33: Chapter 33 Wei Hongyu ate her fill, and Lu Chen was also satisfied.

Before the mountain gate of the Yunxiao Holy Land, the wind howled, but the people were silent.

Beneath the towering archway, six once-mighty figures swayed in the wind like strips of dried meat.

Ziyang's swollen pig-like head occasionally bumped against the stone pillar, making a dull "thud-thud" sound.

Lu Chen sat back on his purple-gold throne.

"Chief Wei, please begin your performance."

Lu Chen made a "please" gesture toward the radiant Wei Hongyu beside him.

By now, Wei Hongyu had already shed the hint of charm she showed Lu Chen, replaced by the efficiency and coldness of the Chief of the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce.

She straightened her cuffs and gave a light wave of her jade-like hand.

Crash—!

A golden scroll appeared out of thin air, then rolled forward before everyone's eyes.

One meter, two meters, three meters...

It wasn't until it had rolled over ten meters away that the scroll finally came to a stop.

Dense ink characters shimmered with a heart-stirring luster in the sunlight; it was all good stuff.

"This is the compensation list."

Wei Hongyu's voice was crisp and pleasant, but to the remaining Elders of the Zixiao Holy Land and the Wanhua Immortal Gate, it was no different from a death warrant from Hell.

An Elder from the Zixiao Holy Land stepped forward tremblingly. Upon looking closer, he had only read the first three lines before his vision went dark, nearly suffering a brain hemorrhage on the spot.

"This... this, this..."

The Elder pointed at the list, his fingers shaking as if he were plucking a pipa:

"Three hundred million Top-Grade Spirit Stones for mental damages? Fifty million God Sources for land repairs?"

He looked up, cursing, "This is robbery! Blatant robbery!"

An Elder from the Wanhua Immortal Gate also leaned in for a look and immediately let out a scream:

"You also want the entire Earth-Fire Spiritual Vein from our Wanhua Ancestral Court? And you want us to uproot our sect-protecting 'Ancient Dao-Enlightenment Tree'? Chief Wei! You're a businessperson too. With such an outrageous demand, aren't you afraid of a fight to the death?!"

Facing the accusations and curses of the crowd, Wei Hongyu's expression remained unchanged. She even elegantly opened her folding fan and gave it a gentle shake.

"A fight to the death? Isn't that exactly what you were thinking before!" Wei Hongyu sneered, her peach-blossom eyes full of mockery.

"Everyone, understand the situation. This isn't a business deal; it's a ransom."

She closed the fan and pointed the handle toward the sky.

"Hanging up there are two living Quasi-Emperors, two Supremes..."

"What is a Quasi-Emperor? They are the Foundation of a Holy Land that has stood for ten thousand years! They are the heritage! Is a living, breathing Quasi-Emperor not worth a few measly Spiritual Veins?"

Wei Hongyu stepped forward, her aura fully unleashed, forcing the group of Elders to retreat repeatedly.

"Or is it that, in your eyes, the lives of your own ancestors are worth less than those inanimate objects?"

The Zixiao Elder's face turned pale, his lips trembling: "I must go back and report this first!"

"That's your business."

Wei Hongyu interrupted coldly, her tone strictly business-like.

"I'm only responsible for setting the price. I'll give you fifteen minutes to consider. Payment in one hand, release in the other. Otherwise..."

She didn't finish her sentence but instead turned to look at Lu Chen, who was cracking melon seeds behind her.

Lu Chen sighed in perfect synchronization and stood up with a look of regret.

"Sigh, it seems the talk has broken down,"

Lu Chen shook his head, his expression like he was looking at a group of useless spendthrifts.

"Since you think your ancestors aren't worth much, I can't just let these pieces of meat rot in my hands."

He turned to look at Leng Qingqiu, who was dazed to the side.

"Disciple, your Revered Master will teach you a strange technique called 'Living Puppet Refining.' It's quite interesting."

"It involves sealing the Divine Soul of a high-level Cultivator within their body and then refining them for forty-nine days using a special method. This creates a Puppet that knows no pain and only knows how to kill."

Lu Chen stroked his chin, his gaze scanning Old Ancestor Ziyang hanging overhead, as if assessing where would be the best place to start cutting.

"A Quasi-Emperor level Puppet... tsk tsk, that's a real treasure. It'll be perfect for guarding the gate, so any random riffraff won't dare come to my Yunxiao Holy Land to make a scene."

At this point, Lu Chen's eyes lit up, and he gave the Elders below a "kind" smile.

"How about you don't ransom them? I'll save you some money and just keep these people."

"I've been wanting to try my hand at this for a long time, but I couldn't find the materials. I couldn't exactly go out and openly kill someone else's Quasi-Emperor, after all."

Puppet technique! And refining a living Quasi-Emperor into a Puppet at that!

What an insane idea! What a brutal method!

Looking at Lu Chen's eager eyes, the Zixiao Elder felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

He didn't doubt for a second that this Emperor Yun would actually do such a thing!

This was a ruthless man who dared to publicly break a Quasi-Emperor's limbs and hang them up for display!

"Don't! Don't refine them! Please don't!!"

If their ancestor were really refined into a watchdog, how could the Zixiao Holy Land ever hold its head up in the Human Realm again? They would lose all face!

"We'll go back and report right away!!"

The Wanhua Immortal Gate side was even more decisive.

The originally tense battlefield instantly turned into a massive debt-collection scene.

Su Xuner, Su Qiyue, and Leng Qingqiu, who had witnessed the entire process, had expressions that were quite a sight to behold.

Leng Qingqiu was fine; as a former Devil Emperor, she had seen many such scenes. Her gaze toward her Revered Master was merely filled with even more admiration—her Revered Master's art of extortion was truly something!

The most shocked was undoubtedly Su Xuner.

This proud daughter of the Everlasting Su Family had been raised with education focused on "integrity," "honor," and "heritage."

In her view, Great Emperor experts should be aloof, transcending the mundane world.

But today, Lu Chen not only fought like a hooligan but extorted like a bandit!

However, as Su Xuner looked at the mountain-like piles of Top-Grade Spirit Stones, the divine herbs emitting thick medicinal fragrances, and the rare Ores that could usually only be seen in ancient texts, all piled randomly on the square like trash...

Her proud Dao Heart wavered.

"This is the Yunxiao Holy Land?" Su Xuner murmured to herself.

She had originally thought that being sent by her ancestor to be a maidservant was a great humiliation.

But now, it seemed she quite liked it.

Su Xuner swallowed hard.

She suddenly felt that the status of a "maidservant" didn't seem so hard to accept anymore.

After all, who would have a problem with money?

Moreover, following such a protective and "profitable" Revered Master, would she ever lack cultivation resources in the future?

"Sister, you're drooling."

Beside her, the cute and dazed Su Qiyue poked Su Xuner's arm and whispered:

"Didn't you say that was 'food handed out in contempt' and that we should have some backbone?"

Su Xuner snapped back to her senses, her face turning red. She then straightened her back and scolded in a serious, low voice:

"What do you know! These are spoils of war! This is hard-earned money the Revered Master made through his own strength! As his disciple and maidservant, it's our duty to help the Revered Master count the spoils in the future!"

Su Qiyue blinked her large eyes, looking bewildered.

Where did her aloof and proud sister go?

...

Half an hour later.

The remaining members of the Zixiao Holy Land and the Wanhua Immortal Gate scurried away.

Lu Chen thought for a moment.

"Senior Brother."

"Here!" Mo Wentian, who had long been stunned by the scene, hurried over.

"I remember... that Heavenly Sword Sect or whatever, they seemed to be shouting quite loudly earlier? I'll leave them to you!!"