Chapter 297: Chapter 261: Deal, Ten Thousand Spirits Four Symbols Array, Ten Thousand Spirits Needle

Of course, Xu Qing had already sensed Cangba Dao and his group. Combined with Wang Miao’s analysis from the previous night, he had a vague idea of what was happening.

That was why Xu Qing spoke up.

"Distinguished guests, please, come in."

Kaya was startled for a moment upon hearing Xu Qing’s words, but she quickly recovered, a smile gracing her stunningly beautiful face.

"Haha..."

Cangba Dao laughed heartily. "To be able to meet the proprietor of A Weapon Shop today is truly my honor."

Cangba Dao and his companions then followed Kaya toward the rear courtyard.

In the very center of the courtyard stood an old camphor tree. Beneath the large tree was a stone table with four stone chairs. Xu Qing sat on one of the chairs, a pot of tea steeping on the table.

Xu Qing filled four teacups.

Three were for Cangba Dao and his companions, and the last was for himself.

"Everyone, please."

Xu Qing gestured with his hand.

"Haha..."

Cangba Dao laughed again and walked over. At Xu Qing’s gesture, he found a seat and sat down. "Thank you, Proprietor."

Young Master Wen Shu and the other woman also sat down on the remaining two stone chairs.

"Mm."

Xu Qing’s expression was calm. "Please, have some tea."

"Proprietor."

But Cangba Dao shook his head and said, "I’ve come here this time because there are a few things I’d like to ask you about."

"I am, in fact, already aware of the purpose of your visit."

Xu Qing’s tone was placid. "Before we discuss business, let’s drink the tea."

"..."

Cangba Dao frowned slightly.

"Good tea."

Just then, Young Master Wen Shu had already taken a sip of his tea and praised it aloud.

At this, Cangba Dao’s frown deepened.

The stunningly beautiful woman glanced cautiously at Cangba Dao.

Cangba Dao took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on Xu Qing, and asked in a low voice, "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"A Marquis."

Xu Qing said calmly.

"You know who I am, yet you still tell this King to drink tea first?"

Cangba Dao’s tone grew heavy.

"That’s right."

Xu Qing remained unperturbed.

"Hahahaha..."

Cangba Dao threw his head back and laughed. "Good, good, very good! What a proprietor of A Weapon Shop, what an Ouyazi! This King will grant you this much face today."

The moment he finished speaking, Cangba Dao drank the tea Xu Qing had poured.

CLACK!

Cangba Dao set the cup down.

Afterward, the beautiful woman followed his lead and also drank her tea.

"Prince."

A faint smile appeared on Xu Qing’s face. "Yue Yun did indeed die at my hands. Not just Yue Yun, but also the eight missing Peak Refiners. I killed them all."

"Insolent!"

BOOM!

The moment he finished speaking, Cangba Dao was naturally enraged. A terrifying aura, like an endless abyss or an infinite mountain range, erupted from him as if the sky itself were collapsing, suppressing everything in all directions.

CRACK!

It seemed as if the very ground caved in.

"Prince, don’t be in such a hurry to get angry."

Xu Qing’s expression was indifferent.

HUM! HUM!

An invisible fluctuation spread from Xu Qing’s body. He mobilized the Mighty Power of several Level 30 items to resist Cangba Dao’s oppressive aura.

He was completely unaffected.

"Ouyazi, you killed this King’s Consort, and you dare tell this King not to rush to anger?"

Cangba Dao’s tone was frigid.

Clearly, Cangba Dao was on the verge of attacking. If he hadn’t been so stunned that Xu Qing would admit it so directly, he would have already struck.

"Prince."

Xu Qing shook his head and continued, "That Consort of yours had already betrayed you. And those eight Peak Refiners were also being controlled by someone else."

"The one controlling the eight Peak Refiners was a disciple of the Dark Demon King."

"The Dark Demon King!!!"

Cangba Dao’s voice was filled with shock.

"The disciple of the Dark Demon King has been plotting in the Cangzhou Prefecture for ten years. He bewitched your Consort, Yue Yun, and had her contact one Peak Refiner after another."

Xu Qing continued to explain, "Those Peak Refiners were made to refine the Child Boxes of the ’Mother-Child Nine Spirit Box’ and cultivate the corresponding Pattern Technique, which resulted in their consciousness being manipulated, turning them into slave Puppets."

"However, that disciple of the Dark Demon King needed to refine nine ’Child Boxes,’ and for that, he needed nine Peak Refiners. So, naturally, they set their sights on me."

"Unfortunately for them,"

Xu Qing shook his head. "they were too weak. To dare scheme against me... Naturally, I didn’t show them any courtesy and annihilated them all."

"You..."

Cangba Dao’s gaze sharpened, his pupils contracting. "Are you trying to deceive this King?!"

"I have no need to deceive you, Prince."

Xu Qing continued, "Actually, you should be aware, Prince. Ever since the Blood Demon Sect caused trouble, the Emperor Dragon Qi of the Great Zhou Martial Country has vanished. It can no longer protect the people or the Prefecture Cities."

"Right now, across the nine provinces of the land, all the Prefectures and Prefecture Cities are being watched hungrily by Demons, Fiends, and Evil Spirits. If I wanted to, I could simply leave the Cangzhou Prefecture. How would you ever find me then, Prince?"

"Also..."

