Chapter 36: All Parties Arrive

Zhu Bao left the Hai Feng Mountain Range and flew alone toward the Lan Lin Mountain Range on the Xiyang Continent.
At the Yangxing Palace, it was actually Qu Yi who secretly instigated Zhu Bao to take on the task of visiting Zhen Nantian.
Qu Yi’s plan was to use three years to help all five of his avatars reach the lower rank of Human Soul Immortals. The most urgent task now was for him to reunite with the Fire Lord.
Undoubtedly, Zhu Bao was the perfect candidate—by having him fly to the Lan Lin Mountain Range, with the Dimensional Ball attached to him, they could cross quickly.
After Zhu Bao left the Hai Feng Mountain Range, Qu Yi appeared and handed him a Starship.
“Zhu Bao, your speed is still too slow. Claim this Starship as yours,” Qu Yi said with a faint smile.
In the Haotian Immortal Mansion, Qu Yi already possessed hundreds of thousands of Starships of lower-grade Immortal Artifact level, all stored inside the Dimensional Ball. So giving away just one didn’t cause him the slightest concern.
Zhu Bao stared at Qu Yi in surprise, still finding it hard to believe. Although this Starship wasn’t an offensive Immortal Artifact, as an auxiliary one, its price was comparable to that of Earth Immortal-level artifacts, yet Qu Yi simply gave it away.
“Thank you, master,” Zhu Bao said excitedly, immediately claiming it by shedding blood.
Qu Yi smiled faintly and said, “That’s enough. Go to the Lan Lin Mountain Range as quickly as possible.”
Zhu Bao nodded, and Qu Yi disappeared. By now, Zhu Bao also realized that Qu Yi must possess some kind of space attribute treasure capable of holding living beings.
Soon, Zhu Bao fully mastered the Starship and, piloting it, drew a golden trail in the air as he flew away at high speed.
※※※
The Fire Lord, Zhen Nantian, Lin Po, along with four disciples of the Three-Star Human Soul Immortals, arrived at the Lan Lin Mountain Range and located the site of the Yu Lin mineral deposits.
The entire mineral area covered nearly a hundred square miles, and the Yu Lin minerals were buried deep, making them difficult to extract easily.
Yu Wen Chuanpeng had discovered these Yu Lin deposits by chance—after obtaining a Jade-Searching Rat, he entered a crack in the ground and descended deep underground before finding them.
After bringing Zhen Nantian and the others to the site, the Fire Lord had no interest in immediately investigating the quantity of minerals. Instead, he had several large wooden houses built on a mountain peak covered with ancient trees.
At this point, Zhen Nantian approached the Fire Lord, puzzled.

“Fire Lord, you’ve come to this mineral-rich area but haven’t even gone down to check the amount of minerals. Instead, you want to meditate here right away. What’s the reason for that?” Zhen Nantian asked anxiously.
After all, Zhen Nantian was also the leader of the Weapon Forging Peak and was very passionate about crafting materials. He really wanted to go down and see how abundant the Yulin minerals were.
Fire Lord shrugged and smiled, saying, “Fatty, whatever needs to be done down there, I leave it to you. Whether you want to explore the minerals, hunt monsters in the Lanlin Mountains, or look for beautiful female cultivators in the vicinity, I won’t stop you. Let me make it clear—during these three years, it’s up to you. I’ll just meditate in this wooden house.”
Zhen Nantian opened his mouth slightly, looking helpless, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.
“Alright, Fire Lord, go and cultivate. I’ll take care of everything,” Zhen Nantian said helplessly, knowing he couldn’t persuade Fire Lord.
Fire Lord smiled faintly, entered the wooden house, and immediately entered a state of meditation.
※※※
On Fangyang Star, representatives from various factions were heading toward the Lanlin Mountains.
The first among them was a member of the Yuwen family—Yuwen Ningfei. After all, the headquarters of the Yuwen family was very close to the Lanlin Mountains. With Yuwen Ningfei’s high-level cultivation as a Soul Immortal, he arrived in just one day.
At that moment, Yuwen Ningfei arrived above the Yulin mineral area and saw several newly built wooden houses on a mountain peak.
He landed.
Zhen Nantian immediately came out of his wooden house, smiled at Yuwen Ningfei, and bowed, saying, “Esteemed fellow cultivator, I’m Zhen Nantian from Tongzhou Hall. Welcome to our Yulin mineral area.”
Yuwen Ningfei looked at Zhen Nantian and smiled amiably in return, saying, “Fellow cultivator Zhen Nantian, I’m Yuwen Ningfei from the Yuwen family on the Xiyang Continent.”
Zhen Nantian’s face immediately showed surprise, but he quickly calmed down and smiled, saying, “I’ve heard of the Yuwen family even when I was on Zhuyan Star. Your family is one of the three major factions on the Xiyang Continent. It’s an honor to meet you today, Brother Ningfei.”
Hearing this, Yuwen Ningfei’s calm expression instantly turned joyful.
“Fellow cultivator Zhen Nantian, I came here for two reasons: first, to get to know you, and second, to do business with Tongzhou Hall. As a crafting sect, you must need crafting materials, which our Yuwen family can provide. Likewise, our family needs some immortal weapons, which we can also have customized through Tongzhou Hall.”
Yuwen Ningfei stared at Zhen Nantian quietly, trying to figure out his true intentions.

