153: Chapter 153 Robbery of money and life, but not of sex

The spirit meteor cannon hit extremely close to the pack beast; the Formation-Breaking Demon didn't take a scratch, but the Changfeng Chamber of Commerce suffered heavy damage instead.

The two Early Foundation Establishment Stage guards were already struggling after inhaling poisonous fiendish energy, and under the bombardment of the spirit meteor cannon, they fell directly into a coma.

Luo Yao wasn't doing well either; her Divine Sense was damaged, and the Spiritual Qi in her meridians was in chaos, putting her on the verge of Qi Deviation.

In such a situation, she couldn't care about the others in the Changfeng caravan. She slapped her Storage Pouch to summon a flying Spirit Beast and immediately soared into the sky.

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To her surprise, the Formation-Breaking Demon leaped out from underground, its obese body hurtling through the air even faster than the flying Spirit Beast.

Unable to dodge in time, Luo Yao and her beast were swallowed whole by the massive maw.

Am I going to die? I'm so unwilling...

In this moment of life and death, images flashed through Luo Yao's Sea of Consciousness like a revolving lantern.

There was her parents' extreme pampering when she was a child, carefree;

Taking on responsibilities as she grew up, training hard;

Proactively practicing secret arts to stabilize her position after growing up;

And now, with her father's Lifespan running out, her struggle with her elder brother for control of the chamber of commerce...

Whether it was glory or resentment, it would all turn to smoke at this moment.

Luo Yao waited for a long time, but what came was neither the grinding of fine teeth nor the pain of stomach acid and miasma corroding her body.

Instead, her body was wrapped in a strange membrane, and the poisonous fiendish energy within it caused her to gradually drift into unconsciousness.

Before fainting, she saw a spiritual light barrier within the Formation-Breaking Demon's abdominal cavity, where a man was looking at her.

Luo Yao was familiar with that man's aura; he was the very same man who had purchased the cold ice baleful qi at the auction. That day in Linglong City, after Fang Huai had burst out from the Formation-Breaking Demon's stomach, he hadn't killed it. Instead, he had patched its wounds with the flesh and skin of other Yao Beasts and bound it, domesticating it day and night with Small Corpse Meteor Worms.

Heaven rewards the diligent; this seemingly unyielding Heavenly Demon finally acknowledged him as master through the efforts of Fang Huai and the Small Corpse Meteor Worms.

From then on, Fang Huai had this Formation-Breaking Demon in his Spirit Pet Bag.

Fang Huai wasn't so petty that he would slaughter Luo Yao and the others just because the Changfeng Chamber of Commerce had used shills.

Otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have wrapped Luo Yao and the others in membranes before swallowing them; instead, he would have ordered the Formation-Breaking Demon to digest them directly.

Fang Huai's goal was the unsold strange fiends of the Changfeng Chamber of Commerce. Losing them wouldn't be a severe loss for the chamber.

If they chose to fight him to the death over this, they would have to consider the Formation-Breaking Demon under Fang Huai's control.

Just then, Luo Yao spoke up, "Fellow Daoist, could you please release this humble girl? I will surely repay you with everything I have."

Fang Huai laughed, "You are a merchant, skilled at negotiation, while I am but a mere Cultivator. I have no interest in bargaining with you; I'm afraid of getting the short end of the stick!"

Luo Yao said hurriedly, "Fellow Daoist, the conditions I offer will definitely tempt you.

Since I've already fallen into your hands, my life and death are yours to decide. If you're not interested, it won't be too late to kill me then."

Fang Huai frowned slightly and said, "Fine, you said it."

With a wave of his hand, he pulled the membrane wrapping Luo Yao into the spiritual light barrier, then sliced it open to let her out.

"Speak, what benefits can you give me?"

Luo Yao took a deep breath and asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you lack a Dao Companion?"

Do I lack a Dao Companion?

Fang Huai was slightly stunned; that was a good question.

Looking back at his experiences over the past few decades, though he had no long-term companion, he had plenty of romantic encounters.

This woman before him couldn't possibly think that he would rush to fawn over her based on just one sentence, could she?

Thus, he said, "I don't. Especially not a woman covered in slime."

