Chapter 1 A Conspiracy Unfolds

To get back to our story… just as Feng Bujue and the others were preparing to enter the Heavenly Tome World, outside the Harem City… a conspiracy was quietly unfolding.

"Such beautiful rosy clouds…"

Above the Vast Sea, a gentle voice slowly echoed.

The man speaking appeared to be around thirty years old, handsome and upright, with a dignified air. He wore a luxurious brocade robe, a dragon-patterned belt around his waist, and cloud-patterned boots on his feet. His long hair was tied up in a crown, adorned with bright pearls. No matter how one looked at him… he was an extraordinary figure.

At this moment, the man was standing on a bronze-colored flying sword, floating in mid-air, seemingly speaking to another man in front of him.

And that other man… was Yin Loulan.

"The light of a destroyed Yuan Shen is naturally beautiful," Yin Loulan replied without turning his head.

The man smiled slightly upon hearing this, and continued, "Mo Ruoqiu was, after all, the eldest son of the Mo family. Aren't you afraid that the Mo family will come looking for you after killing him?"

"Brother Ji, don't you think your question is somewhat laughable?" Yin Loulan said, turning his flying sword around to face the other man.

The man he called "Brother Ji" was none other than Ji Fenglong's elder brother, the current head of the Ji family, and a Yuansheng-level expert – Ji Xuanzong.

"Heh… you're right…" Ji Xuanzong smiled casually, touching his nose. "After tonight, Brother Yin no longer needs to hide his true strength from the world… At that time, Mo Ruoqiu's death will become a good excuse. If the Mo family comes to seek revenge, you can take the opportunity to defeat them all and make a name for yourself."

"Mm~ The only one who understands me is Brother Ji." Although Yin Loulan's tone was pleasant when he said this, his face… remained tense.

Over the years… Yin Loulan had painstakingly and tirelessly plotted to hide his ambitions. In order to avoid revealing his true thoughts, he simply kept his facial muscles tense, maintaining a cold expression year-round. Now… unless he was greatly stimulated, or deliberately intended to do so… his face would no longer show any obvious changes in expression.

"Heh… mutual understanding," Ji Xuanzong replied. "Looking at the entire Shengyuan World, the only person who can understand me, Ji Xuanzong, is Brother Yin."

At this point, the two men smiled at each other, their smiles containing an extremely deep understanding and trust.

Clearly, they had known each other for more than just a day or two. And the grand enterprise they were about to launch… had been brewing for many years.

"By the way, Brother Yin," Ji Xuanzong said seriously after a few seconds. "What's the situation in the city right now? Are there any unforeseen events that might affect our plans?"

"None at all," Yin Loulan replied confidently. "As in previous years, there are indeed many tourists, wanderers, and strange people in the city, but those who can reach the Seventh Rotation of Yuansheng Wuji are… few and far between." He glanced at the rosy clouds on the sea. "Now there's one less."

"Mm…" Ji Xuanzong nodded in agreement. "In other words… the only people in the city who pose a threat to us are my sister, Su Xiaoxiao, and Lin Que, the three of them."

"Threat is hardly the word…" Yin Loulan said. "Once I use my true abilities, even if Su Xiaoxiao and Lin Que join forces, they won't last an incense stick's time against me." He paused, looking at Ji Xuanzong. "As for your sister… anyway, Brother Ji, you have a way to subdue her, don't you?"

"Heh… of course," Ji Xuanzong replied with a smile. "When I gave her the *Tianshu Zhujuan* (Heavenly Tome Bamboo Scroll) back then, she would never have imagined… that I had held something back…"

"So, there's nothing to worry about…" Yin Loulan's gaze gradually changed, and a flame of ambition flashed in his eyes. "After tonight, this Harem City will become our base. Starting from here, we can swallow the four surrounding countries around the Vast Sea within half a month, and occupy a quarter of the territory of the Shengyuan World within a year… Hmph… dominating the world is just around the corner…"

…………

At the same time, in the Heavenly Tome World.

At this moment, Jue-Ge, Ruoyu, Huajian, and Xu Huaisang, guided by Ji Fenglong, had entered the space inside the Heavenly Tome Bamboo Scroll.

The terrain here resembled a large, flat-bottomed bowl, with a wide, open plain in the middle, the ground of which was flat yellow earth. In the middle of the open space stood a small house made of brick, tile, wood, and straw, and next to the house was a black stone tablet. The area was surrounded by mountains, water, and rosy clouds, with a few sparse peach tree forests dotting the foothills, making it a scenic spot in its own right.

"Wow, what is this place?" Huajian asked with a look of surprise as he gazed at the suddenly changing scenery.

"Within the bamboo scroll, there is another world," Ji Fenglong replied in a deep voice. "This… is the Heavenly Tome World."

"It seems very impressive…" Huajian replied with an expression that showed that he didn't quite understand but felt it was amazing.

