Starting as a Snake: Defying Heaven with Invincibility-Chapter 57 – External situation

"Women are nothing but trouble!" Xiao Long quickly turned his head to avoid being affected.

Noticing Xiao Long's awkwardness, Xiao Bai blushed and happily turned away.

"This annoying snake may have a sharp tongue, but it's kind-hearted."

As Xiao Long said, their experiences were quite similar—one failed a tribulation, the other self-destructed and reborn. Such experiences made them empathize with each other.

Xiao Long crawled out of the cave.

Next, there were three tasks for Xiao Long to accomplish.

First, he needed to visit Fire Cloud City and raid the Fire Cloud Sect's headquarters. Offending him, the Burning Heaven Dragon Emperor, could only lead to their destruction.

Moreover, the Fire Cloud Sect's "Temporal Treasure" had always been a thorn in his side. It could replay events from the past day, and such an item might contain the Laws of Time, something even Xiao Long coveted.

Second, he needed to gather spirit stones. The Myriad Worlds Mall did not sell spirit stones, only extremely expensive spirit crystals. Most of the spirit stones Xiao Long had seized were destroyed during the detonation of the formation, leaving him with only those in Gu You's storage ring.

Xiao Long planned to set up a massive innate-level comprehensive formation in this ring-shaped valley, incorporating effects like spirit gathering, defense, enemy killing, and illusions to cover the entire valley. The spirit stones required would be immense.

Third, he needed to enhance his strength. Apart from the soul techniques he couldn't easily use, Xiao Long's own power wasn't particularly strong, at most able to contend with a tenth-level Demon General. For others, this might be impressive, but for a reborn Martial Emperor, it was clearly inadequate.

If the geniuses of the Burning Heaven Dragon Palace from back then were brought to this desolate place, surpassing levels would be a breeze. In comparison, Xiao Long, as a sect master, was pathetically weak.

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"Let's head to Fire Cloud City first."

Xiao Long moved swiftly, heading towards Fire Cloud City.

"Hmph! Off to play again without me, damn snake," Xiao Bai muttered, quietly following behind towards Fire Cloud City.

Fire Cloud City wasn't far. At Xiao Long's current speed, it took him only half an hour to reach it at full speed.

Fire Cloud City was as bustling as ever, with crowds like waves at the city gates, merchants coming and going, a scene of prosperity. It seemed the Fire Cloud Sect's misfortune hadn't affected the city.

"Have you heard? The Fire Cloud Sect recently shut itself off. I walked around the city and didn't see many disciples from the sect."

"Haha! I heard someone caused a huge commotion in Fire Cloud City last time, injuring the Fire Cloud Sect Master so badly that he fled and hasn't dared to show his face since."

"My goodness! How powerful must that person be? Could it be an Innate Expert?"

"You're mistaken. I heard that person was just at the first level of the Qi Condensing Realm, called Lord Xiao, wearing a mask, very mysterious."

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"It's truly satisfying. The Fire Cloud Sect has committed so many evils, finally someone dealt with them."

Hearing the discussions at the city gate, Xiao Long couldn't help but sneer. Indeed, one cannot escape the consequences of their actions.

The Fire Cloud Sect had offended too many forces in the past. Now that they were down, they were like rats in the street, everyone wanted to beat them. If they didn't shut themselves off, their disciples might be assassinated by enemies.

With a thought, Xiao Long's human avatar disappeared from his Inner World and appeared outside, while his true form coiled around the human's arm.

He casually found a robe to wear over himself, now looking like a young man in his twenties.

Xiao Long picked up a stone, infused it with spiritual qi, and moments later, the ordinary stone emitted a milky white glow, transforming into a lower-grade spirit stone.

After lining up and paying the spirit stone, Xiao Long entered Fire Cloud City without attracting any attention.

Qianlong Bank, reception hall.

Wan Jianfeng sat in the chief seat, his face extremely gloomy. Beside him, Su Ya held an account book, reporting a series of losses and recent events.

"The herbal caravan was robbed by Black Wind Stronghold bandits, losing both money and goods, leaving only one survivor; the silk shopkeeper Xie Yu was assassinated at home; the tavern owner Zhang He disappeared; the bank's guard captain Jiang Wen left without a word, leaving only a letter..."

"On the 13th, the funds lost over 13.2 million lower-grade spirit stones, on the 14th, over 5.01 million lower-grade spirit stones, on the 15th..."

As Su Ya listed the data, Wan Jianfeng's face grew darker.

In recent days, Qianlong Bank seemed to be targeted. The shop owners under its banner were either dead or fled, former partners refused to meet, and even the herbal caravan was robbed.

Three days ago, Wan Jianfeng personally organized an auction, offering some treasured items to boost morale, but only a dozen people came, all of them unknown figures. In the end, the precious auction items were sold at low prices, resulting in a loss of at least several million middle-grade spirit stones.

"Gu Yun! You'll die a miserable death!" Wan Jianfeng, of course, knew it was Gu Yun's doing behind the scenes.

Back then, Gu Yun demanded Su Ya from Wan Jianfeng, but Wan Jianfeng, following Xiao Long's instructions, refused. Gu Yun then declared to the world that anyone cooperating with the Qianlong Bank branch in Fire Cloud City would be his enemy.

Originally, Gu Yun didn't have such influence, but he left the Fire Cloud Sect and became the chief honorary elder hired by the Beast Taming Sect! With two of the four major sects weakened, the Beast Taming Sect undoubtedly became the recognized number one sect in Tianfeng Kingdom, unrivaled in its prominence. No one dared to provoke the Beast Taming Sect at this time.

Thus, Wan Jianfeng became the sacrificial lamb.

Although the Qianlong Bank headquarters was powerful, it adopted a competitive policy among its branches. If a branch collapsed or performed poorly, the president would be replaced immediately, survival of the fittest, which emboldened Gu Yun to target Wan Jianfeng without restraint.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

At this moment, footsteps sounded at the door. Wan Jianfeng looked up to see six men and women entering the reception hall, their robes adorned with a star-engraved alchemy furnace, indicating they were six first-grade alchemists.

These six were alchemists under the bank's employ, having refined pills for the bank for many years, forming its foundation. Seeing all six of them arrive together, Wan Jianfeng had a bad premonition.

"President Wan, we've come to inform you of something," the leading middle-aged man said with a smile, cupping his hands.

"Are all six of you here to say goodbye?" Wan Jianfeng asked expressionlessly.

"President Wan, we apologize, but we cannot refuse Master Gu Yun's invitation," the leading middle-aged man replied, still smiling.

Hearing this, even though Wan Jianfeng was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his chest, almost spitting blood.

"President Wan, a wise man submits to circumstances. Master Gu Yun is the top alchemist in Fire Cloud City, his alchemy skills are renowned even in Tianfeng Kingdom. Now that he's joined the number one sect, the Beast Taming Sect, he's even more formidable. We are forced by circumstances," another alchemist said with a smile.

Wan Jianfeng said in a deep voice, "We signed an agreement back then. Even if you bear the cost of breaching it, you still want to leave the bank?"

"President Wan, the benefits Master Gu Yun offers us far outweigh the cost of breaching the agreement," the man replied with a smile.