Chapter 657: This Is a Big Urn

In the Zhongcheng District.

Xu Xiaoshou gazed at the ancient tower soaring into the clouds before him, his eyes fixed on the gleaming golden plaque that read "Tian Shang Di Yi Lou," feeling somewhat astonished.

"Rent for half a year, sixty billion?"

"Yes, it's rented for at least half a year…"

Xin Gugu felt a bit uneasy.

Indeed, that was what Duojin Shanghang had said.

But in just half a day, they had spent sixty billion, and all they got was renting this ancient tower for half a year.

He had to admit, without Xu Xiaoshou's earlier orders, he wouldn't have dared to do such a thing.

"It's fine."

Xu Xiaoshou nodded indifferently.

On his way from Duojin Shanghang, he had already seen the massive foot traffic in the Zhongcheng District.

Especially since this place was adjacent to the Shengshen Diantang and the headquarters of various associations, the term "people coming and going" hardly did it justice.

A sea of people might be a more accurate description.

Just by leading a few people to the Chaosheng Lou and hanging a new plaque on it, in that short time, Xu Xiaoshou had gained a "large" amount of passive values.

"Passive values: 97,003."

From entering the city to now, without any major disturbances and in less than a day, he had already earned over ten thousand passive values just from passersby's glances.

Xu Xiaoshou couldn't help but sigh—this was truly his paradise.

Compared to places like Baiku or Lijian Grassland, where there were many big shots but not enough numbers, sometimes hustling for half a month didn't yield as much as half a day here.

"Let's go inside!"

The Chaosheng Lou, now known as "Tian Shang Di Yi Lou," was built in the form of a pavilion and appeared quite slender compared to the massive structures outside.

But it was bigger on the inside.

As soon as he entered, Xu Xiaoshou felt that the space was extraordinarily vast, clearly using the technique of storing a mustard seed in a Sumeru—space manipulation done to perfection.

The ground floor was over thirty zhang wide, with nine pillars supporting the beams. Around the central courtyard, it was divided into eight large rooms, positioned according to the eight trigrams.

The height exceeded fifty zhang, enough to accommodate half of A-Bing or A-Huo.

The pavilion was serene and tranquil, with a perfect barrier isolating the outside noise.

Incense smoke wafted gently, evidently someone from Duojin Shanghang had come ahead to tidy up, leaving everything spotless.

"Honestly, choosing a location next to the Shengshen Diantang is a bit dangerous," Mo Mo said, glancing around with some concern.

Xu Xiaoshou waved it off.

"Sometimes the most dangerous place is the safest. Besides, the fact that the Shengshen Diantang rented out this ancient tower proves they're short on money."

"Based on the rent we've paid, their first impression of us is probably quite good."

"With the 'Bansheng Shijia' background as support…"

Xu Xiaoshou said with a laugh.

He couldn't imagine how the Shengshen Diantang could see through their true identities under all these preconceptions.

Half a year?

Xu Xiaoshou didn't think he'd stay here that long.

Perhaps when he truly decided to reveal himself, it would be time to pack up and leave.

By then, even if they wanted to act, they probably wouldn't even catch a shadow of him.

"Little tree tree, grow!"

In the midst of his thoughts, Mu Zixi, full of excitement, had already started wandering around the ground floor.

Following her whims, with a pat of her small hands, flowers, grass, and trees sprang up, instantly bringing life to the pavilion.

This place had only been given a basic cleanup, lacking furniture and such.

Xin Gugu had mentioned that Duojin Shanghang would deliver furniture later to complete the setup.

But for now, it looked quite empty.

Mu Zixi, however, seemed to love this freedom to arrange things as she pleased, enjoying herself immensely.

Xu Xiaoshou watched thoughtfully, pulled Xin Gugu aside, and instructed, "Tell Duojin Shanghang not to send any items over."

"Why?" Xin Gugu's eyes widened.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't explain. Staring at his little junior sister running around, he called out loudly, "The first floor is all yours. Do whatever you want with it?"

"I don't care about the rest, but at least make a tea table and some stools for everyone to rest on."

Mo Mo was startled.

Xin Gugu was also taken aback.

The two clearly hadn't expected that something as grand as wood-element abilities would be reduced to making furniture in Xu Xiaoshou's mouth.

But Mu Zixi didn't think about any of that. She just exclaimed excitedly.

"Okay!"

"You can pick a room for yourselves and tell me how you want it arranged—I'll set it up for you."

