Swallowed Star 2: Land of Origin

Luo Feng received twelve invitations, out of which he needs to visit Yuan Xiang Palace Master in person.

The other eleven are all Elders, mostly not as strong as Luo Feng, who sent their visitation cards first and then came to visit him one after another.

"Haha, Brother Luo Feng easily crushed Elder Tian He in battle, truly making a name for himself in Yulan City," a man in a purple robe said with a laugh.

"Vice Hall Master Zhuo Jiu, please have a seat," Luo Feng had already prepared some fruits and wine.

Both sides sat down.

"I joined Qianbao Hall at the invitation of Brother Qianbao," the man in a purple robe sighed, "In the blink of an eye, it's already been hundreds of millions of epochs!"

"Qianbao Hall is indeed quite famous among the merchants in Yulan City," Luo Feng nodded in praise, "Regarding the quality of Weapon Secret Treasures they sell, they should be ranked in the top three in Yulan City."

Luo Feng was just saying something nice.

In reality, Qianbao Hall barely ranks third in the Weapon Secret Treasures industry in Yulan City.

"It's already quite an achievement," the man in a purple robe said, "In Yulan City, Master Gai Tao leads in this Weapon Secret Treasures industry, with his single entity holding more than fifty percent of the market. The other merchants have a hard time surviving."

Luo Feng listened.

The core strength of Qianbao Hall is their mastery in Artifact Refining by Master of Thousand Treasures Hall, who wholeheartedly dedicates himself to Artifact Refining and is not willing to be distracted by trivial matters. Vice Hall Master Zhuo Jiu is responsible for sales and many other matters.

These two Elder-level beings lead the Qianbao Hall.

"In the industry of Weapon Secret Treasures, security is very important," the man in a purple robe lamented, "After all, as the number of Weapon Secret Treasures increases, their value becomes extremely high! Whether it's Cultivators or Low Level Primordial Life who infiltrate, they always think about seizing them."

Luo Feng nodded, for such top-notch large merchants, being robbed once can mean losses calculated in 'billions of Primordial Crystals'! For people like the Master of Thousand Treasures Hall, it would be extremely painful.

"Precious Secret Treasures can be worth tens of millions of Primordial Crystals. Just a hundred of them amounts to a huge fortune," Luo Feng remarked sentimentally.

"During a theft millions of epochs ago, we lost over twenty billion Primordial Crystals," the man in purple self-mockingly said, "That incident almost cleaned out all of our publicly displayed Weapon Secret Treasures, it severely wounded us, and even to this day, we haven't been able to confirm the real identity of the raiders!"

What's a theft of a weak Cultivator, after all?

In Yulan City, real raids target large merchants.

"With Brother Qianbao and me in Qianbao Hall, and with us two Elders and the support of our Formation, we were still robbed, unable to even ascertain the identity of the opponents!" the man in purple sighed, "Actually, from another aspect, it can be deduced that... the raiders should be some being ranked among the top twenty in the city."

Only overpowering strength can achieve this.

"This is why we come to invite you, Brother Luo Feng," the man in purple looked at Luo Feng, "Brother Luo Feng, you could easily defeat Elder Tian He. In terms of strength, you would definitely rank among the top hundred in Yulan City. With Brother Qianbao and me joining forces, plus the defensive Formation of Qianbao Hall, no one in Yulan City could think about raiding us unless three Palace Masters make their move."

The power Luo Feng displayed indeed far exceeds that of a common Elder.

"As long as you join our Qianbao Hall, you will naturally become a Vice Hall Master, with a status comparable to mine and Brother Qianbao's," the man in purple said, "and each epoch, we can give you 10,000 Primordial Crystals."

10,000 Primordial Crystals each epoch, which if over many epochs, would amount to 1 billion Primordial Crystals.

This is also the rather normal income for those at the Elder level! They don't need to venture outside the city to continuously have income.

Although less than hunting, it's safer and sustainable.

"Of course..." the man in purple continued, "Joining any side comes with a bonus. We can give a bonus of 200 million Primordial Crystals. You know, after that previous raid, our loss in Qianbao Hall was quite substantial. Thus, these 200 million Primordial Crystals need to be paid in two installments. One when Brother Luo Feng joins, and another after ten thousand epochs."

