Chapter 98: Success

Everyone in the area quickly noticed the sudden turn of events, and their attention shifted to Li Changsheng.

The Liu family members, who had initially entered with over forty people, were now reduced to a little over a dozen gathered around Liu Lu. All of them were injured, and even Liu Lu herself was pale and severely wounded.

Many of the Liu family guards recognized Li Changsheng, having initially thought he was foolish to venture into the Demon Abyss alone.

But now, it seemed this young man had come prepared.

"Senior, please save us! Once we return to the Liu family, I'm willing to hand over half of our branch's wealth to you," Liu Lu knelt down and said in a low voice.

"Hah," Manager Qin sneered coldly. "Today, you're all going to die. No one can save you!"

"Young man, I admit you have some skill, but our Abyssal Pavilion isn't to be trifled with. No one dares to offend us in the Abyssal Mountains."

"Today, if you hand over the Phoenix Blood Vines you've collected, I'll spare your life!"

Li Changsheng remained unfazed.

Instead, he turned to Liu Lu and asked:

"How many spirit stones can your branch provide?"

He currently didn't dare to use the spirit stones he had for simulations, as the few opportunities he could gain wouldn't significantly improve his strength. Moreover, in a year and a half, he planned to kill Xiao Zhengyan and the Demon Shadow, and crafting the array disks required a massive amount of resources.

The spirit stones he currently had weren't enough to purchase the materials he needed.

So, he needed to make money.

The Phoenix Blood Vines on the cliff could be refined into pills worth twenty billion spirit stones, enough to craft four eighth-grade killing array disks.

If he could squeeze some spirit stones out of the Liu family, he'd have enough to craft the array disks needed to deal with the Demon Shadow in a year and a half.

Liu Lu was momentarily stunned. Earlier, she had spoken out of desperation, without really calculating how much half her branch's assets were worth.

"Senior, I'm not entirely sure of the exact number, but I can promise at least ten billion spirit stones," Liu Lu gritted her teeth and said.

"I can't make decisions for the entire Liu family, but I'm willing to sell all of our branch's assets to gather ten billion spirit stones for you."

She was now betting everything. If this senior before her could single-handedly take on the Abyssal Pavilion and the Guan family, he was at least at the peak of the Great Ascension Realm, if not the Transcendence Realm. Ten billion spirit stones were a fair price for the chance to survive.

If she died, the assets of her branch would likely end up in someone else's hands.

"Ten billion... Then I'll save your lives," Li Changsheng said indifferently.

Ten billion was indeed worth his intervention.

At that moment, Guan Wentao returned, stepping through the air with one hand holding a person and landing in the valley.

Seeing the scene in the valley, he frowned slightly and threw the severely injured Liu Yuan and the Soul Transformation Realm guard commander to the ground, asking coldly:

"Manager Qin, what's going on here?"

Manager Qin smiled lightly and glanced at Li Changsheng, saying calmly, "The Liu family brat offered ten billion spirit stones to ask this senior to save them."

His tone was filled with mockery. He didn't believe Li Changsheng could be a match for him, and now that Guan Wentao had arrived, his confidence grew even stronger.

"Just kill them and stop wasting time," Guan Wentao cursed under his breath, annoyed that Manager Qin had been intimidated by a young man for so long.

With a single step, Guan Wentao appeared not far from Li Changsheng and threw a devastating punch toward him.

Manager Qin, seeing this, swung his long blade, sending three massive whirlwinds of sword energy tearing through the valley, aiming directly at Li Changsheng.

"Slash!"

Li Changsheng formed a sword with his fingers and casually swung it.

"Boom!"

This slash didn't use a trace of true essence—it was purely the strength of Li Changsheng's physical body.

But as the sword swung, the surrounding spiritual energy was drawn into it, and an invisible blade instantly formed.

This blade, centered on Li Changsheng, extended forward for several kilometers, splitting everything in its path.

Everything in the path of the blade was instantly cut in half, whether it was the whirlwinds of sword energy or Guan Wentao's earth-shaking punch.

Guan Wentao's body was sliced in two the moment the blade passed through, and even his soul was obliterated.

Manager Qin, terrified out of his wits, desperately tried to retreat.

But it was too late. In an instant, he met the same fate as Guan Wentao, his body severed in two as he fell from the sky.

The blade continued unabated, cutting through everything in its path until it split a thousand-foot-tall mountain several kilometers away before finally dissipating.

"Hiss—"

Everyone present gasped in shock. These were two Great Ascension Realm cultivators, well-known figures in Ming Province, and just like that, they were gone?

"Run!"

The members of the Guan family and the Abyssal Pavilion reacted instantly, scattering in all directions.

The strength of that mysterious young man was too terrifying. Their only hope was to split up and flee, hoping to outrun the others.

"Do you think you can escape?"

Li Changsheng shook his head slightly and flicked a finger.

The Void Killing Sword Technique activated, sending hundreds of invisible sword auras shooting out. In an instant, they caught up to the fleeing cultivators, piercing through their bodies and souls, obliterating them completely.

"Uncle Le, what level do you think this senior is at?" Liu Lu swallowed hard and asked quietly.

"I have no idea," Uncle Le shook his head, his face filled with astonishment.

The power this senior had just displayed was like that of a god or Buddha—a level he could never hope to reach in his lifetime.

Li Changsheng paid no attention to the Liu family members. With a wave of his hand, he collected the storage pouches of the fallen Guan family and Abyssal Pavilion cultivators.

Even a mosquito is meat when you're poor!

Then he turned and continued to harvest the Phoenix Blood Vines.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Abyssal Pavilion.

"Bang!"

In the ancestral hall where the life tablets of the pavilion's experts were kept, one of the four top tablets suddenly shattered.

The disciple guarding the hall was startled.

"Manager Qin's life tablet... It's broken!"

The disciple rushed toward the pavilion master's secluded cultivation chamber.

"Pavilion Master, a disciple just reported that Manager Qin's life tablet has shattered."

A peak Soul Transformation Realm guard stood bowed in front of a cave, speaking softly.

"Boom!"

The door to the cave opened, and a middle-aged man in black robes stepped out.

"What happened?" asked Mo Chenggui, the pavilion master of the Abyssal Pavilion, frowning.

"Manager Qin had been keeping an eye on the Liu family and reported to the pavilion before taking some people to the Demon Abyss. It seems something unexpected happened there," the disciple hurriedly explained.

Mo Chenggui shook his head slightly. "Manager Qin is a cautious man. He definitely wouldn't venture deep into the Demon Abyss. With his strength, even if he encountered danger in the outer regions, he should have been able to retreat safely."

"It's likely he ran into something else."

"Seal off the entrance to the Abyssal Mountains. From now on, no one is allowed to enter. Summon the Second Elder and Protector Zheng to accompany me into the Abyssal Mountains for an investigation."