Chapter 953: Thundering Monument |
The second spoils of war that Niu Dawei attached great importance to was a broken stone monument.
The monument had been split from the upper half, and the upper part seemed to have disappeared somewhere, leaving only the lower half behind.
The monument was entwined with almost endless electric light, and faint sounds of thunder emanated from its interior.
Ordinary cultivators who glanced at the monument would feel their eyes stinging and their minds foggy after a few looks.
Niu Dawei brought this stone monument to Meng Zhang and asked him to identify it together.
It was a damaged Fourth Rank magic tool called the Thundering Monument.
An intact Thundering Monument was among the top Fourth Rank magic tools, almost comparable to a Void Cauldron.
It was not clear what kind of battle it had gone through or what powerful enemies it encountered, but it was unexpectedly broken into two.
Cultivators with high comprehension could meditate in front of the Thundering Monument and gain useful insights.
Such a treasure falling into the hands of a Gold Core cultivator couldn't unleash its full potential.
A Primordial Spirit stage cultivator studying the Thundering Monument might have a chance to comprehend the Grand Dao of Thunder.
Furthermore, if the Thundering Monument was repaired, it would become an immensely powerful and mysterious Fourth Rank magic tool.
Although Niu Dawei practiced the Grand Dao of Wind and Thunder, his Cultivation Base was still shallow, and he lacked the ability to refine and repair this magic tool.
Meng Zhang designated a restricted area within the sect's mountain gate specifically to place the Thundering Monument.
Cultivators of Gold Core stage or higher in the sect could spend sect contribution points to meditate and cultivate in front of the Thundering Monument.
Meng Zhang also found a suitable location to plant the Thundering Cyan Lotus, and he assigned someone to take care of it.
Later, he would go to True Monarch Jin Li and ask for thunderwater to regularly nourish the Thundering Cyan Lotus.
After Taiyi Sect's extermination of Thunder Gun Sect, there were still some follow-up tasks to handle.
Since Jiuqu Province became part of the Dali Dynasty's territory, it had enjoyed a long period of peace, and such a bloody extermination of a sect hadn't been seen in a long time.
Taiyi Sect's actions this time greatly deterred many local cultivation forces.Having learned from the example of Thunder Gun Sect, the various cultivation forces in the region will have to carefully consider their attitude when facing Taiyi Sect in the future.
For the local cultivation forces that have already attached themselves to external big merchant families, while it may not be a case of everyone fearing for their lives, it certainly won't be an easy situation either.
The Provincial Governor's Office will definitely not tolerate such extermination incidents occurring within its jurisdiction. Governor Zhang Wei sent a strongly-worded letter to Meng Zhang, reprimanding him severely. In the letter, he explicitly stated that such incidents must not be allowed to happen again. If Taiyi Sect continues to act recklessly and disrupt the stability of Jiuqu Province, he will not spare Meng Zhang.
Meng Zhang put on an obedient attitude and humbly accepted Governor Zhang Wei's rebuke. He even wrote an apology letter and had it delivered to the Governor's Office.
On the official side of the Dali Dynasty, the matter was raised and resolved just like that, and Taiyi Sect passed the test.
On the one hand, Thunder Gun Sect was foolish enough to provoke Taiyi Sect actively. Although Thunder Gun Sect might be quite innocent and was probably implicated by the big shot Shang Jianqing of the Grand Merchant Union, regardless of the circumstances, they made a wrong choice and had to bear the corresponding consequences.
On the other hand, Taiyi Sect's strength was growing stronger day by day and had become the leading force among the local cultivation powers. In the future, Governor Zhang Wei could rely on Taiyi Sect's power in some areas.
Cultivators are very practical beings; they wouldn't cause trouble for a powerful Primordial Spirit sect just for the sake of a small sect that was already annihilated.
Thunder Gun Sect had aligned itself with the Grand Merchant Union a long time ago. The Grand Merchant Union was quite unhappy with Thunder Gun Sect's extermination, but this incident was caused by Shang Jianqing, and the Grand Merchant Union couldn't avoid some responsibility.
Governor Zhang Wei already held Shang Jianqing accountable, secretly blaming him for causing trouble without any ability to back it up. Especially for bringing back Wen Dong True Monarch in person, he was not pleased.
At first, Governor Zhang Wei thought Shang Jianqing had some capability to dare to provoke Taiyi Sect. To avoid Meng Zhang leading his people to kill Shang Jianqing, Wen Dong True Monarch even dared to confront Meng Zhang. But this arrogant fellow couldn't even defeat the newly-ascended Primordial Spirit cultivator Niu Dawei.Wen Dong True Monarch believed that if he hadn't personally intervened and pleaded for leniency, the audacious and cunning Meng Zhang might have actually taken him down or even executed him. As a result, Wen Dong True Monarch was also very fed up with the troublemaking guys from the Grand Merchant Union.
The Provincial Governor's Office chose to lightly pass over this incident, and that was the end of it. Regardless of whether it was the awakened Shang Jianqing or the Grand Merchant Union behind him, if they wanted to cause trouble again, the Provincial Governor's Office would not agree to it.
Governor Zhang Wei was particularly impatient and warned the Grand Merchant Union to behave and stop causing trouble for the Provincial Governor's Office.
Recently, Governor Zhang Wei had a major plan that required the support of local cultivation forces. He didn't want to see another major conflict between the local cultivation forces and the outsiders of the Grand Merchant Union at this time. With the Governor personally exerting pressure, anyone would feel the pressure and have to calm down for a while.
Although Taiyi Sect received a reprimand from the Provincial Governor's Office this time, Wen Dong True Monarch fulfilled all the promised conditions without any deductions, and everything was done accordingly.
The Provincial Governor's Office procured a large amount of cultivation materials from Taiyi Sect, allowing Taiyi Sect to earn a considerable amount of spirit stones. In the surrounding areas of Jiuqu Province, there were no large spirit stone veins. Only a few small ones with limited production were available. Within Taiyi Sect's territory, there were only a few incomplete spirit stone veins with extremely low ore output.
In the Cultivation World, spirit stones were a hard currency. If a sect did not have enough spirit stones for circulation, even with a large amount of cultivation materials, there would still be various inconveniences.
The other forces within the small alliance formed by Meng Zhang were unaware of the dealings in this business. They only saw Taiyi Sect able to establish a connection with the Provincial Governor's Office and profit from the official procurement of spirit stones from the Dali Dynasty. They viewed Taiyi Sect with even greater respect and became more friendly with them.
In the past, such business was monopolized by big merchant families like the Grand Merchant Union. Taiyi Sect being able to get involved in it made everyone envy them, and they also hoped Taiyi Sect would bring them along to make a fortune.
Meng Zhang neither agreed nor refused but kept everyone hanging. As Taiyi Sect's strength continued to grow, Meng Zhang also had greater ambitions, hoping to unite the local cultivation forces and become self-sufficient.
Meng Zhang's vision was far-reaching. The Dali Dynasty was currently facing off against the Purple Yang Holy Sect on many fronts. If the Dali Dynasty couldn't withstand the pressure from the Purple Yang Holy Sect, the more capital Taiyi Sect had in hand, the more room for maneuvering they would have in the future.
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