277: Chapter 276 The Power of Money and the Looming Dark Clouds

West of the Heavenly Court, Tiance Mansion.

This mansion, which had been abandoned for thousands of years since the fall of its previous owner, had undergone an earth-shattering transformation in the mere few days since Lin Feng moved in.

If you were expecting to see that kind of carved beams and painted rafters, the magnificent splendor of an Immortal's abode, you would likely be sorely disappointed.

Because the current Tiance Mansion looked more like... an interstellar fortress armed to the teeth.

The towering walls were no longer ordinary white jade, but had been recast by Lin Feng using 'Star Meteor Iron' exchanged from the System. They were pitch black, radiating a cold, hard metallic luster. Atop the walls, every ten steps, a 'Spiritual Energy Annihilation Cannon' glowing with dangerous red light was mounted, its muzzle aimed at the Void Realm, as if ready to devour anyone at any moment.

Above the mansion, there were no auspicious clouds swirling; instead, it was shrouded in a layer of pale golden light that was difficult to see with the naked eye. Occasionally, some reckless bird would collide with it and be instantly repelled hundreds of meters away.

And on the training grounds, at this moment, the sounds of battle cries were shaking the heavens.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Eight hundred soldiers, clad in uniform black-gold battle armor and holding standard long blades, were conducting a 'Hell-level' live combat drill.

These people were the former subordinates of the Demon Suppression Division, such as Liu Ming, whom Lin Feng had brought up from the Lower Realm, as well as the Loose Immortals who had been squeezed out by other departments for refusing to associate with evil and had ultimately defected to Tiance Mansion.

Originally, most of them were just Mortals or Earth Immortals, not even qualified to sweep floors in the Heavenly Court.

But now, if you were to carefully sense it, you would be terrified to discover—these eight hundred people were all, without exception, Golden Immortals!!

This terrifying speed of improvement, if spread, would be enough to cause the worldview of the entire Immortal Realm to collapse.

Liu Ming, who was in charge of the training on the platform, now had his cultivation firmly stabilized at the Golden Immortal Middle Stage. He was shirtless, his bronze-colored muscles bulging like granite, and he brandished a long whip covered in barbs, looking every bit like a jailer from Hell.

"Give it everything you've got, you bastards!" Liu Ming roared, his voice like thunder. "How many resources has the Boss spent on you all? He's been feeding you that priceless 'Perfect Promotion Liquid' like water! He's been giving you Nine-Turn Golden Pellets like candy! If you're still a bunch of weaklings, are you worthy of the Boss?!"

"We are not!!"

The eight hundred troops, fierce as tigers and wolves, roared in unison, the red light in their eyes almost overflowing. That was a craving for power, and even more, a fanatical loyalty to Lin Feng.

Lin Feng was currently lounging on the grandmaster chair covered in tiger skin on the platform, legs crossed, looking completely unrefined.

In his left hand, he held a cup of "Supreme Enlightenment Tea" produced by the System, and in his right, he held a book titled "On How to Be a Qualified Upstart" (which was actually a disguise for the System interface), reading it with great interest.

"Tsk tsk, is this the joy of a 'pay-to-win' player?" Lin Feng looked at his subordinates below, who were acting as if they had been injected with adrenaline, and nodded with satisfaction. "As long as the money is there, you can even smash glass. With these eight hundred Golden Immortals forming a battle formation, even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal Early Stage would lose a layer of skin."

"Boss, you have the nerve to say that. My heart aches so much just thinking about how much money was spent." Huang Fugui, sitting on his shoulder, was hugging a Ten-thousand-year Fire Spirit Chicken leg bigger than its own body, chewing frantically while grumbling unintelligibly. "We've spent millions of points like flowing water these past few days, right? This is the family fortune we saved up after emptying the treasury of that unlucky guy from Lingxiao Palace! At this rate of spending, we'll be drinking the northwest wind soon."

"Fugui, have some vision. You need to have vision." Lin Feng blew on the tea foam and said unhurriedly, "What is money? Money is a bastard; you earn it after spending it. You know our current situation; we've offended all the old factions of the Heavenly Court. If I have to fight alone, I'll be exhausted to death. This private army is our future trump card, the capital for us to walk sideways in the Heavenly Court."

