"Junior Martial Uncle, what do you mean by this?" Xue San's eyelids twitched; he knew the jig was up.
He had been waiting for this moment, having prepared countless reasons and excuses in his mind.
"Xue San, how dare you collude with outsiders to harm Xiao Yun Peak! Do you confess your crime?" Lin Ping'an's expression was icy, his voice sharp.
"Junior Martial Uncle, what are you talking about? I don't understand!" Xue San looked innocent, but his heart was pounding.
"Alright! If you don't admit it, that's fine. I'll just take this to Master. A dozen Black-Backed Bees are enough to get you kicked out of the Xuan Yuan Sect!" Lin Ping'an didn't waste words with him. He shook the black leather pouch in his hand and strode down the mountain, his voice laced with mockery, "Don't blame me for not giving you a chance!"
Xue San's face changed drastically.
All his prepared excuses were now useless.
If this matter truly reached Elder, it would be irreparable.
At that point, even without evidence, he would likely be charged with negligence, and there was a real possibility of being expelled from the Sect.
If Elder became enraged and investigated thoroughly, he might… lose his life.
Zhang Ping… you set me up!
No!
This absolutely cannot happen!
At this moment, he had an urge to kill to silence the witness.
But in an instant, that thought vanished.
Negligence only meant punishment; murder would mean certain death for him.
"Junior Martial Uncle, let's talk this over! Let's talk this over! This time it was my negligence, please be lenient, Junior Martial Uncle!" Xue San blocked Lin Ping'an, his face filled with distress.
"Oh, so it was negligence! Then how do you plan to compensate me?" Lin Ping'an sneered, looking at him.
"I… I'll compensate you at the market price! There were thirteen Nightshade plants in total, so I'll compensate you with thirteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones."
Xue San felt his heart bleed. He had saved these Spirit Stones for a long time, unwilling to use them, but he never expected that today… sigh!
Xue San truly wanted to bang his head on the ground.
"Thirteen! Humph! I don't want them. I'll have Gu Aoyue compensate me!" Lin Ping'an sneered repeatedly.
"You…" Xue San's expression changed again upon hearing Gu Aoyue's name.
If Gu Aoyue got involved, he would be even more finished.
"I was wrong! It was Zhang Ping who gave me two Low-Grade Spirit Stones and said that Junior Martial Uncle had offended Gu Aoyue! I am willing to compensate you double. Double is my limit!" Xue San's face was uglier than crying at this point.
"Double is about right! Hand them over!" Lin Ping'an extended his hand.
"Here you go!"
Xue San exchanged twenty-six Low-Grade Spirit Stones for the pouch containing the Black-Backed Bee corpses.
He returned to his small room, so heartbroken he almost fainted.
Greed for a small gain led to a huge loss. For two Low-Grade Spirit Stones, he had given up a full year's worth of Cultivation resources.
It seemed the day he would advance to Qi Gathering Fourth Layer was now far, far away.
Inside Gu Aoyue's Immortal Cave on Suzaku Peak.
"Senior Brother Gu, rest assured! He's just a Qi Gathering First Layer boy; he can't deal with so many Black-Backed Bees at all. If he just watched from the side, it would be fine, only the Nightshade would be damaged. But if he overestimated himself and tried to drive them away, he's probably half-dead by now!" Zhang Ping grinned, his smugness evident.
"Oh! Well done. Did you leave any traces?" A sinister smile appeared on the corner of Gu Aoyue's lips.
"Senior Brother Gu, please rest assured! If I, Zhang Ping, can't even handle such a small matter, how can I ever face you again?"
"Hm! Not bad. Here's a bottle of Qi Gathering Pills. Take them for your Cultivation!" Gu Aoyue casually tossed out a pill bottle and waved his hand at him.
After Zhang Ping left, Gu Aoyue couldn't resist and went to Xiao Yun Peak.
"Xue San! Xue San!" Gu Aoyue knocked on the door of Xue San's small room.
"Senior Brother Gu!" Xue San walked out of his small room listlessly. Seeing Gu Aoyue, a feeling of resentment couldn't help but rise in his heart.
If not for you, how could I have suffered such misfortune?
"Did anything happen on the mountain?" Gu Aoyue glanced at the mountaintop, hinting at something.
"Senior Brother Gu, if you want to watch a show, go see for yourself! But I estimate you'll be very disappointed!" Xue San's words were full of resentment.
