Chapter 111: Lurking in the Beast City
"We are willing to offer 300 million spirit stones in exchange for the Heavenly Spirit Grass."
The black-robed, stout cultivator took a step forward, his eyes burning with desire as he stared at the Heavenly Spirit Grass in Mo Chengkong's hand.
The thin cultivator also subtly shifted his body to the left, preparing to block Li Changsheng and Mo Chengkong in case they tried to escape.
Although the two of them knew that cultivators capable of harvesting the Heavenly Spirit Grass were undoubtedly strong, the temptation of the Heavenly Spirit Grass was simply too great. For cultivators like them, who were nearing the end of their lifespans and could only gamble on surviving the Heavenly Tribulation, this was nothing short of a life-saving elixir.
"300 million spirit stones for the Heavenly Spirit Grass?"
Li Changsheng shook his head slightly, a smile playing on his lips.
The Heavenly Spirit Grass was an immortal-grade spiritual herb, a treasure that was priceless and almost impossible to obtain in the Cangqing World. To think that a mere 300 million spirit stones could exchange for it—if they were willing to offer hundreds of billions, he might have considered selling one stalk.
These cultivators really didn't understand how the world worked!
"What? Kid, you think that's too little?"
The thin cultivator sneered coldly. "Hand over the Heavenly Spirit Grass today, and we'll owe you a favor. The reputation of the North Yin Mountain Duo still carries some weight in the Cangqing World."
"Gaining our favor is enough to let you roam freely in the Cangqing World!"
"Haha!"
Li Changsheng's eyes gleamed with mockery.
"Young Master, shall I take care of these two?" Mo Chengkong asked in a low voice, standing to the side.
"Mm."
Li Changsheng nodded slightly.
"Have you two never heard of the North Yin Mountain Duo?"
The stout and thin cultivators exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with disbelief. Although the North Yin Mountain wasn't located in the Bright Province, even powerful factions like the Pure Yang Sect and the General's Mansion in the Bright Province had to show them some respect.
But from the way these two were acting, it seemed like they genuinely hadn't heard of their reputation.
"Hehe!"
Mo Chengkong let out a strange laugh, his body transforming into dozens of blood-red streaks that lunged toward the two cultivators.
"Seeking death!"
The North Yin Mountain Duo exchanged a glance, anger flashing in their eyes. They were renowned cultivators in the Cangqing World, and now some unknown cultivator dared to attack them?
The two of them moved in perfect synchronization, as if they were one entity. They attacked simultaneously.
The Yin and Yang energies intertwined, transforming into two saber lights—one Yin and one Yang—that slashed toward the dozens of blood-red streaks.
Although the two of them were only at the mid-Transcendence stage, their combined attack rivaled the full-force strike of a late-Transcendence cultivator.
"Die!"
The stout cultivator bellowed as the Yin-Yang Heavenly Saber descended!
"Hehe!"
The dozens of blood-red shadows laughed eerily, not dodging or evading, but instead charging straight toward the Yin-Yang Heavenly Saber.
Boom!
The Yin-Yang Heavenly Saber passed right through the blood-red shadows and slammed into the ground, leaving two chasms several kilometers long!
But the blood-red shadows were completely unaffected and continued their assault toward the two cultivators.
"What… what's going on?"
The North Yin Mountain Duo's faces turned pale with panic. After cultivating for ten thousand years, this was the first time they'd encountered such a strange attack.
"Activate!"
The two of them exchanged a glance, immediately activating their protective spiritual artifacts. A Yin and a Yang barrier enveloped them, forming a Taiji diagram.
Sizzle, sizzle!
The blood-red shadows collided with the Yin-Yang barrier, emitting faint black smoke and pausing momentarily. But after only a brief hesitation, the dozens of blood-red shadows broke through the barrier.
They surged directly into the bodies of the North Yin Mountain Duo.
"This…"
The two of them paled.
Although they didn't know what was happening, having dozens of strange things enter their bodies couldn't be good.
"Get out…"
"Ah!"
