In the world of cultivation, one grinds for proficiency and longevity.

The elders of the Duan family immediately agreed, and Duan Ce promptly took out the magical artifact and the spider egg, beckoning to Chen Changqing: "Kid, take them if you win!"

"Just put it on the table to the side."

Chen Changqing was on high alert and instead of moving forward, he retreated a large distance.

"Hmph, do you think you can escape!"

Duan Gaoming took a step and appeared directly in front of Chen Changqing, then grabbed his shoulder hard with his large hand!

Chen Changqing immediately shifted his position, but the difference in strength between the two was too great. Although he managed to dodge, he was still scratched and bled profusely!

"Heh, this is interesting!" Duan Gaoming made another move.

boom!

The two large hands collided forcefully, producing a dull thud.

"Duan Gaoming, what do you mean by this?"

At the crucial moment, Zhou Hao stepped in.

"Nonsense, of course it's to catch this kid!" Duan Gaoming made no attempt to hide his intentions. "My Duan family has suffered heavy losses this time, and someone must be held accountable!"

"That's right. My patriarch is unhappy, and in his anger, he agreed to something with the Ye family. Don't blame me for not warning you!"

Duan Ce's tone was calm, but to the Zhou family's higher-ups, it was undoubtedly a thunderbolt!

The three Foundation Establishment ancestors of the Duan family are incredibly powerful. Even if they casually help the Ye family, how could the Zhou family possibly bear it!

"This is utterly shameless!" Zhou Hao laughed angrily, turning to Zhou Dezheng, who had remained silent. "Brother, although Changqing is not a member of our Zhou family, everything he has done has benefited the clan! How can we simply hand over such a talented individual?"

"Yes, Father!" Zhou Ruoyun's face was also full of anxiety, her brows furrowed with worry. "Changqing has been kind to us. If he were kidnapped right under his nose, wouldn't that be heartbreaking? Besides, Father was praising the spirit bird he roasted just a few days ago!"

So he was the one who roasted those birds?!

It's actually quite delicious...

Zhou Dezheng's lips twitched, and he fell silent.

He certainly wanted to protect Chen Changqing, but what about the Duan family...?

Although he could guess that the Ye family might have been involved in the Duan family's papaya bird incident, and that the Ye family might have paid the Duan family a large sum of money to push things forward.

In the world of cultivation, the strong are respected. It's not about who is right, but who has the hardest fist!

"Seven hundred spirit stones!"

Zhou Dezheng, who had been silent all along, finally spoke, his expression unreadable. "Take the seven hundred spirit stones back and hand them in. How about we keep this man?"

Nine hundred half-tier spirit birds, with a market value of approximately one thousand low-grade spirit stones.

If you give all the spirit stones, you'll be seen as easy to bully; if you give only half, you'll worry that you're not being sincere.

Zhou Dezheng compromised on this, which was clearly the result of careful consideration.

"What a cunning old fox."

Chen Changqing was both surprised and expected by the Zhou family head's actions, and he muttered a curse in his heart.

Because he had been cheated before, he never placed his hopes on this person.

"No, that's not enough to appease a beggar!" Duan Ce answered without hesitation. "Fifteen hundred spirit stones might be enough to quell my patriarch's anger!"

Putting aside the fact that Duan An wanted to take Chen Changqing back for revenge or "research,"

The total value of the papaya birds hunted by the Zhou family was more than that, so how could they possibly agree to it?

The negotiations broke down instantly.

"Kid, come with me!" Duan Ce waved at him, and an aura of authority immediately spread, making him give up any thoughts of running away.

"Big brother!"

"Father!"

Seeing that Chen Changqing had been captured, Zhou Hao and Zhou Ruoyun spoke up again, but the Zhou family head remained unmoved.

The Third Elder remained silent throughout, simply standing behind Zhou Dezheng like a withered tree.

Before the two experts from the Duan family made their move, they both glanced at this person, their expressions showing considerable apprehension.

