Ruins of the past

A formal battle between two powerful Taoists has not happened for many years.

In an instant, word of this battle spread throughout Tianqu Mansion, and then slowly spread to the entire Lingzhou, and even to several other surrounding states.

The feud between Huang Tiandao and Chu Qiguang was also uncovered and spread again.

Some people say that Huang Tiandao made a grudge because he suffered heavy losses when he bought the stocks of the Qingyang Chamber of Commerce.

Some say it was because Chu Qiguang took away the Holy Lady of Huangtian Dao and tortured her day and night after she returned.

It is also said that Chu Qiguang defrauded Huangtian Dao of his money, so Huangtian Dao always regarded him as his enemy.

All kinds of opinions were rampant, and gradually they became an uproar in Lingzhou, where the Yunyang Chamber of Commerce was located, and in Yongzhou, where the Huangtian Dao was located.

Even the stocks of Qingyang Chamber of Commerce and Huangtian Dao experienced fluctuations.

After all, individual strength has been crucial in this world since ancient times.

Nowadays, from the martial arts department where the imperial court selects talents, to the villagers who fight in the village, all are based on whether they know martial arts and whose martial arts is more powerful.

This kind of worship of individual power is gradually and subtly planted in people's hearts after thousands of years of cultivation history, after events where strong men changed history, and strong men affected people's lives.

This subtle influence also makes the battle between the top experts extremely influential.

After Chu Qiguang introduced the methods of the stock market, the confrontation between the powerful practitioners has become more and more clear in numerical changes, that is, the rise and fall of stock prices.

In the face of Zhang Xinhui's invitation to fight, the Yunyang Chamber of Commerce naturally cannot sit still and wait for death.

The major shareholders soon met together to discuss the next countermeasures.

The fat Prince Hui patted the table and said with some annoyance: "Zhang Xinhui is clearly bullying Mr. Chu, who has recently become a Martial God, and wants to use his name as a stepping stone."

Another shareholder said sadly: "Can't we let the imperial court send a large army to destroy this Emperor of Heaven?"

Someone shook his head: "It's difficult, Huangtian Dao has a deep foundation in Yongzhou, and I heard that the Southeast just lost the battle, how can it be possible to fight Huangtian Dao again."

Zhong Shan'e on the side did not speak, but he knew that this person was right.

Today's Han Dynasty court is no longer as powerful as it used to be.

The Eagle Clan in the Northeast, the Wolf Clan in the Northwest, and the complex situation in the Southeast... all involve the power of this behemoth.

Although Huangtian Dao was defined as a cult by the imperial court, it has developed deep roots in Yongzhou over the years.

Especially in recent years, Yongzhou has experienced successive droughts, leaving only ten houses empty, resulting in a huge number of refugees.

Relying on the act of donating porridge, Huangtiandao quickly turned a large number of refugees into followers of Huangtiandao.

In the view of the Demon Suppressor, such an action is gathering a massive amount of faith power.

Then the believers have to rely on the Emperor of Heaven to make clouds and rain so that they can farm.

It is necessary to pray for talisman water to cure diseases.

These two things alone are enough for a large number of common people and even dignitaries to join Huangtian Dao.

Although ordinary people also have to pay a large amount of donations after becoming followers of Huangtian Dao, they can at least survive.

In Yongzhou today, Huangtian Dao's words are often even more useful than the government.

This is already a structural collapse of rule and a collapse of faith.

And even if a lot of effort was spent to clear out the Huangtian Dao, continuing to maintain the rule of Yongzhou and providing relief to the refugees would be a huge burden for the court, and there was simply not that much money.

It was precisely because of knowing the current complicated situation in Yongzhou that the imperial court did not take action against Yongzhou, but only tried its best to limit the expansion of Huangtian Dao.

What's more, according to Zhong Shan'e's knowledge, in addition to Zhang Xinhui, Huangtian Dao also had an immortal who entered the Tao more than 20 years ago.

Although there has been no news from the other party for more than twenty years, it is difficult to say whether he is still alive or not.

Zhong Shan'e frowned and thought: '...Now is definitely not the time to start a war with Huangtian Dao. ’

The shareholders discussed and argued about it, but they could never come up with a solution.

Finally, Zhong Shan'e made the final decision: "Chu Qiguang should be back soon. When he comes back, let's see what countermeasures he has."

Everyone present was very convinced of Chu Qiguang's methods of running the chamber of commerce and manipulating stocks, and they nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Zhong Shan'e said: "...If it really doesn't work, at worst I can fight Zhang Xinhui for Chu Qiguang."

…

Outside Tianqu Mansion City.

Chen Gang drove the carriage, while Zhou Yujiao and Juno sat in the carriage.

Juno traveled in the Central Plains for many years in order to find clues to the "Star Book".

She remembered that the last time she came to Lingzhou was seven or eight years ago.

Now that he is revisiting his old place, traveling from Jingzhou to Lingzhou, Juno can feel something different.

There are more and more greens on both sides of the road.

Numerous ditches crisscrossed the farmland.

