Chapter 88: The Talkative City Lord

Standing before the city lord of Silver Maple City was a young man in white.

Every inch of him was a stark, chilling white. His long hair, pale as frost, fell loose and unbound. Beneath thick white brows, a pair of sharp phoenix eyes concealed a hidden edge. His features were strikingly defined, his frame as upright as a spear.

"Mm."

The young man in white showed no expression at all. A sound came from his throat, yet his gaze never once left the figure that had already departed from the city lord's residence.

At first, he did not understand why his sister had chosen this man.

But after watching for some time, he gradually discovered that this man was more steady and grounded than any cultivator he had ever seen, never leaving home unless necessary.

Either he did not go out at all, or if he did, he went straight to the Ten Thousand Phenomena Pavilion and nowhere else.

He was practically a timid turtle of a cultivator.

And yet...

This time, Li Guanheng had followed Zheng Jinhuang to the city lord's residence and openly revealed his identity, clearly setting a trap for the city lord of Shanggu City.

In other words, although Li Guanheng was cautious and fearful of trouble, there was still a ruthless, vindictive side buried deep in his nature.

If he did not strike, it was perhaps only because his strength truly fell short.

But once he surpassed his opponent, Li Guanheng would undoubtedly strike hard, strike deadly, and never leave the enemy a shred of breathing room.

"So far as I know, this Li Guanheng is also a second-rank talisman master, puppet master, and first-rank formation master."

The city lord of Silver Maple City sighed. "A talent. Truly a talent. In my eyes, human cultivators are all synonymous with cunning, slyness, and hypocrisy, yet in this fellow I see only two words: practical. Yes, practical. People like him are the type who, if you do not offend him, he will not offend you; but if you threaten him, he will spare no effort to grind you to death and leave you with not even half a breath.

"And during this time, you must have observed it as well: after he came out of seclusion, he never went around announcing the good news, never held a feast in celebration. He simply stayed home every day with his three wives... though we do not know what exactly he is doing inside.

"When he has free time, or when the city is relatively safe, he even takes his three wives out for a stroll and buys little trinkets and such.

"What kind of cultivator is that? He is clearly just someone who wants to live a normal life..."

After that speech, the city lord of Silver Maple City was full of admiration and praise.

He too was a practical demonic cultivator.

Though he could not be as low-profile as Li Guanheng, nor as unconcerned with fame and fortune, he considered that he had managed Silver Maple City quite well.

"I only hope he remains the same in the future."

The young man in white spoke in a voice as cold as ice, like an eternal mountain of snow that would never melt.

"Rest assured, Brother Wuji. I am very good at reading people. A man like this, as long as you treat him well, will repay you tenfold."

Patting his chest, the city lord of Silver Maple City spoke confidently and at length. "You can see it from how he treats Zheng Jinhuang. I do not need to tell you how poor that branch manager's aptitude is.

"His realm was piled up with pills, his body so laden with pill poison that even ordinary detoxifying spirit pills could not solve it. Only top-grade detoxifying spirit pills would do.

"Yet how did Li Guanheng treat him? He immediately buried himself in studying and refining detoxifying spirit pills, along with life-gate pills, all for the sake of curing the stubborn ailments of someone who had once helped him!"

At that, the city lord could not help sighing. "Ah, if I were not so unfamiliar with him, I would even want to become sworn brothers with him!"

Unlike the city lord's incessant chatter, the young man in white remained silent the entire time, his eyes fixed on the world outside.

At last, he gave a slight nod, murmured a soft "Mm," and left.

"Where are you going? To kill the city lord of Shanggu City?"

The city lord of Silver Maple City craned his neck and called after him, then reminded him, "The city lord of Shanggu City is not easy to kill right now. His place is sealed by formation after formation, layer upon layer. Going there would be suicide. Besides, he could not possibly come out at a critical moment like this. Wait a little longer...

"Wait until he cannot sit still anymore and runs out in a frenzy. Then it will not be too late for the two of us to join forces and kill him! You can rest easy. Your brother-in-law's alchemy is outstanding, and I cannot bear to see him die either.

