**Chapter 117: Marquis Chuyu’s Scheme**

On the Origin Continent, within the Heavenly Extreme Icefield, lies a vast territory known as the Black Heaven Realm. For countless ages, this region has been shrouded by an immense expanse of black clouds. The area covered by these black clouds is so vast that it almost rivals the entire territory of a second-tier nation, such as the Yu Nation or the Shi Nation.

Deep within the black clouds, a winged figure was concealed. “Luo He?” he mused. “This Luo He is quite audacious. He must have guessed that a God-King is behind that exotic beast, yet he still disrespects me? The Marquis Chuyu whom he follows is a newly promoted First-Class Marquis! The competition among First-Class Marquises within the Di Chu lineage is brutal. It won’t be long before Luo He finds himself in trouble.” The winged figure, having lived for countless ages, was exceedingly cautious in his actions. “I’ll act when the right opportunity arises.” Beings who reach the pinnacle of the Chaos Realm can retain their complete memories even through reincarnation. Even he was unwilling to easily incur a great vendetta. However, he knew very well that by secretly fanning the flames at critical moments, he could push powerful individuals into desperate situations.

“This exotic beast was secretly enslaved by me; it was never publicly known,” the winged figure mused. “This time, when the exotic beast’s identity was exposed, I used a secret technique to conceal the karma. Only a handful of individuals on the entire Origin Continent could trace me. ‘Di Qing’ of the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom and the current Emperor ‘Di Fu’ are both skilled in investigating karma; they would be able to uncover my identity. However, the Sky Qu vein where I acted belongs to the territory controlled by the Di Chu lineage. The Di Chu lineage wouldn’t go as far as to ask Di Qing or Di Fu for help over such a minor theft.” Long ago, the winged figure was also a Chaos Realm guest elder of the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom, and at that time, he was even at the ‘Chaos Realm Transcendent’ level. Later, he became a God-King, his strength naturally deepened, and he then left the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom. Many God-Kings establish their own nations or or powers, believing they have the strength to stand firm in this world; destroying them is exceedingly difficult. Even Zuoshanke, at the time, believed he had more than enough self-preservation capability to handle most dangers on the Origin Continent, never expecting the Shi Nation Master to be so utterly unrestrained. “The Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom and the Thunder Ancient Kingdom occupy the core territories of the entire Origin Continent, monopolizing almost all treasures. What does it matter if I take a tiny bit? After all, they are naturally formed rare treasures of heaven and earth,” the winged figure thought. “My other exotic beasts haven’t been exposed yet.”

Buzz. The winged figure merged into the boundless black clouds; these endless black clouds were his true form. The entire Black Heaven Realm, shrouded by the black clouds, teemed with countless cultivators and exotic beasts. Whenever a Chaos Realm exotic beast was born, he would quietly enslave it and then dispatch it to the two ancient kingdoms to steal some rare treasures of heaven and earth.

******

Chudu, Marquis Chuyu’s Estate.

“Brother Chuyu,” Luo Feng reported the detailed circumstances of the mission.

Di Chuyu listened, frowning slightly. “This Chaos Realm exotic beast was never recorded in our intelligence. It must have been captured and enslaved not long after its birth. We don’t know who its master is. Anyone daring to send an exotic beast to steal rare treasures in the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom is either immensely powerful and unafraid of my Di Chu lineage’s investigation, or they are powerful figures within our royal family.” Di Chuyu knew very well that the ones who stole the most treasures were the various marquises within the royal family. The marquises faced fierce competition; if they couldn’t acquire enough resources through competition, they would resort to underhanded means.

“By tracing the exotic beast’s detailed identity, your mission is already a success,” Di Chuyu said with a smile. “As for the rest, there’s no need to interfere further. Whether the exotic beast’s master is a marquis of the royal family or some ancient existence, it’s not suitable for you to meddle.” Luo Feng nodded. “After the exotic beast died, there were no weapons or secret treasures, only some Sky Qu Stone Essence.” With a wave of his hand, several half-human-tall pieces of Sky Qu Stone Essence, along with a pile of Sky Qu Stone Essence granules, appeared. “In total, there are twenty-three pieces of Sky Qu Stone Essence and some fragments,” Luo Feng stated. “The exotic beast must have regularly handed over some of the illicitly mined Sky Qu Stone Essence to its master,” Marquis Chuyu noted, glancing at them. “Twenty-three pieces and some fragments are worth over 23,000 merit points. Keep them! The spoils of the mission are all yours.” Luo Feng nodded and put them away. Merit points in the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom were highly valuable, and Cosmic Sand could not be exchanged for them. According to Luo Feng’s understanding, one complete piece of Sky Qu Stone Essence could be exchanged for 1,000 merit points. However, purchasing it externally would cost nearly 300 million Cosmic Sand, and this price fluctuated because Sky Qu Stone Essence available for sale was very rare.

