Chapter 87: Visiting the Lord of Silver Maple City (Please Subscribe)

Hearing these words, Zheng Huangjin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He almost wanted to throw Li Guanzhuan out on the spot.

What a joke! He was just at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and to face a hot-tempered peak-stage demonic cultivator directly—he’d be slapped to death in no time.

"You’re pushing me straight into the fire pit!"

Zheng Huangjin set up a Spirit Guard Talisman in the room to prevent eavesdropping from outside—a trick he had learned from Li Guanzhuan himself.

Lowering his voice and wearing a grave expression, Zheng Huangjin said, "To tell you the truth, I really don’t dare go to the City Lord’s Mansion to discuss this. You should have heard already—back when you were breaking through to Foundation Establishment, the Silver Maple City Lord was watching your home with a cold, lingering gaze every day. The moment your lease expired after you advanced, he was ready to throw you out immediately. If I go there now to plead for you, getting slapped in the face twice would be the least of my worries. If I upset that demonic cultivator, I’d be lucky to leave with my skin intact."

"Wouldn’t a few gifts smooth things over?" Li Guanzhuan hadn’t expected the situation to be so severe.

In his mind, offering some pills and talismans should have satisfied the Silver Maple City Lord. After all, what’s done is done—he couldn’t possibly halt the city’s development, and such valuable items had to be tempting.

"It’s difficult to discuss such matters with him." Zheng Huangjin shook his head and sighed lightly, "Demonic cultivators think differently from us—they’re more direct and unrestrained. Since the Silver Maple City Lord has decided to drive you out, he absolutely won’t keep you, no matter what."

Li Guanzhuan sipped his spirit tea, brow deeply furrowed.

On matters like this, Zheng Huangjin wouldn’t joke. Did he really have to leave Silver Maple City?

The thought made Li Guanzhuan sigh inwardly. He had fled from Qing’an City to Shanggu City, then from Shanggu City to Silver Maple City…

Even after reaching Foundation Establishment, he was still wandering without a home.

"Does the Silver Maple City Lord know about the Shanggu City Lord’s situation?" Li Guanzhuan suddenly asked.

Narrowing his eyes, Zheng Huangjin lowered his voice further, so that only the two of them could hear. "You mean his grave injuries in the Scarlet Training Mountains, and the burning of his life essence?"

Li Guanzhuan was surprised. "Did my master tell you?"

"Don’t forget what the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion does behind the scenes. Even if Ge Wen didn’t mention it, we could have found out anyway," Zheng Huangjin replied with a chuckle. "Besides, thousands of cultivators hunt monsters and gather herbs in the Scarlet Training Mountains every day. It’s impossible for the Shanggu City Lord to keep it entirely secret—he can only try to delay the news. In fact, while you were in seclusion breaking through to Foundation Establishment, the Shanggu City Lord began spreading rumors that a mysterious alchemist was concocting a Golden Essence Pill for him with a thirty percent success rate, and that the pill would be ready in a short time."

Li Guanzhuan paused, genuinely surprised. He hadn’t expected the Shanggu City Lord to resort to such a tactic.

Who was this ‘mysterious alchemist’? The secretive one behind the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion?

Sometimes, vague statements like these could truly make people think twice—when faced with uncertainty, many would hesitate.

So for the next few years, things in Shanggu City would probably remain stable.

It had already been about a year and a half; the Shanggu City Lord had eight and a half years left of his ten-year lifespan, and taking away the time needed to form a Golden Core, at most six and a half years remained…

Murmuring to himself, Li Guanzhuan said, "So if the Shanggu City Lord can’t form a Golden Core within six and a half years, either someone else will destroy him, or he’ll destroy Shanggu City himself, not leaving his hard-won legacy to anyone…"

The second possibility seemed more likely to him.

Cultivators were all self-serving. No one wanted to pave the way for others, least of all an old fox like the Shanggu City Lord, who had dealt with the Great Heng, Great Xuan, and Great Zhou for so long—he would never hand over everything he built so easily.

"And that man keeps grudges and returns every slight," Li Guanzhuan continued. "I refused to help him refine the Golden Essence Pill—he’ll surely remember it. If he’s truly desperate, he’ll drag me down to hell with him…"

Li Guanzhuan rubbed his brow, feeling a headache; he could not believe he’d become entangled in such a mess.

Zheng Huangjin tried to comfort him. "Don’t worry. If it really comes to that, our boss will make arrangements—he won’t just stand by and watch you die."

Li Guanzhuan said nothing.

If the benefits were great enough, anyone would sell him out.

In the world of cultivation, without strength, no one would give you a second glance.

It was only because he could refine pills and draw talismans that he was able to sit here with Liu Xiaoxian and Zheng Huangjin.

"Whatever the case, the Shanggu City Lord will surely be watching me now, probing for my whereabouts," Li Guanzhuan said seriously. "I think I’ve covered my tracks, but there’s always a flaw. I need to reach mid-Foundation Establishment as soon as possible and prepare more means for self-preservation. After all, my master can’t always be by my side, and I have three wives at home—if the Shanggu City Lord finds us, things will get ugly."

Having analyzed the situation, Li Guanzhuan looked up, his expression grave and earnest. "This won’t do. I can’t keep running forever, and I don’t even know where to hide. At least around Shanggu City, if I encounter a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator, I might be able to hold out until my master arrives. In another city, if I’m threatened or robbed by a peak Foundation Establishment, I’d have no way out. So, I have to stay in Silver Maple City. As long as I reach late Foundation Establishment or its peak, no one here will be able to threaten me."

