Chapter 44

In the blink of an eye, it was the opening day of the Longmengze Trade Fair, which took place every six years.

That morning, a luxury bus loaded with people left Luoyang City and headed straight for a remote village called 'Kan'erzhuang' in Jinxiu County, Luoyang City. Despite the bumpy ride, the Zhu family members' faces were filled with confident smiles.

Zhu Rongqiang sat next to Yang Chen, looking out the window at the vast fields, and said, "Kan'erzhuang becomes lively every six years. The entire village has been bought by the Chinese Metaphysics Promotion Association. Except during the trade fair, the village is completely uninhabited..."

Yang Chen knew more about the origins of Kan'erzhuang than Zhu Rongqiang, so he wasn't interested in listening to the introduction. Instead, the Daoist sitting behind him, with a twisted mouth, said, "Not opening for six years, then making money for six years, the money-grabbing skills of Kan'erzhuang are top-notch!"

All the passengers on the bus were members of the Zhu family, and no one dared to contradict the fifth-stage Daoist. Zhu Rongqiang just sat there and smiled bitterly, "What Daoist said is completely correct... But there's no choice. We can't let a bus full of people camp on the street, can we? Although it's expensive, at least it's reasonable..."

Kan'erzhuang, though called a village, is more like a high-end resort, and a top-tier one at that. Inside the village, there are over forty hotels and inns of various sizes. Unlike other places where prices are calculated by the day, the accommodation fees in Kan'erzhuang are charged by the hour!

The hourly accommodation fees range from a minimum of 3,888 to a maximum of 108,888. For the more than twenty family members the Zhu family brought, if they were to share rooms in pairs, the daily accommodation cost would exceed one million!

And that's just for the cheapest rooms...

Of course, while the hotels and inns in Kan'erzhuang are owned by sects in the metaphysical world, no one restricts you from setting up tents outside the village.

But who among the ordinary people qualified to come here isn't a business tycoon with assets worth over a billion? In an environment where you see each other frequently, no one can bring themselves to set up tents outside the village!

After all, the Longmengze Trade Fair is a grand event in the metaphysical world every six years. Once you enter the area of Kan'erzhuang, how much you spend is no longer under your control...

The bus chatted idly all the way from the city center of Luoyang to the remote Kan'erzhuang, taking nearly three hours. From the moment it turned onto a dusty dirt road, young men dressed as monks or Taoists began to check the permits of every passing vehicle with solemn expressions.

It felt like passing through five checkpoints and slaying six generals, and even more daunting was the fact that several helicopters were circling in the sky!

After passing through the strict checks, the bus finally slowly drove into Kan'erzhuang, surrounded by a large forest.

This forest is called Longmengze. While outsiders might not notice, experts like Yang Chen or the Daoist could see that the trees in this area had been artificially adjusted, and there were at least dozens of high-quality spirit treasures buried underground, forming a large spirit array. The annual maintenance cost alone must be astronomical!

As soon as ordinary people enter the territory of Kan'erzhuang, they instantly feel the sky is bluer, the water clearer, the grass greener, and the air fresher... If one were to live here long-term, the effects of extending life would be very noticeable!

The bus was not allowed to drive directly into Kan'erzhuang. It was directed to stop in a large parking lot at the edge of the forest.

Zhu Rongqiang said to Yang Chen, "The driver will be arranged to stay in some farmhouses outside until the trade fair ends, and then he will take us back to Luoyang City."

Yang Chen nodded in understanding. Then he saw the eldest of the seven Zhu brothers, Zhu Rongkang, stand up and get off the bus first.

A thick stack of documents was handed to several middle-aged Taoists blocking the door. The passengers got off one by one, and each person received a jade identity card, which was their pass for the next few days in Kan'erzhuang.

Yang Chen also received a jade card, but the Zhu family members received milky white cards, while Yang Chen and the Daoist received light green cards. The cards didn't need to be worn around the neck; just carrying them was enough, which was quite convenient.

