Li Gang smiled. "Oh, you think someone could trouble me in this Northern Continent?"

Wu Meng said lightly, "Don't underestimate the Northern Continent. Why do you think it has still stayed unconquered despite being the weakest of the five continents?"

Li Gang murmured inwardly, "Indeed, I have always thought about it. Why has it not been conquered yet? This is a world where strength reigns. How can someone not conquer a weaker faction if you can easily win and gain lots of resources!"

Wu Meng said calmly, "The world is divided into two beliefs. There is one faction that believes in their strength and tries to solve everything with power. They want to win over enemies by showing them their prowess and courage. Even though they use strategies, it is limited to the righteous rules they have established. There is another faction that believes in strategy. They use any means to conquer enemies, whether it appears cowardly, deceitful, or unrighteous. They want to win over enemies with minimum effort and losses."

Wu Meng slowed down. He looked at Li Gang's expression and continued, "The Northern Continent has always focused on their war strategies. They have produced countless geniuses since the beginning of the era. Their utilization of human resources in making great formations and efficiently countering enemies has always been unmatched."

"The faction that believes in strategies doesn't want to interfere with the Northern Continent. They know it's not worth it. Even if they are able to conquer the Northern Continent, they would suffer severe losses and might not even maintain their rule over the continent due to various other powers eyeing them like an oriole."

"As for the faction that believes in their strength, there have been some who tried to conquer it, but in front of the great army formations of the Northern Continent, no one has been able to conquer it to this day."

Li Gang appreciated inwardly, 'I didn't expect this weak land to hide such strength. Even though I expected there would be geniuses everywhere, it is still surprising that there are people in every generation capable of protecting this continent! But, I still believe that even those people who believe in courage and strength are not naive fools. As cultivation increases, their rationality also increases. They would have realized it is not worth it and thus didn't try. Only a handful of people might have tried and failed.'

Wu Meng said, "If it were a hundred years ago, our demonic faction had a very strong hold over this continent. Even though we didn't control it, we could still move freely in this land. Our territories were spread throughout the continent. However, due to the birth of the Phoenix, everything changed. She is the greatest enemy of us demons in the Northern Continent!"

Li Gang was surprised when he heard this. He asked, "Who is this Phoenix?"

Wu Meng looked at him in surprise. "It looks like you are from another continent. Who doesn't know the fame of the twins: The Dragon and Phoenix of the Northern Continent, especially the Phoenix."

"Since the day she became the Prime Advisor of the Golden Crow Kingdom, she has effortlessly eliminated our strongholds in the Northern Continent within just five years. People say she is weak, but ironically, she has never lost a battle in her life!"

Li Gang said casually, "It's not what people say, it's just a false rumor created by the enemy faction to protect the morale of their soldiers. Her wisdom is already unrivaled, and if it's spread that she is also strong, wouldn't her enemies lose the battle before it even begins?"

Wu Meng was surprised by Li Gang's foresight and nodded. "Yes, I was also coming to that point. There are three great strategists known in the Northern Continent: Guo Chen of the Wu Dynasty, Lao Zhang from the Shu Dynasty, and Jin Huang from the Golden Crow Kingdom. Guo Chen and Lao Zhang are the ones who spread this rumor. They let people think that the dragon of the Golden Crow Kingdom lacks wisdom and the Phoenix lacks strength. However, the Dragon, Jin Long, also the emperor of the Golden Crow Kingdom, is well-versed in the kingdom's politics, and his understanding of army formations is also amazing. Similarly, the great Phoenix, Jin Huang, possesses incredible strength. She has never lost a battle since she was born!"

Li Gang nodded and asked lightly, "So, you wanted to inform me about them to instill fear in me?"

Wu Meng instantly denied, "No, no, I was just explaining how difficult it is to live in this Northern Continent as a demon. Don't think you can hide yourself! If Jin Huang ever sees you, she would instantly figure out your origin and your demonic nature!"

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Wu Meng didn't offer his plans directly, but first diverted the conversation, and when he found the opponent hooked, he resolutely made his offer. "Even though our demonic faction has lost its foothold in the Northern Continent, we can still provide you with a lot of information! Our information network is spread throughout the Northern Continent, and we know about most of the major and minor incidents like the back of our hands."

Li Gang narrowed his eyes and murmured inwardly, 'Having an information network will indeed be helpful. However, I don't know to what extent his information control reaches, and whether he should be trusted or not.'

Wu Meng immediately understood Li Gang's concern but was helpless. Trust is truly mysterious; it can only be obtained if the other person is willing.

