"We appreciate the City Lord's kindness," Song Yan Ning began, declining. "If we need Black Thought Stones, we can mine them ourselves; we need not owe Zhou Feran any favors."
Zhou Feran was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected anyone to refuse so many Black Thought Stones, and his regard for Song Yan Ning and her companions rose a notch.
"Are you not planning to go to the Array Formation Dao Sect anymore?"
"Of course, we are," Song Yan Ning nodded her head.
"Then why don't you want the Black Thought Stones? Could it be that you plan to mine them yourselves?" Zhou Feran considered this possibility and was somewhat speechless. Did they think it was that easy to mine High Grade Black Thought Stones?
"Yes," Song Yan Ning nodded in affirmation.
Zhou Feran smiled, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said slowly, "It's extremely difficult to mine Black Thought Stones. Even if you really did mine a million Black Thought Stones, you wouldn't be able to take that many away."
"Why not?" the Fox King asked curiously. He immediately thought of what the stall Boss had said before.
"The Black Thought Stone Mine is protected by Array Formation Restrictions; it records the amount of Black Thought Stones mined by everyone, and each person must surrender half of their findings. There are no exceptions," Zhou Feran explained.
"No one can take Black Thought Stones from our hands," Hu Zheng said disdainfully. Ningning had the Spiritual Pearl Space, so they could stash any mined Black Thought Stones there. As for the Array, that was even less of a concern, as they were all Array Masters.
"What you do not know is that the Array protecting the Black Thought Stone Mine was set up by Seventh-level Array Master Liu Bocun, who is also the Daoist Master of the Array Formation Dao Sect."
"If the Sect Master of the Array Formation Dao Sect set up the Array for the Black Thought Stone Mine, then the sect shouldn't be lacking in Black Thought Stones. Why would they make such a demand?" Hu Lan asked, puzzled.
"High Grade Black Thought Stones are extremely beneficial for cultivating Divine Sense, but few people can mine them. Even I only have about two hundred thousand High Grade Black Thought Stones on me, acquired over a thousand years," Zhou Feran said. He wouldn't have been willing to give away Black Thought Stones to them if he wasn't trying to win them over.
"Thank you for informing us, City Lord; we will take our leave now," Song Yan Ning and her party stood up, planning to head to the Black Thought Stone Mine right away.
"I have already arranged rooms for you all, so there's no need for you to look elsewhere for accommodation. If you're going to the Black Thought Stone Mine, I can arrange a carriage for you," Zhou Feran hoped Song Yan Ning and her party would stay at the City Lord Mansion.
"We thank you for your generous offer, City Lord, but we would rather not stay; otherwise, we might end up poisoned to death," Hu Zheng glanced at the teacup on the table and then strode towards the outside. With their familiarity with Spirit Grass, how could they not detect poison in the tea? Though the poison was trivial to them, the person who poisoned it clearly intended harm.
As Zhou Feran watched Song Yan Ning and her companions leave, he called out, "Someone!"
An old man came over, "City Lord!"
"Bring over a Demon Beast," Zhou Feran ordered. Hu Zheng had implied the tea was poisoned.
Soon, a servant led a Demon Beast over. With a wave of his hand, Zhou Feran sent a cup of tea flying towards the Demon Beast, pouring it into its mouth.
Quickly, the Demon Beast that drank the tea began to react, convulsing on the ground, and within moments, it was lifeless.
Zhou Feran's face was so dark it seemed it could drip water, "Find out who administered the poison." No matter who was responsible, they would face severe punishment this time.