Chapter 629

Ke Yanjing said solemnly: "Your Highness, my Ke family also wants to do our best for the victimized demons..."

Fushan Yue raised his hand to interrupt: "Every debt has its debtor; how can the Ke family pay for this? My Chiyan can still afford a little bit of compensation."

He Lingchuan watched them bypass the topic in a few words and thought it was impressive.

The Ke family was close to National Preceptor Qingyang; how could they know nothing about the Elixir of Immortality case? However, National Preceptor Qingyang had already been suspected by the Tiangong, and the Ke family should also want to draw a clear line with her now.

They just couldn't do it.

He simply took over the conversation: "Lord Ke, I heard that the mountain marsh of Xushan has been exclusively offered by our Ke family for more than a hundred years?"

"Yes," Ke Shouyi laughed. "Thanks to Lord Zuju's kindness, the food and supplies are all provided by the Ke family."

He Lingchuan was curious: "Lord Mountain Marsh is not a human; I wonder what it usually eats and what its appetite is like?"

What does a rock-fire monster like to eat? Can it have a sense of taste?

Fushan Yue glared at him: "Can you ask this casually?" Come on, tell me quickly.

Ke Shouyi was generous: "Eh, there is nothing that cannot be said to others. The Ke family has been offering to Lord Zuju for many years; these are no longer secrets, everyone knows."

Fushan Yue's smile remained unchanged, but he cursed "MMP" in his heart.

He had been excluded when he was in Lingxu City in his early years; he really didn't know these details! "Lord Zuju likes to eat strange ores; the rarer, the better. If it is a special metal extracted from extraterrestrial meteorites, it is the first-class delicacy for it," Ke Yanjing explained on his behalf. "If ores are the staple food, then all kinds of spirit trees with age are snacks for Lord Zuju. In addition, it also likes mountain blood, stone blood, and other things as condiments."

"It sounds like collecting these things is not easy?"

"As long as Lord Zuju likes it, the Ke family will travel to the ends of the earth just to search for these," Ke Shouyi sighed. "Take the Green Spirit Gold collected from the East ten years ago; Lord Zuju ate it once and couldn't forget it, always urging us to find it again. But that is a treasure extracted from extraterrestrial meteorites, which can be met but not sought. So many years have passed, and we haven't found a second piece."

He Lingchuan understood that the rock-fire monster had a picky taste; except for the Ke family, it was difficult for others to find food that satisfied it.

This difficulty was a moat, squeezing other powerful figures out of the competition.

The Ke family's solid status in Lingxu City was also one of the reasons.

"For rare ores like Frost-Pattern Iron and White Ru Silver, we have to offer several hundred jin at a time; if it is ordinary ore, it takes several thousand jin at a time."

He continued to be curious: "Then doesn't Lord Zuju eat people?"

In fact, many demons still retain the habit of eating people, and the reason is particularly simple: they have basically no hair, their skin is thin, and they are not difficult to eat.

The Ke father and son laughed loudly: "For Lord Zuju, what benefit can human flesh have?"

"Then Lord Zuju should like the Questioning Tree on Tianji Peak, or the Treasure Tree King?"

"That Questioning Tree is its old friend, and they have a deep friendship. I heard that it existed long before Lord Zuju opened its spiritual wisdom," Ke Yanjing continued. "It hasn't liked to eat the branches and leaves of the Questioning Tree for a long time."

Does the rabbit not eat the grass by its nest?

"As for the branches and leaves of the Treasure Tree King, we really went to ask for them," Ke Yanjing laughed. "The Treasure Tree King was generous and really gave them."

He Lingchuan asked again: "Does Lord Ke offer them at home, or take them to the Star-Plucking Tower to offer them?"

A flash of anger crossed Ke Shouyi's face; obviously, his self-cultivation was not as good as National Preceptor Qingyang's, and he showed it.

Ke Yanjing said: "He Xiao is joking; the Tiangong has always required us to go to the Star-Plucking Tower to offer to Lord Zuju. How would my family dare to cross the line?"

Fushan Yue coughed lightly: "He Xiao is from a foreign country and doesn't know these regulations in Lingxu City."

"The Tiangong is built on Xushan; Lord Zuju is not only the mountain marsh of Xushan but also the guardian of the Tiangong, and his identity is very special," Ke Yanjing said. "That's why the Tiangong asked us to specifically manage Lord Zuju's food and supplies."

"So that's it," He Lingchuan said disappointedly. "I've been to the Star-Plucking Tower and haven't seen Lord Zuju show up."

"It often sleeps deep in Xushan and only appears when eating offerings."

He Lingchuan sighed: "Can we only see it in the rock pool? Is there any chance to squat and wait in other places?"

Ke Shouyi laughed: "Lord Zuju doesn't like to deal with humans and usually doesn't show itself in front of people." To be precise, the mountain marsh doesn't pay attention to ordinary people at all and is too lazy to show up to look at them.

Ke Yanjing said: "Legend has it that there is a cave dwelling on Tianji Peak that leads directly to the melting cave at the bottom of the mountain, maybe..." He shrugged his shoulders. "But for the past few hundred years, everyone has searched all around Tianji Peak, not letting go of dirt pits, ponds, or stone crevices, but they have found nothing."

Fushan Yue let out an "Oh": "That's right, the hot spring is in the tree hole of Tianji Peak."

Hot springs are formed by geothermal heat.

