The Richest Man Was the Boss

Daoist Liuguang's whole body stiffened. The instincts of a top assassin made him instantly ready to spring up and strike back.

But before he could even turn around—

"Smack!"

A broad, powerful hand landed directly on his shoulder.

The palm weighed a thousand jun, as if pressing down on him like a Primordial Divine Mountain. In an instant, it sealed the magic power inside his body completely.

Daoist Liuguang struggled to turn his head.

He saw a bald Daoist in luxurious robes, with a face full of jowls (though it was really just a sign of prosperity), holding a golden, gleaming shovel. He was looking down at the lawn beneath Daoist Liuguang's feet with an expression of profound grief and indignation.

Zhunti.

Zhunti had just finished feeding the spirit beasts the leftover hotpot broth and was returning in a good mood. Then he saw some clueless fool trampling Elder Brother's beloved lawn.

"Do you know how much this lawn costs per square foot?"

Zhunti pointed at the few flattened Spirit Grass plants beneath Daoist Liuguang's feet. His eyes made Daoist Liuguang look like a wastrel. "This was grown with Nine Heavens Breathing Soil and watered with Three Lights Divine Water! You couldn't pay for it even if we sold you!"

Daoist Liuguang: "..."

Nine Heavens Breathing Soil? Three Lights Divine Water?

Are you freaking kidding me?

You use Sacred Items to grow a lawn?

"I..." Daoist Liuguang had just started to speak, either to explain himself or beg for mercy.

"Shut up!"

Zhunti didn't give him a chance to say a word. Anyone who sneaked in like this was either up to no good or there to steal.

Without another word, he swung the Sky-Turning Shovel in his hand, an Innate Spiritual Treasure.

"Physical Salvation!"

Thud!

A muffled impact rang out.

Poor Daoist Liuguang didn't even have time to cry out. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out on the spot.

When Daoist Liuguang woke up again,

he found himself tied up like a dumpling and thrown into a magnificent hall.

Three people sat before him.

The young Daoist in the middle wore a Moon-White Dao Robe. He held a cup of tea and looked at him with a faint, knowing smile.

His gaze wasn't sharp, yet it seemed capable of seeing through every secret in Daoist Liuguang's heart.

"Awake?"

Taiyuan took a sip of tea and spoke calmly. "Tell me, what did East King Duke send you here to do?"

Daoist Liuguang was startled. He was just about to put on a brave front and say something like, "Do whatever you want with me."

But the next second,

his nose twitched twice.

An indescribably fresh fragrance slipped into his nostrils.

That was...

The scent of Chaos Spiritual Qi?

He instinctively looked up, past Taiyuan, toward a half-open window at the back of the hall.

Through it, he saw a newly sprouted Green Lotus Bud on the mountain behind them, glowing faintly with a green light and emanating boundless Daoist insight.

Even with just one glance,

Daoist Liuguang felt the Taiyi Bottleneck that had held him back for tens of thousands of years begin to loosen!

"What... is that?"

Daoist Liuguang asked in a trembling voice, completely forgetting that he was still a prisoner.

Taiyuan smiled.

He didn't answer. He merely waved his hand, and a gentle force lifted Daoist Liuguang and carried him straight to the entrance of the hall.

"See for yourself."

Standing on high ground, Daoist Liuguang looked down over Mount Sumeru.

This time, nothing obscured his view.

He saw rivers flowing with spiritual liquid, Innate Spiritual Roots covering the mountainsides, the ground paved with Nine Heavens Breathing Soil, and spirit beasts eating Ten Thousand Year Spirit Medicine as snacks...

How could this be the impoverished Western Lands?

This was the source of the Great Dao! The ultimate sacred land every cultivator dreamed of!

By comparison, what was Purple Mansion Continent?

And what was East King Duke, that stingy man who only knew how to make empty promises and even skimped on his subordinates' resources?

"I'm not going back!"

Daoist Liuguang whipped around and dropped to his knees before Taiyuan with a thump, weeping bitterly. "My lord! I was wrong! I was blind!"

"I'm not going back to that poor place, Purple Mansion Continent! Please, let me stay!"

"I can do anything! I can turn invisible, I can poison people... No, I mean, I can get rid of pests! I can fertilize the soil!"

"As long as I can stay here, I'd even be happy working as a gardener at the gate!"

The heartfelt cry from the depths of his soul left Zhunti beside them staring in astonishment.

How can this guy be even shameless than me?

Taiyuan looked at the spy whose psychological defenses had been completely crushed by "money," and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

This was exactly the effect he wanted.

If you swing your hoe well, there's no corner you can't dig beneath.

"Fine."

Taiyuan nodded, his tone casual. "Since you're sincere, you can stay. The Spirit Medicine Garden on the back mountain could use someone to pull weeds."

"But..."

Taiyuan's tone shifted, and his gaze grew profound. "Since you're one of the Western Lands now, we'll have to settle a few old accounts."

"Write down all the intelligence you have about East King Duke's side, especially whom he's recently tried to recruit and what plans he has. Leave nothing out."

"Also..."

Taiyuan pulled a sheet of gleaming golden Spirit Paper from his sleeve and handed it to Daoist Liuguang.

"Write a letter to your old employer."

"Tell him you're doing well in the Western Lands, where the people are simple and the money flows freely—come quickly... No, just tell him this place is full of treasures, you're so happy here you've forgotten to go home, and he shouldn't worry about you."

Daoist Liuguang took the paper and brush without a moment's hesitation. He even wrote with a hint of vindictive delight.

He was going to put all the grievances he'd endured in Purple Mansion Continent and all of East King Duke's high-and-mighty airs into that letter!

Watching this, Taiyuan felt secretly pleased.

If that letter reached East King Duke,

that narrow-minded Head of Male Immortals would probably be so furious he'd spit up three pints of blood on the spot, and his Dao Heart would waver, wouldn't it?

That was what it meant to destroy someone by striking at their heart.