There was no helping it...
Li Guanqi had killed quite a few people, leaving him with a mountain of miscellaneous odds and ends.
Yet among all those spoils, the most valuable items were none other than the immortal ores.
The white-haired elder's eyes gleamed sharply. Taking a deep breath, he finally looked up at Li Guanqi, rose, and bowed with cupped hands.
"Young Master, among the items you brought, aside from the three pieces of third-grade immortal ore..."
"The rest of the goods come to a total of 17,900,000 immortal crystals. Rounded up and converted into second-grade immortal crystals, that comes to exactly 180,000 second-grade immortal crystals!"
A surge of wild delight flared within Li Guanqi, yet his expression remained as calm and impassive as ever.
"Convert 150,000 of it into second-grade immortal crystals. Deduct the cost of that wisp of thunder from the entrance along with the Heavenly Origin Mind-Centering Bamboo we discussed, and give me the rest in first-grade immortal crystals."
The steward's throat felt dry. In all his hundreds of years serving as a steward, this was the very first time he had handled a single transaction exceeding the ten-million mark!
"Since you have placed your trust in Wanxiang Tower, Young Master, you will enjoy a ten-percent discount on all purchases, both today and in the future!"
"Altogether, that leaves 150,000 second-grade immortal crystals, and after the deductions, 500,000 first-grade immortal crystals remaining."
Li Guanqi gave a slight nod and asked in a quiet voice, "Also, prepare ten bottles of Heavenly Origin Pills for me, along with ten bottles of second-grade vitality-and-blood replenishing pills. Deduct it all from the balance."
The man nodded repeatedly and hurried off to arrange it.
In less time than it took to drink a cup of tea, the man returned clutching two storage rings.
Li Guanqi swept them with his divine sense. Confirming that everything was in order, he put all the items away, including the wisp of thunder and the segment of jade-green bamboo.
He also received a VIP auction invitation token from Wanxiang Tower, accompanied by a catalog listing the auction items.
After Li Guanqi casually put them away, the attentive steward thoughtfully presented him with a map of Yongjiang City, clearly marking the location of Anting Ferry.
Leaving Wanxiang Tower, Li Guanqi wandered through the city for a while before returning to the inn. There, he closed his eyes in cultivation, waiting for night to fall.
Yet no sooner had Li Guanqi departed than the elder who had appraised his goods pulled out a jade slip and spoke in a solemn voice.
"Patriarch! The ore the Young Mistress has been asking for—Wanxiang Tower received it today!"
After sending the transmission, the elder swiftly gathered his things and flew off toward the west.
Not far from Yongjiang City, a towering peak had been terraced like giant steps through the uncanny craft of a mighty cultivator.
At the very summit stood a sprawling manor covering a perimeter of several thousand zhang.
Flanking the grand, imposing entrance, two stone dragons, each ten zhang tall, coiled upward, while two sweeping characters were inscribed across a massive plaque:
'Ran Residence!'
A man dressed in an opulent Daoist robe looked down at one of the lower seats with an aching heart.
He had sharp, cropped hair, lightly tanned skin, a sturdy build, and sharply chiseled features. At the moment, however, he looked utterly helpless as he gazed at the young woman beside him.
"Daughter, could you please act a bit more ladylike?"
"You've been away from home for so long, and you've only grown more and more like a tomboy."
Beside him, a beautiful mature woman looked at her daughter with tender concern, rolling her eyes at Ran Shiming's words.
"Can you stop harping on that? The girl is hurt this badly, and I don't see you showing any concern!"
"All you know how to do is nag and carp!"
The woman snapped fiercely, and Ran Shiming instantly fell silent, shutting his mouth.
Hearing this, Ran Qingshuang pursed her lips and giggled, wrapping her arms around the woman's arm like a spoiled child.
"Mother cares about me most after all. Father only knows how to scold me."
Just as her words fell, an elder of the Ran family interjected, "Qingshuang... you're not getting any younger either. You can't just run around having fun forever."
"Look at your Uncle Zhao's daughter—she's already pregnant."
"And Yunxiu, who grew up playing with you—she married Zhou Han of White Egret Mountain Villa."
"And then there's—"
The young woman, her shoulder wrapped in white cloth, sat upright and poised in the lower seat. She raised her eyes, glanced at the elder, and sneered.
"Oh... so women aren't allowed to pursue the martial path?"
"Or should I be like Second Grandfather's grandson—a useless playboy who is still only fourth-tier Mystic Immortal trash?"
Ran Qingshuang's eyes were frigid as she retorted mercilessly.
