Chapter 81, Mingde’s Demands and Daoyi’s Honesty 

Translator: Raznick

 

The Spirit Beast Manor’s estate was located within the Black Soil Ridge, which was originally intended as the site where the Three Absolute Sect would establish its roots. 

 

The Black Soil Ridge itself was a desolate and impoverished area within the Mist Province, infested with numerous demon beasts and venomous creatures.

 

Initially, the Three Absolute Sect chose this place as the location for their estate because they knew it was unclaimed land. They believed that clearing out the demon beasts and venomous creatures would make it a suitable site.

 

However, among the four factions, only the Spirit Beast Manor and the You Clan retained a presence in the Black Soil Ridge, occupying the mountains on its eastern and western sides to establish their estates.

 

The Spirit Beast Manor had grown into the strongest faction due to absorbing the majority of the original Three Absolute Sect’s non-clan disciples.

 

Today, it boasts not only Yu Jinghua, a Golden Core Stage cultivator, but also four other Violet Palace Stage cultivators and dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

 

Upon arriving at Spirit Beast Manor in a storm of anger, Zhou Mingde soon encountered Grand Elder Yu Jinghua of Spirit Beast Manor. As a Golden Core Stage cultivator, Yu Jinghua, despite having lived over seven hundred years, appeared no older than Zhou Mingde, if not even younger. His few strands of white hair seemed almost nonexistent.

 

Seeing Zhou Mingde’s rage, Yu Jinghua was momentarily taken aback before politely inquiring, “Wende, why the sudden visit with such a fiery disposition? Has someone upset you?”

 

Zhou Mingde took a deep breath to rein in his anger and spoke in a solemn tone, “I have changed my name to Zhou Mingde. From now on, I request that you address me as Mingde, Senior Yu.”

 

Even before Yu Jinghua could respond, Zhou Mingde continued without giving the Golden Core Stage cultivator much respect: “As for who has angered me, Senior Yu, you will know once you summon that Xiao Lingyan whore here to face me!”

 

Strangely enough, despite being a Golden Core Stage cultivator, Yu Jinghua seemed unfazed by Zhou Mingde’s insolent tone. He acted as though he was accustomed to such behavior.

 

He frowned and spoke in a low, somber tone: “Was it Lingyan who provoked you? That doesn’t make sense. Lingyan has been focused on her cultivation within the Spirit Beast Manor estate lately; how could she have gotten into trouble with you?”

 

“It’s not just Xiao Lingyan, but also your disciple Yu Deguang!”

 

Zhou Mingde’s face darkened as he exchanged a serious glance with Yu Jinghua, mentioning a name that caused Yu Jinghua to pale.

 

“Even Deguang is involved?” He muttered under his breath, tightening his brows.

 

Soon after, he nodded firmly and said, “Alright, I’ll have them come here right away to face you.”

 

He issued a message to summon both Xiao Lingyan and Yu Deguang before him.

 

But what Zhou Mingde hadn’t anticipated was this: upon learning of Zhou Mingde’s arrival at the Spirit Beast Manor with such fierce intentions, both Xiao Lingyan and Yu Deguang had already left the Spirit Beast Manor estate beforehand, sensing that something was amiss.

 

At that point, he couldn’t even bring someone over for questioning. This made Yu Jinghua realize that it was likely the two had taken actions against him regarding the Zhou Clan. His anger flared up immediately.

 

Although he now founded the Spirit Beast Manor and started his own sect, Yu Jinghua had after all protected the Zhou Clan for many years. He wasn’t completely devoid of feelings toward them. In fact, if it hadn’t been for the Three Absolute Sect being forcibly split by the Green Lotus Monastery, he would still have been a strong backing force for the Zhou Clan within the Three Absolute Sect, continuing to protect them.

 

His intention was to make the Zhou Clan the core of building the Spirit Beast Manor. However, Zhou Mingde and other Zhou Clan cultivators didn’t want to use Zhou Clan resources to support so many outsiders. Moreover, the other outsiders weren’t willing to let the minority Zhou Clan branch cultivators control the majority of the new sect’s resources, leaving them to serve as servants for the Zhou Clan!

