25: Chapter 25: Destroy the Enemy! Squeeze the Traitor's Last Bit of Value Out of Him with Poison

[Age 32, May 21st.]

[News of Broken Soul Valley spread throughout Yunzhou City overnight.]

[In the private room of the Nan Town branch, the mist from fresh tea curled in the air.]

[You leisurely boiled water, listening to Ling Feng across from you, his narration so excited it bordered on incoherent.]

["He's crippled! Brother Shen, that brat Ling Xiao is completely crippled!"]

[Ling Feng picked up the teacup, scalding tea splashing onto the back of his hand, yet he acted as if he didn't feel it and took a fierce gulp.]

["I saw it with my own eyes! He was carried back to the Ling Family, his right arm gone along with the shoulder, just a lump of rotten flesh! I heard that to escape from under the hooves of the Scarlet Flame Golden Lion, all three of his protective magical artifacts exploded, and he only managed to save his own miserable life!"]

[You lifted the purple clay teapot and calmly refilled his tea.]

[The temperature was just right.]

["At the ancestral hall meeting today, in front of all the elders, I threw our yin-yang ledger right into his father's face!" Ling Feng's face was flushed with a sickly crimson. "Ling Xiao was so provoked he spat blood on the spot and couldn't even speak!"]

["The family head was so angry he smashed his jade cup, stripped him of his status as the young master on the spot, and threw him to the Reflection Cliff behind the mountain! He'll never be able to turn things around in this lifetime!"]

[The once high and mighty Second Young Master Ling had become the biggest joke of the entire clan overnight.]

[Ling Feng let out a long breath, stood up, and bowed deeply to you.]

["He's finished, and our business can truly begin."]

["Brother Shen, I won't say thanks for this favor!"]

[May 25th, late at night.]

[In the corner of the backyard, Xiu Yun was just scrambling up the wall using his hands and feet.]

[A hand rested lightly on his shoulder.]

[He stiffened, sliding down from the wall like a sack of mud, his knees slamming hard onto the bluestone slab in front of you.]

[You were sitting in the shadows of the wall corner, a pot of cold tea and two cups set on the stone table in front of you.]

["Steward Xiu, it's so late; who are you in such a rush to send a message to?"]

[The bundle fell to the ground, spilling out a few tattered clothes and scattered spirit stones.]

["Brother Shen! I was wrong! It wasn't me! It was that animal Ling Xiao who forced me!"]

[Xiu Yun's forehead slammed against the ground repeatedly, quickly drawing blood.]

["He threatened me with the lives of my whole family; I had no choice, Brother Shen!"]

[You pushed the bowl of tea on the stone table toward him.]

["Drink it."]

[The tea soup glimmered with a faint light under the moonlight.]

[Xiu Yun looked at the bowl of tea, trembling uncontrollably.]

["You don't have to drink it."]

[As soon as you finished speaking, Hu Wansan walked out of the darkness, carrying a mountain-cleaving blade that was still dripping.]

[The cold glint of the blade reflected on Xiu Yun's face.]

[He seemed to have been drained of all his strength, suddenly grabbing the teacup, closing his eyes, and gulping it down in one breath.]

["Heartbreak Powder, it acts up once every three months." You stood up. "Ling Xiao has fallen, but his stalls and connections in the black market are still there. Go and bring all of these things back to me, one by one."]

["Three months. If you can't get it done, find a place to bury yourself."]

[Xiu Yun curled up on the ground, cold sweat soaking his clothes, a wheezing sound coming from his throat.]

["Don't worry, Boss! I... I am just your dog! Whoever you tell me to bite, I'll bite!"]

[You didn't look at him again and turned back to your room.]

[The door slammed shut.]

[Age 32, Winter.]

[Xiu Yun, this dog of yours, was more ruthless than you imagined.]

[Relying on Ling Xiao's secret lines and the spirit stones you threw down, in just two months, sixty percent of the businesses in the Yunzhou City black market had changed owners.]

[Hu Wansan took his men and spread one thousand low-grade spirit stones directly onto the black market boss's table, holding the mountain-cleaving blade to the other's neck, asking only one question: "Money or your life, which do you choose?"]

[From then on, in the underground of Yunzhou City, no one dared to ask another question about your background.]

[Age 33, February 1st.]

[Birthday.]

[The system lottery wheel popped up in your mind.]

[Ding! Congratulations on drawing the white trait — "Love of Eggs"!]

[Love of Eggs (White): Consistently eating two hard-boiled eggs every day results in a slight increase in mental power.]

[You expressionlessly closed the panel.]

[Better than nothing.]

[You continued the simulation.]

[Spirit stones piled up like mountains; Hu Wansan even specially bought three high-grade storage bags to hold the money.]

