Chapter 110: What a Pity
Fang Chen stood up and smiled. "Are you Senior Ji Congyun from the Ji Family of the Frost Water Empire?" he asked. "I apologize for not welcoming you properly."
Ji Congyun glanced at Li Daoye, then eyed Fang Chen. "Are you the one in charge of the Fang Family now? What about Fang Zhentian? I’ve met him once before, but it's been many years since then. Let him come out and meet up with me. I would like to reminisce about the past with him."
Fang Chen’s face turned apologetic, and he shook his head. "The old patriarch is unwell and resting. He is unable to greet guests at the moment. The Fang Family is indeed led by me now, Senior. May I ask the purpose of your visit today?"
"It's nothing much. My grandson told me that a cultivator has come to the Fang Manor, so I invited our Ji Family's cultivator to come and chat with him.” Ji Congyun turned to Li Daoye and clasped his fist, saying, "Are you the esteemed cultivator from the Flame Empire, Sir? My apologies, my apologies."
Li Daoye was about to speak, but the monkey-faced man’s laugh cut him off. "At the third level of Qi Refining, your cultivation is neither high nor low. Have you set your sights just on the Fang Family or the entire Grand Xia Empire?"
"Your eyes sure are sharp, Senior.” Li Daoye smiled. “May I ask about your cultivation level."
The monkey-faced man let out a sigh at those words. “Unfortunately, my aptitude is quite dull,” he said. “I’ve been cultivating for more than seventy years, but I’ve only been able to reach the sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm.” His tone was lamenting, but his eyes flashed with pride; his strength of the sixth level was more than enough for him to dominate a small region. Even in the Flame Empire, he wasn’t some nameless nobody.
Sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm?
A touch of wariness appeared in Li Daoye's eyes. This might be a bit troublesome, he thought, shooting Fang Chen a glance.
"Young man,” the man called suddenly, a smile on his face. “We cultivators follow the Dao in order to become immortals. It's best not to get too involved in the mundane. Haven't your elders in the sect warned you about this?"
"I get involved only when I’m in the mood,” Li Daoye said flippantly, then shot back, “Your cultivation might be higher than mine, Senior, but you’re only a wandering cultivator, right?”
The monkey-faced man was slightly taken aback, and a trace of embarrassment appeared on his face. “What sect do you come from, young man?"
"The Eight Trigrams Sect in the Flame Empire," said Li Daoye proudly.
"Eight Trigrams Sect? Never heard of it."
The man with the pointed mouth sighed in relief. If it was just some small sect, he had no reason to be cautious; some sects were even inferior to him, a wandering cultivator.
"Although I am a wandering cultivator, I receive respect even in the Flame Empire due to my cultivation." He paused, then continued, "Heed my advice. Let them handle their own worldly affairs. Otherwise, you and I might have to have a good fight."
With that, the man with the pointed-mouth shot Fang Chen a smile then turned to leave.
Ji Congyun glanced at Fang Chen one last time, then said, "What a pity; you resemble Fang Zhentian from back then.” He shook his head slightly then followed the man out.
When the two left, Li Daoye started grumbling, his face a bit sour. "That old guy is too arrogant."
Fang Chen looked at him. "That’s because you’re a weakling at the third level of the Qi Refining Realm. Even if you have some background, how far is the Flame Empire from the Grand Xia Empire? You won’t be able to send any messages back anytime soon, let alone call for reinforcements,” said Fang Chen with a faint smile. "It's normal for him to threaten you. I believe that since he came here today, he won’t leave empty handed. The Grand Xia Empire may not have anything he's interested in, but you're different. You're a cultivator. What most often happens between cultivators?"
"You think he’ll kill me for treasures?" Li Daoye was slightly surprised, then sucked in a breath of cold air. "But I really don’t sense any murderous intent from that old fellow."
"He's very cautious,” said Fang Chen. “He never really revealed any intention of killing you from start to finish, but if I were him, I’d naturally think of killing you and taking all the resources you have since I would’ve confirmed that you posed no threat toward me.”
What Li Daoye didn't know was that Xia Yu had planned to poison him, as well.
