Chapter 726: It turns out, I have already possessed the Hongmeng Purple Qi?

"Everyone, since we're all somewhat acquainted, how about we sit in the same private room and catch up?" When they were led to the door of a new private room, Nangong Yin asked tentatively.

Dongling remained silent.

Huazhuo felt a bit tempted.

Since Zhou Tiancan had confirmed that this was Shishibo Xu, she really wanted to follow Shishibo Xu right away.

After all, the Alchemist Association was part of the family, but it wasn't as close as being with the Jinzhao lineage.

Xu Xiaoshou, however, shook his head indifferently.

He could see the underlying meaning in Nangong Yin's words...

This guy was probably testing how close he was to the Alchemist Association and to Huazhuo!

If they agreed, the three parties sitting together in the same room would make it seem like Tianshang Diyi Lou had firmly established itself in Dongtian Wangcheng.

But Xu Xiaoshou didn't want to do that.

He was from a "semi-saint force" and didn't need to rely on anyone else's power.

Besides, the matter of recognizing Huazhuo as kin wasn't suitable for in-depth discussion under Yemao's surveillance network.

If they sat together, this girl might not be able to hold back and reveal her Jinzhao lineage identity.

Then, if anyone investigated, things like Tiansang Spiritual Palace, Saint Slaves, and Baiku would all be exposed!

"No need!"

Thinking of this, Xu Xiaoshou refused outright: "We're not that familiar with each other; we just have some connections. Let's each go our own way!"

Dongling glanced at Xu Sha with a hint of surprise. This choice was unexpected.

But if the other side didn't take the opportunity to get closer, that was all the better.

"You're right; we're not that close," Dongling chimed in.

"But not completely strangers, huh?" Xu Xiaoshou turned back with a grin. "Right, Dongling Jiejie?"

Dongling's eyebrows twitched, and she was momentarily speechless.

This young man...

Honestly, she had never met anyone like him before.

His way of acting like an old friend at first sight—familiar but not entirely pure—was quite annoying.

"Please, go ahead!" Dongling gestured toward the adjacent private room and said no more.

She wasn't one for conflict.

Since it had been a misunderstanding earlier, the comment about "old auntie" had been vented in anger at the time, so now she had to let it go.

Caught between the two sides, Nangong Yin, despite his shrewdness, couldn't quite figure out their relationship.

He could only arrange two new private rooms and escort these two important figures back to their places.

Room 208 was for the Alchemist Association.

Room 209 was for Tianshang Diyi Lou.

Once both groups entered their new private rooms, Huazhuo hesitated for a moment.

"I..."

She wanted to follow Shishibo Xu, but from his attitude, it seemed he was still upset about her earlier probing attack.

Dongling entered the room and turned to look at Huazhuo, who was frozen in place.

"Come in?" she asked.

"No, I'll... I'll go over there..." Huazhuo replied awkwardly, but in the end, she declined the association president's kind offer and decided to follow her shishibo.

To her surprise, as soon as Room 209's door closed with a loud "bang," Xu Sha and the Tianshang Diyi Lou people had all gone inside and slammed the door shut, even locking it.

Huazhuo: "..."

Nangong Yin: "..."

Dongling, the president: "..."

The corridor outside the private rooms fell silent for a moment.

People in the seats below watched this comical scene unfold, and some even burst out laughing.

How embarrassing!

Incredibly embarrassing!

Huazhuo was so embarrassed she could have dug a three-room apartment with her toes.

She had wanted to follow Shishibo Xu, but he clearly didn't want her.

This was...

So humiliating...

How could it be this awkward...

"Come in!"

Dongling sighed from inside the room.

This family reunion was making even her feel sorry for Huazhuo!

The farce ended.

The trade fair continued as normal.

The treasure that had fetched 1.3 billion was finalized on the stage, and with no more bids, the trader quickly wrapped it up and moved on to the next item.

At the scene, most people were now immersed in thoughts about Tianshang Diyi Lou's background.

If previously many hadn't known who owned Room 172, now that Xu Xiaoshou had removed his beast mask, everyone understood.

Tianshang Diyi Lou!

This force had risen too suddenly, and people started paying closer attention, each with their own ulterior motives.

In Room 1,

Cheng Ji had watched the entire farce from his vantage point, and after the three parties settled, he suddenly fell into deep thought.

"I think I asked you to go and pressure Tianshang Diyi Lou before?" After pondering for a while, Cheng Ji looked up and asked.

"Yes."