"200 million Primordial Crystals as a bonus? And split in two?" Luo Feng looked at him.

Generally, the bonus for an Elder-level existence is about 200 million.

But I am not ordinary! If my strength were less than Elder Tian He, Qianbao Hall wouldn't have come to invite me.

"It might seem a bit less," the man in purple smiled and said, "but Brother Luo Feng, you come from Source World with many Avatars. You can completely join several houses. And my Qianbao Hall is also under Wei Yang Palace Master."

"You know, Yuan Xiang Palace Master was severely injured, and nowadays he almost doesn't make a move anymore. The future of Yulan City will be decided by Wei Yang Palace Master!" the man in purple said, "By joining Qianbao Hall, you naturally become one of Wei Yang Palace Master's own."

Luo Feng nodded: "I understand the terms you offered, Brother Zhuo Jiu; frankly, they are a bit low compared to other invitations."

The man in purple's face slightly changed, "Yes, Brother Luo Feng, you have many Avatars, please give us a hand or two, and Qianbao Hall will certainly remember this favor."

"I'll think about it," Luo Feng stood up, signifying the end of the meeting.

The man in purple had no choice but to stand and leave.

"Just deploying an Avatar and still fussing over so little!" He was quite dissatisfied, but there was nothing he could do, as Qianbao Hall is now rather strapped for funds.

...

Visits from one Elder-level being after another, Luo Feng had interactions with each of them.

Before meeting with Yuan Xiang Palace Master, Luo Feng indeed prepared, planning to send Avatars to join several forces to secure substantial income to support his early phase of Cultivation.

But ever since receiving the '50 billion Primordial Crystals' gift from Yuan Xiang Palace Master, Luo Feng's thoughts changed.

"Emperor Qing brother."

Luo Feng and Emperor Qing met.

"These past couple of days, quite a few Elder-level beings have come to visit Brother Luo Feng," Emperor Qing said with a smile.

"Eleven houses invited me, help me see which one suits best," Luo Feng waved his hand, and many pieces of information floated in the air, precisely the details of the eleven invitations.

Emperor Qing looked up at this information, memorizing it in a glance.

"Brother Luo Feng, how many houses are you planning to join?" Emperor Qing asked.

"Just one," Luo Feng said.

"Just one? With so many Avatars... shouldn't you earn a bit more?" Emperor Qing couldn't help saying, with eleven houses inviting, all offering billions as a one-time payment. If it were him, Emperor Qing, he would definitely choose several.

Luo Feng shook his head: "Just pick one, it can be from the Neutral Camp or from Yuan Xiang Palace Master's side."

"Yuan Xiang Palace Master's camp is relatively weak now," said Emperor Qing. "Among the eleven families, there are four from the neutral camp, and two are with Yuan Xiang Palace Master. In terms of conditions, Dan Tower offers better ones, and the 'Changqing Building Owner' also has a good reputation. But choosing Dan Tower... the trouble will be greater, as Dan Tower and Insect Nest have always had conflicts."

"No pain, no gain," Luo Feng nodded. "I also lean towards Dan Tower, so let's go with it."

Out of eleven invitations, Luo Feng chose only one—Dan Tower!

"Emperor Ming, Di Fu!" Luo Feng called out.

Soon, Emperor Ming and Di Fu arrived promptly.

"Brother Luo Feng," said Emperor Ming.

"What is it, any good news?" Di Fu smiled.

"Take a seat."

Luo Feng looked at the three present, "Many factions in Yulan City invited us, and I have decided to choose 'Dan Tower,' to take on the role of Vice Building Owner! According to what Changqing Building Owner said before, I also invite the three of you to join."

For Dan Tower, as one of the factions, arranging three positions for Emperor Qing, Emperor Ming, and Di Fu was easily manageable, which also helped secure Luo Feng better.

"The three of you, willing to join together?" Luo Feng asked.

"Willing, of course willing," Di Fu immediately said.

"Couldn't ask for more," Emperor Ming also didn't hesitate.

"To obtain resources without taking risks, who would refuse such a good deal?" Emperor Qing was also satisfied; as a Mid-stage Divine Emperor Enlightened One, joining a faction would generally mean middle or high-level positions.

But those middle and high-level positions are very limited, who would hire him if not enough trust was there?

Because of Luo Feng's relation, Dan Tower also invited all three of them.

