Chapter 368: Abnormality

Li Lan pondered for a moment before replying familiarly:

"Hehe, Elder Zou overpraises me; this junior is merely scraping by for a meal."

"Moreover, Shopkeeper Lu has treated me well, and handling affairs within the Mirror Jing Xue Ge has been quite satisfactory."

"Furthermore, the Mirror Jing Xue Ge is also a member of your esteemed Shang Alliance, is it not?"

Li Lan smiled, his tone extremely tactful.

Upon hearing this, Zou Pinghai wore a smile that did not reach his eyes, revealing no abnormality, and got straight to the point:

"Actually, my visit this time stems from a private matter; I wish to invite you to become a Qin Keqing of the Zou family to cultivate some high-grade spiritual plants for our clan."

"As for the conditions, they will be double what the Mirror Jing Xue Ge offers you, and if you have any other requests or conditions, you may raise them."

After listening, Li Lan pondered only briefly before politely declining: "Thank you for Elder Zou's great kindness."

"However, this junior has already promised Shopkeeper Lu and signed an agreement to cultivate the land in the Mirror Jing Xue Ge for thirty years; during this period, I cannot join any other faction, so I fear I must disappoint Elder Zou."

Hearing this, Zou Pinghai furrowed his brows; he had not expected such an agreement to exist between them, so he asked:

"Hehe! Then what if this old man could persuade Shopkeeper Lu?"

"Would you be willing then?"

Li Lan had not expected the other party to be so persistent; the implication of polite refusal in his words was already quite obvious.

"This..."

Although Li Lan was now a third-grade Spiritual Plant Grandmaster, he did not dare to offend this high-ranking Elder of the Myriad Dao Shang Alliance before him.

For a moment, he found it difficult to make a decision.

"Grandmaster Li seems to have concerns? Perhaps it would be better if this old man went to speak with that Shopkeeper Lu first."

Having said this, Zou Pinghai paid no heed to Li Lan's reaction and took his leave.

"Sigh!" Li Lan let out a heavy sigh.

His wife had just overheard the conversation between the two and said with deep worry: "Husband, do you think something might go wrong now that people from the Myriad Dao Shang Alliance have come knocking?"

"Elder Zou's matter is of little concern; I just fear Shopkeeper Lu might misunderstand!" Li Lan said.

Within the Five Elements Spiritual Field.

Qin Ming was holding a spiritual hoe and tending to the spiritual field when he saw a purple beam of escape light approaching from afar and landing outside the formation.

He merely swept out his divine sense slightly and discovered that the visitor looked somewhat familiar.

"Why has this person come?" Qin Ming mused silently, then put down the spiritual hoe in his hand, opened the formation, and went out to welcome them.

"Oh! Elder Zou honors us with his presence; we failed to welcome you from afar! Please, come inside!" Qin Ming pasted on a smiling face, bowed to Zou Pinghai, and invited him in.

Zou Pinghai's face showed little expression; he merely acted with the composure of an elder and waved his hand, "No need; this old man has come this time to discuss a matter with you."

"Oh? I wonder what matter Elder Zou has?" Qin Ming revealed a trace of surprise; he had not expected such a high-level figure of the Myriad Dao Shang Alliance to actually have business with him.

Zou Pinghai then recounted the matter of taking a fancy to Li Lan to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming was slightly stunned after listening.

For an Elder of the prestigious Myriad Dao Shang Alliance to come poaching people so blatantly was indeed somewhat presumptuous.

However, the conditions Zou Pinghai offered were extremely tempting for both the Mirror Jing Xue Ge and Li Lan; one could say they were full of sincerity.

It was just that—

Qin Ming was not lacking for these trifles nowadays, so he smiled slightly, cupped his fists, and declined: "I fear Lu must decline Elder's kind intentions."

"My Mirror Jing Xue Ge has just secured these two hundred mu of spiritual fields and urgently needs a third-grade Spiritual Gu Zhishi like Li Lan to manage and cultivate them."

"To cultivate him, this Pavilion has invested considerable effort; therefore, we cannot release him to leave for the time being."

