Chapter 434: Nightmare Arrives at the Mansion, Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha

Lanling City.

Marquis of Jing'an Mansion.

After the 1st, this long-quiet Marquis mansion became lively again.

For more than ten days in a row, it could be described as a bustling marketplace!

Aside from officials in the court, those who came to visit were mostly Jianghu figures.

Representatives from twenty-three provinces, a crowd of Martial Dao Grandmasters, True Persons, Lanxun Pavilion reserve members, and councilors almost all came to visit Li Fei!

Li Fei had just been elected as a Lanxun Pavilion member; these people would be his colleagues in the future, and they were all Martial Dao Grandmasters and True Persons, so it would seem too pretentious if he didn't meet them.

So for the past half month or so, Li Fei basically spent his daytime on social interactions and could only practice at night.

However, this tossing and turning was also very valuable, allowing him to establish his own connections in the other twenty-two provinces.

"If the Marquis of Jing'an comes to Guangwu Province another day, you must let me play the host!"

"Haha, Sect Master Zhang is too polite; I will definitely visit your sect when the time comes."

"Hahahaha, good, then it's a deal!"

In the main hall, Li Fei was talking with Zhang Chengbi, the Sect Master of the Qianxue Sect in Guangwu Province.

Guangwu Province also had no top-tier major forces; the Qianxue Sect was the strongest Jianghu sect in this province, so Zhang Chengbi was successfully elected as a member of the Guangwu Province Lanxun Pavilion.

Behind the Qianxue Sect was the support of the Yuwen family, one of the "Ten Great Families," so Zhang Chengbi, this councilor, could also be counted as being on the side of the imperial court.

Zhang Chengbi is 89 years old this year, a Martial Dao Grandmaster with four supernatural powers, who is already trying to condense the Martial Dao Domain and has a certain chance of breaking through his realm.

Once the breakthrough is successful, the Qianxue Sect will have a Grandmaster and can immediately rank among the top major forces!

Therefore, Zhang Chengbi is very famous in the Jianghu of Guangwu Province and is the undisputed number one person!

However, this Martial Dao Grandmaster, who has been famous for many years, kept a very low profile in front of Li Fei, and even took the initiative to bring a valuable gift when he visited—the Soul-Returning Pill.

The Soul-Returning Pill is an elixir specifically for martial artists to practice "Return to One," which can increase the success rate of martial artists breaking through to the Dao Foundation stage!

For such a precious elixir, Li Fei uses his Marquis quota to purchase it from the imperial court, and he can only purchase ten pills a year.

The bottle of Soul-Returning Pills that Zhang Chengbi sent had a total of thirty pills!

Li Fei certainly didn't need such an elixir anymore, but he could use it to cultivate his subordinates.

Now, the only Dao Foundation stage martial artist he had truly cultivated himself was Xu Xiaotian, and he was still very short of manpower. With this batch of elixirs, plus the Soul-Returning Pill that the Crown Prince gave at the Qionghua Banquet of the Daluo Sect before.

The two bottles of elixirs together gave Li Fei's subordinates another chance to have a Dao Foundation stage martial artist!

The people who came to visit him during this period were either sect masters or gang leaders, and at the very least, they had the status of Supreme Elder or Grand Supporter.

These people, of course, wouldn't come empty-handed, and they were all very generous!

Li Fei also chose to accept most of the gifts depending on the situation.

He had already exhausted his purchase quota for the next five years during his previous seclusion. Although he had quite a lot of quota every year after becoming a Lanxun Pavilion councilor, he practiced both law and martial arts, so the Lanxun Pavilion's quota might not be enough for his own practice, let alone for cultivating subordinates.

So the gifts received during this period solved Li Fei's urgent need.

These gifts added up to almost the equivalent of his annual purchase quota as a Marquis!

It can be seen that receiving gifts is indeed a good way to accumulate wealth.

After sending Zhang Chengbi away, Li Fei had just sat down to drink a cup of tea when the Marquis mansion's steward rushed over again.

Li Fei sighed: "Who is it this time?"

"Marquis, it's Shen Zhen, the Supreme Elder of the Nightmare Sect, who has come to visit."

The steward said.

"Oh?"

Li Fei was stunned and immediately became energetic, "Please invite True Person Shen in."

"Yes."

The steward turned to invite the person.

The people who came to visit Li Fei during this period all submitted their visiting cards in advance and only came after agreeing on a specific time with Li Fei.

Shen Zhen hadn't submitted a visiting card before, but today she suddenly came to visit.

Li Fei had a rough guess in his heart, knowing what the other party came for.

A moment later, Shen Zhen, wearing a white robe, a green bamboo jade hairpin in her hair, and a crescent-shaped jade pendant at her waist, with an elegant and refined temperament, stepped into the main hall.

"Greetings, True Person Shen."

Li Fei took the initiative to stand up and greet her.

"Greetings, Marquis of Jing'an."

Shen Zhen bowed to Li Fei.

"True Person, please sit."

"Thank you."

After the two sat down, servants soon sent tea and water.

"Please have some tea."

