174: The Zhi family's reaction to Zhizi Jiu's arrival

Liyue City, Lord's Mansion.

80 years ago, this place was a forbidden area that Human Job Holders could not enter, a place controlled by NPCs.

However, after the Extinguish Yuan Battle, this palace, originally exclusive to NPCs, became the territory of the Zhi Family, the actual controllers of Liyue City.

At this moment, inside the Lord's Mansion.

Zhi Mingyue looked at Zhi Zi Jiu, who bore only a slight resemblance to her, and a warm smile immediately bloomed on her face.

"Ninth Brother, I didn't expect you to reach the Third Advancement so quickly. As expected of the person chosen by the clan leader, congratulations!"

Below Zhi Mingyue, Zhi Zi Jiu, who had just arrived in Liyue City, looked indifferent, ignoring Zhi Mingyue's words, and merely said indifferently: "Didn't you go to guard the Demon Cave? When did you return?"

A hint of hidden anger flashed in Zhi Mingyue's eyes, but she quickly concealed it, not letting Zhi Zi Jiu see it.

"The Demon Cave has been relatively quiet lately. With other clan members watching over it, I simply came back to rest for a while and also to check on the recent situation in Liyue City."

Zhi Zi Jiu glanced indifferently at Zhi Mingyue, his face openly contemptuous.

"Now that I'm here, I'm enough for this place. You've rested enough. You should go back tomorrow morning."

Zhi Mingyue's smile stiffened. Zhi Zi Jiu's words were quite rude.

Even Zhi Mingyue found it difficult to maintain a calm state of mind for a moment.

However, Zhi Zi Jiu either didn't notice Zhi Mingyue's stiff expression or simply didn't care, suddenly asking:

"I heard you spent 500 million to buy a godforged stone a few days ago?"

Before Zhi Mingyue could answer, Zhi Zi Jiu suddenly chuckled.

"Your siblings' tricks are truly low-level. Now, you haven't found the person and you've wasted 500 million. If you have too much money, why not come to me? For the sake of us both belonging to the Zhi Family, I'll give you a 20% discount. However much you want, I'll give you. How about it?"

"Enough!"

Zhi Mingyue suddenly stood up, her gaze no longer as warm and bright as before. At this moment, she resembled a venomous scorpion about to devour someone, her eyes coldly fixed on Zhi Zi Jiu.

"How dare you be so presumptuous? Do you still see me as your elder cousin?"

Facing Zhi Mingyue's sudden change in attitude, Zhi Zi Jiu didn't take it to heart at all; instead, he laughed contemptuously.

"Elder cousin? Don't flatter yourself. Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?"

Zhi Mingyue's words faltered. "What thoughts could I have?"

Zhi Zi Jiu's faint smile disappeared, his tone full of mockery.

"As long as I'm here, put away your ridiculous notion of a hen crowing at dawn."

Zhi Mingyue's expression changed slightly. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Zhi Zi Jiu didn't hide it. "Am I talking nonsense? Don't you know? Put away that hypocritical face of yours. It's fine to deceive those outside, but what are you pretending for in front of me?"

Zhi Mingyue fell silent.

But soon, the faint cold aura on her body instantly disappeared, and she revealed her usual gentle smile.

"Ninth Brother, it seems you deeply misunderstand me. Your Talent is so outstanding that I, your elder sister, cannot compare to even a fraction of it. This Zhi Family will sooner or later be under your control. I am merely contributing a small effort to the family before you grow up."

Upon hearing this, the contempt in Zhi Zi Jiu's eyes grew even stronger.

In the face of absolute strength, no matter how cunning or deep one's schemes are, everything is futile.

Zhi Zi Jiu had absolute confidence in this.

However, he was too lazy to continue talking to this ambitious woman in front of him.

"I'm not like those old fogeys in the family who would still consider your reputation. Before dawn tomorrow, if I see you still in Liyue City, you and your idiotic younger brother will never leave."

With that, Zhi Zi Jiu ignored Zhi Mingyue's extremely ugly expression, turned, and walked out.

However, just then.

An unexpected sound echoed throughout the city.

--- ---

[Ding! World Announcement: Player "Starry Dance" has successfully conquered the Forest of Curses and become the controller of the Forest of Curses Secret Realm.]

...--- ---

Three consecutive World Announcements appeared, immediately causing all Professionals in the entire Eternal World to stop what they were doing simultaneously.

Among them, the Professionals in Liyue City were the most shocked.

"This... the Forest of Curses has actually been conquered? Did I hear that right?"