“Oh, by the way, I’ve looked into the perfect-level ‘Chaos Layer Creature’ materials you need,” Di Chuyu said. “Our Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom should have seven of them. Six are in the hands of God-Kings, and one is held by ‘Marquis Wuhuang.’ Marquis Wuhuang belongs to the ‘Di Wu’ lineage… and their relationship with our Di Chu lineage is very poor. I’ll need to put in more effort. It might take quite a long time to acquire these Chaos Layer Creature materials,” Di Chuyu admitted, finding it difficult. “If we can’t get them, then so be it; no need to force it,” Luo Feng replied. Because the first tribulation of the ‘Eight Tribulations Life Form’ did not include any records of transformation methods, Luo Feng needed to continuously perfect his own transformation methods. Currently, Luo Feng had made significant progress in the area of ‘life spirituality,’ but he also realized that the life structures of the Chaos Layer creatures he had captured were still too simple, with a relatively low upper limit. Deriving more profound life structures from scratch, however, was too difficult. Luo Feng naturally hoped to obtain more perfect Chaos Layer creatures to study their life composition. But it now seemed difficult even for Di Chuyu to acquire them.

“Take your time,” Di Chuyu said with a smile. “I haven’t been a First-Class Marquis for long. As I make more friends, I’ll find a way. With seven perfect-level Chaos Layer Creatures in our Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom, I refuse to believe I can’t obtain at least one type of material.” Di Chuyu understood clearly that the thirty epochs after becoming a Chaos Realm existence were a protection period, with no mandatory missions, giving him ample time to grow. Once the protection period ended, he would face the same competitive environment as the other six First-Class Marquises, and that’s when he would need Luo He’s assistance as a guest elder. Time passed, and Luo Feng had been in Chudu for over three epochs. He devoted himself to comprehending the legacy of the first tribulation of the ‘Eight Tribulations Life Form.’ The legacy was vast as a sea, and Luo Feng continuously absorbed knowledge, attempting to perfect his transformation methods.

Inside an elegant pavilion, Marquis Chuyu sat opposite a woman clad in crimson armor. “Marquis Chuyu, you can rest assured. As long as the ‘Northern Sea Beast Forest’ is placed under my command, I will certainly acquire the perfect-level ‘Chaos Layer Creature’ materials you need,” the woman in crimson armor said with a brilliant, confident smile. “Of course I trust City Lord Lianyu’s promise,” Marquis Chuyu said with a slight smile. “Soon, City Lord Lianyu should receive her appointment.” The woman in crimson armor and Marquis Chuyu chatted leisurely while drinking. A moment later, “Hm?” The woman in crimson armor showed delight; she had received a mission from the royal family, appointing her to manage the Northern Sea Beast Forest for ten thousand epochs. She immediately accepted the mission without hesitation. “Marquis Chuyu truly keeps his word,” the woman in crimson armor said, immediately standing up. “I will go and ask my royal father now! Within three days, I will surely bring you the materials you need.” Marquis Chuyu stood up. “Thank you, City Lord Lianyu.”

Besides the God-Kings from the royal lineage, the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom also had guest God-Kings. These guest God-Kings had fully integrated into the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom, some even granted fiefdoms, with their descendants multiplying within the kingdom. City Lord Lianyu’s father was ‘King Tiandu,’ who had been granted a fiefdom by the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom. The Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom disdained ordinary God-Kings, and such God-Kings were not qualified to receive fiefdoms within the kingdom! King Tiandu was a direct disciple of the Yanfeng Ancestor, addressed as a peer by the Emperors, and an extraordinary being. City Lord Lianyu was the only one among King Tiandu’s many children to have reached the Chaos Realm. However, the administration of the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom was led by thirteen Emperors and managed by the royal First-Class Marquises. Guest God-Kings had no authority to interfere. “To explore the entire Chaos Layer and capture perfect Chaos Layer Creatures, the ancient beings capable of this are either Emperors or individuals of King Tiandu’s caliber,” Marquis Chuyu reflected, acknowledging the difficulty. “After planning for so long, it has finally succeeded.” Marquis Chuyu believed City Lord Lianyu’s promise.

