Chapter 510: Blood Soul Wood, Seven Luminaries Patrol the Heavens Incense (First update, requesting all)

Seeing the look in the Cold Jade Rabbit's eyes, Ning Bizhen finally felt relieved.

The Cold Jade Rabbit was usually a bit haughty, but it wouldn't drop the ball at a critical moment.

Li Zhangsheng naturally guessed Ning Bizhen's thoughts; he did not express any opposition. The two already had the reality of a married couple, so accepting each other's help was perfectly normal, wasn't it?

Moreover, trying to be a hero at a time like this was no different from seeking death. With this Demon King-level top-grade Cold Jade Rabbit, his personal safety could be considered further guaranteed.

However, for the sake of safety, this was far from enough. After all, besides the Langya Liu Clan and Yuanling Academy, there were three other factions here; there was no guarantee they wouldn't make a move, so he had to eliminate the other three uncertain factors.

There was no need to think about the Imperial Family; Dou Yuanbin was practically praying for his misfortune.

Although the Royal Academy usually wore the same pair of pants as the Imperial Family, Dou Yuanbin was not the Emperor. As the Vice Principal of the Royal Academy, Sun Min had a high degree of autonomy, and everything depended on her personal wishes; it wasn't impossible to win her over.

Even if he could only get Sun Min to remain neutral, he could not let her lean toward the Imperial Family, though this would require paying a significant price.

As for the final Tiantai Sect, this was actually the easiest target for Li Zhangsheng to win over. Li Zhangsheng had helped the Tiantai Sect Heavenly Pride in the Secret Realm, and the two sides had a foundation for cooperation.

Furthermore, Zuo Qiulin did not have much lifespan left but was determined to become a King. Whether by helping Zuo Qiulin increase his lifespan or by giving him treasures to advance further, there was a high probability of gaining Zuo Qiulin's help.

In terms of increasing lifespan, Li Zhangsheng had a Low-grade Chema Mushroom and the Art of Crossing Tribulation and Feigned Death in his hands. The former was a gift from Ning Bizhen, which he had never used; the latter was one of the most important legacies of Di Zhiyi, and Li Zhangsheng could be said to be the only person in this world who had mastered this technique.

In terms of assisting in breaking through to the Demon King realm, Li Zhangsheng possessed five Red Fire Dragon Scale Fruits, the formula for the Ten Directions Nether Pill, and various Divine Beast Essence Blood.

The Red Fire Dragon Scale Fruits went without saying; it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish, so in terms of value, the Ten Directions Nether Pill formula was far above the Red Fire Dragon Scale Fruits. Finally, the Divine Beast Essence Blood was too eye-catching; Li Zhangsheng preferred to keep it in his hands, and there was no reason to give it away in the short term.

With this in mind, Li Zhangsheng made a decision. He planned to use the Low-grade Chema Mushroom or the Red Fire Dragon Scale Fruits as bargaining chips to pull Zuo Qiulin and the Tiantai Sect behind him into his camp.

As for Vice Principal Sun Min of the Royal Academy, he could tentatively try to win her over; even if she couldn't help, it was best to keep her neutral.

For the current Li Zhangsheng, the most important thing was to preserve his own life, even if he had to pay a price for it. Moreover, the price he was about to pay was completely incomparable to his gains in the Fire Flame Secret Realm.

Li Zhangsheng immediately took action, but he did not negotiate with Zuo Qiulin and Sun Min in a high-profile manner. After all, the gap in rank between him and them was a bit large, making it easy for them to make exorbitant demands.

Under these circumstances, Li Zhangsheng decided to leave the negotiations to Ning Bizhen. After all, their status and strength were equal, making it possible to win them over at the lowest cost.

Li Zhangsheng began to transmit his voice, telling Ning Bizhen his plan.

"Bizhen, if I use the Low-grade Chema Mushroom as a bargaining chip, will you be angry? Perhaps I should use the Red Fire Dragon Scale Fruit as a bargaining chip instead?"

After all, the Low-grade Chema Mushroom was a gift from Ning Bizhen. Li Zhangsheng decided to ask for her opinion; although he knew Ning Bizhen wouldn't refuse, he still had to go through the motions.

