The Commandery Governor didn't want to blow things out of proportion. If something could be resolved with spirit stones, he preferred to settle it with spirit stones.
As the governor of Luofeng Commandery, an area whose primary economic pillar was mining, the quantity of spirit stones at his disposal could well be described as astronomical.
He simply refused to believe that a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Dao Seeking Sect could match his wealth.
Now he knew. He had overestimated himself; he had no right to compete in wealth with the eldest son of the Meng Family.
He was better off stealing it himself—economical and practical.
"Do you think if I offered ten million spirit stones, the Meng Family's eldest son would be tempted?"
The two Golden Core cultivators shook their heads hesitantly. "No."
"Fine, then my personal strike this time is worth ten million spirit stones." The Commandery Governor did his best to raise his own worth.
Up on the roof, Lu Yang turned to ask Meng Jingzhou, "Would you sell it for ten million spirit stones?"
Meng Jingzhou rolled his eyes. "I'd sell it for five hundred thousand! Why the hell would I cling to something that boosts virility and refuse to let go?"
"To train your willpower?"
"Piss off, piss off, piss off!"
***
Meanwhile, at the Mo Family residence.
"Patriarch, a report came from our mineral shops below. They said a group of people brought a very peculiar Phoenix Blood Stone into the store during the day and asked if there were any others like it."
"From the description, it sounds very much like the kind of Phoenix Blood Stone we've been searching for all along."
"Oh? Is that true?" The Mo Family Patriarch's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected to finally find this kind of Phoenix Blood Stone.
As the saying went, merchants didn't fight officials. Although the Mo Family was wealthy and influential, they were still at a disadvantage against the Commandery Governor.
If they could get their hands on this Phoenix Blood Stone, they would hold leverage over the governor and would no longer fear him going forward.
"Your subordinate intends to act tonight and steal that Phoenix Blood Stone."
"Tonight? Let me ask you: who bought the Phoenix Blood Stone? What is their identity? What is their cultivation? What will you do if the other party is at the Soul Formation stage?"
The subordinate stammered, unable to answer, realizing he had been too eager to prove himself before the Patriarch and had acted rashly.
The Mo Family Patriarch gave a cold snort. "This matter brooks no carelessness. Go make inquiries tomorrow during the day about who obtained the Phoenix Blood Stone. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll go steal it myself tomorrow night!"
"You'll act personally?" The subordinate gasped. Was such a thing really worth the Patriarch deploying in person?
"Of course. This is evidence that can hold the Commandery Governor by the throat; it is well worth my personal intervention." A trace of an excited smile appeared on the Mo Family Patriarch's face.
In their struggle against the Commandery Governor, it was time to turn the tables.
***
"What's actually different about this stone?"
Back at Li Haoran's home, Meng Jingzhou took out the Phoenix Blood Stone and studied it closely, yet he couldn't spot anything amiss.
"Can Senior Su tell what's wrong with it?"
Su Yiren shook her head. "I know little about Phoenix Blood Stones. Perhaps a cultivator specializing in artifact crafting would need to take a look to tell what's different about it."
Everyone turned their gaze toward Li Haoran.
The corners of Li Haoran's mouth twitched. "I think you're overestimating me. It'd be one thing if my master were here."
"Fairy, can you see what's wrong with it?" Lu Yang called on the Immortal Fairy for help.
The Immortal Fairy frowned. "It smells of blood, and very fresh at that. I don't like it."
"A bloody scent? And very fresh?" Lu Yang had an ominous suspicion.
Could this Phoenix Blood Stone be a clue left behind by some deceased person?
"By the way, Fairy, did a phoenix truly pass away here in Luofeng Commandery?"
The Immortal Fairy nodded. "There was one. But it's not half-encircling this place like Li Haoran said—it's beneath our feet."
The Immortal Fairy pointed downward. "Underneath the entirety of Luofeng Commandery lies the corpse of a Body Integration stage phoenix."
