Temptation (1)

The Ning Family the Twelve Clan Estates.

The curved eaves, resembling the moon, are a hallmark of the Ning Family's architecture.

Under the eaves, there were small fish-shaped pendants carved from red jade hanging everywhere.

A light drizzle was falling.

Ning Hongli sat upright in the room, looking at the head of the family, Ning Yanfei, with her brows furrowed.

"This matter has nothing to do with me."

"I know it has nothing to do with you, but what I want to ask is whether you are aware of some details that are connected to this case," Ning Yanfei said seriously. "The Shang Family is not easily fooled. They saw your conflict with Shang Dingye before. Now that Shang Dingye has disappeared, you can't say you have nothing to do with it; you need to make them believe you."

"But this is the Ning Family. If they have evidence, they can come and arrest me!" Ning Hongli said in a deep voice.

"The Shang Family are powerful. Our Ning Family owes them a lot of favors back then," Ning Yanfei said helplessly. "Hongli, although this matter has nothing to do with you, I can see that you have never lied since you were a Great Capital, and you are a proud person. But you should still go to the Shang Family to apologize for this."

"I said it has nothing to do with me! Why should I apologize?!" Ning Hongli said in astonishment.

"I understand, but it's no use if only I understand. We need to convince the Shang Family that you weren't the one who did it. The disappearance of a grandmaster has a huge impact," Ning Yanfei said helplessly.

Ning Hongli was speechless.

Among the Twelve Clan Estates Prefecture Lord the mansions, the Prefecture Lord of the Ning Family is often referred to as the Prefecture Lord.

She used to think it was just a rumor.

Now it seems she, a grandmaster, is forced to apologize to the Shang Family because of a baseless suspicion?

This is absolutely ridiculous!

Where does she put the Ning Family's reputation?! "Eldest sister, do you know what you're saying?!" Ning Hongli closed her eyes, suppressing her emotions.

"I know very well. Hongli, this is something we owe them, back then."

"I don't want to hear about what happened back then, I'm only talking about the present. Favors and gratitude, facts and facts, are separate matters! I'm talking about the present!" Ning Hongli said earnestly.

The aura of a grandmaster unconsciously spread slowly.

Ning Yanfei fell silent, picked up the milk tea in front of her, but only shook it to make the liquid swirl, without drinking it.

The two remained silent for a moment.

Ning Yanfei then spoke again.

"I hope this matter can be resolved properly before the Shang Family Prefecture Lord returns, leaving no loose ends. My Ning Family cannot be implicated in this. Do you understand, Hongli?"

"I don't understand! Why is it always us who have to give in?!" Ning Hongli raised her voice.

"For no reason other than what we owe others," Ning Yanfei replied calmly with her eyes closed.

"You owe them?! You have your principles, you're clear about right and wrong, and you always repay kindness—that's you! But you can't use your principles to oppress all of us, to force us to do things your way!"

Bang! Ning Hongli slammed her hand on the table, leaving a deep palm print on the hard black wood surface.

"Your business is your business, and the Ning Family's business is the Ning Family's business!" she said loudly and sharply, her breathing rapid.

"Hongli, I'm doing this for your own good. Why are you always so disobedient?" Ning Yanfei lowered her eyes and said softly.

"Should I go kill someone at the Shang Family right now?" Ning Hongli suddenly smiled.

Ning Yanfei remained silent.

Every master has their own absolute beliefs and convictions, so she tried to persuade them in a gentle way.

But now it seems that it was a failure.

"Just an apology can minimize potential dangers and threats? Such a simple thing can bring such great benefits, why aren't you willing to do it?" she sighed.

"Not everyone in the world only considers the pros and cons. And not everyone is willing to follow your arrangements and do anything."

Ning Hongli stood up, turned around and left.

Watching her leave in anger, Ning Yanfei sighed silently and remained seated quietly.

A long time.

She lowered her head and drank the milk tea in her cup in one gulp.

When she looked up again, there was a thin figure sitting on the Prayer Mat where Ning Hongli had been sitting.

The other person wore a pale yellow bamboo hat and a purple robe. A black veil hung down from the hat, obscuring their face. It could be vaguely seen that they were also wearing a black demon mask under the veil.

"It seems she's not very willing to listen to you." The voice of the Black Veil Man was strange, neither male nor female, as if it were some kind of falsetto.

"It's normal for a Grandmaster to have ambitions," Ning Yanfei said without changing her expression. "Among the Great Clans, there are very few people with such a pure and kind heart as her. Perhaps you can try to slowly recruit her into the clan."

"Perhaps. But for now, we must bide our time and not rush things. Let you put pressure on us first. When the time is right, we can then take advantage of the situation to induce them to act decisively," the Black Veil Man replied. "Furthermore, through this move, the Great Dao Sect has successfully tricked the other two sects, and may be able to secure its position Number One Under Heaven in the future."

"Jin Yuyan and Yue Dewen are truly old partners. Even when their scheme failed back then, they managed to escape unscathed. Now, after years of lying low, they've struck at the heart of the matter, and the tide has turned," Ning Yanfei said.

"No rush, no rush. The one up there is almost done for. They are draining our strength, but little do they know, we are also getting used to their strength."

"Just watch, the moment I've been waiting for is coming. Their people won't be able to hold out for long." The Black Veil Man smiled slightly, stood up, and vanished in a flash.

"Then I'll just have to bear with it a little longer." Ning Yanfei closed her eyes, her fingers stroking the cup, lost in thought.

I quickly packed my luggage.

Zhang Rongfang was dressed in all black, short-sleeved shirt and long pants, with a wide snakeskin belt around his waist, and several separate small bags hanging from his back like bunches of black grapes.

After changing his appearance, he arranged for the person to dress him up to be the same old Daoist priest from the Aloeswood Palace.

