"Secret" Leaked

"Indeed."

Gao Hui nodded. "The Yang Family previously produced a child with decent talent, who reached the Second Level of Qi Gathering in just one year. That Yang Family Patriarch also advanced in cultivation, breaking through to the Sixth Level of Qi Gathering. There is also a loyal old servant in the family, likewise at the Sixth Level of Qi Gathering."

"Oh?"

He Shenglai's eyes shifted as he heard this. "Then they do have some strength. This Patriarch has some means too, to recruit a Sixth Level of Qi Gathering cultivator to assist him. But..."

His tone abruptly changed, and his gaze sharpened.

"Hmph. To cultivate a Second Level of Qi Gathering cultivator within a year, and have another break through to the Sixth Level of Qi Gathering—does a tiny Yang Family truly have such capability?"

Gao Hui pondered for a moment. "Lord He means..."

"I suspect the Yang Family must be hiding a secret. Since we are here today, we might as well take a good look!"

Just as Gao Hui was about to speak, Yang Guanfeng had already come out to greet them.

"A highly cultivated expert of the Dynasty has graced us with his presence. Forgive us for failing to welcome you from afar."

Yang Guanfeng cupped his hands in salute.

He Shenglai swept him a glance and said blandly, "I am merely carrying out orders. Whether you came to greet me or not does not matter. Lead the way."

"Yes."

As he turned around, Yang Guanfeng quietly exchanged a look with Gao Hui. Seeing the faint helplessness in his eyes, he understood what sort of person this Dynasty cultivator was.

One could tell from that single remark that he did not regard the Yang Family at all. His commanding tone was unpleasant to hear.

Yang Guanfeng led the two men to the Yang Family's rear courtyard, where Elder Yu and Yang Lingrui were already waiting.

After Elder Yu's handling, the Demon Beast corpses had also been moved here.

The main thing was to erase the traces of the Spirit Power Impact, since those injuries were too distinctive and could easily reveal something amiss.

Fortunately, He Shenglai's realm was not particularly high. After checking through them once, he found nothing unusual.

There were twenty-eight Demon Beast corpses in total: eighteen Qi Gathering Early-stage Demon Beast corpses and ten Qi Gathering Mid-stage Demon Beast corpses. He Shenglai quoted a purchase price of one hundred and thirty Spirit Crystals altogether.

"Hehehe, your Yang Family was lucky. Even White Stone Town was breached, yet you never encountered a Late Qi Gathering Demon Beast. Otherwise, every last one of you would have died." He Shenglai spoke to himself.

Standing behind him, Gao Hui could not help rolling his eyes.

They were still standing in someone else's home, yet He Shenglai's words were truly grating.

Yang Guanfeng, however, kept smiling as he said, "Lord He is right. That our Yang Family could survive this Beast Tide crisis was indeed sheer luck."

One hundred and thirty Spirit Crystals were undoubtedly an enormous sum for the current Yang Family, and they had come at precisely the right time.

With this money, the defensive formation for the Forbidden Ground and the storage bags for the Yang Family cultivators would finally be accounted for.

As for He Shenglai, Yang Guanfeng and Elder Yu had seen all kinds of people while traveling outside. They would not lose their tempers over a few words. He could say whatever he pleased.

They had thought the matter would be over once the purchase was complete, but He Shenglai did not seem to have any intention of leaving.

He raised his eyes toward the cliff on the northern side of the Yang Family grounds and narrowed them.

"What a sheer cliff face. I fear there is some other mystery atop it." He Shenglai said.

Yang Guanfeng stepped forward. "In reply to Lord He, above lies the Yang Family Forbidden Ground."

"Oh~ The Forbidden Ground..."

He Shenglai nodded, then said in an exceedingly casual tone, "Take me up to have a look."

"This!"

At those words, Yang Guanfeng and Elder Yu both changed expression. Yang Lingrui, still young, revealed a panicked look.

Gao Hui also frowned deeply and said in a low voice, "Lord He, the Yang Family moved out of town last year and left the Dynasty's jurisdiction. I fear this would be inappropriate."

