An Extortionate Demand

Chen Changning, the fourth son of the Chen Household, was also a descendant of one of its distant branches.

The families of the Red Wasteland were basically all the same. The main branch held the family's real power and enjoyed all the good food and drink, while distant branch descendants had to fight even for a sip of soup.

Distant branch descendants with poor talent spent their entire lives working as hired hands for the family.

Distant branch descendants with good talent were usually given some resources by the family and sent to become disciples of medium or large factions.

Chen Changning was considered a fairly talented distant branch descendant. Only with the family's support back then had he been able to enter the Azure Elixir Sect.

He had done fairly well over the years. Although he had failed to break through to the Sea of Qi Realm, working in the Chen Household's long-established Shennong Hall had been easy and comfortable.

But now that the Chen Household had encountered a crisis, when someone had to make a sacrifice, the distant branch descendants naturally had to step forward.

When Chen Zongming told him to take his own life, the faint trace of life vanished from Chen Changning's already gloomy face.

"Is there... is there really no other way?"

Chen Changshan let out a long sigh. "At this point, what else can we do?

"There is irrefutable evidence pointing at you. Even forbidden methods such as soul searching can be used freely.

"Can you keep a secret in front of a Condensed Origin Realm cultivator?

"Fourth Brother, either you take your own life and shoulder this matter.

"Or the family's foundation within the sect, built over nearly a thousand years, will be uprooted."

"Our Chen Household occupies vast stretches of fertile land. Which of the surrounding families doesn't drool over it?

"Without clansmen within the sect to serve as our backing, the family's destruction would only be a matter of time."

Knowing there was no way for him to survive, Chen Changning sighed. "I have two sons and a daughter. One of my sons has no Immortal Seed, so just let him fend for himself.

"My son and daughter who possess Immortal Seeds will be entrusted to Third Brother's care."

"Go in peace. Your eldest nephew and niece will receive the same treatment as main branch descendants from now on.

"I will also ensure that your second nephew without an Immortal Seed enjoys wealth and comfort for the rest of his life.

"Any cultivator descendants they have within five generations will all be treated as main branch descendants."

Hearing this, a faint smile appeared on Chen Changning's gloomy face.

"Thank you, Third Brother."

With that, he walked out of Chen Changshan's cave dwelling in a daze.

Liu Yuanchen rode Zhang Yi's flying boat toward the sect council hall atop Azure Sun Peak.

Along the way, Liu Yuanchen was secretly delighted.

Zhang Yi was so furious that the Chen Household would be in for a rough time.

Still, he continued trying to work himself into the right mood.

Remembering every scene of the Chen Household bullying him on Songyun Peak before he went to Yujin Mountain, Liu Yuanchen clenched his fists, his teeth grinding with a creak.

At the same time, tears faintly glimmered in his eyes.

His face carried five parts anger, three parts grievance, and two parts unwillingness.

Before long, the flying boat arrived at the summit of Azure Sun Peak.

Zhang Yi led Liu Yuanchen into the council hall.

At that moment, there was only one middle-aged cultivator in the hall, seated high in the place of honor.

He wore a long green robe, and his hair was merely tied beneath a Carefree Turban. Not a trace of spiritual power emanated from him.

Holding a beast-hide book in his hands, he looked like an ordinary scholar with no cultivation whatsoever.

Yet anyone able to sit in the seat of honor within the council hall had to possess considerable status, at the very least being a vice sect master or grand elder.

Zhang Yi bowed. "This disciple pays respects to Master."

Zhang Yi was the sect master's disciple, and this middle-aged man before them was none other than Qingyang Adept, the sect master of the Azure Elixir Sect.

Liu Yuanchen hurriedly followed suit. "Elixir Hall disciple Liu Yuanchen pays respects to Sect Master."

The middle-aged cultivator looked up at the two of them. "I already know what happened. I have instructed the Punishment Hall to conduct a thorough investigation.

"Within one day, you will receive a satisfactory answer.

"Leave behind the flying boat wreckage and the Azure Spirit Bee corpses. You may withdraw for now."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuanchen froze.

I spent so long working up my emotions. I'm now filled with rage, ready to grab two blades, charge up Songyun Peak, and hack away for three days and three nights.

