Black-Hearted Ling Pengliang Gets Zhu Wen Under His Thumb

Half a month has passed.

This day.

At the Affairs Hall on Lingxiao Mountain, a middle-aged man with a kind and honest appearance arrived.

Ling Pengliang, the "Acting Great Elder" standing behind the counter of the Affairs Hall, saw this person arrive and his expression changed slightly. He then greeted him politely.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, you have come here today to refine the batch of Qi Refining and mid-stage Demon Beast hides that I gave you three days ago into first-grade low and mid-grade blank Talisman Paper."

This honest-looking middle-aged man surnamed Zhu was Zhu Wen, who was captured alive by Ling Pengyun and taken back to the Ling Clan nine years ago.

For the past nine years, Zhu Wen has been imprisoned in Lingxiao Mountain, spending eight out of the twelve hours each day refining blank Talisman Paper for the Ling Clan.

With such high-intensity refining of blank Talisman Paper, when he first entered the mountain, he could only refine First Rank Low Grade blank Talisman Paper.

As time went by and he produced more and more blank Talisman Paper, he had mastered the art of refining blank Talisman Paper to the second level. Now he could refine First Rank Middle Grade blank Talisman Paper.

Of course, the Ling Clan did not suppress him too much, and would give Zhu Wen two Spirit Stone and five catties of Yellow Jade Spirit Rice every month as a reward.

During those nine years as a laborer, Zhu Wen also tried to escape from Lingxiao Mountain.

Even though Zhu Wen managed to evade the gaze of the Ling Clan cultivators who were monitoring him and successfully leave the Lingxiao Mountain area, he was unexpectedly locked onto by a second-tier formation within the mountain. As a result, once he left the Lingxiao Mountain area, he dared not move an inch. If he did move, he would be blasted to death by the formation.

He was a man who was afraid of death, and he did not have any powerful defensive treasures, so he was naturally captured alive by the Ling Clan and taken back to Lingxiao Mountain.

Gradually, he accepted his fate and settled down in Lingxiao Mountain.

After all, he knew that the Ling Clan valued his skill in making blank Talisman Paper and would not kill him.

Under these circumstances, being in Lingxiao Mountain is actually a bit safer than being outside, although the amount of Spirit Stone he can earn is much less.

"Of course. If I hadn't refined all those Demon Beast hides into blank Talisman Paper, how would I have dared to come to this Affairs Hall?"

"The Storage Bag contains the batch of blank Talisman Paper that I used this time," Zhu Wen said with a hint of resentment as he took out a bulging Storage Bag from his pocket and handed it to Ling Pengliang.

Ling Pengliang did not react to these words; instead, a smile appeared on his face.

After all, anyone who is captured alive and forced to do hard labor for nine years with low wages would have complaints.

Ling Pengliang reached out and took the Storage Bag from Zhu Wen, then channeled his Divine Sense into it.

Checking the number of blank Talisman Paper, and finding the number correct, his smile deepened.

"The quantity is correct. Thank you for your hard work, Fellow Daoist Zhu."

Ling Pengliang smiled and picked up a Storage Bag that had been prepared beforehand from the corner of the counter, handing it to Zhu Wen.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, as usual, this Storage Bag contains ten Qi Refining and mid-stage Demon Beast hides. You need to refine one hundred low-grade and mid-grade first-level blank Talisman Paper within three days."

"I understand." Zhu Wen reached out and took the Storage Bag that was handed to him, saying helplessly.

Although he was unhappy that the Ling Clan treated him like a laborer, he dared not show it too much, since he still had to eat the Ling Clan's food.

When he was first captured and taken to Lingxiao Mountain, he only uttered a disgruntled rebuttal, but this resulted in him spending half a year refining blank Talisman Paper for the Ling Clan without receiving any salary.

Without spiritual support, his cultivation progressed slowly during those six months.

After taking the Storage Bag, Zhu Wen did not stay in the Affairs Hall for long. He turned around and left the Affairs Hall, heading towards his courtyard in Lingxiao Mountain.

Ling Pengliang, who was in the Affairs Hall, stared blankly at Zhu Wen's back.

"This Zhu Wen is quite talented; it would be a shame to use him only to refine blank Talisman Paper."

"Especially during the period of Demon Beast Uprising."

Ling Pengliang sighed inwardly, then his expression brightened.

He closed the gate of the Affairs Hall, quickly went up to the top of the mountain, struck the bronze bell on the mountaintop, and summoned the Fifth Elder Ling Yunxi and the Supreme Elder Ling Pengyun, who were in the clan, to the Council Hall for a meeting.

The rest of the Lineage's high-ranking members are not in the family.

Council Hall.

Sitting in the main seat, Ling Pengyun asked Ling Pengliang with a puzzled look.

"Sixteenth Brother, what is the purpose of summoning us to the Council Hall today?"

