Chapter 73: Zhao Yutang's Request

On the way back, Wang Mingzhan remained silent, his brows tightly furrowed.

Wang Changsheng hesitated for a moment before curiously asking, "Sixth Uncle, do you really want to bid on a bottle of Profound Ice True Fiend Aura?"

Wang Mingzhan nodded. "Of course, why else would I bid so desperately? Our Wang family ancestor, Wang Yuangang, cultivated his foundation using earthly fiend energy. He even left behind his insights on how to build a foundation with it. There's no other way; Foundation Establishment Pills are too expensive. Do you know how many spirit stones one pill costs?"

"How much?"

Wang Mingzhan held up three fingers and solemnly stated, "Over thirty thousand, if you can even find one. The Foundation Establishment Pill your Second Uncle took used up more than half of the clan's savings. To escort it, Third Granduncle personally led the transport. Ten Qi Cultivation clan members died, three were severely wounded, and Third Granduncle himself was gravely injured, passing away not long after returning. Thankfully, Second Uncle successfully established his foundation, which preserved our family. That's why our family only has Second Uncle as a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

"Over thirty thousand? That much?"

Wang Changsheng swallowed hard, a look of shock appearing on his face.

He could earn seven spirit stones for crafting a low-grade first-tier puppet beast. To accumulate thirty thousand spirit stones, he would need to craft four thousand three hundred low-grade first-tier puppet beasts. Since it took at least two days to craft one low-grade first-tier puppet beast, by that calculation, it would take him over twenty years to gather thirty thousand spirit stones.

More importantly, Foundation Establishment Pills were priceless and a hot commodity.

"That's right," Wang Mingzhan confirmed. "It's said that Foundation Establishment Pills are made primarily from various third-tier spirit herbs, supplemented by forty-nine kinds of second-tier spirit herbs. They are extremely precious. Without connections in cultivation sects, forget Foundation Establishment Pills—any spiritual item that can aid in foundation establishment is priceless. Didn't you notice the Wang family cultivators publicly claiming that earthly fiend energy is bad for cultivators, yet they still bid on three bottles of Profound Ice True Fiend Aura? With the Wang family's power, neutralizing fiend energy isn't difficult for them."

As he spoke, an envious expression appeared on Wang Mingzhan's face. He seemed to recall something, smiled slightly, and patted Wang Changsheng's shoulder encouragingly. "You're still young, with plenty of opportunities. Work hard, cultivate diligently, and Sixth Uncle believes you can establish your foundation."

"Yes, I will work hard."

Upon returning to the Wang Clan's Artifact Forging Shop, Wang Changsheng noticed Wang Yaolong wasn't there. He asked a clan member working in the shop and learned that Zhao Yutang and Zhao Ningxiang had arrived and were chatting in the backyard.

Going to the backyard, Wang Changsheng saw Zhao Yutang and Zhao Ningxiang.

Unlike their last visit, Zhao Yutang's expression was grim, and Zhao Ningxiang's eyes were red, as if she had just cried. Their clothes were tattered and they were covered in dust.

Wang Yaolong's brows were tightly furrowed, indicating he was troubled by something.

"Fifth Maternal Granduncle, Cousin Ningxiang, what happened? Why are you in such a state?" Wang Changsheng asked, somewhat surprised.

Upon hearing his question, tears streamed uncontrollably from Zhao Ningxiang's eyes. She sobbed, "Cousin Changsheng, my Seventh Uncle, Eighth Uncle, and Tenth Aunt are all dead! They were killed by a second-tier mid-grade demonic beast while protecting me."

She couldn't accept that her elders had died tragically at the hands of a demonic beast to save her.

Zhao Yutang waved his hand, comforting her. "Alright, stop crying. If there's a chance in the future, you can avenge them."

Hearing this, Wang Changsheng also offered comfort. "That's right, Cousin Ningxiang, don't cry anymore. The dead cannot be brought back to life."

Wang Mingzhan also offered words of comfort, and only then did Zhao Ningxiang stop crying and wipe away her tears.

"Yaolong," Zhao Yutang began, "I know this puts you in a difficult position, but I have no other choice. The Immortal Ascension Convention will end in a little over two months. If I return to our family for reinforcements, the round trip would take over four months, and we wouldn't make it back in time. I hope you'll consider my second sister and help our Zhao family just this once."

Zhao Yutang stood up and bowed deeply to Wang Yaolong, speaking earnestly.

