Chapter Thirty-One: Li Hua

  What a magnificent physique!

  Chen Yao picked up this inconspicuous storage ring and took a look at it. He couldn't help but feel a wave of amazement in his heart.

  This storage ring only has a space of ten square feet, and its grade is not high. However, inside it are piled up three thousand pieces of dense spiritual crystal, enough to exchange for thirty million yuan stones!

  "This stupid cow has actually stored so many Ling crystals, perhaps it's preparing to break through the Violet Mansion boundary in the future? Unfortunately, it's cheap for me."

  Chen Xiao's heart was racing with excitement. For some of the big families in Songyuan City, 3,000 spiritual crystals might not be a lot, but for Chen Xiao, who had been poor since childhood, this amount of spiritual crystals was an astronomical figure. With these spiritual crystals, he could buy many magical artifacts, elixirs, martial skills, and even all sorts of luxuries without having to worry about making a living anymore.

  However, Chen Tang still did not plan to quit his job as a spiritual kitchen apprentice, because he had promised Du Qingxi, the boss of Qingxi Wine House, that within three years, as long as he did not leave Songyan City, he would never resign.

  A person without credibility cannot establish himself. For the sake of short-term gains, destroying one's own promises is no different from destroying one's own moral integrity for a cultivator.

  Chen Yao still remembered that when he was four years old, the Nanjiang Su family, who were originally related to him by marriage, sent more than a dozen of their top masters, including Huang Tingjing, to stand in the sky above Tianshui City and tear up the marriage contract in front of everyone, abandoning their promise and leaving immediately. He and his grandfather were subjected to endless ridicule and mockery, and the shame and pain that was etched into his bones made a deep wound in his young heart, one that he would never dare forget for the rest of his life.

  And so, when it comes to making a commitment, he values and cares about it more than others.

  "What is this thing?"

  Chen Xiao's eyes inadvertently swept across, and in the corner of the storage ring, he suddenly saw a strange object the size of a palm. When he picked it up, he found that this black jade pendant resembling a key had three words written on it in ancient script - "Dong Ming Ling".

  Having tried various methods, Chen Xi couldn't find anything special about the mysterious token, so he gave up and hid the storage ring in his bosom. He looked up at the sky, not daring to linger any longer, and turned to leave.

  One minute later.

  Chen Yu finally walked out of the Nanman forbidden area and returned to the dense forest.

  "Not bad, huh?"

  Ji Yu, who was pretending to sleep in the rattan chair, slowly opened his eyes and scanned Chen Tai's body with a gaze that seemed to have already seen through all of Chen Tai's secrets, letting out a soft laugh.

  Chen Xiao thought about the various encounters tonight and nodded deeply: "Only in a real life-and-death battle did I discover that I had so many shortcomings. If not for good luck running into a stupid and foolish Zi Xi Da Yao, it would have been dangerous tonight."

  Ji Yu smiled slightly, picked up the gourd and took two mouthfuls of strong liquor, smacking his lips as he said, "This is the benefit of actual combat, it allows you to clearly recognize your own shortcomings. Let's go, dawn is approaching, we should head back."

  As he spoke, Ji Yu waved his hand casually, and the next moment the two of them had vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a faint scent of wine in the atmosphere.

  ……

  The Li family's main hall, where many elderly members who rarely venture out have gathered together today.

  "Wu Guanjia, I, Li family's thirty elite guards, all at the Xiantian Initial Stage, yet died at the hands of a useless trash who only knows how to forge talismans. How ridiculous and laughable!"

  The speaker was an old man with a black beard, his face was pale and old, but his skin was as white as jade, his eyes were bright and piercing, and he exuded an aura of cold and stern majesty. He was the oldest and most respected elder of the Li family, Li Fengtu.

  With a thud, Wu Guan's housekeeper fell to the ground on his knees, his thin face covered in sweat, and his mouth kept trembling as he repeated: "This old slave is incompetent, this old slave is incompetent..."

  "A month ago, due to the interference of Generalissimo Lo Chong and the Mong Kung Academy's Mon Kong, the three Li Han brothers were brutally killed in the civilian district, and Chen Tianlei's youngest grandson Chen Huan also fled Sungyencheng immediately after. All these I can forgive."

  "But today, I will not let this matter go so easily. For the sake of obtaining the Dōng Xuán Líng from the hands of Zǐ Xī Lǎo Guài, my Li family has paid too great a price over the past decade. This failure is something that neither I nor the entire Li clan can afford to bear!"

  The old man Li Fengtu's voice was low and cold, filled with endless anger, the atmosphere in the hall became increasingly solemn and oppressive, no one dared to make a sound.

  "It's all my fault, I've been neglecting to keep an eye on Chen Tai..." Li Yizhen was like a man sitting on pins and needles, his forehead dripping with sweat, his expression filled with guilt and unease, no longer carrying the dignity of a clan leader.

  "Hmm."

  The old man snorted, his expression softened a lot, "This matter is not your fault, for now, it's still necessary to get the Dongming Order before the Nanman Mingyu trial three months later, otherwise if this matter is known by Longyuan Su family..."

  Longtan Su Family!

  Although only four words, it was like a heavy hammer that heavily smashed on Li Yi Zhen's heart. His face suddenly became extremely ugly, he took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying: "Elder, rest assured, even if I have to use all my power, I will get the Dong Ming Token back!"

  Ouch!

  At this moment, the tightly closed main hall gate was opened. All the elder sages in their seats were furious, who dared to intrude into the main hall?

  Bang!

  A huge black shadow crashed onto the ground, and it was the corpse of the purple rhinoceros that Chen Yao had killed.

  "The Purple Rhinoceros has been killed, and that Hollow Seal should have fallen into Chen Tai's hands."

  With a cold and indifferent voice, a tall figure slowly walked in. He had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, with long hair draped over his shoulders. As he stepped forward, an astonishing aura of evil emanated from him.

  Young Master!

  He... when did he leave the ancestral house?

  Wu Guan's family, kneeling on the ground, saw this young man and felt a chill in his heart. He knelt on the ground even more, not daring to raise his head.

  This man is none other than Li Huai, a genius of the Li family who appears only once in a thousand years!

  At the age of three, he began to cultivate, at nine years old, he entered the Pre-Heavenly Realm, and at thirteen years old, he reached the peak of the Pre-Heavenly Realm. After four years of closed-door meditation in his ancestral home, when he emerged from seclusion, he must have already laid a solid foundation for his path and stepped into the Purple Mansion Realm!

  The person who came was Li Hua. The anger in the hearts of all the people present disappeared instantly, and the elders all showed a smile. In their hearts, Li Hua, like a proud son of heaven, had already qualified to participate in the discussion in the main hall.

  "Father."

  Li Hua nodded slightly at Li Yizhen and sat down on one side, motionless.

  Li Yizhen felt a surge of relief and pride in his heart. With such a son, the future glory of the Li family was just around the corner!

  "Zi Xi Lao Guai was also killed by that waste from the Chen family? It seems that this child has grown up after all!" Li Fengtu looked at the corpse on the ground, his voice filled with a hint of surprise.

  Kneeling on the ground, Wu Guan hastily said: "The great elder is indeed insightful. According to this old slave's observation, that young man has not only cultivated his energy to an extremely high level but also practiced a profound body-refining technique and has already reached the realm of Innate. If he is not killed early on, this child will surely become a great calamity."

  Refine the body before birth?

  As soon as this was said, everyone present showed a hint of astonishment. Among the same ranks, Body Refiners suppressed all Qi Refiners, and in Songyuan City, although it was rare to see someone advance to the Pre-Heavenly stage through body refinement, its power was not something anyone dared to ignore.

  "I'll go kill him right now!"

  Li Hua, who had been sitting still and silent, suddenly spoke up, his handsome eyebrows now heavy with murderous intent, as if he was extremely opposed to and disgusted by Chen Tang's growth.

  Li Hua's reaction seemed to be within everyone's expectation. Upon hearing this, Li Yizhen hastily said: "Hua'er, calm down. Chen Zhuo and Long Yuan Su's engagement has already been broken off, no matter how much he advances, it is absolutely impossible for him to marry Su Jiao."

  "Father, the Su family once promised us that they would abolish Chen Yu's cultivation as a condition, and at the cost of Chen Yu being humiliated to death, the master of the Su family agreed to marry Su Jiao to me. Now that this son is about to be born, if we don't take action soon, it will be too late." As he spoke of this unfulfilled marriage, Li Hua's normally cold and indifferent demeanor finally showed a hint of humanity.

  "Huai'er is right. It can now be confirmed that the Dongming Order has fallen into Chen Tai's hands. In that case, it's best to take action as soon as possible."

  Elder Li Fengtu hesitated for a moment before slowly opening his mouth, "Wu Guan Jia, where does this child currently reside?"

  "Qingxi Wine House."

  "Wu Guan hastily replied: 'Since the assassination attempt last month, that kid seems to have sensed something was off and has been hiding in the Qingxi Wine House.'"

  "Qingxi Wine House? Hmph, it's just a shabby wine house with some connection to the General's Manor. Yizhen, arrange for some men tonight and bring that little brat back to me. If anyone dares to intervene, kill them without pardon!"

  Li Fengtu let out a cold hum and slowly said: "I will make everyone in Songyancheng know that offending the Li family, death is the only outcome!"

  "Don't worry, elder, I guarantee to complete the task!" Li Yizhen accepted the order solemnly.

  "Du Qingxi is not so easy to bully."

  Just then, a pleasant tinkling sound accompanied by a faint scent of fragrance wafted in from the main hall door, causing everyone's expression to change.

  Elder Li Fengtu's expression didn't change, but a surge of shock rose in his heart. Who? Someone was hiding outside the main hall eavesdropping under his very nose? What kind of cultivation would that require?

  ——

  I'm working hard on updates, hoping brothers will also work hard to collect them...