https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-291-I-Will-Personally-Go-to-Dusty-Mountain-/12920691/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-293-Who-Dares-Accuse-Me-in-This-Hall-/12920696/
Chapter 292: Fire Spirit Lord, Your Doom is Nigh!
Chapter 292: Fire Spirit Lord, Your Doom is Nigh!
Dusty Mountain and Luo Chen, a Fateful Connection?
"What a joke!"
Inside Wei Family Manor, Wei Bufen almost blurted out.
But after his initial anger, he quickly calmed down.
The other party's intentions were clear.
If he didn't agree to his conditions, it might not be as simple as just showing up at their doorstep.
Other places and mountain gates, if destroyed by Luo Chen, would remain just that—destroyed. But the land would still be there.
If Luo Chen truly had an interest in Dusty Mountain, it might not be as simple as just annihilating the clan.
There was another, even more ruthless method.
Conquering Dusty Mountain and enslaving the Wei Family cultivators to serve him.
This wasn't an unprecedented move; as long as the name was passable, there was no fear of being branded as a Demon Cultivator.
Now, with Veda's actions, Luo Chen had the 'name' to do so.
He had a just cause!
After calming down, Wei Bufen seriously considered Luo Chen's three conditions.
Not seeking revenge was an expected condition.
He didn't mind; after all, his relationship with Veda wasn't harmonious.
Otherwise, when they seized the Li Family's assets, they wouldn't have left him out.
But for him to promise to help once, that required careful consideration.
What if they asked him to deal with a Mid-stage or Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator? Wouldn't that be sending him to his death?
As for the third condition, it was the easiest to understand.
"Second Elder, where did we procure the cultivation pills for our younger generation in the past?"
Wei Ping'an replied without hesitation, "We've always bought Qi Nourishing Pills from the Spirit Herb Pavilion, but they're quite expensive."
After listening, Wei Bufen inquired about the recent prices of first-stage cultivation pills.
With a quick comparison, he made his decision.
"Apart from the second condition, I can agree to the other two."
"As for helping him, you should go and clarify the restrictions. I don't want to be sent to my death."
Wei Ping'an showed a hint of helplessness.
But with the family head's order and the Wei Family's survival at stake, he couldn't refuse.
Just the thought of facing that person's authority made him shudder deep within.
The next day.
Wei Ping'an made another trip to Crimson Peak.
Finally, he returned with conditions that Wei Bufen could accept.
"Am I only required to deal with cultivators of my level?"
Wei Bufen's heart relaxed slightly. If so, then those three conditions weren't as difficult to accept.
"It seems this Fire Spirit Lord isn't as unreasonable as I thought!"
With the family's survival on the line, there was no time to worry about saving face.
Without delay, on the third day, the Wei Family sent a gift of apology to the Celestial Assembly.
One hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones and five high-grade Magic Treasures.
To show their sincerity, the Celestial Assembly immediately sent the first batch of high-grade Spirit Marrow Pills.
In the Luo Tian Grand Hall.
Luo Chen looked at the Spirit Stones packed in ten large boxes, a smile spreading across his face.
Sometimes, you didn't need constant fighting to get what you wanted.
In fact, keeping the Wei Family alive was even more beneficial for him.
First, it showcased that the Celestial Assembly didn't hold grudges and wouldn't annihilate everyone.
Second, it also secured a stable customer for their pill production.
His additional three conditions seemed to make things difficult for them.
But in truth, they weren't that challenging.
It was just a matter of finding an acceptable outcome for both parties.
The Celestial Assembly saved face.
The Wei Family felt that since they had already demanded so much, this matter should be truly resolved.
As for the dead Veda?
Who cared? Perhaps Wei Bufen secretly wished he had died sooner! The resources a family could provide were limited.
With Veda's Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, he would require more resources, inevitably encroaching on Wei Bufen's interests as the family head.
His death was something everyone secretly welcomed.
"Now, only the Divine Craft Sect remains!"
Luo Chen caressed the box, his gaze intense.
Regarding these recent events, Luo Chen had been trying to find the right balance.
Those who harbored ill intentions towards the Celestial Assembly must be suppressed.
After suppression, retaliation was necessary.
People needed to know that the Celestial Assembly wasn't to be trifled with.
If they provoked them, they must be prepared to pay a heavy price.
Annihilation of the family was inevitable.
But such actions couldn't be done too often or too excessively.
Otherwise, it would invite criticism.
It was important to know that the surrounding powers of Heavenly Wave Immortal City weren't all like Jade Purity Monastery or the Geng Family, with only one or two early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Stronger ones, like the Wei Family of Dusty Mountain and the Li Family of Qinghua River, had Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators within their clans.
Even stronger were top-tier powers like the Lianyun Business Alliance, Iron Sword Hall, and the Du Family of Taibai, which had Late-stage Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators!
The current Celestial Assembly.
Its strength had developed to the level of a mid-tier power in Heavenly Wave, especially with Luo Chen's formidable abilities, making him a notable figure among Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
But if he truly provoked those top-tier Foundation Establishment powers, he would still be out of his league.
