Earth Master Wu Chang

Wang Wende was stunned.

He had served as a county magistrate for many years and had seen his fair share of social exchanges.

He had seen plenty of officials who took bribes, but this was the first time he had ever encountered someone who asked who hadn't sent a gift the moment they opened their mouth.

He quickly ran through the list in the ledger in his mind and spoke cautiously.

"White Moon Villa... did not send a gift."

Lu Yuan nodded, his expression indifferent as he continued to ask, "Did Liao Shanhai come to the Garrison Station yesterday?"

Wang Wende's expression shifted; he had heard about the incident at the city gates yesterday. The disciples of White Moon Villa had failed to identify a demon, allowing the fiend to injure the Demon-Suppressing Guard Zhang Shun and escape into the city.

If Lu Yuan hadn't acted in time, the common folk in the city would likely have been in danger.

Lu Yuan had personally killed the fiend, which could be considered as having cleared away a hidden threat for White Moon Villa.

By all rights, even if Lu Yuan hadn't asked, Liao Shanhai should have come to the Garrison Station immediately to offer an apology.

That was the most basic of courtesies.

Yet he hadn't come.

Not only had he not come, he hadn't even sent a single disciple.

"In reply to you, my lord, he did not."

Wang Wende shook his head.

A cold smile touched the corner of Lu Yuan's mouth, "It seems this Villa Master Liao does not submit to me."

Wang Wende took a deep breath, wanting to say something to ease the tension, but swallowed the words back down.

White Moon Villa had been rooted in Linchuan County for over twenty years, and Liao Shanhai was a powerhouse on the verge of stepping into the Mystic Realm; he had always looked down upon the County Office and the Garrison Station.

Even when Zhao Heng was in charge, any requests had to be negotiated carefully and politely with Liao Shanhai.

Now that Lu Yuan had just arrived and was so young, it was expected that the other party would not be submissive.

Just then, the sound of footsteps came from outside.

Su Ding'an walked in from the doorway, followed by a stranger in gray-blue robes.

The man was in his thirties, thin, and dressed like a wandering Taoist.

As soon as he entered, his bright, crystalline eyes scanned Lu Yuan several times.

Su Ding'an stepped forward, looking excited, and said, "My lord, this gentleman is named Wu Chang. He is an Earth Master, and having learned that the Corpse Suppressing Bell is in your possession, he has come specifically to purchase it."

A look of surprise appeared on Lu Yuan's face.

He had only released the news through the channels of the Demon Suppression Bureau the day before yesterday; he hadn't expected someone to come knocking today.

"An Earth Master?" Lu Yuan subconsciously glanced at the man.

He had heard of this profession. Earth Masters did not cultivate martial arts but specialized in geomancy, absorbing the energy of the earth's veins to cultivate. In layman's terms, they were feng shui masters.

This lineage was sparse in numbers, but every one of them possessed strange methods. They were rarely seen in the pugilistic world and did not easily interact with others.

Wu Chang stepped forward and bowed, his tone neither servile nor overbearing.

"I am Wu Chang, a wandering Earth Master, greetings to Lord Lu."

"I heard that you possess a Corpse Suppressing Bell, and I have come specifically to purchase it."

Lu Yuan nodded, "That is correct, the Corpse Suppressing Bell is indeed in my hands."

Wu Chang's eyes lit up. He took three sandalwood boxes from his sleeves and opened them one by one.

A spirit mushroom, deep red throughout.

A ginseng root, shaped like a dragon.

A medicinal pill, preserved in wax.

"Lord Lu, this Blazing Fire Spirit Mushroom can expand the meridians, the Dragon Tendon Ginseng can temper the bones and muscles, and the Nine-Turn Origin Returning Pill can stabilize one's foundation when advancing in cultivation."

"I offer these three treasures in exchange for the Corpse Suppressing Bell in your hand. Is this acceptable?"

Su Ding'an leaned in to take a look and immediately showed a look of astonishment.

Although he wasn't an expert on the market for heavenly treasures, these three items combined were definitely worth far more than a single Corpse Suppressing Bell.

Lu Yuan naturally saw this as well.

He did not agree immediately, instead looking at Wu Chang and asking, "The value of these three treasures far exceeds that of the Corpse Suppressing Bell. Mr. Wu, by doing this, aren't you afraid of taking a loss?"

Wu Chang smiled faintly, his gaze open and honest, "Lord Lu is a man of understanding, so I shall not hide anything from you."

"When my master was young, he traveled the world and discovered a place of great feng shui, known as the Nine Yin Corpse Gathering Cave."

