Returning to his room, Yulou cultivated for an hour, pushing his cultivation base to the maximum limit allowed by heaven and earth for the day.
Before going to sleep, he lay on his bed, staring into the empty, pitch-black night.
Yu'an was already snoring loudly, but Yulou could not fall asleep no matter what.
In the dead of night, Yulou thought about his eting with Mu Yingxi today and pondered her words.
After a long while, he quietly got up, sneaked out through the back door of Fortune Source Residence, and entered the backyard of Flavorful Bistro.
Back when Hongi was being escorted by the three Wang Clan mbers, Wang Rongsheng had used the carrier pigeons the Wang Clan placed in mortal towns to send a letter asking the Patriarch for backup.
Naturally, the Wang Clan also had communication thods in Clear Stream Market, and they were much faster than carrier pigeons. They used Gray-backed Falcons with early-stage minor demonic cultivation bases.
These Gray-backed Falcons had a cultivation base roughly equal to the early stage of the Qi Induction realm and could fly up to fifteen hundred li a day. They were spiritual birds bred by beast tars.
The only difference between spiritual birds or beasts and demonic birds or beasts lay in the fact that the spiritual ones had been tad by cultivators and could be used directly.
Beside Flavorful Bistro's donkey shed, a pair of Gray-backed Falcons cuddled together happily, perched on a wooden beam under the shed.
Seeing Yulou approach, the wood-spirit dumb donkey inside the shed snorted, pointed its nose toward the fodder, and began braying loudly.
Its cries imdiately woke the Gray-backed Falcons on the beam. Annoyed at being disturbed from their slumber, the falcon couple didn't hold back and swooped down to peck furiously at its head.
The attack power of a minor demon spiritual bird was nothing to scoff at. Fortunately, the Wang Clan's wood-spirit dumb donkey also had a cultivation base and thick skin, so it wasn't injured.
"Alright, which one of you is willing to help deliver this letter to the Patriarch?"
Yulou grabbed a handful of fodder and stuffed it into the dumb donkey's mouth to shut the foolish beast up, then directed his request to the pair of falcons.
Looking at the slip of paper in Yulou's hand, the male and female falcons chirped back and forth to discuss it before finally taking flight and landing on Yulou's hand.
Although they were spiritual birds with cultivation bases, their species' traits ant their weight and size were quite small. Thus, even with one perched on his hand, Yulou didn't feel any weight at all.
Feeling his finger being pecked five tis, Yulou asked in surprise, "Five pieces of Dragon-Tiger Jerky? Doesn't delivering a letter only cost one?"
Dragon-Tiger Jerky sounded intimidating, but it was actually just bird-type spiritual beast food made from tiger cane root and small geckos. Eating it provided minor benefits to one's cultivation base, qi, and blood.
The rough production thod involved stuffing processed tiger cane root into a gecko's belly and then drying it.
They sold for about six pieces per spirit stone. The main cost lay entirely in processing the tiger cane root; the geckos were just ordinary geckos.
Therefore, even though the Gray-backed Falcon couple had made an exorbitant demand, it was actually still quite cheap.
But Yulou could never forget the Wang Clan's ancestral teachings—when bargaining, first chop off ninety percent of the price.
"One piece at most, absolutely no more!"
Hearing Yulou's words, the two falcons flew around him in anger, chirping and squawking out so very nasty curses.
The male falcon cursed for a while before landing on Yulou's shoulder, violently pecking his arm twice, and then glaring at him fiercely. Its aning was self-evident.
"One and a half, but I can only give it to you tomorrow. If you agree, I'll trouble you to deliver the letter. If you don't agree, I'll just wait for the Wang Clan's rchant caravan to pass through Clear Stream Market next ti to send it."
Yulou wasn't about to spoil these spiritual birds that arbitrarily raised their prices. The rule set by the Wang Clan was one piece of Dragon-Tiger Jerky per delivery. Not only did they raise the price casually, but they also dared to multiply it by five.
The male falcon cursed for a bit longer before snatching the letter from Yulou's hand with its beak and flying away without looking back.
However, its lively little eyes were full of contempt.
Foolish human child, it was so easy to trick you out of half a piece of Dragon-Tiger Jerky. Stupid!
