Chapter 73 - 73: Golden Core Stage Methods
“Fellow Daoist, don’t act rashly. Just state your demands.” With a hostage in hand, the Nascent Soul Cultivator dared not attack.
“I am Huang Li, a friend of Qin Luan! I heard your Dragon Clan wants to harm him. I am not particularly skilled, but I am fearless, and anyone who dares bully my friend, I will kill!” Jiang Li’s ferocity was obvious to all, marking him as a desperate man.
The Nascent Soul Cultivator cursed internally, clearly seeing Jiang Li as a Golden Core Stage Cultivator with a top-grade Golden Core. How could such a
person be willing to throw his life away!
But he didn’t dare to bet against it, instead leaving Jiang Li to state his demands.
“You must compensate my brother Qin Luan with ten top-grade Spirit Stones!”
“Ten?! Impossible!” The Nascent Soul Cultivator immediately rejected the demand, unafraid of Jiang Li turning hostile.
Jiang Li laughed, “Your powerful clansmen usually give the younger generation a lifesaving charm, which can save you from death, but not from injury.”
Jiang Li casually broke one of Dragon San Shui’s fingers. The pampered Dragon San Shui had never experienced such pain, and tears streamed down his face as he wailed loudly.
No one in the vicinity felt sorry for Dragon San Shui; instead, they found it satisfying. Dragon San Shui had committed all kinds of atrocities and caused many families to break apart. Today he was finally receiving his just deserts.
Well deserved!
Seeing that the broken finger was dangling in an unsightly manner, Jiang Li, considering aesthetics, took out his dagger and cut it off.
Jiang Li kindly said, “Does the esteemed Nascent Soul Cultivator think that the third son of the Dragon Clan is not worth this much? Look, now he has lost a part of him, so I’ll only ask for nine top-grade Spirit Stones.”
“If you still think it’s expensive, the third prince still has nine fingers and ten toes,” Jiang Li stated boldly. “Cultivator, how many Spirit Stones do you want to offer? Five top-grade Spirit Stones? Or only one?”
“If you have any grudges against the Dragon Clan, just say so. I’ll take revenge on your behalf and make sure none of the third prince’s fingers and toes remain!”
Deep in his heart, the Nascent Soul follower lamented that he had no enmity with the Dragon Clan but was being treated like he did by Jiang Li!
“Out with it! Isn’t it just ten top-grade Spirit Stones! Give him!” Dragon San Shui was furious, feeling that the follower sent by his father was useless and indecisive, causing him to lose a finger. When he got back, he swore he’d ask the ancestor to kill him!
Fool, this Huang Li is clearly making a ridiculous demand. If such outrageous requests were granted, he would only ask for more!
Isn’t it just a broken finger? A single pill can regrow it. What’s there to scream about!
“Alright! Here are ten top-grade Spirit Stones!” The Nascent Soul follower threw the bag of Spirit Stones onto the ground, hoping Jiang Li would bend down to pick it up.
Without even looking, Jiang Li continued, “Swear to the Heavenly Dao that you won’t attack us and will let us leave the city.”
Dragon San Shui and the Nascent Soul follower chuckled to themselves. Not attack you? We’ve already posted a bounty on you in Tian Sha Pavilion; let’s see how long you can jump around!
But outwardly, both of them solemnly swore an oath as required.
Jiang Li picked up the bag, confirmed it contained ten top-grade Spirit Stones, and then released Dragon San Shui.
Hiding behind the follower, Dragon San Shui furiously glared at Jiang Li.
Jiang Li didn’t care at all and went on to rendezvous with Qin Luan and Song Ying who were waiting at a distance.
“This… we can really leave now?” Qin Luan was taken aback by Jiang Li’s actions, never expecting that he would solve the situation through such violent
means.
Song Ying was also surprised that the protector of Jiuzhou could showcase such violence.
“I used to do such things when I was at the Golden Core Stage. It was only after I grew stronger over the last few centuries that I became more restrained,” Jiang Li smiled, explaining without any embarrassment about his past. “The matter is not over, the Dragon Clan issue isn’t resolved yet.”
