Chapter 723

Chapter 723: Visitors from Yingzhou

"Father’s words are very true!" Mo Wanfang immediately followed up, "Fang Xianshi, you should know that Lanyun will not be part of the Mo family for long. She will soon become a wife of the Fang family, and then she will belong to you. Thus, when the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish truly comes into play, it will be your Fang family that benefits the most. Of course, the Mo family will also gain some benefits, but in the end, it is still your Fang family that will gain the most. You can’t deny that, can you?"

Hearing Mo Qianxun and Mo Wanfang’s words, Fang Lie realized that he might have underestimated the situation. The Immortal Spirit Jellyfish was not so easy to obtain after all.

The biggest reason for this was not that Mo Qianxun wasn’t trying hard, but rather the gender of Mo Lanyun.

If Mo Lanyun were a boy, the Mo family would surely go to great lengths to fight for the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish, even if it meant exhausting their entire wealth. The Mo family would absolutely have no complaints.

But the problem was that Mo Lanyun happened to be a girl, and one who would soon be a daughter-in-law, destined to become someone else’s wife. Under such circumstances, the Mo family was clearly reluctant to invest more because no matter how much they put in, it would ultimately benefit Fang Lie.

Therefore, as the head of the Mo family, Mo Qianxun had to consider the feelings of his clan members. He could only offer a goodwill gesture for help but couldn’t provide too many treasures as support!

However, relying solely on goodwill made it difficult to sway the ownership of such a precious item. Those two stubborn old men would definitely spare no effort.

Moreover, the Elders were not obligated to listen to Mo Qianxun. If Mo Qianxun held back, they certainly would not be polite and would vote for whoever offered them treasures.

As for whether this approach was appropriate, they couldn’t care less. The Immortal Realm was too far away from them, and they would sooner or later grow old and die here. Rather than worry about that, it was better to gain more benefits.

In this situation, if Fang Lie didn’t contribute, then Mo Lanyun had little chance of obtaining the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish.

Fang Lie was certainly not a stingy person, and besides, Lanyun would be his supportive wife in the future, so helping her also meant helping himself. Thus, after some thought, Fang Lie nodded and said, "Alright, you all go negotiate, and I will cover all expenses. But no matter what, you must ensure that Lanyun obtains the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish!"

"Haha, that’s more like it! I knew you wouldn’t let Lanyun down!" Mo Qianxun laughed heartily, "First, get that Ninth-Rank Life-Extension Pill; it can decide the ownership of the votes!"

Fang Lie reluctantly took out the spirit pill, handed it to Mo Qianxun, and smiled wryly, "I haven’t even warmed it up yet!"

"Anyway, you’re still young, and you won’t need it!" Mo Qianxun replied with a laugh, "Elder Weichi in the sect has less than three years left in his lifespan. With this, he can live a hundred more years, and perhaps break into the late-stage Thunder Tribulation. That would grant him another thousand years of lifespan, and I trust he wouldn’t miss this opportunity! We benefit, and the sect can also keep an Immortal through Thunder Tribulation. That would be a win-win situation!"

"I’m not happy about it, alright?" Fang Lie sighed, "I’m just giving away a Ninth-Rank Life-Extension spirit pill. Why should I be happy? Am I a fool?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Mo Qianxun said, "We need a total of 28 votes. To win, we need 15 votes. The Mo family’s 10 votes can be considered a gift to you, plus Elder Weichi’s vote, we’re still short four votes!"

"That doesn’t sound right. Didn’t I just hear you say you’ve already gathered three votes?" Fang Lie frowned.

"Yes, two votes from the Mo family, plus one from Weichi. In total, that makes three votes!" Mo Qianxun confirmed.

"Come on, does it really take so much effort to get the Mo family’s votes?" Fang Lie retorted angrily.

"Of course it does! Do you know what a vote is worth now? A Ninth-Rank Life-Extension Pill is the least valuable!" Mo Qianxun snapped, "My two cousins are also green with envy. If I hadn’t put in so much effort, they would’ve sold off those two votes long ago! Do you think they want to give them away to the future wife of the Fang family? It was only through my verbal pressure and temptations that they had no choice but to yield!"

"Fine, fine, you win this round!" Fang Lie replied helplessly, "So how do we obtain the remaining four votes?"

"Sigh~" Mo Qianxun sighed deeply, "Out of the 17 Thunder Tribulation Elders in the Mo Sect, 15 are from great family clans, and the remaining two are also sons-in-law from great families. It’s a massive network of connections. And you, my friend, have blood feuds with all of them; your relations with them are practically deadly enemies. If others were to buy votes, with my connections, I could at least negotiate down to half price. But this time, since it’s your wife who is competing, they’d be crazy not to extort you for a while."

Mo Qianxun added helplessly, "To get them to set aside their grudges and vote for you, you would at least have to offer an Eighth-Rank Treasure; otherwise, they won’t be able to refuse!"

