When I woke up, I wanted to go home.

Zhu Chongjiu originally wanted to spend more time meditating, but he was interrupted by the news of Shi Gang's awakening.

After the messenger informed him that Shi Gang had awakened, Zhu Chongjiu ended his hurried practice of the formation and went to the room where Shi Gang was healing.

When Zhu Chongjiu burst through the door, he saw Shi Gang lying on the bed, his face pale and gasping for breath, and said to him, "Stop acting. I know how much I'm going to hurt you."

Upon hearing Zhu Chongjiu's words, Shi Gang instantly transformed from a person on the verge of death to one who was recovering from a serious illness.

Although still somewhat weak, apart from using internal energy and getting out of bed to walk, nothing else is hindered.

With a sob in his voice, Shi Gang said to Zhu Chongjiu, "Ninth Emperor, I wanted to find you a wife so you could have an heir. Do you really have to be so cruel?"

Five vertebrae were shattered!

Even if I were a top-tier Emperor-level expert, it would still take me two months to fully recover!

Zhu Chongjiu interrupted Shi Gang, saying, "Alright, alright, stop!"

Don't try to play the victim with me.

Go swipe your medical insurance card yourself; don't expect me to reimburse you a single penny.

Also, I didn't come here today to listen to your sob story.

I'm here to let you know; I'm sure you've already sensed it.

The sun in the sky now is very different from what it used to be.

It not only does not require recharging, but also solves the problem of near-field heat and far-field cold.

Most importantly, you must not be curious and go to investigate.

It's possible that you had a way to protect yourself from the sun before, allowing you to get close without being harmed by its heat.

However, this sun, which I have improved, is ten million times more powerful than before.

If any problems arise, don't blame me for not warning you.

This is a piece of advice!

That's all I have to say. I'm leaving now, and I don't need any of you to see me off.

After Zhu Chongjiu finished speaking, Shi Gang wanted to say something.

However, Zhu Chongjiu did not give him a chance. In a flash, he disappeared in front of Shi Gang.

Outside Houtu City, Xiao Hei turned back to look at Zhu Chongjiu on his back and asked, "Ninth Brother, where are we going?"

"Let's go to Houtu Swamp and find Xiaotu!"

Inside the headquarters of the Peace Chamber of Commerce on the Houtu Continent, Xiao Tianzheng said to his father, Xiao Feng, "A messenger has sent word that Ninth Brother has already left Houtu City. It seems he's heading towards the Houtu Swamp."

"Hmph! Finally out."

Send someone to make contact with Zhu Chongjiu. No matter where he goes or what he does, follow him.

I need to know everything Ninth Brother does before Prince Zhurong arrives!

Father, "Won't doing this anger Ninth Brother?"

What if he gets angry and kills the people we sent?

"Send out the Chamber of Commerce's loyalists; train them for a thousand days, use them for one."

If his Ninth Brother kills a batch, we'll send another batch.

"Prince Zhurong is arriving soon; we won't suffer a small loss!"

Xiao Tian looked at his father Xiao Feng, whose face was now grim, hesitated for a moment, and finally agreed. He then turned and left the room to make the arrangements.

After Xiao Tian left, Xiao Feng looked at the new sun on the distant horizon with a gloomy expression and muttered to himself, "You really did it."

Now that you're getting stronger, I really need to kill you as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it might become a serious threat in the future.

Five days after Xiao Feng gave the order, Yu Xiao Hei, who was speeding across the boundless black earth, suddenly stopped!

Xiao Hei spoke up: "Ninth Brother, those ten people ahead seem to be specifically here to ambush us. Should we take a detour, or...?"

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Chongjiu said to Xiao Hei, "Since they came here on purpose to find us, why bother going around in circles? Let's go and see what's going on."

An hour later, Zhu Chongjiu and Xiao Hei finally met the ten people.

The ten men were all clad in black armor and wore masks, completely covered up except for their eyes.

After Xiao Hei stood still, one of the ten people stepped forward and said, "We are the Dark Armor Army of the Peace Chamber of Commerce. We have come to accompany Ninth Brother on the orders of the Chairman."

Clear away obstacles and resolve some unsightly matters for Ninth Brother!

Before Zhu Chongjiu could speak, Xiao Hei said, "With just one Emperor-level and nine Royal-level soldiers, what trouble can you solve for Ninth Brother?"

Go back and tell your chairman that we will handle our Ninth Brother's matter ourselves, and he doesn't need to worry about it.

He should mind his own business!