Emperor Qing just needed to arrange an avatar to take up a position, and then he could have a steady income.

"Since all of you agree, then I'll contact Changqing Building Owner," Luo Feng nodded.

…

In the Weapons Secret Treasures industry, within Yulan City, Master Gai Tao's faction is an absolute Overlord, occupying more than half of the market share.

But in the alchemy industry, it's fiercely competitive, with no single faction having a particularly large share.

Dan Tower is one of the top forces in Yulan City's pharmaceutical industry.

"Brother Luo Feng, Brother Luo Feng! I finally waited for you!" an excited silver-haired elder greeted warmly, "So many visited you yesterday, and I was quite uneasy. I was afraid our little Dan Tower couldn't invite you. Today, when I received your message, I was excited all the way until now!"

Luo Feng, unlike the typical elders.

Conservatively speaking, Luo Feng is among the top hundred in strength in Yulan City.

Even various factions in Yulan City believe that Luo Feng Divine Emperor might have the strength of the top fifty.

Such a being! Garrisoning a faction, that would be much more stable.

"From now on, I will be a member of Dan Tower!" Luo Feng smiled, "Luo Feng, greetings to the Building Owner."

"Brother Luo Feng, don't be so polite, no need for that," the silver-haired elder smiled warmly.

The silver-haired elder then sighed, "Speaking of which, I am also one of the oldest Elders who built the city with Yuan Xiang Palace Master. But Yuan Xiang Palace Master has been contaminated by High Level Primordial Life and hardly intervenes anymore. We old folks are not having a good time either, especially after the Insect Nest Master came to Yulan City, he has targeted me everywhere."

"Oh?" Luo Feng was surprised.

"The Insect Nest Master, too, is adept at Alchemy Techniques," the silver-haired elder disdainfully said, "Insect Nest Master, can extract some essence of life and turn it into medicine. However, his school is bloody and evil, which I really don't admire."

The silver-haired elder sighed, "Unfortunately, with the Insect Nest Master being strong and domineering, he resorts to other tricks since he can't compete with me in normal business."

"Now with Brother Luo He, it's different," the silver-haired elder looked at Luo Feng, "Brother Luo He, you can study our Dan Tower's Formations! Whatever Formation you need to assist you, just speak up. I will buy the suitable Formation."

"Also, here's the agreed remuneration, five hundred million Primordial Crystals," the silver-haired elder took out a cloth bag in a flip of his hand, the one-time payment he offered was obviously on the higher end.

This Elder, who built the city with Yuan Xiang Palace Master, is quite strong in terms of wealth accumulation.

"This five hundred million Primordial Crystals, Building Owner should take back," Luo Feng smiled, "I plan to convert them all into various auxiliary Elixirs within Dan Tower."

"Oh?" The silver-haired elder was delighted upon hearing this.

Using them all to buy Elixirs, that could somewhat recoup some of the losses.

"Even if the three palace masters come to buy Elixirs, they would also get the lowest seven parts price," the silver-haired elder looked at Luo Feng, "Brother Luo Feng, as my Dan Tower Vice Building Owner, you get the same purchasing price as me, the lowest six parts price."

Changqing Building Owner, if taking some Elixirs, also has to pay in Primordial Crystals, even at six parts price, this price has almost no profit. But at least, it would convert the accumulated Elixirs into an income of 'five hundred million Primordial Crystals,' which pleased Changqing Building Owner greatly.

"Six parts price? Thank you, Building Owner," Luo Feng expressed his gratitude.

"You're welcome," the silver-haired elder laughed, "By the way, Brother Luo Feng, are your three hometown old friends willing to come to Dan Tower?"

"They are naturally willing," Luo Feng said, "As for what they will do, Building Owner, please assign them roles based on their abilities."

"Alright," the silver-haired elder's smile grew even brighter.

Fellow Cultivators from the same Source World naturally have an unusual relationship.

By securing those three, it ties up the relationship with Luo Feng to some extent.

As relying solely on resources to entice is not quite stable enough.

"With Luo Feng Divine Emperor here, Dan Tower's business can operate normally," the silver-haired elder thought, the previous days were too stifling! Knowing the conflict between Dan Tower and Insect Nest, there were no Elder-level beings willing to join Dan Tower.

Until today, they finally waited for Luo Feng.