Before they could finish their words, a scream erupted.
The thin cultivator's body visibly withered at an alarming rate.
"Mercy…"
Before they could even beg for mercy, the North Yin Mountain Duo were reduced to two sheets of human skin, falling to the ground.
Ten days later.
The news of the General's Mansion being annihilated spread throughout the Bright Province and even reached some factions outside the province, who sent people to investigate.
But no clues were found.
All the cultivators of the General's Mansion had been killed in a single strike. The more powerful cultivators had died after losing all their vital blood, and no sect in the Cangqing World used such sinister techniques.
Only Lin Ruoxi, Li Chunyang, and a few others had a vague suspicion that it might have been Manager Li of the Hundred Herbs Hall. After all, in the Demon Abyss, Manager Li had killed Xiao Zhengyan and the General's Mansion's group, and just a few days later, the General's Mansion was destroyed.
It was hard for them not to suspect.
But they all tacitly kept silent.
After all, Manager Li's origins were mysterious, and even now, the major factions of the Bright Province had no idea where he came from.
It was as if he had appeared out of nowhere.
Moreover, a force capable of annihilating the General's Mansion also had the power to destroy them.
Two years later.
At the foot of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect's mountain, in the city of Ten Thousand Beasts, a branch of the Hundred Herbs Hall opened.
Nine years later.
At the Hundred Herbs Hall in the city of Ten Thousand Beasts.
Li Changsheng lounged on a recliner in the back courtyard of the Hundred Herbs Hall, leisurely sipping spiritual tea.
Over the past few years, the Hundred Herbs Hall had expanded rapidly, with branches now covering four provinces around the Bright Province. The number of alchemists, formation masters, artifact refiners, and talisman masters under its banner was countless.
Even Transcendence cultivators had been recruited, numbering five, along with over twenty Mahayana cultivators. With Li Changsheng and Mo Chengkong, who had now recovered to the mid-Human Immortal stage, the Hundred Herbs Hall had become a top-tier force in the Southern Li Dynasty.
The factions of the Southern Li Dynasty all knew that there was a mysterious powerhouse behind the Hundred Herbs Hall. After the Saint Demon Prince suspected that the destruction of the General's Mansion might be related to the Hundred Herbs Hall, he sent an Immortal-stage demon cultivator to test the waters, but Mo Chengkong drove him away.
Li Changsheng had handed over the management of the Hundred Herbs Hall to Mo Chengkong, while he himself had arrived at the Ten Thousand Beasts City branch five years ago, keeping a close watch on the affairs of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect's outer disciples.
It wasn't until last year that a disciple named Lin Yan joined the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.
However, Li Changsheng didn't approach Lin Yan directly, instead silently observing to see if there was anything unusual about him.
After a year of observation, he didn't find anything abnormal about Lin Yan, but the boy's background was quite interesting.
The Lin family was a relatively well-off family in a small city in the Barbarian Province. Lin Yan had shown exceptional talent for cultivation since childhood, but an accident damaged his spiritual root, severely slowing his cultivation speed. Soon after, his fiancée broke off their engagement, his father—the clan leader—went missing, and the assets that should have belonged to their branch of the family were seized by other branches.
This left Lin Yan and his younger sister, Lin Xun'er, to rely on each other for survival.
Furthermore, according to the intelligence Li Changsheng had obtained, Lin Xun'er wasn't actually Lin Yan's biological sister but the daughter of a friend of Lin Yan's father, who had been raised in the Lin family since childhood.
Interestingly, Lin Xun'er's talent for cultivation was quite impressive. She had already been accepted as a disciple by the Miaoyin Pavilion, another major sect in the Barbarian Province. Although the Miaoyin Pavilion wasn't as powerful as the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, it still had three Transcendence cultivators as its leaders, and Lin Xun'er had been taken in as a personal disciple by the sect master. Despite her young age, her cultivation had already reached the peak of the Golden Core stage.
When Li Changsheng first read this report, he was momentarily stunned.
Lin Yan's background was practically the perfect setup for a protagonist!