Zhao Ningxiang also stood up, then knelt down, kowtowing three times heavily to Wang Yaolong. She pleaded, "Maternal Granduncle, please help us. Ningxiang is kowtowing to you. If I can enter the Medicine King Valley, I will definitely repay your kindness."

"No, no, please get up quickly."

Wang Yaolong quickly helped Zhao Ningxiang to her feet.

"Twenty-fifth Uncle, what exactly is going on?" Wang Mingzhan asked, utterly confused.

"Here's what happened," Zhao Yutang explained. "I want to ask your Wang family to help us enter the Hundred Beast Mountains to search for a spiritual item. We're just one item short, and Ningxiang can enter the Medicine King Valley. It would be a great pity to give up now. Besides Ningxiang, we have five other clan members, but their cultivation is only up to the fourth level of Qi Cultivation, so they can't be of much help. I'd like to ask your Wang family for assistance; we only need three cultivators at the sixth level of Qi Cultivation. I know this is a big ask, but I'm truly out of options. The Hundred Beast Mountains are home to a large number of demonic beasts, and anyone below the sixth level of Qi Cultivation would simply be courting death by entering. We can't contact the Lin family, so we can only turn to your Wang family for help."

Zhao Yutang recounted his tale, having initially believed that one Foundation Establishment cultivator plus four seventh-level Qi Cultivation experts would surely be enough to gather all the spiritual items. Unexpectedly, they encountered two second-tier mid-grade demonic tigers. Three of the seventh-level Qi Cultivation clan members stayed behind to cover their retreat, allowing him and Zhao Ningxiang to escape with their lives.

The other five Zhao clan members were originally meant to stay in Immortal Fate City for business. Their cultivation was not high—one at the fourth level of Qi Cultivation and four at the third level—so they couldn't offer much assistance. Since they couldn't reach the Lin family, Zhao Yutang had no choice but to seek help from the Wang family.

Wang Yaolong was in a difficult position. Although the Zhao and Wang families were in-laws, he truly couldn't agree to such a request.

Three seventh-level Qi Cultivation members of the Zhao family had died. If Wang family cultivators were to follow suit, their descendants and relatives would have to be supported by the clan's spirit stones. Without tangible benefits, Wang Yaolong would not agree. If something went wrong, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the families of the deceased clan members.

However, since the two families were in-laws, outright refusal felt inappropriate.

Wang Yaolong hesitated for a moment, then said, "Brother Yutang, it's not that I don't want to help you, but I'm truly powerless in this matter. What if something goes wrong? How would I explain it to their families? Of course, since our two families are in-laws, I can't just stand by. How about this: I'll sell you two mid-grade first-tier puppet beasts at cost. A mid-grade first-tier puppet beast is equivalent to a sixth-level Qi Cultivation cultivator. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, you'd have more than enough power to control two of them simultaneously. What do you think?"

"Mid-grade first-tier puppet beasts?"

Zhao Yutang was somewhat tempted. He knew this was the most help the Wang family could offer. With two sixth-level Qi Cultivation puppet beasts and the assistance of his five clan members, they might just find the last spiritual item.

"Alright! Thank you very much then. We'll buy some more talismans and spiritual artifacts; that should be enough to find the last spiritual item."

Wang Yaolong nodded, smiling. "Certainly. Two mid-grade first-tier puppet beasts will be eighty spirit stones each, making a total of one hundred and sixty spirit stones for both."

Zhao Yutang paid the spirit stones, took the two mid-grade first-tier puppet beasts from Wang Yaolong, and left with Zhao Ningxiang.

"Twenty-fifth Granduncle, why didn't you help Cousin Ningxiang? Aren't our two families in-laws? Isn't mutual assistance normal?" Wang Changsheng asked.

Wang Changsheng spoke up on behalf of the Zhao family. Zhao Yuhui had always been very kind to him, so he felt there was no harm in helping Zhao Ningxiang.

As soon as he spoke, he regretted it slightly, realizing he had been too impulsive.

Wang Yaolong glared at him, chastising him unceremoniously. "What do you know? If I let your Sixth Uncle go into the mountains with them, and something happened to him, how would I explain it to your Sixth Aunt? I know the Zhao family helped our Wang family before, but we didn't let them help for free. Between clans, there is only interest. If there's no benefit, and it could even lead to losses, we absolutely will not do it."