Upon hearing this, Zhen Nantian realized that Yuwen Ningfei wasn’t going straight to the topic of the Yulin minerals and instead used an indirect approach, showing that he was someone who knew how to gauge his words. “Brother Ningfei, we from Tongzhou Hall came to Fangyang Star with the intention of forging friendships and doing business with various forces here. As one of the three major forces in the Xiyang Continent, how could we from Tongzhou Hall give up such a valuable partner?” Zhen Nantian also joked along, naturally not bringing up the matter of the Yulin minerals on his own. Sure enough, Yuwen Ningfei understood Zhen Nantian’s intention and knew that as long as he didn’t bring up the Yulin minerals first, Zhen Nantian would keep delaying the conversation. “Friend Zhen Nantian, to be honest, my main purpose in coming here is to discuss the Yulin minerals with Tongzhou Hall. Our Yuwen family has bases on several planets. If we were to sell the Yulin minerals, I believe it would benefit both of us,” Yuwen Ningfei said with a smile, keeping his eyes fixed on Zhen Nantian. Finally, he revealed his intention. Zhen Nantian laughed heartily, then stretched out his right hand and said, “Brother Ningfei, you can’t hold back any longer. Let’s not rush this. Let’s go inside and talk.” Seeing that Zhen Nantian wasn’t giving a direct answer but instead inviting him inside to rest, Yuwen Ningfei felt somewhat uncomfortable. However, he couldn’t press him directly either, so he had no choice but to enter the wooden house. The interior of the house was extremely simple, with only a table and a few wooden chairs. The two sat down. Yuwen Ningfei kept staring at Zhen Nantian, waiting for an answer. Seeing Yuwen Ningfei’s eager gaze, Zhen Nantian couldn’t help but smile and say, “Brother Ningfei, I won’t hide it from you either. Our hall master hasn’t made a decision yet about which forces to choose as business partners for Tongzhou Hall. He needs time to think carefully.” Hearing this, Yuwen Ningfei’s expression grew even more displeased. It seemed Zhen Nantian was still trying to avoid the issue. The two fell silent. After a while, Yuwen Ningfei realized that continuing like this wouldn’t work. Zhen Nantian could wait forever, but he had a mission to fulfill and couldn’t afford to wait. “Friend Zhen Nantian, our Yuwen family is located near the Lanlin Mountains. If you become business partners with us, it will definitely bring far greater benefits to Tongzhou Hall than to any other force,” Yuwen Ningfei said in a somewhat raised voice.

Zhen Nantian patted his chubby belly and said with a pained smile, “Brother Ningfei, please don’t push me. I really can’t make this decision. Besides, our Tongzhou Hall has just arrived on Fangyang Star, and we can’t offend any of the factions. So why not wait three years? Then we can all meet in person and discuss the terms. That way, we can talk about cooperation, how about that?”
Seeing that Zhen Nantian was still trying to shirk responsibility, Yuwen Ningfei felt angry and his expression turned stern, though he quickly calmed down again.
“Fellow Zhen Nantian, our clan leader has given me a strict order: the Yulin mineral deposits must include a share for our Yuwen family,” Yuwen Ningfei said firmly, looking straight at Zhen Nantian.
Zhen Nantian remained silent, smiling faintly.
At that moment, a voice came from the sky, “Yuwen family, you’re being too domineering. Tongzhou Hall is also a major force on our Zhuyan Star. Are you really going to coerce them like this?”
As soon as the voice faded, a starship landed outside the wooden house.
Zhu Bao had arrived.
The Haifeng Mountains were located in the central part of the Xiyang Continent, closer compared to Huangyuan Sect and Shixing Lake. Moreover, since Zhu Bao had been riding a starship at nearly the speed of a first-star Earth Soul Immortal, he didn’t fall far behind Yuwen Ningfei and also reached the Lanlin Mountains.
“Haha, Brother Zhu Bao, you’ve arrived too,” Zhen Nantian said immediately upon hearing Zhu Bao’s voice, rushing out of the wooden house without caring about Yuwen Ningfei’s feelings.
Yuwen Ningfei angrily flew out of the house as well, looking at Zhu Bao and sneering, “A member of the Zhu family? You’re just a mid-level Human Soul Immortal. Be more polite in your words.”
Zhu Bao puffed out his chest, staring coldly at Yuwen Ningfei and said calmly, “A member of the Yuwen family, Tongzhou Hall comes from our Zhuyan Star. By forcing Tongzhou Hall, you’re essentially forcing our Zhu family. Don’t overestimate your Yuwen family.”
The two exchanged cold glances.
“Haha, Elder Li Fan from Shixing Lake, you’ve arrived too. It’s quite interesting that we all arrived at the same time and encountered such a scene.”
Another voice came from the sky.
Soon, two figures appeared in the air—Elder Li Fan from Shixing Lake and Elder Ye Fu from Huangyuan Sect.
Li Fan and Ye Fu landed but simply smiled at Zhu Bao and Yuwen Ningfei, neither offering help nor intervening, as if they were just watching the drama unfold.
The Yuwen family was in opposition to Huangyuan Sect and Shixing Lake, so naturally, Li Fan and Ye Fu wouldn’t help Yuwen Ningfei. As for Zhu Bao, they didn’t know him, so there was no reason to assist him either.

Seeing the two of them come down together, Zhen Nantian immediately smiled, bowed, and said loudly, “If I, Zhen Nantian, am not mistaken, one of you comes from Ten-Star Lake and the other from Huang Yuanzong, right?”
Li Fan and Ye Fu smiled, nodded, and replied gently, “It’s an honor to meet you, fellow Daoist Zhen Nantian.”
Zhu Bao and Yuwen Ningfei also stopped being hostile and looked at Li Fan and Ye Fu with relaxed expressions.
Seeing that the atmosphere had finally eased, Zhen Nantian immediately said with a smile, “Everyone, it’s rare for us to gather like this. Let’s drink heartily and have a heartfelt conversation today.”
Zhu Bao, Yuwen Ningfei, Li Fan, and Ye Fu all showed smiles and followed Zhen Nantian into the wooden house.