Arriving from All Directions

The more Lu Changsheng spoke, the more outrageous he became, asking for the astronomical price of thirty thousand Spirit Stones without so much as blinking.

Lin Po was stunned.

Meng Lang also looked at him in disbelief.

Even after thinking for ages, he had no idea how to refute him.

Lu Changsheng ran Qingyun Peak, so it was perfectly reasonable for him to carry all its assets on him!

Ning Yuxin was the wealthiest person in the Ning Household, so it was perfectly reasonable for the things she carried to be expensive!

Besides, the upheaval in the Sword Cave had been so terrifying that it must have taken extraordinary means to protect them. It made sense no matter how he thought about it.

Yet somehow, Meng Lang felt he had been fleeced, but he could find no evidence.

He knew it was unreasonable, yet could not tell where the unreasonableness lay. He kept feeling that Lu Changsheng had gone mad from poverty and was extorting him.

Having finished speaking, Lu Changsheng simply looked at him with a smile.

Beside him, Luo Xianling said, "Senior Brother Changsheng has worked so hard to keep Qingyun Peak running all these years, and you just destroyed it like this. If you won't pay, I'll go to my master for compensation myself!"

At her words, Meng Lang's knees went weak, and he hurriedly said, "Junior Martial Aunt, please don't be hasty. There's no need to trouble Grand Martial Aunt. I can handle this!"

Lu Changsheng, however, froze.

What Junior Martial Aunt?

She could even order people from the Divine Firmament Sect around. Could this junior sister be some hidden big shot?

A string of questions surfaced.

While he was still lost in thought, a bag of Spirit Stones was placed in his hands.

Meng Lang turned to take his leave, not daring to linger any longer for fear of another unexpected turn.

Luo Xianling came up beside him and said, "Senior Brother Changsheng, if it isn't enough, just wait a little longer. I'll bring you more after a while!"

"???"

Lu Changsheng was dazed.

As he watched the two leave, Lin Po cast an envious glance at the bag of Spirit Stones.

"You brat, you're ruthless!"

Lin Po spoke, jealousy already twisting his face beyond recognition.

Lu Changsheng, however, said, "Martial Uncle, what did he mean by Junior Martial Aunt just now?"

Lin Po glanced at him and said thoughtfully, "There's something you don't know yet. A supreme elder of the Divine Firmament Sect has taken a fancy to that girl Xianling!"

"What? A supreme elder has taken a fancy to her? At that age? How filthy! To think..."

"She's a woman..." Lin Po was speechless, with no idea what filled his head.

"Oh!"

Lu Changsheng nodded, then continued, "And then?"

"The people who came earlier were here to take Luo Xianling away. Meng Lang is a junior disciple of that supreme elder's lineage!"

"So that's it!" Lu Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought she'd gone down the wrong path!"

"What are you thinking!" Lin Po rolled his eyes at him. "She has a good place to go, and the sect will rise to glory because of her. We'll all benefit from that girl!"

"So, no one will dare mess with the Cangyun Sect anymore?"

"Right!"

Lu Changsheng's eyes immediately lit up. Wasn't this precisely the life he wanted?

If Zhou Qingyu married Ning Yuxin too and helped him out from time to time, his life would be complete!

Clang!

Just as Lu Changsheng was imagining the future, the toll of a bell broke the silence.

Lin Po turned to look, roughly understanding what was happening.

"The Cangyun Secret Realm is about to open!"

"So soon?"

"Yes! It's drawn so many people this time. I wonder whether the Azure Cloud Map will appear. If it does, I hope one of our people gets it!"

Lin Po spoke without concealing anything, then turned and left Qingyun Peak.

Ning Yuxin also came back to her senses then. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she looked at Lu Changsheng, watching him put away every last Spirit Stone.

She did not mind. This paltry sum of Spirit Stones was beneath her notice.

