Zi Han and the young man were brought before the Spirit Heaven City Lord, and the two of them bowed to him before glancing at the Flooding Dragon Island Master.
“Come, let me introduce you to the Flood Dragon Island Master. He is a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.” The Spirit Heaven Sect Master gestured to Zi Han.
Late Foundation Establishment?
Zi Han and the young man were taken aback. They quickly bowed to the Flood Dragon Island Master.
“Is this your daughter? She doesn’t look like you.” The Flooding Dragon Island Master assessed Zi Han before directing a smile at the Spirit Heaven City Lord.
Any other cultivator who dared to tease the Spirit Heaven City Lord would have been dragged out and beaten up, but the Spirit Heaven City Lord chuckled and replied, “Indeed. She resembles my deceased wife. My wife was a beauty in her sect, and many of my seniors tried to woo her.”
Zi Han’s face reddened.
“This young man is?” The Flooding Dragon Island Master looked at the young man.
The young man nervously replied, “I am Ye Wenxiu, an offspring of the Spirit Heaven City’s Ye Clan.”
“The Ye Clan?” The Flooding Dragon Island Master frowned.
The Spirit Heaven City Lord quickly explained with a laugh, “They are one of our Spirit Heaven City’s Three Great Cultivator Clans. The Ye Clan’s old ancestor is a twelfth stage Ki Refinement cultivator.
“Ah…” The Flooding Dragon Island Master coldly nodded.
A twelfth stage Ki Refinement cultivator wasn’t even worthy of lifting his shoes. He lost interest in the young man upon learning that he was from such a lowly background.
The young man sensed the Flooding Dragon Island Master’s intention, which made his face redden in embarrassment. His clan was indeed not worth a mention before a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
“Your daughter has already reached ninth stage Ki Refinement. Not bad. You must have fed her plenty of spirit medicine over the years.” The Flooding Dragon Island Master eyed Zi Han with a peculiar gleam in his eyes.
The Spirit Heaven City Lord replied with a gleeful smile, “Zi Han’s talent is above mine, though she has indeed eaten her fair share of pills and spirit herbs over the years.”
He paused for a moment before adding, “Would the Flooding Dragon Island Master be interested in offering my daughter some pointers? With your guidance, Zi Han should be able to forge her tenth immortal vein very soon.”
“You’re hoping I’d take her under my wing and cultivate in the Sea Dragon Sect?” the Flooding Dragon Island Master impassively asked. “If you help with my request, I won’t owe you a favor either.”
The Sea Dragon Sect?!
Zi Han and Ye Wenxiu were astonished. It was only now that it dawned on them that this late Foundation Establishment cultivator was from the Sea Dragon Sect! That explained why they had never heard about the other party.
There weren’t many late Foundation Establishment cultivators in Infernoblaze, after all.
“I shan’t beat around the bush then. Would you be willing to take my daughter as your disciple?” the Spirit Heaven City Lord asked expectantly.
“I have enough disciples,” the Flooding Dragon Island Master slowly said.
The Spirit Heaven City Lord was disappointed to hear that.
However, the Flooding Dragon Island Master wasn’t done speaking yet. “I don’t need your daughter as my disciple, but my wife died of old age a few years back, and I was planning on taking a new one. I think your daughter is suitable. She’s decently talented, and I don’t think it’s a loss for her to become my cultivation companion.”
The Spirit Heaven City Lord looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
The Flooding Dragon Island Master is interested in my daughter?
Zi Han was taken aback. Fear crept into her eyes. She quickly lowered her head to conceal her emotions.
Ye Wenxiu stared at the Flooding Dragon Island Master in a daze, his mind turned blank.
“What’s wrong? You aren’t willing?” the Flooding Dragon Island Master asked. “I’ll settle her Foundation Establishment Pill if she follows me.”
The Spirit Heaven City Lord had been extremely reluctant to that notion when he heard the words ‘Foundation Establishment Pill’, and his heart began to waver.
“I suggest you think it through. Speaking of which, I am curious about the sword cultivator occupying the Spirit Heaven Sect. Send someone up there to verify if he really is a sword cultivator,” the Flood Dragon Island Master said before leaving with his hands behind his back.
