Coming to Demand It

Zhou Ning rode a leaf through the air.

Much occupied his thoughts. The Purple Monkey Flower's growing conditions were extremely demanding: it could only survive beside a cold pool in a region overflowing with Spiritual Qi.

Most of the Purple Monkey Flowers in Chen State came from secret realms controlled by the Azure Mystic Sect. They were hard to find in ordinary places.

Cuiwei Lake had only a second-tier superior-grade Spirit Vein. Why would there be a Purple Monkey Flower there?

Unless... An incredible thought occurred to Zhou Ning. Unless the Su Household's Spirit Vein is above the second tier, or rather... they've hidden an even higher-tier Spirit Vein!

If that were true, everyone who knew the secret would surely be put to death!

Even though he was an Alchemist, the Su Household would show him no mercy!

At that thought, Zhou Ning instinctively wanted to turn back.

But his Divine Sense detected the Su Household's hidden guards concealed in the small building.

Forget it. I'll just treat this as a show.

With my current standing, if I pretend not to know, what can the Su Household do to me?

Leaving aside whether the Purple Monkey Flower is real, even if it is, it's still in the hands of Steward Su, a peripheral member of the Su Household.

There's no need to panic. At worst, I can run away and come back to settle accounts later.

For now, Zhou Ning and the Su Household were using each other.

The Su Household had no way of knowing that his success rate for refining Spirit Essence Pills had reached seventy to eighty percent.

An ordinary Alchemist produced three pills per batch, and after deducting all kinds of losses, made less than half a pill in profit.

Before pill prices rose, the profit had been even lower.

Using the Land of Wei's methods, he produced seven pills per batch and could make at least four and a half in profit...

Zhou Ning had made a killing over the past year.

But to hone his alchemy skills, he had used Su Wen's and Old Jia's connections to purchase medicinal ingredients such as three-hundred-year-old ginseng, Thunder Plasma Liquid, and Yellow Heart Fruit to practice with.

On top of that, he had been wolfing down Ginseng-Nurturing Pills to increase his cultivation speed, so he had actually saved only thirty Spirit Stones...

I still have far too few Spirit Stones, and Ginseng-Nurturing Pills can only increase my cultivation speed so much.

Rumor has it that some top-grade pills can let someone with an ordinary Spirit Root cultivate as fast as someone with a Heavenly Spirit Root.

In Chen State, the record for the youngest Foundation Establishment cultivator was held by a Heavenly Spirit Root cultivator from the Nascent Soul sect Myriad Peace Valley, who had broken through to Foundation Establishment at twenty-four.

As long as I take enough pills and rare spiritual items, even an ordinary Spirit Root can match the speed of a Heavenly Spirit Root!

But that would consume a terrifying number of Spirit Stones, and there was the even thornier problem of cultivation bottlenecks.

When someone with a Heavenly Spirit Root broke through to Foundation Establishment, there was no bottleneck at all, and no need for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

For someone like Zhou Ning, with a Middle-Grade Spirit Root, it was much more troublesome. A Foundation Establishment Pill was indispensable.

He had already made plans to gather the three main ingredients and refine the pill himself.

As Zhou Ning pondered, he arrived in front of Steward Su's residence without realizing it. A shout of rebuke rang out:

"Cultivators unwilling to accept the conditions can leave Bamboo Creek Island of their own accord. The Su Household's Spirit Vein does not welcome ungrateful people!"

Luyou Island.

The spiritual light of a jade mirror Law Artifact swept across the sky. Below lay a vast expanse of residences and courtyards, their upturned eaves and tiled roofs hidden among the trees.

In a spacious courtyard stood a tall, straight-backed man in white. He appeared to be in his early thirties, with handsome features, though he also carried an air of dejection.

He stood before a loquat tree and said affectionately, "Zhangzhang, these past two years have been a living purgatory for me. Our bond in this life was too brief; let us continue it in the next..."

The jade mirror landed behind the man. Su Wen held the shrunken mirror in her hand, looking at herself in it.

The man acted as though he had heard nothing. He sighed. "In the courtyard stands a loquat tree, planted by my wife's own hand in the year she died. Now it has grown tall, its branches spreading like a canopy."

Su Wen scoffed and said contemptuously, "Are you sure she's really dead?"

Lin Qing spun around, his voice full of grief. "Zhangzhang isn't dead. She's just lost, and I can't find her."

"Her life or death is unknown, which means she's dead," Su Wen said mercilessly.

"In that case, shouldn't you return the Pill Furnace the Lineage gave Alchemist Zhang back then? Alchemist Zhou on Bamboo Creek Island urgently needs one."

