Harvest

Wang Zhide replied, "They are still here, of course. But Daoyuan hid the Clear River Carp. To keep it secret, only he knew where they were. Daoyuan was seriously injured and unconscious last night, so I do not know where he hid them either. Shall I wake Daoyuan and ask him?"

Yang Yong waved a hand. "No need. I will know after taking a look."

With Yang Yong's divine sense cultivation at the Purple Palace realm, nothing within several miles could escape him, even if it were buried three feet underground. He quickly discovered where the Clear River Carp had been hidden.

The group arrived at Wang Daoyuan's cave dwelling. Seeing that Wang Daoyuan was still unconscious, Wang Zhide woke him and pretended to rebuke him. "Daoyuan, hurry up and rise to pay respects to Elder Zhou and Elder Yang."

Wang Daoyuan struggled to sit up and saluted the crowd. "Greetings, Elder Zhou, Old Ancestor Yang, and all seniors."

Yang Yong asked curiously, "You are the little fellow who caught the Clear River Carp? Why do you not call me Elder Yang, but instead call me Old Ancestor Yang?"

Wang Daoyuan answered respectfully, "In reply to Old Ancestor Yang, my mother's surname is Yang. Though she is a mortal, she is still a descendant of Old Ancestor Yang. That is why I call you Old Ancestor."

"I never expected this little fellow to be my descendant." Yang Yong stroked his beard and laughed heartily, taking out a jade pendant. "Since you have called me Old Ancestor, I cannot give you nothing. This is a defensive magical artifact. It can withstand the full-force strike of a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator and can be used repeatedly. Since this is our first meeting, consider it a gift."

This was a Low-grade Second-order defensive magical artifact. Wang Daoyuan repeatedly bowed in thanks before accepting the jade pendant.

Afterward, with Wang Zhide's help, Wang Daoyuan dug out the Clear River Carp and handed them over to the two elders.

After examining them for some time, Elder Zhou said, "They resemble carp but are slender and long, with long whiskers and tails, ribbon-like fins, and overlapping scales. That is right, they are Clear River Carp. Elder Yang also saw Clear River Carp back then. Do you have any insights?"

Yang Yong nodded as well. "That is right. They are indeed Clear River Carp, one female and one male. Since there is no mistake, and the Sect Master has entrusted Elder Zhou with full authority over this matter, I will not meddle."

"Elder Yang is too polite. If Elder Yang had not sent word, this task would never have fallen to me." Elder Zhou's face was full of delight. "The Wang Clan has rendered merit by presenting the Clear River Carp. By this elder's decision, a Netherworld Sect-owned shop on the eastern side of Jade Spring Pill Talisman Pavilion shall be awarded to the Wang Clan."

Wang Zhian and Wang Zhide were overjoyed and thanked him again and again.

Elder Zhou waved his hand. "I have not finished speaking, so do not thank me yet. Since these Clear River Carp can only survive in the upper reaches of the Qingli River, bringing them back to the Netherworld Sect would serve little purpose. The Wang Clan's ancestors had experience raising Clear River Carp, and your location is at the source of the Qingli River, suitable for their survival. I have decided that the Wang Clan will raise the Clear River Carp on behalf of the Netherworld Sect, under the direct jurisdiction of the elder stationed at Qingli Market. Once these two Clear River Carp multiply, the Netherworld Sect will take eighty percent. Is the Wang Clan willing?"

Wang Zhian was beside himself with joy. Though the Wang Clan would be raising Clear River Carp for the Netherworld Sect and surrendering eighty percent, leaving them little profit, they now held a post within the Netherworld Sect and could be considered part of its system. From then on, the Wang Clan would be people of the Netherworld Sect.

In the future, once a Wang Clan member who had joined the Netherworld Sect achieved Foundation Establishment, he could be considered one of the Netherworld Sect's direct descendants.

Even under the current circumstances, the Liang Clan could no longer openly suppress the Wang Clan. Moreover, if an important member of the Wang Clan were ever assassinated, they could rightfully ask the Netherworld Sect to step forward. Though that might not necessarily have any practical effect, it would still serve as a deterrent to anyone seeking to deal with the Wang Clan.

Wang Zhian thanked Elder Zhou repeatedly and fervently declared the Wang Clan's loyalty to the Netherworld Sect.

Afterward, Elder Zhou and Wang Zhian escorted the Clear River Carp back to Jade Spring Peak and raised them in the Jade Dragon Spring. This also informed the surrounding forces that the Clear River Carp belonged to the Netherworld Sect. Whoever dared seize them again would be snatching food from the Netherworld Sect's mouth.