Even if he could invite Chu Kui to help, the cost would be unbearable.
After dealing with the Geng, Eagle, Dan Yuan Sect, and Jade Purity Monastery, Luo Chen deliberately restrained himself.
Of those who still held grudges against him, the Wei Family and Divine Craft Sect were left, and he chose to observe from the sidelines.
It wasn't that he was letting bygones be bygones.
Instead, he wanted to see what choices they would make under the overwhelming might of the Celestial Assembly, which had just annihilated four families.
If they chose to resist, Luo Chen wouldn't mind. He could always regroup and finish them off later! But if they chose reconciliation, he would gladly accept.
The Celestial Assembly had already gained enough from this battle.
Any more, and they wouldn't be able to handle it all in a short time.
Currently, the Wei Family from Dusty Mountain had chosen reconciliation, and Luo Chen gave them a way out, allowing them to take the initiative to back down.
So, only the Divine Craft Sect remained.
"What will they decide?"
...
Luo Chen waited for the Divine Craft Sect's next move while busy digesting the gains from this widespread offensive.
The benefits from Ink Mulberry, Jade Mulberry Silkworm, and Feather-Stripping Eagle were not immediately apparent.
Not only were they not visible, but they also required a significant investment of manpower and resources to keep them alive.
However, some gains were more tangible, such as Spirit Stones! Luo Chen always kept a substantial amount of liquid assets in the Celestial Assembly for emergencies.
Most other forces did the same.
During this collection of spoils, the Jin Xun Second Hall brought back a large number of Spirit Stones.
"Dan Yuan Sect has about 50,000 Spirit Stones, 90% of which are low-grade, with only a few medium-grade ones."
"Jade Purity Monastery is quite wealthy, with a total of 70,000! It's said that a portion of that was paid by the Eagle Clan to win them over against the Flying Blade Xing Clan."
"The Eagle Clan is rather poor, with only 30,000 to 40,000 Spirit Stones."
These small clans and sects were even poorer than Luo Chen had imagined.
Previously, Uncle Mi could gather 80,000 Spirit Stones to purchase a magic treasure, and he even had some to spare.
But these clans only had a few tens of thousands.
It was truly pitiful.
However, this was the reality of cultivation in the Immortal City. Despite the seemingly abundant resources, everything had to be purchased with Spirit Stones.
Without some skill, it was difficult to save a substantial amount of money.
"The richest, of course, is the Geng Family. From their treasury, we brought back a total of 140,000! It seems that over the years, the Geng Family has profited handsomely from the unclaimed Crimson Peak."
As Meng Juan Qinglian reported, Luo Chen shook his head.
These items, when added together, barely totaled 300,000.
Too little!
It was indeed too little!
Noticing Luo Chen's dissatisfaction, Meng Juan Qinglian understood his thoughts.
She immediately said, "Some Spirit Stones were either taken by those who fled or distributed among the family disciples' storage bags. Most of the latter were privately kept by the participating cultivators."
"Chairman, do you want to collect them all, like before, and then redistribute them?"
This had been done before.
The Celestial Assembly had done the same when they first started.
However, this time, Luo Chen rejected the suggestion.
"Forget it, we'll let those below us have some soup while we eat the meat."
"A reasonable harvest will keep them enthusiastic enough."
Luo Chen's consideration was also due to the previous reform of the merit system, which had somewhat dampened the enthusiasm of some cultivators.
This time, it would be good to slightly compensate them.
Meng Juan Qinglian had no objections.
She casually brought up the issue of merit rewards.
Regarding Qi Condensation cultivators, Luo Chen did not interfere, as she was more familiar with the process.
But for Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, Luo Chen waved his hand.
"All kinds of materials and resources will be stored in the treasury, and Wang Yuan's group can choose two items."
"For Min Longyu, send him the giant hammer magic treasure left by Geng Lie."
In this battle, Min Longyu played a crucial role.
Not only did he defeat the Geng siblings alone, but he also assisted Duan Feng in killing the Fairy of Wonders.
Moreover, his command of the array had deterred many Foundation Establishment cultivators from outside who were eager to move.
The storage bag of a mere Geng Shu Zhen was indeed insufficient.
"Also, set aside 100,000 Spirit Stones for future rewards after everything is settled."
Meng Juan Qinglian was surprised. Was he planning to give out 100,000 Spirit Stones at once? That was no small amount!
"I won't take a single penny from the remaining 200,000; it will stay in the public account of the assembly."
Luo Chen paused, then continued, "The development of those new industries will undoubtedly require a substantial investment. These 200,000 can be considered seed money."
The Celestial Assembly already had over 100,000 in its account.
With this, the entire sect's liquid assets became unimaginably abundant.
It was rare for a Foundation Establishment sect to possess 300,000 in liquid assets all at once.
"Of course, how this money is spent will have to wait until Huiwang comes out of seclusion. She will make the decisions."
"In the meantime, Sister-in-law, you can oversee it for her."
Meng Juan Qinglian swallowed, feeling nervous about managing such a large number of Spirit Stones.
But she did not refuse.
This was both Luo Chen's trust in her and a test.