As the mayor of White Stone Town, with the town's reconstruction at a critical stage, he did not want to offend the Yang Family over this.

By speaking up now, he was showing Yang Guanfeng where he stood.

He Shenglai took in the expressions of the three Yang Family members, especially Yang Lingrui's panic. He laughed inwardly. Young cultivators truly lacked guile; they could not hide anything.

"Hehe, Gao Hui, do I need you to remind me of such things?"

He Shenglai spoke to Gao Hui, his words carrying a strong hint of warning.

Then he looked again at Yang Guanfeng. "I, He Shenglai, want to go up and take a look. Will you lead me there, or shall I go up myself?"

He did not invoke his status as a Dynasty cultivator. Instead, he placed great emphasis on his own name.

He was saying that the Yang Family's Forbidden Ground had nothing to do with the Dynasty—it was "I" who wanted to see it.

Those words had the Yang Family pinned under his thumb. A Late Qi Gathering cultivator alone was enough to suppress everyone present, not to mention the Lineage background behind He Shenglai.

Yang Guanfeng no longer wore his earlier pleasant expression. He gritted his teeth, the muscles along his cheeks faintly bulging. In the end, he took two deep breaths and forced down the fury in his heart.

Elder Yu's face was ashen, while Yang Lingrui's body was trembling slightly, as though a great calamity were about to descend upon the Yang Family.

With matters having reached this point, Yang Guanfeng could only agree through gritted teeth and lead the group up the cliff.

Following at the very back, Gao Hui was actually quite curious as well.

He had once speculated about the Yang Family's true circumstances, but it had remained no more than suspicion and conjecture.

Now, thanks to He Shenglai, he could finally resolve some of the questions in his heart.

"Cloud Mountain Mist Array. Mm, the formation is rather good. Whoever set it up has some skill."

He Shenglai evaluated it before the Yang Family Forbidden Ground.

Yang Guanfeng opened the formation, and everyone entered the main courtyard of the Forbidden Ground.

There was nothing special about the courtyard's layout or its several side rooms. He Shenglai headed directly deeper into the Forbidden Ground and soon arrived at a small courtyard in the rear.

This was precisely the courtyard where the Four-leaf Spirit-Nesting Grass grew, protected by two small formations.

He Shenglai wore an expression as though it had turned out exactly as expected and lifted his chin. "Yang Family Patriarch, open it."

"Must Lord He truly do this?"

Yang Guanfeng spoke with grief in his eyes. "The item within is incomparably precious. Should outsiders learn of it, the safety of my Yang Family would be impossible to guarantee!"

"Lord He, our Yang Family does not want the Spirit Crystals anymore. We will return them all. Please, spare us!"

Elder Yu also stepped forward to beg him, while Yang Lingrui stood behind the two men, wiping away tears.

That display only aroused He Shenglai's curiosity further. He was determined to enter and see the truth for himself.

"Shut up, all of you!"

He directly unleashed the pressure of the Seventh Level of Qi Gathering. With impatience on his face, he said, "What is my status? Would I spread the affairs of your insignificant Yang Family around? And those Spirit Crystals are official Dynasty business! Do not mention returning them again, or do not blame me for turning hostile! Open the formation quickly, before I make a move myself!"

Gao Hui stood to one side without speaking. He Shenglai's words counted as an indirect promise to keep the Yang Family's secret.

The difference in realms lay plainly before them. Yang Guanfeng could only sigh and open a gap in the formation.

All five entered together, and the tender, emerald-green spirit plant came into view.

"It is a spirit plant!"

Gao Hui's eyes lit up at the sight, and the doubts in his heart were instantly answered.

"Tch... Hahahahahaha!"

He Shenglai burst into loud laughter. "This? You made it sound so serious—I thought it was some earth-shaking treasure. After all that fuss, it is only a Qi Gathering-level Four-leaf Spirit-Nesting Grass. Hahahahaha..."