Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Qiyun Alliance, The Situation is Grim [Please Follow]

The fox’s tail cannot be hidden forever.

Before long, the true identity of the mysterious enemy scheming against the Zhou Family was exposed.

It turned out that the enemy at odds with the Zhou Family wasn’t some new adversary, but rather the group of Loose Cultivators that originally occupied Jiufeng Ridge.

However, these Loose Cultivators had now joined another, more powerful Loose Cultivator organization, which was none other than the Qiyun Alliance, currently making a strong name for itself in the Lanzhou Cultivation World.

So, in reality, it was the Qiyun Alliance who had made a move against the Zhou Family.

As for the Qiyun Alliance, it indeed had an incredibly strong momentum.

From its emergence to the present, the organization hadn’t existed for more than twenty years.

Yet, in just under two decades, this organization had already gathered up to three Purple Mansion Phase Loose Cultivators and twenty to thirty Foundation Establishment Stage Loose Cultivators, becoming the largest Loose Cultivator organization in the Lanzhou Cultivation World.

If the Li Family and the You Family, two families that had split from the Sanjue Sect and put down roots in Lanzhou territory, are not counted, then no native cultivation family in Lanzhou possessed more strength than the Qiyun Alliance.

Therefore, in recent years, the Qiyun Alliance had been extremely domineering in its actions within the Lanzhou Cultivation World, provoking and attacking many Cultivation families.

Now, the Qiyun Alliance had undoubtedly set its sights on the Zhou Family.

But although the Qiyun Alliance was powerful, the Zhou Family was not one to be easily bullied.

Moreover, now that the five major Cultivation families had formed a common interest alliance due to their joint development of the Red Shine Iron Mine, and among them, the Mu Family of Biyun Mountain had also once been humiliated by the Qiyun Alliance.

How could the other families sit by and watch as the Qiyun Alliance provoked the five-family alliance?

Swiftly, the four major Cultivation families outside of the Zhou Family jointly issued a statement, demanding that the Qiyun Alliance immediately cease its provocation against the Zhou Family, or else it would be seen as provoking all five major families.

However, contrary to what everyone expected, faced with the joint statement of the five major Cultivation families, the Qiyun Alliance not only showed no intention of backing down but even haughtily warned the other four Cultivation families not to meddle in their affairs or else they would be making an enemy of the Qiyun Alliance.

This arrogant attitude not only collectively angered the five major Cultivation families but also left many other unrelated Lanzhou Cultivation families and Loose Cultivators amazed, feeling that the Qiyun Alliance was perhaps getting too carried away.

After all, if the five major Cultivation families were to unite, they could also muster two to three Purple Mansion Phase Cultivators and twenty to thirty Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators.

Moreover, the five major Cultivation families, with their many years of heritage, certainly had a depth that a Loose Cultivator power like the Qiyun Alliance, which had only recently emerged in less than twenty years, could not match.

“The world has turned upside down!”

“A bunch of Loose Cultivators, who just got lucky and barely succeeded in Foundation Establishment, now dare to face off head-on with the five major Cultivation families. They’ve really grown tired of living!”

In the Spirit Beast Restaurant, Zhou Jiasheng, on learning of this matter, also ranted furiously, his face full of anger.

Loose Cultivators had always been looked down upon by Family Cultivators.

Even those from small families where only one Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator carried the weight would look down upon Loose Cultivators in their hearts.

This disdain surely did not arise without reason.

Compared to most Loose Cultivators who lacked the care and protection of elders, who had no stable source of income, and who didn’t even have a safe place to live.

The cultivation conditions available to Family Cultivators were undoubtedly much, much better.

Thus, in the minds of Family Cultivators, Loose Cultivators were like beggars of the Cultivation World who could only survive on their charity, uncertain of where their next meal would come from after eating one.

Now, to hear that a group of beggars had banded together and dared to oppose and try to take resources from the main families was something Zhou Jiasheng, a Family Cultivator accustomed to superiority, could hardly bear without raging.

Compared to traditional Family Cultivators like Zhou Jiasheng, Zhou Chun was undoubtedly much more rational in this aspect.

Although he also looked down on the lifestyle of those Loose Cultivators and definitely did not want to become one himself,

he did not completely view Loose Cultivators as beggars like Zhou Jiasheng did.

He then calmly advised, “Uncle Sixteen, please calm down, this matter may not be so simple!”

“Indeed, there are all sorts of people among Loose Cultivators, including many brainless fools!”

“But those who have been able to succeed in Foundation Establishment, let alone open their Purple Mansion, are unlikely to be such brainless fools!”

“Now that they dare to be so arrogant, they must have some sort of backing!”

In fact, Zhou Jiasheng himself could have come to these conclusions without Zhou Chun needing to say much more.