After experiencing a failed Foundation Establishment, she had almost lost hope in the Dao.
Now, the task at hand is to earn a fortune for his son, Xiao Hu.
It's not hard to imagine that in the future, there will be more and more Foundation Establishment True Cultivators in the Celestial Assembly, and perhaps every hall master will be a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.
As a Qi Condensation stage cultivator, if he wants to maintain his current status, he'll have to demonstrate even greater value than before!
After Meng Juan Qinglian left...
Luo Chen took stock of his losses and gains.
The losses were not significant, just some minor spirit energy loss and the 100,000 spirit stones from Chu Kui.
However, the gains were quite impressive.
Aside from the unpredictable long-term benefits from the Celestial Assembly, he now had 100,000 spirit stones in hand from Wei Family on Dusty Mountain.
This made up for the loss to Chu Kui.
Combined with his previous savings, he now had 250,000 spirit stones at his disposal.
Additionally, he hadn't even had the chance to open the storage bags of Dan Yuanzi, Geng Lie, and the others.
As the leader of a sect and head of a family, their savings were likely substantial.
But Luo Chen didn't pay much attention to these.
What he truly cared about were the various books related to alchemy that he had collected during this chaotic war!
The Hu Family, experts in alchemy!
Yuan Dongsheng had brought back a large collection of alchemy insights and two first-stage pill recipes, as well as a second-stage pill recipe.
The Dan Yuan Sect, also experts in alchemy!
Although he hadn't opened Sect Master Dan Yuanzi's storage bag yet, there were already five books brought back from Yuanhe Mountain.
Among them were several pill recipes.
Additionally, there were one or two alchemy insights from Jade Purity Monastery.
"If I can digest all these gains, my pill refining skills will surely improve by leaps and bounds!"
"Moreover, among these collected pill recipes, there might be one that solves my lack of cultivation pills after reaching the mid-Foundation Establishment stage!"
Luo Chen had only recently advanced to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.
But he had already noticed the "slowness" of his cultivation speed.
Even with all kinds of auxiliary and primary resources fully utilized at this stage, and with his relentless, uninterrupted cultivation every day, it would still take five or six years to break through from the fourth layer to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment.
This time seemed short.
But if you look ahead, it would take ten years from the fifth to the sixth layer, and several decades from the sixth to the seventh layer...
By the time he reached the late-Foundation Establishment stage, it would be counted in centuries.
This was something Luo Chen could not accept!
Moreover, he had to consider one more problem.
That was the issue of drug resistance.
The Ascending Dragon Pill was already the most potent mainstream cultivation pill he could find.
If he developed resistance to it, he couldn't even imagine how he would endure the terrifying bottleneck of the late-Foundation Establishment stage.
Luo Chen couldn't rely on the high-grade pills that occasionally appeared at auctions.
So, he had to be self-reliant.
He needed to improve his pill refining skills and collect various pill recipes, hoping to one day become self-sufficient!
Just as Luo Chen was pondering how to plan his time, Meng Juan Qinglian returned.
"Chairman, someone from the Ice Fortress has arrived!"
"Hmm?" Luo Chen's eyebrows rose, and his eyes flashed with brilliance. "I searched for them in vain before, but now that the major issues are settled, they appear. What does this mean?"
He wondered aloud, "Who is it?"
"The steward of the Ice Wave Palace, Shi Bo Ying!"
"Please invite her in."
Luo Chen's heart stirred, and he immediately dispatched a Foundation Establishment True Cultivator.
It seemed like a significant matter!
Before long, the familiar Shi Bo Ying appeared in the Celestial Assembly Grand Hall.
As soon as she entered, she displayed a radiant smile.
"Fire Spirit Lord, this time, you have truly displayed your might and gained instant fame!"
"Fire Spirit Lord?"
This was the first time Luo Chen had heard the honorary title given to him by other cultivators.
A new Daoist name?
With Shi Bo Ying's explanation, he finally understood the meaning behind this title.
Proficient in fire techniques, possessing vast spiritual energy, hence the 'Fire' element.
Honoring promises and commitments, unwavering, thus the 'Lord' title.
In the end, he was bestowed with the Daoist name "Fire Spirit Lord."
Luo Chen couldn't help but feel amused and proud.
Although the previous Daoist name, Dan Chenzi, was also fitting, it had been given to him by Uncle Mi at the beginning to promote the Jade Marrow Pill.
This time, however, he had earned it through his own efforts.
It was like the gangsters in the Earth's underworld, where newcomers boasted of their prowess, but true strength was proven by wielding a watermelon saber and carving out their own path.
Comparing him to gangsters might be a bit of a stretch, but the principle was the same.
Under Shi Bo Ying's praise, Luo Chen couldn't help but feel a bit flattered.
Although he had been bribed with Jade Dew Pills, it didn't warrant such enthusiasm!
"Senior Shi, please speak your mind."
Shi Bo Ying's expression turned serious, "Do you know that you're facing a great calamity?"
Luo Chen's eyebrows furrowed.
"Senior, are you trying to scare me?"
"If you don't believe me, come with me and see for yourself."
(End of Chapter)
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