Heaven's Devourer Chapter 361

Ji Qingan had reached the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea's fifth tier 30 years ago and was at around the same level as a Heaven sword rank disciple from the Shushan Immortal Sect. In the Shangyuan Dao Sect, he was known as a friar that possessed the Cloud Sea rank.
There were only a few Cloud Sea rank friars in the Shangyuan Dao Sect that concerned themselves with matters outside of the sect. Ji Qingan had some strong connections back at the sect, so he was fortunate enough to be in charge of this Wind Flower Snow Moon Palace within Yan Huang Imperial City. There was an abundance of profits to be made in this place, and merely after 20 years or so, even Ji Qingan himself felt like he was drowning in riches.
Ji Qingan had no attention to give up his position to anyone else for the time being. He was only around 200 years old, and there was still room for him to progress in the future.
He was involved in many businesses in Yan Huang Imperial City. Other than the cooperative efforts between Yan Huang Imperial City and the Shangyuan Dao Sect, he also maintained good relations with many others in Yan Huang Imperial City in order to ensure that no one would cause trouble in the Wind Flower Snow Moon Palace.
Today, Ji Qingan had invited a few of his old friends to the best seats in the betting area of the Wind Flower Snow Moon Palace. They were savoring the best tea produced in the southern islands that had four spiritual marks. The fragrance of this tea assailed one's nostrils, and it was both smooth and sweet. As one sipped on it, it would flow straight through their entire body, and they would feel as though they had swallowed a mouthful of immortal qi. Such pleasure felt as if it was only attainable by immortals.
Ordinary cultivators at a level preceding Jindan would most likely be unable to withstand the spiritual effects of drinking such a tea. It was entirely possible that it would ruin their body and cause them to perish.
Within Yan Huang Imperial City, Ji Qingan was a popular figure. His personality was outspoken and straightforward, he had made a wide range of friends, and he was kind and generous as well. Additionally, the Shangyuan Dao Sect had made quite a significant amount of foreign investment into many of the major businesses in Yan Huang Imperial City, so this made them a force to be reckoned with. Ordinary commoners would not dare to offend him.
However, everyone within Yan Huang Imperial City knew that the most important thing that made Ji Qingan someone you could not offend was that he was close friends with a chiliarch in the Yan Huang Immortal Army.
In Yan Huang Imperial City, the strongest entity was the Yan Huang Immortal Army troops within the inner city. These troops were run just like an actual military - with a cold fist and strict regulations. A centurion would be in charge of 100 or so Yan Huang Immortal Army soldiers. They would have to be at least at the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm to reach this rank.
A chiliarch would be in charge of 10 hundred-man commanders and 1,000 Yan Huang Immortal Army soldiers by extension. Their prowess was equivalent to a Heaven sword rank disciple of Shushan or a Cloud Sea rank disciple of the Shangyuan Dao Sect. Some were even stronger than that.
The Yan Huang Immortal Army had close to 200 thousand-man commanders. They were all legends within Yan Huang Imperial City, and many friars wanted to do business in Yan Huang Imperial City in order to curry their favor.
Right now, the one having tea with Ji Qingan was a chiliarch of the Yan Huang Immortal Army known as Jiang Xuechuan. He was a legend of Yan Huang Imperial City as well, and had apparently contributed a great deal to the Yan Huang Immortal Army troops. His personality was generous and straightforward too, and he had a strong sense of loyalty to his brothers.
Within this room in the Wind Flower Snow Moon Palace, Ji Qingan wore a set of oriental garments. This made him look nothing like a cultivator; it made him resemble a wealthy businessman instead. Even though he was middle-aged, he was still extremely handsome and had snow-white skin. There was a charming air of maturity about him.
The person beside him wore a dense set of black and gold armor. His black hair was bundled up and he seemed slightly younger than Ji Qingan. His countenance was as sharp and clear as knives and he had a steely gaze. Along with his large body frame, an look of ample battle experience as a general reflected in his eyes. He had a low and thick voice, with an unyielding demeanor that made others find it difficult to refute him. This was a chiliarch of Yan Huang Imperial City - Jiang Xuechuan.
