The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 251. The Ladle’s Ability

As Qiao Fu and his men retreated, Tyler calmly retrieved the ladle from his waist. With a wave of his hand, the seemingly ordinary utensil grew larger. He placed a folded letter inside its bowl and swiped it forward with a casual motion towards the retreating figure.

Qiao Fu’s wife suddenly felt something in her hand. Startled, she glanced down and saw the letter, which had appeared as if out of nowhere. Her heart raced as she quickly tucked it into her dress, near her breast, her movements careful not to draw attention. She sighed in relief upon confirming her husband hadn’t noticed. Before following the group, she stole a glance back at Tyler, who stood watching with a faint smirk.

"What was that?" Mana asked, her curiosity piqued.

"One of my weapon’s specialties," Tyler replied, his tone smug as he shrank the ladle and hooked it onto his waist beside his copper pot.

"Does it work on living things?" she asked, her interest growing.

Tyler scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe... I’ve never tried it." His eyes darted toward Reva, the shortest member of their group, who was busy inspecting her shield.

Without warning, Tyler expanded the ladle again and swiped it in Reva’s direction.

The elven warrior stiffened in panic, quickly raising her oversized shield. "What are you doing?!" she cried, bracing herself.

Nothing happened.

When Reva cautiously opened her eyes, Tyler and Mana were standing a short distance away, deeply engrossed in conversation. Confused, she lowered her shield and looked around. She sighed and turned away.

"I aimed for this bug and caught it," Tyler explained, holding up the utensil.

Mana leaned closer, her brows furrowed. "What kind of ability is this?" she murmured, astonished.

"It’s pretty overpowered," Tyler admitted with a grin. "I can snatch anything from a distance as long as I swipe it in the right direction. I can also deposit items in specific locations, like what I did with the letter."

Mana’s eyes gleamed with excitement. "Give me a copy!"

Tyler shook his head. "I wish I could, but it doesn’t work that way. This ladle is part of a unique set with my copper pot. It can’t be replicated.."

Mana pouted but quickly turned contemplative. "So, you’re saying it can’t replicate it because it is part of it."

"Exactly." Tyler nodded and said, "I think there is another piece of this set in further North. Probably in Dragon King’s territory. "

Roel, who previously owned the Ladle, told Tyler that he felt a resonance in the Dragon King’s territory.

Tyler and Mana walked towards the Bodyguard Trio.

Reva narrowed her eyes at him. "Boss, Next time, warn me before you start swinging anything." freewebnσvel.cѳm

Tyler chuckled. "Relax, I wasn’t aiming for you. Besides, it was just a bug."

Reva huffed and turned away, muttering about his reckless experiments. Although She is curious what is the Ladle’s Ability, she doesn’t ask. It’s not her buisness anyways.

"Thank goodness. If all those grandmasters had used their domains..." Tyler began, but his voice trailed off as he considered the consequences.

"That wouldn’t have been possible," Mana replied, shaking her head. "If multiple grandmasters activate their domains simultaneously, they would clash, even if they’re allies. It would create chaos rather than synergy. Also, our own grandmaster bodyguards didn’t use their domains. But unlike the others, these three have an advantage—they can combine their domains and attack together."

"Oh, right," Tyler said, nodding as he recalled what he had learned about domains. "These three were originally adventurers in the same party. Of course, they’d know how to combine their domains effectively."

Domains were the pinnacle of a grandmaster’s abilities, akin to Tyler’s own Chess Spell, which was considered a pseudo-domain. Grandmasters could create a personal space that bent reality to their will, using it to suppress enemies or amplify their own strength. However, creating a domain required immense skill, energy, and focus. The difficulty only increased when attempting to merge domains with another grandmaster’s.

"It’s even more challenging than spell merging," Mana continued, her tone instructive.

Tyler nodded again. Spell merging, while difficult, was a more common technique where two or more mages combined their spells to create a stronger or more versatile attack. It required precision and compatibility between the mages involved, but merging domains was on an entirely different level.

"I do have a way to suppress Qiao Fu’s domain," Tyler admitted. His tone turned serious as he considered the odds. "But with him surrounded by twenty grandmaster-level practitioners, it’s not worth the risk. We’ll need another plan to deal with him."

Mana observed him closely, noting the contemplative look on his face. Tyler’s tendency to think ahead and plan for contingencies was what made him such a formidable strategist. She trusted him to come up with something ingenious.

"Well, Since she got the letter. It’s time for me to move." Mana said as she disappeared like a Ghost, Though she is a Ghost....

After a brief silence, Tyler spoke again, "Well good luck..."

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Deep underground, in a room that exuded an ancient and eerie atmosphere, Qiao Fu’s wife was hard at work. She moved her fingers gracefully, as if weaving through the threads of the cosmos.

"Move left to the Yuji Star Position; move right to the Yaoguang Star Position," she commanded, her voice steady and deliberate.

The maids scurried to follow her instructions, carefully shifting statues across the stone floor. At the center of the room stood a massive cauldron, filled to the brim with a thick, red liquid that gleamed ominously under the flickering light of torches.

Qiao Fu had once struck gold—or more accurately, struck something far darker. Many many Years ago, during the time when he was just an ordinary woodcutter, he had accidentally slain an Abyss Demon, a creature of unimaginable power and malice. Instead of selling all the spoils, he had taken a perilous gamble, devouring the Abyss Demon’s fragmented soul. In doing so, he had inherited fragments of its memory, including a forbidden method to strengthen his body using the blood of the Abyss.

The process was not without its costs. The blood’s corrosive properties heightened aggression, made him prone to bouts of uncontrollable rage, and gnawed at his sanity. But the benefits were undeniable—it was an unparalleled tool for building an unshakable foundation in immortal Practice.

---

In a grand chamber not far from the underground ritual, Qiao Fu stood among the grandmasters he had hired to eliminate Mana. His face was contorted with fury, his temper frayed from the effects of the Abyss Demon’s blood.

"Useless! Absolutely useless!" he roared, pacing back and forth. His voice echoed through the chamber, reverberating against the high stone walls.

The leader of the grandmasters stepped forward cautiously. "We didn’t anticipate he’d have so many Defense Twin Star Arrays," he explained, his tone measured but strained. "Each array can withstand a Grandmaster-level attack for only a few minutes. But that man—he was able to replace them one after another, just as they were about to break."

Qiao Fu’s rage flared even hotter. "Defense Twin Star Arrays? Do you have any idea how expensive those are? One costs at least two million Lydia!" He clenched his fists, his voice rising with every word. "How many did he use? Ten? Twenty?"

The grandmasters exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions grim. One of them finally spoke, his voice low and hesitant. "It... it was far more than that, Master Qiao. Over fifty, perhaps even more."

For a moment, there was silence. The enormity of Tyler’s resourcefulness struck them like a physical blow. The thought of so many expensive arrays being used and replaced with such ease was almost incomprehensible.

Qiao Fu’s face turned crimson with rage. "More than Fifty?! Does he think Lydia grows on trees?" he bellowed. The veins on his forehead bulged as he slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a sizable dent. His hired grandmasters dared not speak further, fearing they would provoke his ire even more.

"Tsk... How did that fallen family B*tch found such a nouveau rich Sugar Daddy?" He murmured.

---

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit corner of the underground chamber, Qiao Fu’s wife took the opportunity to examine the mysterious letter she had received earlier. The memory of how it had appeared in her hand without warning still sent shivers down her spine. She unfolded it carefully, her heart pounding with both curiosity and dread.

She began to read the letter.

Dear Lady Qiao,

You look Hot...

"..." Lady Qiao.