Only then did Luo Yao notice the slime from the membrane on her body, and she immediately used a Cleansing Technique to clean herself.

After being rejected by Fang Huai, Luo Yao felt a bit embarrassed.

She was exceptionally beautiful, highly intelligent, and had great talent for cultivation, with countless pursuers.

Speaking as a Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator to an Early Foundation Establishment Stage one, she had thought he would agree immediately, but he had rejected her without even thinking.

Was he not interested in women?

Or was it because her abrupt words made him think she was a frivolous person?

At this thought, she moved a bit closer to Fang Huai, the blush on her face deepening. "Fellow Daoist, I am not a frivolous person. This is my chastity mark; please take a look."

Having said that, she rolled up her sleeve, revealing the crimson cinnabar to Fang Huai while secretly activating a Charm Technique.

They say it's easy for a woman to chase a man; now that she'd gone this far, she didn't believe she couldn't win over Fang Huai.

Fang Huai felt a faint fragrance waft into his nose and said, "The body fragrance is nice, the chastity mark is real, and your Charm Technique has reached Minor Achievement.

I don't lack a Dao Companion. If you're willing to be a Cauldron, I might consider taking you in."

Anger flared in Luo Yao's heart; she had never been toyed with like this in her life. If not for the special circumstances, how could she endure such humiliation?

Withdrawing her Charm Technique, she suppressed her anger and said, "So Fellow Daoist means to rob wealth and life today, but not virtue?"

Fang Huai raised an eyebrow. "You've been talking nonsense for ages. If you don't tell me the benefits you can offer, I'll kill you right now."

Luo Yao said, "Fellow Daoist bid for strange fiends multiple times at the auction; you must be a Gu Cultivator, right?"

Fang Huai didn't answer, which was a tacit admission.

Luo Yao continued, "The Changfeng Chamber of Commerce travels throughout the Tianyuan Southern Region and has sold more than a hundred types of strange fiends. If Fellow Daoist likes them, what's the harm in gifting you a few?

It's just that I want to lend you a helping hand, but I am troubled by my lack of influence."

Fang Huai said, "Aren't you the Young Miss of the Changfeng Chamber of Commerce? Can't you make a decision on such a small matter?"

Luo Yao said, "It would have been fine before, but now my father's Lifespan has only three years left, and the Changfeng Chamber of Commerce is in a precarious state."

"Only three years left?" Fang Huai said. "Why not use a lifespan pill or other spiritual items that replenish Lifespan?"

Luo Yao sighed, "Fellow Daoist may not know, but in his youth, my father consumed too much potential to advance his Cultivation Technique, reducing his Lifespan by more than half.

To extend his life, he has already taken many life-extending spiritual items and developed a resistance to them. Moreover, his cultivation is rapidly regressing because of it.

My father has been glorious all his life and doesn't want to linger on in a wretched state, so he stopped taking life-extending spiritual items."

Fang Huai nodded. "Go on."

Luo Yao: "My elder brother, Luo Hui, is competing with me for the position of Family Head. In such a situation, if I were to gift precious items to others without authorization, I would inevitably be accused of corruption and malpractice.

But if Fellow Daoist is willing to become my Dao Companion, then gifting you strange fiends would be perfectly reasonable."

Perfectly reasonable... Luo Yao likely wants to tie him to her and use his power to fight for control of the Changfeng Chamber of Commerce.

Fang Huai said, "With your cultivation and looks, it wouldn't be difficult to find a Mid-Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator as a Dao Companion. Why choose me?"

Luo Yao looked at Fang Huai, her eyes filled with a strange brilliance. "Though there are many Foundation Establishment Cultivators, one like you, who has reached Foundation Establishment before forty and has a deep Foundation, is less than one in a hundred.

Besides, no one in the entire Chen Kingdom can match your skill in controlling a Formation-Breaking Demon.

I like the strong—I like strong people with potential like you."

Hearing this, the corners of Fang Huai's mouth curled up as he pulled Luo Yao into his arms.

"Since you insist on me being your Dao Companion, then you should understand what Dao Companions are supposed to do.

...

"Fellow Daoist..." Luo Yao had never dealt with such a scene before, and her face instantly turned beet red.