Since Householder Redbrow, Zhong Tianshuo—or rather, Wang Yushuo, as he now called himself—had changed his tune, the Patriarch naturally would not keep him locked up any longer.
However, simply letting the old fellow off scot-free was entirely out of the question.
With a grand wave of his sleeve, Wang Xianmao sent the Black Vine Spirit Seed he had nurtured for many years flying toward Redbrow.
Redbrow wanted to dodge, but with his mid Foundation Establishnt cultivation base, Wang Xianmao suppressed him with ease.
The black vine burrowed into Redbrow's back, wrapping itself along his spine while absorbing his blood, growing at a frenzied pace.
"Ah... Ah... Mph... Mph..."
Under the excruciating pain, Redbrow let out a desperate, agonizing wail that sent a chill straight down Yulou's spine.
The Patriarch frowned slightly, and the vines imdiately gagged Redbrow's mouth.
Watching Redbrow struggle and wail in utter despair, Yulou asked with concern.
"Patriarch, we cannot let him die. We haven't finished learning everything from him yet."
"Rest assured, this is the Black Vine Soul-Locking Art, a unique secret technique I developed through my own divine ability. His spine will be corroded by the black vine."
Having said this, Wang Xianmao looked down at Redbrow, who had already been afflicted by the Black Vine Soul-Locking Art, and asked with a smile.
"If you ever wish to attain Foundation Establishnt, I must personally step in to remove the black vine. Yushuo, do you still wish to attain Foundation Establishnt?"
Lying on the ground, Redbrow panted heavily, beads of cold sweat pouring down the creases of his flesh like small streams. He no longer wailed; he was simply exhausted.
Looking at this shapeless mountain of flesh, Yulou felt a sudden surge of revulsion.
Cultivation, cultivation... Redbrow had cultivated himself into sothing neither human nor ghost, and the Patriarch, a successful Foundation Establishnt cultivator, was even more...
Was it truly worth it?
"Patriarch, Yushuo wishes to attain Foundation Establishnt," Redbrow replied weakly.
Did he regret it?
No, it was already too late for regrets.
Life is not always a smooth journey. Redbrow had paid the price for his choices, but at the very least, he still held onto a faint, illusory thread of hope.
He did not regret it. He wanted to attain Foundation Establishnt!
Patriarch, Wang Xianmao, you bastard surnad Wang, I still want to achieve Foundation Establishnt!
"Good, you have ambition. This is a secret art triggered by my divine ability, Redbrow. Unless you can find a Purple Palace grand cultivator exceptionally proficient in the Wood Dao to dispel it for you, otherwise..."
Redbrow understood. Redbrow knew exactly what he ant.
"Patriarch, Yushuo understands. Yushuo will definitely impart everything without reservation to my two younger brothers, Yulou and Yu'an!"
However, Redbrow's deeply submissive and groveling behavior only served to heighten the Patriarch's vigilance.
To be able to endure to such an extent...
Redbrow, where exactly does your lineage originate from?
But the Patriarch did not ask. In a re instant, he devised a proper plan.
He would wait until Yulou and Yu'an finished learning everything before interrogating and torturing him thoroughly!
"Return to Clear Stream Market, Redbrow. I trust you."
Wang Xianmao possessed this absolute confidence. He had nurtured the Black Vine Spirit Seed for many years, and the Black Vine Soul-Locking Art was executed through his personal divine ability.
Aside from a formidable Purple Palace grand cultivator like Patriarch Mangxiang, or perhaps a legendary Golden Core True Person, no one could dispel it!
If Redbrow did not want to die, he had no choice but to be obedient!
Foundation Establishnt? You can forget about attaining Foundation Establishnt for the rest of your life!
Guided by the Patriarch, the group took only half a day to return to Clear Stream Market.
That night, as he lay in bed, Yu'an felt a profound sense of how drastically things had changed.
"Brother, I feel like I'm dreaming. Why did Master want to kill us back then?"
Yu'an could not wrap his head around it.
Both he and Yulou were disciples who had formally bowed to their master. Redbrow was simply too ruthless, wanting to slaughter even them.
"It is hard to say. Greed drove him to pillage the Golden Light Pavilion, and once the deed was done, fear drove him to eliminate any future trouble.
Perhaps our master never truly viewed us as his disciples from the very beginning.
After all, our apprenticeship to learn the artificing path was nothing more than a transaction."
Yulou also felt as though he were looking at the world through a thick fog. Was the temptation of Foundation Establishnt truly that imnse?
For the sake of Foundation Establishnt, Redbrow could slaughter everyone in the Golden Light Pavilion, bearing the risk of being resented by Senior ngbai, an Immortal Alliance Foundation Establishnt cultivator.
For the sake of Foundation Establishnt, Redbrow had even intended to kill his own disciples to eliminate all loose ends.
For the sake of Foundation Establishnt, Redbrow had changed his na and surna under coercion, transforming instantly from Zhong Tianshuo into Wang Yushuo.
This level of obsession made Yulou feel a lingering dread.
He did not yet know that Redbrow had even entertained the thought of completely wiping out an entire mortal town.
Yu'an remained silent for a long ti before speaking softly.
"I still like Senior Martial Sister Ningyao, Brother."