This actor's acting was so realistic and his presence so imposing that he seemed even more like the Magistrate of the Guardian than he actually was.

Therefore, it is most suitable for him to dress up.

Having confirmed everything, he set off that very night without notifying anyone, leaving only a few letters before departing.

He did not travel by land when leaving Qingchuan Prefecture, but instead took a boat.

Within the jurisdiction of Qingchuan Prefecture, there is Qingchuan Port, which, although not many ships, carries various cargo ships bound for other places.

Ling Emperor had ostensibly transferred him here under the pretext of reorganizing and developing the port.

Zhang Rongfang casually boarded a ship. Under the guise of a student from the Academy traveling, he sailed downstream to Jiuzhou Port, near Wushan Prefecture.

He planned to visit his sister and the others in Wushan Prefecture first, and then head to Dan Province, where the Five Cauldrons Sect was located.

They inquired about Master Yue's true whereabouts along the way.

And that Moon King... he always felt that the Moon King's appearance was too coincidental. It was as if he was deliberately coordinating with the Great Dao Sect's attack.

But clearly, the Sensing Gate and the Great Dao Sect are sworn enemies.

They need to cooperate with each other, but they also need to let go of many past grudges.

Wow.

The waves crashed against the hull of the ship with a dull thud.

This also pulled Zhang Rongfang back from his thoughts.

He looked up into the distance, watching the silhouette of Qingchuan Port gradually recede into the distance, and felt a sense of relief as if he had been freed from a cage.

From this moment forward, I am not Zhang Ying, but Zhang Jing.

Changing his name by picking characters from the characters in it is one of his old traditional skills.

At this moment, he no longer needed to consider hiding his strength; all he wanted was to do whatever he wanted.

"Mr. Zhang, is this your first time leaving your hometown?" Boat Boss Yan Zheng, walked over slowly with his pipe in hand and struck up a conversation.

"This isn't my hometown; I'm just here temporarily to earn some money," Zhang Rongfang replied with a smile.

"Actually, Qingchuan Prefecture is very nice and safe. You might consider buying property here. If Mr. Zhang is interested, you can ask me, Old Yan, to handle it for you. Considering that we met by chance, I'll give you a 20% discount," said the Boat Boss Yan Zheng, with a smile.

"Then thank you very much, Brother Yan," Zhang Rongfang said with a smile.

"Is Uncle Zhang a martial artist?" A short-haired girl with large eyes and a slender, agile figure approached from the deck.

The girl had long, slender legs and a healthy wheat-colored complexion. She wore a strapless top over her small, medium-sized chest and gray tight-fitting pants that accentuated her long, full curves.

It's obvious that he exercises regularly.

"Why are you calling me uncle? Am I that old?" Zhang Rongfang was speechless and stroked his beard.

"I'm seventeen years old this year. My dad says you should be almost thirty. So what should I call you if not uncle?" the girl asked, her eyes wide.

"Brother?" Zhang Rongfang.

"Hehehe~~~ Aren't you ashamed?" The girl made a face by scratching the corner of her eye with her finger.

Zhang Rongfang and Yan Zheng both laughed.

The ship slowly moved away.

Zhang Rongfang's mood gradually calmed down, and he chatted with the father and daughter.

The ship he was on was called the Flying Cloud, which was said to have been a retired warship that had participated in the expedition to the Ri Lie Island.

However, in recent years, the navy has undergone rapid changes and ships are replaced very quickly.

Therefore, a large number of ships were sold to merchants.

In addition to carrying a large amount of cargo, the Flying Cloud also carried more than 30 passengers.

These days, anyone who can afford a long-distance passenger ship is definitely not broke.

After lunch.

Zhang Rongfang returned to the cabin and took out the Blood God Statue he had brought with him when he left.

After careful examination, even the Attribute Panel didn't offer any further hints.

So he tried to damage its body with brute force.

Surprisingly, the Statue turned out to be quite sturdy.

Even with his current strength, he couldn't damage it in the slightest.

He vaguely remembered that when he first obtained the Statue, it wasn't this hard.

After his research proved fruitless, Zhang Rongfang finally turned his attention to Civilian Skill.

"Without my master's Token monitoring me, it's time to improve my Civilian Skill Cultivation."

Inside the cabin.

He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused his gaze on the Attribute Points he had accumulated over the past few days.

Available Attributes: 10

As for Civilian Skill, he is still at the original progress.

'Supreme Bright Void Skill (Fifth Realm - Nascent Soul Late Stage)'

"Let's begin this time and see what the effect of breaking through to the Refining Spirit will be."

If it weren't for his master's monitoring, he would have wanted to improve his Civilian Skill long ago to save Attribute Points.

It's worth noting that improving your Civilian Skill by one level is more cost-effective than directly adding points to your health.

Unfortunately, because of this reason, he was delayed for so many years.

Now, the opportunity has finally arrived.

Inside the cabin, Zhang Rongfang focused his mind and concentrated on the plus sign after the name of the Supreme Bright Void Skill, imagining himself gently tapping it.

In a flash, three Attribute Points were reduced.

The words indicating the Nascent Soul Late Stage blurred. However, after a few seconds, the writing returned to normal, revealing a new stage: Early Refining Spirit.

At the same time, countless memories of his arduous cultivation of Civilian Skill and his meditation day and night also flooded his mind.

But now, Zhang Rongfang no longer gets dizzy and disoriented because of these memories; he is gradually getting used to this level of intensity.

Simply put, after entering the Refining Spirit, he carefully closed his eyes and experienced it.

First, the Nascent Soul qi and blood cluster in the chest and abdomen is slowly splitting open, like a silkworm spinning silk, separating out an extremely subtle and light stream of air that flows along the meridians and directly into the brain.