Chapter 1411: Paying Tribute
At this moment, a Qing Family’s disciple walked into the hall, bowed to Liu Ming from afar, and said,
“Reporting to the family master, Gai Haipeng, the elder of the Gai Family, came to see family master with an important matter. He is waiting outside the valley at the moment.”
Liu Ming frowned, then he ordered, “Invite him in.”
The Qing Family’s disciple affirmed, turned around and flew away.
“What is Gai Haipeng doing here right now? Hmph, this sly man. He colluded with the Di Family to take away Moyun Valley. After seeing the strength of family master, he comes to flatter you now. What a villain he is.” Qing Gu snorted and said disdainfully.
“Gai Haipeng’s character is not detestable, but he should be visiting to transfer the Moyun Valley to us under the order of Gai Family’s grand elder. As the saying goes, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Let’s see what he has for us.” Liu Ming smiled faintly and said.
As they were talking, 2 escape lights landed in front of the main hall. It was Gai Haipeng and the Qing Family’s disciple.
“Family Master Liu, I’m here to trouble you again.” As soon as Gai Haipeng stepped into the hall, he greeted Liu Ming from afar without waiting for Liu Ming to speak. His tone was quite enthusiastic.
“It turns out to be Gai Haipeng. Please take a seat.” Liu Ming stood up, returned a bow, and then motioned Gai Haipeng to sit down.
“May I ask why is Mr. Gai here?” Qing Gu asked in a cold tone.
Gai Haipeng knew that Qing Gu was holding a grudge because of the matter with the Di Family. However, he was also a very scheming person. He showed a smile, took out a white jade tablet, and said to Liu Ming,
“Haha, I was deluded by some abhorrent villains a few days ago and offended your honorable family, so please forgive me, Family Master Liu and the other elders. Firstly, I’m here to apologize. Secondly, I’m here to transfer the Moyun Valley to the Qing Family under the order of grand elder.”
Liu Ming waved his hand and took the jade tablet in Gai Haipeng’s hand with black air. After scanning with Divine Thought, he found that this jade slip stored the map of Moyun Valley and the contract of Central Imperial.
“Your family is so polite. Thank you for coming.” Liu Ming smiled slightly, kept the jade tablet, and said.
“Mr. Liu works for Venerable Jade Po. It is our Gai Family’s blessing that you choose us. If there are any other requests in the future, our Gai Family will definitely cooperate fully.” Gai Haipeng said with a laugh.
Liu Ming’s eyes flashed slightly with a hint of gloom.
Gai Haipeng obviously intended to probe more intel.
Gai Haipeng noticed the change in Liu Ming’s expression and felt a chill in his heart. However, he had orders from the grand elder, so he had no choice but to do it.
“Starting tonight, the Qing Family has truly taken root in the Rolling Cloud Mountain Range. We will meet more in the future.” Gai Haipeng forced a few laughs and changed the topic with some casual remarks.
“Our Qing Family has just settled in the Rolling Cloud Mountain Range, how can we compare with the Gai Family.” Liu Ming said with a calm expression.
“You can’t say that. Although the Qing Family settled in the Rolling Cloud Mountain Range late, Family Master Liu’s power is extraordinary and you have a wide network of contacts. Our grand elder wanted to visit in person today, but he had been training a technique behind closed doors, so he asked me to apologize to Family Master Liu on his behalf.” Gai Haipeng said with a slight smile.
“Grand elder is too polite. It should be me who visits.” Liu Ming said with a faint smile.
They chatted for a few words casually. Gai Haipeng probed about the relationship between Liu Ming and Central Imperial. His small eyes kept observing the changes in Liu Ming’s expression, but the scene of Liu Ming killing Di Long that day was still fresh in his memory, so he was afraid to ask too much.
After the two sides chatted for a while. Gai Haipeng saw Qing Gu’s expression getting more and more unfriendly, so he wisely found an excuse to leave.
“Family master, although Gai Family transferred Moyun Valley to us, they don’t have any good intentions. This Gai Haipeng has just been inquiring about the relationship between family master and Central Imperial. We must be on guard.” After Gai Haipeng left, Qing Gu said immediately.
“The Gai Family has been dominant in the Rolling Cloud Mountain Range for tens of thousands of years, so they of course don’t want us to hinder their dominance. It is normal for them to spy on our situation. No need to make a fuss.” Liu Ming said calmly.
“Yes, family master.” Qing Gu affirmed. He couldn’t help but look curious too.
“Do you also want to find out about my relationship with Central Imperial?” Liu Ming said with a slight smile.
“I don’t dare.” Qing Gu saw the peaceful smile on Liu Ming’s face, but he felt shocked in his mind for some reason. He hurriedly bowed to Liu Ming.
Everyone in the Qing Family had long been very curious about the relationship between Liu Ming and Central Imperial, but since Liu Ming didn’t tell them, they naturally didn’t dare to ask more questions.
“I will explain my relationship with Central Imperial to you when the time comes.” For some reason, the figure of Zhao Qianying flashed across Liu Ming’s mind. He couldn’t help but sigh and say.
