54: Cooperation, Sincerity

The night was as dark as ink as Lu Xian strolled into the backyard.

The hundred souls banner could imprison the living souls of Mortals, low-level Cultivators, and Yao Beasts, refining them into Soul Fiends to be driven at will.

He casually picked up a Jade Marrow Chicken and applied a slight pressure with his fingertips, squeezing it until it was half-dead.

Immediately after, he took out the hundred souls banner, which radiated a dense Yin Qi, and formed the Soul-Binding Hand Seal.

A weak beast soul, barely perceptible to the naked eye, let out a mournful cry as it was forcibly extracted from the Jade Marrow Chicken's body and sucked into the banner.

Lu Xian sensed the situation inside the banner, his expression calm and unruffled.

Within the banner's space, a blurry, chicken-shaped phantom had appeared. Its soul body was thin and faint, looking as if it might dissipate at any moment.

With a slight thought, he summoned it. The phantom appeared even more transparent under the reflection of the moonlight.

Lu Xian controlled it, attempting to have it peck up a small pebble from the ground.

However, he found that this Jade Marrow Chicken Soul Fiend's strength was feeble; it could barely nudge the pebble a fraction of an inch.

As expected, the Soul Power of a Spirit Bird was far too weak. Combined with its low intelligence, it required constant focused control to execute commands.

This was not what Lu Xian sought.

Otherwise, he would have long ago let Crane Heavenly Emperor handle these chores.

"It seems I still need to find the Divine Souls of Cultivators, and their cultivation can't be too weak. When a living soul is refined into a Soul Fiend, it only retains about thirty percent of its original strength... The target must be at least at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, or better yet, at Perfection."

A cold glint flashed in Lu Xian's eyes.

To the current him, ordinary Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Cultivators were extremely fragile.

However, he had a better idea that could resolve another matter simultaneously.

Next, Lu Xian went through the teleportation room to the courtyard within the city.

He sent a message to Du Qinghong.

Within two hours, the other party hurried back.

"Brother Han, you finished your seclusion early? Here are the profits from the last two months, totaling 1,520 Spirit Stones. That batch of stock has been completely sold off."

"Have you contacted your grandfather?" Lu Xian asked as he put away the Spirit Stones.

"Everything is settled. My grandfather seems to have guessed some of the situation. He asked me to tell you that he is coming with full sincerity and hopes to speak with you face-to-face."

Du Qinghong's voice rose a few pitches in excitement.

Du Huaigu had pre-selected the location at a small restaurant in the black market, guaranteeing that he would be the only one appearing.

"A smart man."

Lu Xian nodded. "Tomorrow, I will personally attend the meeting."

He had a premonition that this first cooperation would go very smoothly.

"Great!"

Du Qinghong was overjoyed and immediately took out a jade plaque to transmit the message back.

Although he had left home when he was young, as he grew older, he no longer held any resentment toward his Family. Now that he could facilitate this mutually beneficial business, his heart was filled with a sense of achievement.

Lu Xian sat at the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface.

The 'sincerity' for this first cooperation was, naturally, related to that Soul Fiend... The next day.

Wujian Workshop Black Market.

The Tang Family Cultivators were nowhere to be seen; the matter of the inspections seemed to have been dropped.

Toward the back of the street, there was a small restaurant called 'Hundred Flavors Studio'.

This place was not famous for its spirit food, but rather for providing private meeting spaces for Cultivators. It was said to have been jointly founded by several small Qi Refining clans, and its reputation was reliable.

Lu Xian was not worried about safety.

As long as Foundation Establishment experts did not appear, no one could easily detain him.

After giving the private room number, a waiter respectfully led him to an elegant room on the second floor.

Pushing open the door, Lu Xian stepped inside composedly.

Inside the room, a silver-haired old man with a kind face, dressed in grey robes, was sitting quietly sipping spirit tea.

Seeing him enter, the old man immediately stood up, a warm smile spreading across his face.

This person was none other than Du Huaigu.

He had been calculating how to satisfy this mysterious 'Big Brother' his grandson spoke of to finalize the cooperation.

When he saw Lu Xian's young face clearly, all the prepared compliments got stuck in his throat.

The discrepancy between this and the image he had expected—an experienced expert at least forty or fifty years old—was simply too large.

This... he looks hardly a few years older than Qing Hong, doesn't he?

Despite his doubts, Du Huaigu quickly steadied his mind, trusting the results of the secret investigations over the past six months.

His tone softened as he smiled. "Hahaha, this old man is Du Huaigu. You must be the 'Big Brother' Qing Hong has been following?"

In his speech, he treated Lu Xian as an equal.

Little Fatty Du is quite decent; he didn't even reveal my surname... Lu Xian took a seat casually and went straight to the point: "I am Han Feiyu. I presume Fellow Daoist Du knows why I am here today."

The seniority was a bit messy, but he didn't care to bother with it.

In the cultivation world, address was nothing more than 'ant', 'Fellow Daoist', or 'Senior'.

"Uh..." Du Huaigu's old face stiffened.

He had originally wanted to exchange pleasantries first, order some spirit meals and immortal wine, and then slowly broach the subject.

Since things were out in the open, he no longer hesitated.

"Fellow Daoist Han, let me first thank you for the care you've shown Qing Hong over these past two years..."

Lu Xian remained noncommittal.

It was only human nature for a grandfather to 'keep an eye' on his grandson.

Du Huaigu shifted the conversation, cutting to the chase: "My Du Family has absolutely no designs on your secret method for breeding Spirit Bird."

"We simply wish to cooperate with you, handling all subsequent sales matters on behalf of the Du Family. After all, Qing Hong's cultivation is still shallow and his Foundation is unstable. If it weren't for this old man handling several troubles for him in secret, I'm afraid..."

So that was it.

Lu Xian had previously felt that Du Qinghong's luck was too good; to move such a large volume of goods and only encounter one fatal crisis.

It seemed this old man had been providing protection behind the scenes.

Observing his actions, this man's character was not that of a cold or indifferent person.

"No rush. Cooperation is about give and take."

Lu Xian said bluntly, "I need a live captive at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, preferably at Peak Perfection. Does Fellow Daoist Du have any thoughts on this?"

As the words fell, the air in the room suddenly froze.

Du Huaigu's heart shook violently, as if struck by lightning.

Before coming, he had imagined countless conditions—nothing more than establishing a spirit contract notarized by officials.

Or giving up a larger share of the profits; even a ninety-ten split was something he could accept for the sake of the Family's future.

He never expected such a condition.

'Ninth Layer of Qi Refining? And alive? Is this Fellow Daoist Han not afraid of an accident?'

Du Huaigu was secretly suspicious.

He observed that Lu Xian's aura fluctuations were only at the fourth layer of Qi Refining. Although he knew Cultivators had many ways to hide their strength, he estimated Lu Xian to be at most at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining!

That was already a high estimate, but now he was uncertain.

Could it be... the other party is already at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining?

If so, he should have entered the Cangye Sect long ago!

Du Huaigu's expression shifted between light and shadow as his thoughts churned.

After a full fifteen minutes, he finally gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "Fellow Daoist Han, regarding this... this old man indeed has a few ideas. I happen to have two or three rivals I can 'handle' in advance, but about that Spirit Bird business..."

If his guess was correct, this might be the only Opportunity for the Du Family to soar to greatness!

An intense struggle played out in Du Huaigu's heart.

Ultimately, his gambling instinct overcame his caution.

After being steady for so many years, whether the Du Family could ascend to become a Foundation Establishment Family might just depend on this one gamble!