"Xue San! Are you looking to die?" Gu Aoyue wasn't a fool; he immediately heard the dissatisfaction in the other party's words.
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!" Xue San then remembered that he couldn't afford to offend this person either, and hurriedly bowed, explaining, "That Lin Ping'an used some method to kill all dozen Black-Backed Bees, only losing a dozen Nightshade plants. He used the Black-Backed Bees to threaten me and extorted twenty-six Low-Grade Spirit Stones from me. Those were several years of my Cultivation resources…"
How truly tragic it was to be a small figure, unable to offend this one or that one.
He was caught in this whirlpool, unable to extricate himself, only blaming himself for being too weak.
"What! All dozen Black-Backed Bees killed, only a dozen Nightshade plants lost?" Gu Aoyue's face instantly darkened, and a cold glint flickered in his eyes. "It seems this guy is a bit troublesome!"
Gu Aoyue calmed down.
Perhaps Elder had bestowed some treasure upon him; otherwise, with his strength, it would be impossible to kill a dozen Black-Backed Bees.
This matter needed a long-term plan!
"Alright! Isn't it just twenty-some Low-Grade Spirit Stones? I'll compensate you!" Gu Aoyue tossed out a Storage Pouch and sneered, "But you remember this well: from today onwards, you are my, Gu Aoyue's, dog. You watch that kid for me, and if there's any movement, inform me immediately!"
"Yes! Senior Brother Gu, rest assured, I, Xue San, remember!"
"Take care of yourself. If I find out you're being two-faced, I'll make you disappear directly!"
Gu Aoyue left. Xue San excitedly opened the Storage Pouch, and seeing the Low-Grade Spirit Stones inside, his body trembled with excitement.
What if he was a dog? If he could get Spirit Stones, he would do anything!
Lin Ping'an naturally didn't know about the other party's shamelessness. He was now excited to have obtained twenty-six Low-Grade Spirit Stones and began to Cultivate.
Ten days later, all twenty-six Low-Grade Spirit Stones had turned into powder.
His internal magical power had increased significantly, and he had finally advanced to Qi Gathering Second Layer!
He took out the sheathless longsword. The sword was four feet long, with a cold gleam.
It was clearly forged from high-quality refined iron. If this sword were in the Mortal world, it would be a divine weapon, but in an Immortal Dao Sect, it was merely standard equipment for Outer Sect Disciples.
He had seen many people flying with swords before. Although his current magical power was not enough to support him flying, through the last battle, he knew he should be able to control this sword with the Item Manipulation Technique.
He made a grasping motion in the Void Realm towards the longsword with his palm.
The longsword floated lightly, slowly flying into his hand.
He was instantly overjoyed!
Although the longsword was heavier than a stone, its power had increased by an unknown amount.
If he could use the sword to kill enemies, those dozen Black-Backed Bees probably wouldn't have even damaged a single Nightshade plant.
He activated the Item Manipulation Technique to control the longsword to dance in the air, but there was no discernible pattern to its movements.
"I need to go to the Scripture Pavilion to find a sword technique!"
He had seen several sword techniques in the Scripture Pavilion before, but he hadn't paid attention at the time. Now that he thought about it, using the Item Manipulation Technique to wield a longsword and perform a sword technique should maximize its power.
Lin Ping'an acted as soon as he thought of it, hurrying down the mountain towards the Scripture Pavilion.
He still had three contribution points from his last exchange with Xue San, and one contribution point allowed him to view the first and second floors of the Scripture Pavilion for half an hour.
"That kid went down the mountain!" Gu Aoyue quickly received the news.
"Let's go! Let's go meet this kid!" Gu Aoyue took Zhang Ping and strode down the mountain.
Lin Ping'an found a sword technique called "Water Moon Sword" on the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion.
This sword technique was very suitable for his Physique.
As he walked out of the Scripture Pavilion, he saw two people walking towards him.
It was Gu Aoyue and Zhang Ping.
"Lin Ping'an! What's the use of someone with your Aptitude coming to the Scripture Pavilion? It's a complete waste of contribution points. Why not exchange them for a few more Longevity Pills and send them home instead!" Zhang Ping's voice was somewhat shrill, immediately attracting the attention of many Disciples.
"Gu Aoyue! You see your Junior Martial Uncle, yet you don't come over to pay your respects!" Lin Ping'an didn't even look at Zhang Ping, only a faint mocking smile on his lips as he looked at Gu Aoyue.
