Scheming with Grandparents

When Qu Fengyi entered Xiao Long's manor she could sense her husband was already there.

As she entered the main living room the pair were already having some tea.

"Fengyi, come join us." Zi Ji motioned for her to take a seat.

The Sovereign of the Seas followed and ended up sitting down on a comfortable chair. She was quickly served some tea by one of the maids.

Though her gaze was on her adopted grandson. He was already a middle stage Monarch…

"I suppose you have a tale to tell us?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We were just talking about his absurd speed in cultivation." The head of the Merchant guild nodded at her.

"You are not even eighteen but you are already half through [Sovereign Profound]. Such speed is absurd, I would even say inhuman." The strongest woman of the continent said with an incomprehensible look. 

Now she is grateful that she listened to her husband and did not act rashly. It could have backfired badly on her. Zi Ji's merchant sense is truly in its own realm.

"That's because I am looking for ways to shorten my cultivation time. That's why I built the tower and invested in Pills creation methods. It does help that I find things which help in my endeavours as well."

"Like your body and eyes? You got some sort of legacy?" 

Qu Fengyi asked with a very curious voice.

"Oh yes. I have finished the Primordial Azure Dragon God Trials." 

"!!!"

"Does this mean…"

"Yes. I have rebuilt the trials on this island. You can try to take them. But just a warning, no one so far passed them apart from me."

"...Oh?"

"I have rebuilt to the same standard as the Dragon God had. I don't want him to moan that I cheapened it up when he hatches from the egg."

"..."

"..."

"You just said hatches from an egg?"

"Yes, I persuaded him to join me." Xiao Long rolled up his right sleeve showing the tattoos, one was quite distinctive azure… a dragon coiling around worlds. 

"This makes a second godly being!" Qu Fengyi didn't know how to feel about this anymore. It's like… it's fantastic. But at the same time, she can't comprehend the full scale of it.

So she just rolls with it.

"Indeed. This reminds me. Now that we have full control over the whole continent."

The pair instantly realised something.

"You are the one who dealt with the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region?"

He just smiled at them. 

"Indeed."

"The sources said that Xuanyuan Wentian was found dead in the heart of his Sword Region with a fatal sword wound right through his heart." 

"Quite a symbol don't you think, grandmother?" 

"Yes, well quite shocking he was after all Peak Monarch."

He nodded at her. Indeed, the man was a Peak Monarch.

"Well, it doesn't matter by that point as his mind was long gone. Excessive greed can be one's undoing." Xiao Long said with a small smile.

"I assume you did something to him?"

"I tested a corrupting ring on him. The ring gave him power just like he wanted but it quickly consumed his mind, by the next day after getting the ring he was a drooling mess."

"...You created such an artefact!?" 

"Of course. You do realise when we will go to the Realm of Gods our cultivation will be minuscular compared to the rest? According to Qianye Ying'er and Xing Tong, there are seven major realms right after [Sovereign Profound]. 

Once there people will eye our things so to protect ourselves I decided to trick them." Xiao Long's fingers intertwined; he looked like a schemer.

"I prepared nine rings which will be sent into the wilderness of the Realm of Gods. It will turn into a 'Fake True God's' legacy. A trial will appear and people from all sorts of backgrounds will try to finish them.

Because of the ring abilities even an [Divine Master], which is a peak existence, will want to acquire such a thing. 

One thing will lead to another and the ring will corrupt them. Which in turn will give me control of the peak existence of the Realm of Gods."

"...Will it even work? The cultivation realm is the most important thing and if they are so high in cultivation wouldn't they even know what is what?"

Qu Fengyi pointed it out. She is, after all hardcore cultivator and believes in Profound supremacy.

"You are right to worry about that. But I have extensively questioned Qianye Ying'er and Xing Tong who come from peak backgrounds.

One thing they all are blind to and have no protection from is soul attacks or profound arts related to souls." 

This made their eyes widen as at this moment they have no protection from this as well! Such a thing never even crossed their minds. Does such a thing even exist!?

"The best part is that one can't even perceive such a thing. Sure one's strength of soul and willpower are extremely powerful at [Divine Master]. But one can't even utilise it or properly sense it."

"...I see… Can we see these rings?"