"Eighth Brother, Fifteenth Grand-Aunt, please let me explain in detail." Ling Pengliang first called out to Ling Pengyun and Ling Yunxi, and then explained.

"Now, due to the large number of Demon Beast hides obtained from the Demon Beast that broke into the territory half a month ago, there is a shortage of first-grade low and mid-grade blank Talisman Paper in the clan."

"With only the Eighteenth Grandfather as a First Rank Middle Grade Talisman Crafter in the clan, it is impossible for the Eighteenth Grandfather alone to refine that large number of blank Talisman Paper into Spirit Talisman Cave and give them to the clan members for self-defense, in case that during the period of Demon Beast Uprising, there will be no more Demon Beast groups invading the Lineage's territory and causing trouble."

"Under these circumstances, I have an idea."

"I plan to commission Zhu Wen, the Talisman Crafter who was captured and brought back to the Clan Mountain by Eighth Brother nine years ago, to refine First Rank Low Grade Spirit Talisman Cave talisman for the Lineage, while the Eighteenth Grandfather will focus on refining Tier 1 Middle Grade Spirit Talisman."

"With the combined efforts of these two, the large number of low- and mid-grade first-tier blank Talisman Paper in the Lineage can be quickly converted into Spirit Talisman Cave, thereby increasing the combat power of the clan members."

The eighteenth ancestor mentioned by Ling Pengliang is Ling Yunming, the eighteenth in the Yun generation, who is also the father of Ling Dong, the village chief of Qingshi Village.

Upon hearing this, both Ling Pengyun and Ling Yunxi frowned.

After a while, Ling Pengyun spoke.

"Sixteenth Brother, your idea is good, but Zhu Wen used to be Evil Cultivator who specialized in interception and killing. He is extremely vicious, and I captured him alive and brought him back to the Lineage."

"Over the years, he has been imprisoned in the Clan Mountain, making blank Talisman Paper for the Lineage every day. He must have harbored resentment in his heart."

"Once the Lineage provides blank Talisman Paper and he helps refine Spirit Talisman Cave, he will definitely be able to hoard quite a few Spirit Talisman Cave."

"Under such circumstances, if this person were to become extremely vicious in the future, and use the Spirit Talisman Cave he had secretly kept, along with his Qi Training Fifth Layer cultivation, to directly attack my Ling Clan members in the mountains, it would inevitably cause heavy casualties."

Ling Pengliang smiled and said, "I had already thought of this situation. There is still a First Rank Low Grade Bewildering Formation available in the Clan Repository, as well as several kinds of spiritual materials for refining Image Recording Formation."

"With those spiritual materials, and following the Fifteenth Grand-Aunt' array formation skills, there's an eight or nine out of ten chance they can refine a First Rank Middle Grade Image Recording Formation."

"Once the Image Recording Array is completed, we can set up both the Bewildering Formation and the Image Recording Array around the courtyard where Zhu Wen lives."

"The Bewildering Formation conjured up a cloud of mist that enveloped his residence, serving as a special warning barrier."

"After all, although Zhu Wen has the Qi Training Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, he can force his way out of that Bewildering Formation. However, given his cultivation level, once he forces his way into the formation, he will definitely trigger the formation."

"As for the image -Image Recording Array, it is used for surveillance to monitor the number of Spirit Talisman Cave Zhu Wen refines, ensuring that he does not hoard Spirit Talisman Cave."

After hearing Ling Pengliang's idea, Ling Pengyun thought that Ling Pengliang's suggestion was feasible and couldn't help but think more highly of Ling Pengliang.

"If that's the case, this method is indeed feasible. However, imprisoning Zhu Wen Zhu Wen in the courtyard and restricting his freedom will likely cause him to harbor great resentment."

"This led to a situation where, during the process of refining Spirit Talisman Cave for his Lineage, he deliberately failed to refine Spirit Talisman Cave, resulting in an extremely low success rate in refining Spirit Talisman Cave."

"The Lineage can simply impose a higher success rate for refining Spirit Talisman Cave on Zhu Wen. That Zhu Wen is terrifyingly dead, so I doubt he would dare to deliberately fail in refining Spirit Talisman Cave." Ling Pengliang raised a mocking look on his face, his tone slightly playful.

Upon hearing this, Ling Pengyun and Ling Yunxi, who were also in the Council Hall, both agreed that the ruthless Ling Pengliang was indeed the most suitable person to be the Lineage's Great Elder.

"Sixteenth Brother, don't push Zhu Wen too hard. Give him some benefits appropriately," Ling Pengyun advised, fearing that Ling Pengliang exploit Zhu Wen too much.

"I understand, Eighth Brother. You have to cast a long line to catch a big fish." Ling Pengliang was in a good mood when he saw that Ling Pengyun had agreed. He smiled and turned to look at Ling Yunxi before speaking.

