"What exactly happened in Nethermoon Valley? Tell me everything," Song Wen said.
Fang Xian replied, "Devil Master, after I reached the Cui Family, I secretly bribed one of their Golden Core cultivators. He told me the Golden Essence Seeds grew atop a stone mountain deep within Nethermoon Valley. As soon as the valley opened, I went straight there without a moment's delay."
"But halfway there, four Golden Core cultivators from the Cui Family stopped me. They joined forces to trap me, though they did not kill me. Five days later, they quietly withdrew."
"Once I escaped, I continued to the stone mountain. It had been badly damaged, as though a great battle had just taken place. The fourth-tier ghost the Cui Family had spoken of was nowhere to be seen. At the summit, only two withered Golden Essence Seed trees remained. Someone had already harvested the seeds."
Song Wen frowned slightly.
What the Cui Family had done was strange indeed.
They had trapped Fang Xian but spared his life. It was as though they had deliberately let him return to report that they had obtained the Golden Essence Seeds.
Perhaps Cui Xuanjing never intended to let my people take the Golden Essence Seeds. He revealed their existence so he could name his price and squeeze out the greatest profit. Two Forms Sect has likely heard the Cui Family has them, too.
A cold glint flashed in Song Wen's eyes.
He turned his hand and took out five low-grade Spirit Stones, then handed them to Fang Xian.
"Fang Xian, go to the Cui Family again. Offer these five low-grade Spirit Stones in exchange for one Golden Essence Seed. Bring it back, and I will still reward you with the Primordial Nascent Soul Formation Pill."
Relieved that Song Wen had not blamed