The people of the Wang Clan loved to slash prices down to the floor when bargaining. Under the Wang Clan's high-intensity influence, these spiritual birds had already learned how to counter them.
Raise the price. They had to raise the price first, and then let those fools from the Wang Clan bargain it down.
—
While Yulou slept soundly, the male Gray-backed Falcon carrying the letter flew rapidly through the starry night toward Wang Family Mountain.
At age thirteen, Yulou and Yu'an had left Wang Family Mountain together.
Now, three years had already passed.
The male falcon flew over the capital of the Anbei Kingdom. The myriad twinkling lights of this prosperous mortal dynasty represented the rising trajectory of the Wang Clan.
Flying all the way, the morning light chased after its shadow, its vigorous figure reflecting on the water's surface. Having flown all night, the male falcon landed on a piece of driftwood in an unnad lake.
It gently lowered its head to take a few sips of water, and then took off again, accompanied by the morning sun.
It flew across flat fields and through forest waterfalls.
Finally, amid the turbulent mountains, it found the hidden entrance to the Wang Clan's ancestral territory.
At the base of a sheer vertical cliff, a dark green subterranean river flowed out from a cave. The Gray-backed Falcon in mid-air suddenly dove, keeping its body close to the water's surface as it flew into the Wang Clan's secret territory.
Passing through the artificially shaped underground river, hidden by the surrounding mountains, a paradise-like realm was concealed within.
Surrounded by towering mountains thousands of feet high, and concealed from above by a formation array made of clouds, the Wang Clan's territory under this protection was as beautiful as an immortal realm on earth.
The abundant spiritual energy made the male falcon slightly intoxicated. Flying over the neatly arranged courtyards, it headed straight for the central plain plateau of the basin.
Dumb Donkey Plain, an eighth-grade spiritual land, the foundation of the Wang Clan.
Looking down from the sky, over a hundred donkeys were scattered across Dumb Donkey Plain. So were fighting, so were sleeping, and so were busy making little donkeys.
On this plateau towering in the center of the basin, four winding streams flowed outward from the center, transforming into waterfalls as they reached the edges of the plain.
The stream water fell underground, only to be guided by four waterways back into a formation array buried deep within the earth veins of Dumb Donkey Plain, and then relying on the array's power, returned to the plain in an endless cycle.
This water was entirely the spiritual water of the Clear Stream of Qin Rhy. The stream itself was also undergoing a transformation from spiritual water to a spiritual artifact.
At the source of the streams, standing in the center of Dumb Donkey Plain, were several verdant ancient pine trees.
The spiritual water from the Clear Stream of Qin Rhy flowed from their roots, nourishing them, while simultaneously being nourished by them in return.
On the thickest ancient pine, there was a platform grown from pine branches.
Sitting cross-legged upon it with his eyes closed in cultivation was a Daoist. This was none other than the Patriarch of the Wang Clan of the Anbei Kingdom.
The male falcon landed beside the platform. It hopped twice and placed the letter in front of Wang Xianmao.
Wang Xianmao didn't open his eyes. A breeze blew, unrolling the letter to reveal what Yulou wanted to convey.
On a branch next to the platform stood a beautiful red-crowned spiritual crane. It spoke to the falcon, "Graybeak, wasn't it your wife's turn to deliver the mail this ti?"
Boss Crane had a profound cultivation base, having reached the peak of the Small Demon Realm. It practiced a Demon Race cultivation technique provided by the Wang Clan, which allowed it to speak directly.
The Gray-backed Falcon couldn't do that. Its cultivation base was low, and its intelligence wasn't high either. It simply chirped a basic reply, "Too late. Wang boy, ambushed. Unsafe. I ca."
"The Wang family boy was ambushed?" Boss Crane was startled.
The 'Yu' generation had already lost Yu Liu, and now another was ambushed. The Wang Clan seed to be plagued with disasters these past few years.
"Hum~"
Wang Xianmao ignored the two spiritual birds' chatter and instead blew into a bone flute.
This specially crafted bone flute allowed for directional sound transmission within the Wang Clan's territory. Different sounds produced by Wang Xianmao represented the summoning of different people.
Soon, an elder of the Wang Clan arrived before him.
"Yulou and Yu'an have been out for three years. It's ti for them to co back for a visit. Go pick them up, and be careful on the road."