With a wave of his right hand, Xu Qing took an item from his Storage Ring. It was a Dharma Artifact similar to a Memory Stone, and it projected the events of that night.

In the projected image, Cangba Dao saw and heard with his own eyes and ears as Yue Yun addressed another middle-aged man as "Master."

"BASTARD!!!"

RUMBLE!

CRACK!!!

Cangba Dao was utterly furious. He slammed his palm down, completely obliterating the stone table and turning it to dust. It was as if a bright green hat had suddenly appeared on his head.

"Prince, do you believe me now?"

Xu Qing asked.

"Where is the Dark Demon King’s disciple?"

Cangba Dao demanded.

Clearly, at this moment, he wished for nothing more than to grind Wang Miao’s bones to dust.

"Already dead."

Xu Qing said, "I ground his bones to dust."

Cangba Dao let out a long breath.

He had already come to believe Xu Qing. It was just that the rage in his heart had no outlet. He never could have imagined it—he was just sitting at home, and a green hat fell from the sky.

He was furious. Utterly furious.

"Forget it."

Cangba Dao waved his hand, calming his rage. "What’s done is done," he said. "There’s no point in being angry anymore. In any case, that wretched pair already died at your hands."

"It’s just a pity,"

"that this King couldn’t grind their bones to dust myself."

"Ouyazi."

A glint flashed in Cangba Dao’s eyes as he looked at Xu Qing. "Now that this misunderstanding has been cleared up, there is actually a matter I wish to cooperate with you on."

"What is it?"

Xu Qing asked.

"The Great Zhou Martial Country’s Emperor Dragon Qi has dissipated. It can no longer protect the people, nor can it continue to shelter the Prefectures. During this time, many malevolent and strange entities, Demons and Monsters, have infiltrated the Prefectures, causing the deaths of many citizens."

Cangba Dao continued, "This King cannot allow this to continue. We must find another solution. Therefore, I have joined forces with several other Top-tier Influences. We plan to borrow the Power of ’Dao, Immortals, Confucianism, and Martial Arts,’ and unite with all the citizens of the city to lay down the ’Ten Thousand Spirits Four Symbols Array’ to protect the Prefecture."

"But all eight Peak Refiners in the Cangzhou Prefecture have fallen. This has forced a change in plans, as there is no one left who can refine many of the Array Artifacts."

"Therefore, this King wishes to request that you take action and refine these Array Artifacts. As long as you are willing, this King will certainly provide you with satisfactory compensation."

"Alright."

Xu Qing smiled. "I can refine them," he said. "However, for every ’Array Artifact’ I successfully refine for you, Prince, you will need to pay me ten thousand Top-grade Law Stones."

"That is what I want."

"Ten thousand Top-grade Law Stones!"

Cangba Dao’s pupils contracted. He couldn’t help but say, "Isn’t that a bit too..."

"If you cannot afford the compensation, Prince, then please see yourself out."

Xu Qing gestured with his hand.

"Fine."

Cangba Dao took a deep breath, gave Xu Qing a long, deep look, and said in a low voice, "This King agrees. For every one you successfully refine, this King will give you ten thousand Top-grade Law Stones."

"Then it’s settled."

Xu Qing said.

"We’ll start tomorrow."

Cangba Dao stood up, glanced at Young Master Wen Shu, and said, "Ouyazi, this King will have Young Master Wen Shu contact you to discuss the details of refining the Array Artifacts."

"Then I’ll be troubling you, Young Master Wen Shu."

Xu Qing looked toward the dashing Young Master Wen Shu.

"To be able to work with Senior Ouyazi is my honor."

Young Master Wen Shu clasped his hands and bowed.

Then, Cangba Dao and his group left.

’The Ten Thousand Spirits Four Symbols Array.’

Xu Qing mused, ’With the disappearance of the Emperor Dragon Qi, Demons and Monsters are watching like hungry tigers. During this time, all sorts of strange incidents have been occurring frequently within the Prefecture.’

’It seems the Top-tier Influences of the Cangzhou Prefecture can no longer sit still. If they don’t act now and continue to let these Demons and Monsters run rampant, I’m afraid the entire Prefecture will gradually fall.’

Indeed. Because Xu Qing lived in seclusion within his courtyard, those Demons and Monsters couldn’t affect him at all. Thus, from his perspective, everything seemed calm and peaceful, as if nothing was happening.

However, just a few days ago, Zhu Hong of the Brotherhood had come to Xu Qing for help. Their Brotherhood had been targeted by an extremely terrifying Deceit. They had no way to deal with it and could only turn to Xu Qing for help.

Yet, Xu Qing hadn’t acted personally. He had merely dispatched Kaya and the others to help. A great battle erupted that night, and they rooted out the Deceit that had been lurking within the Brotherhood.

This Deceit was named: Fog Deceit.

The Fog Deceit’s power was terrifying, comparable to a being at the Initial Entry of the Third Realm. It had mastered a type of Law and formed a dreadful Mysterious Realm.

Of course, in the end, Kaya and the others had to join forces to finally kill the Fog Deceit.

Therefore, the Cangzhou Prefecture was becoming increasingly unsafe.

「The next day.」

Young Master Wen Shu arrived, bringing a Storage Ring. Inside were ten thousand Top-grade Law Stones, along with the materials and method for refining the Array Artifact.

The Array Artifact Xu Qing needed to refine was called: the Ten Thousand Spirits Needle.