"Sure."

~~~

It has been a while since Zi Ji was in his grandson's Warehouse. No, it shouldn't be called one anymore. It was… something much more than that. 

He could see strange artefacts like furniture which makes him curious about what they do. 

Of course, one should not ignore the mountains of pills which are being constantly produced on the side. 

This makes him think about doing something about these pills. Xiao Long has so many of them. They are just here rotting away.

The duo followed the Young Master to a shelf where he had all sorts of boxes placed. He picked one and proceeded to channel some Profound energy into it. 

Once the top opened they saw nine red rings placed in a circular formation.

"Here it is. The Nine Rings of the 'Artificer True God'." 

"...Can…we?"

"Sure. The corruption at this moment is not active, yet. I am still analysing the information I gathered from that test."

"Test?"

"You turned a Sacred Ground into a husk…" Qu Fengyi reminded him as she took one of the rings.

"It's not my fault they never considered such a scenario." Xiao Long simply shrugged, which made the woman speechless.

Regardless once they placed the rings on their fingers he could feel a surge of power, and certain abilities became possible to them just like that! 

With simple hand motions creating weapons became possible, as well as turning their Profound energy extremely sharp and extra thick. 

As well as the ability to cleanse just from simple hand motion!

Such powers… They are incredibly persuasive. If not for the fact that the pair knows what is hiding behind a corner.

"The more you would use such ring power the easier the corruption would spread. The more reliant you are on the ring power the easier it will be for me to persuade such a person." Xiao Long motioned for them to place the rings back.

"Apart from that, I will be adding specific powers to these rings at a later date. This would make everyone feel that these rings are indeed the cream of the crop created by a True God. To sell it further I will give names to the rings." He said that while the pair placed the rings back with some hesitation.

Once back he sealed the box.

"Long'er…after seeing these…"

"You want some too?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. The Young Master knows his grandparents well enough.

"That goes without saying." 

"Good thing I was ready. The excess Purple Veined Crystals do have to go somewhere." Xiao Long casually mentioned the issue of having too many crystals…

Which made the pair cough for a bit. 

"If you have too many of those."

"Nah, I always reroute them to a certain project. This reminds me…Grandma— Illusory Demon Continent."

The moment she heard it she got serious.

"What about it?"

"I have recovered the Demon King Yun and placed him in one of the pavilions. I am planning to add their continent to our control."

"..."

"..."

"The idea is not bad but the distance is the issue." Qu Fengyi wouldn't mind that her Palace would rule two continents… they still need to solidify the rule over Profound Sky Continent.

But that is just a formal event at this point. 

"What if we construct permanent arrays which connect both continents? I already figured out Space Profound Energy to some degree."

"...Then there will be no issue."

"Indeed. That is my next course of action. I have already started to work on mastering space, adding it to my floating islands and eventually building arrays and formations." Xiao Long smiled when he said that. He still hasn't revealed the end goal of what will happen to Blue Pole Star.

In the meantime, he placed the box and took a smaller one and opened it showing a pair of rings to his grandparents.

"Same basic abilities but these two have a focus on Supreme Ocean Palace Arts."

As he said that he then pulled out a few jade slips.

"You two can practise these arts to get the full use of these rings."

"...Oh…"

"...Impressive craftsmanship Long'er." Zi Ji inspected the ring and took the jade slip. It appears he will be learning a new art as well.

"There is a trick to this. Grandpa, I wonder if you are interested in common-use artefact monopoly as well?" Xiao Long asked with a glint in his eyes. Zi Ji had one as well.

"You have something in mind?"

"But of course. I have a few ideas on how to improve Black Moon Merchant Guild."

'Men and their obsession with material things…' The Sovereign of the Seas sighed to herself. Well, whatever she has something to do in her free time when these festivities kick in. Besides…she is not planning to leave this place anymore.

After all, they will be flying to Supreme Ocean Palace either way.

~~~

"These here are automated Artefact creators. As you can see they use Purple Veined crystals to solidify Profound Energy.

This means fundamentally the Artefact will be like Heavenly Treasure as it won't cease to exist, it will even recover on its own with enough Profound energy."

"Such a thing… Long'er if this…"

"Yes, I know. But this is not easy to use. Simply put, some idiot with a high amount of cultivation simply could not enter here and make Artefact on his own. He needs to grasp baseline Runes in the first place."

As Xiao Long walked over he showed the 'controls' . It was a small table with a liquid surface connected to the automated Artefact construction table. In layman's terms…this is a Cultivation-verse version of a 3D printer. 

"This one here controls what you want to be created. As you can see I have schematics for a ring added to this artefact. With simple presses here and here."

Right in front of Zi Ji's eyes, he could see the other table lit up, all the arrays turned on. This table had on both sides small mountains of Purple crystals. Which started to slowly melt. Wisps of energy turned into strands and collided in the middle of the table, it started to weave into an item!

"...Incredible…this is utterly incredible!"

"Yes, well, what you see is a strong artefact creation. It takes time, however, one can make much cheaper ones."

"...Indeed with such artefact…"

'Long'er created an artefact which makes more artefacts! This is simply ingenious! If we start to sell these…'

"So you realised."

Xiao Long motioned to follow him to another table.

It was a long table with water inside of it.

Once he brushed his finger through the side the water on the table surged and became…Profound Sky Continent.

"The surface is a replica of our continent. The issue with controlling such a continent is efficiency. 

Over many years there were many revolts and the rise and fall of the Empires. The reason why Sacred Grounds were able to rule for so long is that they don't focus on control of the continent and instead simply continue to exist and maintain their high cultivation."

"That is correct."