"Besides, whether I can form a top-grade golden core in the future will probably depend on whether he can refine a top-grade golden essence pill."

The young man in white had long since gone far away.

He had not heard a word of what followed.

He preferred peace and quiet and had no desire to stay with a talkative person. It would only make him irritated, and he might not be able to resist drawing his sword and thrusting it into that noisy mouth.

Only after the young man in white had departed did the city lord of Silver Maple City look more and more pleased with the porcelain vial in his hand. He muttered to himself:

"I've taken the top-grade detoxifying spirit pills and life-gate pills that Li Guanheng refined for Zheng Jinhuang. He shouldn't hate me for that, should he?

"After all, he and Brother Wuji's younger sister nearly drained my second-rank middle-grade spiritual vein dry. It'll take at least ten years or eight before it recovers... A normal gift in return should not be a problem.

"Heh, with these four pills, I’ll have at least two more middle-stage foundation establishment cultivators on my side. Excellent!"

However, after his laughter died down, the city lord seemed to remember something.

"It seems the Spirit Treasure Pavilion is about to hold an auction, and one of the lots is a top-grade life-gate pill... Over the past year, quite a few guest appraisers from the Ten Thousand Phenomena Pavilion have been poached by the Spirit Treasure Pavilion..."

Lowering his head, the city lord looked at the small porcelain vial containing the pills in his hand and mused:

"If I give away this favor, Li Guanheng should be able to understand my sincerity, right? If he can refine golden essence pills in the future, mine should not be left out."

...

After Li Guanheng and Zheng Jinhuang returned to the Ten Thousand Phenomena Pavilion, both of them finally relaxed.

"Have you sensed anything unusual?" Li Guanheng asked gravely.

Zheng Jinhuang was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. "No. What did you sense?"

"Someone has been watching me from the shadows."

Li Guanheng furrowed his brow and explained, "What is strange is that this person bore me no hostility, yet I could still feel a piercing chill deep to the bone..."

A newly formed foundation establishment cultivator's spiritual sense generally covered a range of thirty to forty zhang.

But Li Guanheng's spiritual sense, bolstered by the gains of dual cultivation, had already doubled even at the initial stage.

Its sharpness was even greater than that of ordinary foundation establishment cultivators, which was why he could detect something amiss.

Zheng Jinhuang said in a low voice, "You mean there is someone else inside the city lord's residence?"

"That should be it."

Li Guanheng nodded slightly. "However, that person bore no hostility. They probably will not do anything to us. They may merely have been curious and looked at me a few extra times."

"Either way, the city lord of Silver Maple City is straightforward by nature. Since he agreed to let you stay, he will not allow anyone to make trouble for you, openly or in secret. You can be completely at ease about that."

Zheng Jinhuang smiled. "Your move was quite clever. You revealed your identity and put the city lord of Shanggu City in a difficult position... But what happens next depends on whether the city lord of Silver Maple City will sell you out."

"Yes, I am also rather concerned about that."

Li Guanheng let out a soft sigh. "My first impression of the city lord of Silver Maple City was that he is indeed easy to talk to, frank and candid, rough at the edges but thoughtful where it matters. As long as he does not expose my identity, I can refine a golden essence pill for him later at the normal price."

Knock, knock.

Someone was at the door. Then came Li Kuangzheng's voice. "Shopkeeper, the city lord's steward has personally delivered something."

At this, Li Guanheng and Zheng Jinhuang exchanged a glance, both startled.

Could it be that the city lord of Silver Maple City intended to back out?

With a sweep of his sleeve, Zheng Jinhuang opened the door and asked, "What is it?"

Li Kuangzheng entered, closed the door on his own initiative, then glanced at the spirit ward talisman by the door before replying, "He did not say. He only said for the shopkeeper to open it himself."

With that, Li Kuangzheng handed over a storage pouch.