He wasn't some dense, insensitive man, so he naturally wouldn't make such a mistake.

"My dear, how could I be angry? The value of the Red Fire Dragon Scale Fruit far exceeds that of the Low-grade Chema Mushroom. I will use the Low-grade Chema Mushroom as a bargaining chip first; if that doesn't work, we can use the Red Fire Dragon Scale Fruit."

Originally, when Ning Bizhen gave the Low-grade Chema Mushroom to Li Zhangsheng, she had hoped he would use it to exchange for cultivation resources, so she naturally wouldn't have any hard feelings. However, she was very touched by Li Zhangsheng's thoughtfulness.

"You decide."

After ending the voice transmission with Li Zhangsheng, Ning Bizhen immediately took action and began to contact Zuo Qiulin in secret.

Not long after, Ning Bizhen gave a reply: Zuo Qiulin had agreed, and the price was the Low-grade Chema Mushroom.

Logically speaking, a Low-grade Chema Mushroom could increase one's lifespan by about eight years, but Zuo Qiulin had consumed many alchemical pills and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that increased lifespan, which caused the effect of the Low-grade Chema Mushroom to drop significantly, likely only increasing it by about three years.

After persuading Zuo Qiulin, Ning Bizhen pressed on and began to contact Sun Min.

Sun Min naturally did not make a scene. Dou Yuanbin was not the Emperor, and even if he were the candidate most likely to inherit the throne, as long as there were sufficient benefits, she could choose not to give Dou Yuanbin face.

The two women began to haggle, negotiating back and forth; one wanted to take more advantage, while the other didn't want to pay too much.

During their negotiations, time slowly slipped away. At this moment, there was only half an hour left until the Secret Realm closed.

The closer it got to the three-day deadline, the uglier the expressions of Liu Zongtang and Liu Xudong became, and the more uneasy they felt, because there were still only those three Third Rank Heavenly Prides behind them.

As for the other factions, they appeared calm on the surface, but were actually gloating in their hearts; after all, the Langya Liu Clan was in a much more miserable state than them.

Unlike the Langya Liu Clan, their new generation of leaders had all returned, and even if there were some losses, they were still within an acceptable range.

Furthermore, they were hoping that the Langya Liu Clan would "lack staying power" so they could fight for more benefits in the future.

Among them, the one in the best mood was Zuo Qiulin. Not only had four of the five Tiantai Sect Heavenly Prides come out, but he had also obtained several treasures and a pile of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. Ning Bizhen had even promised him a Low-grade Chema Mushroom, requiring him to take action only once.

The system of the Tiantai Sect was different from that of Yuanling Academy and the Royal Academy. The gains of these four Heavenly Prides had to be turned in, but the Tiantai Sect would also give them corresponding sect contributions and rewards, so it wasn't a loss.

On the surface, the Tiantai Sect Heavenly Prides didn't lose out, but the Tiantai Sect made a huge profit, because things like the Demon Controlling Art and Secret Techniques could be redeemed countless times. As for finished products like alchemical pills and Treasures, there was naturally a significant difference between the cost price and the retail price.

Yuanling Academy was different; it relied entirely on individual self-discipline. You could turn things in, but you could also choose not to.

Of course, being "stingy" was not good.

Li Zhangsheng turned in quite a few of the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures he had collected along the way, but kept the treasures for the time being, preparing to make a decision after returning.

In the final half hour, the expressions of Liu Zongtang and Liu Xudong became increasingly livid, though they still held onto a glimmer of hope in their hearts.

Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed.

Not long after, the time reached 12:00 noon, representing that the three-day deadline had passed.

Liu Zongtang's heart sank. Liu Xudong had not come out, and there were only two possibilities: either he was already dead, or an accident had occurred preventing him from coming out, and the former was highly likely.

Whoosh~

Liu Zongtang took a deep breath and took two items out of his Space Ring: a piece of blood-colored wood and a lock of hair left behind by Liu Xudong.

Blood Soul Wood!

This was a very rare Heaven and Earth Wonder that belonged to the category of one-time items; it could guide one to the other person's location based on their aura.

