Chapter 921: Inquiry |
Over the years, smugglers from the outside world have repeatedly trafficked goods to the Endless Sea of Sand and Demon Wind Gobi.
Behind this, there must be support from influential merchant families like the Big Merchant Alliance.
Although Meng Zhang used thunderous means to severely crack down on these smugglers, he couldn't completely eliminate them.
After all, the Endless Sea of Sand and Demon Wind Gobi are too vast, and the borders are extremely extensive. Even with strict guarding, it's impossible to prevent any loopholes.
Moreover, Taiyi Sect heavily develops the Demon Wind Gobi and must accept various cultivators from outside.
With an increasing number of cultivators coming and going, it's inevitable that some malicious individuals would sneak in.
If it weren't for the efficient work of Taiyi Sect's Secret Hall, smuggling activities would be even more rampant than they are now.
Meng Zhang knows that Taiyi Sect lacks the strength to confront the Big Merchant Alliance and others directly, so they have always focused on dealing with smugglers without conflicts.
Now, True Monarch Shang Han has taken the initiative to visit and actually proposed that Meng Zhang opens markets on Taiyi Sect's territory.
These foreign Big Merchant Families have taken advantage of everything and practically monopolized the markets in Jiuqu Province. Now they want to push the boundaries further and extend their influence to Taiyi Sect's territory.
True Monarch Shang Han seems not to have noticed Meng Zhang's displeased expression and continues to talk endlessly.
The cultivation sects and families in Jiuqu Province are closed and conservative, using outdated and inefficient management methods.
The Cultivation World is developing rapidly with various new commercial forms that are more efficient and beneficial to the Dali Dynasty.
Sects like Taiyi Sect should adopt an open attitude and generously accept influential merchant families like the Big Merchant Alliance.
A group of closed and conservative sects, even if gathered together, won't benefit each other and might even cause trouble.
Meng Zhang can't stand the nonsense that True Monarch Shang Han is saying, but since the visitor is a guest, even if an unwelcome one, he restrains the urge to drive him away and lets him ramble on.
After speaking for a long time without getting any response from Meng Zhang, True Monarch Shang Han realizes he's being ignored and loses interest.
His visit this time to persuade Meng Zhang to open Taiyi Sect's territory is a tactic of offering goodwill before resorting to force.
Although the Big Merchant Alliance is domineering, they are, after all, a faction of merchants and cannot resort to violence immediately.
Seeing that Meng Zhang remains indifferent, True Monarch Shang Han doesn't get angry or leave any harsh words; he simply takes his leave.In any case, all the necessary etiquette had been observed, and Meng Zhang had been forewarned. If Meng Zhang didn't know how to behave and something unfavorable happened in the future, he could at least defend himself in front of Governor Zhang Wei.
After True Monarch Shang Han's departure, Meng Zhang became more vigilant.
His side had just formed a small alliance and hadn't had any significant actions yet, but True Monarch Shang Han's visit was undoubtedly a warning.
It wouldn't be long before the group of foreign Big Merchant Families led by the Big Merchant Alliance would take further actions.
As for where they would strike, Meng Zhang currently had no clue.
He knew that even if he fully deployed the power of the Secret Hall to investigate, it would probably yield little significant information.
At this moment, he fervently wished that his Divination Art could be improved to deduce individuals and events at the Primordial Spirit level.
However, despite being in the mid-stage of the Primordial Spirit realm, his Divination Art remained at its previous level.
Of course, there was still a way to deduce individuals and events at the Primordial Spirit level—by consuming life essence and forcefully making the calculation.
But even a Primordial Spirit stage cultivator with two or three thousand years of lifespan couldn't withstand such depletion.
The main goal of cultivators' practice was to gain more life essence, and they couldn't casually squander it.
With no leads, Meng Zhang thought of Gu Yue Huaidie.
She was the only Diviner he knew of, and her Divination Art was not weak.
In the past, Meng Zhang didn't want to reveal his identity as a Diviner, nor did he want to trouble Gu Yue Huaidie, so he didn't disclose anything to her.
Now that Meng Zhang's strength had surpassed the entire Gu Yue Family in Great Wind City, he could handle any unexpected situation with ease.
Meng Zhang gave the order for Gu Yue Huaidie from Great Wind City to come to Taiyi Sect's mountain gate, Hundred Grass Slope, to meet him.
Gu Yue Huaidie was Meng Zhang's senior and had helped him on several occasions.
However, Meng Zhang's current status was different. Even if he didn't want to put on airs, he had to consider Taiyi Sect's image.
Facing a Gold Core cultivator from an affiliated power, he needed to display sufficient authority, at least in front of outsiders.
Upon Meng Zhang's summons, Gu Yue Huaidie didn't dare to be careless. She immediately left Great Wind City and arrived at Taiyi Sect's mountain gate.
Meng Zhang received Gu Yue Huaidie in the sect's main hall.
With patience, Meng Zhang exchanged a few pleasantries and talked about some trivial matters with her.Then Meng Zhang suddenly revealed his hand and exposed Gu Yue Huaidie's secret as a Diviner.
When her secret was exposed by Meng Zhang, Gu Yue Huaidie's face changed drastically, showing great shock.
After a while, she managed to force herself to calm down.
She explained to Meng Zhang that she didn't intend to conceal her identity, but it was a tradition among Diviners not to reveal their status casually.
As a Diviner himself, Meng Zhang knew that Gu Yue Huaidie was not lying.
Having read many records in Taiyi Sect, he didn't find specific cultivation methods for Diviners, but he learned many secrets about them.
Diviners concealed their identities not to be deliberately mysterious but out of necessity.
Once Gu Yue Huaidie's identity as a Diviner was exposed, various relatives and friends would probably seek her help for all sorts of predictions.
There might even be influential figures who she couldn't refuse, forcing her to make predictions.
Divination comes at a cost and has many limitations.
If Gu Yue Huaidie were to recklessly predict everything, she wouldn't live long.
Even Meng Zhang, with the merit of the Heavenly Dao, didn't dare to make predictions without a good reason.
Moreover, among Diviners, there is a group that follows the evil path, targeting and hunting other Diviners.
Meng Zhang reassured Gu Yue Huaidie with gentle words, stating that he had no ill intentions and wouldn't demand her to predict anything. He merely had some questions about Diviners and wanted to ask her for information.
Having known Meng Zhang for many years, Gu Yue Huaidie knew he was a trustworthy person.
She said that she would answer everything Meng Zhang wanted to know.
Given the rare opportunity to communicate with a fellow Daoist Diviner, Meng Zhang had quite a few questions, and he began to inquire gradually.
As Gu Yue Huaidie tried her best to answer Meng Zhang's questions, she noticed a clue from these queries.
She was quite certain that Meng Zhang was also a Diviner.
However, since Meng Zhang didn't explicitly state it, she pretended not to know and refrained from casually spreading this secret.
Based on Meng Zhang's behavior, she could tell he wasn't an evil path Diviner and posed no threat to her.
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