I've also maintained such an incredibly complicated expression this entire time that my facial muscles are starting to stiffen.

After making all these preparations, I bowed once, didn't even get the chance to speak, and was dismissed just like that?

Though Liu Yuanchen was unwilling, Zhang Yi had already bowed and taken his leave, so he could only follow him out.

After the two left the hall, Qingyang Adept set down the beast-hide book in his hand, a smile on his face.

"That little fellow is rather interesting. Unfortunately, his Immortal Seed is truly too poor.

"Since Zhao Hong has taken a liking to him, leave him to Zhao Hong's instruction.

"If he learns Zhao Hong's inheritance, it will still benefit our Azure Elixir Sect."

The next morning, the disciples heading out for battle departed.

Liu Yuanchen did not go to the Elixir Hall to refine pills. Instead, he recuperated in his cave dwelling.

Because he had been injured the previous day, Zhang Yi had approved three days of leave for him and told him to rest properly.

Just then, a voice called from outside the cave dwelling. "Yuan Chen, I came to see you."

The owner of that voice was Liu Qingyuan. Liu Yuanchen shut down the formation and painstakingly walked out through the entrance of his cave dwelling.

Liu Qingyuan stood outside, accompanied by a male and female cultivator.

Liu Yuanchen was quite familiar with the man. He was Chen Changshan.

The woman standing before him wore a long green court dress and a golden phoenix-patterned crown. Her face was cold and elegant.

Though Liu Yuanchen was not familiar with her, he recognized her.

Her name was Ye Lingshuang, and she was the current deputy hall master of Shennong Hall.

Her grandmother had been from the Chen Household, and the Ye Family and Chen Household had been family friends for generations.

Her grandfather had merely been an ordinary inner sect disciple. To curry favor with the Chen Household, he had married a Chen Household female cultivator with mediocre talent.

Yet her father possessed considerable talent and rose in one leap to become an elder holding an idle post within the sect.

Ye Lingshuang's talent was even more exceptional. She possessed a Grade-B High-Quality Immortal Seed.

Before reaching a hundred years old, she had already become a Condensed Origin Realm cultivator and the deputy hall master of Shennong Hall.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, she would surely claim a place among the seven great elders in the future.

The Ye Family's rise could not be separated from the Chen Household's early support.

Thus, the Ye Family had become one of the Chen Household's backers.

Now that the Chen Household had caused trouble and implicated Shennong Hall as well, Ye Lingshuang had no choice but to step out and clean up the mess.

"Eighth Uncle, your nephew... is not feeling well, cough, cough..."

At this moment, Liu Yuanchen's arms and legs were tightly wrapped in strips of cloth.

Even his head was wrapped with several layers of cloth.

Although he had not suffered any serious injuries during yesterday's Azure Spirit Bee attack, he had still sustained quite a few scrapes when he fell.

After returning from the council hall, he had repeatedly examined his body with Divine Sense. As long as there was even the tiniest wound, he wrapped it in cloth.

Seeing him in this state, Liu Qingyuan hurried forward to support him. "Yuan Chen, how did you end up so severely injured?"

"Huff... huff..." Liu Yuanchen was too breathless to speak. Liu Qingyuan was even worried that he would fail to catch his breath and die on the spot.

Liu Qingyuan helped him back to the stone couch. Liu Yuanchen lay there gasping for a long time before he finally said weakly, "The Azure Spirit Bees bred by Shennong Hall truly live up to their reputation.

"Your nephew was first bitten by the Azure Spirit Bees, then fell from a height of more than ten zhang.

"Cough, cough..."

Ye Lingshuang and Chen Changshan also entered the cave dwelling. Seeing Liu Yuanchen looking half-dead, both their faces darkened.

After a long while, Liu Yuanchen stopped coughing.

Only then did Chen Changshan approach with a smile. "Worthy Nephew Yuan Chen, how is your health?"

Liu Yuanchen replied coldly, "I have disappointed Manager Chen. This disciple's life is tough. Unless you act personally, I am afraid I will not die."

Chen Changshan's expression stiffened, then his face quickly filled with smiles again. "What are you saying, Worthy Nephew? Why would I ever wish for you to die?"

