Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 225: Peer of the Same Trade

The commandery governor did not want to blow the matter out of proportion. If something can be solved with spirit stones, I’ll try my best to solve it with spirit stones.

Luofeng Commandery’s key economic sector was mining. As the commandery governor, the amount of spirit stones under his control could only be described as vast. He refused to believe that a mere Foundation Establishment disciple of the Dao-Seeking Sect could match his wealth.

However, he now knew that he had overestimated himself. I’m nowhere near qualified to compare my wealth to that of the Meng Family’s eldest son.

It’s best to steal it myself; that’s much more economical and practical.

“Do you think offering ten million spirit stones would make the Meng Family’s eldest son interested?”

The two Golden Core cultivators hesitantly shook their heads. “No.”

“Fine, I’ll set my offer as ten million spirit stones.” The commandery governor tried to boost his self-confidence.

~~~

On the roof, Lu Yang turned to Meng Jingzhou. “Would you sell it for ten million spirit stones?”

Meng Jingzhou rolled his eyes. “I’d even sell it for just five hundred thousand spirit stones. Why the hell would I hold on to a yang-boosting thing?”

“To train your willpower?”

“Get lost.”

~~~

Meanwhile, another scene unfolded at the Mo Family.

“Family Head, the ore shops under us came to report earlier today that a group of people came in with a unique Phoenix Blood Stone and asked if there were any similar stones. From the description, it sounds exactly like the Phoenix Blood Stone we’ve been searching for.”

“Oh? Are you certain?” Family Head Mo’s eyes lit up, not expecting that they had finally found the Phoenix Blood Stone.

As the saying goes, “Merchants cannot win against officials.”[1] Although the Mo Family is wealthy and influential, we’re still no match for the commandery governor. If we can get our hands on this Phoenix Blood Stone, it’ll be considered having leverage over the commandery governor, and we won’t have to fear him anymore.

His subordinate stated, “I plan to act tonight and steal the Phoenix Blood Stone.”

“Tonight? Let me ask you, who bought the Phoenix Blood Stone, what is their identity, and how is their cultivation? What would you do if they are at the Divine Transfiguration Stage?”

His subordinate stammered, unable to answer. He realized he had been too eager to impress his master.

Family Head Mo snorted coldly. “We can’t be careless. Go inquire who obtained the Phoenix Blood Stone tomorrow. If nothing goes wrong, I’ll personally steal it myself tomorrow night!”

“You’re going to do it yourself?” The subordinate gasped. Does this really call for the Family Head to step in?

“Of course, this is evidence that can give us leverage over the commandery governor. It’s worth me personally handling this.” Family Head Mo revealed a sliver of excitement.

