Teng Qingshan's heart skipped a beat. This was like a timely gift in the snow. He had been anxiously hoping for more stone carvings, and just then, the Great Elder of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild mentioned they possessed six! Teng Qingshan knew well that these stone carvings were crafted by Emperor Yu himself, making each one incredibly precious. The Rising Sun Merchant Guild would never lend them out lightly.
Otherwise, why hadn't the Guild mentioned possessing any stone carvings in the last six months?
"What, Brother Teng, you don't believe it?" The Great Elder noticed Teng Qingshan hadn't spoken and asked, surprised.
"Believe it, of course, I do," Teng Qingshan chuckled. "Your Rising Sun Merchant Guild boasts a history spanning over three thousand years, with influence reaching every corner of the world, making it the most powerful guild under heaven. If even the Jiang family possesses one carving, and there are only thirty-six in total, it would be strange if your Guild had none. Having six is hardly surprising."
The Great Elder smiled.
"But what I'm wondering is," Teng Qingshan looked at the Great Elder with a smile, "these six carvings are priceless. Brother Mu, if you bring up these six, it must be for a very difficult task you need me to undertake."
"It is a bit difficult," the Great Elder nodded.
"Tell me, what must I do to borrow those six stone carvings?" Teng Qingshan asked.
Having been away from the Nine Provinces for too long, Teng Qingshan constantly worried about his distant homeland. Now that he knew the Rising Sun Merchant Guild held six carvings, he was determined to acquire them, no matter what.
"Good, straight to the point," the Great Elder laughed. "It's for my teacher; he requires your service."
"Teacher? The Cloud Dream War God?"
Teng Qingshan was greatly startled, his brow furrowing. "Brother Mu, your teacher is a War God level expert. Surely there is nothing he cannot accomplish himself. He needs me to act?" Before this, Teng Qingshan had been confident, but now he felt a twinge of apprehension. A War God level was a Void Realm expert! A Void Realm expert requesting his aid?
"Don't worry," the Great Elder quickly reassured him. "Although my teacher is a War God level expert, he cannot fly! Last time we sparred, I mentioned your avian-type demonic beast to him afterward. This time, my teacher has a task, so he sent me to ask you to bring that avian-type demonic beast along."
"Avian-type demonic beast?" Teng Qingshan was astonished. "Your Rising Sun Merchant Guild doesn't have any flying demonic beasts?"
"Under heaven, only the Tianfeng Family understands beast languages," the Great Elder shook his head. "Furthermore, flying avian-type demonic beasts are rare, let alone tamed ones."
"The Cloud Dream War God asks me to bring an avian-type demonic beast; are there any requirements regarding its strength?" Teng Qingshan inquired.
"Not really," the Great Elder chuckled. "What my teacher values is the ability of the avian beast to fly! As for strength? A peak Innate Golden Core demonic beast is of little use to my teacher."
Teng Qingshan nodded.
He resolved in his heart to take the Gale Eagle, leaving the Azure Luan behind.
"I still don't know what the Cloud Dream War God needs me to do," Teng Qingshan asked.
"I don't know the specifics either," the Great Elder replied, shaking his head. "I only know it involves searching for something within the Cloud Dream Marsh."
"The Cloud Dream Marsh?" Teng Qingshan's heart stirred.
The three great perilous lands of the Duanmu Continent were the three-thousand-mile Cloud Dream Marsh in the West Tang Region, the eight-hundred-mile Fiery Ridge in the East Hua Region, and the Tianfeng Canyon in the North Han Region! Among them, the Cloud Dream Marsh ranked first.
"That makes sense," Teng Qingshan mused. "The Cloud Dream Marsh spans three thousand miles and is vast. Even a Void Realm expert would find searching for any treasure extremely difficult. Having a flying demonic beast to survey from above would make things much easier." Teng Qingshan began to understand why the Cloud Dream War God had invited him.