That was indeed true. If the Azure Spirit Bees had killed Liu Yuanchen before, no one would have stood up for a dead man.

But Liu Yuanchen had not died, and Zhao Hong and Zhang Yi were protecting him.

Now everyone knew that members of the Chen Household had tried to harm him.

If Liu Yuanchen died, the Chen Household would be like mud splattered in its trousers—whether it was shit or not, it would look like shit.

Now, the Chen Household cared even more about Liu Yuanchen's health than the Liu Family did, hoping he would recover as soon as possible.

Chen Changshan had hit a wall and could not say anything further, so he turned to look at Ye Lingshuang beside him.

A faint smile was forced onto Ye Lingshuang's frosty, pretty face.

"The Punishment Hall has already uncovered the full truth. Chen Changning, who was responsible for watching the Azure Spirit Bees, made an error and released them.

"Chen Changning has already committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Before his death, he left behind a suicide note taking responsibility for all the crimes."

"This incident caused Little Friend to suffer severe injuries, so Shennong Hall bears some responsibility as well.

"Whatever compensation Little Friend needs, Shennong Hall will do its utmost to provide it."

Liu Yuanchen felt a chill in his heart. The Chen Household was truly ruthless.

After failing to kill him, they had actually forced one of their own clansmen to commit suicide and take the blame.

With the dead unable to testify, and with Ye Lingshuang as their backer to smooth things over, there was no hope of dragging any other Chen Household members into this.

He could only demand more compensation.

As an inner sect disciple of the Elixir Hall, Liu Yuanchen could disregard Chen Changshan, a manager of Shennong Hall, but he could not be disrespectful toward Ye Lingshuang.

As Shennong Hall's deputy hall master, she was an elder with genuine authority and the right to participate in sect decisions.

It would be far too easy for her to make things difficult for an inner sect disciple.

With Ye Lingshuang stepping forward to guarantee matters, he could make demands, but he absolutely could not push things too far.

Otherwise, he would thoroughly offend Shennong Hall.

With his little frame, he could not withstand the pressure of the Azure Elixir Sect's second hall.

Though he did not rise, he still cupped his hands. "Deputy Hall Master Ye, you overstate things. This time, the Chen Household caused me severe injuries and destroyed an Eagle-Feather Flying Boat worth one thousand Spirit Stones.

"If I seek compensation, I will seek it from the Chen Household. It has nothing to do with Shennong Hall."

Ye Lingshuang's cold voice rang out again. "No matter what, Shennong Hall bears some responsibility. Shennong Hall will compensate you for the Eagle-Feather Flying Boat.

"As for your injuries, what compensation does Little Friend Liu seek?"

The reason she had lowered her stance so much was not that she truly believed Shennong Hall was responsible. The main issue was that Zhao Hong was still holding more than a thousand Azure Spirit Bees.

If they could not offer Liu Yuanchen compensation that satisfied him, all those Azure Spirit Bees would end up as drinking snacks. Those were more than a thousand late-stage Spirit Devouring Realm spirit bees.

Though they were merely ordinary Azure Spirit Bees, they still had to eat honey before reaching adulthood.

After maturing, pollen was enough for them, but they also needed quite a lot of honey when breaking through realms.

Including the time cost, a late-stage Spirit Devouring Realm Azure Spirit Bee was worth at least fifty or sixty Spirit Stones.

If that batch of Azure Spirit Bees all became Zhao Hong's drinking snacks, everyone in Shennong Hall would have to live on thin air for a year to make up for the losses.

Once the Azure Spirit Bees suffered heavy losses, future honey production would greatly decline, and Songyun Peak's spiritual herb production would inevitably be affected as well.

When all those losses were added together, it would no longer be a matter of merely several thousand or ten thousand Spirit Stones.

With a great battle currently underway, if spiritual herb production declined, everyone in Shennong Hall would suffer the consequences.

The hall master and deputy hall master in particular could not escape the charge of poor management.

Once they bore that reputation, they could forget about advancing any further within the sect.

Though the Ye Family and Chen Household shared close family ties, Ye Lingshuang could not possibly sacrifice her own future to help the Chen Household.