"The impressive one… is your Clan Leader Feng," Ji Fenglong said, turning his gaze to Jue-Ge's face. "I still can't figure out how you knew I possessed the Heavenly Tome Bamboo Scroll…"

"Ah… if I have to explain…" Feng Bujue put his hands behind his head, striking a leisurely pose as he said, "Because the intensity of this set of data is too high, even if it's placed in a storage space, its data light stream will still leak out from inside, like fireflies in a plastic bag… I would naturally take a few more glances at something so powerful, and then… after carefully observing and interpreting its data, I deciphered the 'name' of this item from the data perspective, and learned that it was called 【Heavenly Tome Bamboo Scroll】."

He said this long string of words in one breath, but more than 50% of the content was blocked by the system, and the NPC heard it as if he understood but didn't. As for the three teammates beside him… only Ruoyu could fully understand what this passage was talking about.

"Hmph… never mind," Ji Fenglong replied after a few seconds. "It seems that it's true what Clan Leader Feng said, even if you explained it in detail, I might not be able to understand it."

"Isn't that right?" Feng Bujue spread his hands out.

"However… I have another question…" Ji Fenglong continued. "This Heavenly Tome was obtained by my elder brother when he was young from a *pangmen daxian* (a great immortal from a side sect) named Zuo Dao. I won't elaborate on the causal encounters, but in short… this book should be a divine object from outside the heavens. Logically speaking, other than my brother and I, no one else in this world should be able to recognize this object…" She paused, looking directly into Jue-Ge's eyes, and said, "However, Clan Leader Feng can not only say the name of the Heavenly Tome, but also knows of the existence of the 'Heavenly Tome World'…" Her tone changed slightly. "Combining Clan Leader Feng's previous strange words and deeds, I suspect… are the members of the Broken Sword Teahouse related to that *pangmen daxian* (a great immortal from a side sect)?"

Feng Bujue's mind raced as he listened to Ji Fenglong's words… He certainly remembered the name "Pangmen Daxian Zuo Dao." After the "Cangling Sword Debate" scenario ended, Xiao Tan and Xiao Ling had told Jue-Ge in detail about their experiences in the town's bottomless maze; at the time, Jue-Ge had speculated that this "Zuo Dao" was likely a powerful character who traveled through various timelines. Now, Ji Fenglong's words could confirm… that this reasoning was correct.

"Oh~ Great Immortal Zuo, I've heard of him, I've heard of him," Feng Bujue quickly put on a smile, turned on his nonsense mode, and replied, "Unfortunately, this immortal has always been elusive, and I have never had the chance to meet him." He changed the subject. "However… this sect does have two disciples who, under the circumstances, have obtained the spells passed down by Great Immortal Zuo… To say 'relationship', that's probably it." He paused for two seconds, and continued, "Oh, as for the information about your Heavenly Tome… I didn't learn it from Great Immortal Zuo, but from a 'Swift Peng Immortal'."

"I see…" Ji Fenglong nodded in agreement. "Clan Leader Feng is indeed a worldly expert, wise in all things, and knowledgeable… I must express my admiration."

"Hehe… you flatter me, you flatter me," Feng Bujue said with a smile. "Speaking of which, I also have something I don't understand, and I hope you can enlighten me."

"Please speak," Ji Fenglong said.

"City Lord Ji has probably had this Heavenly Tome for many years, right?" Feng Bujue continued. "What I want to ask is…" He turned around, looking around. "Why is there still only a thatched hut here?" He widened his eyes and asked, "Where are the Ghost God Arrays? Where is the Immortal Arts Dojo? Where is the Heavenly Garment Workshop? Where is the Alchemy Room? Where is the Heavenly Craft Pagoda?"

"Uh… Clan Leader Feng, those things you mentioned… I have never heard of them, nor have I ever seen them…" Ji Fenglong said. "I have indeed built some things here, and those… are the prototype of the Harem City."

"What the hell…" Feng Bujue thought to himself, "This stupid woman… possesses the Heavenly Tome Bamboo Scroll, a Noah-class production artifact, and instead of forging magical treasures and equipment, she's playing SimCity here…"

"And when I moved the Harem City to the outside world…" Ji Fenglong's words continued, "As you can see… this place returned to its original appearance, leaving only a thatched hut."

"Alright… alright…" Feng Bujue shook his head and said lazily, "Plans really can't keep up with changes. If I had known this, I might as well have chosen to take a magic weapon…" He said this with some emotion, as he didn't expect the Heavenly Tome World controlled by Ji Fenglong to be almost empty.

"Heh… it seems that Clan Leader Feng is somewhat disappointed with the situation in my Heavenly Tome World…" At this moment, a sly smile suddenly appeared on Ji Fenglong's face.

"City Lord Ji… what do you want to do?" Feng Bujue sensed something and his expression changed.

"Hahaha… hahahaha…" Ji Fenglong laughed loudly, her beauty was so stunning and unrestrained, making people feel drunk and infatuated. "Feng Bujue, today you have seen through my weakness, do you think… you can still leave?"