But was it truly just about finding an object?
Whatever treasure the Cloud Dream War God sought, it was likely no ordinary thing.
Still, regardless of the difficulty, Teng Qingshan had to make the trip for those six stone carvings!
"Brother Mu, the day is already late. How about this: we depart first thing tomorrow morning," Teng Qingshan proposed.
"Yes, that works," Mu Wang nodded.
...
That evening at dinner, Teng Qingshan informed Li Jun that he would be traveling to the West Tang Region.
The next morning, under the watchful eyes of Li Jun and the others, Teng Qingshan and the Great Elder 'Mu Wang' mounted the Gale Eagle together and soared toward the northwest.
Around noon, the sun bathed the land, reflecting sharply off the boundless snow.
The Gale Eagle soared with its wings spread. Its back was much wider than the Azure Luan's, ample enough for Teng Qingshan and the Great Elder to sit cross-legged. On the Azure Luan's back, only one person could comfortably sit.
The Gale Eagle moved with terrifying speed, slicing through the air. The villages and houses below looked like scattered ants.
"Look, that must be the Ancient City of Cloud Dream up ahead," the Great Elder pointed into the distance.
"Oh, so that's the Ancient City of Cloud Dream?" Teng Qingshan’s eyes lit up as he gazed at the ancient settlement. The entire city emitted a dark, bluish-black hue, and its walls were lined with countless guards.
The Ancient City of Cloud Dream was an ancient city with a history stretching back over three thousand years!
From its founding to the present day, it had served as the stronghold of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild.
"And that must be the Cloud Dream Marsh," Teng Qingshan looked past the Ancient City of Cloud Dream toward the vast, endless expanse to its west—the Cloud Dream Marsh! The number one perilous land of the Duanmu Continent!
"Indeed, the three-thousand-mile Cloud Dream Marsh," the Great Elder also gazed at the Marsh, sighing in amazement. "After all these years, I haven't seen the Cloud Dream Marsh from this high before!"
The Gale Eagle flew at an altitude of several thousand zhang. Viewing the Marsh from such a height, the scenery was indeed magnificent.
"For countless ages, the Cloud Dream Marsh remains a domain of wild beasts and monsters. Dangers lurk everywhere inside. The most lethal aspect... the terrain within the Marsh constantly shifts. Even established safe paths, mapped out with human lives, become unsafe after just a year or so," the Great Elder lamented.
Teng Qingshan merely smiled upon hearing this.
Compared to the Savage Lands of the Nine Provinces, the three-thousand-mile Cloud Dream Marsh was likely still smaller!
"Have the Gale Eagle descend," the Great Elder instructed. After Teng Qingshan's introduction, he knew the avian demonic beast was named the 'Gale Eagle.'
"Little Gray."
Teng Qingshan patted the feathers on the Gale Eagle's neck. The beast immediately let out a high-pitched cry and dove downward.
...
Outside the East Gate of the Ancient City of Cloud Dream.
Teng Qingshan and the Great Elder Mu Wang walked side-by-side toward the city gate, the Gale Eagle following behind them.
"Great Elder," a carriage convoy was already waiting about a li outside the gate.
"Brother Teng, let's take the carriages," Mu Wang smiled. "You should also have the Gale Eagle board, otherwise, having a demonic beast inside the city would cause..."
Teng Qingshan smiled, patted the Gale Eagle's feathers, and pointed toward the carriages.
Although they could not communicate through language, the intelligent Gale Eagle easily understood Teng Qingshan's meaning. The two men and the avian beast entered the carriages one by one.
"Move!" the Great Elder commanded.
The convoy proceeded toward the city gate.
Upon reaching the gate, Teng Qingshan peered out the window and noticed that anyone entering or leaving had to present a special token. "Brother Mu, the guards at the gate of the Ancient City of Cloud Dream are quite strict."
