Qingfeng City was relatively calm during this period of time, at least on the surface.
However, the low-level cultivators in the city were all discussing the marriage between the Zhang and Qu families. Although this was done secretly, paper couldn't wrap fire. Rumors leaked out of nowhere and spread throughout the entire mountain city in a few days.
As the parties involved, the Zhang and Qu families remained strangely silent. Even the newlyweds deliberately avoided this matter.
However, the most enthusiastic people were the people from the Liu family. The alliance between the two families had now changed. Fortunately, the three great families maintained the restraint they should have. No one made this matter public. The elders in the families had also instructed them to do what they should normally do.
That night, in a private residence in the south of the city, Yi Tian, who had disguised himself as Zhang Fengyuan, was sitting in the main hall with his eyes closed. Sitting across from him was the head of the Qu family, Qu Xin, who was dressed in black.
This time, Yi Tian had rushed back directly after receiving Zhang Yitong's message. During this time, he didn't return to the Zhang family's residence. Instead, he contacted Qu Xin directly. The two of them agreed to meet at night to discuss the expedition.
After meeting that night, Qu Xin suggested that they wait for a while. There was still someone coming. Yi Tian was well aware of this. This matter clearly involved the Liu family. When the time came, it would become the three independent cultivator families secretly working together to fight against the factions behind them.
There was no other reason. Qingfeng City was remote and had few resources. However, the upper sects' control over the independent cultivator families was nothing more than depriving them of cultivation resources. An expedition like this wasn't a big deal to begin with. However, it was unknown which sect's spy had reported this matter to the higher-ups.
In the end, after the three great sects communicated with each other, they each sent an inner sect disciple. On the surface, it was to help, but in reality, it was to plunder treasures. The three great families knew their own difficulties, so they communicated in private.
Thinking about it, the person Qu Xin was talking about should be the head of the Liu family, Liu Rujuan. Even though the three aristocratic families were like fire and water in the eyes of outsiders, everyone knew in private that in Qingfeng City, they were bound together for good or ill.
If one day one of the aristocratic families was destroyed, the current balance would be broken. Then, the forces behind the remaining two families would definitely decide to forcefully fight for control of Qingfeng City.
This was also something that the masters of the three families were unwilling to face. No matter how they looked at it, the Qu family was the weakest. Moreover, there were not many descendants who could take up the responsibility. That was why Qu Xin had secretly connected with the two families, hoping that she could benefit from both sides.
One hour later, 'Zhang Fengyuan', who was sitting on the main seat, opened his eyes and said to Qu Xin, "Fellow Daoist Liu, you're a little late, but it's not too late."
Qu Xin, on the other hand, was shocked, but she recovered in an instant. There was still a big difference between the strength of the Divine Sense of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and a Jin Dan Cultivator, so she didn't take it to heart.
Half a quarter of an hour later, a silhouette silently entered the house. It was Liu Rujuan, who was dressed in a blue robe. After entering the door, she greeted the two people and said, "This little sister came in a hurry. Please don't take offense."
Yi Tian sized up the person who came down. Liu Rujuan's actual age was around 150 years old. She might have practiced some Devil Path Cultivation Techniques, so there was a dense Yin aura surrounding her body. Then, he imitated Zhang Fengyuan's tone and said in an old-fashioned manner, "Since everyone is here, let's talk about this matter." Then, he waved his hand and set up a soundproof barrier, sealing off the entire house.
After getting to the main topic, Liu Qu and Qu Xin both had serious expressions. The purpose of this meeting was to join hands to deal with the forces behind them. However, they couldn't go too far to avoid attracting trouble.
Liu Rujuan spoke first, "The Heavenly Devil Sect sent an inner direct disciple, Dugu Ao. I heard that this person is about to reach the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment. In terms of strength, the two of us are not his match."
Qu Xin nodded her head and said, "I have sent Yan Zhaoxue from the Beautiful Lady Sect. I heard that she is also a direct disciple at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Her strength is not much worse than Dugu Ao's."
After listening to their introductions, 'Zhang Fengyuan's' face twitched unnaturally and said, "I have sent Xiang Feibao from the Immortal Sword Sect. I heard that in the past 20 years, his Xiang Clan has successively lost two Jin Dan and a few direct disciples at Foundation Establishment. I reckon that this time, he will definitely ruthlessly extort a sum of money."
Hearing this, Liu Rujuan and Qu Xin's faces turned ugly. Every time they received a special envoy from a sect, they had to take out a considerable amount of wealth to pass. Although it wasn't a serious injury to the three families, it was still equivalent to several years of the family's income.
If it entered their eyes, it would be fine. However, they were afraid that these envoys would feel that it wasn't satisfactory. When they returned to the sect, they would report it. At that time, it wouldn't be good for them if the envoys were to raise their offerings.
Yi Tian had been in seclusion these past few years, so he didn't have a deep understanding of the affairs of the three great sects. He wanted to take this opportunity to directly inquire from the two of them. After a pause, 'Zhang Fengyuan' raised his hand and in a flash, two Thunderfire Diamonds appeared on the table. He turned his head and said to the two of them, "These two Thunderfire Diamonds are both level five spirit tools. It should be more than enough to deal with you envoys."
Seeing this, Liu Rujuan and Qu Xin were overjoyed. However, after thinking about it, they didn't move to take them. Instead, they became silent.