A smile appeared on Liu Yuanchen's face. "This disciple's talent is poor. If I am to break through to the Sea of Qi Realm in the future, I will need the assistance of pills.

"How about the Chen Household provides a set of supplementary pills for breaking through to the Sea of Qi Realm?"

He knew perfectly well that the Chen Household could not possibly produce so many pills.

Ask for the sky, then bargain down to earth. The Chen Household would certainly negotiate.

Only by opening with an extortionate demand could he obtain a price that satisfied him.

Hearing this, Chen Changshan flew into a rage. "Liu Yuanchen..."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Yuanchen began coughing.

From the looks of it, Chen Changshan only needed to raise his voice slightly for Liu Yuanchen to be shaken to death.

Liu Qingyuan also added fuel to the fire from the side. "Manager Chen, what do you mean by this?

"You know Yuan Chen is injured and cannot become overly agitated.

"Raising your voice to frighten him like this—are you trying to kill him to silence him?"

Ye Lingshuang also glanced at him. Chen Changshan could only swallow back his towering fury.

He tried his best to lower his voice. "Little Friend Liu, a set of supplementary pills for breaking through to the Sea of Qi Realm normally costs over five thousand Spirit Stones.

"Now that the war has begun, pill prices have soared. Even ten thousand Spirit Stones may not be enough to obtain them.

"Though my Chen Household is considered fairly strong among small factions, we cannot produce so many Spirit Stones at once.

"Moreover, these pills are strategic resources and are extremely difficult to purchase even in ordinary times."

Liu Yuanchen looked unconcerned. "Is that so? Then there is nothing I can do.

"Deputy Hall Master Zhao said before that if there was no satisfactory explanation, he would use the Azure Spirit Bees as drinking snacks."

Ye Lingshuang stepped in to mediate. "A full set of supplementary pills is difficult to gather. How about the Chen Household compensates you with one kind of pill instead?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Changshan's expression improved considerably.

A set of supplementary pills consisted of four types. The cheapest, the Blood Jade Pill, only cost around one thousand Spirit Stones at the normal price.

"My Chen Household is willing to provide one Blood Jade Pill."

Liu Yuanchen sneered. "I can forgo a full set of supplementary pills, but at the very least, you must give me one Meridian-Fixing Pill."

Among the supplementary pills for breaking through to the Sea of Qi Realm, the Meridian-Fixing Pill was the most valuable, and it was also what Liu Yuanchen needed most.

After all, the other pills merely made up for one's own shortcomings. If one's vitality, mana, and Divine Sense were strong enough, there was no need for them at all.

Only the Meridian-Fixing Pill was meant to save one's life; it simply could not be replaced.

Chen Changshan shook his head. "Our Chen Household can do nothing about that. The major powers place the greatest importance on Meridian-Fixing Pills, and very few ever make their way outside.

Small factions that want Meridian-Fixing Pills usually gather the medicinal ingredients themselves and hire an Alchemy Master to refine them."

"Then give me a set of medicinal ingredients for a Meridian-Fixing Pill."

Chen Changshan shook his head again. "No. Songyun Peak does have ready-made medicinal ingredients, but who would dare touch them?"

Liu Yuanchen pondered to himself. What he needed most was a Meridian-Fixing Pill, followed by a Spirit-Concentrating Pill that could rapidly replenish his Divine Sense.

Since he could not get his hands on a Meridian-Fixing Pill, he would settle for a Spirit-Concentrating Pill first.

"If there's no Meridian-Fixing Pill, then at least give me a Spirit-Concentrating Pill.

Also, give me some seeds for the various spiritual herbs used to refine auxiliary pills.

Your Chen Household has been rooted in Shennong Hall for over a thousand years. Don't tell me you can't produce even this much.

If that still won't work, then there's nothing left to discuss."

Liu Yuanchen had already made two concessions. There was no reason for him to yield again.

Ye Lingshuang also watched Chen Changshan, waiting for him to make his decision.

Shennong Hall was cleaning up the Chen Household's mess, but the Chen Household had to know its place.

Chen Changshan gritted his teeth. "Fine, I'll give them to you."