At that, Zheng Huangjin asked bluntly, "So what will you do?"

"Join forces with the Silver Maple City Lord and take down the Shanggu City Lord," Li Guanzhuan replied word by word. "My identity as an alchemist can’t be kept secret any longer, but it’s better for one person to know than for everyone to know. Brother, come with me to the City Lord’s Mansion. Let’s talk to the Silver Maple City Lord and bring a generous gift. I don’t believe anyone can resist pills and talismans. The only reason he refused so decisively must be that the gift wasn’t big enough."

"Alright," Zheng Huangjin sighed, then advised, "You’re a Foundation Establishment cultivator now. If there’s really no other way, the boss can have someone send you to Yongning Prefecture in Great Heng. At least there you can survive at the edge of the Li family—your life won’t be in danger."

"And go back to be scorned for having no wife or child?" Li Guanzhuan said.

Zheng Huangjin fell silent.

Sometimes, he wondered if the problem lay with Li Guanzhuan himself.

After all, someone who practiced two dual-cultivation manuals should not be so barren.

"But it doesn’t matter," Li Guanzhuan said, relaxing into his chair with a serene smile. "With my current situation, I haven’t even figured out how to survive myself—why would I want a child? Should I bring them into this world just to suffer alongside me, wandering from place to place without a home? My own father was a scoundrel—he didn’t care for his children, and even wives and concubines were just tools to him. If their talent was poor, he’d toss them aside without a second thought, not even sparing them a drop of milk. My childhood wasn’t happy, and I don’t want my children to live like that either. When I’m truly powerful and influential, it won’t be too late to have children. If I can’t give them the life of a ‘second-generation immortal,’ at least I should fulfill that wish for myself."

Hearing this, Zheng Huangjin laughed and sat down, pulling two jars of wine from his storage bag.

"We’re the same. As cultivators at the bottom, none of us had a good childhood. But now your days are getting better, and you’ve reached Foundation Establishment. As long as you keep your head down and avoid trouble, forming a Golden Core within a hundred years is entirely possible."

Li Guanzhuan clinked his wine jar against Zheng Huangjin’s, smiling. "I owe much to you, Brother Zheng. Without your help, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly."

"Nonsense—without you, I’d never have succeeded in Foundation Establishment myself," Zheng Huangjin replied with a smile.

The two exchanged a look and drank heartily.

To have two or three genuine friends in life is already a blessing.

…

The next day.

Li Guanzhuan and Zheng Huangjin went together to pay their respects at the Silver Maple City Lord’s Mansion.

When the Silver Maple City Lord saw Li Guanzhuan, his deep black eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing.

"Greetings, City Lord," Li Guanzhuan said, bowing and offering a storage pouch. "This is a token of my apology. I hope you’ll accept it with a smile."

The Silver Maple City Lord did not take it. Instead, he asked, "With alchemy skills like yours, you could thrive anywhere. Why come to Silver Maple City to hide?"

The steward had already reported that Zheng Huangjin himself had brought someone to apologize, along with some pills.

With just those words, the Silver Maple City Lord understood that the mysterious alchemist capable of refining Foundation Establishment Pills with a thirty percent chance was none other than Li Guanzhuan. Otherwise, Zheng Huangjin would never go to such lengths to protect him.

"I wanted a little peace and quiet," Li Guanzhuan replied honestly. "You can have someone investigate me. From the day I arrived in Silver Maple City, I’ve never caused any trouble, nor fought with other cultivators. I’ve simply worked diligently at pill-making and talisman-drawing to earn resources for cultivation."

"Two Life-Threshold Pills, two Detoxification Spirit Pills—all of excellent quality… Tsk, your alchemy skills are truly enviable," the Silver Maple City Lord sighed.

Li Guanzhuan said nothing.

If the City Lord insisted on driving him out, he would have no choice but to leave.

But the real reason for his visit today was to set a trap for the Shanggu City Lord.

Since the Shanggu City Lord had his sights set on him, he’d let him know what it was like to be haunted day and night.

He would reveal his identity and make it clear he had never agreed to refine a Golden Essence Pill for the Shanggu City Lord.

That alone would be enough to ensure the Shanggu City Lord’s final years would be anything but peaceful.

"Since you refused to refine a Golden Essence Pill for the Shanggu City Lord, if I ask you to make one for me in the future, will you agree?" the City Lord asked, eyes narrowed.

"For a normal quality Golden Essence Pill, I’m confident. But for one with a thirty percent success rate…" Li Guanzhuan shook his head helplessly, "Even if it cost me my life, I couldn’t manage that."

"Hahaha! Good! Straightforward!" The Silver Maple City Lord slapped his thigh and laughed. "That’s the kind of man I like to deal with. I had people watching you for a long time—you really did keep your nose clean. Otherwise, the day you left seclusion would have been the day I threw you out."

Li Guanzhuan was taken aback, then bowed gratefully. "Thank you for your kindness, City Lord."

"It’s not kindness," the City Lord waved him off. "Go find yourself a place in the city center. I’m not going to interfere any further."

"Thank you, City Lord!" Both Li Guanzhuan and Zheng Huangjin breathed a sigh of relief, bowing together.

…

After they left.

The Silver Maple City Lord chuckled to himself, "Brother Wuji, your sister truly has a good eye. She’s found herself an excellent husband."

(End of chapter)