Li Guanheng narrowed his eyes and said, "This is the storage pouch I gave him."

Zheng Jinhuang was a little incredulous. He hurriedly took the pouch. Just as he was about to open it, he prudently controlled it with his spiritual sense, suspending it in midair as he slowly probed inside.

"..."

Li Guanheng was somewhat speechless. Who had Zheng Jinhuang learned this from?

Zheng Jinhuang said in a low voice, "Inside are your top-grade detoxifying spirit pills and life-gate pills."

Li Kuangzheng knew that the two of them had visited the city lord's residence today.

Hearing that the gift they had sent had been returned, Li Kuangzheng's expression turned slightly grave. "Did the talks break down? Is the city lord of Silver Maple City still holding to his original position?"

"No."

Li Guanheng said with a smile, "This city lord is rather interesting. He has actually done us a favor."

"Indeed..."

Even Zheng Jinhuang had not expected this. He said, "The Spirit Treasure Pavilion's auction is imminent. The city lord of Silver Maple City had the steward send these four pills back because he is helping us deal with the Spirit Treasure Pavilion."

At that, Zheng Jinhuang looked at Li Guanheng and added, "Little brother, the city lord of Silver Maple City returned the four pills because of your face."

Li Guanheng had already guessed as much. "It is not a return, but a loan. Later, we will still have to gather the materials and refine four pills to send to him.

"In the end, he not only made a profit from the pills, he also earned a favor... But that is reasonable. If he had accepted nothing at all, then I would truly have had reason to worry. Since he is willing to take something, it means he bears no malice toward me and will not trouble me in the future."

"Golden essence pill."

Li Kuangzheng reminded him, "That favor of his will most likely be used on a golden essence pill."

Li Guanheng smiled and gave a slight nod.

It did not matter. As long as, forty or fifty years from now, the city lord of Silver Maple City had prepared the materials for a golden essence pill, he could refine one for him.

"I will figure out the materials for the detoxifying spirit pills and life-gate pills. When the time comes, little brother, I will have to trouble you to refine them."

Zheng Jinhuang cupped his hands. "Without your help in this matter, I am afraid I truly would not be able to contend with the Spirit Treasure Pavilion."

"A minor matter."

Li Guanheng stretched lazily and said with a smile, "As long as I can live safely and peacefully in Silver Maple City, putting in a little extra effort is nothing."

...

After spending the afternoon at the Ten Thousand Phenomena Pavilion instructing several first-rank talisman masters, Li Guanheng went to buy some cooked demonic beast meat for home.

The moment he arrived, Qin Jiyue said joyfully, "Husband, my brother is still alive!"

Li Guanheng paused, then asked, "He came to find you?"

"Mm!"

Qin Jiyue nodded happily. "But he used spiritual sense transmission and did not come out to see me. He told me that you are a good husband, and that we should live well in Silver Maple City. Until the city lord of Shanggu City is dead, we should not leave here lightly."

Hearing this, Li Guanheng fell into thought.

"Husband, what's wrong?" Qin Jiyue could not help asking when she saw this.

"Today I went to the city lord's residence, and I kept feeling that someone was watching me from the shadows..."

Li Guanheng recounted everything truthfully.

Including how the city lord of Silver Maple City had done him a favor.

After hearing everything, Qin Jiyue nodded slightly and analyzed, "From this, it seems my brother and the city lord of Silver Maple City probably know each other. Otherwise, when my husband came out of seclusion back then, the city lord of Silver Maple City would certainly have had us driven out of the city."

"Whatever the case, from now on we no longer have to drift from place to place without a home."

Li Guanheng said with a smile, "I already had Brother Zheng help me find a house in the inner city. A residence on a second-rank upper-grade spiritual vein is ready for us to move into now."

Upon hearing this, all three women lit up with delight. They embraced one another and cheered, overjoyed.

Soon, the family of four began packing their things.

To be safe, Li Guanheng took them out of the city first, then, with Zheng Jinhuang's help, entered through another gate and headed straight for the inner-city residence.