"No! If I remember correctly, many people have tried to conquer the Forest of Curses over the past few decades, but all of them failed without exception. How was it suddenly conquered? There was no warning beforehand."

"What warning do you need? Wasn't this Forest of Curses already exchanged by the Zhi Family to the Zhou Family? It's precisely because even the Zhi Family was helpless against the Forest of Curses. I'm more curious how the Zhou Family managed it."

"No, the Zhou Family is just a minor, insignificant force. How could they have the ability to do it?"

"Wait, I know 'Starry Dance.' It must be someone from the Zhou Family. I've encountered them several times."

"Ah? So, it really is the Zhou Family?"

"I suddenly remembered that a few months ago, a Level 20 Unowned Secret Realm in a Novice Area was conquered by a newcomer. If you count it this way, this Forest of Curses is the second Unowned Secret Realm to be successfully conquered recently."

"Hiss! Now that you mention it, I also remembered that Night Shadow, who conquered the Level 20 Unowned Secret Realm, seemed to have successfully reached the Third Advancement a few days ago, right? Considering the time, could this Secret Realm have been conquered by him?"

"Are you blind? The announcement clearly states that the person who conquered it is called Starry Dance. Which eye of yours saw that it was that Night Shadow?"

"Exactly! Moreover, according to the Novice Area that Night Shadow belongs to, even if he entered the Beginner Area, he couldn't be in our Liyue City. What are you thinking?"

...After the announcement, Professionals throughout Liyue City were all astonished and debated heatedly.

No one expected that the Zhou Family, which usually kept a low profile, would quietly conquer this Unowned Secret Realm.

It was truly shocking.

At the same time, inside the Lord's Mansion.

Zhi Zi Jiu, who had not yet left, was also momentarily lost in thought upon hearing this news.

After a moment.

Zhi Zi Jiu suddenly turned around, ignoring what Zhi Mingyue was thinking at the moment, and said indifferently: "I heard you're very close to the Zhou Family?"

Zhi Mingyue, who had recovered her senses, felt her heart tremble. "What do you want to do?"

Zhi Zi Jiu put on a faint smile. "Nothing much. I can let you stay in Liyue City for a few more days, but I need you to negotiate with the Zhou Family."

"You want the operating rights to the Forest of Curses?" Zhi Mingyue frowned slightly, immediately guessing Zhi Zi Jiu's intentions.

Zhi Zi Jiu didn't deny it, nodding in praise. "You're very clever. After the negotiation, bring that Starry Dance to see me."

Zhi Mingyue looked blankly at Zhi Zi Jiu, gritting her teeth and barely suppressing the anger in her heart, then explained: "That Forest of Curses was traded to the Zhou Family by the elders of our clan back then. To demand it back now would damage the Zhi Family's reputation. I'm afraid it's not appropriate."

Zhi Zi Jiu looked at Zhi Mingyue as if she were an idiot.

"This is Liyue City, the Zhi Family's territory. Without the existence of my Zhi Family, how could the Zhou Family thrive here? Everything the Zhou Family has was given by my Zhi Family. Now, asking them to contribute the Secret Realm, what's the problem?"

"Furthermore, I'm not trying to seize the Secret Realm; I only want 50% of the profits. That's already quite benevolent."

He paused, then Zhi Zi Jiu suddenly looked at Zhi Mingyue with a playful smile.

"Elder cousin, I know your relationship with the Zhou Family is quite close. Since you are so determined to help the family, then it's most appropriate for you to handle this matter."

After speaking, Zhi Zi Jiu ignored Zhi Mingyue's increasingly ugly expression, turned, and left.

As the news of the Forest of Curses being conquered spread, all Professionals in Liyue City turned their attention to the Zhou Family.

Before its conquest, many people considered the Forest of Curses to be at least an A-grade Secret Realm.

Now that the Zhou Family had conquered this Secret Realm, their strength was likely to advance further.

Putting other things aside, the profits from an A-grade Secret Realm would probably make even the Eight Great Families envious.

It was just unknown what the Zhi Family would think after receiving this news.

At this moment, Zhou Yi, who was still waiting for news outside the Forest of Curses, was also stunned for a long time after seeing the World Announcement.

Although he had thought countless times before that Ye Xiao could clear the Secret Realm, when he first saw the news, he still had a sense of unreality.

He actually cleared it? This kid's ability is truly a bit terrifying!

Zhou Yi, who had recovered his senses, had an undeniable deep shock in his eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Yi suddenly said with some emotion: "Brother! Did you see it? This time, your death was not in vain."