[But your cultivation seemed nailed to the fifth level of Qi Refining; no matter how many pills you swallowed, your dantian remained like a pool of stagnant water.]

[Age 33, July.]

[An abandoned spirit mine outside the city.]

[You had just walked to the entrance of the mine when you heard the clash of weapons and the lewd teasing of men coming from inside.]

["Eldest Miss Liu, you're already bankrupt, so why keep acting so high and mighty? Hand over your storage bag obediently, and we brothers guarantee to make you very comfortable!"]

[You lifted your chin.]

[Hu Wansan grinned ferociously and charged in with his men.]

[After a few short screams, the mine went quiet.]

[You walked in; a woman covered in blood was leaning against the rock wall, gasping for breath, clutching half a broken sword in her hand. It was the fallen daughter of the Liu Family in the city, Liu Qingqing.]

[You stepped forward, pried open her chin, and shoved a top-grade healing pill into her mouth.]

[Half an hour later, Liu Qingqing woke up, her eyes vigilant, her gaze sweeping over the few bulging money bags at your waist.]

["Many thanks, but my Liu Family now has nothing; I cannot repay you."]

[Her voice was weak but full of detachment.]

[You pulled over a broken chair and sat down.]

["Miss Liu, let's make a deal."]

["I will help your Liu Family pay off all your debts and let your family stand firm in Yunzhou City once again."]

[Liu Qingqing was stunned.]

["The price." You looked at her. "Let me read your Liu Family's ancestral 'Water-Wood Evergreen Art' for three days. Also, I want half of your family's remaining trade routes."]

["In your dreams!"]

[Liu Qingqing's face turned deathly pale, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.]

["Even if my Liu Family starves to death, we will never trade our ancestors' foundation!"]

[You didn't argue with her, took out a sound transmission talisman, and said softly in front of her: "Go tell Fatty Zhang in the west of the city that I've paid off the three thousand spirit stones the Liu Family owes him. Tell him to bring the title deed and come to the Liu Family's door to kowtow and apologize tomorrow morning."]

[The sound transmission talisman turned into fly ash.]

["Now, your Liu Family owes me."]

[You said each word clearly.]

["I will pay them off one by one, until your Liu Family owes me more than what you owe everyone else combined."]

[Liu Qingqing's face turned red and then white.]

[She stared at you fiercely, as if she wanted to gouge two pieces of flesh from your body with her gaze.]

[After a long while, she suddenly laughed, a desolate laugh. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, there was nothing left but dead silence.]

["...Deal."]

[Age 33, September 5th.]

[You obtained the copy of the 'Water-Wood Evergreen Art', and your cultivation, which had been stuck for a long time, finally showed signs of loosening.]

[In exchange, Liu Qingqing very reluctantly led you into an abandoned secret realm of the Liu Family, saying there was a spiritual herb inside that would count as repaying the favor for the healing pill.]

[The entrance to the secret realm was hidden behind a waterfall, the passage narrow and damp.]

[Liu Qingqing led the way in front, and you followed behind, holding a moonstone.]

["That's the Amethyst Flower right there; go get it yourself. Once you take it, we'll be even."]

[Liu Qingqing pointed to a spiritual herb glowing with purple light in a crevice of the rock wall, her tone cold.]

[You nodded and stepped forward.]

[Just as your fingertips were about to touch the petals.]

[The stone slab under your feet let out a slight "click" sound.]

[A trap!]

[The thought had just arisen when two heavy stone doors slammed down in front and behind with a deafening roar, sealing the two of you tightly inside a stone chamber less than three zhang in size.]

[Almost simultaneously, wisps of pink smoke seeped out from the crevices of the stone walls.]

[A rich, sweet fragrance aggressively drilled into your nostrils.]

["This smell... it's not right..."]

[Liu Qingqing had only said one sentence before her body went limp, and she leaned against the stone wall, gasping violently.]

[She tore open her collar, a strange crimson quickly spreading over her fair neck and collarbone.]

["It's... the Joyous Union Sect's... Miasma of Lost Immortals..."]

[Her voice trembled as she bit her tongue hard, trying to use the sharp pain to stay conscious, but the light in her eyes was visibly fading.]

[You immediately held your breath, but it was too late.]

[That sweet fragrance couldn't be blocked by holding your breath at all; it went directly through your skin pores and drilled into your meridians.]

[Boom!]

[Inside your dantian, that stagnant pool of spiritual energy suddenly boiled at this moment!]

[An unprecedented, violent force exploded within you, giving you the illusion that your cultivation was about to break through!]

[However, the next second, this force turned into a burning fire that consumed your body, instantly crushing all your self-control and burning your reason to ashes.]

[Your body began to stop obeying you.]