As she looked at Lu Changsheng, though, the man before her was just as the rumors described, yet he only made her increasingly curious. She kept feeling there was some unknown side to him.

Soon, she collected herself and asked, "Senior Brother Lu, what is the Azure Cloud Map? It sounds very precious!"

"I'm not too sure either. It seems to be a Law Artifact the sect lost!"

In the ten years since coming to this sect, he had heard of the Azure Cloud Map many times.

It was said that the Cangyun Sect had once been a major sect in the region long ago, but had gradually declined. The Azure Cloud Map had once been its sect-guarding treasure.

It had been lost for a very long time, however. It seemed to be somewhere in the Cangyun Secret Realm, but no one had seen it for many years.

Ning Yuxin asked, "What grade of Law Artifact is it?"

"I'm not sure either. It might be a king-grade Law Artifact, or perhaps even divine-grade. But since no one's seen it for so many years, it's probably really lost!"

Lu Changsheng answered offhandedly. He did not care about such things; he only had eyes for Spirit Stones.

Besides, he had to make some preparations himself. Once the Cangyun Secret Realm opened, all the disciples had to enter.

According to the sect master, one more person meant one more chance. What if someone obtained it?

Ning Yuxin nodded and said nothing more, merely gazing quietly at his departing figure.

After that, however, the sect grew lively.

Some people from Cangyun City also arrived. Some had been waiting in the city precisely for the secret realm.

Xuan Cheng, the foremost disciple of the Profound Heaven Sect, also came. He was its chief disciple, publicly acknowledged as the sect's number one.

At only twenty-eight, he had already reached the ninth layer of Essence Condensation. In some people's eyes, he was no weaker than Zhou Qingyu.

By their agreement, since the Cangyun Sect had accepted benefits from them, it allowed some of their people to enter and explore whenever the secret realm opened.

This had been the practice for years.

Even the young man from the Divine Firmament Sect who had accompanied Zhao Jing intended to enter the secret realm.

He was a core disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect named Zhao Yang, only half a step away from Core Formation. He had probably come along for the Azure Cloud Map as well.

After all, rumor had it that the Azure Cloud Map had always been there, but only a true genius could make it manifest.

If it did not appear, that only meant those who entered were not talented enough!

All these people had come here wanting to try.

Lu Changsheng paid none of this any mind.

He had already decided to find a place rich in Spiritual Qi after entering the secret realm and cultivate there until he could leave.

With everything thought through, he also began preparing. He took out the puppet he had subdued that day and began erasing the imprint within it before refining it anew.

After all, in his eyes, it was a fine thing, but the previous craftsmanship had been too crude. Refining it again could raise its power another notch.

A Core Formation puppet was immensely useful. For killing, plundering, and striking from the shadows without leaving a trace, it was simply an ideal weapon.

Failing all else, selling it would still fetch a large sum of Spirit Stones.

As time passed, more and more people gathered within the Cangyun Sect over the next several days, all waiting for the Cangyun Secret Realm to open.

Yet as the crowds grew, Luo Tian grew worried, a sense of unease welling up in his heart.

On a bright, sunny afternoon, Luo Tian gathered everyone together.

With the masters of every peak wearing solemn expressions, he brought up the Nighttime Madman.

Over the years, the Cangyun Sect had suffered no shortage of persecution at his hands. From the disciples below to the Peak Masters and sect master above, all had taken plenty of beatings from him, and he appeared and vanished like a ghost.

Luo Tian had convened this meeting specifically to warn everyone about him.

Yet the mere mention of the Nighttime Madman made who knew how many people laugh aloud.

In the end, Luo Tian could do nothing either. In any case, he had warned them. If they would not listen, that was no concern of his.

The secret realm would open in another day or two, and everyone dispersed.

Only Lu Changsheng, looking at this meeting that had ended on a sour note, could not help frowning.

"Is my reputation that bad? Since when have I committed every evil imaginable? Wasn't beating you for your own good?"