Chapter 69 – Elderly Men Interested in Florida Man's Balls, Survey Said
After signing the deal, the merchants and the city representatives returned home happy. They got their spirit stones, which could be exchanged for their local currency later.
Tiger Swordsman remained behind as Leo asked him to stay. When the crowd left, Leo proceeded with his agenda. He consulted the elder.
"I'm planning to create a new sect. What do I need to do? Is there a custom around here, or do I have to acquire a license somewhere?"
Tiger Swordsman was astonished. Still, he was glad that Leo consulted with him first. He honestly revealed the process.
"Usually, sects and cults are built on top of a cultivation resource or Qi sources, such as the Mt. Claymore of Life Sword Sect. Although the natural Qi is faint, it's enough for others to cultivate and gain strength. If you wish to build a sect, you must secure a place for disciples and elders to cultivate first."
"Hmm."
Leo nodded and rubbed his chin. He got a general idea. While he listened, he glanced at the shop domain menu and looked at the new building list.
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Livestock Shed
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 7
Price – 1,000 Years of Lifespan
Space – 10 x 10
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Parking Lot
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 8
Price – 1,000 Years of Lifespan
Space – 30 x 30
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Warehouse (2)
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 8
Price – 500 Years of Lifespan
Space – 5 x 5
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Granary (2)
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 8
Price – 500 Years of Lifespan
Space – 5 x 5
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Employee Apartment
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 8
Price – 10,000 Years of Lifespan
Space – 20 x 50
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Domain Expansion
Requirement – Humble General Store Level 8
Price – 10,000 Years of Lifespan
Expansion Range – 100 x 100
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Everything seemed irrelevant to the Qi source as most of the buildings were related to modern structures. Even the parking lot seemed useless.
Fortunately, Wu Buyi used to mention Fire Qi and Lightning Qi in the house. Leo wondered if the modern houses and apartments could be used as a Qi source for disciples and elders to use.
Testing his theory, Leo invited Tiger Swordsman.
"Can you come with me for a moment? I need to show you something."
"Alright, senior. Lead the way."
Both men exited the store. Then, Leo guided the elder to the small house, next to Wu Buyi's home. He opened the door and invited the swordsman in.
Tiger Swordsman entered the modern home. He looked around in astonishment as he had never seen a house without an open window. As the air conditioner worked 24/7 there, there was no need to open a window to let the airflow.
"It seems stuffy," Tiger Swordsman remarked. "What is this place, senior?"
"A house."
"A house?! People live here?!"
"Why? Is it inappropriate or unusual?"
Tiger Swordsman gulped. He deeply inhaled and revealed his thoughts.
"I don't think anyone should be living here. This is a place for someone with a high status, such as a sect master or an important guest to stay. I can feel intense Fire Qi and an unknown element Qi here. It feels like Heavenly Tribulation's lightning bolts, so I believe this might be the legendary lightning element Qi!"
Tiger Swordsman seemed excited. Unlike Wu Buyi, he only glanced at the electrical outlets and the circuit breaker. He didn't seem like he wanted to poke his finger or something into the holes.
Leo continued to probe for information.
"If I let people gather around the house, can they cultivate Fire Qi?"
"Hmm."
Tiger Swordsman pondered. He exited the house and stood in front of it. A minute later, he shook his head.
"It's unfortunate. I don't think anybody can cultivate the Qi from outside."
"I see."
Leo learned something useful. He believed that the new building "Apartment" might also be the same. If that was the case, Leo could solve the Qi source issue, and he could openly solicit people from Life Sword Sect to join him.
Still, there was one hurdle. Leo was short of lifespan once again.
Although Leo was short on lifespan, he had plenty of ideas on how to make some. He ordered Tiger Swordsman to wait there, and he went to the warehouse to fetch some essence stones. After packing a hundred stones in a leather bag, Leo gave them to Tiger Swordsman.
The elder received the leather bag and looked inside. Upon seeing the essence stones, he was shocked.
"S-Senior. This…"
Leo mischievously grinned and whispered, "Do me a favor. Bring those essence stones to the royal court or the imperial court whatsoever. I want you to report to the emperor that I'm hoarding countless essence stones with me, and I have a way to procure them. Can you do it?"
"W-WHAT?! BUT WHY?!"
Tiger Swordsman was taken aback. He was confused about why Leo wanted to provoke the imperial court.
"Don't ask why. Please do what I said. I need to get their attention. If they are aware of my existence, they might send people to visit my store and become my customers. If they buy my products, you will also get some commission from me. It's a win-win, right?"
"…"
Tiger Swordsman hesitated. He wasn't convinced that it was the right approach. Still, as Leo seemed to be confident in his abilities and strength, he agreed.
"Alright. Please be careful, senior. Those guys are overbearing and arrogant. They might come to extort taxes from you."
Leo brightly smiled, "That's even better. Let them come."
"…"
The elder was speechless. He quietly stored the leather bag and excused himself, returning to the sect to spread words. He would also inform the other elders that Leo wished to establish a new sect.
After Tiger Swordsman was gone, Leo turned his attention to his store. He cracked his knuckles.
"This is going to be a long day. I'm gonna rearrange the shelves and the fridges into the booths. Right, I should designate one of them as my personal store. As for the rest, I can let my future workers or those elders rent the place. Of course, they will have to pay me with their lifespan. Hehehehe."
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It had been a day since Cheng Yuanzhi and Ouyang Feng escaped from Leo's grasp. They reached Phoenix City. When they arrived, the clansmen spotted them and rushed to help their young lord.