In fact, He Lingchuan knew in his heart that the Tiangong was unwilling to let the rock-fire monster have too much contact with the outside world, so as not to be taken advantage of by outsiders. Zuju itself had many schemes, unlike the simplicity of ordinary elemental monsters. If it colluded with others to plot against the Tiangong, it would really be enough for Lingxu City to drink a pot.

But this matter cannot be prevented; fortunately, the Tiangong has a Spirit-Gathering Array, and Zuju cannot turn the sky over.

Ke Yanjing didn't want to extend this topic anymore, so he said to Fushan Yue: "My family and Chiyan can still have many collaborations later, shall we talk about it?"

Fushan Yue readily agreed.

By the time they left the Ke Mansion, it was already dark.

Fushan Yue sat in the carriage, secretly using his true power to expel the alcohol, and his face soon stopped being red, but the smell of alcohol in the carriage became rich.

He Lingchuan pulled open the curtain, letting the evening breeze take away the smell of alcohol.

"So the Ke family wants to marry a daughter to you." Just now in the Plum Garden, the two "ran into" four or five Ke family daughters. They were all sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls, with delicate makeup and moving beauty. When they saw Fushan Yue, they smiled before speaking, and their shy and timid appearance was pitiful.

Later, Ke Shouyi vaguely revealed his intention to become in-laws with the Chiyan monarch.

Fushan Yue was already the Crown Prince, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would inherit the throne, making the Ke family's status in Lingxu City even more solid.

"It's not impossible, but they have to bring the Ke family's money as a dowry," Fushan Yue laughed. "I can make room for a concubine position."

It stands to reason that the Ke family's wealth is one of the best in Lingxu City, and they are favored by the Heavenly God, so they should have great power. However, they didn't; the old nobles of Lingxu City still looked down on the Ke family from the bottom of their hearts.

In their eyes, the Ke family was just an upstart who betrayed their old master, even though they had been influenced in Lingxu City for more than a hundred years.

Because their wealth was exchanged by selling their master and country, and the root was not right.

This is called original sin.

The family style cultivated in Lingxu City for six hundred years was something even the Ke family couldn't integrate into.

Then, forming a marriage relationship with the Fan Demon King would have a significant improvement effect on the Ke family's status.

This is the classic combination of power and money.

Fushan Yue joked again: "Just now in the Plum Garden, I saw Ke Yanjing's little sister stealing glances at you. Are you interested?"

Rich families can give birth better than pigs. The Ke family was originally a prominent family in the Yuan Nation and preserved their vitality in Lingxu City. After more than a hundred years of prosperity, they are now a large family of nearly three thousand people, not counting the distant branches.

So many beautiful young ladies in their prime, complementing the spring flowers in the garden, were truly heart-moving.

These Ke family daughters also had two young men in their eyes. Although they were equally heroic and handsome, Fushan Yue's status as the Crown Prince of Chiyan naturally garnered more attention.

He Lingchuan shook his head: "I can't climb that high."

"I can reluctantly play matchmaker."

"Really no need." Perhaps because of the past in the Yuan Nation, He Lingchuan naturally had no good feelings for the Ke family. "Rich daughters are hard to serve. I earn this little money, and they wouldn't look up to me."

He immediately asked Fushan Yue: "Why did the Ke father and son look ugly when I asked about the offerings just now?"

"For so many years, there has always been a rumor in Lingxu City that the Ke family privately offers to the Xushan mountain marsh," Fushan Yue laughed. "The Ke family has come out to clarify several times and has also asked the Tiangong to send people to search, to prove their innocence. However, this rumor still vaguely exists today; when you mention it, the Ke family feels annoyed."

Clarifying rumors runs one's legs off, heh. "So, did they privately offer to Zuju?"

The two looked at each other and laughed loudly.

"I think they don't have to. Isn't it good to go to Xushan to offer obediently? Only by listening to the Heavenly God wholeheartedly can the Ke family preserve their foundation," Fushan Yue rinsed his mouth with tea. "It's just that the Ke family is really rich and has many enemies in Lingxu City, so it's inevitable that they will be gossiped about. Hmm, why are you so concerned about the Xushan mountain marsh?"

"Curiosity," He Lingchuan said leisurely. "Lingxu City has had good weather for hundreds of years, but there was a sudden major earthquake more than ten years ago; I heard it had something to do with this mountain marsh in Xushan."

"Hmm-hmm," Fushan Yue nodded. "I was in Lingxu City at that time; I remember the Emperor was furious, the Ke family was severely reprimanded, and the mining rights of their mysterious crystal mine were almost taken back, thanks to the Heavenly God's mediation. Since then, the Ke family hasn't lived as happily as before."

"This is a big deal; how could the Ke family be so careless?"

"Who knows?" Fushan Yue shrugged. "Because of this, several of the Ke family's suppliers were imprisoned and executed."

This night, there were stars but no moon.

He Lingchuan practiced his saber in his courtyard for half an hour to his heart's content. When he finished, there were four horizontal lines on the trunk of the peach tree.

The mirror wondered: "What does this mean?"

"These are the four things I need to do." Pianxiang Villa now had other people's eyes and ears, so he didn't say it clearly.

When he first arrived in Lingxu City, he was confused, but after experiencing so many twists and turns, the tasks He Lingchuan had to do next gradually became clear:

The primary task, and also the most important task, was that he must take the lid of the Great Square Pot from the Star-Plucking Tower.

(End of chapter)