Jiang Li, along with the two, headed to the City Lord’s Mansion. He pulled out the bag of newly acquired Spirit Stones and a letter. He handed them to the gatekeeper, asking him to deliver the letter to the city lord. As for the Spirit
Stones, Jiang Li didn’t say anything, but the gatekeepers understood implicitly.
The gatekeepers each took a top-grade Spirit Stone for themselves while keeping the rest to deliver to the chief steward along with the letter, which was to be given to the City Lord.
“Aren’t you afraid they’ll just take the Spirit Stones and won’t do anything?” Song Ying asked since Jiang Li’s approach wouldn’t work in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
“By giving them top-grade Spirit Stones, it reveals my status and capability of reaching the upper echelons. If by chance this matter came up when meeting the chief steward of the City Lord’s mansion, the stewards will make things difficult for these two men for failing to get any Spirit Stones. Therefore, they won’t dare to gamble, nor is there any necessity.”
“Those gatekeepers are greedy, but not foolish.”
“What did you write in the letter?”
Jiang Li took out a dagger: “It’s poisoned. It won’t be lethal, but it will be extremely uncomfortable. The poison seeps into the meridians, causing an unbearable itch that can lead to unconscious scratching, breaking the skin. However, it only affects those below the Foundation Establishment Stage, and those with a solid foundation can cleanse themselves.”
Seeing that Qin Luan and Song Ying became nervous after hearing about the poison, Jiang Li assuaged their anxiety.
“The poison can’t be neutralized with any medicinal pill, but only through divine sense scans of one’s body and meticulous removal. Moreover, Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators lack the precision and only Divinity Transformation
Stage Cultivators can do this.”
“Will the Dragon Clan’s ancestor really deal with something like this?” Song Ying couldn’t understand why Jiang Li was so confident. After the dispute between them and the Dragon Clan escalated, the Dragon Clan’s ancestor never intervened.
“Among the Dragon Clan’s three princes, have you ever heard that the eldest and second princes often oppress men and dominate women?”
“I’ve heard they rarely do.”
“They are too busy cultivating and don’t have time for such things. Dragon San Shui, as the youngest son, was spoiled by his parents, hence he became lawless. It’s normal for his father, the Clan Leader, to grovel and bleed before the ancestor, begging for help when his son suffers, isn’t it?” Jiang Li put it matter-of-factly.
“A Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator eliminating this poison needs to concentrate fully and cannot be disturbed. Otherwise, it will backlash.
However, recovery can happen quickly.”
“Therefore, I told the City Lord in the letter to find a way to distract the Dragon Clan’s ancestor, seize the opportunity when he experiences the backlash, and get rid of the Dragon Clan’s ancestor.”
“Will the City Lord really do that?” Song Ying asked.
“I put a bit of the poison on the letter. He will know whether it’s real or fake after testing it.”
“As a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator, the City Lord should be able to rule over the entire city without restrictions, but the presence of the Dragon Clan makes him feel like there’s something stuck in his throat. As the saying goes, there can’t be two tigers on one mountain, and a city can’t accommodate two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators. As long as he gets an opportunity, even if I were to cheat him, he wouldn’t lose anything.” “It’s a sure win with no risk. There’s no reason for him not to proceed.”
“Although this poison has an incubation period of more than ten days, Dragon San Shui will have an early onset because he will take lifeblood pills to regrow his limb, which will stimulate the poison’s effect earlier.”
Qin Luan followed Jiang Li’s train of thought and added, “Because he’ll ingest the lifeblood kind of medicinal pill to regenerate his limbs, causing the poison to act sooner?”
“Sounds like you’ve caught on.”
Jiang Li brought Qin Luan and Song Ying to the restaurant with the best view in town, asking Yuan Wuxing to show up as well, getting ready for the show.
A loud roar echoed in Longyin City.
“Old Mr. Dragon, I hope you’ll pardon my late-night visit!”
At the same time, assassins from the Tian Sha Pavilion surrounded the four..