"What should we do?" Li Haoran asked. He hadn't expected that simply returning home to visit his parents would draw such keen attention from the Commandery Governor, even prompting him to take action personally.
Luofeng Commandery was a major commandery, and its governor possessed Soul Formation cultivation.
"Just capture him directly?" As the one with the highest cultivation present, Su Yiren had priority in speaking. Her reasoning was simple: just seize whoever was causing trouble.
Lu Yang pondered for a moment and said, "Without evidence, it's not good to act directly. We represent the Dao Seeking Sect when out and about, and we cannot abuse the sect's law enforcement authority. Let's wait by the stump for the hare. Tomorrow night when the governor comes to steal it, we'll first record it with an image-recording orb, and then trouble Senior Su to strike—catching him red-handed with the stolen goods!"
"By then, he'll have to confess whether he wants to or not!"
"All right," Su Yiren agreed.
Lu Yang cautioned everyone, "Also, only the few of us should know about this. Junior Brother Li, you wouldn't want your parents to get involved in this, right?"
Li Haoran nodded with a helpless tone, perhaps reminded of something. "Knowing the two of them, it's best not to let them find out about this."
"I'll keep it a secret from Yanyan as well," Su Yiren said.
Li Haoran sighed with emotion. "Fortunately Senior Su is here. Otherwise, we really wouldn't know what to do tomorrow night."
Meng Jingzhou chuckled. "What's there to fear? Don't we have Lu Yang? He challenged a Soul Formation cultivator above his level and won with just middle Foundation Establishment strength. With him around, why fear some commandery governor?"
Su Yiren had originally wanted to correct Li Haoran's form of address for her, but she was stunned by the information Meng Jingzhou let slip.
Defeating a Soul Formation cultivator from middle Foundation Establishment—what kind of epoch-transcending genius was this?
Was her sharing Core Formation experience with him just like teaching an expert how to do his craft?
"Get lost!" Lu Yang glared at Meng Jingzhou, knowing he was only retaliating for being mocked earlier.
Curious, Su Yiren kept pressing for details about the battle across realms. But the process of that fight had been far too humiliating, so Lu Yang adamantly refused to tell her, warning Meng Jingzhou and Li Haoran with fierce glares that neither of them was allowed to say a single word!
Once daytime arrived, everyone ate, drank, and had fun as if nothing had happened the previous night.
Lu Yang took the time to ask around whether any cultivators had gone missing or died recently, and the answer was none.
The sun's radiance faded, night descended, and the darkness deepened.
A figure blended into the night, sneaking into Li Haoran's home.
The Commandery Governor had made full preparations. Clad in night-traveling clothes and a mask, his garments possessed the effect of concealing aura and traces. His voice and spiritual energy fluctuations were also altered; not even his own wife would recognize him.
"There shouldn't be any flaws left, right?" It was the Commandery Governor's first time doing such a thing, so he felt a bit nervous. But the moment he remembered that this operation of his was worth ten million spirit stones, he was nervous no longer.
He spread his divine sense and located the Phoenix Blood Stone resting by Meng Jingzhou's bedside. Meng Jingzhou was fast asleep, snoring away, completely unaware.
Meng Jingzhou felt quite helpless. He had originally wanted to watch the show, but sleeping anywhere else wouldn't make sense, so he could only pretend to sleep and listen to Lu Yang's live voice commentary.
"Found it!"
Just as the Commandery Governor was about to move further in, he saw another figure vault over the wall and slip inside—it was none other than the Mo Family Patriarch.
The Mo Family Patriarch was dressed in virtually identical attire to the governor, concealing himself completely so that no one could identify him either.
Both of them paused in unison, neither expecting to run into someone in the same line of work here. Was this place really in such high demand?
Wait, no—I'm the Commandery Governor / the Patriarch! I'm only moonlighting as a thief this once!
Chapter 225