It’s about time to turn the tide in our struggle with the commandery governor.

~~~

“What exactly is so special about this stone?” Meng Jingzhou took out the Phoenix Blood Stone upon returning to Li Haoran’s home. He examined it closely but couldn’t find anything of note.

“Senior Su, can you tell if anything’s wrong with this?”

Su Yiren shook her head. “I don’t know much about the Phoenix BloodStone. Perhaps only a cultivator adept at forging artifacts can tell what’s unusual about this stone.”

Everyone turned their eyes to Li Haoran.

The corners of Li Haoran’s mouth twitched. “I think all of you are overestimating me. It’s more like it if my shifu were here instead.”

“Immortal Fairy, can you tell if anything’s wrong?” Lu Yang sought assistance from the Everlasting Immortal Fairy.

She frowned. “It smells of blood, and it’s very fresh. I don’t like it.”

“Smells of blood? Very fresh?” Lu Yang had a bad feeling about it. Could this Phoenix Blood Stone be a clue left behind by some deceased person?

“By the way, Immortal Fairy, is it true that a phoenix passed away in a seated posture in Luofeng Commandery?”

The Everlasting Immortal Fairy nodded. “There was indeed one, but it did not surround this place like Li Haoran had said. It’s beneath our feet.” She pointed downward. “Beneath the entire Luofeng Commandery lies a corpse of a phoenix at the Fusion Stage.”

“What should we do?” Li Haoran asked, not expecting this turn of events. I was just making a trip back home to visit my parents, and now we have attracted the commandery governor’s attention and made him take action personally.

Luofeng Commandery was a large commandery, and its commandery governor was at the Divine Transfiguration Stage.

“Catch him directly?” Su Yiren had the highest cultivation among everyone present, so she had the right to speak first. Her idea was simple—capture the problematic person.

Lu Yang contemplated for a bit. “It’s not a good idea to directly act without evidence. We’re representing the Dao-Seeking Sect, so we shouldn’t misuse their law enforcement authority. Let’s have faith and wait for the commandery governor to come and steal the thing tomorrow night. We’ll first use a recording orb to record everything, then ask Senior Su to take action. That way, we can catch him red-handed!

“With all that evidence, he has to admit it even if doesn’t want to!”

“Got it,” Su Yiren agreed.

Lu Yang reminded everyone, “Also, only the few of us should know about this. Junior Brother Li, you don’t want your parents to get involved, right?”

Li Haoran nodded, his tone slightly helpless as if he had recalled something. “From what I understand about them, it’s best not to let them find out about this.”

“I’ll also keep this a secret from Yanyan,” Su Yiren assured.

Li Haoran lamented. “Fortunately, we have Senior Su here with us. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t know what to do tomorrow night.”

Meng Jingzhou chuckled. “What is there to be scared of? Don’t we have Lu Yang? He defeated a Divine Transfiguration cultivator when he was just at the Intermediate Foundation Establishment Stage. With him around, there’s nothing to fear about the commandery governor.”

Su Yiren originally wanted to correct Li Haoran’s method of addressing her, but the information from Meng Jingzhou was too astonishing. An Intermediate Foundation Establishment cultivator defeating a Divine Transfiguration cultivator? What kind of one-and-only genius is this?! Was I embarrassing myself by sharing my golden core formation experience in front of an expert?

“Scram!” Lu Yang glowered at Meng Jingzhou, knowing that he was taking revenge against him for teasing him earlier.

Overwhelmed with curiosity, Su Yiren kept asking about the details of the battle where he fought above his level. As the process was too embarrassing, Lu Yang was adamant about keeping his mouth shut. He even shot warning looks at Meng Jingzhou and Li Haoran. “Don’t you dare tell her!”

When daytime arrived, everyone pretended as though nothing had happened the night before, going about eating, drinking, and having fun as they should.

Lu Yang took the time to ask around if any cultivators had recently gone missing or died. The answer he got was that there were none.

~~~

As the sunlight faded, night fell, with the darkness intensifying.

A figure blended into the night as it snuck into Li Haoran’s house.

The commandery governor was fully prepared, geared up with night stealth attire and a mask. His clothes had the function of concealing his aura and presence. Both his voice and spirit energy fluctuations were altered such that even his wife wouldn’t recognize him.

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“I didn’t leave anything out, right?” It was the commandery governor’s first time doing something like this, so he felt a bit nervous. However, as soon as he thought of how his operation was worth ten million spirit stones, it eased his nerves.

Releasing his spiritual consciousness, he found the Phoenix Blood Stone placed at Meng Jingzhou’s bedside. The person in question was sound asleep, completely unaware.

Meng Jingzhou was very frustrated. He originally wanted to watch the spectacle, but it wouldn’t be reasonable for him not to sleep here. Left without a choice, he could only pretend to be asleep while listening to Lu Yang’s broadcast.

“Found it!”

The commandery governor was just about to proceed when he noticed another figure vaulting over the wall—Family Head Mo. His get-up was exactly the same as the commandery governor’s, wrapping himself up from head to toe so that no one could recognize him.

The two froze simultaneously, not expecting to run into a “peer of the same trade” here. Is this place so popular?

Wait, no...I’m the commandery governor/family head. I’m just being a thief this one time.

1. This is modified from the original version which says, “The poor cannot win against the rich, and the rich cannot win against the authorities.” ☜