There are more and more busy farmers in the fields.

Looking at the endless wheat fields gives people in this world a sense of security.

Especially after entering Lingzhou, Juno found that many of the people farming here were strong and energetic, not at all as thin as the people in Jingzhou.

What surprised her even more was that the number of refugees here was very small, and she hardly encountered them.

Juno asked curiously: "The people in Lingzhou seem to be living better than those in Jingzhou?"

Zhou Yujiao smiled proudly and said: "That's not true! We don't have that many people begging for food here! My brother's Yunyang Chamber of Commerce leads everyone to farm..."

It has been almost a year since the Yunyang Chamber of Commerce was established.

As the Chamber of Commerce rented and purchased land in Quanling Prefecture, a large amount of land was handed over to the Chamber of Commerce for management.

Under Chu Qiguang's will, the Chamber of Commerce handed over these lands to a large number of refugees who had been cultivated by the Heavenly Demon Foundation Building Technique.

Li Jian, the elixir lecturer that Chu Qiguang hired from the Zhenmo Division, taught them new farming methods and more effective fertilizers.

Now, the first batch of grain cultivated by the Chamber of Commerce on a large scale last year has already been harvested.

With better workers and chemical fertilizers, the yield of grain per acre has more than doubled.

Not only did it stabilize the increase in food prices caused by the change from wheat to cotton, it even exported part of it to Jiubian and Jingzhou, alleviating some of the food shortages.

This year, with the increase in cultivated land area and Li Jian's adjustments to technology and fertilizer ratio, grain output will inevitably continue to grow.

Next, the three of them drove a carriage and entered Tianqu Mansion. As for Qiao Zhi, he had already rushed to Yaoyin Village.

As they walked along the street behind the city gate, they saw various bun shops, teahouses, taverns, pharmacies, and clothing and shoe shops popping up on both sides of the street.

Although the quality of the stores does not seem high, the number of stores one after another surprised Juno.

At this moment, the roar of the crowd was heard in the distance.

I saw a large group of people in coarse work clothes turning into a crowd, coming together, as if they were pouring out in an endless stream.

They passed various shops on the street. Some bought steamed buns to take home, some went to teahouses and pubs in twos and threes, and some tried on clothes and shoes in the shops...

Chen Gang explained: "This should be a break for the factory workers."

But he was also a little shocked. The number of workers in front of him seemed to be much more than before they left.

In the past year, as the textile factory of the Qingyang Chamber of Commerce has continued to expand, more and more farmers have chosen to work in the city.

Because in the eyes of many farmers, working in a factory is easier and more profitable than their original farm work.

As the urban population grew, merchants gradually opened stores to meet the needs of these workers. Some were opened and some were closed throughout the year, gradually forming what they are today.

In addition to aggravating the flow of money, the growth of the population has also brought more security problems to Tianqu Mansion. The continuous expansion of textile factories has also led to pollution problems. The top leaders of the Chamber of Commerce have begun to consider plans to move the textile factories outside the city. .

In addition, the shareholders and shopkeepers of the chamber of commerce want the workers to work more overtime and do more jobs, while the workers want to work less and get more money.

If it weren't for Chu Qiguang's prestige, the gentry and wealthy families would probably be able to work seven or eight hours a day for one person, and there would even be more bloody oppression.

But this approach has never been Chu Qiguang's goal. In comparison, he prefers sustainable development, flowing wealth, and using wealth to change the world, rather than just making money.

Of course, Juno and others cannot see these contradictions hidden under the surface.

Looking at the surging crowd, Juno just thought in his mind: "I have seen the workshops there in the southeast, and they don't seem to have such a large number of workers. In addition to practicing martial arts, Chu Qiguang is also very good at business?"

As soon as they arrived at the courtyard where Chu Qiguang lived in Tianqufu City, Wang Cailiang received the news and rushed over.

Juno rested in another villa.

As soon as Wang Cailiang saw Chen Gang and Zhou Yujiao, he asked:

"Brother Chu? Isn't he back yet?"

Then Zhou Yujiao and the others listened to Wang Cailiang tell about Zhang Xinhui's appointment with Chu Qiguang.

Chen Gang said: "The leader of Huangtian Dao? I have heard of this man. He once presided over the ritual of praying for rain in Yongzhou. I heard that it rained heavily for three days in one county."

Zhou Yujiao recalled the scene of Chu Qiguang fighting in the Buddhist world, and said confidently: "It's okay. Although my brother is fierce and cunning, and likes to deceive and deceive, he is a good fighter, and he will definitely defeat Zhang Xinhui. ."

…

In a manor outside the capital.

Sword Saint Ma Yi laughed: "Zhang Xinhui actually asked Chu Qiguang to fight?"

Shen Guangqi, who had sparred with Chu Qiguang on the side, lowered his head and snorted: "Do you really think that we, the martial gods, will be easy to bully? I think this Xinhui is going to fall into trouble."

Although Shen Guangqi dislikes Chu Qiguang, there are also conflicts between Tianxing Division and Demon-Suppressing Division.