"This place gathers the nine yin energies and is filled with surging corpse qi. To an ordinary person, it is a land of death and a forbidden zone, but to my lineage of Earth Masters, it is a treasure trove that is hard to come by in a century."

"The Nine Yin Corpse Gathering Cave?"

Lu Yuan's expression shifted slightly; he was particularly sensitive to such sinister-sounding place names.

Wu Chang continued, "The cultivation of an Earth Master relies entirely on the energy of the earth's veins."

"Ordinary Earth Masters can only absorb the scattered, thin Earth Qi from the wilderness, much like simmering a pot over a small fire; even with eight or ten years of bitter cultivation, it is difficult to achieve a breakthrough in their cultivation."

"But this Nine Yin Corpse Gathering Cave is different; the mysteries within are far beyond what a common ley line can compare to."

Having said this, he took a deep breath.

"However, there is one problem: the corpse aura in the Nine Yin Corpse Gathering Cave is too heavy. Any living person who enters will die suddenly within an hour. One must use a secret technique to completely suppress the corpse aura."

"Therefore, I am determined to obtain this Corpse Suppressing Bell. I humbly ask Lord Lu to grant me this favor."

As Lu Yuan listened, his mind was occupied with something else entirely.

This Nine Yin Corpse Gathering Cave did not sound like a benevolent place; it was likely even more treacherous than the Corpse-Raising Ground at Cangyun Ridge, and there were probably no shortage of corpse-type demons inside.

Was this not another holy land for farming traits?

Thinking of this, he could not help but ask, "How many demons are inside the Nine Yin Corpse Gathering Cave?"

Wu Chang was stunned for a moment, but he quickly understood what Lu Yuan meant and hurriedly explained.

"Lord Lu has misunderstood. The Nine Yin Corpse Gathering Cave is a feng shui site. The 'corpses' within are not corpse-type demons, but rather corpse aura."

"In my sect's secret records, this place is known as the Clean Corpse Ground—it only gathers corpse aura and does not raise demons."

A faint golden glow flickered in the depths of Lu Yuan's eyes as he looked at Wu Chang.

He heard the latter continue, "On the contrary, if any corpse-type demons were to enter, they would be eroded by the corpse aura and reduced to bone dust before long."

"In short, that place is a purely yin-evil location; it only gathers the energy of the ley lines and does not breed demons."

Lu Yuan nodded. The words just spoken were not false, and the interest in his eyes gradually faded.

He had thought it was a good place similar to the Demon Locking Tower that would allow him to synthesize a few more traits, but now that he heard Wu Chang say this, going there would be a waste of time.

As for the energy of the ley lines, that was something for Earth Masters to cultivate; it was of little use to him.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Yuan agreed to the matter.

"Fine, you can have the item, but I must give you a heads-up on the inside story."

"I obtained this Corpse Suppressing Bell from the seal of a Corpse Demon at Cangyun Ridge, and that seal was set up by the Longevity Cult."

"In other words, this Corpse Suppressing Bell belongs to the Longevity Cult."

"If they find out this bell is in your hands and come to demand it from you in the future, that will be none of my business."

"The Longevity Cult..."

Wu Chang's expression paused slightly, and a familiar smile gradually appeared on his face.

"To be honest with you, Lord Lu, I am an old acquaintance of the Longevity Cult."

"Three years ago, the cultists of the Longevity Cult slaughtered a village on the border of Qing Province, killing people to refine corpses. I happened to be passing by and dealt with those cultists while I was at it."

"It is only a pity that the Demon Suppression Bureau had not yet issued the new decree at the time, otherwise I could have claimed an extra merit."

Upon hearing this, Su Ding'an could not help but take a few extra looks at Wu Chang.

The lineage of Earth Masters was known for avoiding the world and rarely coming into conflict with others, but this one was different; he spoke of killing people from the Longevity Cult as if he were picking vegetables.

Wu Chang continued with a calm expression, "After that, the people from the Longevity Cult hunted me for a year. Although things have calmed down a bit now, this grudge was settled long ago."

His tone was natural, much like someone who had so many lice that they no longer feared being bitten.

Lu Yuan did not ask any further. Being able to survive until now under the pursuit of the Longevity Cult showed that this person was not as simple as he appeared.

He returned to his room to retrieve the Corpse Suppressing Bell, and they exchanged the item for the payment.

Wu Chang held the bronze bell in his hand, fiddling with it for a moment, then cupped his hands.

"Lord Lu, if this trip goes smoothly, I will return the Corpse Suppressing Bell to you once I am finished with it."

"Why return it to me? Don't tell me you want to trade back the three heavenly treasures? Let me tell you, no way."

"Hahahaha..."

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