Shanghai City, North District.
The North District was a newly planned area in Shanghai City, with the government's development focus concentrated here. Many large enterprises also relocated their headquarters to this area for policy incentives.
With a large number of job opportunities, the North District was exceptionally prosperous, naturally making it a place where every inch of land was precious.
Sun Zheng and Yuan Lin, their memories altered, no longer remembered meeting Ye Ling. The two, with heavy hearts, hurried to the destination given to them by Venerable Qingmu, though a significant portion of their thoughts remained focused on the Golden Wind Hotel.
Now that the Sun family was destroyed and their ancestor, Sun Bugui, was missing, the Medicine Sect was in turmoil. It was a time when Sun Zheng was needed to return and stabilize morale. Yet, Venerable Qingmu insisted he come to the North District at this juncture.
"The auction is about to begin. What exactly does that woman want me to do here?"
Sun Zheng stood beneath a skyscraper, gazing at the lobby ahead. A shadow flickered in his eyes, filled with extreme displeasure.
This building was named Red Leaf Tower. Ostensibly the office building of Red Leaf Commercial Bank, it was in reality an enterprise controlled by the Red Dust Pavilion, used to launder the bounty earned from the Red Dust Pavilion forum.
As a top affluent family in Shanghai City, the Sun family interacted with banks most frequently and had a relatively good understanding of Red Leaf Commercial Bank's background.
Yuan Lin, however, appeared calm and asked Sun Zheng, "Patriarch, do I need to go in with you?"
Sun Zheng said sternly, "No, you stay outside and guard. Contact the various elders of the Medicine Sect and inform them that I have arrived in Shanghai City but have some matters to attend to. Tell them to postpone the auction by half an hour."
"But the guests attending this auction are all Shanghai celebrities. Moreover, with the Medicine Sect facing trouble, if the auction is delayed by another half hour..."
"You know the Medicine Sect is in trouble?" Sun Zheng shot Yuan Lin a cold glance. "The damage to our reputation is only temporary. As long as our Medicine Sect disciples remain, the Medicine Sect will eventually recover its peak."
"What's important now is not to offend the Red Dust Pavilion! If we offend other forces, it won't cost us much, but if we offend the Red Dust Pavilion, we will truly face annihilation!"
"And the auction is our Medicine Sect's chance to make a comeback. It cannot afford any mistakes, and I must preside over it personally!"
"Therefore, this auction must be postponed!"
Upon hearing Sun Zheng's words, Yuan Lin's expression changed slightly, and she quickly bowed and apologized, "I understand, Patriarch. Please forgive my ignorance."
Seeing Yuan Lin's respectful demeanor, Sun Zheng sighed slightly and said, "You stay outside and guard. If anything happens to the Medicine Sect, notify me immediately by phone."
"Yes..."
Yuan Lin remained bowed, not looking up.
Sun Zheng paid her no mind and turned to enter Red Leaf Tower.
"Red Leaf Tower... Red Leaf Commercial Bank... Is this also a stronghold of the Red Dust Pavilion?"
Ye Ling looked down at Red Leaf Tower, his gaze deepening. His divine soul swept through the entire building.
To his disappointment, the building was just an ordinary skyscraper, with no structures like the "Heaven-Piercing Tower" beneath.
However, there were many extraordinary individuals within the building, most of them possessing considerable strength and practicing the cultivation techniques of the Red Dust Pavilion.
If they were to truly compare, the extraordinary individuals within Red Leaf Tower alone would be enough to annihilate the entire Sun family and Medicine Sect!
Ye Ling narrowed his eyes slightly and transmitted, "Blood Fiend, have your hackers do something for me. Help me investigate the full background of Red Leaf Commercial Bank."
"Red Leaf Commercial Bank?" Blood Fiend's voice echoed in Ye Ling's mind. "Your Majesty, wait a moment. Let me ask those little ones first."
"Okay."
Ye Ling responded softly and waited for a moment.
Soon, Blood Fiend's voice sounded again, "Your Majesty, those little ones say that bank is an international bank with security levels no lower than that of the Red Dust Pavilion. It will take considerable time to investigate."
Ye Ling: "Can you find out?"
Blood Fiend: "Yes."
Ye Ling: "As long as you can, that's enough. I'm not in a hurry with this matter. You go ahead and investigate. If you have any news, contact me. If you need funds, go find Heaven's Punishment."
"Got it! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Blood Fiend replied happily and then cheerfully cut off communication with Ye Ling, scurrying off to find the Tianyi Financial Group controlled by Heaven's Punishment.
Although Blood Fiend controlled the world's top hacker organization, the hackers in this organization were all poor youngsters who spent money lavishly. To maintain the organization's operations, Blood Fiend needed money.
However, after arriving on Earth, he was immediately captivated by various online games. Now, he spent his days at home, either playing games or watching anime. Going out to earn money was impossible.
Coupled with in-game purchases and online tipping, Blood Fiend's spending speed was comparable to that of the most profligate spendthrift!
Without Ye Ling's permission, he was hesitant to ask Heaven's Punishment for money, and his equipment in several online games he was currently playing had fallen behind.
Now that Ye Ling had spoken, he could use Ye Ling's words to ask Heaven's Punishment for tens of billions to squander.
After all, for Tianyi Financial Group, tens of billions was mere pocket change, a mere word from Heaven's Punishment.
Hearing Blood Fiend's childlike excited tone, Ye Ling shook his head helplessly, a bitter smile on his face.
If the cultivators of the Eastern Profound Continent knew that the formidable Demon Blade Blood Fiend was now addicted to games and worried about money, everyone would likely be stunned!
After all, in the Eastern Profound Continent, every time the Demon Blade appeared, it invariably caused bloodshed and made the entire continent tremble!
The contrast was simply too great!
However, as long as Blood Fiend didn't neglect his duties, Ye Ling was too lazy to interfere too much in their lives.
Ye Ling did not dwell on this matter. He watched Sun Zheng head towards the top floor of the building and then disappeared into the air himself.
Red Leaf Tower, 121st Floor, Top Floor.
The very top floor of Red Leaf Tower housed a single, massive office. The office was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, offering an extremely expansive view.
Looking out the window, one could see the entire panorama of Shanghai City!
Venerable Qingmu, clad in a green robe and still wearing his mask, sat in a chair, calmly observing the thick smoke rising in the far distance outside the window, his eyes unfathomably deep.
That was the Sun family manor.
Knock, knock, knock!
A knock sounded at the door.
"Enter."
Venerable Qingmu said softly, without turning around, his gaze unwavering.
Sun Zheng nervously pushed the door open and entered. He looked at Venerable Qingmu, who had his back to him, and bowed, "May I ask what instructions Venerable Qingmu has for me?"
"Nothing much, just a few questions."
Venerable Qingmu said softly, causing Sun Zheng's lips to twitch, and he cursed inwardly.
'If you have a few questions, why don't you ask them during a video call?'
'Why insist on calling me over? You wretched woman!'
Although Sun Zheng had cursed Venerable Qingmu's ancestors eighteen generations back in his mind, his facial expression perfectly concealed it. He looked at Venerable Qingmu and respectfully said, "Venerable Qingmu, please ask. I will answer everything I know!"
At this moment, Venerable Qingmu turned around, gazed at Sun Zheng with a faint expression, took out a six-year-old photograph of Ye Ling from his embrace, and asked, "Do you recognize this person in the photo?"