While Lu Qingshan was conversing with Lin Yao,under the enhancement of the Formation's power, Lin He had already captured all of the remaining eight Demon Hunters.
Seeing Lu Qingshan and his young mistress in conversation, Lin He tactfully stood by in silence.
"Cultivator Lu." Finally, after Lu Qingshan and Lin Yao finished talking, Lin He came forward to interject.
Lin He handed over a box made of sandalwood.
Lu Qingshan took it, opened it, and saw inside five Third Grade Spirit Stones. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Lin He explained, "Cultivator Lu, please don't misunderstand, these mere five Third Grade Spirit Stones naturally can't properly thank you for saving our lives. They are intended as your remuneration for escorting the Lin Family convoy to Zhenjiang City."
After the recent battle, Lin He was quite clear about Lu Qingshan's strength.
There was still a long journey ahead, and if they encountered Demon Beasts on the way, they would likely rely on Lu Qingshan.
And given Lu Qingshan's cultivation, a remuneration of thirty First Grade Spirit Stones would seem rather meager.
Lu Qingshan understood and refused Lin He's kind gesture, returning the sandalwood box, "Since I have accepted the task from the Demon Hunter League, escorting the convoy to Zhenjiang City is already my duty, there's no need for additional remuneration."
Seeing that Lu Qingshan wouldn't accept the Spirit Stones, Lin He didn't dare press the matter and could only take the sandalwood box back into his storage bag.
Lu Qingshan swept his gaze over the scene.
Considering the severe shortage of personnel in the convoy, it would be impossible to manage too many captives.
Therefore, Lin He showed no mercy, and among the eight captured Demon Hunters, only Ma Shan and Liu Ai were spared. The rest were turned to ashes under the Fire Serpent Formation.
Ma Shan and Liu Ai were left as living evidence.
If the collusion between Ma Yuan, who secretly concocted Evil Gu, and the Ma Family were confirmed, the Ma Family would surely be finished.
The night quickly passed.
Although this incident had halved the number of cultivators in the Lin Family convoy and most of the remaining ones were injured,
they still had to continue their journey to Zhenjiang City.
Luckily, there was that Sword Cultivator.
Thinking of this, the Lin Family's cultivators cautiously glanced at Lu Qingshan, who was sitting on a large cart carrying goods.
They immediately felt much more at ease.
Lu Qingshan leaned against the cart, pretending to doze with half-closed eyes.
Seeing this, the entire convoy consciously quieted down, fearing they might disturb Lu Qingshan.
This was a form of respect for the strong.
...
Yuanshan Tower.
Tower Master Dantai Qingrun, Vice Tower Master Jiang Rong, and the management of various departments at Yuanshan Tower were all gathered together.
Two days had passed since the battle at the City Lord's Mansion.
Given Yuanshan Tower's efficiency and influence in Yuanshan City, two days was enough for them to clear all involved forces of the Netherworld within the incident.
"Myriad Treasures Tower, Pavilion of Suffering, Earth Fiend Pavilion, ... as well as the City Lord's Mansion, these are all forces of the Netherworld in Yuanshan City," Jiang Rong reported to Dantai Qingrun, who sat at the head of the table.
Jiang Rong's gaze was stern, "We have dispatched cultivators to take down these forces.
The heads of these affairs are now imprisoned in the Prison Warden Office, being thoroughly interrogated by its cultivators.
In one or two more days, we should have results. None who are colluding with the Netherworld will escape."
"To think the Netherworld has infiltrated so deeply, involving nearly one-third of Yuanshan City's cultivator forces!" Dantai Qingrun scoffed.
The cultivators of Yuanshan Tower in the room fell silent, not daring to speak.
Within the region of Zhenjiang Prefecture, among the one hundred and eight Prefecture Cities, Yuanshan City must be the one into which the Netherworld invested the most resources.
Otherwise, the Netherworld wouldn't have chosen Yuanshan City as the location for their operation, leading Qi Yuan to the city.
"How's the situation with the Blood Pool?" Dantai Qingrun raised an eyebrow and inquired.
Soon, a middle-aged male cultivator responsible for the matter stood up to respond, "Tower Master, rest assured, once Fengxing Zi broke the Illusion Array, we completely destroyed the Blood Pool."