"However, I have a design to rule everything once and for all. To achieve balance so that people wouldn't feel too oppressed and know who rules them all."

"Oh? Is it related to the monopoly you have over pills and now Artefacts?" Zi Ji's gut feeling combined with a general idea can see what he is planning.

"Correct. Sheer monopoly will make our existence simply necessary, if we disappear the place will become weaker in overall strength." As he said that he made something appear on the map.

"One of the steps for such dominance is extra floating islands which will operate like fortresses."

He made a floating island appear above Phoenix Imperial City as this city is the biggest on the continent. 

"These islands will be like a military presence and workshop for the pills and artefacts we will sell. They can move if necessary this way control would be centralised."

"...And in case of war, they could move out and attack as well." Zi Ji understood the grand idea. 

"Correct, I already have artefacts created for defence and attack, the Island could attack just as well as any Peak Monarch."

"...Heavens…"

"Yes. The waterfall system will generate Profound Energy for the attack, defence and resources needed to make everything on the floating fortress."

Zi Ji nodded this way they will have an Iron grip on the whole continent! And beyond! 

"Truly magnificent idea, Long'er but you will need manpower, your methods will need to spread." The merchant said while rubbing his new ring on the finger.

"Indeed." 

As the Young Master nodded he opened his Storage space and started to pull out crystal boxes and jade slips, books…

He was ready the whole time.

"I have prepared all of this when I was bored with something." Xiao Long said with a sigh as he recalled those two months of boredom when he made Xing Tong gather Profound energy for the Wheel of Reincarnation.

Yeah, he did a bunch of things. He hopes this time around with Qianye Ying'er it will be more interesting. The blonde is less bratty and not as stabby as the redhead Slaughter God.

"Fascinating! Then I shall proceed with this idea!"

Just like that Zi Ji got reinvigorated! He can't wait for the time when his Black Moon Merchant guild will spread to the Illusory Demon Continent!

~~~~~~Meantime~~~~~~

"So we meet again, Demon King."

"...Hmm…isn't it Sovereign of the Seas. What can this old man do?" Yun Canghai casually called out one of the Leaders from Sacred Grounds.

*Snort*

"No need to pretend."

"As if I can do anything. That freak of yours traumatised this old man. Have you ever fought an Array Master before? They are freaks. Wielding Profound Energy like it's some sort of magic."

The woman looked at the 'Demon' in front of her. He could see that this old man was indeed put in his place.

"I suppose Long'er has things under control."

"You don't say."

While he was put in the place, the old man still has his snarky personality.

"I am here to ask about your Continent, who could have potentially baited us to attack your place?" She asked with slightly narrowed eyes. Anger was bubbling inside of her. Such disrespect is just waiting to be paid back!

"This old man could only guess. The Huan Family have ruled the continent for a while. There are branch houses that could have a hand in this. Especially if it's the truth that the Little Demon Emperor is dead. 

It would only leave the Little Demon Empress who…while she has incredible skills as an administrator her cultivation is not Peak Monarch." Yun Canghai explained with a thoughtful look.

"...I see… so this Little Empress is potentially the current ruler." Qu Fengyi started to think about how to use this situation. From what Zi Ji and Xiao Long have cooked up it will take a few years to solidify their rule and prepare to move out. 

She could potentially arrange some sort of marriage between her grandson and the Empress which from the looks of is probably single.

This of course is what Zi Ji and maybe even Xiao Long would want as they call it a 'smooth takeover' while she doesn't care. Both are fine for her.

"That is correct. However, her rule is extremely unstable at best, as one needs the bloodline of the Golden Crow. To access the Trial she would need a special pass which is with me at this moment."

"Oh? You are giving away such a secret?"

He simply deadpanned at her. As if asking if she is stupid.

"Your Grandson is an utter freak of nature. It's more reasonable to tell everything than hide. Who knows what he will do to 'get a point' across?"

"..."

The more Qu Fengyi hears the more she is curious about Xiao Long's combat capacities. The Demon King is [Ninth of Sovereign Profound] that's extremely strong fighting strength.

Yet, he is in such a defeated state…

"Yes, so I will rather tell everything instead of suffering the inevitable."

"So you are willing to just watch how we walk over the Illusory Demon Continent?"

"No. I will ask for permission to talk with the Little Demon Empress first."

"And if it fails?"

"... then… I can't fail. She has no idea what that freak can do."

Qu Fengyi stiffly nodded as well. So he needs to persuade his Empress to surrender? That's a tall order. She knows well enough how one can be stubborn.

But to traumatise the Demon King to such an extent? What kind of Profound Art did Xiao Long develop for himself?

For a moment she pulled out the jade slip she was given. 

'Time to figure out.'

"Demon King Yun, you have a few short years to come up with a speech which will persuade your Little Demon Empress." 

After saying that she flew away to a pavilion assigned to her.

"...it would have been better if she asked to bring the moon down. It would be a far more reasonable request." Yun Canghai sighed to himself while looking at the sky.

~~~

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