The two True Persons suddenly landed beside the Treasure Flower. One put on silk gloves, swiftly and gently plucked the flower, placed it in a wooden box, and spread dry grass all around it.
"Go!" Having secured the item, the two turned and ran.
"Trying to leave? You two are quite lucky, picking up such a bargain so easily."
Suddenly, a person appeared at one side with a swish.
This man had dark skin and close-cropped hair. He looked like an old farmer who had worked the fields all his life.
Yet unlike an ordinary old farmer, he grinned, revealing sharp, even teeth like those of a predator.
They did not look like human teeth, but more like those of some carnivorous beast.
"Hand over the Treasure Flower, and I can spare your lives. Otherwise, heh heh." The man stepped forward, black Returning True Force in the shape of lotus blossoms steaming up beneath his feet.
Returning True Force was generally pale gray. If someone cultivated it to black, there was no need for doubt—only an accumulation of extraordinarily concentrated Returning True Force could produce such a color.
At this moment, the black lotuses rising beneath this farmer-like man's feet turned the faces of the two independent True Persons green.
"Black Lotus True Force. You're Xu Chengtiao of the Haining Alliance!?" One man's expression changed drastically as he gritted his teeth.
"Since you recognize me, leave the goods and get lost!" Xu Chengtiao sneered.
"Xu Chengtiao, as a Dao Seed of the Haining Alliance, you care about such ordinary treasure?" The other was unwilling to accept this. "If you let us leave this time, we can trade a secret for it!"
"Looks like I've stayed out of circulation for too long. People have forgotten my old methods." Xu Chengtiao chuckled,