Enduring humiliation for three years, seizing the elixir, the treasure, and the holy maiden.

Chapter 276 Luoyan City is getting worse every day!

A bluestone avenue stretches from Dan City all the way to the north of the city. The lampposts on both sides have just been lit, and the dim yellow light makes the cracks between the bricks appear white.

The temple of Luoyan City sits at the end of this road.

As Su Chen walked up the steps, the two Nascent Soul disciples guarding the hall hadn't even seen him clearly before their legs went weak.

The oppressive aura was so strong that they couldn't even lift their heads.

"The Grand Offering..."

"No need for such formalities."

Su Chen raised his hand and pushed open the palace door.

The heavy bronze chandelier inside the hall swayed slightly.

The seat at the head of the table was empty.

A figure stood by the window with his hands behind his back, wearing a wide, dark robe, with a layer of incense ash still clinging to his shoulders.

Li Ziran turned around.

He glanced at Su Chen for two breaths.

Then he burst into laughter.

"You little brat!"

The laughter struck the crossbeams of the roof, circling twice before finally settling down.

"It hasn't been that long."

Li Ziran took three steps forward and walked half a circle around Su Chen, as if he were looking at a newly made magical artifact.

"He's actually at the same level as me."

"I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

Su Chen cupped his hands and bent down slightly.

Su Chen always respected his great-father-in-law.

Back in Luoyan City, Su Chen was just a rogue cultivator who had just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, with neither a sect nor a powerful backer.

It was Li Ziran who betrothed his granddaughter, Li Tianqi, to him.

It was Li Ziran who showered Su Chen with all the treasures that were kept hidden away in Luoyan City's treasury.

Su Chen is not an ungrateful person.

In recent years, Luoyan City has gained the Xueyuan Pavilion, and the business of spirit beasts alone has made Luoyan City a fortune.

"You flatter me, Father-in-law."

Su Chen straightened his sleeves.

"It was just a matter of chance."

"Opportunity?"

Li Ziran glanced at it.

"This is not something to be modest about."

He reached out and pressed on Su Chen's shoulder, then shook his head.

"A cultivator at the Void Refinement stage."

"Enough to dominate a region in this cultivation world."

"Throughout the entire Xuanhuang Continent, you can count on your fingers only seven or eight."

"Now there's one more."

Li Ziran turned around and walked back to the seat at the head of the table. When he sat down, he gathered the hem of his robe over his knees.

There was an unfinished game of chess on the table.

The black pieces were mostly surrounded, and the white pieces didn't have much of a chance either.

Su Chen glanced at it but couldn't tell who it was played against.

"sit."

Li Ziran pulled a storage bag from under the table and pushed it forward.

The bag landed on the table with a dull thud.

"You deserve it."

Su Chen did not answer.

Thirty million.

Li Ziran tapped her fingers on the edge of the table.

"You're the one who brought that spirit beast business to Luoyan City for Xueyuan Pavilion."

"We collected 50% of the spirit stones this year."

"Just those cubs alone, Luoyan City handles over 90 million in a year."

"My accounts have always been clear over the years."

"You won't get a single penny less of what's due."

Su Chen pushed the bag back half an inch.

"No need."

Li Ziran raised his eyebrows.

"You don't lack spirit stones?"

"We don't lack any."

Su Chen leaned back in his chair.

"Yu Yan was originally the Holy Maiden of the Misty Rain Pavilion in Qingzhou."

"The Misty Rain Pavilion has long been a sect under my command."

"Several spirit mines, with a continuous supply of spirit stones."

"Logically speaking, I should collect a batch of spirit stones every year."

"But I haven't gone back much over the years."

"We'll have tens of millions of spirit stones when we get back this time."

Su Chen pressed his hand onto the storage bag.

"Furthermore, what would a Void Refinement cultivator need spirit stones for?"

"I can't improve my cultivation level by taking pills, and I don't lack magical artifacts."

"Luoyan City was originally a city where independent cultivators gathered together, so its foundation was weak."

"It's more useful to keep these spirit stones in the vault than to keep them in my possession."

Li Ziran remained seated.

After a while, the hand slowly pulled the bag back.

When he took it back, the smile on his old face faded.

The hall was quiet for a while.

The sound of a night watchman striking his clapper came from outside the window; he struck it three times and then walked away.

"I won't hide anything from you."

"In recent years, I have really lost interest in managing the affairs of Luoyan City."

"Most sects on the Xuanhuang Continent have submitted to Master Hongfu."

"The sects that submitted to the master expanded rapidly thanks to the opportunities bestowed upon them by the Venerable Hongfu."

"As for Luoyan City, although I, a cultivator at the Void Refinement stage, am here to oversee it."

"But its cultural heritage is declining day by day."

"This is what happens to Luoyan City if it doesn't express its submission."

"We were gradually marginalized by various forces."

At this point, he pulled out a wine pot from under the table, poured himself half a cup, but didn't drink it.

"If it weren't for you pulling strings here and there these past few years, connecting Xueyuan Pavilion and Yanyu Pavilion to Luoyan City."

"I gave up long ago."

"To be in seclusion for three hundred years."

"I won't bother looking at how fallen Luoyan City has become."

Su Chen smiled after hearing this.

That smile made Li Ziran pause for a moment.

"What are you laughing at?"

"My great-grandfather-in-law only saw the Xuanhuang Continent."

Su Chen leaned forward a little.

"It's true that these sects that have now submitted are expanding rapidly."

"But this is only what's happening now."

"The cultivators of the Xuanhuang Continent may not know, but Qingzhou is far more terrifying than this place."

Li Ziran's hand stopped on the rim of the cup.

"Qingzhou?"

Li Ziran thought about it.

"I also have a few informants in Qingzhou."

"No rumors have been circulating lately."

"It's very peaceful."

"Peace?"

Su Chen shook his head.

He didn't continue immediately.

The incense in the incense burner at the corner of the hall had burned down to the bottom, and a section of ash collapsed and scattered at the bottom of the burner.

"If this gets out, someone will die."

Su Chen raised his eyes.

"So only you can know this."

"Once you step out of this gate, not a single word can be heard throughout Luoyan City."

Li Ziran put the cup down.

The relaxation on that old face vanished instantly.

"speak."

"A Mahayana cultivator has emerged on the Qingzhou Continent."

The hall was unusually quiet.

"His cultivation level far surpasses that of Master Hongfu."

"this."

"It has some connection with me."