Marquis Chuyu exited the pavilion with his retinue, which included two Chaos Realm cultivators. There were also some Chaos Realm existences of ordinary strength in the Yanfeng Ancient Kingdom, who sought to approach First-Class Marquises in an attempt to gain opportunities. “Di Chuyu!” a fierce voice thundered. Marquis Chuyu’s expression shifted slightly as he turned to look. He saw two figures approaching with a group of subordinates. “Di Chuyu, regarding this Northern Sea Beast Forest mission… Marquis Chuji and I both asked for your help, yet you showed no respect for either of us!” said an ugly figure covered in black fur, whose eyes crackled with lightning. “I suspected you would help City Lord Lianyu, and indeed it is so.” “For the past three-plus epochs, I’ve been quite accommodating in task assignments, but this Northern Sea Beast Forest mission is very important to me,” Di Chuyu said. “I cannot yield this time.” “You’ve grown bolder,” the black-furred figure sneered, his malevolent aura washing over Di Chuyu, making his heart race. Among the seven First-Class Marquises, Marquis Chuyuan was a lunatic. Being of both Yanfeng royal and Thunder royal blood, Marquis Chuyuan had endured numerous hardships and torments in his youth, which twisted his personality, making him increasingly violent and tyrannical. Marquis Chuyuan only got along well with Marquis Chuji, who shared a similar temperament.

“When one is weak, one should act accordingly.” A burly figure beside him looked at Di Chuyu. “Do you even deserve to take a King-level mission?” “We First-Class Marquises hold equal status,” Di Chuyu said, his expression also grim. “I’ve yielded all past King-level missions; I haven’t claimed a single one! For this Northern Sea Beast Forest mission… since I’ve never claimed it before, I naturally have priority.” “Priority?” the ugly, black-furred figure roared. “We already told you to yield it to us! How dare you try to snatch it?” Bang! A terrifying wave of energy slammed into Di Chuyu, also affecting his subordinates. Even the two Chaos Realm cultivators beside him felt a formidable pressure ripple towards them. The formation array of the pleasure grounds instantly materialized. Di Chuyu was sent flying backward by the impact, slamming into the array, and the two Chaos Realm cultivators beside him also crashed into it. The thunderous crash attracted the attention of many guests. As for the few ordinary attendants by Di Chuyu’s side? They had long since turned to dust. “Oops, I accidentally killed a few of your attendants,” the ugly, black-furred figure chuckled sinisterly. “I suppose they’ll fine me a few thousand merit points? Hahaha, fine me whatever you want. Consider this a warning. Next time, I won’t be so gentle,” the ugly, black-furred figure said, turning to leave. Marquis Chuji, standing nearby, cast a cold glance at Marquis Chuyu. “Di Chuyu, you know Marquis Chuyuan’s temper! If you behave, you’ll suffer less. Otherwise, even I won’t be able to stop him.” With that, Marquis Chuji also departed.

Di Chuyu and the two Chaos Realm cultivators beside him all had grim expressions. “Marquis, are we just going to endure this?” a Chaos Realm cultivator with several tentacles couldn’t help but ask. “Let’s go back,” Di Chuyu said coldly, turning to leave. Many of the guests in the pleasure grounds were of considerable status, but upon witnessing the conflict between the three First-Class Marquises, none dared to look further.

Two days later, Di Chuyu arrived at Luo Feng’s cave abode. “Brother Chuyu,” Luo Feng emerged from his seclusion to meet him. “I finally didn’t disappoint Brother Luo He,” Di Chuyu said with a hearty laugh. “After scheming for three epochs, I’ve at last obtained the materials for the perfect-level Chaos Layer Creature.” As he spoke, Di Chuyu took out a jade box, opened it, and inside lay a yellow feather. The feather gleamed with a peculiar luster, like a precious jade.