Chapter 470

Chapter 470: Middle-grade Spiritual Artifact

A spiritual artifact had always been something Zhou Luo desired greatly.

Back in that Golden Core master’s ruin, he had had an opportunity to acquire one. Yet, after much consideration and numerous reservations, he chose to trade it away to Shangguan Qianxue.

To be honest, he had felt a pang of regret back then.

After all, it was a spiritual artifact, a treasure that could give a Foundation Establishment cultivator the confidence to face a Golden Core master, something that could render him invincible within the Foundation Establishment realm. Giving such a thing away to someone else, how could he not feel regretful?

He never expected that when one door closes, another opens. He would find what he sought after another had been lost.

He unexpectedly drew another spiritual artifact in a lucky draw.

And it was a defense type spiritual artifact.

Had it been an attack type spiritual artifact, he might have worried that his current strength was insufficient to fully activate it, preventing him from unleashing its full power.

But a defense type spiritual artifact was different.

Its very creation was aimed at aiding those of relatively weaker strength. Therefore, the power it demanded was far less than an attack type artifact required. Its defensive capabilities, however, were beyond doubt. Some could even operate autonomously, requiring only a small infusion of magical power to activate.

With this artifact, Zhou Luo truly felt he had gained confidence.

This way, he wouldn’t need to worry about Long Yu sending assassins after him in secret.

The moment he acquired the artifact, Zhou Luo also mastered its method of use.

This Wanling Tower, as a spiritual artifact, was also a spatial treasure. Its interior could accommodate at least five people, similar to a storage ring.

The latter, however, could only hold inanimate objects, while the former could carry living beings.

Moreover, it possessed an internal spiritual energy circulation formation that could absorb spiritual energy from the outside.

This meant if he feared assassination attempts, he could simply choose to cultivate within the tower in the future.

Of course, cultivating inside would undoubtedly be less effective than cultivating directly atop a spiritual vein.

But it would significantly enhance his safety.

Because it was a Middle-grade spiritual artifact. If activated to its fullest extent, even someone at the mid-grade Golden Core realm would be powerless against it; even a top-grade Golden Core cultivator wouldn’t be able to breach it in a short time.

After comprehending everything about the Wanling Tower, Zhou Luo, with a smile, entered a deep sleep, utterly satisfied.

…

Time slowly passed. Long Yu’s targeting of the Zhou family hadn’t ceased, causing their businesses to suffer varying degrees of damage.

Faced with this, Zhou Luo chose to take the initiative.

He contacted the higher-ups of the sect through his children and informed them that due to the damage suffered by the Zhou family’s industries this year, the originally scheduled quantity of spiritual stones they were meant to contribute would likely be reduced.

A reduction in spiritual stones was naturally unacceptable to the Qinyuan Sect.

After all, they also had to submit spiritual stones to the Huoyun Country royal family each year.

If the amount demanded by the royal family didn’t decrease while the Zhou family’s contribution diminished, the loss would fall squarely on the Qinyuan Sect itself.

Thus, they firmly refused, insisting the contribution this year must not change.

At this point, Zhou Luo began to employ his pleading skills. Through correspondence, he repeatedly detailed his difficulties, explicitly and implicitly implying to the sect that the Ninth Prince was the instigator of all this trouble.

The Qinyuan Sect was no fool; they understood the Zhou family’s current predicament.

Therefore, following this incident, the Qinyuan Sect must have sent a message to the Ninth Prince.

Otherwise, how could all those forces that were targeting the Zhou family suddenly just vanish?

It must be admitted that Zhou Luo employed this tactic of leveraging their influence very aptly, perfectly resolving the Zhou family’s business crisis.

But Long Yu definitely would not let things rest at this.

The immediate plan now was still to quickly get Long Yunshuang and her brother away from Zhou Fu and have them appear elsewhere, thus diverting attention.

A month’s time passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Zhou Luo approached the entrance of the secret chamber, intending to sound them out.

After a month, Long Yunshuang’s injuries had somewhat recovered, but her brother Long Yunting remained poisoned and was extremely weak.

This was likely a Third Level poison, leaving even Zhou Luo utterly helpless.

"We’ll need to stay a while longer."

Long Yunshuang stood before him, a flash of awkwardness surfacing in her beautiful eyes.

Originally, they had planned to leave after a month.

But unexpectedly, the news leaked, and now Long Yu was keeping the city under tight surveillance. If they ventured out now, they would certainly be discovered.

So they could only wait until this turmoil died down.

Zhou Luo was full of helplessness and complained, "Do you have any idea how much Long Yu has targeted me because of you…"

With that, he recounted every detail of Long Yu’s targeting, his words filled with a strong sense of how difficult things had been for him.

Before he could continue, Long Yunting cut him off firmly and directly.

He tossed out a potion: "This is a Third Level spiritual soil potion. Taking it can enhance your physical strength. I see you have practiced physical cultivation; this can boost your combat power."

He sat there expressionless, explaining unhurriedly.

Catching the spiritual soil potion, Zhou Luo’s eyes lit up.

As a second level Pill Master, he clearly recognized the grade of this potion and the energy it emanated; he knew the other party wasn’t deceiving him.

"Well then, many thanks. Stay as long as you wish." He turned and left, chuckling.

After stepping out of the secret chamber, he stopped smiling, his expression turning serious.

The continued stay of Long Yunshuang and her brother wasn’t something he had planned for.

But just as the siblings feared, it was unknown how many of Long Yu’s agents had infiltrated the Qinyuan Immortal City. If they were ever exposed, it would be disastrous for him too.

The only plan for now was to let them keep residing there.

Inside the secret chamber, Long Yunshuang sighed and returned to the Dao platform to sit cross-legged and begin her practice.

Long Yunting, despite being severely poisoned, remained composed and unruffled. He slowly raised his teacup, savoring the fine spiritual tea.

"Jin Jiuzhou is problematic. We need to contact others."

He spoke these words with still not a trace of expression on his face.

Their mission leaks were likely connected to him; otherwise, Long Yu couldn’t have received the news so quickly.

"But we can’t get out now," Long Yunshuang furrowed her brows.

"No need to go out. Since Long Yu knows I’m in Qinyuan City, others will know too. All we need to do now is wait," Long Yunting set down his teacup.

He then added, "Your judgment isn’t bad. That Zhou Luo, though greedy for money, does have principles in how he acts."

"Brother, can you endure the poison?" Long Yunshuang looked at him with concern.

"No matter. I can suppress it for now. It should hold for at least eight or ten years, anyway." Long Yunting dismissed the worry.

The brief conversation ended, and the secret chamber returned to stillness.

Just like that, another half-year passed. Zhou Luo’s seventy-second child was finally born safely.

[Congratulations host! Seventy-second child born! Received sixty years lifespan bonus!]

[As this child possesses Ninth Grade spiritual roots, the host receives one talent point!]

[Current innate talent: Seventh Grade spiritual roots (380/5000)]

It was on this very day that Wang Yu Wei arrived at the Qinyuan Immortal City…