Later, people came to the Wang Clan's shop to ask about the fate of the Clear River Carp. The Wang Clan members told them everything exactly as it had happened, making some people abandon their improper designs.

The Netherworld Sect group followed Yang Yong back to the Netherworld Sect's outpost in Qingli Market. Liang Jiaxing also snorted coldly and flicked his sleeves as he departed.

Though the Netherworld Sect was no good bird, why not accept its protection if it could change the Wang Clan's situation of being oppressed and excluded?

Wang Daoyuan continued lying in bed to nurse his injuries, carefully inspecting the jade pendant Old Ancestor Yang had given him.

The pendant had been carved entirely from white jade. Flowers and grasses were carved on its front, while the character "Yang" was on its back. Its patterns were nothing remarkable.

What was extraordinary was the dense spiritual energy contained within it. The amount was comparable to a Low-grade Second-order Talisman. No wonder it could block the full-force strike of a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator. It could also be used repeatedly, making it far more valuable than a Tier Two Low-Grade Defensive Talisman.

He was seriously injured now, with his qi and blood depleted, so he could not bear to waste essence blood to make the jade pendant pledge allegiance. He casually put it away, then sent his divine sense into the Spirit Pearl Space to see what good things the assassin he had killed possessed.

After all, assassins lived with their blades at their throats and had no fixed abode. Whatever they owned, they carried on their persons. An assassin at Qi Refining Layer Nine, or even the Qi Refining Peak, would certainly not have a small fortune.

Other than the black dagger that had threatened Wang Daoyuan, the assassin had only a storage bag and a Spirit Beast Bag.

Because the Spirit Pearl Space was a supreme spatial treasure, equivalent to a small world, low-grade and high-grade spatial treasures were no different within the Spirit Pearl Space than they were in the greater world outside. That was why Wang Daoyuan could place a storage bag inside the Spirit Pearl Space.

If a Universe Ring were placed inside a storage bag, it would directly burst the storage bag apart. If a storage bag were placed inside a Universe Ring, it would also burst because the Universe Ring's spatial suppression was not strong enough. If two spatial treasures of the same grade were nested, whether storage bags or Universe Rings, both spatial treasures would be ruined.

The strategy of nesting Storage Bags or Universe Rings inside one another did not work. Only the Spirit Pearl Space was an exception.

Upon opening the storage bag, Wang Daoyuan was left clicking his tongue in amazement. There were more than eight hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones alone, as well as one Mid-grade Spirit Stone, equivalent to more than nine hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones.

There were also several Tier One High-Grade Talismans. Wang Daoyuan could refine such things himself, so he did not care much for them. There were more than ten pills for healing injuries, detoxifying poison, and restoring spiritual power, but not a single pill for increasing cultivation. It seemed this assassin had been at the Qi Refining Peak, so pills that raised cultivation were already meaningless to him.

There was also a Jade Slip, a set of night clothes, a black iron token, and not a single magical artifact.

"Looks like this assassin was saving Spirit Stones to prepare for Foundation Establishment, and sold everything that could be sold," Wang Daoyuan muttered.

The Jade Slip recorded a spell—Invisibility Technique. Naturally, it was not some profound technique. It could only deceive cultivators below Foundation Establishment, and only those who had not cultivated the Heavenly Eye Technique. It was probably worth very little, which was why it had not been sold.

There was nothing extraordinary about the token. One side bore strange patterns that looked like writing, but Wang Daoyuan could not recognize them. The other side was inscribed with the words "Blood Shadow." It was likely a token belonging to some force, yet Wang Daoyuan had never heard of any force with Blood Shadow in its name.

Though there were no useful treasures or secret arts, these Spirit Stones alone were quite considerable—enough to support Wang Daoyuan's cultivation through the Late Stage of Qi Condensation.

He put away the storage bag and took out the Spirit Beast Bag. This Spirit Beast Bag was much more advanced than the one Wang Zhide had given him. Perhaps it held some large creature. Wang Daoyuan happened to have a stockpile of spirit grain; if he could raise a spirit beast with exceptional combat power to protect himself, that would be quite good.

He opened the Spirit Beast Bag full of anticipation. Inside was not the tall, mighty spirit beast Wang Daoyuan had imagined, but only more than twenty living first-order low-grade spirit bees, a fist-sized hive, and a dead queen bee.

The moment these spirit bees emerged from the Spirit Beast Bag, they immediately lifted the hive and hung it beneath the eaves of the thatched cottage, then flew toward the spirit grain that was in bloom.