The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace-Chapter 435 - 553: Fang Hao’s True Targets — Seven Kings City and the Celestial Commerce Guild

Chapter 435: Chapter 553: Fang Hao’s True Targets — Seven Kings City and the Celestial Commerce Guild

Chapter 553: Fang Hao’s True Targets — Seven Kings City and the Celestial Commerce Guild

Fang Hao had originally assumed that it would take at least a decade—perhaps even longer—before a suitable opportunity presented itself.

To his surprise, only a few short years passed before the chance he had been waiting for arrived.

Seizing the moment, Fang Hao used the pretext of a casual drinking gathering to invite the Celestial Commerce Guild retainers stationed in Hangzhou to come together. Gatherings like these were not unusual; cultivators often bonded over wine, shared intelligence, and occasionally formed temporary alliances for exploring ruins or secret realms.

This time, a total of thirteen retainers arrived.

Among them were four Earth-tier retainers and nine Human-tier retainers. Every single one of them was at the Saint King Realm, and the four Earth-tier retainers had already reached Saint King Perfection, standing only half a step away from the Imperial Realm.

Like Fang Hao, none of them specialized in alchemy, forging, formations, or other auxiliary arts. Their value to the Celestial Commerce Guild lay in one thing alone—combat power.

Simply put, they were the Guild’s enforcers.

Since Fang Hao’s promotion to Earth-tier retainer, he had interacted with them frequently. His talent was outstanding, his temperament steady, and his background clean. Cultivators like these were always worth befriending. Over time, the group grew familiar with one another.

Similar gatherings happened often. When opportunities arose, they would even explore secret realms together.

Fang Hao produced a wine jar and placed it on the table.

"Have a taste," he said casually. "This is a fine vintage I acquired at a high price."

The bald, burly man—an infamous wine addict—immediately stepped forward and broke the seal. A rich, mellow aroma surged outward, filling the room in an instant.

"This fragrance—now this is good wine!" he exclaimed.

"Judging by the depth alone, this must be a spirit wine aged for several hundred years," another retainer said with certainty.

"Hah, Brother Fang , it seems you’ve made another profitable deal somewhere," someone laughed.

In truth, this wine came from the Fang Family’s former Drunken Immortal Pavilion—a top-tier aged spirit wine. Back when the Fang Family still resided in Cangzhou, Fang Chu could brew large batches simply by entering the Azure Dragon Secret Realm. With a few years of aging, even ordinary batches became century-old vintages.

Fang Hao waved his hand dismissively.

"It wasn’t much profit. I just happened to hear an interesting piece of information—something related to Seven Kings City. I was wondering whether my brothers here might be interested."

The bald man poured wine as he asked curiously, "Oh? What kind of information?"

Each person received a cup. After savoring the wine and offering a few compliments, all eyes turned toward Fang Hao.

Anything involving Seven Kings City naturally drew attention.

Fang Hao spoke slowly and deliberately.

"One of the Seven Kings—King Canglu—has two sworn brothers who are both quasi-Imperial experts. One of them is named Xiang Qian. Xiang Qian has a son called Xiang Kuang."

He paused briefly, ensuring everyone was listening.

"I happened to overhear part of Xiang Kuang’s plan. They received reliable information that a family in Hangzhou has successfully hatched a stone egg. Inside is a pure-blooded exotic beast. That family intends to secretly transport it and sell it elsewhere."

"Xiang Kuang plans to intercept them along the route and seize the beast."

This was no coincidence.

Years ago, Xiang Qian’s grandson, Xiang Zhantian, had harassed Fang Luo and the others in Seven Kings City for years. Later, he attempted to besiege them in the Ice-Fire Secret Realm—only to be killed when Fang Mu Ge and Fang Ying arrived.

Now, fate had aligned once more.

Fang Hao’s target had become Xiang Qian’s son.

As for the intelligence itself, Fang Hao had spent enormous sums over the years to plant informants within Seven Kings City. This was one of the fruits of that investment.

The group reacted with mixed expressions.

"What kind of exotic beast?" someone asked.

"If it’s worth a quasi-Imperial expert personally moving, it can’t be ordinary."

"Tch. Typical Seven Kings City behavior—still daring to rob and plunder, even on Celestial Commerce Guild territory."

The bald man slammed his palm on the table.

"Damn it! They’re getting more and more arrogant! The last grievance hasn’t even been settled, and now they come knocking on our door. This time, we have to teach them a lesson!"

Others quickly echoed his sentiment.

"Brother Zhang is right! If we don’t respond, they’ll really think no one can touch them!"

"Let’s ambush them in advance and catch them completely off guard."

"Good idea. Kill them quietly—let them taste what it feels like to be robbed and slaughtered."

The Celestial Commerce Guild and Seven Kings City had never gotten along. Many of these retainers had personally clashed with Seven Kings City bandits and suffered losses.

The decision was unanimous.

They would become the mantis stalking the cicada—and strike as the unseen oriole.

Under King Canglu, only his two sworn brothers were quasi-Imperial experts. The ones who usually roamed various regions to plunder were merely Saint-realm bandits. There was no need to worry about encountering an Imperial Realm expert.

With four Saint King Perfection experts leading the group, confidence ran high.

From the very beginning, Fang Hao had only opened the door.

Once the momentum started, he said nothing further.

And yet, the plan took shape effortlessly.

They drank until the wine jar was emptied, then departed in high spirits.

Half a month later, the fourteen gathered once more.

The bald man asked, "Have you located that family?"

"Yes," Fang Hao replied. "They’re on the North Sea Archipelago. Their strongest combatants are only two Saint Kings."

"Then we move," someone said decisively.

The group set off in advance, arriving at the North Sea Archipelago to scout the terrain and prepare an ambush.

To the other thirteen, this operation was about reclaiming face and striking back at Seven Kings City.

But Fang Hao’s ambitions went far beyond that.

His true targets were both Seven Kings City and the Celestial Commerce Guild.

Thus, Fang Hao planned to deliberately allow a few survivors to escape—enough to ensure that Xiang Kuang and his group would remember these attackers clearly and return later with reinforcements.

Once revenge followed revenge, hatred would deepen. More people would be dragged in. The scale of conflict would inevitably grow.

Eventually, both hegemonic forces would be forced to take the stage.

Perhaps they would even seek allies, escalating the conflict into an even more terrifying war.

Fang Hao’s goal was simple: to drag both sides into a massive confrontation.

Even if one side emerged victorious, it would be a hollow victory—won at tremendous cost.

If a war between two top-three hegemonic forces truly erupted, history might later record it as the war ignited by a single exotic beast.

Whether that beast was truly powerful would no longer matter.

Deep beneath the sea, Fang Hao and the others concealed themselves, each separated by a careful distance. To avoid detection, they communicated minimally, remaining completely silent.

The oriole waited patiently in the depths.

The cicada and the mantis would soon arrive.