“Master, the vast majority of the spirit stones in that treasure vault are mid-grade spirit stones. As for low-grade spirit stones, there isn’t a single one. It seems that the Gongshu family disdains to collect them. However, I’ve discovered this.”
Yan presented the treasure box in his hand to Lu Qing.
What's inside?
Lu Qing took the treasure box, opened it, and his breath hitched.
He stared at the contents of the treasure box for a long while before exhaling, "It's actually a high-grade spirit stone."
That's right, the treasure box didn't contain anything else, but a whole box of high-grade spirit stones.
"Yes, Master, there are a total of one thousand high-grade spirit stones in this treasure box."
One thousand high-grade spirit stones!
Upon hearing this number, Lu Qing's heart trembled slightly again.
He is no longer the country boy who just came from his hometown. He has gained some understanding of many of the mysteries of cultivation.
Knowing that the Spirit Stone is a treasure actually contains many secrets.
Not only are they excellent cultivation resources for cultivators, but high-grade spirit stones also seem to have some extraordinary use for top experts.
However, the higher the grade of the spirit stone, the more precious it is.
Low-grade and mid-grade spirit stones are not too difficult to obtain.
However, once a spirit stone reaches the superior grade, it will basically not circulate outside.
Whether it's major powers or powerful independent cultivators, they all treat it as a strategic resource reserve and won't easily use it.
In that auction in Tian Shu City back then, the mysterious Nascent Soul expert had to put up a high-grade spiritual artifact for auction in order to obtain a large number of high-grade spirit stones.
Ultimately, the Immortal Golden Bell, a high-grade spiritual artifact, was auctioned off for only 15,000 high-grade spirit stones.
But now, he has obtained a thousand high-grade spirit stones from the Gongshu family's treasury!
This amount of spirit stones alone is a tremendous fortune.
"As expected of the Thirty-Six Upper Clans, their accumulated strength over countless millennia is truly terrifying."
Lu Qing couldn't help but sigh again.
The treasure trove of just the direct descendants of the second branch of the family provided him with cultivation resources for a long time to come.
I can't even imagine how terrifying the wealth of the entire Gongshu family must be.
Next, Lu Qing counted the spirit stones in the Qiankun Bag again.
In the end, he obtained a total of about 500,000 mid-grade spirit stones and 1,000 high-grade spirit stones from the treasury of the second branch of the Gongshu family.
As for other spiritual herbs, pills, magic weapons, and various refining materials, he didn't pay too much attention to them. He just did a quick count and put them aside.
After all, he had acquired many of these things after the battle at Tian Shu Divine Mountain, but for so long, he had found it difficult to even use them.
Even if there's another batch like this, it will just be accumulated.
"With such a great harvest, losing the status of an outer member of the Netherworld Palace doesn't seem like a pity at all."
This time, although Lu Qing successfully killed Gongshu Lian, he also captured Qiao Rong.
However, he currently has no intention of going to the Netherworld Palace outpost to submit the mission credentials.
During his final escape from Zhou Tian City, he used a teleportation talisman.
Although he had been using sword techniques and had not revealed his physical strength, he had not used them.
However, as a Golden Core cultivator, he also possesses the ability to teleport. Unless one is extremely foolish, everyone would inevitably associate him with "Chen Qing," not to mention the terrifying force like the Netherworld Palace, which controls a vast intelligence network.
By now, the Netherworld Palace has probably already determined his true identity based on various clues.
Therefore, to be on the safe side, Lu Qing does not plan to contact the Netherworld Palace again for the time being.
Although it was a pity that he couldn't collect the bounty for assassinating Gongshu Lian and Qiao Rong, he was already rich in spirit stones, so there was no need for him to risk his life for those 20,000 or 30,000 spirit stones.
Thinking of Qiao Rong, Lu Qing's heart stirred again.
With a gentle wave of his hand, a spatial cage suddenly appeared, revealing Qiao Rong's figure.
When Qiao Rong saw Lu Qing, a look of fear appeared on her face.
Not long ago, Lu Qing used illusion magic to pull her into an endless illusion, causing her to involuntarily reveal everything she knew.
Now, she has no secrets left from this mysterious person.
However, after the initial fear subsided, Qiao Rong forced herself to calm down.
She forced a smile: "Senior, what do you want in return for letting me go? If you trust me, I can take you away from Zhou Tian City."
"No need, I've already left Zhou Tian City," Lu Qing said calmly.
"Outside of Zhou Tian City? How is that possible!"
Qiao Rong's body trembled, and an expression of disbelief appeared on her face.
My first reaction was that Lu Qing was lying.
Because before she was arrested, she knew that the entire Zhou Tian Xing Chen had already been activated, so logically, Lu Qing shouldn't have been able to leave.
However, Lu Qing did not explain further, but simply looked at her quietly.
Qiao Rong paused, sensing Lu Qing's calmness.
A sudden fear arose in her heart.
She spoke with some difficulty: "So, I'm useless now, and you want to kill me?"
“That’s right.” Lu Qing did not deny it and nodded quite frankly.
Upon hearing this, Qiao Rong trembled, and her face turned pale.
She understood that if this mysterious man wanted to kill her, she had no chance of escaping.
In other words, this time, she is definitely going to die.
However, after the fear subsided, a strong sense of resentment welled up in her heart.
She stared intently at Lu Qing: "I don't understand. With your cultivation level, why would you make trouble for a reclusive woman like me? I ask myself, with my limited abilities, I should have never had any interaction with you. Why do you insist on my death?"
"You probably already guessed it, didn't you? I'm an assassin from the Netherworld Palace; I don't need a reason to kill."
"Then I'll give you ten times the reward, no, a hundred times! No matter what price the Netherworld Palace offers for the reward, I'm willing to pay more than a hundred times the price to buy my life!"
"I control the treasury of the second branch of the Gongshu family's direct line, which contains countless treasures and spirit stones. I am willing to hand it all over to you!"
Qiao Rong, looking like a madwoman, shouted loudly.
Are you referring to these spirit stones?
Lu Qing released the spatial cage and pointed to the pile of spirit stones that looked like a small mountain not far away.
Upon seeing the small hill of spirit stones, Qiao Rong's eyes suddenly widened.
Because she recognized those spirit stones as the same batch from her own treasure vault.
In other words, this mysterious person not only escaped from Zhou Tian City but also took away their second branch's treasure trove.
Just as Qiao Rong was in disbelief, Lu Qing's voice rang out again.
"Furthermore, it's not that we've never crossed paths. Back when I first arrived in the Tianyuan Great World, didn't you already have a bounty on my head in the Netherworld Palace?"
"I've placed a bounty on you in the Netherworld Palace?"
Qiao Rong repeated the sentence in a daze at first, then slowly, as if she remembered something, she stared intently at Lu Qing, as if trying to see through the mask on his face.
"Is it you, the demon who killed my Zheng'er back then?"
"Yes, it was me. I killed Gongshu Zheng."
Lu Qing removed the mask from his face, revealing the face he had used in Canglan City of the Little Cang Realm.
"It really is you, you demon! You killed my Zheng'er, and I will avenge him!"
When Qiao Rong saw Lu Qing's face, it was exactly the same as the information she had collected back then. Her eyes immediately flashed with intense hatred, as if she wanted to devour him alive.
He exuded a resolute aura, as if he wanted to charge towards him.
However, the moment she moved, a wisp of sword energy struck her forehead, piercing through her brow acupoint and her skull.