That cloud-patterned Pill Cauldron was a quasi-second-tier Pill Furnace worth twenty or thirty Spirit Stones, yet Lin Qing had been guarding it all this time, unwilling to give it up.

Lin Qing said nothing, continuing to stroke the loquat tree.

Whenever someone from the Lineage came to demand the Pill Furnace, Lin Qing always put on this deeply affectionate manner, making it hard for them to act.

What was more, he was a Puppet Master at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, with formidable strength.

Su Wen suddenly said, "Alchemist Zhang only died two years ago, didn't she? Does a loquat tree grow that fast?"

Lin Qing's expression froze. He explained, "This loquat tree is in memory of Madam Yin. As for Zhangzhang..."

He pointed to the side, where another, half-grown loquat tree stood. "That's her."

That was right: Lin Qing had two deceased wives!

One had died many years ago, and the other had only recently died.

Even Su Wen could hardly stand him anymore. How could a person be so shameless?

When Lin Qing had first come to the Su Household as a guest elder, Su Wen had still been a sixteen-year-old girl, smitten with his good looks and talent.

Only when Lin Qing later chose the talisman master Madam Yin did Su Wen lose heart and swear to marry a better man.

Later, Madam Yin died. Lin Qing spoke of how terribly he missed her, but when faced with Alchemist Zhang's kindness, he promptly accepted it.

From then on, Su Wen saw him for what he was: a hypocrite.

Looking into the mirror, Su Wen abruptly asked, "Puppet Master Lin, am I beautiful?"

Lin Qing was taken aback. What was she plotting?

He looked at Su Wen's thoroughly ordinary face and said insincerely, "Fairy Su's beauty is unlike anything I have ever seen."

Su Wen flew into a rage and pointed down at him, berating him. "You heartless man! You actually praised my beauty in front of both your deceased wives! You two-faced beast!"

Lin Qing was dumbfounded by her scolding.

Su Wen said, "First you got together with Madam Yin. When she died, you took her inheritance. Then you got together with Alchemist Zhang, and when she died too, you took her inheritance as well."

"From the Qi Refining Middle Stage all the way to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer now. Well done, Lin Qing!"

"Aren't you afraid of retribution? Watch out, or the next pharmacist you get together with might poison you to death!"

Su Wen's barrage of words gave Lin Qing no chance to talk back.

Meanwhile, a woman in a white skirt was walking outside the courtyard. She had a gentle appearance and was Pharmacist Lan, who had come to discuss something with Lin Qing.

Hearing those words, Pharmacist Lan's face darkened!

Nearby guest elders extended their Divine Sense to watch the show.

Pharmacist Lan felt several strands of Divine Sense circling her, as though asking, "Are you also hoping to inherit Lin Qing's estate, or have him inherit yours?"

Her face tense, Pharmacist Lan turned and left.

"I'll tell you straight, Lin Qing. You're handing over that Pill Furnace today, whether you want to or not!" Su Wen issued her ultimatum.

Lin Qing gave a bitter laugh and looked up at the sky. "Yinyin, Zhangzhang, do your spirits in heaven see this? After you left, I've been all alone, only to suffer such humiliation!"

"The things you left behind are my spiritual solace in this life. If they're taken from me, I might as well go to heaven and find you!"

With that, Lin Qing released the powerful spiritual pressure of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

He flung out both hands, and two pitch-black puppets appeared at his sides. Spirit-drawing patterns were carved all over them, and their hands were claws.

They were unmistakably his signature, self-created first-tier superior-grade puppets, comparable to Late Qi Refining cultivators.

"Come on, Su Wen! Let me see just how heartless the Su Household is!" Lin Qing said indignantly.

Su Wen was merely at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, yet she dared bully a veteran like him. Had the Su Household truly abandoned all sense of shame?

Once she found herself helpless, she would leave of her own accord!

Su Wen sneered and brushed a hand over her Storage Bag. A blue-black figure appeared.

It too was a puppet, but blue light flowed over its entire body, pale blue spiritual light flickered in its eyes, and its chest and abdomen were carved with intricate patterns. It was far more ingenious than Lin Qing's puppets.

The moment Lin Qing saw the puppet, his face changed drastically. He blurted out, "How do you have an Azure Nether Guard?"

That was a second-tier puppet from the Azure Mystic Sect!

Su Wen could not be bothered with further words. She formed a Method Formula with her fingers.

Spiritual patterns lit up on the chest of the previously motionless Azure Nether Guard. Spiritual Qi surged, and it gave off the imposing presence unique to a great Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Lin Qing no longer missed his wives. Clearly, his own life was more important.

He hurriedly said, "Fairy Su, don't, don't, don't! I'll give you the Pill Furnace, all right?"