After finishing, Lin Feng's mind stirred, and he brought up the System interface.

Looking at the number on it, his gaze narrowed slightly.

[Current Point Balance: 9.8 million.]

"Still short by 200,000..."

Lin Feng's gaze fell on the locked gray icon in the mall. It was a treasure shaped like a long spear. Even just an icon, the aura of slaughter that seemed capable of piercing through Chaos that it exuded made Lin Feng feel a palpitation.

That was the ultimate trump card he had prepared to deal with the real crisis to come.

"It seems these guys are still not doing enough; they haven't contributed enough points." Lin Feng closed the "book," his gaze becoming deep.

Just then, a strange wind blew across the training grounds of Tiance Mansion.

This wind was not cold, but it carried a nauseating smell of blood, as well as a kind of... suffocating feeling that a storm was about to break.

Huang Fugui, who was still feasting, suddenly froze, the chicken leg in its hand dropping to the ground with a "plop."

It stood up abruptly, its small, sneaky eyes instantly narrowing into slits, its nose twitching wildly: "Boss... something's wrong. Such heavy Killing Intent! And a stench of greed, surging towards us from all directions!"

Lin Feng, however, seemed to have expected this.

He put down his teacup and slowly stood up. His black robe fluttered in the wind, and his originally lazy demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by a sharpness like a drawn blade.

At this moment, the street outside Tiance Mansion was unusually quiet.

Even during the Heavenly Court's curfew, there would usually be many immortals sneaking out to wander around.

But today, within a radius of a hundred miles, it was terrifyingly quiet. Even the air seemed to have solidified, so suffocating that it made it hard to breathe.

The other immortals of the Heavenly Court were not stupid.

The secret orders frequently issued by Qiyao Immortal Palace these past few days, the abnormal troop movements at the Four Heavenly Gates, and the murderous aura permeating the air had long since spread throughout the Nine Heavens.

Everyone knew that something big was going to happen tonight.

This was a collision between new and old forces, a life-and-death liquidation.

All the immortals tacitly closed their Immortal Cave doors, activated all their defensive formations, and didn't even dare to probe with their Divine Sense, for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

"Looks like they couldn't help it anymore."

Lin Feng stretched, his bones cracking like thunder.

"Liu Ming!"

"Subordinate is here!"

A black shadow instantly flashed onto the platform, kneeling on one knee, the stone slab beneath his knees instantly shattering. The Evil Qi on Liu Ming was thicker than ever before.

"Inform the brothers, the extra meal is over."

Lin Feng's lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile, and the chaos asura blade slowly appeared in his hand, the dark red blade light reflecting in his pitch-black eyes. "Get ready to work. Tonight, many people are rushing over to send us 'points'."

"It just so happens that I'm still short 200,000, and they've delivered themselves to my doorstep."

Lin Feng looked up at the sky, where the originally brilliant starry sky was being covered by large swathes of dark clouds.

"How... thoughtful."

"Yes!!"

Liu Ming stood up abruptly, turned around, and roared at the eight hundred dead soldiers on the training ground: "Attention everyone!! Form up! Level 1 combat readiness! Prepare to meet the enemy!!"

"Whoosh—"

The eight hundred Golden Immortals instantly changed formation, and a soaring Battle Intent condensed into an invisible giant blade, actually dispersing the suffocating dark clouds above Tiance Mansion!

Lin Feng stood with his hands behind his back, watching the huge black shadows rapidly approaching from the east, south, west, and north, listening to the faint sound of clashing weapons.

"That old dog Seven Luminaries actually thinks quite highly of me, to have invited even The Four Heavenly Kings."

"Since you've come, don't leave."

"Fugui, have you prepared your 'that thing'?"

Huang Fugui picked up the chicken leg from the ground, wiped it, and laughed sinisterly: "Squeak! Don't worry, Boss, I've been starving for it! I guarantee it will make them doubt their lives!"

The wind grew stronger.

Dark clouds pressing down on the city, the city about to be destroyed.

But behind the black walls of Tiance Mansion, pairs of scarlet eyes, like a pack of hungry wolves, were quietly waiting for their prey to arrive.