Dantai Qingrun nodded and turned to Jiang Rong, "Jiang Rong, expedite the interrogation of these implicated cultivators, and don't spare a single guilty person."
"Yes, Tower Master!"
"Good, we'll stop here for today."
"Yes," replied the Yuanshan Tower cultivators.
Soon, the Yuanshan Tower cultivators on the field dispersed one after another.
Only Dantai Qingrun remained.
Dantai Qingrun took out a blank jade slip and, after inserting her divine sense to ponder for a while, finally recorded the beginning and end of the battle at Yuanshan City's City Lord's Mansion within the jade slip.
However, Lu Qingshan's name did not appear anywhere in the record.
After finishing the recording, Dantai Qingrun seemed to remember something else. She hesitated for a moment, then added a small section to the jade slip: "The City Lord of Yuanshan City is a person from the Netherworld. The Netherworld's infiltration into our Human Race is evident enough.
I suggest a screening of high-level personnel in all cities of the Human Race to prevent such absurd incidents from happening again."
Having added this section, Dantai Qingrun nodded in satisfaction, summoned a cultivator in black robe waiting outside the door, and handed over the jade slip to him.
"Send it to Zhenjiang Tower as soon as possible," Dantai Qingrun instructed.
Just as Zhenjiang City governed one hundred and eight Prefecture Cities, Zhenjiang Tower was their superior, overseeing these Prefecture Towers.
Such an important matter as the battle of Yuanshan City must be reported to Zhenjiang Tower in detail.
"Wait..." Just as the black-robed cultivator turned to leave with the jade slip, Dantai Qingrun had a thought and called him back.
"Jiang Rong is exceptionally capable and loyal to the Human Race. He's suited for heavy responsibilities!" Taking back the jade slip from the black-robed cultivator's hands, Dantai Qingrun added this sentence to the slip.
With such great contributions this time, Dantai Qingrun naturally understood that she would definitely be promoted afterwards.
If she received a promotion, then the position of Tower Master of Yuanshan Tower would be vacant.
Although she had worked with Jiang Rong for only three years, Dantai Qingrun was well aware of Jiang Rong's abilities and character. She also believed that Jiang Rong could maintain the current favorable situation in Yuanshan City.
Thus, she wanted to give Jiang Rong a push as much as possible.
With her recommendation, the likelihood of Jiang Rong ascending to the position of Tower Master of Yuanshan Tower was not one hundred percent, but it seemed very likely, almost a certainty.
As for herself.
Dantai Qingrun smiled slightly.
She was already the Tower Master of Yuanshan Tower, so what could be her next promotion be other than a transfer to Zhenjiang Tower, or some other assignment?
...
Above the wilderness, the Lin Family caravan.
In the following days, everything was extremely calm.
For the Lin Family cultivators, no news was good news.
Because sudden incidents in the wilderness were too unpredictable, not only troublesome but potentially life-threatening.
Therefore, once the Lin Family caravan reached near Zhenjiang City, everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
This was where Lu Qingshan would part ways with the Lin Family caravan.
The Lin Family caravan was heading to Fire Cloud Peak, a hundred miles away from Zhenjiang City.
Fire Cloud Peak was where the Lin Family of Zhenjiang City resided.
However, Lu Qingshan's destination was Zhenjiang City.
"This is the proof. Young Master Lu can use this to settle the mission at the Demon Hunter's Guild," Lin Yao handed a jade slip to Lu Qingshan.
After that, Lin Yao hesitated for a moment and pursed her lips before saying, "Although my Lin Family is small, we have been taught to be grateful. Young Master Lu's life-saving grace is beyond repaying. If there is anything you need in the future, please feel free to instruct us."
Lu Qingshan chuckled in response, "Naturally."
"Miss Lin, if you ever find yourself in trouble, you can also come to Zhenjiang City to find me. I will be in Zhenjiang City for a while," Lu Qingshan said to Lin Yao as they were parting.
Watching the figure of Lu Qingshan departing,
Lin Yao's brows were tightly knitted.
What Lu Qingshan said seemed like the typical commonplace courtesy.
But for some reason, remembering the look in Lu Qingshan's eyes when he spoke those words, she had a feeling there was a deeper meaning behind them.
It was as though Lu Qingshan was certain she would encounter trouble.