171: Do you accept the punishment?

In the backya r d of Tianyuan Residence, Jiang Hanwen and Gong Qing were enjoying a small drink in the courtyard.

On the sandalwood tea table in the middle, there were two small earthen jars and a plate of thinly sliced dark red beef tendon, piled up like a small mountain.

Gong Qing frowned, his face serious:

"You're quite ruthless. You should've sold less. The Zhuang Family got wind of it and came to ask me."

Jiang Hanwen retorted, annoyed:

"Stop playing pitiful. I'll take a look once, and for the rest, you and Xiaoshuang each get a turn."

No sooner had he spoken than Gong Qing's face bloomed into a radiant smile like a chrysanthemum:

"You're a good judge of character."

With that, Gong Qing clapped his hand, and twenty-two Jade Slips were neatly stacked into a triangular pile.

"Don't even mention it, your secret sale of tranquility tea this time, although it annoyed the Zhuang Family, was also a good thing for me. At least I don't have to be targeted by them anymore."

Gong Qing sighed. In the past, when tranquility tea went through him, the Zhuang Family always thought he had mastered the tea-making technique and hinted at it many times.

Fortunately, they found that he had no record of buying tea, which made them relax their guard.

Now that someone else was selling, he was cleared of suspicion, which was a great relief.

"I just sold another thirty thousand catties," Jiang Hanwen grinned.

"Thirty... thirty thousand catties?" Gong Qing's breathing hitched, his eyes wide. That was over two million taels of silver!

"Didn't they just buy some? Are they that rich?" Gong Qing's cheeks flushed involuntarily from his rapid breathing.

Good heavens, he thought that the four branches of Tianyuan Residence combined earning a few thousand taels of silver a month already put them in the ranks of the wealthy.

Now, looking at it, damn it, he was the poorest!

"I tricked them into believing that I was using this money to buy Spiritual Artifacts and Talismanic Incantations, preparing to take down Zhuang Kongming.

Afraid I'd lose, they all paid without batting an eye," Jiang Hanwen explained with a mischievous smile.

Gong Qing hesitated, then finally blurted out, "F*ck!"

"Be careful recently. That person called Old Yao is selling immortal water, and many people are inquiring about it.

I don't think this matter is over.

Also, Lei He contributed to getting these Spells this time. The person you chose is not bad; he hasn't forgotten his benefactor.

The one who stopped the sale was Zhuang Minjie, our Third Miss. She's returned home this time and has started managing affairs."

Gong Qing's words were filled with a sigh of regret.

Things have changed; those who were peers are now calculating and wary of each other.

Before Jiang Hanwen went into seclusion, he heard that the Medicine Field was going to war with the Zhuang Family. Not wanting to see the Medicine Field passed down by Old Du destroyed, nor wanting to see internal strife within the Zhuang Family,

he still intervened, using Gong Qing's hand and the chixiao sword given by Zhuang Kongming, to re-establish rules for both sides.

When the sword was drawn, both sides, on the verge of armed conflict, held back.

From then on.

The Medicine Field was responsible for its own profits and losses, with eighty percent of its income going entirely to the Zhuang Family, leaving only twenty percent for its own development.

The Zhuang Family would not interfere in any matters of the Medicine Field, protecting it with force in exchange for money.

"Zhuang Minjie?" Jiang Hanwen recalled that wedding in his mind.

At the time, he heard Luo Maocai mention that when Zhuang Minjie was born, a Daoist had observed her fate and said that she would eventually seize power.

If Gong Qing's information was correct, after Zhuang Minjie returned to City Name, she didn't stay with her husband's family but returned to the Zhuang Family in the mountains, and now she was interfering in Spell matters.

Isn't this the prelude to seizing power?

Jiang Hanwen silently mourned for Zhuang Kongming in his heart. Brother An was too difficult; having escaped his father's clutches, he immediately fell into his daughter's sea of desire.

"Okay, I understand. Be careful and keep your distance from the Zhuang Family members.

Except for the third son, Zhuang Yunshen, everyone else in their family has problems."

Gong Qing nodded, a mischievous smile replacing his former expression: "I heard Miss Bai left. Did you succeed?"

"Get lost, old man. You want a beating, don't you?"

"Hahahaha, hit me! If you break my leg, I'll extort you. Earning so much money is simply unfair, damn it!"