This elder had an aged face, but an incredibly burly physique. His eyes shone with divine light, and his cultivation base was at the peak of the Qi Refining stage.
He nodded thoughtfully and bowed, "Xianzhou will respectfully follow big brother's decree!"
Wang Xianzhou turned to leave as the Patriarch's voice echoed in his mind.
"A few years ago, disciples of Wondrous Peak Mountain tried to rob Rongyuan, but he killed them instead. Now, they're fighting fiercely with the Valley Spirit Sect. On your round trip, make a big scene. Let those people know that the Wang Clan of the Anbei Kingdom has the qualifications to enter the ga!"
Hearing his older brother's words, Wang Xianzhou smiled and waved his hand. He knew exactly how to handle this little matter.
The Valley Spirit Sect and Wondrous Peak Mountain were fighting intensely. Wang Xianmao's old friends had visited the Wang Clan twice, asking them to pick a side.
But Wang Xianmao felt the benefits offered by Wondrous Peak Mountain were too ager, so he had dragged it out without agreeing.
Having him co out of the mountain to show off a bit this ti would serve to further raise the Wang Clan's entry fee.
If Wondrous Peak Mountain wanted the Wang Clan's help, offering small profits wouldn't cut it. They had to bleed!
—
In Clear Stream Market, Gao Jian stuffed a donkey at bun from Flavorful Bistro into his mouth while gazing at the packed crowd inside Hundred Treasures Pavilion, drooling even more.
But thinking of the news his colleagues at the Prefecture Cultivator's Manor had shared, he could only keep drooling.
He absolutely didn't have the guts to try and extort them.
The Wang Clan was tough, and they had only gotten tougher over the past few years.
Above them, they had unimaginably high backers like Mang Xiang and Xuanzhuan. Below, they had nurous high-level and peak Qi Refining thugs.
A few days ago, that newcor Wang Rongsheng even threatened to trample the Che Clan's territory.
Arrogant, but they had the strength to back it up.
Even in business, the Wang Clan's Hundred Treasures Pavilion had only been open for a few days, yet it had beaten the old competing shops into a state of utter misery.
"Boss, soone is flying on an artifact in Clear Stream Market!" One of Gao Jian's lackeys noticed the anomaly in the sky first and warned him.
Gao Jian looked up and saw soone riding a white flying chariot, stopping right in the sky above Clear Stream Market.
Such arrogance. Gao Jian could sense that the person flying the chariot was rely a Qi Refining cultivator, but their appearance was obscured by spiritual light and divine sense couldn't see through it.
Seeing the man act so brazenly, Gao Jian didn't hesitate.
He tossed his bun, backhandedly drew the Spirit-Binding Rope from his waist, and leaped onto the roof of Hundred Treasures Pavilion in a single bound.
Using the rope as a whip, he cracked it against the air with a loud "Snap!" and shouted, "Who dares violate the rules of Clear Stream Market!"
He looked fierce, but he was actually just probing for the newcor's background.
He was a man with brains. If soone dared to be this arrogant, they naturally had the strength and backing to support it. Putting on a tough act was enough for him.
When acting as a watchdog, one needed the awareness of a watchdog. There was no need to throw away one's life.
However, Gao Jian's caution was useless because Wang Xianzhou had co with a mission.
Sitting in the Mirror-Silver Orchidwood Flying Chariot, Wang Xianzhou saw Gao Jian and simply smiled, pointing a finger at him.
Soul-Shocking Pierce, a secret spell of the Immortal Alliance Emissaries.
It specifically targeted a cultivator's divine soul, ranking among the strongest specialized attack spells a Qi Refining stage cultivator could master.
With just a light point from Wang Xianzhou, Gao Jian tumbled off the roof as if struck by lightning.
Looking at Gao Jian, who had crashed down like a dead dog, Wang Xianzhou dispelled the spiritual light on his flying chariot and spoke teasingly, "Little Gao, it's only been a few years since we last t, and you already dare bare your fangs at ?"
Forr Immortal Alliance Emissary, inner sect disciple of the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, the strongest god of slaughter in the Wang Clan's Qi Refining stage, and holder of the record for slaying a Foundation Establishnt cultivator while at the Qi Refining stage, Wang Xianzhou, has arrived.
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