In the past, everyone was in charge of their own matters. However, after this secret alliance, everyone didn't show enough sincerity until 'Zhang Fengyuan' made his move. For a moment, the two of them had a myriad of thoughts. They didn't know what price they should pay in exchange.
After ten breaths of awkward silence, Liu Rujuan spoke first, "I don't know what the Zhang Clan's Patriarch needs. Please speak. If there is anything, we can directly exchange it."
On the side, Qu Xin also echoed. In this Qingfeng City, there wasn't anything that could be taken out to entertain the envoys. In the past, they had gathered two to three hundred thousand spirit stones each time, but they still couldn't enter the other party's eyes. Now that they had a level five spirit tool, it was different. At least they could pass the stage of entertaining the envoys.
Seeing this, Qu Xin laughed in her heart. She saw 'Zhang Fengyuan' smile and say, "If you have any high level wood attribute cultivation methods or spirit plants, you can just give them to me."
"Is there any direct disciple in the clan that needs them?" Qu Xin asked, puzzled.
After seeing 'Zhang Fengyuan' nod, the two of them clearly relaxed. This condition was clearly worth it. Immediately, Liu Rujuan took out two level four spirit plants from her storage bracelet and placed them on the table, wanting to exchange for one.
Suddenly, 'Zhang Fengyuan' opened his mouth and said, "Fellow Liu is a bit impatient. You want to exchange two level four spirit plants for a level five spirit tool? This is too much of a loss for me."
Liu Rujuan also revealed an embarrassed expression. From the looks of it, she was the one who had gained a huge advantage. After a slight pause, Liu Rujuan took out a withered branch with roots and placed it on the table, "This item is something that even I have not been able to figure out. It looks like a half foot long, completely black level three spirit plant's root. If the Zhang Clan's Patriarch is interested, please take it."
Ever since she took out the withered branch, Yi Tian could clearly feel the Mystic Yang True Fire in his Dantian stir. Could it be that this item had a great connection with the Li Fire Sect?
On the surface, 'Zhang Fengyuan' quietly stretched out his hand to keep the three spirit plants and said, "Fellow Liu, please pick one."
Two hours later, Yi Tian returned to the Zhang Clan ancestral mansion and immediately summoned the acting patriarch, Zhang Yitong, in the guise of 'Zhang Fengyuan'. Following that, he explained the matter of receiving the envoys and the joint expedition. He even casually took out a level five metal elemental flying sword and handed it to Zhang Yitong as a greeting gift for the envoys.
After he finished explaining, he went straight into the secret chamber and checked the items he had exchanged.
The two level four spirit plants were of average quality. If they were properly taken care of, they would probably advance to level five in a hundred years. Instead, it was the withered branch that interested Yi Tian the most.
After taking it out again, Yi Tian conjured a wisp of Mystic Yang True Fire and walked over the withered branch. Even under the high temperature of the True Fire, the withered branch did not change at all.
After flipping through the 'Ten Thousand Volumes of Spiritual Herbs', Yi Tian was unable to find the corresponding illustration. He could not help but wonder, "Could it be a new species?" Logically speaking, a level three spirit plant should have been burned to ashes under the baptism of the Mystic Yang True Fire.
However, this black withered branch did not seem to be affected at all. Furthermore, the root showed signs of vitality under the Mystic Yang True Fire's roaming. There must be something wrong with it.
There was no point in thinking too much about it. He took out a spirit plant pot and filled it with high grade spirit plant soil before planting the withered branch. Then he took out the Profound Spirit Clear Liquid jade card and poured two drops into the soil at the root. However, nothing happened even after half a moment.
This made Yi Tian stunned. Looking at the Profound Spirit Clear Liquid in his hand, his hand trembled and he poured the entire bottle into the withered branch. He estimated that the spirit power contained in this high grade spirit plant soil was several times higher than the spirit plant of the same level. However, the withered branch still did not show any signs of movement.
But there was still a change. After half an hour, Yi Tian found that the vitality of the withered branch seemed to be stronger than before. It was just that there was too little nourishment or insufficient spirit power.
Hardening his heart, Yi Tian poured the last bottle of Profound Spirit Clear Liquid from his storage pouch onto the roots of the withered branch. After an hour, he discovered that the half foot long withered branch seemed to have become even more watery, and the pitch black color of the roots seemed to have become even more vibrant.
Yi Tian finally understood that the level of this withered branch was too high. So much so that the existing spirit power was unable to nourish it. He could only put it aside for now and treat it as a seedling. When he had the chance, he would find a spirit vein to nourish it.
After putting away the spirit plants, Yi Tian took out the Wood Attribute Cultivation Method 'Eternal Spring Mantra' that Qu Xin had exchanged for. Although this Cultivation Method's attack power was not strong, it could be cultivated step by step until the late stage of Jin Dan. Now it seemed that it was more suitable for Yi Tian.
Moreover, the refined Wood Attribute Cultivation Method could not only be used to control the Radiant Sword Art, but it could also nourish his Mystic Yang True Fire. It was killing two birds with one stone.
There were still four or five months before the people from the three sects arrived. He could take advantage of this time to cultivate his sword art. When the time came, he could avoid being exposed. Yi Tian was not worried about the others, but he was afraid of Dugu Ao. Dugu Ao had seen him fight at the West Peak Mountain. If he saw through him, it would be troublesome.
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