"Good."

The two began to drink tea, and the main hall was quiet for a while.

Shen Zhen didn't speak first, and Li Fei wasn't in a hurry to speak, so he accompanied the other party to slowly taste the tea.

"The spectacle of the Marquis of Jing'an breaking through his realm that day is truly the only one I have seen in my life; it is admirable."

Shen Zhen put down her teacup and said softly.

Li Fei also put down his teacup and smiled: "True Person Shen is too kind."

Shen Zhen: "The Marquis follows the path of the unity of law and martial arts. When you broke through your realm that day, I watched carefully, and it seems that the Marquis's natal magic treasure is somewhat unusual."

Li Fei's smile remained unchanged: "It does have some special features."

Shen Zhen looked into Li Fei's eyes seriously, as if wanting to see something from them.

After looking for a few seconds, she said word by word:

"Has the Marquis ever heard that my sect has a True One magic treasure called the 'Dream Order'?"

Li Fei restrained his smile and nodded: "I've heard of it."

Shen Zhen said in a deep voice: "This object is the treasure of my sect, but it was lost many years ago. If someone can return this object, my sect will definitely have a heavy reward; any conditions can be discussed!"

She finally said it.

In fact, when it was determined that the person holding the Dream Order was in the Daluo Sect, the Nightmare Sect conducted a series of secret investigations.

Finally, they locked their eyes on Li Fei, who was also in the Daluo Sect at the time.

The reason it hadn't been confirmed was that Li Fei only revealed his Martial Dao realm and didn't reveal his sorcery cultivation.

It wasn't until the news of Li Fei practicing both law and martial arts spread that the Nightmare Sect finally locked onto him.

Before setting off, the Nightmare Sect Master, Ji Longyi, had said to Shen Zhen:

"As long as you find the person holding the Dream Order, spare no cost to snatch it back from the other party! Even if the other party is a True Person of the Daluo Sect!"

But when it was discovered that the Dream Order might be on Li Fei, the Nightmare Sect hesitated again.

Compared to the Daluo Sect, which had already fallen from the altar and was severely sanctioned by the imperial court.

At that time, Li Fei had already been enfeoffed as a Marquis and had obtained the title of the greatest Dao Foundation stage in history; both his future in the imperial court and his future in cultivation made the Nightmare Sect even more wary!

So the Nightmare Sect hadn't taken any action, not wanting to easily make enemies for itself.

And then, just as the Nightmare Sect was struggling with how to ask for the return of the sect's treasure, the Lanxun Pavilion referendum came, so Shen Zhen came to Lanling City.

Immediately following that was what happened on March 1st.

After that day, the Nightmare Sect stopped struggling completely:

Abandoning the pursuit of force and choosing to exchange it back from Li Fei with benefits.

And the rhetoric Shen Zhen used was very cautious; she didn't directly say that the Dream Order was on Li Fei, but euphemistically said that if someone was willing to return the object to the Nightmare Sect, the Nightmare Sect was willing to pay the price.

This left a lot of room, so that neither side would be embarrassed.

Fortunately, on the day Li Fei completed the "Fate Bridge," the aura of his natal object revealed wasn't the Dream Order.

On the 1st, when he publicly broke through his realm, Shen Zhen confirmed again that Li Fei hadn't refined the Dream Order into his natal object.

Although she didn't know why Li Fei would leave a True One magic treasure unused and choose to use another magic treasure as his natal object, this was undoubtedly great news for the Nightmare Sect.

Once Li Fei refined the Dream Order into his natal object, the two sides would completely head toward hostility, with no possibility of peace talks!

Hearing Shen Zhen's words, Li Fei was also silent.

In fact, after deciding to follow the path of "refining weapons with the body," the Dream Order was no longer a necessity for him.

It wasn't that it couldn't be returned to the Nightmare Sect.

But for Li Fei to just return the object to its original owner like this, he asked himself that he didn't have such noble character.

After all, it wasn't him who stole the object from the Nightmare Sect.

If you pick up a very valuable item on the side of the road and return it to the owner, the owner has to show something, let alone a True One magic treasure?

The levels of magic treasures can be simply divided into four grades: "Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow."

Among them, the lowest Yellow-grade magic treasures are refined using lower-three-grade implants and are usually magic treasures of Great Sorcerers in the Possession stage.

For example, Li Fei's Flying Sword Body, although it incorporated twelve types of implants, were all lower-three-grade, so before breaking through his realm, it could only be considered the lowest Yellow-grade magic treasure.

The Mysterious-grade above that refers to magic treasures with natal supernatural powers.

After condensing true power and refining true spirits, the supernatural powers of the natal magic treasure are self-contained, and it is promoted from Yellow-grade to Mysterious-grade.

Above the Mysterious-grade are the Earth-grade and Heaven-grade, and these two levels are linked to the "Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha system" of magic treasures.

Seventy-two Earthly Sha and thirty-six Heavenly Gang refer to seventy-two types of Earthly Sha-grade implants and thirty-six types of Heavenly Gang-grade implants, respectively.

