153: Cause and Effect

With a slight squeeze of his thumb and forefinger, Lu Ping’s small mouth parted, revealing her pearly white teeth… “Ugh~”

Lu Ping broke free from Liu Xuan’s hand, her beautiful eyes looking at him, “Are you serious?”

“Do I look like someone who jokes around?”

He hooked a strand of hair by her ear and played with it, Liu Xuan chuckled, “You yourself agreed to become my Dao Companion. We’ve already bowed to heaven and earth, are you trying to go back on your word?”

Lu Ping stared fixedly into Liu Xuan’s eyes, “If I do as you say, will you truly let me go?”

Liu Xuan was handsome and refined; having his child wasn’t entirely unacceptable. However, Lu Ping was worried he would discard her after using her, not letting her go even after the child was born.

Or, the situation could be even worse: he might trick her into cooperating for his pleasure, humiliate her for a night, and then kill her once he was done.

Living in a Sect like the Nether Fire Sect, which was full of intrigue and deception, Lu Ping knew very well that Liu Xuan was by no means as kind as he appeared. He was definitely capable of such things.

“It depends on your performance!”

He gently untied the silk ribbon at her waist, “If you perform well, I can not only let you go, but there will be rewards too!”

Lu Ping struggled and hesitated internally, but in the end, she realized she had no choice.

‘Fine!’

She furrowed her delicate brows and closed her eyes. Originally, her visit to White Crane Lake was to seduce Liu Xuan. Looking at it from another angle, this outcome actually achieved her goal… After comforting herself, Lu Ping stopped thinking about whether Liu Xuan was lying to her. She simply had no choice.

Liu Xuan leaned in, carefully examining the beauty in his arms.

Her slightly furrowed delicate brows, her fair and exquisitely beautiful face, her slender waist that could be encircled with one hand, her perfect body proportions… every part of her perfectly matched Liu Xuan’s aesthetic, and his heart couldn’t help but beat a little faster… Afterwards.

Liu Xuan leaned against the headboard, habitually taking medicine. A few blood transformation demon pills went down, and he immediately felt invigorated.

“Oh, right! What rank is your Spiritual Root?”

Lu Ping’s fair neck rested on Liu Xuan’s arm, allowing him to conveniently play with it.

During the post-coital clarity, Liu Xuan’s desire temporarily receded, and he merely treated her as a stress-relief toy.

“Fifth Rank!”

Liu Xuan nodded slightly, which was close to his guess. Lu Ping’s bone age wasn’t old, only in her forties. To be able to Breakthrough to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining at such a young age, her Spiritual Root talent wouldn’t be lower than Sixth Rank.

“Tell me, what do you and your Junior Brother want from me?”

“Is it because of the ice blue soul-stabbing talisman, or do you have some other motive?”

“Who is the mastermind behind this? Is it you? Your Junior Brother? Or your Revered Master, Three Poisons Ancestor?”

With the main business concluded, Liu Xuan now had the leisure to ask about these minor matters. Although he wasn’t afraid of Three Poisons Ancestor, it was still good to reduce some trouble.

Lu Ping recounted the entire story to Liu Xuan. According to her, it was Xu Bin who first discovered that the Yu Lie and Yu Feng brothers had a channel for ice blue soul-stabbing talismans.

After an investigation, it was confirmed that they obtained the goods from Yongning of the Red Pine Sect, so people were dispatched to monitor their every move.

Xu Bin’s cultivation was newly in the Late Qi Refining Stage stage, and he had no background in the Sect. Even though he knew the secret of Yu Lie and Yu Feng, he couldn’t do anything about it.

So, he reported the news to Lu Ping. Lu Ping was powerful and deeply trusted by Three Poisons Ancestor. It didn't take much effort for her to deal with the Yu Feng and Yu Lie brothers, and she obtained definite information about Liu Xuan from them.

Upon deeper investigation, Lu Ping discovered that Liu Xuan not only sold ice blue soul-stabbing talismans to the Yu Lie brothers but also purchased a large amount of Yao Beast flesh and blood and other resources through the Merchant Alliance.