Zhu Lisheng nodded immediately and said,

"I sent people to Tianshang Diyi Lou earlier, but a few days ago, they caused a big stir at Wangcheng Chaosheng Guangchang in the royal city—I'm sure you're aware of that, Cheng Dianzhu."

"So, during the day, our people were delayed. Later, they went for a covert visit at night..."

"The result?" Cheng Ji pressed.

Zhu Lisheng frowned slightly: "Their report was that for several nights, Tianshang Diyi Lou's protective array, the Bagua Chaosheng Tu, showed unusual activity, so they didn't risk entering."

Cheng Ji's expression changed slightly.

"What you're saying is, someone else, like us, wanted to pressure Tianshang Diyi Lou and then... got suppressed?"

"Probably."

"Which force?"

"This..."

Zhu Lisheng couldn't answer that.

He was too busy to keep track of every detail.

From Cheng Ji's expression, he could tell as much.

He sighed and said, "Tianshang Diyi Lou comes from a semi-saint force background and appeared at this delicate time in Wangcheng—it's not simple... You might have other tasks, but remember, it's possible that Tianshang Diyi Lou's emergence is connected to your matters."

Zhu Lisheng was speechless.

He knew what Cheng Dianzhu meant.

This was Cheng Dianzhu suspecting that Tianshang Diyi Lou was linked to the Xukong Island incident.

"I've had people watching..."

After a moment of thought, Zhu Lisheng lowered his eyelids, as if making a judgment: "What you're worried about, Cheng Dianzhu, I've considered too, but from what we see, their actions don't seem directed at Xukong Island..."

"Just because what they're doing seems absurd, it doesn't look like it?" Cheng Ji smiled.

Zhu Lisheng felt a chill in his heart.

A diversionary tactic... He immediately thought of that possibility, and that was exactly the hint Cheng Ji wanted to give.

"Don't delay any longer!"

Cheng Ji waved his hand, his gaze now tinged with disappointment. "Since you've had people watching Tianshang Diyi Lou, just investigate everyone who's visited them in the past few days. I'm sure you'll find your answer then."

"Yes!"

This time, Zhu Lisheng didn't dare procrastinate and responded seriously.

Like Shengshen Hall, many were continuing to probe Tianshang Diyi Lou's background.

The difference was,

It seemed that only Cheng Ji had considered the unlikely possibility that Tianshang Diyi Lou might be involved in stirring up the Xukong Island troubles.

What Tianshang Diyi Lou did openly and secretly... was too different.

The classic strategy of building plank roads in the open while crossing the river in secret—major forces had seen it before.

But without any clues, it was hard to suspect in advance.

In Room 209,

Tianshang Diyi Lou's second private room,

Liu Lu had woken up and was back to serving this group of unpredictable individuals.

This time, he was extra vigilant.

Because he had received orders that if anything like before happened again, he, Liu Lu, wouldn't need to stay at Yemao anymore.

"Xu Sha..."

He stared intently at the instigator, Xu Sha himself.

But at that moment, Xu Sha in his eyes was quietly sitting on the new sofa like a normal person.

This was too abnormal!

Liu Lu stared until his eyes felt dry. When Xu Sha looked up and asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?" he realized he had been too obvious.

"No, hehe."

"Received fear, passive value, 1."

Xu Xiaoshou: "..."

He rolled his eyes but didn't mind Liu Lu's foolish laugh.

The guy had it tough.

But the earlier mess wasn't something he had intended.

If anyone was to blame, it was the Alchemist Association.

In this incident, Xu Xiaoshou was at most an innocent victim.

"Take a look at this; could it help you?"

Without dwelling on it, Xu Xiaoshou took out the "Putidishu Gen" and handed it to his junior sister.

Mu Zixi, Xin Gugu, and the others actually had a bunch of questions they wanted to ask.

But under Yemao's surveillance, they weren't foolish enough to openly inquire about "Huazhuo."

So, they swallowed their doubts. Mu Zixi's face puffed up as she took the Putidishu Gen, glanced at it, and tossed it back.

"Not much use; I can't keep it alive."

That was the truth.

From a close look, Mu Zixi knew Nangong Yin was right.

Trying to nurture this Putidishu Gen into a full tree was pure fantasy.

The life force it needed was so immense that even she found it daunting.

"Life force..." Mu Zixi mumbled. She didn't have enough for herself, so how could she spare any for the Putidishu Gen?

"You can't do it either?" Xu Xiaoshou frowned, taking back the Putidishu Gen and examining it closely.