With that, she patted her small hand, and the soil surged up, creating a pink wooden stool connected to the floor.

But Mu Zixi wasn't satisfied.

The color didn't match the hall's style at all, so she waved it away.

Then she patted again, summoning a golden chair intricately carved with dragons…

Xin Gugu's eyes nearly popped out. He looked at Mu Zixi, then at Xu Xiaoshou.

"Can it be used like that?"

"Under suspicion, passive value +1."

"Under admiration, passive value +1."

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled at the sight.

Was this the legendary Wood Release?

He composed himself and wandered through the eight rooms on the first floor, discovering they were all cultivation rooms with extremely abundant spiritual energy.

Moreover, if all eight rooms were infused with a large amount of spiritual energy at once, it could activate the ancient tower's protective grand array—the Bagua Chaosheng Tu.

This was a nested spirit array with functions like defense, trapping, illusion, and killing arrays.

Its quality was extremely high.

Even with Xu Xiaoshou's grandmaster-level "Weaving Mastery," he couldn't figure out its structure.

"Interesting!"

He had already probed the outer barrier.

It was connected to the city's protective barrier, so as long as that wasn't breached, no one could invade this ancient tower.

The inner Bagua Chaosheng Tu was a different setup.

In terms of grade, it was on par with the city's protective barrier, though it didn't involve heavenly mechanisms. Even an ordinary grandmaster of spirit arrays probably couldn't crack it.

"Inside and outside working together?"

Xu Xiaoshou pondered briefly and suddenly got an idea.

He left the room, casually closed the door, and looked up at the ceiling height.

The ground floor's ceiling was too high.

Basically, as long as it wasn't something as tall as A-Bing or A-Huo, any decoration could fit.

With a thought, Xu Xiaoshou took out the Chaosheng Lou command token.

This was the owner's token for the Chaosheng Lou, handed over by Duojin Shanghang to Xin Gugu and then presented to him.

With this token, he could control the entire Bagua Chaosheng Tu.

It also allowed him to manipulate all the mechanisms in the Chaosheng Lou.

"Open!"

Infusing it with spiritual intent and a mental command.

"Click."

A series of mechanism sounds echoed, and the four people in the hall looked up.

In an instant, under Xu Xiaoshou's mental command, the ceiling opened and retracted into the floors of the second level's rooms.

"The first and second levels… are connected?" Mo Mo asked in surprise.

Xu Xiaoshou continued his mental command.

"Bang, bang, bang…"

In a moment, the third floor, fourth floor, fifth floor… up to the ninety-ninth floor—all the ceilings opened with banging sounds.

The four people on the ground floor looked up and could see all the way to the top pearl.

"There's something mysterious here!"

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up.

The others had just flown up.

He took a step and directly reached the area under the ninety-ninth floor's pearl.

—It was a complex array pattern!

For others, activating this array would be no simple task.

But with the Chaosheng Lou command token in hand, as soon as Xu Xiaoshou thought about it, the array unlocked and pulled him into the pearl.

"Buzz!"

His mind trembled.

It was like the first time he drew the "Perception" passive skill—his vision instantly broadened.

Soon, shock appeared on his face.

Because what the Chaosheng Lou pearl presented to him was the entire layout of Dongtian Wangcheng!

Yes.

The whole thing.

—The entire Dongtian Wangcheng!

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

The flowing crowds, the streets, all the major areas, and the highest powers… everything was perfectly reflected in his mind.

People's expressions, behaviors, words… amid the chaos, there was order and contentment.

These pieces of information were processed by the grand array, so wherever he wanted to focus, his mind could instantly zoom in on that area.

In various buildings, for rooms without protective barriers or with low-level ones, Xu Xiaoshou could even see everything happening inside through the pearl.

Eating…

Polishing weapons…

Sleeping…

Intimate moments…

All in view!

"My heavens…"

Xu Xiaoshou's jaw nearly dropped.

Was this what a ten-billion-per-month rental was like?

Indeed, the joys of the wealthy were unimaginable to the outside world!

"Knock, knock, knock."

Sounds came from outside the pearl.

Through the token, Xu Xiaoshou could see Mu Zixi knocking urgently, eager to explore inside.

But the inappropriate scenes inside weren't something this little girl should see.

Xu Xiaoshou gathered his thoughts and exited the pearl.

"What's inside?"

Mu Zixi's big eyes sparkled, clearly sensing the pearl's extraordinariness.

