Chapter 96 is so expensive?

Purple Bamboo Peak, Mountain Gate.

A group of Beast Taming Peak Disciples dressed in yellow robes blocked the main road into the mountain aggressively. Leading them was an old man with bristling hair and beard, a burly figure, and a violent Aura surrounding him; he was clearly at the fifth level of the Void Tempering Realm.

Beast Taming Peak Elder—Zhou Lie.

Behind him followed over a dozen Beast Taming Peak Disciples, each wearing an angry expression and leading various Spirit Beasts. There were massive Golden-Haired Lions, pitch-black Demon Flame Wolves, and Thunder Eagles circling in the sky.

The Spirit Beasts bared their teeth and glared menacingly, looking very much like they were ready to charge up Purple Bamboo Peak at any moment.

“Where are the people of Purple Bamboo Peak?! Come out!”

Zhou Lie's voice was like a great bell, shaking several ancient pines at the mountain gate until they rustled.

“You stole a Rank Six Spirit Beast egg from my Beast Taming Peak and think you can just let it go?! If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll level your Purple Bamboo Peak!”

The Disciples behind him also began to clamor:

“That's right! Hand over the Spirit Beast egg!”

“Are the people of Purple Bamboo Peak all bandits? Two days ago you robbed Pill Cauldron Peak, and today you steal from our Beast Taming Peak!”

“This is too much bullying! We must have an explanation!”

The surrounding Purple Bamboo Peak Disciples were trembling with fear, shrinking behind the mountain gate and not daring to come out. Most of them were female cultivators with low cultivation levels; when had they ever seen such a scene?

Just then.

A lazy voice drifted from the end of the mountain path.

“It's early morning, who's howling like ghosts and wolves here? You've disturbed my sleep, can you afford to compensate me?”

Everyone looked toward the sound.

They saw Su Ye wearing a loose white robe, his collar wide open to reveal a solid chest, and his hair somewhat messy, clearly looking like he had just climbed out of bed.

He yawned as he walked, followed by an equally sleepy-eyed Lin Waner and a cold-eyed, expressionless Lin Qianxue.

As for Yun Yuzhen?

In this kind of situation, the Revered Master naturally had to stay behind to maintain her aloof image. Although she had just been so angry at Su Ye that she wanted to rush out and beat this Rebellious Disciple to death—what did he mean by 'Revered Master was too tired last night and needs to rest'? Was that something you could say to outsiders?!

Seeing Su Ye's casual and sloppy appearance, Zhou Lie's beard curled up in anger.

“You are Su Ye?!”

“That would be me.”

Su Ye walked to the mountain gate, crossed his arms, leaned against the doorframe, and looked Zhou Lie up and down.

“Elder, let's talk things through properly. Don't go talking about leveling Purple Bamboo Peak at every turn. Aren't you afraid the wind will catch your tongue?”

“Presumptuous!”

Zhou Lie roared, and his Void Tempering Realm pressure surged out like a tide, crushing toward Su Ye!

“A mere Nascent Soul junior dares to be so rude to this Elder?!”

Su Ye didn't budge an inch.

He didn't even knit his brows.

A faint light flickered on his chest as the Supreme Bone automatically activated, completely neutralizing that terrifying pressure.

Zhou Lie's pupils constricted.

This kid... there's something strange about him!

“Elder Zhou, is it?”

Su Ye picked his ear and flicked away the dust from his fingernail. “You said we stole your Spirit Beast egg? Where's the evidence?”

“Evidence?”

Zhou Lie sneered. “Last night, a Rank Six Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird at Beast Taming Peak laid a spirit egg containing Divine Beast Bloodline. This morning, the egg was found missing!”

“We searched the entire Beast Taming Peak and finally used a Tracking Technique to find that the Aura of the spirit egg is right here on your Purple Bamboo Peak!”

He stared intently at Su Ye. “This is the evidence!”

“Oh?”

Su Ye raised an eyebrow. “A Tracking Technique? What Tracking Technique is so powerful it can pinpoint Purple Bamboo Peak so accurately?”

“Naturally, it is my Beast Taming Peak's exclusive Bloodline Tracking Technique!”

Zhou Lie said proudly, “That spirit egg contains the Bloodline of the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird. As long as one uses a Tracking Technique with the same source Bloodline, it cannot hide within a thousand miles!”

“I see.”

Su Ye nodded, looking thoughtful.

Then.

He smiled.

“Elder Zhou, let me ask you a question.”

“Speak!”

“If that spirit egg is really on our Purple Bamboo Peak, then where is it now?”

Zhou Lie was stunned.

When he used the Bloodline Tracking Technique just now, he had indeed sensed that the spirit egg's Aura was within the range of Purple Bamboo Peak. But as for where exactly it was, he couldn't pinpoint it.

This was also why he brought people to block the gate—Purple Bamboo Peak was so large, he couldn't exactly search it inch by inch, could he?

“Can't say?”

Su Ye's smile became even more brilliant. “Then let me tell you—the spirit egg is indeed on our Purple Bamboo Peak.”

The whole place broke into an uproar!

The Beast Taming Peak Disciples were incensed:

“He admitted it! He admitted it!”

“As expected, they stole it!”

“Give us back our Spirit Beast egg!”

Zhou Lie was even more fuming with rage. “Good for you, Su Ye! Since you've admitted it, hurry up and hand over the spirit egg! Otherwise...”

“Otherwise what?”

Su Ye interrupted him, his smile unchanged. “Elder Zhou, are you stupid?”

“What did you say?!”

“I said, are you stupid?”

Su Ye said word by word, “Just because the spirit egg is on our Purple Bamboo Peak, does it have to be that we stole it? Couldn't it have run here itself?”

Zhou Lie laughed out of anger.

“Nonsense! A spirit egg doesn't have legs, how could it run by itself?”

“Then what if someone sent it over?”

Su Ye looked at him meaningfully.

Zhou Lie was taken aback.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean—”

Su Ye slowly pulled out a fist-sized, golden spirit egg from his robes, which had faint golden runes flowing over it.

As soon as the spirit egg appeared, it emitted a vast pressure—it was clearly the Aura of a Rank Six Spirit Beast!

“This egg was sent to Purple Bamboo Peak by someone last night.”

Zhou Lie's eyes widened.

“Nonsense! Who would send...”

Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly froze.

Because he clearly saw the golden runes on that spirit egg—those were the Legacy marks of the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird clan, and every spirit egg was unique.

And the runes on this spirit egg were clearly from the one Beast Taming Peak had lost!

“Impossible!”

Zhou Lie lost his voice and said, “How could the spirit egg have been sent here? Who would...”

He suddenly remembered something, and his face became extremely unsightly.

Beast Taming Peak was heavily guarded; someone who could sneak in silently and find that spirit egg precisely...

In the entire Beast Taming Peak, only one person could do it.

The Peak Revered Master—Peak Master Meng Shanhe.

“It seems Elder Zhou has figured it out?”

Su Ye toyed with the spirit egg in his hand and said with a smile, “Peak Revered Master Meng personally visited last night and delivered this spirit egg to Purple Bamboo Peak. He also said it was a small token of appreciation for Purple Bamboo Peak and insisted we accept it.”

“I don't believe it!”

Zhou Lie roared, “Why would the Peak Revered Master do such a thing?!”

“Why?”

Su Ye smiled, a smile full of meaning.

“Elder Zhou should ask Peak Revered Master Meng himself. But...”

He paused, and his gaze became sharp.

“Since Elder Zhou brought people to block my Purple Bamboo Peak's mountain gate today, then let's settle this account properly.”

“What account?”

“Reputation damage fees, mental distress fees, lost work fees for disturbing our rest, and—”

Su Ye pointed to those trembling female Disciples of Purple Bamboo Peak, “—mental solace money for scaring my Senior and Junior Sisters.”

“You... you're extorting me!”

Zhou Lie was shaking with rage.

“Extorting?”

Su Ye sneered. “You brought people to block my mountain gate for no reason, slandered us for stealing things, and even said you'd level Purple Bamboo Peak. Do you think all this can just be forgotten?”

“If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll take this spirit egg and have a good talk in front of the Holy Lord.”

“I'd like to ask the Holy Lord how a spirit egg personally sent by the Beast Taming Peak Revered Master became something we stole. And whether a Beast Taming Peak Elder bringing people to block our gate is an attempt to sow discord between the two peaks? Is it a sign of dissatisfaction with the Holy Lord?”

Zhou Lie's face turned pale.

Every word Su Ye said was like a knife stabbing into his heart.

If this really reached the Holy Lord, regardless of the truth, he, as the Elder who brought people to block the gate, would definitely be in deep trouble!

What's more... if the spirit egg really was personally sent by the Peak Revered Master, then his actions today were equivalent to slapping the Peak Revered Master's face!

“What... what do you want?”

He gritted his teeth and spoke with difficulty.

Su Ye smiled.

He smiled very brightly.

“It's simple.”

He held up one finger.

“First, Beast Taming Peak will compensate Purple Bamboo Peak with one million Top-Grade Spirit Stones as reputation damage fees.”

Zhou Lie sucked in a breath of cold air.

One million?!

This is robbery!