"Serves you right for being a show-off. Now you've had your fun."

In the distance, Zhou Guang whispered gloatingly.

Seeing that Chen Changqing was about to be taken away, Zhou Ruoyun decisively waved in a certain direction.

In an instant, Zhou Youran, who could no longer contain himself, led a large and imposing group of people to rush over!

"Let go of my Brother Chen!"

"Coming here to arrest people, don't you even know whose territory this is!"

Zhou Youran, Zhou Laiqing, Li Erniu, Zhang Tiedan, and nearly thirty others surrounded the three members of the Duan family and started making a fuss.

His words were domineering and sharp, showing no fear despite the fact that the other party was a late-stage Qi Refining expert!

"Elder... Elder, why don't we release them?" Duan An had never seen anything like this before, and his legs were already trembling. He was the first to back down.

"You've really disgraced the Duan family!"

Duan Ce gave Duan An a curt remark, but he also subtly loosened his grip on Chen Changqing's hand.

Then, he looked at Zhou Dezheng with a questioning look in his eyes.

Zhou Dezheng shrugged, indicating "it has nothing to do with me".

But the head of the family is the head of the family. Seeing that the situation was favorable, Zhou Dezheng immediately changed his attitude and shouted sternly, "Duan Ce, if you don't release him, aren't you afraid you won't be able to leave here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Third Elder, who had been silent all along, suddenly became imposing and filled with murderous intent.

"Fine! Your Zhou family has guts!"

Duan Ce knew that he had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation, especially since there was still an ancestor of the Zhou family who had not yet shown up.

He decisively pushed Chen Changqing away and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Chen Changqing said coldly, clutching his wound. "Where are my things?"

"Hey, look at my memory..." Duan Ce said with a forced smile, taking out the bet and throwing it over.

"Hey, you think you can just leave after injuring someone?" The three members of the Duan family turned to leave, but Zhou Youran's light voice came from behind them.

"I guess I'm just unlucky!"

Duan Ce's lips twitched, but he still tossed down a bag of spirit stones. If he had known that Chen Changqing was so popular in the Zhou family, he would never have agreed to help the Ye family capture people.

"Brother, do you think the Duan family will be content with suffering such a huge loss?" Zhou Hao asked worriedly after Duan Ce and the others left. "They wouldn't really be going to help the Ye family, would they?"

"The Ye family must have already covered the losses from the Duan family's papaya bird business. What losses have they incurred?" Zhou Dezheng said indifferently.

"As for helping the Ye family... do you think they haven't been helping them secretly? However, as long as our ancestor is still alive, I doubt they would dare to act rashly! Otherwise, if we lose one of their ancestors, the position of the head of these four Foundation Establishment families would have to be changed to the Ning family!"

"I see." Zhou Hao suddenly realized.

This time, the Zhou family was in trouble, and Chen Changqing believed he had made a great contribution. Moreover, nearly a thousand papaya birds had fallen into the mouths of the Zhou family cultivators, and their cultivation had truly increased.

He was wondering if he should take this opportunity to make a request to the Zhou family.

such as:

Should we find a place with better spiritual energy to cultivate?

Question the Zhou family about the matter of drawing high-grade talismans and equipment. If what Liu Feifei said is true, then let them implement it.

Or, could we extend his time as a guest apprentice?

These are all facts that are crucial to Chen Changqing.

That's it!

Not to mention that I am currently insignificant and powerless, they just saved my life, so I have already repaid any debt of gratitude they owed me.

After some thought, Chen Changqing finally gave up the idea.

After a brief silence, Zhou Ruoyun stepped forward and gently lifted Chen Changqing's blood-stained clothes.

"Your injury is quite serious. Let me apply the medicine for you."

Before Chen Changqing could refuse, she had already taken out the ointment she had prepared and carefully applied it.

This scene made Li Erniu and the others extremely envious.

"Those two... seem like a good match?"

Zhou Youran stared at the heartwarming scene for a long time, then turned and left without disturbing it.