"Brother Jiang, please savor some tea." Ji Qingan smiled as he poured some tea for Jiang Xuechuan.
Jiang Xuechuan gave a slight nod.
Ji Qingan poured another out another cup as he addressed another person beside Jiang Xuechuan. "Commander Luo, you should savor some too."
Within this room were three people in total. Other than Jiang Xuechuan and Ji Qingan, there was a third person. This person wore black and gold armor, with black sabatons and a helmet to go with it. This helmet shrouded almost the entirety of this person's face, and all that could be seen were two dark blue eyes. These eyes were as deep a blue as the vast sea and had a profound and isolated air to them. Even though the person had a full set of armor equipped, one could infer from her elegant figure that this was probably a female.
In fact, although Jiang Xuechuan and this Commander Luo were both decked out in Yan Huang Immortal Armor, there were some differences between them. Their suits of armor were also distinct from the one that had been worn by Huang Yanwu. As a whole, it was obvious that Jiang Xuechuan's Yan Huang Immortal Armor was of the highest level among them. There were hundreds of spirit designs concealed on it, and it had terrifyingly strong defensive capabilities.
From their differences in armor, one could infer that this Commander Luo was probably a centurion.
After Ji Qingan finished speaking, Commander Luo did not move at all, but Jiang Xuechuan gave a smile and replied, "She doesn't drink tea."
"How about alcohol? Here I have..."
Jiang Xuechuan smiled and said, "She also does not drink alcohol."
Ji Qingan immediately nodded and smiled as he replied, "Then please help yourself, Commander Luo."
He exchanged glances with Jiang Xuechuan. From Jiang Xuechuan's knowing look, he quickly understood that while this Commander Luo was a centurion and was Jiang Xuechuan's subordinate, it seemed like Jiang Xuechuan was trying to court her. Today, he had probably brought her over to have some fun.
Despite this, it seemed like this was a woman that was difficult to please. Even though her expressions could not be seen, she seemed to be rather young, and her movements, manner of being, and temperament all seemed to be the best of the best.
Jiang Xuechuan lowered his head to exchange a few words with Commander Luo. Commander Luo merely sighed and did not reply. Jiang Xuechuan found himself losing interest, so he started to discuss other matters with Ji Qingan. He had just placed a few bets, so at this moment, quite a sum of Golden Essence Pills was being delivered to him. Jiang Xuechuan was slightly surprised. He asked, "I just placed my bets on that young man. He's won again?"
"Yes."
Ji Qingan had also noticed Wu Yu, who remained on the battle platform. He furrowed his brow and commented, "This young fellow seems to be acting. He's going to fight again, and if he wins this time, he'll take home 20,000 Golden Essence Pills."
"That's right, he's suppressing his strength. This person's corporeal body seems to be quite terrifying. It's quite close to that of a demon!"
The truth was that Jiang Xuechuan had only noticed Wu Yu because Commander Luo beside him was continuously starting at him.
"He's probably superior to a demon." Ji Qingan waved his hand to an attendant nearby and instructed, "Go investigate this young man fully. Tell me all he has done within the last 50 years, and get me information on his parents and masters as well. Do a complete investigation for me."
"Yes." The beautiful attendants hurriedly left. At this moment, it was time for another round of wagers down below. As Jiang Xuechuan laughed, Commander Luo suddenly said, "I'm betting 50 Inner Sea Essence Pills on him to win."
Ji Qingan was taken aback. While 50 Inner Sea Essence Pills was not a large amount to him, it seemed rather excessive for a battle of this pedigree. This was 50,000 Golden Essence Pills in one go after all. He laughed as he replied, "I never expected Commander Luo's voice to be such a delight to the ears. You should speak more often."
Her voice was indeed very moving. It was as calm as a still river and sounded like it was a melody that echoed over from an empty valley. While it was as gentle as water, there was still an air of tenacity behind it. Just from her voice, one could tell that there was something about this woman that was more special than any other centurion. She was alluring, yet it was a pity that her face could not be seen.
If she was not an extraordinary beauty, why else did she feel the need to hide her face?