 

Influenced by other factors as well, the legitimate Zhou Clan cultivators eventually decided to break away and establish their own lineage, completely severing ties with the Spirit Beast Manor.

 

At that time, Yu Jinghua, considering the interests of the new sect and aiming to solidify his position as the founder of the Spirit Beast Manor, utilized his personal prestige and cultivation level to forcibly intercept most of the resources that rightfully belonged to the Zhou Clan.

 

This decision left him remorseful toward the Zhou Clan. As a result, once the Spirit Beast Manor was established, he issued a strict order for all sect members to not treat the Zhou Clan as enemies and not to take action against their cultivators.

 

Of course, his internal guilt was one matter, but the true reason behind his current tolerance of Zhou Mingde involved a secret known only to an extremely small number of people.

 

In any case, upon learning that one of his disciples had dared to defy his orders and provoke the Zhou Clan, Yu Jinghua’s anger was indeed intense.

 

He was the founder of the Spirit Beast Manor! For someone to dare ignore and violate his orders amounted to a challenge on his authority, almost akin to treason against their teacher and founder.

 

However, while his anger burned fiercely within him, his outward demeanor remained composed. He looked directly at Zhou Mingde and said in a solemn tone, “They are currently away. Whatever has transpired, inform me of the details, Mingde, and I will ensure justice is served.”

 

“Then I’ll see how you, Senior Yu, will handle this matter fairly!”

 

Zhou Mingde could no longer contain his anger. He angrily recounted in detail how Xiao Lingyan and Yu Deguang had tempted Zhou Zhengkang to betray the Zhou Clan. Not even sparing any particulars, he revealed how Xiao Lingyan had stolen Zhou Zhengkang’s virginity.

 

As Yu Jinghua listened to this tale, his brows knotted tighter with each word, and his face grew increasingly impassive.

 

Zhou Zhengkang was a young prodigy of the Zhou Clan, and Yu Jinghua had naturally heard of him. If Xiao Lingyan and her companions could lure this Zhou Clan genius to the Spirit Beast Manor and carefully cultivate him, Yu Jinghua might have turned a blind eye and let it slide.

 

But hearing that Zhou Zhengkang had been treated like a favored consort by Xiao Lingyan, exploited until the Zhou Clan lost one of its “jia” generation cultivators—and worse, forcing Zhou Mingde to personally execute his most cherished protege—Yu Jinghua could hold back no longer.

 

“The nerve on them!”

 

Yu Jinghua’s face flushed with anger as he bellowed aloud, his expression brimming with rage. His anger was real—seven parts genuine, three parts feigned, not entirely without calculation.

 

He immediately declared to Zhou Mingde, “I understand the situation. Once they return, I will see to it that they are severely punished, no leniency whatsoever!”

 

Yu Jinghua’s words did not deceive Zhou Mingde. “Do not toy with me, Senior Yu,” Zhou Mingde retorted coldly. “Severe punishment? What does that even mean? One of them is a Violet Palace Stage cultivator, the other your own disciple. Do you really think you can kill them or ruin their cultivation?”

 

“Without the ability to carry out those two actions,” Zhou Mingde continued scathingly, “what good is your so-called severe punishment?”

 

Yu Jinghua’s expression faltered as he listened, his eyelids flickering uncontrollably. His face grew increasingly pale.

 

By the time Zhou Mingde finished speaking, his voice was trembling with anger. “At most, you could sentence them to decades of confinement or forced meditation—but what good does that do me? The grandson I’ve lost is gone forever!”

 

“Then tell me—what do you want from me?” Yu Jinghua snapped backgrily.

 

Yu Jinghua furrowed his brow as he looked at Zhou Mingde, already sensing Zhou Mingde’s purpose for coming today. It was obvious that Zhou Mingde, knowing he couldn’t kill or disable the two, had come here in a rage to demand something.

 

Zhou Mingde didn’t hold back and stated his terms: “Half of the Jade Spirit Bees and one Vibrant Tea Tree—only then will my hatred be satisfied.”