The old man slammed the table, glaring with rage.
"Qingshuang! Running wild outside all these years, you've forgotten all sense of elders and respect!"
"Hmph! That's what I think too... Now that she's back, she might as well marry someone and learn some discipline. I say Zhu Genfu of Liuyang Manor is a fine match."
"After running wild outside for years, she's forgotten all proper manners."
Ran Qingshuang's gaze dipped, her expression turning thoroughly cold.
Beside her, the beautiful woman slammed her hand on the table and rose, eyes blazing with fury!
"A bunch of—"
Suddenly!
From Ran Shiming, who had remained silent until now, erupted a vast, heavenly might!
The terrifying pressure instantly reduced the noisy hall to dead silence!
Sixth-tier True Immortal!
Ran Shiming narrowed his eyes, his tiger-like gaze sweeping across the crowd below with a menacing edge.
"What my daughter does and how she does it... is not for any of you to dictate."
"Marriage? Whether she marries, and whom she marries, depends entirely on Qingshuang's own wishes!"
"You lot? Since when did you have the right to make decisions for her?"
The moment these words left his mouth, absolute silence gripped the hall. Many lowered their heads and hurriedly busied themselves sipping tea.
Ran Shiming snorted coldly and dispersed the pressure.
"Dismissed."
With that, Ran Shiming led his family out of the grand hall.
Along the way, the beautiful woman kept venting her frustration.
"I have to say, you're still too polite to them! Those old bastards give an inch and take a mile—every damn one of them already has one foot in the grave, yet all they care about is grabbing benefits!"
"If you ask me, you ought to host a banquet tonight and poison every last one of them to death, the old fossils!"
Walking in front, Ran Shiming felt a chill run down his spine...
Ran Qingshuang, on the other hand, curved her lips slightly. Her mother hadn't changed one bit.
As she rambled on, the woman threw a punch into Ran Shiming's back.
"Are you deaf? Did you hear a word I said?! I'm infuriated!"
Ran Shiming could only turn back with an apologetic smile and offer a few soothing words.
Then he looked at Ran Qingshuang, asking with genuine concern, "I haven't had a chance to ask since you returned. What happened to your shoulder?"
Ran Qingshuang paused, a dazed look surfacing in her eyes as she spoke softly.
"I was wounded by a sword cultivator. A... remarkably powerful sword cultivator!"
Ran Shiming frowned slightly. He knew his daughter's temperament all too well.
For her to offer such unstinting praise naturally piqued his curiosity.
"Oh? A sword cultivator?"
"To have gained the upper hand against you, which great sect or clan's Heavenly Immortal disciple is he?"
Ran Qingshuang shook her head and let out a wry laugh.
"He seemed to be a rogue cultivator. And... he was only in the Mystic Immortal realm."
Ran Shiming knitted his brows, a flash of astonishment in his eyes.
"Mystic Immortal realm? Able to wound you?"
"No... If he wanted to kill me, a single strike would have sufficed."
"What?! How could that be?!"
"It is the truth. His name, I believe, is... Li Congxin."
Hearing that, her father's expression turned rather strange. Staring at Ran Qingshuang, he asked incredulously, "Was he wearing a mask? Carrying a white-bone scabbard in his hand?"
With that, Ran Shiming raised his hand and produced a scroll.
It depicted the very scene of Li Guanqi wearing the Rakshasa Ghost Mask, standing atop the treetops.
And that scene was precisely the moment Li Guanqi had turned around when Chen Tianhua took to the air to apologize.
"Yes!! That's him!!"
"What cultivation realm did you say he was at?"
"Ninth-tier Mystic Immortal!"
Ran Shiming's eyelids twitched, his throat bobbing slightly.
If he remembered correctly, when Chen Tianhua apologized just a few months ago, the fellow was only at the seventh tier!!
"What terrifying cultivation talent and breakthrough speed..."
"Father, you know of him?"
Ran Shiming shook his head with a bitter smile.
"This person... there is no one in all of Qinzhou who does not know his name. Qupingzhou borders Qinzhou, so naturally word has reached us as well."
Now Ran Qingshuang's interest was thoroughly piqued.
She had sensed from his prowess that he was no nameless nobody!
"Let's talk as we walk. There's another piece of good news to tell you."
"Wanxiang Tower obtained a Moon Splendor Frost Crystal!"
Hearing this, Ran Qingshuang's eyes lit up brightly.
"Really?! That's wonderful!"
"With the Moon Splendor Frost Crystal, my Cold Moon Spear can break through to high-rank second grade!"
Chapter 1665