Chapter 24: Development of Power

On Peak Juehuo, in the Listening to the Wind Residence.
Half a year after emerging from his cultivation space, Fire Lord had remained in his Listening to the Wind Residence, working on various array problems sent by Zhen Nantian.
The power of immortal artifacts was directly related to the arrays formed during their creation.
Among the artifact-making tasks assigned to Zhen Nantian, some clients demanded peculiar capabilities for their immortal artifacts.
“The sword blade emits a glow; it suddenly lifts upward before descending, creating a wave-like motion.”
“When the spear shakes, the immortal essence can manifest ten spear shadows, producing an illusionary scene.”
“The Red Cloud Ring, when thrown, forms countless rings that assemble into a pointed shape to pierce through bodies.”
“The Blue Essence Knife, once released, transforms into a thousand small flying knives—those on the outside form a circle, while those in the center gather into a knife array.”
…
These strange demands required embedding different arrays within immortal artifacts, and integrating these arrays together posed significant challenges.
Yet, none of these array problems posed any difficulty to Fire Lord. Within half a year, he had solved them all.
Upon receiving Fire Lord’s message through his immortal consciousness, Zhen Nantian immediately flew over, overjoyed.
“Haha, Fire Lord, I’m here!” Zhen Nantian exclaimed cheerfully as he rushed in.
Fire Lord sent three jade slips his way and said indifferently, “Fatty, all the arrays are in these jade slips. Arrange them as you see fit.”
Zhen Nantian took the jade slips and scanned them with his immortal consciousness. He found that Fire Lord had indeed solved all the array problems. Surprised, yet also filled with joy, his big belly trembled with his laughter.
“Fire Lord, you’re truly powerful. It was worth it to bring you here despite my boldness,” Zhen Nantian said happily.
Thinking back to when he had competed with the leaders of other peaks at Chuqi Pavilion to get Fire Lord, Zhen Nantian felt extremely proud.
Fire Lord merely smiled faintly and then said, “Fatty, you’ve already shared the array pre-setting method with the other peak leaders, right? Well, I think it’s time to invite the Hall Master to hold a meeting to discuss the future development of our Tongzhou Hall.”
As long as all eighteen artifact-making peaks of Tongzhou Hall mastered the array pre-setting method, Fire Lord was confident that they could quickly produce immortal artifacts at the Human Soul Immortal level on a large scale. Therefore, Tongzhou Hall could no longer rely solely on the artifact-making tasks on Zhu Yan Star; it needed to expand its influence to other planets as well.
Upon hearing this, Zhen Nantian’s joyful expression calmed down. He stared at Fire Lord in silence before understanding his plans.

“Fire Lord, you truly think far ahead. I’ll go contact the other peak masters and seek their opinions to decide whether we should disturb the Hall Master,” said Zhen Nantian calmly.

As the Hall Master and the only Earth Immortal in Tongzhou Hall, Yun Zhouzi had been cultivating constantly, so he couldn’t be disturbed casually. Naturally, Zhen Nantian didn’t dare to give an immediate reply to the Fire Lord either; he needed to consult with the other peak masters before making a decision.

The Fire Lord nodded.

※※※

At the main peak of Tongzhou Hall, in the cave where the cultivation space was located, all eighteen peak masters from the Weapon Forging Peaks had gathered.

After communicating with the Fire Lord, Zhen Nantian went to each of the Weapon Forging Peaks to discuss the matter with the peak masters. Together, they decided to come to this cave to decide whether to disturb Hall Master Yun Zhouzi.

The eighteen peak masters sat in two rows, facing each other on chairs.

“Everyone, you’re already familiar with the Array Pre-setting Method and have practiced it. Undoubtedly, in the future, Tongzhou Hall’s task of crafting weapons will become increasingly demanding. One Zhu Yan Planet is no longer enough to satisfy our needs, so we must expand our influence to other planets.”

Zhen Nantian spoke first.

“I have no objection to expanding Tongzhou Hall’s influence to other planets, but how can we avoid the power of the Zhu family? They already have strongholds on four nearby planets. If we go there, how can we avoid conflicts with them?” asked a thin-looking peak master.

“I also agree that we should expand Tongzhou Hall’s influence to other planets, but we don’t have many disciples right now. Who should we send to establish strongholds there?” asked a peak master with a weathered appearance, sounding somewhat melancholic.

“Tongzhou Hall must grow stronger, otherwise we’ll face pressure from the Zhu family in the future. Since our strength is still weak, if we want to establish strongholds on other planets, we can join forces with Chen Dan Pavilion to do so,” said a peak master who exuded calmness.

At this moment, Leng Gu, the strongest among the peak masters, nodded repeatedly.

“Good. It seems all of you are willing to expand Tongzhou Hall’s influence to other planets. Then we can reach a consensus at this meeting of peak masters. The next step is to go and disturb the Hall Master, asking him to take charge and issue orders,” said Leng Gu calmly.

The peak masters nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, a graceful voice rang out in the cave: “I’m coming.”

