Chapter 162: Product Launch Event First-Half

— Thousand Treasure City —

Amidst the throng of traffic, flying arks ranging from the size of a skiff to the size of a castle moved back and forth through the sky.

A large and opulent flying ark adorned with gold and spirit jade slowly docked at the private sky port that the Thousand Treasure Pavilion had prepared.

The banner atop the flying ark told everyone who saw it which clan it belonged to. The name of the clan invited a mix of awe and hatred. The Ximen Clan, the wealthiest clan of the Vermilion Bird Province.

Within the study room, Ximen Hao, who was already responsible for many of the family matters, was reading a report. This was the report of their operation against the Murong Clan over the past few months.

The report summarized the operation of the Ximen Clan to seize the opportunity when the Murong Clan was at its weakest. They had weakened them even further and seized several assets, cutting meat from them and stomping them down so they could not raise their heads against them anytime soon.

In the report, there were a few herb cultivation gardens that they had seized from the Murong Clan, along with several businesses and trade routes. They avoided touching the Murong Clan’s core interests, which were the military and arms trade. Otherwise, even if the Murong Clan were weakened, they would surely do their best to drag the Ximen Clan down with them or die trying.

Ximen Hao checked the last page and could not help but smile. This was a jackpot. They had seized one of the Murong Clan’s spirit stone mines. But this was as far as the Ximen Clan could carve out. Any more than that and the Murong Clan might go berserk.

In truth, the Ximen Clan and the Murong Clan were political enemies. The Murong Clan oversaw the military while the Ximen Clan oversaw the economy. By nature, the Murong Clan was stronger than the Ximen Clan by one level due to their core interests.

However, after the Murong Clan lost three flying ark battleships to Wei Chen along with many of their core forces, and both their patriarch and his heirs died in the Azure River Province, this opportunity made the Ximen Clan want to celebrate and set off fireworks.

Thus now, the Murong Clan had become second in line both in terms of wealth and military power within the Vermilion Bird Province. The undisputed king, aside from the emperor, was the Ximen Clan.

And of course, because Ximen Hao was close with Wei Chen, who was the main cause of the Murong Clan’s downfall, he also gained credit within his clan. This made his standing within the clan stronger and his foundation more stable.

The position of the main heir would not escape his grasp.

“I must thank Brother Chen for this windfall. I hope buying U-Phone 2 for every person in the Ximen Clan household will repay some of his favor,” Ximen Hao murmured with a smile.

The Ximen Clan flying ark docked at the port, and Ximen Hao along with his entourage walked down from the bridge to the port.

A group of reception staff that the Thousand Treasure Pavilion had prepared to receive Ximen Hao and his entourage greeted him with smiles, worthy of the heir of a powerful clan.

They led Ximen Hao and his entourage into the Thousand Treasure Pavilion headquarters and into the large hall where some people were already sitting and waiting. Ximen Hao and his people were given a VIP booth.

The hall’s arrangement and decoration looked like a theater stage from Wei Chen’s previous life. There was a large screen and a stage. Of course, the arrangement was deliberate on Wei Chen’s part.

Ximen Hao received VIP treatment. Various snacks, sweets, and food were served to him. Among them were many dishes he had never seen before.

If little Ningning were here, she would recognize them, as the dishes were all the ones Wei Chen had made for her. Whether it was floating island or other fancy French dishes, they were now on the table.

Ximen Hao could not help but enjoy the dishes, along with the taste and novelty they brought.

“At this rate, I don’t mind waiting a bit for this so called ’Product Launch Event,’” Ximen Hao muttered as he spooned another bite of floating island.

As time passed and nearly all of the dishes had been finished, people gathered in the seats below the VIP booths. Ximen Hao noticed that many staff members seemed to be preparing for the opening event.

The people talked and chatted with each other, their voices clamoring throughout the theater. The noise grew louder and louder as more people arrived, until every prepared seat was taken by guests.

The staff looked at each other. Some checked their pocket watches, artifacts used to measure time.

Then the lights dimmed, and the clamoring voices quickly grew quiet as the screen started to light up.

On the screen, the scene shifted to a valley full of blooming flowers, with clouds slowly drifting below the cliff.

In the gazebo, Dream Butterfly sat in her white and green dress, calm yet graceful and elegant like a goddess. She was playing the zither. The song was full of melancholy and nostalgia. Her faint smile drew the attention of every eye in the hall, whether they belonged to men or women.

Everyone fell under the charm of the graceful figure and became ensnared by the song that reverberated through the hall.

The scene changed to a thundering sky, and a little girl fell from the heavens. Her mischievous smile and adorable face immediately drew everyone’s attention.

The girl turned toward the heavens and playfully stuck out her tongue.

“Hah! I finally got out! This time I’ll play around to my heart’s content!” she shouted loudly toward the sky before skipping toward the nearest town.

At first, the little girl was happy. She encountered bandits, but her cultivation was far more advanced than that of ordinary people.

At this moment, the audience understood that the little girl was someone from the Immortal Realm, and likely someone with a powerful background.

She later met a lone sword cultivator wandering the world. The man was charming and good at cooking. The little girl stole his food and ate it, and she used her more advanced cultivation to force him to become her cook.

The man only let out a sigh and smiled. He did not bear any grudge against the little girl and decided to take care of her.

With a companion, the journey became much more joyful. The little girl continued traveling across the lower realm, forgetting the passage of time.

The two grew closer and closer. As time passed, the young heart matured and feelings began to bloom, but the swordsman saw her as nothing more than a little sister.

Alas, the girl who came from the Immortal Realm had not yet learned about the limits of the lower realm. The laws of heaven and earth in the lower realm did not contain immortal qi for the little girl to rely on.

For people born in the lower realm, immortal qi was not necessary to maintain their cultivation and strength. But for people from the Immortal Realm who were accustomed to its abundance, things were different.

Without immortal qi to sustain their cultivation for a long time, their bodies would grow weaker and weaker.

The little girl gradually weakened, to the point that she eventually became weaker than the man whom she had once forced to become her personal cook.

But the man only ruffled her head and did not take revenge. He continued to take care of her.

The little girl thought it was not bad to live like this, free from the high expectations of her family and free to roam the world.

But…

One day, the weakness caused by the lack of immortal qi made her health deteriorate to a dangerous level.

The swordsman tried his best to find a cure for her, but to no avail. There was nothing in the lower realm that could cure her.

In the end, the little girl had no choice but to tell the truth to the man. She was the princess of the Cloud Immortal Sect, a sect that resided in the Immortal Realm.

“Why don’t you go back then? If you go back, you would…” the swordsman asked, his voice tinged with pain and worry.

“I sneaked out during my cultivation. If I go back, I will be punished, and I would not have another chance to sneak out again,” the little girl said with a mischievous smile. However, her voice was clearly weak and fatigued, and her face was pale.

“It’s just…”

“Besides,” the little girl said with a smile as she looked at the swordsman, “if I go back, where can I find your delicious food? How can I talk to you?” Her voice was full of melancholy.

The swordsman chuckled and ruffled her hair.

“Just go back. It is not like we are separating by life and death. Sooner or later I will ascend to the Immortal Realm, and then I can cook for you again. As long as you live, you can eat whatever you want.”

The little girl’s face fell. She clearly did not want to go back.

“Besides… we can talk to each other anytime.” The swordsman took out a U-Phone 2 and gave it to the little girl.

“What’s this?” the little girl asked in confusion.

“It’s a U-Phone. I already put my number in it. Don’t forget to call me when you get there.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep