Staying the Night Again, Counting the Spirit Artifacts

Is it time to talk?

Chen Ning's calm voice came through.

Upon hearing this, the Poison Venerable nearly lost his footing.

Looking at the distant mountains that had been restored to their original state, the Poison Venerable felt an overwhelming sense of unreality.

What's the point of even talking about this?

The chips have all been easily neutralized by them.

He had intended to use the poison array to force the other side to release the people, but now he looked like a joke.

He used to be a very famous figure in Lan Province.

He is also one of the three deputy hall masters of the Heaven-Praying Hall.

He could do whatever he wanted throughout Lan Province.

But today I'm Dragon-Seeking Sect.

But I've never felt so frustrated in my entire life.

He couldn't win an argument with the young sect leader.

The disciple was no match for him.

Even in his strongest areas, he is now inferior to Chen Ning.

He wanted to disappear into the ground.

At this point, it would be a huge fool for him to still try to intimidate the other party with the name of the Heaven-Praying Hall.

They're not afraid at all.

Now, they're in a dilemma.

"Sect Leader Chen, could you please grant me a moment?"

The Poison Venerable's attitude has improved considerably.

She's no longer as arrogant as before.

Chen Ning nodded and said, "Of course, please make yourself at home."

The Poison Venerable even bowed slightly before stepping back.

I contacted the Heaven-Praying Hall Master immediately.

"How is it?"

The voice of the Heaven-Praying Hall Master was transmitted through the Voice Transmission Spirit Stone.

The Poison Venerable truthfully reported, "Palace Master, things have changed; the poison mist has been broken."

"What's going on? Wasn't that the poison array you set up?"

"I couldn't win; that young sect leader's Poison Dao level is above mine."

"Is there anyone in this world more ruthless than you?"

"Please forgive me, Your Highness..."

A while later...

Then a voice rang out again. "Alright... things have come to this. Let's rescue the young master first. You should agree to Sect Leader Chen's request and bring the young master back."

"Master, the other party said... said it's cash on delivery..."

The Poison Venerable spoke weakly.

The Voice Transmission Spirit Stone remained silent for a moment.

Then came the sound of something breaking.

Damn it!

Not long after.

The Poison Venerable then returned with a smile on his face.

"Sect Leader Chen, I've kept you waiting."

"Not long, not long, can we talk now?" Chen Ning said with a smile.

The Poison Venerable chuckled and said, "I have already informed the Palace Master and am sending someone via the teleportation array to deliver the Spirit Artifact. Please wait a little longer, Sect Leader Chen."

"No rush, old dog, you're very kind."

This time it's finally settled.

Chen Ning also felt that the ransom was reasonable.

With just three sentences, I got the men of the Heaven-Praying Hall to spend tens of thousands of High-Grade Origin Stones on me.

The teleportation array at the Heaven-Praying Hall is incredibly effective.

It is also extremely convenient.

Soon an envoy arrived.

They also presented six Mid-Grade Spirit Artifacts and several High-Grade Origin Stones.

Chen Ning readily released the person.

Long Aoshi and several fellow disciples walked out together.

When the Poison Venerable smelled the stench emanating from Long Aoshi, he realized where he had been imprisoned.

But the Poison Venerable dared not unleash his power.

I've really embarrassed myself today; I need to get back safely first.

So he simply stood quietly a little further away.

"Uncle, Dragon-Seeking Sect has shown contempt for my Heaven-Praying Hall and even locked my nephew in a pigsty. Such humiliation deserves our due! We must settle this score!"

Upon seeing his own people, Long Aoshi immediately felt more confident. As he spoke, he suddenly noticed the familiar Spirit Artifact.

"Uncle, this... wasn't this supposed to be Mid-Grade Spirit Artifact that you promised to bestow upon your nephew? Why is it here?"

Long Aoshi was dumbfounded.

He quickly realized what was happening.

A look of shock flashed across his face.

"Uncle... Uncle... They 'Deceiving People! They've really Deceiving People! Activate the poison array immediately! I want to see it with my own eyes..."

Snap!

Before he could finish speaking...

The Poison Venerable then slapped him across the face.

This caused Long Aoshi's face, which was already swollen, to swell up even more.

"Isn't it embarrassing enough already?"

Long Aoshi covered his face and stood there stunned.

The Poison Venerable chuckled dryly at Chen Ning and said, "Sect Leader Chen, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

"Aren't you going to eat something before you leave?"

Chen Ning politely asked him to stay.

The Poison Venerable shook his head. "No, no."

Then.

Without looking back, he led Long Aoshi and Aofeng away.

I went out for a while.

The plan failed.

I'm devastated.

The losses were devastating.

The disciple was dumbfounded.

This is truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly!

Goodnight, Malabar!

Lan Province.

The Heaven-Praying Hall.

The two deputy hall masters stood in the main hall, both looking at the Heaven-Praying Hall Master on the head seat.

"The Poison Venerable hasn't returned yet, so you're not waiting for him? Palace Master, you owe me an explanation!"

One of the deputy hall masters spoke first.

Losing six Mid-Grade Spirit Artifacts at once is a blow to a force like theirs.

Most importantly, it will directly affect the ranking of the super powers.

The benefits of a prominent position are extremely tempting for a super sect like theirs.

If it's only to save the young master, is such a huge price to pay?

This clearly fails to convince the public.

"Yes, Palace Master, the Dragon-Seeking Sect is merely a sect with a thousand-year history. Why should my Heaven-Praying Hall tolerate it again and again?"

Another deputy hall master also spoke up.

Both of them have made their statements.

The other elders echoed this sentiment.

"Palace Master, in the ten thousand years of the Heaven-Praying Hall, apart from those few untouchable figures in Central Province, there has never been anyone we cannot afford to offend. The Dragon-Seeking Sect is not qualified."

"Sect Master, we cannot swallow this insult! These six Mid-Grade Spirit Artifacts are crucial to the sect's foundation; they cannot be handled so carelessly!"

Then everyone chimed in with their own opinions.

Much later.

The Heaven-Praying Hall Master, seated at the head of the table, said in a deep voice, "You're all making such a fuss, so let me ask you: when the fourth generation leader of the Dragon-Seeking Sect was slaughtering everyone, didn't my Heaven-Praying Hall also tolerate it?"

One word fell.

The other voices gradually subsided.

Seeing that things had finally quieted down, the Heaven-Praying Hall Master continued:

"The reason I agreed to hand over six Mid-Grade Spirit Artifact was merely a temporary measure to rescue my son. As for those six Spirit Artifacts, they are a hot potato; I will have them returned personally."

After hearing what the Heaven-Praying Hall Master said...

Only then did everyone accept it.

It seems the temple master has no intention of letting this go so easily.

After all.

This relates to the sect's strength and ranking.

Chen Ning was forced to stay overnight at Verdant Peak.

As expected, they couldn't escape it.

Unfortunately, this time he had a legitimate reason, so he couldn't just run away.

Cang Yue insisted on taking stock of the six Mid-Grade Spirit Artifact together.

I was also worried that I would get hungry at night.

They had the kitchen prepare and send over many desserts.

The cream cakes that Chen Ning had shown off before have now been learned by the cooks in the kitchen.

Furthermore, in order to retain this strongest known combatant of the Dragon-Seeking Sect in the later stages.

Chen Ning racked his brains and contributed two more dessert recipes.

Furthermore, after recently learning about the existence of the Supreme Elder, Chen Ning also wanted to take things a step further with Cang Yue.

Even if she had ulterior motives, at least she didn't openly harm me.

On the contrary, the Supreme Elder wanted to kill him from the very beginning.

We could use Cang Yue's influence to make that hidden Supreme Elder somewhat wary.