"What? An Eighth-Rank Treasure?" Fang Lie exclaimed angrily, "That’s way too high of a price!"

"It is indeed high, but as I explained, only with this extra incentive can we get them to forgo their blood feuds and agree!" Mo Qianxun said with a smile, "Of course, you are a wealthy man, so I think this small matter shouldn’t be too difficult for you, right?"

"Hmph!" Fang Lie snorted coldly and said, "Don’t think I won’t collect on this debt when I grab hold of them in the future!"

After saying that, Fang Lie threw out four Eighth-Rank Treasures, all of which were spoils of war from Mao Mao in the Dragon Palace and were of inferior quality that Fang Lie wouldn’t even bother using, treating them as waste.

But to Mo Qianxun, these items that Fang Lie despised shocked him a bit, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, "Where did all these Eighth-Rank Treasures come from?"

"From the Dragon Palace, of course~" Fang Lie shrugged and explained, "They are all Mao Mao’s spoils!"

"Is the Dragon Palace really filled with Eighth-Rank Treasures?" Mo Qianxun asked in shock, "If I had known, I would have definitely gone there when I was young!"

"Come on, I don’t believe the Mo family would let you take such risks!" Fang Lie scoffed and then explained, "As for these items, we can only say it’s fate. Mao Mao walked alone in the Dragon Palace, and while she didn’t find a single treasure, she kept encountering cultivators and demons. In the end, they saw a lone Young Girl with lots of treasures and thought they hit a mobile treasury, only to become fools who ended up giving her their treasures! In any case, during these three months, Mao Mao has fought her way through, killing nearly a hundred Human Tribe cultivators!"

"Haha, truly worthy of being my disciple!" Mo Qianxun roared with laughter. "Those who enter the Dragon Palace must at least be Fire Tribulation Immortals. Killing over a hundred means she’s slaughtered plenty of Thunder Tribulation Immortals too! If even such foes couldn’t withstand her, you can imagine her combat power! This also proves my unmatched skill in teaching disciples!"

"Heh," Fang Lie sneered, "Any fool could make a Plague Spirit Immortal Root invincible!"

"Must you provoke me to death?" Mo Qianxun snapped irritably.

"Haha!" Fang Lie chuckled. "Just venting frustration after your ruthless scheming!"

"You’re doing this for yourself!" Mo Qianxun retorted. "When the Immortal Spirit Jellyfish takes effect, Lanyun will become Mrs. Fang! Don’t pretend innocence after gaining such benefits!"

"Haha!" Fang Lie grinned foolishly, lapsing into silence.

At that moment, a Flying Sword message streaked into the hall.

Mo Qianxun scanned it with divine sense and smiled. "Yingzhou’s great elder has come—Immortal Yingshan, a peak Thunder Tribulation expert."

"Here for the Purple Jade Flute, no doubt," Fang Lie coldly remarked.

"Will you meet him?" Mo Qianxun asked.

"Of course!" Fang Lie’s smile turned icy. "Let’s see how these scoundrels face me after their shamelessness."

"They offended you?" Mo Qianxun raised an eyebrow. "Unlikely. They’d never risk angering the Purple Jade Flute’s holder."

"At the auction," Fang Lie growled, "the Sword Ancestor of Penglai and Abbot Mountain Man pinned me with Semi-Immortal pressure. I stood paralyzed while West Kunlun bought the twelfth-rank White Jade Staff. That grudge remains!"

"Poor Immortal Yingshan," Mo Qianxun sighed. "To earn your hatred—what misfortune!" He gestured for the guest’s admission.

Soon entered a middle-aged Daoist radiating Immortal-Style Appearance. His snow-white Dao Robe shimmered with mountain shadows—the Eighth-rank Treasure explaining his "Immortal Yingshan" title, though none knew the full story.

Noticing Fang Lie’s group, Immortal Yingshan brightened. After greeting Mo Qianxun, he bowed to Fang Lie.

Fang Lie smothered his wrath, politely returning the gesture. As they seated themselves, attendants served tea.

After sipping, Immortal Yingshan began, "Senior Mo, I seek the Mo Sect’s Purple Jade Flute. Our Purple Jade Fairy’s blunder let Ao Jianzi steal this sect treasure. Young Fang’s recovery heartens us greatly."

"Since it requires our secret methods, the flute is useless to him. We propose exchanging it for an equal-rank treasure. Your consent would be appreciated."

Mo Qianxun waved dismissively. "I’ve no objections if Fang Lie agrees."

Immortal Yingshan turned expectantly. "Young Fang’s decision?"

"I’d normally return a sect’s inheritance," Fang Lie stated coldly, "but after recent events? No exchange."

"What?" Immortal Yingshan stiffened. "Have we wronged you?"

"Must I spell it out?" Fang Lie’s voice sharpened. "Your sect scorned and humiliated me! Now you dare demand treasures? Mocking me further?"