Chapter 120: The Old City Master
That parting had been between life and death.
Wang Yu's relationship with his father was not particularly harmonious; it was more polite than intimate.
The root of this lay in the fact that his mother had died when he was young. This event had become a knot in his father's heart.
He understood, so their father-son relationship had always been rather plain, not intense.
Besides, he was also a reincarnation with memories from a past life.
Even though he was independent, he did not feel lonely. Instead, he found that maintaining a certain distance was a comfortable way of communication for both parties.
However, who among men can be as unfeeling as grass and trees? After years of living together, the bond of kinship had been built up but remained shaky, yet its foundation was quite solid.
After hearing about his father's death, he still felt deeply saddened.
Now standing before the tombstone, myriad words turned into thoughts of longing, which he wanted to pour out.
But there was no sound.
Wang Yu knelt down, bowed three times, then turned and left the place.
It was time for revenge.
Following the address given by Elder Ning, Wang Yu set off alone. In less than half a day, he arrived at the old city master's retirement spot in Stone Lake City.
Located on a small mountain over seven hundred meters outside the city, it seemed to have an underdeveloped spiritual vein.
The environment had a faint aura of spiritual energy, just enough to support early-stage cultivation.
This was another person who had failed to reach the base-building stage, similar to Duan Ping.
But unlike Duan Fatso, he lacked his depth of resources.
After failing, his cultivation dropped to the fifth level of Qi Refinement and approached the end of his life.
He had exhausted his family's wealth in a desperate attempt, only to fail.
Like most people in the cultivation world, he was barely over a hundred and twenty years old but already exuded an aura of impending death. He had at most two more years to live.
"Creak ——"
"Who's there?"
The floorboards of the bamboo house creaked intentionally under Wang Yu's footsteps. The former city master, who had been sitting on a stool winding fishing lines, suddenly turned around.
He noticed Wang Yu. Despite being so close, he still felt no presence. His face darkened for a moment but quickly relaxed.
"Are you looking for me, Daoist friend? I am the previous city master of Stone Lake City. As long as it concerns matters within this range, I will certainly tell you all you need to know."
Wang Yu nodded noncommittally and teased him.
"You're about to die, but you seem afraid of me. Why is that?"
The former city master laughed.
"Daoist friend, your cultivation is unfathomable. Your ability to come here without a sound shows that you are far beyond my capabilities. I may be dying... but I still have a few years left."
"In that case, that's good news."
It's better to cling to life than to die well, and so he asked.
"I want to know whether it was you who contacted the Inverse Blood Sect regarding the trade of spirit slaves, or if it was the elder surnamed Ning who reached out to you."
The former city master was startled and laughed indifferently.
"So it's about this. This matter isn't a secret up above. All three senior-level powers near the Boundary Mountains participated. They sent many untrainable youngsters to the demon domain for profit.
"At first, only cultivators of the condensation stage were involved, but when the scale grew, it caught the attention of the senior immortals. It even triggered the righteous vs. demonic war three centuries ago.
"After this battle, the business continued. Stone Lake City is small and joined late, only a decade ago. Since you know Elder Ning, you should also understand his ways.
"As a low-level Qi Refinement cultivator, I had no right to contact him. It was he who came to me. During the first transaction, the list was prepared by them.
"After all, I didn't know about this back then, so I had no preparation."
Wang Yu furrowed his brows.
"Were the ones from sixteen years ago the first batch?"
"Sixteen years ago... yes, correct."
The former city master was surprised. Before he could think further, Wang Yu's second question came.
"What does the Spirit Eagle Sect need with so many young maidens? And all of them are mundane, with few having the potential for cultivation."
This question left the former city master speechless. He opened his mouth with difficulty, his hand reaching toward his heart.
"This matter... Daoist friend, it's best not to inquire. I've been placed under a restriction. If I speak, I will surely die. I still wish to live for two more years and fish for two more years."
"Hmph ——"
Wang Yu's expression turned cold.
"Speak, and you live. Stay silent, and you die now."
Without hesitation, the former city master realized that even though he had cooperated so far, Wang Yu still intended to kill him.
This indicated there was a grudge between them, and Wang Yu had specifically come for him.
Not because of his former position as city master to gather information.
Oh no!
A sense of foreboding crossed his mind. The former city master managed a forced smile and stepped back several paces, saying,
"Daoist friend, it's not that I don't want to, but the waters are too deep. Even base-building cultivators are mere pawns. I know little of this. These years, I've only sent some mundane women to the Spirit Eagle Sect.
"If you insist on investigating, not only will I die, but you won't escape either. This is a disaster..."
Boom——
Suddenly, a talisman behind Wang Yu exploded, engulfing the bamboo house in molten red flames. The former city master escaped from the inferno.
As he quickly retrieved his flying artifact, a voice echoed in his ears.
"Where do you intend to go?"
Wearing black armor that covered his whole body, Wang Yu stood unscathed beside him, his hand gripping the former city master's neck. That icy and irresistible force almost froze his blood.
With a pitiful expression, the former city master pleaded in a nearly begging tone, "Daoist friend, it's not that I don't want to, but I simply cannot say!"
"Then I'll take your soul."
As the soul-devouring effect activated, the former city master's face changed drastically.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!"
"It's des——"
Slap.
Just as he began to speak, the former city master's head exploded before Wang Yu's eyes, leaving only a bit of residual soul absorbed by the Black Withering Armor.
"Des? Des what..."
Wang Yu sighed, realizing he had truly been placed under a restriction.
The management was so strict that it was unfortunate he wasn't a condensation-stage cultivator and couldn't use the soul-searching technique.
Looking at the ghostly face added to the Black Withering Armor, his thoughts scattered.
"I wonder if this residual soul can be extracted again for a soul search."
Alas, it was too late to say anything now.
No matter how he reacted, the former city master would die.
The stakes behind this were much greater than he had imagined. Clearly, it was unwise to get too involved.
Wang Wu must know about this.
After all, the proposal to offer young maidens originated from him. He even contributed his own sister. Over five years, Stone Lake City had suffered numerous calamities.
He was unclear whether Elder Ning's mission was related to this matter.
"Des... perhaps it's someone's name."
Deciding to confiscate all of the former city master's assets, there weren't many spirit stones anyway. His savings had gone toward purchasing the Inverse Blood Pill.
Far fewer than Wang Yu's wealth as a Qi Refinement peak cultivator.
Addition complete for now, with continuous stockpiling. Once standards are met, additional chapters will follow.
The plot involving the return home will involve subsequent main threads. The protagonist regaining his spiritual roots might be seen in a couple of days.
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(End of Chapter)