Chapter 205 - 186: Trading for Spirit Water, the Le Family, Wang Hui’s Magical Artifact
Chapter 205: Chapter 186: Trading for Spirit Water, the Le Family, Wang Hui’s Magical Artifact
"Ming Shui!" Le Zhongshan interrupted in a deep voice, his sharp gaze sweeping over his son with unquestionable authority. "I already know of this matter. I sent Mingcheng to the Thousand Waters Assembly long ago. They were sensible enough this time, sending a batch of Middle-Grade Spirit Stones and a few decent Tier Two Spiritual Materials in advance. It’s enough to cover the cost of purchasing the Spirit Water, and there’s even... a little extra." He deliberately emphasized the words "a little extra."
Le Mingshi quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, Second Uncle, your planning is flawless. But..." His tone shifted as he asked cautiously, "Second Uncle, there is one more thing. That son-in-law... our men found some traces of him near Xuan Yang Immortal City. It seems he’s trying to flee towards the Immortal City. I suspect he intends to expose us..."
A cold glint flashed in Le Zhongshan’s eyes. "He won’t get away! Didn’t Old Six and Old Nine personally lead a party to ’invite’ him back?"
"Yes, Sixth Brother and Ninth Brother are reliable. They’ll capture him with ease," Le Mingshi replied quickly, then his expression turned troubled. "It’s just... the number of ’Wanderers’ they’re demanding is simply too high. We’ve already captured quite a few in the previous batches, and that already caused a stir. If we act on a large scale again, we might attract the attention of Xuan Yang Immortal City... Although the Immortal City usually doesn’t care if Wanderers live or die, if they mistakenly believe someone in our clan is practicing Demon Skills, the consequences..."
Hearing this, Le Mingshui couldn’t help but speak up again, this time to his father. His voice was filled with pleading and anxiety. "Father! Stop this! Stop dealing with those rats in the gutter!"
"Our Le Family has you and Eldest Brother, two Foundation Establishment cultivators. Our legacy is secure, our family is stable. Why must we wade into these muddy waters? If Xuan Yang Immortal City finds out we’re involved with the Half-Demon Association, it will mean the annihilation of our clan! Even dealing with Demon Cultivators would be better than them..."
"Ming Shui!" Le Zhongshan roared upon hearing his words. His icy gaze stabbed towards his son like a blade as he instantly unleashed his Spiritual Pressure. The heavy might of a Foundation Establishment Stage expert slammed into him like a physical wall.
Le Mingshui grunted, his face instantly turning deathly pale. He staggered back two steps, his back slamming hard against the cold stone wall. His Qi and Blood roiled in his chest, but his eyes remained defiant as he stared at his father.
The light from the oil lamp in the room flickered violently, nearly extinguishing. The pressure forced Le Mingshi to bow even lower, a cold sweat beading on his forehead. He quickly tried to smooth things over. "Second Uncle, please calm your anger! Ming Shui is young and impulsive. It was a slip of the tongue, born from his concern for the family’s foundation..."
Le Zhongshan’s chest heaved, rage churning in his eyes, but a flicker of helplessness seemed to cross their depths. He slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair. With a sharp CRACK, a fine crack spread across its surface.
"What do you know, you rebellious son?!" His voice was tight with suppressed emotion, each word seemingly forced through clenched teeth. "Legacy secure? Family stable?"
"Do you think owning this little Celestial Mirror Lake means we are secure? You’re just a frog in a well! Our Le Family ancestor was once the... Thousand Waters..." He spoke to this point, then suddenly stopped, as if an invisible hand had seized his throat.
His expression shifted rapidly, a mixture of panic, indignation, and fanaticism, before finally settling into a gloom deeper than the night itself. It seemed he had remembered some absolute, unspeakable taboo.
"Hmph!" He abruptly flicked his sleeves and rose, the gust of wind he created nearly extinguishing the oil lamp. His gloomy, cold gaze swept over his son’s face, filled with confusion and worry, but didn’t linger. He strode towards the stone door of the secret chamber.
The heavy stone door rumbled shut behind him, completely sealing off the light and locking away the heavy anxiety and silent confrontation within the secret chamber.
The stone door blocked out all light, leaving only a deathly silence. Le Mingshui slid down the cold stone wall to the floor, panting. Facing the endless darkness, his voice trembled with despair. "Third Brother... what kind of Enchanting Soup has Father been fed? To collude with gutter rats like the Half-Demon Association... the slightest misstep will bring ruin to our entire clan, leaving us with no place to be buried!"
"When that time comes, are we really supposed to flee to a desolate place like Nine Prosperity Ridge, swarming with Demon Beasts, and live like savages? I’d rather... I’d rather deal with those shady Demon Cultivators! At least... at least we could still escape to the Hundred Countries of the Southwest..."
From the shadows, Le Mingshi’s stooped figure let out a heavy sigh, as if he had aged ten years in an instant. "Ai... Ming Shui, it’s useless to say more. Second Uncle has made up his mind. Our words won’t sway him in the slightest. Things have already come to this... We can only hope our ancestors protect us and pray that we handle this flawlessly, without alerting the eyes and ears of Xuan Yang Immortal City... Once we’re discovered... ai!" His sigh was filled with endless helplessness and a tragic sense of resignation.
「Seven days later. Xuan Yang Immortal City, within the Thousand Waters Assembly venue.」
Lu Zhao walked out of the final Foundation Establishment exchange meet. Inside his sleeve was a slender Jade Bottle, cool to the touch, with wisps of pure Water Spirit Qi seeping through it. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over the "Seven-Flower Spirit Water" brand on the bottle, the corner of his mouth lifting in a barely perceptible arc. ’The Thousand Waters Assembly truly lives up to its reputation. This trip was well worth it.’
Over the past seven days, he had moved like a fish in water through seven or eight Foundation Establishment exchange meets. In the first six days, he had spent fifty Middle-Grade Spirit Stones and the remaining Tier Two Lower Grade Golden Lingzhi to acquire a bottle of Tier Two Lower Grade Yi Wood Spirit Water, a bottle of Tier Two Lower Grade Bamboo Dew Spirit Water, and a bottle of Tier Two Lower Grade Cold Pond Pine Bone Spirit Water that carried the sharp scent of pine.
Lu Zhao had already felt his gains were substantial, but to his surprise, at the very last exchange meet on the final day, he actually managed to trade the Tier Two Middle-Grade Fire Cloud Ginseng for a bottle of Tier Two Middle-Grade Seven-Flower Spirit Water. This delighted him even more.