From the parking lot to Kan'erzhuang, there was a road about 800 meters long, paved with pebbles.

Yang Chen noticed that at this time, vehicles from all directions were queuing up to enter the parking lot. Apart from large groups like the Zhu family, most were private cars.

Looking around, almost all were super luxury cars worth over ten million, with Maybachs being the most common.

Yang Chen even maliciously thought that if someone threw a few bombs in here today, it would cause a major earthquake in the business world of China... But strangely, such a large-scale gathering had no presence of government departments!

Kan'erzhuang, located in the central area of the forest, was not very large, covering only a few square kilometers. It was divided into small independent areas by rows of trees, rather than being a large connected area.

The largest, most luxurious, and highest-class hotels in Kan'erzhuang were always the exclusive domain of the top families in the country, and families like the Zhu family couldn't even get a single room!

So the Zhu family booked a medium-sized hotel, which was owned by some sect. The prices were clearly marked on the wall: standard rooms at 6,888 yuan per hour, double beds at 8,888 yuan per hour, and suites at 28,888 yuan per hour...

No wonder only the rich could come here. Zhang Rongkang entered the hotel and immediately booked ten standard rooms, seven double beds, and two suites! Yang Chen roughly calculated that for three days, this would cost over ten million yuan!

Yang Chen had been to Kan'erzhuang in his previous life, but he had only passed through and never stayed.

So he noticed another interesting phenomenon... the female staff here were all exceptionally beautiful, each over 1.68 meters tall, with good looks and tall figures.

However, each staff member had a talisman on their back, which was a Daoist talisman to block hearing.

Seeing Yang Chen's gaze fall on the female staff, the seventh of the Zhu brothers, Zhu Rongtao, came over with a knowing smile and said to Yang Chen, "These girls are selected from all over the country. Enthusiasm and openness are their nature... If you want to, just wave at them, and someone will follow you upstairs..."

Yang Chen looked at Zhu Rongtao in surprise and noticed that Zhu Hongyi had already turned away in shame...

Zhu Rongtao still couldn't help but introduce to Yang Chen, "The level here isn't high enough, so the girls are from the modeling industry but not famous. If you stay at places like Wanshou Palace or Tingtao Pavilion... the female staff are all top actresses in the country!"

Yang Chen subconsciously swallowed, and as a man, it was impossible not to be interested! He asked softly, "Free?"

"Purely voluntary, no one forces them to do anything," Zhu Rongtao shrugged and said, "But once you get involved with these women, the trouble that follows won't be little..."

Yang Chen, who was originally somewhat tempted, quickly suppressed his thoughts and forcibly moved his gaze away.

In short, they were all women dancing on the stage of fame and fortune. Beautiful and alluring as they were, getting entangled with such a woman for a moment's pleasure might not be a happy thing.

The rooms were quickly ready, and Yang Chen received a suite key.

Zhu Rongkang politely bowed to Yang Chen and said, "The opening ceremony starts at 4 PM. If you can't stay in your room, you can go out and explore. Kan'erzhuang has a lot of leisure activities!"

Yang Chen smiled and said, "This time, I'm just here to look around. The main focus will be on him..."

He pointed to the Daoist, who grumbled and turned his head away...

Zhu Rongkang laughed awkwardly, honestly, he still hadn't figured out the relationship between Yang Chen and the Daoist. Why would a fifth-stage true cultivator be commanded around by a fourth-stage young man?

Since he couldn't understand, he couldn't say much. He just smiled awkwardly and said to Zhu Hongyi, "The main reason for bringing you this time is to accompany Mr. Xiao around. Don't neglect him, understand?"

Zhu Hongyi nodded quickly and put on a smile, coming over to Yang Chen and saying, "I came here six years ago and am somewhat familiar... If you don't mind, I'll accompany you around for the next few days."

Yang Chen had a good impression of Zhu Hongyi and didn't pick. He also understood the Zhu family's intentions... spending so much money to invite two Daoist true cultivators, if they didn't take them out to show off during the free time, how could they demonstrate the Zhu family's capabilities?

