Chapter 23: Grasping (Seeking to Continue Reading)

During this period, every household kept their doors tightly shut, and no one dared to venture outside.

From the east, there would occasionally be terrifying sounds of explosions and fighting.

Qin Jiyue also stayed obediently at home, not daring to take a single step outside the door, not even considering going out to gather intelligence.

After all, the outside world was chaotic and complicated. Anyone who wasn't a cultivator from their own faction would be regarded as an enemy.

In order to ensure their own safety, anyone would take the initiative to attack, preferring to kill the wrong person rather than letting them go.

Li Guanxuan, on the other hand, wasn't as panicked. He turned a deaf ear to the outside world and continued to eat his meals on time and diligently draw talismans, living his days as if nothing had changed.

About a month later, this war finally came to an end.

According to the information Li Guanxuan had learned...

After struggling for half a month, the old ancestor of the Mountain of Joyful Bliss, who had little life left, chose to sacrifice himself and assist the sect leader of the Mountain of Joyful Bliss in reaching the peak of Foundation Building.

Even so, the Mountain of Joyful Bliss couldn't withstand the invasion of the four major factions. The sect leader eventually fought his way out and escaped from this place.

Many elders and disciples who were left behind either surrendered or died.

After a round of bloodshed and the distribution of benefits, this area of the Mountain of Joyful Bliss was assigned to the Fallen Moon Valley.

As for what the other three major factions obtained, Li Guanxuan didn't know.

"The destruction of the Mountain of Joyful Bliss... No, it can't be considered a true destruction, after all, the sect leader at the peak of Foundation Building hasn't fallen yet. Perhaps many years later, he might even come back... Is this considered the ebb and flow of life, the ups and downs of fortune?" Li Guanxuan fell into contemplation.

If they had thought of escaping from the beginning, then both of them could have left together. Why did they have to resort to sacrificing themselves in the end?

Therefore, Li Guanxuan speculated that perhaps the two of them hadn't found the Velvet Flower Spirit Tree yet and hadn't fully understood its secrets. They were unwilling to leave like this.

The old ancestor's life was coming to an end, and there was little hope left, but the sect leader of the Mountain of Joyful Bliss, who was in his middle age, had boundless prospects.

Once they found the Velvet Flower Spirit Tree and understood its secrets, there might still be hope to revive the old ancestor...

This was Li Guanxuan's speculation from the perspective of the two of them.

Of course, it could also be something else.

Regardless of the situation, it didn't matter to Li Guanxuan. As long as he stayed obediently at home, one day he would be able to slap the sect leader of the Mountain of Joyful Bliss to death. After all, even if the other party didn't fully understand the secret of the Velvet Flower Spirit Tree, they at least had some knowledge of it.

When the other party broke through the secret, they would definitely start investigating...

So Li Guanxuan tried not to take action if he could avoid it. He was even too lazy to argue with others about gains and losses. Losing a few spirit stones was nothing as long as he was safe.

Today, someone happened to knock on the door.

Qin Jiyue went to open the door and saw two middle-aged men in robes. She couldn't help but furrow her brows when she recognized them. They were responsible for rent collection... former outer disciples of the Mountain of Joyful Bliss.

Now it seemed that they were outer disciples of the Fallen Moon Valley.

One of them looked embarrassed and said, "Um, Madam Qin, the Fallen Moon Valley sent us to collect rent..."

Qin Jiyue frowned unhappily and asked, "Didn't we just pay it over a month ago?"

"That was the rent paid to the Mountain of Joyful Bliss, not the Fallen Moon Valley."

The tone of the other person wasn't as friendly. They coldly and bluntly said, "In order to investigate whether there are still spies from the Mountain of Joyful Bliss in Azure Serenity City, the Fallen Moon Valley specially sent us to conduct a household-by-household investigation. As long as the tenants are willing to pay rent, they will be considered friends of the Fallen Moon Valley. Otherwise..."

Upon hearing this, Qin Jiyue's face darkened. This was clearly extortion!

