Blackmail

The silent room held four people in quiet solitude.

Luo Daofan maintained his 45-degree angled gaze at the ceiling, showing no sign of wavering.

He could take the blame for some things for this kid, but Luo Daofan absolutely could not take on this one.

Knowing that his sister might be trapped in that Underground Palace, how was he going to explain it to Luo Xiran if he didn't go to find her?

Finally, the silence in the room was broken by a completely bewildered Xu Xinyao:

"Third Brother, what's wrong with you?"

She didn't understand why the other three suddenly fell silent, nor did she understand why the two senior Luos would show that kind of expression.

Luo Xiran gave Xu Yuan a deep look, then gave Old Man Luo a deep look, before smiling gently at Xu Xinyao:

"It's nothing, I was just a little surprised that some misunderstandings were suddenly cleared up."

Xu Xinyao looked thoughtful, and replied as if she understood but didn't:

"Oh"

"Cough."

Xu Yuan coughed lightly, interrupting their conversation. He glanced at Old Man Luo, who was still staring at the ceiling, and whispered:

"Getting back to the main point, Old Man Luo, could you give Xin Yao a copy of the crafting instructions and materials for the Soul Ring?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xinyao immediately put aside her previous doubts and looked expectantly at the middle-aged scholar who was gazing at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle.

Seeing that the matter was temporarily over, Old Man Luo resumed his composed demeanor, glanced at Xu Xinyao, and smiled slightly.

"I find your personality agreeable. I can give you the refining techniques, the list of materials, and even the array patterns on them. However, many of these materials are probably extinct in the world today."

"It doesn't matter."

Xu Xinyao immediately responded, "Xin Yao doesn't want to replicate a Soul Ring. Even if the materials are extinct, we can always find a lower-grade substitute."

Old Man Luo chuckled and casually waved his hand, and a paper door formed from his Will Soul appeared before Xu Xinyao's eyes:

"Since I've given it to you, how you use it is your own business. But this paper cover will automatically destroy itself after you've read it. Hehe, you're much cuter than Xu Yuan."

"Tsk."

Xu Yuan clicked his tongue and said, "No, Old Man Luo, I'm the one who rescued our sister."

He trailed off mid-sentence, his voice trailing off under Luo Xiran's cool gaze.

Old Man Luo cast a gloating glance at the opportune moment.

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes and leaned back on the bed, completely unconcerned.

He had already achieved his goal, so it didn't matter if he made this disrespectful old man happy.

As for the matter of the Underground Palace being reconciled, it wasn't a big deal, Luo Xiran couldn't possibly tell her father and the others about it.

After all, it was Xu Yuan who saved her, and the reason she stayed in the Prime Minister's Mansion was because of Xu Yuan.

After a brief silence, Xu Xinyao placed the page with its densely written inscription on the hem of her skirt:

"Senior Luo, Xin Yao has already noted it down."

Old Man Luo wasn't surprised at all. While geniuses with photographic memories were rare in this world, he had seen quite a few over the past ten thousand years. With a casual wave of his hand, the paper door formed from his Will Soul fragments dissolved into starlight and vanished into thin air.

After this matter was settled, the four chatted for a while until the sun had already set and the moonlight once again enveloped the sky.

Xu Xinyao slowly rose from Xu Yuan's bed and bowed slightly.

"Senior Luo, Senior Xiran and I still need to expand the formation below, so please excuse us for now."

Old Man Luo smiled slightly upon hearing this.

Perhaps it was because Xu Xinyao was so similar to Xi Ran from back then—equally gentle, yet lacking Xi Ran's inherent arrogance—that he found her increasingly pleasing to the eye.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly asked:

"Girl, I have a Cultivation Method that's quite suitable for you. Would you like to switch to it?"

Before Xu Xinyao could respond, Xu Yuan spoke up enthusiastically:

"What kind of Cultivation Method it? Tell me about it."

Although Old Man Luo is unreliable at times, there's no denying he's a real gem.

Having lived for tens of thousands of years, even though he spent a long period of time sleeping within the Soul Ring, the number of Cultivation Method he possessed was still enormous.

After all, this old codger, in his pursuit of immortality, had amassed almost every available cultivation Cultivation Method and secret art ten thousand years ago, taking the best of each.

Old Man Luo's face immediately darkened:

"I didn't ask you, kid."

Xu Yuan chuckled:

"I don't even want your lousy Cultivation Method."

"Then why are you asking this?"

"Can't I check it out for my sister? There might be some traps in the Cultivation Method you gave her, old man."

"How could I possibly frame a child that Xi Ran has her eye on?"