Amidst unbridled laughter, Jiang Hanwen took the twenty-two Jade Slips home.

《Vine Whip Art》, 《Water Screen Art》, 《Vine Armor Art》, 《Clear Wind Art》... adding the two from before, Jiang Hanwen finished reading all twenty-four Spells.

He discovered a problem: several Spells, for him, could be almost instantly mastered with zero benefit.

For example, 《Ice Needle Art》 and 《Water Screen Art》. The former summons flying ice crystal thorns, and the latter forms a water screen around a person, allowing them to walk underwater.

Although these two Spells are released differently, he can completely replace them with the Snow Summoning Art.

In the end, he concluded that not many Spells could bring Jiang Hanwen progress. There were three categories, totaling fifteen Spells; the other nine were all a waste.

The first category falls within the Five Elements, such as summoning vine armor as protection in 《Vine Armor Art》, and the whipping with a condensed vine in 《Vine Whip Art》, which can further his understanding of Wood Five Elements.

Among the eleven Spells in the first category, what interested Jiang Hanwen the most were 《Stone Skin Art》 and 《Starfire Flame》.

The former can form armor condensed from stone on the body's surface, making one durable, impervious to ordinary lightning, and increasing affinity with the earth.

After obtaining the Divine Breath True Scripture, Jiang Hanwen deeply understood the meaning of affinity, and he had great expectations for 《Stone Skin Art》.

The latter, 《Starfire Flame》, was much more mysterious, capable of absorbing the power of stars when they are present, strengthening the starfire.

However, for 《Starfire Flame》 to have the same power as a fireball Spell of the same Realm, it requires at least ten years of accumulating starlight. Only after that will it surpass others.

To others, this was completely useless, but to Jiang Hanwen, it was fantastic. The more long-term accumulation something required, the more useful it was to him.

After all, he was immortal and had plenty of time to do "useless work."

The second category consists of rare attributes: 《Clear Wind Art》 for sweeping dust, 《Wind Blade》 for minor attacks, and 《Lightning Arc》 summoned in the palm to paralyze the body.

With these three Spells as a foundation, Jiang Hanwen's Cultivation of the third layer of the Blade Drawing Art would be faster.

The last category, directly outside the Five Elements, had only one: named 《Shadow Concealment Art》.

According to the Jade Slip, it allows a person to completely hide in shadows without making any sound.

Furthermore, it allows one to sense if they are being spied upon, not just a disguise, but also a form of spiritual self-protection.

Jiang Hanwen temporarily categorized it as a mental type; it was the most difficult Spell to Cultivate among all current Spells.

The Spells collected this time filled in part of the puzzle for his Formless Form.

However, due to the appearance of homogenization, it also gave Jiang Hanwen a wake-up call.

The number of Spells he would need to condense his Formless Form in the future would double and then double again. Earning money remained the top priority going forward.

His gaze shifted downwards, returning to the Jade Slip.

Whether for offense or defense, he currently had other Spells to rely on, as well as Qi and blood amplification.

With only one month until the auction, he had to make a choice.

Jiang Hanwen picked up the outermost Jade Slip. The only one that could provide a short-term breakthrough was the most difficult one, 《Shadow Concealment Art》.

He took off his clothes, dug a pool around him, and lit a circle of ever-burning lamps.

According to the Jade Slip, one must first let their skin feel the difference between light and dark... The sun rose and set, and time flowed slowly.

Days and months are long in the mountains, and a dream is boundless.

Jiang Hanwen Cultivated peacefully, enjoying a life where he made progress every day.

While some rejoiced, others grieved. In the Zhong Family ancestral home, lamps were lit.

On the bronze hanging orchid, nearly transparent moonlight candles emitted a soft glow.

A group of clan elders, who had been on patrol and stakeout, sat in the main hall, their faces indifferent, glancing at the white-haired old man in the center.

Standing directly in the middle of the hall below was Zhong Xiaoran, who had invited them out of seclusion.

This twenty-day stakeout not only disturbed the clan elders' Cultivation but also depleted ten Spirit Stones used to maintain the Formation.

Each Spirit Stone was ten thousand taels of silver. This time, they came out of seclusion without seeing anyone, and their Zhong Family had already lost one hundred thousand taels of silver.

The white-haired old man took a sip of tea and slowly said:

"This time we came out of seclusion with nothing. Xiaoran, do you accept your punishment?"