong, with quite ordinary strength.
And yet such a martial artist had controlled Qingshui Pier for decades. Over the years, many forces had set their sights on it, including attempts by the Longevity Sect to occupy the dock, all unsuccessful.
Every time it mattered, it would receive support from Qinghe Martial City’s subdivision of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
However, on ordinary days, it did not show the slightest deference to the Sun and Moon Divine Sect’s Qinghe branch, which left many people baffled.
Ye Zhen, however, knew the reason behind this.
Because this dock was the private property of Zhu Ling, the Head of the Inner Affairs Hall of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect!
It was, in essence, Zhu Ling’s private property acquired through wielding his internal powers within the sect while also being a vital stronghold of the forces under Zhu Ling’s command.
Over half of Zhu Ling’s supporters were gathered here, with the rest naturally blended in with the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
According to Ye Zhen’s soul search memories from Hou Ba, the young girls used by Zhu Jiutian and Zhu Mingxu for cultivating their evil techniques were mostly abducted from various places within the True Spirit Domain through this dock.
Ye Zhen was now quietly observing it from the clouds in the sky, waiting for nightfall, waiting for the right moment to act.
Ye Zhen had thought many times about how to deal with Zhu Ling on the way back.
Ye Zhen’s initial thought was to pretend everything was normal and return to the Sun and Moon Divine Sect to see what scheming plots Zhu Ling would come up with next, and then turn his plans against him.
However, after consideration, Ye Zhen decided against this idea.
The deaths of Hou Ba, Ful Lang, and Yu Xian would inevitably alert Zhu Ling. Moreover, Zhu Ling, continuing to suspect Ye Zhen for Zhu Jiutian’s matters, was never going to back down, and quietly suffering a loss was certainly not in Ye Zhen’s nature.
Rather, Ye Zhen planned to fight fire with fire!
Zhu Ling’s important stronghold here was the very target of Ye Zhen’s retribution.
What needed to be done now was to wait for the right moment.
Soon, night fell, yet the dock remained brightly lit. Ye Zhen waited until midnight when Qingshui Pier finally quieted down. Observing the slowly dimming pier, Ye Zhen’s eyes gradually grew solemn.
"Little kitten, come back. We’ll return to battle after you’ve healed from your wounds!" When the time was almost right, Ye Zhen softly called the Cloud Winged Tiger King Kitten hovering amidst the cloud qi.
The kitten had fought a three-eyed Demon Wolf of Heavenly Level Lower Grade and was heavily injured, especially due to the wolfbane the Demon Wolf carried. Even after nearly half a month, the kitten’s injuries had not fully healed.
But after Ye Zhen successfully cast the Earth Primordial Divine Palm that day, and after spending a few more days to connect the third channel with heaven and earth, Ye Zhen’s cultivation finally and completely entered the Third Stage of Vein Forging Realm.
"Meow..."
The kitten meowed softly and snuggled into Ye Zhen’s arms. Almost the instant the kitten nestled into Ye Zhen’s embrace, Ye Zhen’s figure plunged towards the ground, like a falling meteor.
However, Ye Zhen did not head directly towards Qingshui Pier; such a bold and blatant invasion would be foolish and might even draw support from the Sun and Moon Divine Sect’s local subdivision, creating major trouble.
After finding a secluded spot on the ground, Ye Zhen willed his Divine Sense, and his entire person vanished into thin air instantly!
Earth Escape!
In the last half month, whenever Ye Zhen had spare time, he would attempt to study the Earth Escape Skill, and he had basically grasped this technique from the Shadowless Mountain Penetrating Beast.
Named Earth Escape, it naturally can only traverse places imbued with the Five Elements Earth; it wouldn’t work in water, fire, wood, or metal!
But that was not absolute.
For instance, many places beneath the ground contain muddy swamps moistened with water; these locations can still accommodate Earth Escape, although the travel speed would be exceedingly slow and the consumption of spiritual power would surge instantly.
Similarly, many places underground contain scattered ores embedded with metals; these areas are still passable with Earth Escape—as long as there is earth, one can traverse. The only difference lay in speed and consumption.
The only exception worthy of mention is the large tree!
The tree roots that delve deep underground, the widespread root system, are practically the bane of Ye Zhen’s Earth Escape Technique.
Twice, Ye Zhen had collided head-on into the root systems of towering trees, one time nearly suffocating within them, the other nearly knocking himself out. Ye Zhen’s experiences in researching the Earth Escape Technique had left his head with bumps, mostly the work of those massive tree roots.
Ever since those incidents, each time Ye Zhen used Earth Escape, he would first observe the terrain, remembering where the large trees were in his mind and deviating far from those zones during the escape. As for encountering desiccated roots beneath the ground, that was just Ye Zhen’s run of bad luck.
Fortunately, this time when Ye Zhen infiltrated Pingqing Dock, he didn’t have the misfortune of being knocked unconscious by leftover tree roots underground and successfully sneaked into the backyard of Pingqing Dock.