Gu Aoyue almost turned around and left immediately.
"Oh, so it's Elder's abandoned Disciple. My Disciple greets you! I heard that your medicinal garden suffered an insect plague, and you even used this matter to extort twenty-six Low-Grade Spirit Stones from Xue San. Isn't Junior Martial Uncle's action a bit too much like bullying based on power?" Gu Aoyue had prepared his words before coming.
"Oh! How did you know about this? Did you secretly instruct it?" Lin Ping'an chuckled.
"Junior Martial Uncle, please don't make false accusations. Although this Disciple is untalented, I do have a few friends, so it's not strange to know about this!"
"If it wasn't you, then I'm relieved! I was just about to tell Master about this. I don't think someone is targeting me, but rather trying to target Master, the Elder. I'm sure Master will take this seriously and investigate it thoroughly until the truth comes out!" Lin Ping'an turned and walked away, heading straight for Elder's Immortal Cave.
Gu Aoyue instantly regretted it. He felt he shouldn't have provoked the other party.
The other party was so shameless as to go directly to Elder.
Although he knew Elder was in seclusion, he couldn't be sure this guy wouldn't risk his life and directly barge into Elder's seclusion spot.
Even if the other party was beaten to death by Elder, the dirty deeds he had done would be investigated, and then he, too, would probably incur Elder's wrath.
"Junior Martial Uncle! Elder is in seclusion! You probably won't see him if you go now!" Gu Aoyue followed him, his voice cold, "And if you dare to disturb Elder's seclusion, you will surely die!"
"It's fine! I have plenty of time. I'll just wait in front of Master's seclusion Immortal Cave. Whenever Master comes out of seclusion, I'll report! Anyway, my talent is very poor, so it's the same no matter where I Cultivate!" Lin Ping'an grinned.
He was taking a desperate gamble, willing to drag Gu Aoyue down with him even if it meant his own death.
He was certain the other party wouldn't dare to stand against him!
"You…" Gu Aoyue was truly a bit stunned.
Why wasn't this guy playing by the rules? What should he do?
"Oh, right, it seems I also have a few Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters. Master is in seclusion for this matter, but my Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters shouldn't be in seclusion, right? Master's spiritual field was ruined, they should care, shouldn't they?" Lin Ping'an added.
"You… I…" Gu Aoyue really wanted to slap himself a few times.
Wasn't he asking for it? Putting his face out there to be slapped, and it was making loud smacking sounds.
"What 'you,' what 'I'! Say what you have to say quickly, Junior Martial Uncle is very busy!" Lin Ping'an reprimanded him unceremoniously.
"How can you not go?" Gu Aoyue asked in a very low voice.
"Not going isn't impossible… it's just that my Spirit Stones are all used up recently!" Lin Ping'an also replied softly.
"You're extorting me!" Gu Aoyue's eyes widened.
"Don't be so loud, it's compensation, not extortion!"
"You…"
"Not agreeing?"
"Damn it!"
"…"
In the end, Gu Aoyue paid a hush money of fifty-six Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and Lin Ping'an also guaranteed him that once this matter was over, he would absolutely not bring it up again.
Why fifty-six? Because that's all he had on him.
Although he was an Inner Sect Disciple and his Family also supported him, he was only at Qi Gathering Sixth Layer. Taking out eighty-two Low-Grade Spirit Stones in total was his limit.
The two reached an understanding, and everyone was Huanxi.
No!
It was Lin Ping'an who was Huanxi!
Gu Aoyue was so angry at this moment that his lungs almost exploded.
"Senior Brother Gu, why did you agree!" Zhang Ping couldn't help but speak at this moment, "He was probably just trying to scare you!"
"Get lost! Useless thing, if it weren't for your incompetence, how could he have gotten a hold of my weakness!" Gu Aoyue was in a fit of rage at this moment. He backhanded Zhang Ping, sending him flying.
The slap landed squarely, causing Zhang Ping to spit blood and lose many teeth.
He struggled on the ground for a long time before finally managing to crawl up.
He looked with resentment at Gu Aoyue's retreating figure, but then sighed.
The mocking gazes of countless people around him fell upon him, making his expression dim.
This was the tragedy of a lackey: when the Master was unhappy, they could be used as a punching bag at will, and they dared not complain, swallowing their teeth with blood.