Li Gang wouldn't trust Wu Meng naturally. He said calmly, "I want a good location to open a shop in the capital."

Wu Meng started sweating. He said, "It will be difficult to do that. We demonic cultivators are already broke and have to rely on ourselves. On top of that, the recent catastrophe has increased costs, especially in the capital."

Li Gang grabbed Wu Meng's throat and lifted him up. He smiled, "I have marked your soul. You can't escape! No matter what you do, I want you to get it done."

Saying that, Li Gang threw Wu Meng away like a dog and said calmly, "You can leave now."

Wu Meng glanced at Li Gang and left.

On his way, he murmured inwardly, "I neither have money nor connections to get it done."

One day later

The caravan suddenly faced a beast attack. However, Wu Meng had already informed Zhang Bao about it beforehand, and they were prepared to face the spiritual beasts.

It wasn't a big deal for them, and they casually dealt with the beasts and continued their journey. There was one Rank 3 beast that caused heavy injuries to a few of the warriors, but there were no casualties.

The real issue came three days later.

The alchemy herbs they were transporting were somehow polluted and started rotting. They had been storing them carefully, and even though there were some sensitive plants, they had managed them properly until now.

A guard came to Zhang Bao in a hurry. He said, "Master Zhang, the materials!"

Looking at the guard's expression, Zhang Bao instantly understood something had happened.

He asked hurriedly, "What happened?"

The guard said slowly, "The Vermilion Fruit and Silver Moon Grass have started rotting!"

Zhang Bao was instantly alarmed.

He immediately rushed towards the caravan and checked the materials. He found most of them were fine.

He then checked the Vermilion Fruit and Silver Moon Grass and detected a mild pungent odor. He shouted immediately, "Take out all the Vermilion Fruits and separate the ones that are still fine. Store them in a new container. Do the same for Silver Moon Grass."

Wu Meng also arrived at that moment. The commotion was huge, and he was already the type to wander around.

He asked Zhang Bao, "What happened, Master Zhang?"

Zhang Bao was serious. He said, "The Vermilion Fruits and Silver Moon Grass are rotting. The Silver Moon Grass is still fine, but the Vermilion Fruits are much rarer and in higher demand. It would be troublesome if we lost them!"

Wu Meng went forward and checked them. He smelled them and murmured slowly, "If we had someone who knows about herbs, we could still save them!"

Zhang Bao heard Wu Meng's words and immediately realized something. He suddenly left and went somewhere.

At the same time, Li Gang had made another red-colored soup. He drank it lightly. He had already heard the commotion.

He stood up and looked out the window. "It's about time!"

At that moment, there was a knock on his door.

He went forward and opened the door. He looked at the visitor and asked puzzledly, "What happened, Master Zhang?"

Zhang Bao looked anxious. He said slowly, "Our materials have some problems. You are an alchemist, so I hope you can check it out and help us!"

Li Gang nodded. He said, "Wait a moment!"

Saying that, he went back into his room and cleaned up everything. Then he came back and said, "Let's go."

The two of them immediately left the place and started moving towards the caravan.

Inside the caravan, Li Gang found many herbs. However, these didn't move Li Gang's heart. The most precious of them was the Vermilion Fruit, which was just a Rank 4 alchemy material. Li Gang had already become a Rank 5 Alchemist, so he wasn't much surprised. He had long smelled the presence of the Vermilion Fruit.

He looked at both of the rotting materials carefully and replied calmly, "The ones that have rotted more than 70% are completely irrecoverable. The others can still be recovered."

Zhang Bao felt a burden lift. He said slowly, "Please help, Sir Ren. We would be grateful!"

Li Gang smiled, "I can help, but what will I get out of it?"

Zhang Bao was surprised by his change of attitude and frowned inwardly. He hadn't expected him to take advantage of his misfortune.

However, he still said, "If it is within my ability, I will definitely help. What do you want?"

Li Gang said lightly, "I want a small plot of land in the capital. It should be in the Spiritual Marketplace."

The Spiritual Marketplace is a common area in big cities filled with people purchasing spiritual herbs, spiritual beasts, spiritual weapons, alchemy pills, and so on.

Zhang Bao heard this and immediately shouted, "Impossible! Don't go too far."

Li Gang was surprised by his reaction. He murmured inwardly, 'It appears this cargo is not as important as I thought. Or is it possible that lands in the capital are too expensive?'

He was unaware of the situation in the Northern Continent, so he had to gauge it bit by bit.