"She's only just joined the Yan Huang Immortal Army, so she still feels like an outsider. Brother Ji, please don't feel offended," Jiang Xuechuan explained.
At this moment, the battle had already begun. As expected, Wu Yu went through extreme "hardship" and defeated his opponent once again. He had obtained over 20,000 Golden Essence Pills. Even so, he did not stop.
He shoved all his valuables into the wager area once again. Perhaps winning so much had driven him mad. He was even bragging that he wanted to challenge a ninth tier Jindan Dao cultivator instead!
As of now, it seemed like unless they were absolutely certain they would defeat Wu Yu, no one dared to go up to challenge him anymore. Most of the people present did not even own 20,000 Golden Essence Pills.
While Wu Yu was seeking out a new opponent, an attendant hurried over in the upper pavilion. He was rather frantic as he quickly said, "Palace Master, Commander Jiang, Commander Luo, we've completed our investigation. This is actually quite a prominent person. In the past few days, there were some major events involving the Endless Demon Seas and the Shushan Immortal Sect, and I'm sure you all have heard the rumors regarding it. This youth is actually the discarded disciple who had been driven out of their sect, Wu Yu! Apparently, even the Ursae Sword Immortal wanted to take him in as a disciple, but he was actually close friends with the son of Ying Huang, Jiu Ying, so he was driven out of Shushan. Unexpectedly, he was able to directly come to Yan Huang Imperial City without even recuperating despite being so high-profile!"
"That's him?" Jiang Xuechuan and Ji Qingan had both heard of this infamous name in recent times.
Ji Qingan suddenly stopped laughing. He replied, "Rumors say that this cunning fellow was even able to defeat Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea cultivators back when he was still a seventh tier Jindan Dao cultivator. In the blink of an eye, he's now at the eighth tier, so how could any Jindan Dao cultivator still match up to him?"
Jiang Xuechuan's expression changed quickly. He suddenly stood up and said, "What's shocking to me is how this young man's heroic aura is so oppressive that he isn't able to hide it even though he wants to. This means that he's definitely a top-level talent. The dumb, cow-like bunch back at Shushan actually expelling him from their sect was basically a reckless waste of resources. Now that he has come to Yan Huang Imperial City, he's going to join my troops in the Yan Huang Immortal Army. Even though Shushan doesn't want such a talent, I, Jiang Xuechuan must have him!"
Right now, Wu Yu's true value was considered world famous.
In light of Shushan's prestige, other sects would most likely not dare to accept Wu Yu into their ranks. Even the Shangyuan Dao Sect would find it difficult to do so. The only place where things were run differently was Yan Huang Imperial City. They never really cared about maintaining good relations with the Shushan Immortal Sect, so now that such a treasured resource had arrived at their doorstep, there was no reason for them to not accept.
Ji Qingan replied, "Brother Jiang, don't flatter him too much. I think this Wu Yu seems to be quite an arrogant person, and he probably already has a good idea in his heart about what the choices he intends to make are. Just going there and extending your invitation should suffice."
"That makes sense." Jiang Xuechuan nodded in agreement.
"Let's go down." Jiang Xuechuan told Commander Luo and the three of them headed down. Commander Luo did not utter a single word as she followed behind the two of them.
From beneath her helmet, her snowy white hair reached her waist. Her hair was as pure as snow and shone with a sparkling glow as well. It was as though precious gems and stones had been turned into silk, and it was truly splendid.
At least Ji Qingan had never seen someone with such unbelievably snowy white hair that was so beautiful.
"This Commander Luo is a marvelous one indeed. I wonder where Jiang Xuechuan found her."
It was known that only those of centurion rank and above were the true cores of Yan Huang Imperial City. Only they could live within the city permanently. However, it was usually the case that only those who were brought up in Yan Huang Imperial City from young would be able to attain such ranks. For an outsider to truly live in the inner city, there was only one way to do so. That was to have someone who was ranked chiliarch and above personally recommend someone who was super close to them. There was also a quota to this as well.
Ji Qingan naturally understood that even though this Commander Luo had been recommended into the city and had become a centurion via Jiang Xuechuan's connection to her, there was actually no relation between the two of them at all.