The Spirit Heaven City Lord looked at his departing silhouette with contemplative eyes.
“Father, Wenxiu and I are mutually in love…” Zi Han said with a suppressed voice.
“I know the two of you have been close from a young age, but this matter is of great importance. The Flooding Dragon Island Master is a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. There’s hardly anyone in Infernoblaze who can match him,” the Spirit Heaven City Lord replied grimly.
“I fear that turning him down might bring a calamity upon us, but if we accept his offer, you will have a strong backing to fall back on. A Foundation Establishment Pill… is indeed worth a hefty sum…”
The Spirit Heaven City Lord turned to Ye Wenxiu and said, “Wenxiu, you should think about what’s best for Zi Han if you really like her. Your Ye Clan doesn’t have the means to acquire a Foundation Establishment Pill. I am also not confident that I can acquire it for her. However, the Flood Dragon Island Master has the means to do so.”
“City Lord…” Ye Wenxiu’s face turned pale. His eyes reflected his indignation and anger.
“Enough. That’s all for now. You may leave now,” the Spirit Heaven City Lord said.
Ye Wenxiu had to leave the City Lord Manor no matter how reluctant he was.
Zi Han’s face remained pale.
The Spirit Heaven City Lord patted her shoulder and said, “As cultivators, we mustn’t let our feelings interfere with our pursuit for immortality. You have a bright future ahead of you right now. I hope you can understand why I am doing this.”
Zi Han’s mind was in disarray.
The Spirit Heaven City Lord recalled the Flooding Dragon Island Master’s earlier instruction, so he called a couple of subordinates over. All of them were around tenth stage Ki Refinement.
“Make a trip to the Spirit Heaven Sect. Be courteous. I want you to figure out whether there’s a sword cultivator there or not,” the Spirit Heaven City Lord ordered.
“City Lord, what happened to the Spirit Heaven Sect?” one of his subordinates asked in bewilderment.
“The Spirit Heaven Sect offended someone who seems to be a sword cultivator and got taken over. Follow the standard procedure and inquire about his background,” the Spirit Heaven City Lord ordered.
The subordinates were bewildered. A sword cultivator? And the Spirit Heaven Sect was taken over just like that?
Abbess Clearlotus moved a chair in front of the chamber and sat down. She rested her chin on her arms and stared into space.
A few figures suddenly appeared before her. Startled, she shot to her feet and stared at them.
These people were surprised to see Abbess Clearlotus. One of them asked. “May I ask if you are the sword cultivator who took over the Spirit Heaven Sect?”
“It isn’t me.” Abbess Clearlotus shook her head. Her eyes remained vigilant. “What are you doing here?”
“Ah, we’re from the City Lord Manor. We heard that someone has taken over the Spirit Heaven Sect, so we came here to inquire about the situation. May I know where the sword cultivator is?” that person asked.
“Our young master is in seclusion training. You should return after he comes out,” Abbess Clearlotus replied.
Seclusion training? The group of them glanced at the chamber behind Abbess Clearlotus.
One of the cultivators revealed a look of dilemma. “We came under the City Lord’s orders. Please don’t put us in a spot…”
“Tell your City Lord I’ll be out in a few days’ time. Get him to come here in person if he has anything he wishes to ask,” Fang Chen’s voice echoed from the chamber.
The cultivators exchanged looks and nodded. Then, they took their leave and descended the mountain.
In the chamber, Fang Chen was focused on controlling his talisman brush, but there was a hint of disdain in his eyes.
The city lord and the Flooding Dragon Island Master should have learned by now that he had occupied the Spirit Heaven Sect, but they still sent their cultivators over instead of personally making a trip here.
This showed that they were intimidated by him despite being Foundation Establishment cultivators.
But this worked in his favor too, since it bought time for him.
Little sword was done digesting the artifacts, raising its strength to another level. Fang Chen could sense his Sword Body becoming even more resilient.
However, he still wanted to forge his eleventh immortal vein before crossing blows with the late Foundation Establishment cultivator.