"YOUNG MASTER OUYANG?!"
"WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!"
Ouyang Feng still hadn't recovered from Leo's sound attack. He couldn't even stand on his own even though Cheng Yuanzhi fed him several healing pills. Upon arrival, he fainted.
Cheng Yuanzhi's condition was a lot better as he had a superior cultivation base. Still, he was still dizzy, and he had been suffering from a high fever. As soon as he saw the people of the Ouyang Clan, he collapsed on the ground and passed out.
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Half a day later, Cheng Yuanzhi recovered. He opened his eyes and saw a ceiling of a wooden building. He rolled his eyes to look around.
"Ah, you're up."
Cheng Yuanzhi heard an old man's voice. He pushed his body to sit up, but his head was so heavy that he couldn't lift it up. He fell back on the pillow.
"Take it easy. I know you're injured."
Ouyang Ke had been sitting on a chair next to Cheng Yuanzhi's bed. He turned around and picked a medicinal tea from a table and served it to the elder.
Cheng Yuanzhi gratefully accepted the tea. Upon smelling the pleasant odor, his head felt a lot lighter. He managed to sit up and took a sip of the herbal tea.
"Tell me," Ouyang Ke deeply sighed. "What happened to my grandchild? Who did it?"
Cheng Yuanzhi didn't hide anything. He revealed the incident that they had gone through.
…
After listening to Cheng Yuanzhi's tale, Ouyang Ke's expression was dark.
"I'm afraid you ran into the murderer of Ouyang Long. Obviously, you're not his opponent."
"W-Who is he, grand elder? He concocted immortal pills and endured green lightning tribulation, yet he was strong enough to take on Situ Clan's killing formation head-on. He must be a famous expert, right?"
Ouyang Ke snorted, "Famous, my ass. He's just an upstart rogue cultivator. I bet he's just a quasi-immortal that has just come up from a long seclusion. Since he killed Situ Luan, those undying mummies from the Situ Clan won't leave him alone. In fact, I bet the imperial court must have heard about him by now since the Fatui Cult has a deep connection with the third prince."
"…"
Ouyang Ke stood up and looked outside the window. He thought of his rival – Situ Nantian. He wondered why that quasi-immortal had been so quiet.
"Say, Yuanzhi."
"Yes, senior?"
"You saw Situ Luan there, right? Have you seen the other people from the Situ Clan?"
"Hmm."
After Ouyang Ke reminded him, Cheng Yuanzhi recalled that the people from Situ Clan didn't directly join the siege. Instead, they lurked in the forest and in the Magpie City, hiding under Hua Jishan's nose.
From the perspective of the Ouyang Clan and Situ Clan, the Life Sword Sect was a small sect that wasn't worth mentioning. It was a lot weaker than its rival – The Death Sword Sect, which gathered many soul transformation cultivators on their side. On the other hand, Life Sword Sect only had a dozen nascent soul cultivators and Hua Jiashan, who was the sole soul formation cultivator that had been protecting the sect for centuries.
A 500-year-old soul formation cultivator was trash and talentless. Everybody branded Hua Jiashan as a weakling!
"I spotted a few in the forest, but no one made their move. I think they also retreated."
"I see. Well, just rest. We'll handle this matter later."
Ouyang Ke nodded. He then stood up to leave the room. But before Ouyang Ke left, he remembered something, "Oh, by the way."
"Yes, senior?"
"Never attack a stronger cultivator regardless of the situation. A wounded tiger is still a tiger. Haven't you learned that?"
"… I'm sorry, sir."
"Hmm."
Ouyang Ke quietly left. Meanwhile, Cheng Yuanzhi was relieved. He continued zipping the herbal tea.
"…"
It was delicious, strangely delicious. Cheng Yuanzhi felt like he had never drunk anything like this before. It was also weirdly mellow, and he felt like something inside him slowly vanished.
"Hmm? Err, eh?"
Cheng Yuanzhi's consciousness slowly faded. He felt so sleepy for an unknown reason. A few seconds later, he fell asleep… forever.
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After poisoning Cheng Yuanzhi, Ouyang Ke stood in front of the room, scoffing at the incompetency of Ouyang Feng's master. Although his action might offend the Death Sword Sect, he had a thousand explanations to tell their elders.
After all, who in the right mind brought his treasured grandchild into a dangerous place? If he was stupid enough to allow Ouyang Feng to fight a stronger foe, he should have his intelligence reevaluated.
"Damn, idiot. He almost killed Feng'er."
Ouyang Ke gestured for his subordinates to clean the corpse. Then, he returned to his residence to visit his grandson.
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The Ouyang Clan wasn't the only one that had survived the ordeal. Many people of the Situ Clan had also witnessed the fight, and they managed to gauge Leo's strength.
Situ Clan's spies returned to the clan and reported to their masters. The quasi-immortal Situ Nantian also received intel from the Magpie City that Hua Jiashan had a relationship with the mysterious alchemist.
In Situ Nantian's house, the elderly man meditated and pinched his fingers. He mumbled to himself as if he had been communicating with someone far away.
"What do you mean by FLORIDA? What is that Dao?"
"You don't know?"
"Huh? An elder of the Life Sword Sect has exchanged an essence core for a high-grade flying sword in the black market?! Where the hell did he get that?! Wait, are you sure?!"
Situ Nantian opened his eyes as he received many interesting pieces of information. He wanted to visit Leo right away. However, he couldn't go there as he had to prepare for this season's mystic realm expedition.
"Tsk! How annoying. I'll go there myself after the expedition."