"This Ancient City of Cloud Dream belongs to my Rising Sun Merchant Guild. Outsiders are not permitted entry without authorization," Mu Wang said with a smile.
"As I understand it, this Ancient City of Cloud Dream is one of the thirty-six major cities. Your Guild is truly formidable to monopolize a major city and deny entry to others," Teng Qingshan expressed his awe. Great Elder Mu Wang laughed: "This Ancient City of Cloud Dream was built by our Guild and has been exclusively ours for over three thousand years."
A merchant guild monopolizing an entire city for three millennia.
It was simply incredible.
After the convoy entered the city, it moved quickly along the main street, soon arriving outside the imposing gates of a lavish manor.
"The Ancient City of Cloud Dream covers dozens of square li. The Rising Sun City within is a city within a city, spanning several li in circumference," the Great Elder explained. "We have now entered the Rising Sun City. My teacher is also here."
Teng Qingshan marveled internally.
The conduct of the Rising Sun Merchant Guild possessed the bearing of the great sects in the Nine Provinces—the major sects there would occupy a prefecture and establish a city within a city.
"Great Elder, we have arrived," a voice called from outside.
"Let's dismount," the Great Elder smiled, leading Teng Qingshan and the Gale Eagle out of the carriage.
Inside the Rising Sun City, beautiful serving maids were visible everywhere, interspersed only occasionally by a patrol of guards.
"Brother Teng, do you know how large the military presence is in the Ancient City of Cloud Dream?" the Great Elder asked with a smile.
"One hundred thousand?" Teng Qingshan guessed.
"Two hundred thousand!" the Great Elder replied with a subtle smile, clearly proud of his Guild.
"Two hundred thousand soldiers? That's more than most established families," Teng Qingshan commented with emotion.
"The population of the Ancient City of Cloud Dream is nearly a million. Besides the two hundred thousand soldiers, ninety-nine percent of the rest of the population... are descendants of my Mu family," the Great Elder continued.
"What? The Mu Family?"
Teng Qingshan was momentarily stunned. An entire city almost entirely composed of one clan? Was that possible?
"The Rising Sun Merchant Guild..." Teng Qingshan looked at the Great Elder in surprise. "The few people I know in the Rising Sun Merchant Guild are all surnamed Mu. Could it be?"
"It seems Brother Teng knows little about my Rising Sun Merchant Guild. This isn't a secret! Within our Guild, almost all managing positions are held by members of my Mu family, and the Elders are absolutely Mu family members! This Rising Sun Merchant Guild is essentially my Mu Family Guild," the Great Elder chuckled. "I thought Brother Teng was already aware."
It truly was not a secret; the major families were all aware of it.
"Impressive," Teng Qingshan murmured.
"Ninety-nine percent of the city's population, excluding the army, is your Mu Family?" Teng Qingshan was even more astonished. His own hometown, Teng Village, only housed a little over two thousand people.
The Mu Family, however, commanded nearly eight hundred thousand!
If they included those scattered across the world, the number likely exceeded a million.
"It's not strange. My Mu family was a great clan over three thousand years ago! Generation after generation, the population has only grown! Three thousand years... think of the population accumulation?" The Great Elder was immensely proud. "My main Mu lineage has eight branches, and the collateral branches number seventy-nine! Beneath each collateral branch, there are still numerous sub-branches."
Teng Qingshan was deeply impressed by this prosperity. If only his Teng Family could achieve such flourishing growth.
"Bloodlines like the Great Yu's or the Duanmu God's were glorious for a time, but a clan like the Mu family—that's the most sustainable model for family development," Teng Qingshan reflected, beginning to form some ideas about the future development of his own Teng Village.
The two walked on, conversing.
"Brother Teng, my teacher's residence is just ahead. Wait here for a moment while I announce your arrival," the Great Elder said kindly.
"This is the Cloud Dream War God’s residence?"
Looking at the rather ordinary palace before him, Teng Qingshan felt a sudden tension settle in his chest.