The thing was as long and thick as a forearm, withered and lifeless, completely dried out.

Yet, holding it, he could still feel the faint vitality inside, containing boundless dao mysteries.

At least, just holding the root made Xu Xiaoshou feel closer to the heavenly dao.

His cultivation was already at the innate peak.

With the root in hand, he sensed that breaking through to grandmaster was just a thought away!

The bottleneck of comprehending the heavenly dao, which normally felt vague and distant, had completely vanished.

If Xu Xiaoshou wanted, he could become a grandmaster right there in the room!

"This thing is something else..."

Xu Xiaoshou was slightly shocked.

What shocked him wasn't the strength of the Putidishu Gen, but that as a cheater, he was only lacking in comprehension.

If external things could make up for that, he could be this powerful!

Even breaking through to grandmaster with a single thought...

"I'm so strong!"

Xu Xiaoshou murmured silently.

Back when he practiced the Baiyun Sword Art, it took three years for just one move.

If he'd had the Putidishu Gen earlier, he might have created three sets in three years!

"Do any of you need this?"

He gestured to the others, but Xin Gugu, Mo Mo, and Xiao Wanfeng all shook their heads, indicating they didn't.

The Putidishu Gen was powerful, but it was also quite useless in some ways.

After all, it only significantly helped people like Xu Xiaoshou who were on the verge of a breakthrough.

For everyday heavenly dao comprehension, it would take a lot of time!

It could be very useful for someone in a life-or-death seclusion.

But for geniuses... especially for someone like Mo Mo, or Xin Gugu and Xiao Wanfeng, who were either genius among geniuses or didn't need cultivation to boost their power, it meant little.

"Comparing people is infuriating!"

Xu Xiaoshou realized this and speechlessly tossed the Putidishu Gen into his Yuanfu.

Ever since his Yuanfu space had mutated into a Yuanfu world, Xu Xiaoshou had discovered another of its wonders.

Now, he didn't need to enter the Yuanfu world physically; he could use his spiritual sense to observe and guide everything in it.

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou sat on the sofa with his physical body, while his spiritual sense immersed in the Yuanfu world.

"Chaotic mist..."

He saw the chaotic mist surrounding the new world on all sides and felt even more disappointed.

Because his memory was correct—this mist was gray, not the primordial purple qi of the chaos's beginning.

"What a pity. If you were purple, my 'Putidishu Gen' might really grow into a 'Putidigu Mu'."

"That would be one of the nine ancestral trees!"

Xu Xiaoshou thought of Cen Qiaofu from back in the eight palaces.

The old woodcutter had used just a branch from one of the nine ancestral trees, the "Xueshu Yin Zhi," and it had boosted his power so much.

Imagine how terrifying the nine ancestral trees would be when fully grown!

As his spiritual sense pondered, Xu Xiaoshou's thoughts wandered. In the quiet Yuanfu world, he watched the little white cat hopping around.

Suddenly, he heard a familiar sound.

"Whoosh"

A breeze!

In the outside world, such a sound would be ignored subconsciously.

But here in the Yuanfu, feeling the wind form for the first time, Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

"Wind has appeared too?"

"Does this mean the heavenly dao, the five elements, and such are becoming more complete, and this world is taking on a true embryonic form?"

Suddenly, Xu Xiaoshou remembered the last time the Yuanfu world formed, when "water" and "grass" had emerged.

His spiritual sense shifted, and he arrived below the Life Spiritual Seal.

Then, his expression changed dramatically.

"A puddle..."

Last time, the water had only been a few drops.

But now, under the continuous infusion of life spiritual energy, not only had those drops gathered into a fist-sized puddle,

The grass had also grown to knee height, becoming... tall grass!

"The Life Spiritual Seal is useful!" Xu Xiaoshou realized instantly.

At that moment, he noticed that in the fist-sized puddle, besides the transparent liquid that was water, there were a few strands of mysterious purple mist.

This made Xu Xiaoshou's mind go blank.

From his memory, when the water drops appeared last time, there had seemed to be a bit of purple mist too?

But back then, Xu Xiaoshou hadn't paid much attention.

Now, looking again, he understood that the "water" and "grass" weren't the key to the Yuanfu world's birth.

The purple qi was!

And with Nangong Yin's reminder, it was only now that Xu Xiaoshou realized what this purple mist was...

It wasn't decoration or an illusion.

It was the real, existing primordial purple qi that accompanied the birth of life and the dawn of chaos!

"So, I've already possessed Hongmong Ziqì?"