Liu Xuan’s strength was only Middle Stage of Qi Refining, yet he was handling a business worth several thousand Spirit Stones a month—this was a huge fat sheep!

Knowing that Liu Xuan was extremely lustful, Lu Ping decided to personally take action. She would first investigate the source of his Spirit Stones and then make further plans.

If Liu Xuan was merely working for the powerful figures behind the Red Pine Sect, then she would just take a cut of the profits.

If all of this was Liu Xuan’s own controlled, secretly conducted business, then she would strike it rich!

“My Revered Master, Three Poisons Ancestor, trusts me the most. I am responsible for most of the general affairs of Three Poisons Peak. If I don’t return for a long time, she will become suspicious!”

Lu Ping finally brought up her Revered Master, Three Poisons Ancestor, again. She still wanted to go back and escape Liu Xuan’s control.

“I’ll tell you again: as long as you leave White Crane Lake, you will be devoured by Gu worms and die, becoming a Puppet without self-awareness.”

“You’d best handle your Revered Master’s side yourself, otherwise, you will bear all the consequences.”

Liu Xuan had sent people to conduct a simple investigation of Three Poisons Ancestor when he first came into contact with the Yu Lie brothers. Her cultivation was Early Foundation Establishment Stage, she specialized in three-colored poisonous light, and could cause harm to Mid-Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Most Early Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators were unwilling to provoke her.

However, her identity was quite special; she was the daughter of the previous Sect Master, a Golden Core True Person, of the Nether Fire Sect.

After the previous Sect Master’s lifespan ended, the new Golden Core True Person, who was nominally the previous Sect Master’s Disciple, had vowed never to harm the Family left behind by his Revered Master.

Thereafter, Three Poisons Ancestor did not continue to act ostentatiously because of the new Sect Master’s promise. Instead, she continuously scaled back her industries and gradually withdrew from the core of the Sect’s power.

These past few years, she had only guarded her Three Poisons Peak, acting cautiously in everything, without a single mistake.

Three Poisons Ancestor rarely even left Three Poisons Peak, making it almost impossible for her to cause trouble for Liu Xuan in the Red Pine Sect’s territory for a small amount of profit and Lu Ping.

“Alright!”

“I understand!”

Lu Ping realized that Liu Xuan was indeed not afraid of her Revered Master, Three Poisons Ancestor, and had no choice but to abandon the idea of returning… A few days later.

In the courtyard.

Lu Ping wore a plain everyday dress, her entire demeanor changing from vibrant to pure.

Clothes and grooming are merely icing on the cake for truly beautiful people; they look good in anything.

She stood under the eaves, carefully examining the jade phoenix tree in the courtyard, and the more she looked, the more she felt something was off.

First-rank spiritual tree? Second-rank spiritual tree?

Finally, she concluded that this was a spiritual tree on the verge of growing to the second rank!

A second-rank spiritual tree! It was actually planted so casually in the center of the courtyard, which was simply outrageous.

Though both were Spiritual Plants, ordinary second-rank Spiritual Plant, Spirit Medicine, and a large spiritual tree like the jade phoenix tree were completely on different levels.

The value of a second-rank spiritual tree was often even higher than that of a second-rank spiritual pet, needing to be measured in tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones at least.

This was just the most common Low Grade second-rank; some top-tier second-rank Spiritual Plants that could continuously generate value would even tempt Golden Core True Persons.

After living on the island for a few days, the more she learned about Liu Xuan, the more mysteries she found surrounding him.

“Want to eat some?”

“Have a piece?”

Liu Xuan plucked a leaf and chewed it carefully. Seeing Lu Ping lost in thought, he plucked another and handed it to her.

Lu Ping imitated Liu Xuan, placing the leaf in her mouth. It tasted slightly bitter at first, then a sweet aftertaste, followed by a cool sensation spreading throughout her body, making her feel completely refreshed.

Her eyes sparkled slightly. She hadn't expected that just a single leaf would have such an effect.

Looking up at the green fruits on the treetop, their efficacy was probably extraordinary.