"Then why won't you show it to me? Are you hiding something?"

"." Luo Daofan.

"Brother, say less."

Xu Xinyao nudged Xu Yuan's waist, then bowed to Old Man Luo: "Senior Luo, Xin Yao already has a main Cultivation Method, which is also very suitable for Xin Yao's research on the Dao of Formations."

Old Man Luo waved his hand and laughed:

"I can see that, of course. You array masters always spend a lot of time and effort on the way of arrays. The cultivation speed of your Cultivation Method is too slow. Even if you spend your whole life, you can probably only reach the Body Fusion stage."

"Don't you think a hundred years is too short?"

"Moreover, there are several secret techniques within my Cultivation Method that are very compatible with the array formation path you have chosen."

At this point, Luo Daofan waved his hand, casually conjured a book the thickness of a thumb with his Will Soul, and tossed it to Xu Xinyao, saying:

"Alright, I'll give you this Cultivation Method first. You can read it and then decide whether you want to change your practice."

Xu Xinyao quickly reached out and caught it.

As it soared through the air, Xu Yuan glanced at the words on the book cover.

Twin Pure Blood Radiance Art.

I have no memory of it; this Cultivation Method shouldn't have appeared in Cangyuan.

Luo Xiran to the side, gave a cryptic snort upon seeing the Cultivation Method, and then slowly left Xu Yuan's room with Xu Xinyao, who had finished thanking her.

For a moment, only the old man and the young man remained in the room.

They stared at each other in silence for a long time before Xu Yuan suddenly whispered:

"Old Man Luo, how about we make a deal?"

Upon seeing the other person's gaze, Old Man Luo immediately felt a sense of vigilance.

What for?

"Since you have so many collections, could you transcribe some of the precious Cultivation Method for me?"

"."

After a moment of silence, Old Man Luo's soul slowly floated in mid-air. "It's getting late, this old man won't bother you any longer."

Seeing this, Xu Yuan grabbed the floating Soul Ring and grinned shamelessly:

"Old Man Luo, oh no, Senior Luo, you know me. I know a lot of information. I won't take advantage of you. How about we share what we have?"

"The law should not be passed on lightly, haven't you heard that, kid?"

Luo Daofan glanced at the brat with a cold smile, a smirk playing on his lips. "Besides, I'm not curious at all about the information you know."

"I saved your sister," Xu Yuan said, bringing up this excuse again.

"I've already repaid the favor; you should know the value of the Soul Ring very well."

"I'm raising funds for Xin Yao. Didn't you just say you liked her?"

"I do find her pleasing to the eye, but that doesn't mean I have to help her with all my might. Besides, I've already given her a Cultivation Method Cultivation Method, which is very precious. If it were in the outside world, it could become the most treasured technique of some sects."

"."

After a moment of silence, the respect on Xu Yuan's face vanished, and he stared at the smiling middle-aged scholar:

"Nothing to discuss?"

"There's no room for negotiation."

"Is there really no room for negotiation?"

What do you think?

"Well"

Xu Yuan sighed softly, activated the sound-dampening array, and said quietly under Old Man Luo's gaze:

"Old Man Luo, you don't know, unlike you old codger, our sworn sister's physical body is actually very well preserved."

Old Man Luo didn't care at all:

"Xi Ran's current body is constructed from Black Death Fungal Mat. The Dead Silence Underground Palace is a place specifically for studying the undead Strange Ghost, so achieving this is not difficult."

Xu Yuan nodded in agreement:

"Yes, you don't know, when I first saw our sister's body, I was amazed. She was as beautiful as a Celestial Person, with fair skin and bones, and still full of life."

As Xu Yuan recounted his story, Old Man Luo grew increasingly uneasy, his eyes widening in surprise:

"Kid, what do you think you're doing?!"

"Um?"

Xu Yuan raised his eyes and looked at Old Man Luo with a smile:

"Well, I'm planning to sneak back there again in a while to bring back my sworn sister's body. It's been a long and tiring journey."

Ten books.

Old Man Luo gritted his teeth and interrupted Xu Yuan: "I'll give you ten top-tier Cultivation Method, then give me the location. Tsk, fine, you can arrange for a powerful female expert to personally return my sister's body."

"Thirty copies."

Xu Yuan made an outrageous demand, tripling the price in one go. "Anyway, you can't lay eggs with these Cultivation Method."

Old Man Luo's eye twitched, and even with his composure, he couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath:

"You brat, do you think top-tier Cultivation Method are as common as cabbages? Where am I going to get so many top-tier Cultivation Method for you!"