After Xiao Hei finished speaking, he turned to look at Zhu Chongjiu on his back, his main point being to ask Zhu Chongjiu, "Do you think I imitated you well?"

Zhu Chongjiu looked at Xiao Hei and smiled helplessly.

Then, with a flick of his sleeve, the ten people flew into the sky.

However, it's unclear where it will end up.

Three days later, they were still dressed the same and spoke the same words, but this time Xiao Hei didn't speak.

Zhu Chongjiu was too lazy to utter a sound, and simply waved his sleeve.

Just two days after Zhu Chongjiu drove away the second group of people, he sensed the same group ahead again. Zhu Chongjiu said to Xiao Hei, "Xiao Hei, shake them off!"

After Zhu Chongjiu gave the order, Xiao Hei happily said, "Brother Jiu, just you wait and see! If they block me again, I'll stop being called Zhouju and start being called Zhoulv!"

After saying that, Xiao Hei instantly transformed from its previous high-speed run into a streak of black light and disappeared into the black soil.

Due to the excessive speed, the surrounding scenery could no longer be seen with the naked eye.

At this moment, Zhu Chongjiu sat on Xiao Hei's back, thinking to himself, "What's wrong with Xiao Feng?"

Logically speaking, he shouldn't have done that.

Could something have gone wrong?

No!

It seems I need to speed things up a bit.

Although the source of the Five Elements has a close affinity with me, it does not mean that the Peace Chamber of Commerce lacks the strength to grasp the source of the Five Elements.

As the saying goes, "Money is only money when it's in your own hands."

It was placed elsewhere.

The best-case scenario is a bunch of numbers.

In the worst-case scenario, it might end up belonging to someone else.

Back to topic!

What would normally be a journey of more than a month was completed in less than half a month thanks to Xiao Hei's speed boost, and they arrived at the border city of Houtu Swamp.

However, Zhu Chongjiu knew that the Dark Armor Army of the Peace Merchant Guild would definitely still be waiting for him in the Swamp City.

Therefore, Zhu Chongjiu did not pass through the city, but flew over the sky and went directly into the Houtu Swamp!

Although Zhu Chongjiu hadn't figured it out after so many days, he believed that as long as he went against the Peace Chamber of Commerce, he couldn't be wrong.

Upon arriving at the Houtu Swamp, Zhu Chongjiu immediately unleashed his powerful divine sense.

They began to sense the area within the Houtu Swamp where the earth element was most concentrated.

As they ventured deeper into the heart of the Houtu Swamp, a tiny clay figure, about the size of a toddler, suddenly appeared before Zhu Chongjiu.

The sudden appearance of the little man startled Xiao Hei.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Chongjiu immediately turned Xiao Hei's back, picked up the little boy, and said to him happily, "Have you missed me after all these days?"

Upon hearing this, the little figure in Zhu Chongjiu's arms grinned silently and nodded repeatedly.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Hei muttered jealously, "You didn't treat me like this when you forgot me in the storage ring, Ninth Brother."

Zhu Chongjiu turned to Xiao Hei and said perfunctorily, "How old are you? How old is it?"

Are they comparable?

Then Zhu Chongjiu asked the servant, "Is there a safer place? I have a group of people with very sensitive noses following me."

If they find me, it will take a lot of effort to get rid of them.

Upon hearing Zhu Chongjiu's words, the little man nodded and jumped out of Zhu Chongjiu's arms.

The little figure stretched out its tiny hand and touched the swampy ground.

A black hole, about ten feet in diameter and bottomless, was thus formed.

After the black hole was formed, the little man jumped into it first, and Zhu Chongjiu followed suit after taking a look.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Chongjiu's voice came from inside the cave, "Little Black, why aren't you coming down yet?"

Xiao Hei pouted and jumped down after him.

After Zhu Chongjiu estimated that they had penetrated to a depth of about 10,000 meters underground, the area below suddenly opened up.

Zhu Chongjiu observed that it resembled a cave or similar karst cave.

The cave walls are also naturally inlaid with some unknown crystals that sparkle like lights in the dark night.

When Zhu Chongjiu and Xiao Hei landed on the rocky ground, they found that Xiao Tu was already waiting there.

When Zhu Chongjiu looked up again...

The passageway through which the group had just descended had been closed again, as if it had never existed.

After landing on the ground, Xiao Hei looked around and asked Xiao Tu, "Is this your secret base?"

Xiao Tu nodded and shook his head at Xiao Hei!

Finally, through his consciousness, he informed Zhu Chongjiu that all the lands on the Houtu Continent were his secret bases, and this was just one of them.