When the noise ceased, a middle-aged man with an ethereal appearance appeared outside the cave. Dressed in a purple-red robe, he strode forward with confidence, smiling as he glanced at the eighteen peak leaders.
The man was the head of the Tongzhou Hall—Yun Zhouzi.
Yun Zhouzi took out a dragonbone chair from his space ring, sat down gently, and glanced at the eighteen peak leaders.
“I heard everything you discussed. It’s certain that the Tongzhou Hall will expand its influence to other planets in the future. That’s why I sent you this message and asked Juehuo Peak to take on the task of crafting the Human Soul Immortal artifacts. I’ve long known about the Array Pre-setting Method—it’s an opportunity given to us by the Fire Lord. The more efficiently we can craft immortal artifacts, the more attention we’ll draw. Even if the Zhu family is powerful, they’ll hesitate to target us. However, we can’t rely on luck for the survival of the Tongzhou Hall; we must proactively build our strength.”
Yun Zhouzi spoke these words lightly but firmly.
Under the pressure of this Earth Immortal powerhouse, the eighteen peak leaders all looked solemn. After listening, they nodded in agreement.
“Go all out in recruiting new disciples. Bring in any potential Human Immortals. Use all our resources to train them thoroughly.”
“Zhen Nantian, ask the Fire Lord to quickly develop the Array Pre-setting Method at the Human Soul Immortal level. With this crafting technique, the Tongzhou Hall’s strength will grow rapidly, attracting the attention of major forces.”
“Each of you, find potential disciples and hand them over to me. I’ll send them to various planets to strengthen our Hall’s power.”
In quick succession, Yun Zhouzi issued three orders.
“Yes, Hall Master,” the eighteen peak leaders replied immediately.
Yun Zhouzi nodded and then disappeared suddenly.
The eighteen peak leaders stared at each other in shock, amazed by the Hall Master’s ability to appear and vanish so abruptly. An Earth Immortal powerhouse was truly terrifying—against Human Immortals, they could kill at will.
After that, the eighteen peak leaders dispersed to handle various tasks.
※※※
The Zhu Family.
Zhu Bao emerged from his cultivation space and returned to his residence, the Security Pavilion. Before he could enter, Zhu Ping and Zhu Ding flew over immediately.
“Brother Bao, you came at just the right time. There’s a family meeting, and you need to attend too,” Zhu Ping called out happily.

It turned out that during these three years, the Zhu family had developed smoothly on the four planets. After establishing their own bases, they expanded them to allow more of their members to operate on those planets. This time, Zhu Han, the head of the Zhu family, gathered all the key members to hold a meeting and discuss the situation on each planet. Upon hearing this, Zhu Bao stopped walking toward the door, turned around, and smiled at Zhu Ping and Zhu Ding. “Alright, let’s go to the meeting,” Zhu Bao said with a smile. Immediately, the three of them headed to the Zhu family’s council hall, Zhu Xing Hall. All fifty core members of the Zhu family’s inner court were present at this gathering. After arriving at Zhu Xing Hall, Zhu Bao and the others found that everyone else had already arrived; they were the last to arrive, so they nodded in apology before taking their seats at the back. Although Zhu Bao was now a mid-level Human Soul Immortal, he was still the weakest among the fifty. Therefore, Zhu Bao, Zhu Ping, and Zhu Ding sat obediently at the back. Head Zhu Han was tall, robust, and exuded an air of authority, truly embodying the dignity of a leader of a large family. He glanced at everyone and said with a calm smile, “Everyone, our Zhu family has established bases on Jubi Star, Fangyang Star, Anyang Star, and Xiulei Star, and they are now stable. Now, we need to send some members from the inner court to these four planets to search for minerals, special products, medicinal herbs, and other resources to sell on Zhu Yan Star. Or, we can sell items from Zhu Yan Star to these four planets.” Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood that the Zhu family was about to engage in interplanetary trade. In the immortal realm, many powerful factions grew stronger by transporting various goods to different planets through interplanetary trade, earning vast wealth in the process. After hearing Zhu Han’s words, the members of the Zhu family’s inner court smiled and nodded, waiting for him to continue. “Out of these fifty people in our inner court, I plan to send forty of them, divided into ten groups of four, with each group responsible for one planet,” Zhu Han said calmly. The fifty people were surprised but did not argue and continued to listen. “Since our Zhu family has just stabilized on these four planets and wants to expand its influence, we will inevitably face attacks from the factions there. Therefore, if we truly want to grow stronger, we must rely on experts like you, the Human Soul Immortals. I hope everyone will prioritize the prosperity of the family and work together hard,” Zhu Han said with a smile.

“Chieftain, we understand,” replied the fifty people in the inner courtyard together.
Suddenly, a light voice came through: “Any group that fails to maintain the planet under its responsibility and strengthen the power of our Zhu family must commit suicide as atonement.”
“Ah… Yes! Ancestor!”
Suddenly, the fifty-one people in Zhu Xing Hall, including the chieftain, stood up and replied in unison.
Zhu Li, the ancestor of the Zhu family and their protector, a powerful Earth Immortal, spoke up.