PDLP Chapter 68 The Ceremony Begins
Chapter 68 The Ceremony Begins
The spiritual ritual of Pingyang Fangshi has begun.
The Spirit Essence Ceremony didn't usually attract this many people, but this time the market was packed with them.
There were vendors selling tea cans and tea, gathered together at the foot of the mountain, bustling and noisy.
During the day, Xiong and Zheng Zhizhu sat in the main seats on the mountaintop. There were no tea jars or tea sold here.
The Bai and Zheng families are clearly distinct.
Below was the spring, and both families seemed to have something on their minds, looking tense.
"Old Zheng, the market is really lively this time."
"The last time it was this lively was many years ago."
Bai Tianxiong looked at Zheng Zhizhuo with a smile that was unmistakably hypocritical.
"Wouldn't it be better if it were more lively?"
"Don't you like it, Tianxiong?"
Zheng Zhizhuo returned the smile, then looked at Bai Tianxiong with an indescribable chill on his face.
Zheng Zhizhuo wondered to himself, was the man surnamed Bai going to sit and wait for his death?
Or is it that he colluded with Qingyang and was preparing to attack me?
Zheng Tianxuan secretly activated a magic seal and responded telepathically.
"No problem, Lord Mu has already laid an ambush. We'll act immediately when the time comes and the spiritual essence begins to form."
Zheng Zhizhuo was relieved. The Demonic Sect was able to swallow up the entire Great Zhao, so its strength must be above that of the Cloud Mist Sect and the Great Virtue Rogue Cultivator.
With the help of the Demonic Sect, we will surely be able to wipe them all out this time.
Zheng Zhizhuo glanced around at the guests, wondering where that old devil Qingyang was hiding.
"It's better to have a lively atmosphere."
"But I'm afraid you might have some bad intentions, Lao Zheng. I don't want you to ruin this wonderful day."
Bai Tianxiong narrowed his eyes to slits as he followed Zheng Zhizhuo's gaze, wondering who Zheng Zhizhuo was looking at.
Has the black-robed butler, Steward Sun, arrived?
"With the Demonic Sect at the helm, how dare these rogue cultivators rebel? We must cooperate with Deacon Sun to wipe them out in one fell swoop."
"Deacon Sun was also shocked by this. Qingyang, in alliance with the Zheng family, betrayed the Yunxia Sect and sided with the Demonic Sect. He has already promised to intervene at a crucial moment."
Father Bai respectfully transmitted his voice.
"The Yunxia Sect has already set up an array around the area. As soon as Qingyang appears, Deacon Sun will activate it."
Bai Tianxiong nodded slightly, satisfied with his father's answer.
The Zheng family thought they were trapped and conspired with Qingyang Daoist to devour the Bai family. Little did they know that he had already spoken with the black-robed steward and was preparing to charge Zheng Zhizhuo with treason.
"Tianxiong, what are you saying? We've known each other for decades, how could we not know each other's thoughts? Speaking of which, Tianxiong seems to be smiling very happily today?"
Zheng Zhizhuo's face was contorted with wrinkles as he smirked.
"Old Zheng, aren't you the same?"
Bai Tianxiong feigned composure and took a sip of the spiritual tea in his cup.
"Who wouldn't be happy on such a wonderful day?"
Zheng Zhizhuo, whether he believed it or not, kept staring at the crowd below.
Bai Tianxiong sipped his spiritual tea, his gaze drifting to Zheng Zhizhuo and Zheng Tianxuan's necks out of the corner of his eye.
"It's a pity that Elder Li didn't come today."
Zheng Zhizhuo sighed, his words filled with regret.
If Li Fulai could die here with them, it would surely add to the Zheng family's prestige.
"Elder Li is fond of romance and has indeed missed the grand spectacle today."
Bai Tianxiong was taken aback, then nodded and smiled.
For some reason, the black-robed deacon did not contact Li Fulai. Although Li Fulai's cultivation level was low, he was still a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
He also has an earth dragon beast.
If we can make a move, we can definitely restrain the Zheng family's hidden soldiers.
……
Inside the Cloud Pavilion.