Hearing this, Zou Pinghai's expression immediately stiffened.

"Hehe, since Shopkeeper Lu's mind is made up, this old man will not intrude further."

Having said this, he came in haste and left in haste, directly flying away. Qin Ming watched the direction of his departure, his mind filled with thoughts: 'Didn't this Zou Pinghai go to do business with Hua Tianxiong?'

'How is it that he has taken a fancy to a Spiritual Gu Zhishi again?'

Immediately, he contacted Hua Tianxiong via the black talisman.

"Hua Tianxiong, are you still transporting Zou Pinghai's commercial goods recently?"

"Reporting to Master, I have already transported several batches of cargo; what is the matter?"

"Could there be a problem with Zou Pinghai?" Hua Tianxiong replied from the other end, "I also feel he has been acting a bit strange recently."

"Oh? What abnormal actions has he displayed?" Qin Ming asked upon hearing this.

"Zou Pinghai seems to be extensively recruiting high-grade Spiritual Plant Masters these past two years; no one knows what he intends to use them for."

"Moreover, it has little to do with the Myriad Dao Shang Alliance; it seems to be purely his own private affair."

"Good, continue keeping watch over him; report to me immediately if any situation arises."

"Yes, Master!"

Several days later.

Shi Tian Shu drilled out from beneath the spiritual field and said to Qin Ming with a depressed face: "Master, I have dug through all the spiritual land below and haven't seen any high-grade spiritual mines?"

"Could the people from the Divine Path Mountain have made a mistake?"

Hearing this, Qin Ming said: "Impossible? As the saying goes, one does not visit the Three Treasures Hall without a reason; for the two Elders of the Divine Path Mountain to personally appear, they must have some objective."

Immediately, he furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment before saying, "Otherwise, take the spiritual field as the center and try digging in the surrounding directions?"

Receiving the order, Shi Tian Shu immediately nodded in agreement, then continued to dig tunnels and investigate in other directions.

But just as Qin Ming was working,

an urgent voice came from Hua Tianxiong's end.

"Master, something terrible has happened!"

"Our caravan was ambushed near the Five Elements Mountain Range; Elder Zou Pinghai has fallen."

Hearing this, Qin Ming raised an eyebrow and asked in great surprise, "Oh? Do you know who is responsible?"

"It s-seems to be the work of those from Divine Dao Mountain," Hua Tianxiong stammered in reply. "The death of a Shang Alliance elder is a major incident; this... will surely lead to them holding me accountable."

"I have another piece of news for you, Master: it turns out the goods Zou Pinghai entrusted us to transport were a type of third-tier spiritual plant called 'Rot Spirit Grass,' and in quite large quantities. His covert handling of this matter appears to be related to the fourth-tier spiritual vein of the Five Elements Mountains, which is controlled by Divine Dao Mountain."

"So it was done by people from Divine Dao Mountain," Qin Ming pondered silently for a moment, finding it somewhat baffling. However, regarding this low-grade third-tier Rot Spirit Grass, he did have some understanding; after such spiritual grass rots, it can release its lifetime essence, transforming into nutrients that accelerate the growth of other spiritual plants.

It was a rare nutrient-type spiritual material.

'It seems Zou Pinghai went to such great lengths to acquire such a large quantity of Rot Spirit Grass; he was likely continuously supplying fertilizer for some kind of spiritual plant.'

This also stirred Qin Ming's curiosity somewhat.

In the next instant, Qin Ming's figure vanished from the spot.

Hua Tianxiong was an important piece on Qin Ming's chessboard; he still needed to protect him.

One stick of incense later.

Qin Ming rushed to the location Hua Tianxiong had provided.

By the time he arrived, Hua Tianxiong was alone, driving the Golden Imperial Carriage and fleeing frantically without regard for direction near the Five Elements Mountain Range.

Behind him, however, a Jin Dan cultivator was in hot pursuit. Qin Ming swept out his divine sense and immediately identified the pursuer: it was none other than Yunyangzi, a late-stage Jin Dan elder from Divine Dao Mountain.

(End of Chapter)