He did this partly to make some people think he had already left Silver Maple City.

After all, the matter of draining the second-rank middle-grade spiritual vein dry had indeed aroused a great deal of dissatisfaction.

...

That night, after dinner.

With nothing to occupy himself, Li Guanheng leisurely drank tea, enjoyed tender intimacy, and toyed with the rhythms of sun and moon.

Such was no more than the life of immortals.

Days without any urgent need to cultivate and break through were exactly this shamelessly idle and dull.

After all, Li Guanheng was now a first-stage foundation establishment cultivator. He only needed to use a bit of immortal qi to stabilize his realm, unlike before when he had to cultivate twelve hours a day.

When he had time, Li Guanheng would also make a trip to the Ten Thousand Phenomena Pavilion to help nurture alchemists and talisman masters.

He also took the opportunity to improve his formation skills and inscribe formations in their inner-city home.

One month later.

The first-rank talisman masters who had once followed Li Guanheng and studied talisman arts in Shanggu City were now basically all staying in Silver Maple City.

Only a few, who had families in Shanggu City, had not come.

Among them, Han Lian, who had the most outstanding talent, finished drawing a top-grade talisman, wiped the sweat from his brow, and said with a delighted bow, "Senior Li, I have already drawn a top-grade protective talisman. Please have a look."

"I see it. Very good."

Li Guanheng smiled and said, "Try drawing other talismans as well. Aim to reach the top-grade level in all of them. Only then will it be easier for you to advance to second-rank talisman master.

"These are the top-grade return-vital pills provided free of charge by the Ten Thousand Phenomena Pavilion. After taking one, calm your mind, gather your spirit, and recall every detail of the talisman-drawing process. Try not to become too self-satisfied. Only by reflecting on yourself every day will you improve faster."

"Yes!"

Han Lian put away his smile and responded respectfully.

Seeing Li Guanheng praise Han Lian, the talisman masters nearby could not help revealing looks of envy.

The Senior Li of today was no longer the same qi refinement cultivator he had once been.

He was a genuine foundation establishment grand cultivator. Being able to receive his care and guidance was an extraordinarily rare opportunity.

Two hours later, Li Guanheng told them all to stop and rest.

After spending the entire morning drawing talismans, their spiritual sense, magical power, and physical strength were inevitably somewhat depleted.

During the break, Han Lian could not help bringing up what had happened a few days ago with a smile. "Has everyone heard? The Spirit Treasure Pavilion intended to use a single top-grade life-gate pill to bring down our branch in Silver Maple City.

"Who would have thought that Shopkeeper Zheng would directly bring out two top-grade life-gate pills, along with two detoxifying spirit pills, and instantly draw every foundation establishment grand cultivator in the initial stage over to our side?

"After building momentum and advertising for more than half a year, the Spirit Treasure Pavilion ultimately ended up making a wedding gown for our Ten Thousand Phenomena Pavilion. Hahaha..."

Everyone could not help laughing as well.

This matter had spread not only throughout Silver Maple City, but also to Shanggu City and even Huajing Immortal City.

Moreover, some alchemists who had originally switched over to the Spirit Treasure Pavilion were now filled with bitter regret and wanted desperately to return to the Ten Thousand Phenomena Pavilion.

"A bunch of unremarkable first-rank talisman masters dare to wag their tongues behind others' backs? Truly reckless."

At that moment, a powerful spiritual sense descended into the courtyard, pressing down until the faces of the many first-rank talisman masters turned deathly pale.

They had already overdrawn their magical power and physical strength.

Now, faced with a foundation establishment spiritual sense, those with lower cultivation bases immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

...

PS: Thanks to "Hero Xiao Feng" for the one-thousand-point donation.

Today may only be this one 4,200-word chapter. These past few days the updates have been lousy, and there is no helping it, because I have been consulting other authors and taking notes and such, so the updates have been fewer. I have to go home today, and all the missed updates will be made up starting tomorrow, the sixth.

End of chapter.