At this moment, Li Guanxuan immediately walked over and took out a bag of spirit stones to hand it to the other person, smiling and saying, "This is our rent for this year. As for the extra forty spirit stones, consider it as the tea fee for the two Fellow Daoists. Thank you for your hard work."

The middle-aged man with a simple and round face took the bag of spirit stones and sighed, saying, "Master Li, we are just following orders. Nowadays, everyone is having a hard time. You can take back the extra spirit stones."

Saying that, the middle-aged man was about to return the forty spirit stones. The person next to him couldn't help but curse in his heart, thinking that Old Hong was a fool.

However, Li Guanxuan reached out to stop him and smiled helplessly, saying, "Fellow Daoist Hong, as you said, everyone is having a hard time nowadays. If you don't accept this tea fee, someone else will come to collect it, maybe even more. I just want to live here peacefully."

Fellow Daoist Hong was taken aback and nodded with a bitter smile, saying, "Azure Serenity City is not yet stable. If your family lacks food, I can help deliver some."

Li Guanxuan's eyes lit up and he quickly said, "We are short of spirit rice."

Fellow Daoist Hong silently made a note of it.

The person next to him asked, "Is there enough meat?"

"It's almost gone," Li Guanxuan said with a bitter smile.

"I'll leave it at your doorstep at the hour of the Dog. Remember to take it quickly," the person said, adding, "It's about six spirit stones' worth."

Li Guanxuan was taken aback for a moment, then took out a storage bag and counted out ten pieces of spirit stones from the scattered ones inside, handing them over with gratitude, saying, "Thank you."

Both of them noticed that there were still more than ten pieces of low-grade spirit stones left in Li Guanxuan's storage bag.

The person counted out four spirit stones and returned them to Li Guanxuan, saying unkindly, "There's only sixty catties of spirit beef. Don't expect me to bring you more."

Seeing that Li Guanxuan wanted to say something, Fellow Daoist Hong quickly stopped him with his eyes and interrupted, saying, "Alright, Master Li, remember to open the door and take the rice and meat at the hour of the Dog. Don't let anyone take advantage. We're going to collect rent from the next household, so we won't disturb you."

"The money for the spirit rice... alright, thank you both, I will remember your kindness," Li Guanxuan bowed and thanked them repeatedly.

After the two left, Li Guanxuan closed the door and let out a long sigh of relief. However, he saw Qin Jiyue staring at him in astonishment.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me with such an admiring gaze?" Li Guanxuan whispered with a smile.

"You cunning person..." Qin Jiyue was still in shock.

If she remembered correctly, Li Guanxuan still had about three to four thousand pieces of low-grade spirit stones, a pile of talismans, and enough food to feed their family of three for three years...

But just now, Li Guanxuan's embarrassed expression was definitely not an act!

And the way he counted the spirit stones was simply jaw-dropping.

Qin Jiyue asked curiously, "Wait, why didn't you take out a spirit stone bag earlier to count? That way, you might have saved forty unjust spirit stones."

Li Guanxuan hugged her shoulder and patiently explained, "After the great battle, although Fallen Moon Valley obtained the spiritual veins in this area, the price paid was definitely not small. Otherwise, they wouldn't be trying every means to fish for spirit stones and exploit the lower-level scattered cultivators.

People like Hong Lang and Cui Zhi, who were originally outer disciples of the Mountain of Joyful Bliss, actually faced just as much oppression as us.

After all, the bloodshed has just ended, and the external personnel who managed to survive and keep their positions have basically lost everything.

Think about it carefully, Cui Zhi used to be a smiling and friendly person. If it weren't for the harsh reality he's facing now, he wouldn't have changed so much.

Forty pieces of low-grade spirit stones may not be a lot, but it's enough to support them for a while and make them remember my kindness... Why not take advantage of it?"

After digesting these words, Qin Jiyue was filled with emotion.

She suddenly realized that Li Guanxuan actually understood how to handle people's hearts better than she did.

(End of this chapter)

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