Taking someone's money means helping them out, and Yang Chen didn't mind being used, after all, the Zhu family had spent the money!

As everyone went upstairs to rest, Yang Chen saw Zhu Rongtao, who had just warned him about the trouble, make a very subtle gesture to a few female staff when Zhu Rongkang and others weren't paying attention, and then leisurely went upstairs...

The Daoist, who had spent a lot of mental energy drawing the three talismans, wasn't interested in going out for a walk. He took his key and went upstairs to meditate.

Zhu Hongyi, with a smile, accompanied Yang Chen out of the door, heading to a nearby outdoor amusement park that was said to be very fun.

When they arrived at the amusement park, Yang Chen found it was indeed very fun... looking around, over twenty beautiful girls in bikinis were walking between the many tables, and there was a small stage in the middle where someone was dancing...

Before Yang Chen could react, a few young men drinking and chatting at a table noticed him and Zhu Hongyi. One of them, a tall and slender young man in his thirties, stood up and greeted Zhu Hongyi, "Isn't that Old Zhu? Come, come, come, have a drink, I'll introduce you to a few friends!"

Zhu Hongyi smiled and responded, then leaned his head to Yang Chen and whispered, "This is the leader of the Pang family of Tianjing City, named Feng. He is one of the key successors being groomed by the Pang family..."

The Pang family of Tianjing City, with a lineage of over 140 years, owns several large docks in Tianjing and is the largest shareholder of the largest logistics company in Tianjing. They also own properties all over Tianjing and are the controlling family of one of the top three real estate development companies.

Their assets are on par with the Zhu family, but if they were to truly compare, two Zhu families wouldn't be a match for the Pang family!

After Yang Chen and Zhu Hongyi sat down, Pang Feng smiled and looked at Yang Chen, saying, "This gentleman looks unfamiliar... Old Zhu, why don't you introduce him?"

Zhu Hongyi nodded and introduced, "This is Daoist Yang Chen from Wufeng Temple in Nanhu Province..."

This time, it was Pang Feng's turn to be surprised. The originally smiling Pang Feng clearly froze for several seconds before laughing, "You, Old Zhu, are not honest at all! This young brother looks to be only in his early twenties?"

The implication was that either Zhu Hongyi was playing a trick on him, or the Zhu family had lost their minds to bring such a young and inexperienced person to represent them! Apart from that, Pang Feng couldn't find any other explanation!

At this moment, the middle-aged Taoist sitting next to Pang Feng, with a topknot, frowned slightly and said in a cold tone, "Wufeng Temple? The Wufeng Temple on Wufeng Mountain by Poyang Lake? Allow me to be frank, your Zhu family might have been deceived..."

"Who is this Daoist?" Yang Chen smiled faintly.

The middle-aged Taoist proudly said, "Wanshian Hall of Bijing Mountain in Nanhu Province, Ke Bingyi!"

Without giving Yang Chen a chance to speak, he said with disdain, "As far as I know, Wufeng Mountain, the ancestral temple of Wufeng Temple, had its spirit vein cut off by the Shangxian Palace over forty years ago... If you are truly a disciple of Wufeng Temple, I am very curious... how can such a dilapidated temple produce disciples of any caliber to come to Longmengze and swindle people?!"

Zhu Hongyi's face changed.

Yang Chen raised his hand to stop him, then looked at the middle-aged man and said calmly and seriously...

"I can't say how high my level is... but I can take on ten of your kind without breaking a sweat!"

The originally harmonious atmosphere instantly became tense... even Zhu Hongyi didn't expect Yang Chen to be so arrogant!

Undoubtedly, Ke Bingyi was so angry at Yang Chen's words that his face turned livid, and he stood up abruptly, saying, "Even if the leader of Wufeng Temple were to stand before me, he would only tremble. What are you to speak to me in such a tone?!"