Chapter 173: Struggle Over Interests

She snatched the phone, tapped answer, and launched into a furious tirade before Ji Shaoyan could speak a word.

Du Juan, of course, had no idea what her father was thinking—she just kept piling cured pork into Luo Xuan's bowl.

As her best friend giggled and playfully wrestled with her, Wei Fan had already driven home, gone to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of mineral water, and downed more than half of it in gulps.

Still, having learned from experience, Luo Xuan would occasionally glance up at the well's mouth or strain his ears for any sound around him.

Besides, there was a consumption task card in her backpack—perfect to use later, see what task it was, and if completed successfully, it would be enough to have a great time in Magu City, maybe even enough to save up for a supercar.

A tall figure walked over, stared at her for several seconds, then took off his custom-made coat and draped it over her shoulders.

"I'd rather sleep with Fu Zichen than be worthy of Qing my lord"—no one knew which nosy junior or senior had written that, but it had spread widely across campus.

This wondrous resonance shifted again—not birthing a sentient being as Li Heng had expected, but manifesting a strange scene: dim and boundless, seemingly empty of all things.

Although A Li Ba Ba's "mission-vision-values" later veered wildly off course and became distorted, one must admit their early attitude was correct.

Cao Zigao, who had spent his entire life in the great mountains, could clearly distinguish between wolves and dogs.

Tens of thousands of vengeful ghosts, entangled in resentment, surged toward them endlessly, as if inexhaustible.

As if recalling his own words, Hua Ming thought: if he were truly a qualified emperor, he'd have already had his men surround and kill him here—saving the trouble of a reward, why not?

The Protector hadn't yet reported the task assigned to him to the Master—why was she crying like this?

Even without Su Zhengguo, Su Shiyun's father's status alone could crush every second-generation rich kid in Shangjing.

The crowd murmured, clearly wanting to let the matter drop—indeed, even without that batch of supplies, their guild had been building well enough; it was just that the shared guild supply system was too troublesome, so they might as well abandon it.

Duan Lang remained silent for a long while; the shopkeeper grew anxious—had he pressed too hard? What if the mark refused to sell?

Though Li Qiudie was foolish and greedy, she still possessed maternal instincts—even without children, she wanted to consider her future offspring; hearing Shen Wanner's words, she hesitated.

"Pfft, thanks, bro's a decent guy—if he weren't, he'd have already pinned you down," Liu Jun sneered.

After dinner, Duan Lang received good news: Chuyin reported the Soul Repair Device had been fully repaired.

Absolutely nothing must go wrong! That was Grandpa's thought—after all this effort, with only one step left, how could he let it fail at the last moment?! Everyone looked up at the sky; all noticed its anomaly—but who could have imagined this was Heaven's interference?

Master He had struck me as a Daoist who exorcised demons and defended the Dao, yet now, looking at that shaman, I felt he was a demonic Daoist—undoubtedly so.

Zheng Yong had once told him that each of the nine ancient swords recorded the swordmaster's lifetime of sword techniques; only those who achieved harmony with the sword spirit could comprehend the moves and thus truly awaken the ancient swords' power.

Though the cave was carved into the mountain's belly, its spiritual energy was abundant, and the walls emitted a soft white glow—far from dim.

His clothes exploded into tatters, revealing bronze-hued skin like forged immortal sacred metal; the gale scraped against it with metallic clangs, yet left not a single scratch.

"If that's the case, don't blame me for being ruthless," Lin Feng said, his gaze fixed on the distance, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.

The Blood Prince and Su Yan's attacks struck the defensive armor simultaneously, producing a crisp, melodious sound.

"My grandson can perform Soul Separation Technique? Truly? I was terrified just now—if Bao hadn't acted, I would've acted myself—now it's clear, absolutely worth it," Zhe Tian muttered.

"Hope I didn't disturb you," the middle-aged warrior said, a faint smile crossing his weathered face.

I heard hoofbeats again—close, so close, as if right behind me. I even shut my eyes and turned around, using up my last ounce of courage before slowly opening them.

The veteran ministers of Dayuan sighed in relief—they all knew that once the Mo Mei Seal appeared, as long as the He imperial clan endured, this oath would remain eternally binding.

Chen Yi also has some blood-draining effect, meaning he no longer needs a healer's treatment to fight the Drum Rabbit Emperor alone; however, being close to the Drum Rabbit Emperor's deafening noise made Chen Yi uncomfortable, so he turned off the entire sound system—5mm sound was now completely inaudible.

Xing Yicheng hurriedly bent down, pressed his ear to Xia Ranmo's chest to listen for her breath—thankfully, there was still a faint heartbeat. He took a deep breath, pressed his lips to hers, and breathed oxygen into her body, repeating this several times until Xia Ranmo's heartbeat gradually strengthened and she began breathing on her own.

The Beining Sect disciples had originally intended to interfere, but fearing Zhao Yuan's cultivation level, they sighed dejectedly and left the spot.

"You're going to give me the Jade Hibiscus?" Tian Jing was stunned—had his father and she both misunderstood He Yunyang?

This artifact looked no more than a rank-one mundane item; in the mortal martial world, it might still count as a top-tier weapon, but in the cultivation realm, it was utterly ordinary.

But at that moment, Zhao Yuan's Yang Meridian began to spontaneously circulate in a bizarre manner, and the Yang aspect within his dantian's Yin-Yang duality had already ruptured, forming a vortex that drew energy toward the Yang Meridian.

Bu Liuguxia found it hard to believe, yet the increasingly distinct vibrations beneath his feet proved this wasn't a dream.

After being ordered to try it all night, they discovered it didn't tire them—it made them more energetic; even without Su Jiu's urging, they'd have kept doing it.

They walked through the entrance ahead, and the scene shifted instantly—they found themselves in another place, vastly different from before; from afar, it looked unmistakably like a colossal chessboard.

"General, what do you think they're doing?" a soldier asked, utterly baffled—Yu Chi Gong.

Due to Ye Kong's "trickery," many players in Qingmu City abandoned their original plans and headed to the three main cities or other fortresses, hoping to strike it lucky. After all, aside from the Military Hall, border towns held other plotlines worth exploring—no need to hang all hopes on one tree.