Traveling Together

The prefect was unwilling to escalate matters, and he tried to resolve issues with Spirit Stone whenever possible.

As the governor of Luofeng County, he relied on mining as his main economic industry, and the amount of Spirit Stone he controlled was enormous.

He simply couldn't believe that a mere Foundation Establishment Realm Ask Dao Sect Seeking Sect could rival his wealth.

Now he realized that he had overestimated himself; he was no match for the eldest son of the Meng family in terms of wealth.

Let's just steal it ourselves; it's economical and practical.

Do you think the eldest son of the Meng family would be tempted if I offered ten million Spirit Stone?

The two Golden Core cultivators hesitated and shook their heads. "No."

"Alright, then I'll offer ten million Spirit Stone this time." The prefect tried to raise his price.

On the rooftop, Lu Yang turned to Meng Jingzhou and asked, "Would you sell it for ten million Spirit Stone?"

Meng Jingzhou rolled his eyes. "I'd sell it for 500,000 Spirit Stone, why the hell would I hold onto aphrodisiac stuff like that?"

"Training willpower?"

"Get out, get out, get out!"

Meanwhile, the Mo family...

"Master, the ore shops down below have reported that a group of people came to the shops during the day with a very unique Phoenix Bloodstone, asking if we have any similar ones."

"Judging from the description, it looks very much like the Phoenix Bloodstone we've been searching for."

"Oh? What do you mean by that?" The Mo family patriarch's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected to finally find this Phoenix Blood Stone.

As the saying goes, merchants cannot fight with officials. Although the Mo family is wealthy and powerful, they are still no match for the prefect.

If we can get our hands on this Phoenix Blood Stone, then we'll have a handle on the prefect, and we won't have to fear him anymore.

"I plan to take action tonight and steal that Phoenix Blood Stone."

"Tonight? I'm asking you, who bought the Phoenix Blood Stone, what is their identity, and what is their cultivation level? If the other party is Spirit Transformation, what will you do?"

The subordinate stammered and couldn't answer, knowing it was because he was too eager to impress the master and was too impatient.

The head of the Mo family snorted coldly, "This matter cannot be taken lightly. Tomorrow during the day, you will find out who obtained the Phoenix Blood Stone. If nothing unexpected happens, I will personally steal it tomorrow night!"

"You're doing this personally?" The subordinate was speechless. Was this something the head of the family really needed to do?

"Of course, this is evidence that can put the prefect in his hands, so it's worth my personal attention." The head of the Mo family revealed a hint of excited smile.

It's time to shift the offensive in the struggle with the prefect.

"What's so special about this stone?" After returning to Li Haoran's house, Meng Jingzhou took out the Phoenix Blood Stone and examined it carefully, but he couldn't find anything wrong with it.

"Can Senior Su spot the problem?"

Su Yiren shook her head. "I don't know much about Phoenix Bloodstone. Perhaps only a cultivator specializing in weapon crafting could understand the difference of this Phoenix Bloodstone."

All eyes turned to Li Haoran.

Li Haoran's lips twitched. "I think you guys overestimate me. It would be more like my master would do the job."

"Fairy, can you see the problem?" Lu Yang asked the Immortal Fairy for help.

The Immortal Fairy frowned. "It smells of blood, and it's very fresh. I don't like it."

"The smell of blood? Very fresh?" Lu Yang had a bad feeling.

Could this Phoenix Bloodstone be a clue left behind by a deceased person?

"By the way, fairy, is it true that a phoenix passed away here in Luofeng County?"

The Immortal Fairy nodded. "There is one, but it's not half-encircling this area as Li Haoran described; it's right beneath our feet."

The Immortal Fairy pointed downwards. "Below the entire Fallen Phoenix County lies the corpse of a Phoenix in the Body Integration Realm."

"What should we do?" Li Haoran asked. He hadn't expected that his trip home to visit his family would attract the attention of the prefect, who would personally take action.

Luofeng County is a large county, and its governor has the cultivation level of the Spirit Transformation stage.

"Should we just grab him?" As the person with the highest cultivation level in the room, Su Yiren had the right to speak first. Her idea was simple: just grab the person with the problem.

Lu Yang pondered for a moment and said, "We can't act directly without evidence. We're representing the Ask Dao Sect while we're out here, so we can't abuse the Ask Dao Sect's law enforcement authority. Let's wait and see. We'll wait for the prefect to come and steal tomorrow night, record it with the recording ball, and then we'll trouble Senior Su to take action. We'll catch him red-handed!"

"By then, he'll have to admit it, whether he wants to or not!"

"Okay," Su Yiren replied.

Lu Yang instructed everyone, "Also, it's best if only a few of us know about this. Junior Brother Li, you don't want your parents to interfere in this matter, do you?"

Li Haoran nodded, a hint of helplessness in his voice, as if he had just remembered something. "Knowing the two of them as I do, it's best not to let them know about this."

"I'll keep it a secret from Yan Yan too," Su Yiren said.

Li Haoran sighed, "Luckily, Senior Su is here, otherwise I really wouldn't know what to do tomorrow night."

Meng Jingzhou laughed and said, "What's there to be afraid of? We have Lu Yang, right? He's a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator who challenged and defeated a Nascent Spirit Transformation. With him here, what's there to fear from the prefect?"

Originally, Su Yiren wanted to correct Li Haoran's way of addressing her, but she was shocked by the information revealed by Meng Jingzhou.

Defeating a Nascent Spirit Transformation in the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage —what an incredible genius!

Was I showing off my limited skills by imparting my knowledge of Core Formation to him?

"Get lost!" Lu Yang glared at Meng Jingzhou, knowing that he was retaliating for the time he had mocked him earlier.

Out of curiosity, Su Yiren kept pressing for details about the fight against someone of a higher level. The process of fighting someone of a higher level was too embarrassing, so Lu Yang refused to tell Su Yiren and gave Meng Jingzhou and Li Haoran a warning look, forbidding them from saying a word!

During the day, everyone acted as if nothing had happened the night before, eating, drinking, and having fun as usual.

Lu Yang took some time to inquire whether any cultivators had recently gone missing or died, and the answer was that none had.

The sun faded, night fell, and the darkness deepened.

A figure blended seamlessly into the night, stealthily sneaking into Li Haoran's house.

The prefect was fully prepared, dressed in night clothes and wearing a mask. His clothes could conceal his presence and whereabouts, and he could change his voice and spiritual energy fluctuations so that even his own wife would not recognize him.

"There shouldn't be any loopholes, right?" The prefect was a little nervous as this was his first time doing something like this, but he calmed down when he thought about how his operation was worth ten million Spirit Stone.

He released his Divine Sense and found the Phoenix Blood Stone placed on Meng Jingzhou's bedside. Meng Jingzhou was fast asleep and completely unaware.

Meng Jingzhou was helpless. He originally wanted to watch the show, but it wouldn't make sense for him not to sleep here, so he could only pretend to be asleep and listen to Lu Yang's voice live stream.

"Found it!"

Just as the prefect was about to go deeper, he saw another figure climb over the wall and enter; it was the head of the Mo family.

The head of the Mo family dressed exactly like the prefect, hiding himself so well that no one could recognize him.

The two were both taken aback, not expecting to run into a fellow traveler here. Was this place really that sought-after?

No, I am the prefect/head of the family, I'm just temporarily acting as a thief.