But facing the enemy of a cult like Huang Tiandao, they still subconsciously share the same hatred.

Jiang Longyu, who was practicing on the side, twitched his ears and silently added the name 'Zhang Xinhui' to his list of future challenges.

Sword Saint Ma Yi said: "How about we go take a look?"

Shen Guangqi glanced at him and said: "Is northern martial arts very idle? Do you still have this skill?"

Ma Yi smiled and said, "I'm just taking a break from my busy schedule."

"I have discussed it with the people in the school and plan to exchange dharma with Chu Qiguang and study together. Do you want to come?"

When Chu Qiguang met with the powerful Taoists in the capital before, he released the news that he wanted to exchange dharma.

Immortals who have entered Taoism are not very interested. After all, Taoism and martial arts are very different, and "Sumishan King Sutra" has little appeal to them.

However, several Taoist martial gods became interested. Especially after Chu Qiguang showed his strength in the battle in the Buddhist world and transformed into a giant, they became even more interested in the genuine "Sumishan King Sutra".

After all, all martial arts are extremely fast when entering Taoist martial arts, and the essence of martial arts is mostly the same.

Just observing other martial arts methods is not too dangerous, and with the qualifications of a martial god, you can always gain something from observing them.

…

Chaoyao Mountain.

A wet figure was climbing up from the river.

When this figure raised his head, he could see the green face and fangs, and his eyes were full of fierceness. He was not a good person at first glance.

‘Water ghost, you’re the one who’s been interrupting my studies these days. ’

Chu Qiguang walked out of the dense forest, looked at the water ghost in front of him and said.

Ever since he began to comprehend "The Record of Ten Thousand Ghosts", Chu Qiguang could often see spots of light floating in front of his eyes from time to time.

He knew that this was the remaining spirit after death, but as long as it was not corrupted by demons, it would not turn into a ghost.

These spirits are floating around, and eventually they will gradually dissipate between heaven and earth, and there is no need to worry about them at all.

But the water ghost in front of him was different. He seemed to have been attracted to Chu Qiguang these days and harassed him every night, preventing him from studying well with Lin Lan.

Chu Qiguang used his Martial God-level Qi and blood to drive away the opponent several times in a row, but was unable to kill him.

However, after some searching, he found the location where the other party appeared.

"Your bones are here, right?"

Water ghosts are ghosts that fall into the water and drown. They are not very powerful, and they are among the targets that can be saved in the first chapter of "The Record of Ten Thousand Ghosts".

They will always turn into various things that others care about, luring the target into falling into the water.

At this moment, the water ghost smiled slightly, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a big, white piece of silver.

Chu Qiguang sneered: "You really don't have any wisdom if you change in front of me."

But as a Taoist martial god, he is naturally not afraid of a mere water ghost. Chu Qiguang moved and grabbed the silver in front of him.

Immediately afterwards, he felt an incomparable attraction coming from Yinzi, and he was directly drawn into the river.

‘The suction is so strong that even I can’t stand still. Is this the power of ghosts? ’

Two firelights spurted out from Chu Qiguang's eyes, illuminating the dim river water extremely brightly.

I saw that the white silver had turned into a white skeleton that had been soaked for many years. It was tightly wrapped around his body, as if it was trying to pull him off toward the bottom of the river.

Chu Qiguang discovered that this sinking was almost irreversible, and he couldn't get up even with his Martial God power.

'Then give the whole river...'

Chu Qiguang shouted loudly, and a sound wave visible to the naked eye came from his mouth, as if an explosion was caused.

At the same time, surging flames spurted out from every pore of his body, overturning the entire river like a volcanic eruption.

Amidst the rumbling explosions, streaks of fire shot into the sky.

The river water in front of me turned into a downpour and fell towards the surrounding woods. Before it even got close to the ground, it was evaporated into white gas by the rolling heat wave.

As the river water disappeared, the white bones that were still entangled with Chu Qiguang just now seemed to be stunned for a moment, losing the strange force of being dragged downwards.

Chu Qiguang grabbed Bai Gu's head, and the flame energy poured out from his palm. In the blink of an eye, Bai Gu was burning.

‘This should be the body of the water ghost, right? ’

While burning the opponent's bones, Chu Qiguang recited a string of salvation mantras in his mouth.

As the mantra sounded, the bones gradually turned into ashes, and the water ghost was completely saved.

At the same time, Chu Qiguang felt a cold force pouring into his brain, and then disappeared.

He guessed that it should be the so-called demonic power of ghosts, that is, ghost power.

Fragmented memories emerged from his mind, which were the memories of the water ghost before him.

However, Chu Qiguang scanned it briefly and chose to use the Ring of Foolishness to flow out these memories.

‘With a few more water ghosts like this, I should be able to meet the requirements of the second chapter. ’

After returning to Chaoyao Mountain, a lecturer immediately came over in a hurry and informed Chu Qi about the battle between Emperor Guang and Tiandao. After all, Chaoyao Mountain is also in Lingzhou, and many people have come to the mountain to buy stocks in the past year.