"Fifteenth Grand-Aunt, I'll need to trouble you a bit with the task of refining the Image Recording Formation."

"No hardship is too much to ask. It is my duty to refine arrays for the Lineage. I will refine that First Rank Middle Grade -Image Recording Formation within three days," Ling Yunxi replied.

"Alright, this matter is settled, so let's not dwell on it any further. Taking advantage of this opportunity for everyone to gather together, Eighth Brother, please tell me and Fifteenth Grand-Aunt about the recent situation of the Lineage." Ling Pengyun said to the Great Elder Ling Pengliang.

Upon hearing Ling Pengliang did not linger. He carefully recounted the recent situation of the Lineage to Ling Pengyun and Ling Yunxi, and then handed over the family's various spirit animal rosters and account books for the two to examine.

Once these matters have been discussed, the meeting will conclude.

Three days later.

Affairs Hall.

On this day, Zhu Wen, who had been commissioned by the Ling Clan three days prior to refine blank Talisman Paper from Demon Beast hides, returned to the Affairs Hall and handed over the blank Talisman Paper he had refined over the past three days to Ling Pengliang.

This time, however, Ling Pengliang did not simply give him a batch of Demon Beast hides and let him leave as usual. Instead, he spoke to him in detail about the Ling Clan's plan to entrust him with the task of refining First Rank Low Grade Spirit Talisman Cave.

Zhu Wen was naturally willing to refine the Spirit Talisman Cave.

After all, the success rate of refining Spirit Talisman Cave is uncontrollable, and he might even keep a few Spirit Talisman Cave for self-defense.

However, when he learned that the Ling Clan would use the Misleading and Shadow-Recording Formations to restrict his freedom and monitor his success rate in drawing Spirit Talisman Cave, he immediately rejected Ling Pengliang's proposal.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, don't rush to refuse this matter. Why don't you first hear what reward you can get for refining Spirit Talisman Cave for my Ling Clan?" Ling Pengliang said with a smile as he watched Zhu Wen leave angrily.

"Then tell me about it," Zhu Wen said, sounding curious.

"From now on, you will be required to refine one hundred low-grade First Rank Low Grade Fireball Talisman for the Ling Clan every month, and the success rate of refining these talismans must not be less than 30%."

"And your salary will be increased to five Spirit Stone and ten catties of Yellow Jade Spirit Rice per month."

"If you can refine more Fireball Talisman, then calculate based on the method of obtaining one more Spirit Stone for refining twenty more talismans."

"At the same time, when your cultivation reaches the Qi Training Sixth Layer, my Ling Clan can provide you with a First-Tier Superior-Grade Miasma Breaking Pill, which is hard to find outside, free of charge, to help you break through the bottleneck of the Qi Training Seventh Layer and enter the Qi Training Late Stage."

"In addition to these, I can also open up my Ling Clan's first-tier lower and middle-grade Spirit Talisman Cave talisman inheritances to you."

"By the way, if I'm not mistaken, Fellow Daoist Zhu's cultivation Cultivation Method is probably the most common Fire Spirit Art on the market. Cultivation progress is extremely slow with this Cultivation Method."

"My Ling Clan can provide you Higher Vehicle the circulation path of the first seven levels of the superior Fire Element Cultivation Method, ' Blazing Fire Art,' which is enough for you to cultivate to the seventh level of the Qi Training Stage."

"Fellow Daoist Zhu, are you satisfied with these conditions?" Ling Pengliang sneer.

"Is Ling Daoyou said true?" Zhu Wen's eyes widened in shock when he heard Ling Pengliang mention the reward.

Ling Pengliang entrusted him with refining Spirit Talisman Cave. Although the monthly salary he received was not much, the Miasma Breaking Pill, the Spirit Talisman Cave inheritance, and the Blazing Fire Art were all treasures.

The Elixir of Miasma Breaking Pill, the Inheritance of Spirit Talisman Cave, and the Blazing Fire Art are extremely rare in the outside world. Once they appear, they are snapped up by cultivators and are considered priceless items.

The Miasma Breaking Pill can help him break through to a higher realm of cultivation.

Inheritance can help him navigate the world of Spirit Talisman Cave more smoothly.

The Cultivation Method can help him accelerate his cultivation speed, making him far stronger than ordinary cultivators.

With these three generous conditions presented to him, Zhu Wen was quite tempted.

Thanks to: Aojian Piaohong, Hai Shang Haoyue, Yuzui, Huoye A Day of Fire Pages, Shuyou202000406095133535, Changshan Zhao Zilong Shiye, Wangbudiao de Lunhui, Shuyou20180723163025008, Xu Yu, Shaonian Xin Sibing Ed, and Qianling Moyu for their monthly tickets.

Thank you all so much!