"You must protect me, Lord Fang!" said Li Daoye frantically.
"Did you forget about the Purple Lightning Talisman?” Fang Chen laughed. “He’s just at the sixth level of the Qi Refining Realm. How many Purple Lightning Talismans can he even withstand?"
When Li Daoye heard that, his eyes shined brightly as he began to recover his confidence. "That's right!" he cheered; with the Purple Thunder Talisman in his hand, regardless of whether it's someone at the sixth or seventh level of the Qi Refining Realm, he would be able to deal with them without any problems!
Outside the Fang Manor.
"Is Fang Chen a cultivator?" whispered Ji Congyun.
"Of course not." The man with the pointed mouth sneered. "Cultivation techniques are not easily passed on. If that guy is truly from some sect, then the requirements for him to pass his technique onto others is even more strict. If someone is found to have disclosed techniques without the consent of their sect, their cultivation will be abolished." He paused, then said, "While you might think that cultivators are very rare, the resources in the world are even more scarce. Even the major sects are cutting back on expenses and stopped easily taking in disciples. The more cultivators there are, the less resources there would be to go around.”
He cranked his head back and glanced at the Fang Manor, a cold smile crossing his eyes. Resources were so scarce that encountering a disciple of a major sect was a rare opportunity. How could he let the opportunity slip?
*
Ji Lengyue had been waiting for them in their place of residence. When he saw Ji Congyun and the pointed-mouth man, he breathed a sigh of relief and immediately led the Nightmare Knights forward to greet them.
"Grandfather. Immortal Master Zuo," greeted Ji Lengyue respectfully.
One was the patriarch of the Ji Family, and the other was the cultivator the Ji Family supported. They were the figures who held the greatest power in the Ji Family.
"Immortal Master Zuo has already gone over to take a look. The cultivator in the Fang Manor is far inferior to Immortal Master Zuo. You can proceed with the military exercise with confidence," reassured Ji Congyun with a smile.
Ji Lengyue was delighted. "That's great!"
The heavy burden on his heart was finally lifted.
The cultivator in the Fang Manor was not as strong as the one on his side. That was good news!
Ji Lengyue couldn't help but reveal a sinister smile. The humiliation he had suffered in the Hall of Supreme Harmony needed to be avenged. Not only did he want to regain his reputation back, he wanted to repay Fang Chen for the humiliation tenfold!
"I will continue to cultivate. Call me when the time comes," said Immortal Master Zuo indifferently, then turned to leave.
After Immortal Master Zuo left, Ji Lengyue suddenly whispered, "Grandfather, we've supported Immortal Master Zuo for so many years, and we've found many spirit stones and spirit herbs in that place. During this time, countless Ji Family members have died or have been injured. When will Immortal Master Zuo fulfill his promise and teach cultivation techniques to our Ji Family?"
"No need to worry. Since Immortal Master Zuo has promised us, we’ll just have to wait a little longer. I might not see the day, but you still have a chance. Even if you don’t get to see it, your descendants might have a chance to," said Ji Congyun.
"How much longer do we have to wait?" muttered Ji Lengyue as a fierce glare flashed through his eyes.
"Grandfather, you are at the pinnacle of the Earth Profound Stage. If you use everything at your disposal, you might not be weaker than Immortal Master Zuo. Why don't we..."
Ji Congyun cut him short with a pat on the shoulder. "You need to be patient, Lengyue. If you lack patience, I can let your brothers and sisters handle this."
Ji Lengyue's expression changed slightly.
Suddenly, a servant rushed in and reported that the Grand Xia Emperor had invited him over to the palace to discuss the military exercise. The envoys from the other empires were already waiting for him there.
Fang Chen, who had been observing everything with his divine soul, fell into contemplation. It seemed that the Ji Family had paid a considerable price to mobilize Immortal Master Zuo. Otherwise, why would Ji Lengyue, a junior, suggest to Ji Congyun to take action against a cultivator?
It seems that the Ji Family has found a way to obtain spirit stones and spirit herbs, but it comes with some risks, thought Fang Chen.
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