Xu Xiaoshou said calmly, "It's like the pearl in a Ling Zang Ge—nothing special."

"Impossible!"

Mu Zixi retorted immediately: "The Ling Gong pearl is for absorbing heat, and it doesn't have this array. Plus, all the ceilings are open, so it's waiting for the pearl—that makes it different."

"There's nothing different…"

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at Mo Mo and Xin Gugu, who had also flown up, and waved his hand: "Everyone, let's go down!"

"I want to see!"

Mu Zixi pouted and shouted loudly, refusing to leave.

With a gesture of the token, Xu Xiaoshou sent Mo Mo and Xin Gugu back to the first floor first.

He placed a hand on his little junior sister's head and said earnestly, "Kids shouldn't look at random things—it'll hurt your eyes."

Mu Zixi: ???

Only then did Xu Xiaoshou think, and Mu Zixi yelped "Ouch!" as she landed on her butt on the ground floor.

She glared resentfully at Xu Xiaoshou, who was now hundreds of zhang tall to her.

"Under curse, passive value +1, +1, +1, +1…"

The Tian Shang Di Yi Lou truly lived up to its name as the "first floor in the heavens."

Xu Xiaoshou felt like he'd struck gold.

The layout, design, and grand array of this ancient tower were basically meant for the final defense after a city breach.

For an organization, it was too small and the rent too high, so hardly anyone chose it.

But for four people…

It was more than enough!

Xu Xiaoshou returned to the ground floor, already forming ideas in his mind.

He called over his busy junior sister landscaping again, along with Xin Gugu and Mo Mo, and said:

"I've checked out this tower—ninety-nine levels, mostly with central courtyards and eight-trigram rooms."

"You all go upstairs and pick your rooms, but don't go too far—best to stay on the third level."

"Why the third level?" Mu Zixi grumbled unhappily, "I want the first level!"

"For easy support."

Xu Xiaoshou pressed her head down, "And the second level, I have other plans."

Mo Mo and Xin Gugu were startled.

"What plans do you have?" they asked in unison.

"Nothing for now, but tonight, things might get lively." Xu Xiaoshou smiled mysteriously.

"Under speculation, passive value +2."

"Under curse, passive value +1, +1, +1, +1…"

The three were baffled.

But Xu Xiaoshou knew that the net he had cast using his Xu Shao identity after entering the city would surely pay off.

Perhaps tonight, or tomorrow night…

In any case, on some dark and windy night, uninvited guests would come to disturb their peace.

All he had to do was use the strange design of the Tian Shang Di Yi Lou and the "Three A" lineup to ensure those with ill intent never returned.

"Tian Shang Di Yi Lou…"

Xu Xiaoshou murmured, chuckling.

This wasn't just a tower—it was a big trap!

Night fell.

Stars dotted the sky.

Something big had happened in the Zhongcheng District today: the Chaosheng Lou changed hands and was renamed "Tian Shang Di Yi Lou."

Almost all the major powers had noticed, and they conducted thorough investigations on the new occupants from the "Beiyu Taixiang Xu family."

But strangely, this Xu Shao seemed to have popped out of a rock—no information could be found; he was incredibly mysterious.

If he really came from a rock…

Who had that kind of wealth to rent the entire Chaosheng Lou for ten billion a month?

And for half a year at that?

Forces that had never dealt with this so-called "Bansheng Shijia" chose to observe, but some couldn't wait that long.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Two black figures dropped from the bustling streets of the Zhongcheng District, hiding under a cluster of ancient trees next to the Tian Shang Di Yi Lou.

"Is this the place?"

The masked Jiang Tai turned to Jiang Yu beside him and asked.

Truth be told, after the daytime incident, he really didn't want to face that Xu Shao again.

He was terrifying!

Even though he was just a young man, the aura he exuded wasn't something built in a day or two.

It was the unparalleled presence forged from long years of holding power and looking down on the world.

Just one glance made even him, with his Wangzuo cultivation, tremble in fear.

But coincidentally, the "Tian Zhi Zhu" pointed directly to this Xu group.

Heaven knew how unwilling Jiang Tai was, but he couldn't disobey his own young master's order.

"Tonight's target isn't Xu Shao—just bring back those two women."

Thinking of this, Jiang Tai felt a bit more at ease.

The two women…

If they only needed to take back the two attendants, that would surely be safer than directly confronting Xu Shao, who might have nameless bodyguards behind him.