Xu Yuan stroked his chin, estimating the old man's remaining stock, and gave him a new number:

"Then twenty books, no less than that, and they must be at least the same Cultivation Method as the one you gave Xin Yao."

He noticed Luo Xiran's expression when she looked at the Cultivation Method; her reaction was most likely because it was priceless.

"."

Old Man Luo's soul trembled slightly, and finally he squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth:

"Good."

Having said that, he raised his hand, about to Will Soul to condense the text of the Cultivation Method, but at that Xu Yuan suddenly called out to him:

"Wait, I want something made of paper, not something made from your Will Soul."

Although his cultivation level has increased and his memory has improved significantly, he still cannot achieve the level of photographic memory.

Old Man Luo retorted irritably upon hearing this:

"Where would I, a mere soul, find paper and pen?"

Thump.

Xu Yuan casually took out a large stack of blank Xuan paper and writing brush from his Sumeru Ring and placed them on the mahogany table with a handprint on it.

"Now we have it."

"."

Old Man Luo closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to silently write with his Will Soul simultaneously controlling the numerical wolf-hair brush.

The writing speed was so fast that Xu Yuan was almost invisible to the naked eye, far exceeding the speed of his Body Fusion copying.

Within half an Cultivation Method, twenty Cultivation Method Secret Manual, their ink still wet, were placed on the table.

Old Man Luo stood aside, watching coldly:

"Satisfied?"

Xu Yuan casually picked out a book from the pile, glanced through it briefly, then put it back, smiling slightly.

"Of course I'm satisfied."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan walked over to Old Man Luo, patted his shoulder with his inner energy, and whispered:

"Don't worry, I won't take these Cultivation Method from you for nothing. I will find a way to reverse the spiritual essence and spirit into Will Soul, so that Xiran can return to her physical body."

Old Man Luo's expression softened slightly upon hearing this, but he immediately gave a cold snort:

"I hope you can keep your word. I'm going back to see my disciple, so I'll have to excuse myself."

After saying that, Old Man Luo immediately entered the Soul Ring, flew out of the room without looking back, and disappeared into the night.

Watching the other person leave, Xu Yuan smiled slightly and murmured softly:

"Of course I wouldn't lie to you. If Xi Ran can return to her physical body, it's tantamount to binding you two saints to the chariot of my Prime Minister's Mansion's residence."

Having said that,

Xu Yuan's eyes swept across the table piled high with secret manuals, and he finally pulled out the one called the Twin Pure Blood Radiance Art Cultivation Method, smacked his lips, and said:

"Tsk, this old man really doesn't want to suffer any loss. I could have just asked Xin Yao about this Cultivation Method."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan opened a book and began to browse through it.

As he turned the pages, the expression on his face became increasingly strange.

He suddenly understood Luo Xiran saw this Cultivation Method.

It is indeed precious, but the way Luo Xiran looked at it probably wasn't because it was precious.

It's because the Twin Pure Blood Radiance Art is a dual Cultivation Method, a one-sided dual Cultivation Method, and according to its description, dual cultivation between blood relatives is even more effective.

Of course, it's the unorthodox kind of dual Cultivation Method.

Otherwise, given that sworn sister's exceptionally high moral standards, she probably would have smashed a hammer into Old Man Luo's forehead the moment he took it out.

The formation could not be activated during its expansion, nor could cultivation be performed. Out of sheer boredom, Xu Yuan followed the secret passage and entered the underground chamber beneath his room for the first time.

The space here is very large, a cube-shaped void about twenty zhang long, with traces of Source Qi remaining on it. It must have been created by my father or Xu Changge using their great power.

The six-sided stone walls have many honeycomb-like hollows, some empty and others imprisoning Yingui and Strange Ghost.

According to his Spirit Sight, the complex array connected these voids to the central array.

Meanwhile, Xu Xinyao and Luo Xiran were modifying the entire formation with a mysterious movement.

Seeing the two women setting up an array in the secret chamber, Xu Yuan, who had been standing in the passageway outside the array, asked if there was anything he could do to help.

After all, they were busy for him, so they should naturally do what they could to help.

But before he could finish speaking, Xu Yuan was kicked out by Xu Xinyao and Luo Xiran.

Formations are extremely subtle things; even the slightest error can lead to disastrous consequences, and they cannot tolerate interference from any layman.

In this situation, Xu Yuan had no choice but to go back to his room to sleep and quietly wait for the two women to finish expanding the formation, but the expansion took longer than he had imagined.

On the morning of the fourth day,

After greeting Xu Changge, Xu Yuan put on the human skin mask that belonged to the son of the Vice Minister of Ministry of War again and headed to the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce in Di'an City through the secret passage of the Black Prison.