However, his comment undoubtedly caused Zhou Jiasheng to promptly calm down.

“Yes, Zhengchun, you’re absolutely right. The abnormal behavior of the Qiyun Alliance surely indicates that they have some powerful backing, or they wouldn’t dare to be so rampant and arrogant!”

Zhou Jiasheng nodded vigorously, fully agreeing with Zhou Chun’s reasoning.

Then, with a wave of his hand that suggested a waning interest, he said, “Forget it, we can’t intervene in this matter. Rather than fretting over it here, it’s better to think of ways to increase the shop’s revenue and purchase more treasures to support the family!”

After hearing this, Zhou Chun pondered for a moment and then suggested, “Why not have another discount sale? The family needs Spirit Coins now, and even if we only make a profit of twenty to thirty percent, we can quickly gather a substantial amount of Spirit Coins for the family!”

“Discount promotion, huh? That indeed is a method to increase the shop’s income in the short term!”

Zhou Jiasheng nodded slightly, quite pleased with Zhou Chun’s suggestion.

After considering it for a moment, he decided to offer a ten percent discount on the best-selling items in the store, while maintaining the original price for the rest of the goods.

He also accepted another minor suggestion from Zhou Chun and hung a banner outside the shop that read, “Shop sale at cost price, for three days only”.

To prevent disturbing the peace and to avoid making the marketplace for cultivators look like a mundane vegetable market, loud hawking was not allowed within the marketplace.

However, hanging banners like this was not prohibited.

The result was clear, as in any world, once a discount sale occurred, even if people might not need an item immediately, the lure of a bargain would make them unable to resist purchasing.

Moreover, the goods discounted by the Spirit Beast Restaurant this time were popular items already proven to be highly effective.

So, day after day, in less than twenty days, all of those best-selling items were sold out.

The proceeds from these sales also allowed Zhou Jiasheng to acquire a considerable number of Talismans and Elixirs.

Just at that time, the Clan Leader of the Zhou Family, Zhou Daoyi, made a personal visit to the marketplace to take delivery of the various goods Zhou Jiasheng had purchased.

After checking the items turned over by Zhou Jiasheng, he expressed his satisfaction with the results obtained in the marketplace by the two men, and he generously praised both of them.

However, after praising them, Zhou Daoyi suddenly looked at them both and said, “The Qiyun Alliance is aggressive, and the war is now inevitable. The family is currently short of hands. You two decide who stays to mind the shop, and the other will come back with me to join the battle!”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chun and Zhou Jiasheng exchanged looks, their moods suddenly becoming heavy.

Neither of them had expected the situation to become so serious that even one of them would need to be called back to the family.

“Junior…”

Zhou Chun was about to say he would go back as a gesture of respect for his elders.

But before he could finish speaking, Zhou Jiasheng suddenly interjected, “Let the junior return!”

After saying this, he bowed to Zhou Daoyi and said, “Clan Leader, please understand, now that the Spirit Beast Restaurant has temporarily stopped acquiring Spiritual Objects, whether my nephew Zhengchun or I stay doesn’t make much difference. Naturally, it’s more appropriate and beneficial for the family to have the junior with the higher cultivation level go back to defend the family!”

This decision took not only Zhou Chun by surprise, but also Zhou Daoyi.

Others might not know, but Zhou Daoyi was aware that at first, Zhou Jiasheng had many complaints and was dissatisfied with his junior, Zhou Chun.

Though he had heard that Zhou Jiasheng and Zhou Chun seemed to have reconciled a lot recently and were no longer at odds,

He had never expected that, after just a few months, Zhou Jiasheng would have changed his attitude completely and began to support his junior Zhou Chun.

This piqued his curiosity about what had happened during this period and also made him value Zhou Chun as a young member of the family even more.

He looked intently at Zhou Jiasheng and then nodded lightly and said, “Jiasheng, your point is well taken. Let Zhengchun stay to oversee the shop in the marketplace, and you come back with me to the family!”

He then nodded at Zhou Chun and said, “Zhengchun, you have been performing very well lately, and what is especially commendable is that you haven’t let your cultivation level slip while managing the shop’s affairs. That’s excellent!”

“Once the family gets through this crisis, the various contributions you have made will be rewarded in a manner that I assure you, you will find satisfactory!”

In Zhou Chun’s heart, Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi had always been a venerable elder who was very trustworthy.

Zhou Chun had no doubts about his words.

So he respectfully replied, “Thank you for the praise, Clan Leader. Please rest assured, I will manage the shop diligently and not let down the trust of the Clan Leader and Uncle Sixteen!”

Zhou Daoyi, upon hearing this, encouraged him with a pat on the shoulder, “Then do your best. I believe you can handle this matter well.”

He then left the marketplace with Zhou Jiasheng.