The two were blood brothers, so Yu'an felt no need to hide anything. His heart was filled with turmoil, and he yearned for his brother's counsel and support.
"Senior Martial Sister is soone with an unshakeable Dao heart, and now that this has happened, Yu'an, it will be very difficult for anything to happen between you two.
Besides, there are plenty of beautiful female cultivators out there. You are still young, and you will encounter better options in the future. Do not take it to heart too much."
Yulou understood the youth's infatuation, but he wanted Yu'an to realize that after this incident, there was absolutely no possibility left between him and Zhong Ningyao.
"Last year, when Senior Martial Sister taught sword techniques, she held my hand and said I was a sword genius.
Brother, if this hadn't happened, and if I could beco a very powerful cultivator in the future, do you think Senior Martial Sister would like ?"
Yu'an also understood that many things had changed irrevocably, yet he was still unwilling to let go.
He craved validation, deeply so.
"There is a flaw in your reasoning, though I don't know if you realize it yourself, Yu'an.
The harshness of reality has instilled certain fears and anxieties in your heart. Because of this, you are attempting to find a sense of security from a re hypothetical and a painted possibility.
Stop thinking about these things. Our primary task right now is to study the artificing path properly so we can return ho early once our training is complete.
The Valley Spirit Sect and Wondrous Peak Mountain have gone to war, and Patriarch Mangxiang is seeking to attain Golden Core. I worry the future will beco highly chaotic."
Yulou saw the situation clearly. The Ten Sects of the Wunan Cultivation World were essentially ten stable nations of cultivators.
The power of the Purple Palace realm was already terrifying enough to manifest as two suns in the sky. If Patriarch Mangxiang successfully attained the Golden Core realm, it would undoubtedly alter the balance of power between the Red Lantern Illumination Sect and other factions.
From the limited information available, Yulou had noticed that the Sky Serpent Sect had recruited a True Person-level beast cultivator elder, the Mountain-Flipping Flood Dragon, a few years ago.
If one connected the Mountain-Flipping Flood Dragon's entry into the Sky Serpent Sect with Patriarch Mangxiang's attempt to attain Golden Core, the conflict between the Valley Spirit Sect and Wondrous Peak Mountain beca chillingly ominous.
Yulou envisioned a distinct possibility—certain wheels were already in motion, and they were now rising from beneath the depths to the surface.
Yet his current cultivation base was ager. In the face of such upheaval, there was too little, far too little he could do.
Yu'an's infatuation with Zhong Ningyao was rely the fleeting fantasy of youth. Yulou even found himself slightly envious of his brother's innocence.
'Hopefully, I am just overthinking things...'
anwhile, at the Prefecture Cultivator's Manor in Clear Stream Market.
Wang Xianmao was currently sipping tea and enjoying a Dao discussion with Mu Changze.
Both were seasoned Foundation Establishnt cultivators proficient in wood-attribute arts. They conversed joyfully about everything from the selection of wood-attribute spiritual artifacts and the cultivation of spiritual seeds to their latest research into spell techniques.
"Brother Changze, you are skimming too much profit from Clear Stream Market. You still need to be careful; the sect is enforcing very strict demands on the collection of resources right now," Wang Xianmao cautioned.
Mu Changze's expression did not waver in the slightest. Pointing in the direction of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, he cursed openly.
"It's all because of that wretched dog Jiang Baobian! He already collected all the various revenues a Town Guardian Cultivator is entitled to for the next decade and more!
What choice do I have? You know my master. I naturally support Patriarch Mangxiang's attempt to attain Golden Core, but I also have to support my own master!
I understand if your clan is dissatisfied, but as a disciple, you should also understand a disciple's filial devotion toward his master, Brother Xianmao."
It was too late; the taxes of Clear Stream Market had already been collected for more than a decade into the future.
As a vassal of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, the Wang Clan of Anbei Kingdom was backed by Patriarch Mangxiang's lineage.
As a Purple Mansion disciple and a Core Disciple of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, Mu Changze naturally had his own Purple Palace backing.
"I know things are difficult for you, and they are difficult for everyone. How about this, we shall simply accommodate each other.
As long as you do not deduct the supply of spiritual qi and spiritual springs for Fortune Source Residence, Flavorful Bistro, and Forge Peak Residence, will that suffice?"
"A trivial matter like that is no problem at all. But did you really co here tonight just for this?"
Mu Changze readily agreed, though he had not expected Wang Xianmao to make a personal visit over such a petty affair.
It amounted to a re difference of a few hundred spirit stones. Was it truly worth the trouble?
'Xianmao, as the years go by, you seem to be losing your edge more and more.'
In his heart, Wang Xianmao also cursed the beastly Mu Changze up and down, but he still asked solemnly.
"No, there is one more matter. I received news that the Valley Spirit Sect plundered Hidden Dragon Market. Are they truly about to go to war with Wondrous Peak Mountain?"
Mu Changze's pupils dilated slightly, and he let out a chuckle.
"Regarding the matters between Wondrous Peak Mountain and the Valley Spirit Sect, I am but a minor Foundation Establishnt cultivator. How could I possibly have the right to know such things for free?"
For a question like this, you will have to pay extra!
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