Upon entering the backyard, Ye Zhen’s Divine Sense began to attach to the Earth Spiritual Power and dispersed silently. In an instant, the entire situation in the backyard of Pingqing Dock was imprinted in Ye Zhen’s mind.
"There are nearly a hundred people in the backyard, among them only six are Martial Artists of the Vein Forging Realm, and in the most central courtyard, there should be Zhu Zhong, the steward here for Zhu Ling."
With a thought to his Divine Sense, Ye Zhen used the Earth Escape Technique to travel underground, and in just a few breaths, he arrived ten meters below the room where Zhu Zhong was located.
Perhaps because he saw no hope for a breakthrough, Zhu Zhong was quite extravagant with his Cultivation. Late into the night, he was still vigorously thrusting with a Female Martial Artist of the Spirit Transformation Realm.
This was also why there were so few female warriors among those with powerful Cultivation – many of them, before growing strong, had become servants to many powerful male Martial Artists.
Perhaps because he was too engrossed, or perhaps because the female warrior’s delicate body was too tempting, when Ye Zhen emerged silently from the ground in front of the bed, Zhu Zhong did not notice!
Because normally, no Martial Artist could sneak unnoticed within a hundred meters around him, which was the range of his Spirit Perception alert, but it did not include underneath the ground.
On the contrary, the female warrior, because of her position opposite, was the first to notice Ye Zhen in the shadows, jerking violently.
"Hmm, what’s wrong?"
Noticing something amiss, Zhu Zhong turned around subconsciously.
Thud!
Greeting him was an extremely sharp Sword Gang!
The moment he turned his head, the Sword Gang pierced directly into Zhu Zhong’s eye, and then, he gently stirred it!
Even for a Martial Artist of the Sixth Stage of Vein Forging Realm, life was extremely dangerous without any precautions and in very abrupt circumstances – vital spots were always vital spots!
Before the woman, who had become akin to a Female Slave, could scream, Ye Zhen swiftly sealed her throat, but he did not kill her, instead knocking her out directly!
Then, Ye Zhen, as if entering a land with no one around, began to search Zhu Zhong’s room. It wasn’t long before Ye Zhen found two High Grade Storage Rings.
The next moment, Ye Zhen disappeared again and in a few breaths, reappeared within another courtyard.
Perhaps due to the division of status, or perhaps to facilitate Ye Zhen’s actions, these six Vein Forging Realm Martial Artists all stayed in separate courtyards with significant gaps between them, but to Ye Zhen, this made no difference.
The Martial Artist within this courtyard was called the Bald Eagle, known as the number one ruthless man under Zhu Ling, and he was the one who mostly slaughtered the weak and elderly.
Three breaths later, the Bald Eagle, still in his sleep, stared wide-eyed with a large bloody hole on his forehead.
"This kind of death, huh, it should be letting you off easy!"
In a murmuring voice, Ye Zhen’s figure disappeared once more.
Half a quarter-hour later, Ye Zhen appeared again in Zhu Zhong’s bedroom. With a palm strike, he instantly awoke the female warrior, but she was still unable to make a sound, as Ye Zhen had sealed her mute point!
"The several stewards and deacons in this courtyard are already dead. If you want to live and not be subjected to a Soul Search by Zhu Ling, you’d better leave overnight!"
As he spoke, Ye Zhen threw down a Storage Ring, then stepped out of the room and the moment he reached the corner, his figure disappeared again.
The night at Pingqing Dock remained as quiet as ever, serene as water, except for the trembling, panicked figure of a woman making her escape.
In fact, the best choice for Ye Zhen would have been to silence the female Martial Artist directly.
However, Ye Zhen couldn’t bring himself to do that. The female Martial Artist was also a pitiable person, which is why he had enacted the scene just now. In this world of Martial Artists, not everyone is able to control their own destiny like Ye Zhen does.
Many, even though they embark on the path of Martial Arts, are still unable to govern their own destiny.
Those who can dominate their own destiny through Martial Arts are still only a very small minority.
The night always passes quickly.
As dawn just began to break, the sound of call signs rose from Pingqing Dock along with the bustle of people – those who hadn’t finished unloading continued to do so, with departures and arrivals, all in a lively scene.
However, it didn’t take long for Pingqing Dock to descend into chaos. The steward Zhu Zhong, who was always punctual, had yet to appear even as the sun climbed high.
Zhu Zhong had a firm grip on the dock’s finances, with almost every transaction of Spirit Crystals passing through his hands. Departing ships had to collect their security crystals, incoming ships had to be inspected and pay with Spirit Crystals, and those who traded goods or rented warehouses also needed to pay with Spirit Crystals and get a tally number.
A dozen steward assistants stood on the dock but could not manage the revenue or expenditure of even a single Spirit Crystal, throwing the entire dock into disarray.
Thus, some stewards worked up the courage to call upon the highly authoritative Zhu Zhong and others!
The moment they pushed open the door, they screamed shrilly!
In an instant, the entire Pingqing Dock turned into a complete mess!
Meanwhile, Ye Zhen was staring at the storage rings, which were heaped like mountains with Spirit Crystals, lost in thought! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets at Qidian’s official website (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)

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