These implants are all middle-three-grade sorcery-type implants, and like the Martial Dao Foundation, there are many different combination forms.

Gathering a full set of Earthly Sha-grade implants and refining them to perfection can promote a magic treasure from Mysterious-grade to Earth-grade.

At this step, the magic treasure can release the Earthly Sha array, similar to a martial artist's Martial Dao Domain.

So a True Person who has refined an Earth-grade magic treasure is also promoted to a top-tier True Person.

Next is gathering a set of Heavenly Gang-grade implants, and after refining them to perfection, the magic treasure is promoted from Earth-grade to Heaven-grade.

At this point, the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha are perfect, and it is only one step away from breaking through the realm!

Further up, stepping into the True One realm and becoming a True Person, the natal magic treasure transforms into a natal magic treasure, containing Dao laws within.

This is the complete promotion route of the Sorcery Dao.

True One magic treasures are natal magic treasures of True Persons that have fallen, possessing the quality of perfect Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha, and the more than one hundred types of implants inside are self-contained and complete!

So in terms of preciousness, True One magic treasures are actually even more precious than Heaven-grade magic treasures!

"I don't know what kind of conditions your sect is willing to offer?"

Li Fei asked.

Shen Zhen was overjoyed when she heard this and said hurriedly:

"It depends on what the other party needs; everything can be discussed!"

In fact, saying this makes it easy for people to ask for an exorbitant price.

But the value of the True One magic treasure is there, and Li Fei's status and potential are also there.

Rather than racking one's brains to probe and play tricks, it's better to show sincerity directly.

Before Shen Zhen came today, she was mentally prepared to be slaughtered!

Li Fei looked at Shen Zhen's expression, was silent for a moment, and suddenly said seriously:

"Since the True Person is so straightforward, I'll just say it: the Dream Order is indeed in my hands."

Shen Zhen was stunned when she heard this, not expecting Li Fei to be so direct.

If it were in the past, Li Fei wouldn't have directly exposed this matter.

But today, he already has the confidence to face many people and things!

Since Shen Zhen is so sincere, he doesn't want to make things difficult for the Nightmare Sect.

"To be honest, since this object is the treasure of your sect, it is only right to return it to its original owner."

"Marquis."

"True Person Shen, let me finish."

"Marquis, please speak."

Shen Zhen was already using honorifics.

Li Fei looked at her: "I don't care how this object was lost in the first place. The person who stole the Dream Order is already dead, but he left behind a disciple, and this person is now my subordinate."

Shen Zhen immediately said: "Marquis, rest assured, since that traitor is dead, as long as we can get back the Dream Order, my sect will never pursue anyone else!"

Li Fei looked into Shen Zhen's eyes and nodded:

"Good, I believe True Person Shen. As for the rest, I am currently practicing sorcery myself, and I will have a greater demand for middle-three-grade sorcery-type implants in the future. I hope the Nightmare Sect can open a purchase channel for me in the future, allowing me to purchase a batch of cultivation resources from your sect every year."

He has already achieved the True Person realm, and next he needs to incorporate middle-three-grade implants into his body to enhance his Flying Sword Body and be promoted to Earth-grade and Heaven-grade as soon as possible.

A set of Earthly Sha-grade implants requires seventy-two types, and a set of Heavenly Gang-grade implants requires thirty-six types.

This is much more than the implants needed for the Dao Foundation!

Moreover, Martial Dao Grandmasters also need to incorporate many middle-three-grade Martial Dao-type implants to seek to condense new supernatural powers.

Li Fei practices both law and martial arts, and his demand for implants is double or more than others, and he also needs to cultivate his subordinates, so the more channels for cultivation resources, the better.

"Anything else?"

Shen Zhen asked.

Li Fei: "No."

"Ah?!"

Shen Zhen's eyes widened.

She was already prepared to be asked for an exorbitant price by Li Fei, but the condition the other party finally proposed was just this?

Being able to purchase a batch of cultivation resources from the Nightmare Sect every year.

It's buying, not asking for.

And Li Fei didn't specify a specific quantity.

"Marquis is not joking?"

Shen Zhen's voice was a little trembling.

Li Fei smiled and then said seriously: "This Marquis is serious."

Shen Zhen is already over a hundred years old this year, and it's only because she practiced the Daoist beauty-preserving sorcery that she looks young.

This True Person, who is over a hundred years old and has experienced great storms, is after all a woman and more emotional, and at this moment, her eyes were actually a little red.

Returning an object to its original owner seems to be a matter of course, but if one asks oneself:

If you pick up an item worth ten or a hundred yuan, you can return it to the owner without hesitation.

If you pick up an item worth one billion or ten billion, and you have the ability to take it as your own, how many people can do what Li Fei did?

She took a deep breath, stood up, and as a True Person of the current era and Supreme Elder of the Nightmare Sect, she bowed solemnly to Li Fei:

"Shen Zhen, on behalf of the entire Nightmare Sect, thanks the Marquis of Jing'an!"

PS: It's the end of the month, everyone, clear out the monthly tickets in your hands~

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 435 =====