Of course, if the other person was no longer in this world, the Blood Soul Wood acting as the carrier would automatically shatter.

The next moment, Liu Zongtang placed the hair on the Blood Soul Wood and used his Mental Power to draw out the energy within the Blood Soul Wood.

Wisps of blood-colored radiance emerged, finally turning into a small patch of blood-colored mist. Liu Xudong's hair began to burn, turning into a wisp of aura that combined with the blood-colored mist.

Within a few breaths, the blood-colored mist turned into the shape of an arrow, pointing directly at the Fire Flame Secret Realm portal.

Crack~ Crack~

Suddenly, the sound of shattering rang out, and a crack appeared on the Blood Soul Wood. In an instant, a second crack appeared, then a third...

Clatter~

This phenomenon did not last long before the Blood Soul Wood completely collapsed, turning into a pile of blood-colored powder that drifted away from between Liu Zongtang's fingers.

Liu Zongtang's expression was very ugly, as if he had lost a loved one, revealing an expression of extreme grief. Liu Xudong was not only his descendant but also the Qilin Son of the Langya Liu Clan.

Liu Xudong was the most outstanding Heavenly Pride of the Langya Liu Clan in a century, having reached the Fifth Rank before the age of 20. With the talent Liu Xudong had displayed, if he could obtain the legacy of Flame King Di Zhiyi, he would very likely become a King in the future and restore the glory of the Langya Liu Clan.

Now, he is dead!

As a King Family and one of the ten great powers of the Langya Kingdom, the Langya Liu Clan has not suffered such a great loss in so many years; how could they possibly let it go!

"No matter who killed Xudong, my Langya Liu Clan will definitely be at odds with you!"

Liu Zongtang was filled with towering rage, his cold eyes carrying a hint of madness; he radiated a powerful aura, and a large number of small stones floated up, only to be shattered directly into powder.

The Mental Power of a Pseudo-King is slightly different from the Sixth Rank; both the quality of the physical body and the Mental Power are moving toward the King realm.

"It is you, or perhaps it is you!"

Liu Zongtang turned toward Dou Yuanbiao, then immediately stared at Li Changsheng; given Liu Xudong's strength, among the forty Heavenly Pride who entered the realm, only these two had the ability to kill Liu Xudong.

Seventh Prince Dou Yuanbiao spread his hands and said helplessly: "Since leaving the Fire Crystal Palace yesterday, this Prince has been with several members of the Imperial Family; they can testify for me."

Before the few Imperial Family members could speak, Xu Xiangzhi suddenly interjected: "Then we can also testify for Li Changsheng; from the moment we left the Fire Crystal Palace, he has been with us, which can be seen from the fact that we returned together."

Li Changsheng could not help but praise Xu Xiangzhi for his wit; this kid has a future and will surely go far.

"That's right, we also testify for Li Changsheng." Luo Jing and Zhao Shuyi were a beat slower.

"Same here!"

Wang Xinyi thought of how Li Changsheng helped him subdue a treasure yesterday; with this favor, he did not mind telling a lie.

In this way, Liu Zongtang was in a dilemma.

"Liu Xudong was not necessarily killed by someone; he might have encountered other dangers. After all, this is the Secret Realm of a King; it is hard to guarantee there wouldn't be other dangers, such as encountering the Demon Beast the King kept while alive!"

This time, it was Xu Wenhua who spoke.

At this moment, Zuo Qiulin also said: "Entering the Secret Realm this time is a matter of life and death, and wealth is determined by heaven; there is no need to make such a big fuss."

Aside from his single-minded desire to become a King, Zuo Qiulin could be considered an honest person; furthermore, if he resolved this conflict, he believed Ning Bizhen would also gift him a Low-grade Chema Mushroom.

Just at this moment, Third Prince Dou Yuanbin threw an item to Liu Zongtang with a look of heartache, pretending to be calm as he said: "This is the Seven Luminaries Heaven-Patrolling Incense; as long as you light it and combine it with Liu Xudong's aura, it can guide you to find the murderer."

Today's goal: Three, pigs, testify!

(End of this chapter)