Qing Gu nodded, then he hesitated and asked again,
“Then what should we do now?”
“Stop our disciples from going out and avoid close contact with the surrounding aristocratic families. Although we have abundant resources now, our foundation is still relatively weak. We should let our strength grow for a while first.” Liu Ming pondered for a moment and said.
“Yes, family master.” Qing Gu agreed.
…
Since the Qing Family actually took over Moyun Valley from the Gai Family, they had become more and more low-key and had not had much contact with the surrounding aristocratic families.
Some of the surrounding aristocratic families came to visit, but they were only received by a few Qing Family’s elders. As for the mysterious Family Master Liu Ming, he rarely appeared in public. Even ordinary disciples rarely saw his true face.
As time went by, the Qing Family had been cultivating behind closed doors. They showed no sign of competition for profit and expansion, so the surrounding aristocratic families had gradually lost interest in the Qing Family.
Although the Gai Family had been paying close attention to the Qing Family, they did not do anything out of the ordinary because they were wary of the relationship between Liu Ming and Central Imperial.
Moreover, the time to pay tribute to the Demon Emperor was approaching. The Gai Family had no time to pay too much attention to the Qing Family.
In the blink of an eye, 5 years passed.
To this day, the Qing Family looked little changed from the outside, but inside, earth-shaking changes had already taken place.
The Qing Family followed the Taiqing Sect’s system and kept everything in order. The family even had Xuan Hall, Scriptures Pavilion, Alchemy Pavilion, Forging Pavilion, etc.
The batch of books that Liu Ming brought out in Demon Abyss Tower was also renamed and gradually taken out. According to the difficulty level, function, and strength, they were placed in various areas of the Scriptures Pavilion for the disciple to read with contribution points.
After Qing Gu and several other Celestial State members read these books, they were utterly shocked.
These books about arrays, alchemy, mystic arts, etc. were all ingenious.
However, since Liu Ming came to the Qing Family, everything he did has always amazed them. Qing Gu didn’t think much about it except for growing respect for this young family member.
Relying on these books, the Qing Family had cultivated a group of potential alchemists, forgers, and array cultivators in just 5 years. Although they were all just scratching the surface, they had a long way to go.
Liu Ming brought a large number of precious materials from the Demon Abyss, coupled with some external elixir assistance, the Qing Family had a great boost in strength. Although due to the short time, there was still no new Celestial State and Real Pellet State demon, those who were stuck at the bottleneck had made significant progress.
This situation excited Qing Gu and others. If this continued, within a hundred years, the Qing Family would definitely be able to become a new rising force in the Rolling Cloud Mountain Range. It wouldn’t be difficult to even surpass the Gai Family.
Time passed day by day, and the day to pay tribute to the Demon Emperor was getting closer and closer.
According to the regulations of the Central Imperial, any family must go to the Central Imperial City to pay tribute to the Demon Emperor and participate in the ritual on the day of tribute.
Of course, due to the rebellion of the Liu Family, 1 of the 4 great families, there might be some changes in the tribute this time.
In any case, some large families in Rolling Cloud Mountain Range had already prepared for this matter.
The Central Imperial had no regulations regarding the amount of tribute items.
However, major aristocratic families would not be stingy either. This was not just a celebration to pay tribute to the Demon Emperor. Major families could also take this opportunity to show their family strength and make friends with other forces at the same time.
The Qing Family now had strong financial resources. Qing Gu and others originally planned to prepare more treasures to make the limelight at the tribute ceremony and make the Qing Family famous, but they gave up because Liu Ming ordered them to keep a low profile.
In the Qing Family meeting hall, Liu Ming and the 4 Celestial State elders of the Qing Family were discussing the tribute.
At this moment, there was only more than a month until the date of paying tribute. Although Quan State was not far from Yu State where Central Imperial City was located, they must move as soon as possible.
“This time, as the family master, I will lead the team to pay tribute this time. All of you just stay here and focus on training.” Liu Ming said faintly.
“Family Master, the tribute hall of Lord Demon Emperor in the past will not be peaceful, and there are many trivial matters along the way. It is better to bring an elder with you…” Qing Gu was a little anxious when he heard that Liu Ming was attending the meeting alone. He immediately persuaded him.
Qing Cong, Qing Fang, and Yan Shan also quickly persuaded.
“Rolling Cloud Mountain Range seems calm, but in fact there are undercurrents. It’s better for you guys to stay.” Liu Ming said calmly before Qing Gu finished speaking.
“As Family Master commands, we will protect the Qing Family.” Seeing Liu Ming’s firm attitude, Qing Gu and the others had no choice but to agree.
At the same time, the Qing Family’s tribute team had been prepared. A giant green flying boat with a length of tens of meters was parked on the green stone square in front of the Qing Family meeting hall. Standing next to the flying boat were a dozen Qing Family’s disciples. Everyone’s face was filled with excitement. They were ready to depart.
TL: Would he be forced to marry Zhao Qianying on the ceremony?
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