Truly recognizing Ye Xiao's strength, Zhou Yi felt immensely fortunate that his previous choice was correct.

If he had been foolish enough like Zhou Dafu, not only would he have lost his life, but the Zhou Family would also have probably provoked an existence they couldn't contend with.

Not to mention that his Zhou Family could now control another Secret Realm, and one that was A-grade or above.

As soon as he thought of this, Zhou Yi's chubby cheeks flushed with excitement.

However, the next moment, his smile suddenly disappeared, his eyes constantly flickering.

As a prominent figure of the middle generation of the Zhou Family, he naturally wouldn't forget the existence of the Zhi Family in Liyue City.

Although this Forest of Curses had been traded to their Zhou Family by the Zhi Family long ago, the Zhi Family couldn't possibly remain indifferent to a Secret Realm that was at least A-grade or above.

The reason they gave it up before was because the Zhi Family had concluded that no one could conquer it, but now, the situation was different.

Zhou Yi was well aware of the Zhi Family's character.

If he were the Zhi Family, he would probably try to seize this Secret Realm back, openly or secretly. This matter had to be guarded against.

For a moment, Zhou Yi no longer had the mind to consider the initial cooperation with Ye Xiao to find the NPC.

The most urgent task at hand was to quickly figure out how to deal with the upcoming trouble.

His Zhou Family absolutely could not give up this Forest of Curses.

Just then, a ripple emanated from the Secret Realm entrance teleportation point.

Then, Zhou Yi saw Zhou Wan, Zhou Ling, and Zhou Wu appear together at the Secret Realm entrance.

Zhou Yi's eyes lit up slightly, and he hurried forward.

However, he suddenly noticed that besides the three of Zhou Wan, Ye Xiao was nowhere to be seen.

Zhou Yi asked in confusion: "Just the three of you? Where is he?"

Zhou Wan was still a bit bewildered at this moment. It was Zhou Ling, beside her, who heard Zhou Yi's question and couldn't help but say with some dissatisfaction: "Fifth Master, that Expert Big Brother is too stingy. He clearly found the NPC, but he wouldn't let the three of us participate in the questioning and directly kicked us out."

"Moreover, he was very domineering and made Zhou Wan grant him permanent access to the Forest of Curses, even saying he would kill us if she didn't."

"This is too much. We fought side by side for so long. Although he is strong, he shouldn't look down on us like this, should he?"

Zhou Yi ignored Zhou Ling's rambling complaints and turned to look at Zhou Wan.

Zhou Ling had just mentioned that they found the NPC, and he was eager to know what the situation was inside.

--- ---

And just as Zhou Yi was questioning Zhou Wan, inside the Secret Realm at this moment.

Ye Xiao and Boxi were already gone.

Of course, Ye Xiao did not leave the Secret Realm like the three of Zhou Wan. Instead, after sending them away, he directly took out the star compass stone and entered the underground cave with Boxi.

Perhaps it was the previous encounter, or perhaps it was seeing Ye Xiao take out the star compass stone.

In the following period, Boxi was uncharacteristically obedient. After a short while, Ye Xiao also learned some unknown news from him.

Boxi, like Remi, who was previously hiding in the Miasma Hidden Forest, both belonged to an NPC organization called Shadow Prison.

However, unlike Remi, a low-level member, Boxi's status was higher, and he naturally had more detailed information about Shadow Prison.

According to Boxi's introduction, the members of the entire Shadow Prison organization were divided into seven ranks.

Remi, who had already died, was a Rank 1 member, the lowest existence in the entire Shadow Prison organization.

Rank 1 members are generally only responsible for the most basic tasks assigned by the organization, such as communication, reconnaissance, transportation, and supervision.

At the same time, those with a special skill, like Remi, would be sent to lurk in various Unowned Secret Realms.

Furthermore, the activity range of Rank 1 members corresponds to the Novice Area of the Eternal World.

As for the purpose, it was naturally to refine exquisite gems.

NPCs were indeed refining a large number of exquisite gems. They could use exquisite gems to improve their skill proficiency, thereby enhancing their own strength.

This point corroborated what Remi had said earlier.

And Boxi, in the Shadow Prison organization, was a Rank 3 member, his authority naturally much higher than Remi's.

Therefore, Rank 1 members like Remi were nothing in his eyes, and it made sense that he didn't know them.

According to Boxi, although Rank 5 members were not considered very high-ranking members in Shadow Prison, they were certainly not fringe figures.

Coupled with his identity as a puppeteer, he was sent to lurk in this Forest of Curses.

This was the organization trusting him and valuing him.