Cultivation Starting from Choosing Augments-Chapter 71 - 69: Junior Brother Zhang’s Beautiful Fantasies

Chapter 71: Chapter 69: Junior Brother Zhang’s Beautiful Fantasies

Junior Brother Zhang finally came up with an excuse. "Xiao, I was just worried someone would beat me to the punch."

"If someone else got there first, my referral fee would be gone."

"Besides, Xiao, you absolutely have to seize this opportunity. If you miss it, you might not get another chance for years."

Xiao Chen considered it. The Five-Colored Golden Lotus was indeed in high demand.

He nodded. "Alright then. But it’s too late today. Come find me tomorrow morning, and we’ll go together."

The poison was set to take effect the next night.

Junior Brother Zhang was frantic, but he didn’t dare rush Xiao Chen too obviously. "Okay, I’ll come over tomorrow morning."

After they parted, Junior Brother Zhang ran through the night to a forest several miles away, where he paced back and forth with a lantern.

As their subordinate, he had no way of actively contacting the Tian Family’s Three Brothers.

All he could do was walk in circles at a designated spot to signal his request for a meeting, then pray they would notice him in time.

He wandered like this for four hours.

Finally, three dark figures approached. "Why aren’t you sleepin’ in the middle of the night? What’re you doin’ out here? If you don’t have a damn good reason, I’ll skin you alive!"

"Hey, Third Brother, don’t be so hasty. He must have come for something important. Right?"

The leader of the group grinned at Junior Brother Zhang. "You found Xiao Chen?"

Junior Brother Zhang nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes! I found Xiao Chen today, and I’ve already arranged it with him. He’s coming tomorrow to buy the Five-Colored Golden Lotus."

"I’ve done what you asked me to do. Now give me the antidote."

Hearing this, Boss Tian sneered internally. ’What a worthless mutt. He won’t do a damn thing right unless you use a little leverage.’

’For the past half-month, he kept making excuses, saying Xiao Chen wasn’t around.’

’But one dose of poison last night, and suddenly he finds the man the very next day.’

However, they only ever dealt in poison. They didn’t have any antidote.

Boss Tian shot a look at his second brother, and Tian Laoer caught his meaning immediately. "You little punk, you found him that fast? You’re not trying to fool us, are you?"

When Tian Laosan heard that, he immediately started cursing and got ready to attack. "You dare lie? I think you’re fucking asking for a beating."

Boss Tian grabbed Tian Laosan.

He then spoke up for Junior Brother Zhang. "Third Brother, calm down. I believe our friend Zhang is reliable, aren’t you?"

Junior Brother Zhang, who had flinched in terror at Tian Laosan’s threat, quickly recovered.

He immediately raised his right hand. "Boss, I swear to the heavens, I’m absolutely not lying! I can definitely lure Xiao Chen over tomorrow."

Boss Tian put on a troubled expression. "I’m certainly willing to believe you, but my second brother’s suspicion isn’t entirely without reason."

"How about this: you bring him over early tomorrow, and we’ll get this business over with quickly."

"After it’s done, I promise I’ll give you a thousand Spirit Stones as a reward."

Tian Laoer immediately interjected, "Boss, why give him so many Spirit Stones? He made us waste so many days. If you ask me..."

"Hey!" Boss Tian raised a hand to cut him off. "Enough. As long as everything goes smoothly, we’ll consider this reward as compensation for our friend Zhang."

"Don’t try to change my mind. It’s settled!"

With that, he looked at Junior Brother Zhang. "It’s getting late. Hurry back and get some rest. Don’t let Xiao Chen notice anything unusual."

Junior Brother Zhang returned to the Li Huo Sect, feeling both excited and terrified.

The poison in his body had not been neutralized, and he faced the imminent danger of death.

But the thought of the huge sum of one thousand Spirit Stones made him ecstatic.

That was a thousand Spirit Stones!

Out of all the Outer Disciples in the entire Li Huo Sect, who had that much money?

With this money, he could finally buy that Fire Element Flying Sword he had always admired.

He wouldn’t have to use the same generic Standard Flying Sword as everyone else.

With this money, he could buy countless Qi Nourishing Pills to speed up his cultivation, striving to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining and join the Inner Sect sooner.

Once he became an Inner Sect Disciple, he would no longer have to toil away at the Quarry, mining Spirit Ore until he was half-dead from exhaustion.

With this money, he could go to the Spring Beauty Tower in the Marketplace, order a fine jug of wine, and watch the enchanting "fairies" dance gracefully.

And if he was willing to spend an extra twenty Spirit Stones, he could even choose one of his favorite "fairies" to spend the night with.

Mulling over all these possibilities, Junior Brother Zhang tossed and turned, unable to sleep the entire night.

The next morning, just as the sky began to lighten,

he splashed some cold water on his face and rushed to Bishui Peak before 7:00 AM, stationing himself at the main gate. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Meanwhile, after they parted, Xiao Chen went straight back to his small courtyard.

As was his custom, he meditated and completed a Grand Circulation to consolidate his cultivation.

Before sleeping, he mentally took stock of the Spirit Stones he had on hand.

He still had some Fire Crystals left over from the other day, but before returning to the sect, Elder Liu had bought up all the remaining two hundred-plus crystals.

Adding that to his previous savings, he had now amassed two thousand six hundred and fifty-four Spirit Stones.

As long as the seller of the Five-Colored Golden Lotus wasn’t excessively greedy, he probably wouldn’t need to borrow any extra Spirit Stones.

Besides, Xiao Chen was just thinking it was better to be safe than sorry.

He already had three Spiritual Objects for Foundation Establishment. If he had the chance, he naturally hoped to achieve Celestial Dao Foundation Establishment.

’If the seller asks for too much, I just won’t buy it.’

It wasn’t until mid-morning that Xiao Chen, having slept until he woke naturally, got up and opened the door. The first thing he saw was the exhausted face of Junior Brother Zhang.

"Ah, Junior Brother, you’re here so early. You’ve been waiting long, haven’t you? Why didn’t you knock and wake me?"

Junior Brother Zhang forced a smile. "I just got here myself. I was just about to knock."

Following Boss Tian’s instructions, he chattered about rumors concerning the Five-Colored Golden Lotus to distract Xiao Chen.

All the while, he led Xiao Chen to a forest forty-four li away from the Li Huo Sect.

Seeing the marks carved into the nearby trees, Junior Brother Zhang was so excited he could hear his own heart pounding.

’My mission is complete. Those thousand Spirit Stones are almost in my hands.’

Seeing him stop, Xiao Chen asked curiously, "Junior Brother, is this the place for the transaction?"

Junior Brother Zhang’s eyes burned with anticipation, but he struggled to keep his voice steady. "Yes, this is it. The Five-Colored Golden Lotus is a restricted item, after all, so the location has to be a bit remote."

"Xiao, please wait here for a moment. I’ll go call my friend out."

With that, he walked a short distance away and called out, "Boss Tian, I’ve brought Xiao! Where are you?"

His answer was dozens of Talismans suddenly exploding from all directions.

A massive amount of Magic was instantly activated. Deep green Wood Vines erupted from the ground, attempting to bind them both tightly.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Dozens of blue Ice Arrows shot toward them, interspersed with more than ten cyan Wind Blades that howled as they slashed through the air.

But all this Magic was merely a distraction. The real killing blow was a streak of purple lightning coming from behind.

It was as swift as a thunderbolt and completely silent, aimed straight for the back of Xiao Chen’s heart.