A spirit bee hid behind the curtain, remaining silent as it stared at the figures of a person and a beast inside the pavilion.
The well-off middle-aged man scratched his head, listening to the commotion around him, but didn't seem to care.
Laugh, fight, rob.
"Once all these spiritual sources and essences are in my hands, let's see how you'll still be laughing then."
Li Fulai shook his head dismissively.
The number of people attending the ceremony this year was indeed higher than in previous years, but he only assumed that the two families were preparing to fight over the spiritual essence, making the struggle a bit more intense than in previous years.
The Zheng and Bai families, relying on their own half-step Foundation Establishment level, have given him a hard time over the years.
Yunxia Sect originally only collected two percent of the market's taxes.
But the two companies artificially inflated the price to seven points.
The Zheng and Bai families must return the extra share in full.
He was clearly made the scapegoat and scolded.
But he only received a small portion of the money.
The taxes paid by other independent cultivators totaled less than 20% of his income.
The younger generations of the two families showed him no respect whatsoever, truly regarding him as a dog of these families.
Li Fulai rubbed his hands together, revealing a sinister smile.
"I wonder how you'll feel when you've been fighting for half a day and then find out that I've taken the spiritual essence."
Lu Qingyun changed his clothes and suppressed his cultivation to the early stage of Qi Refining.
He bought a jar and drank a cup of tea.
The jar contains freshly picked jujubes, and the tea contains fresh tea leaves from Dajin.
"These dates don't taste very sweet."
"The aroma of this tea is somewhat lacking."
Lu Qingyun shook his head.
"It's good enough to have dates to eat, how can you say that in front of people?"
The can seller couldn't help but say.
"It's good enough to have tea. I'm just here to join in the fun. Why do you have to insist on this so-called artistic conception?"
The tea seller slammed the spirit stone on the table, glared at Lu Qingyun, and snorted coldly.
"Sorry, sorry, I was a bit picky."
Lu Qingyun's face was unremarkable; he was wearing a mask.
It wasn't that he was picky, but he just felt that the person selling the jars didn't seem like a jar seller, and the person selling the tea didn't seem like a tea seller.
No can seller's eyes are fixed on the customers, always watching the figures on the mountain.
No tea seller has such powerful muscles; the tea leaves are scattered about, as if they were pulled out of some old storage bag.
The can seller waved his hand.
The tea seller snorted coldly.
"Fine, fine, you can go now. I'm in a good mood today, I won't argue with you."
"If you nitpick again next time, I won't let you off the hook."
The two did not pursue the matter further and put the spirit stone into their sleeves.
Actually, they weren't there to sell canisters or tea.
Fearing that their suspicions would be discovered, they sent Lu Qingyun away as if he were a plague.
Lu Qingyun bought another crooked candied hawthorn, took a bite, and found that this candied hawthorn had a lot of flavor.
Although it only costs one spirit stone, the spirit fruit on it alone is worth more than one spirit stone.
"It seems that both sides have made considerable preparations."
Lu Qingyun sensed the Golden Spirit Bee with his divine sense, shook the elder token in his hand, and the flying shuttle in his storage bag swayed.
Once he had successfully assassinated Li Fulai, he immediately faked his death and escaped the market on a flying shuttle.
No matter how fiercely the Bai and Zheng families fight, it has nothing to do with him.
The time when he faked his death and escaped should have been after the Demonic Sect breached the Great Zhao.
But Lu Qingyun was not prepared to wait any longer.
Pingyang Market is too strange now.
He feared that if the city gates caught fire, the innocent bystanders would be affected.
With the shuttle in hand, and using the tunnel dug by Li Fulai, escaping the market should be a piece of cake.
As for Bai Yuechan, we can only offer our assistance when the opportunity arises in the future.
The struggle between those at the half-step Foundation Establishment stage was still too dangerous for him.
In order to successfully possess Bai Yuechan's body, Bai Tianxiong would do everything he could to ensure her safety.
……
At this moment, the black-robed deacon followed the road and arrived outside the Pingyang Spirit Field.
He looked dejected and scratched his head.
"Strange, Lu Qingyun isn't in the spirit field. I wonder where he went."