 

“Out of the question!” Yu Jinghua rejected his demand.

 

Zhou Mingde wanted to use this incident to extract some benefits, and while Yu Jinghua could understand that, he was willing to offer some compensation to move past it. But such a massive expense was out of the question.

 

Yu Jinghua looked at Zhou Mingde and said firmly, “I understand your pain, Mingde, and am willing to offer some compensation to make up for it. But I urge you to tread carefully.”

 

Zhou Mingde changed his tone and said, “Alright, then half of the Jade Spirit Bees—this item is absolutely necessary!”

 

After Yu Jinghua heard these words, he fell into a deep thought.

 

He pondered for quite some time before looking at Zhou Mingde and stating, “One hundred Jade Spirit Bees, including one queen bee. This is the most I can offer!”

 

“If that’s all you’re willing to give,” Zhou Mingde countered, “then you must add in one Vibrant Tea Tree as well.”

 

Yu Jinghua’s eyebrows twitched as he engaged in further negotiation.

 

“Alright, let’s settle for this then!” Yu Jinghua said after a moment of consideration.

 

He nodded in agreement despite his initial hesitation.

 

Yu Jinghua personally led Zhou Mingde to retrieve the items.

 

After Zhou Mingde left with the items, Yu Jinghua also called together all the Violet Palace and Foundation Establishment cultivators within his estate, and reprimanded them. Through this incident, he had realized that, although he was a Golden Core Stage cultivator, his ability to instill fear and maintain control over the lower-ranking cultivators was not as strong as he had imagined.

 

At the end of the day, it was still because the Spirit Beast Manor had been established too hastily. At present, most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators and Violet Palace cultivators within his sect had little connection with him beforehand; many of them had even previously belonged to the Li Clan or You Clan factions. In such a situation, once he stopped managing things, it was inevitable that they would pay lip service while secretly opposing him.

 

He had already noticed some of these issues long ago, which was why he wanted the Zhou Clan to stay within the Spirit Beast Manor. That way, he could use the Zhou Clan cultivators to oversee and control these individuals. Unfortunately, the Zhou Clan refused to serve someone like him, a turncoat who had betrayed their side; they abandoned him, unwilling to sacrifice the entire clan’s interests for his personal gain.

 

Now that he wanted to make up for this deficiency, he could only rely on himself to cultivate and promote trusted subordinates to positions of power.

 

But did he really have such capability?

 

Not to mention how Yu Jinghua worked hard to secure his position as the founder of his sect.

 

After Zhou Mingde returned to the Zhou Clan with those items, he discussed the following actions with Zhou Daoyi.

 

“Although the number of these Jade Spirit Bees is smaller than intended, as long as we have their queen and put effort into breeding them, they will surely grow stronger over time.”

 

“Unfortunately, Yu Jinghua still played a trick on me. He only gave us this single sapling of the Vibrant Tea Tree. If we want to wait for it to mature and start producing spiritual tea, it might take decades!”

 

Zhou Mingde expressed some frustration and disappointment as he said this.

 

On the other hand, Zhou Daoyi remained calm after hearing his grievances. He merely shook his head and said, “It’s already great that Yu Jinghua coughed them up. After all, what we inherited from our ancestors constrains him only so much. If he really refused to give anything, could we honestly risk the entire clan’s lives to gamble with him for this matter?”

 

Zhou Mingde knew this, but when he thought about those things that belonged to Zhou Clan, he couldn’t help but sigh: “Alas! I just hope that the younger generations of Zhou Clan can do better in the future and take back what we lost!”

 

“If I can see this in my lifetime, I will die without regrets!”

 

After the two discussed the care of Jade Spirit Bees and Vibrant Tea Tree, Zhou Mingde suddenly seemed to remember something.

 

He looked at Zhou Daoyi and asked: “Zhengkang, the traitor, has been killed now. Who are you going to replace him with to take the Foundation Establishment Pill?”

 

“I haven’t thought about this yet. Do you have any suggestions, Senior Uncle?”

 

Zhou Daoyi looked at Zhou Mingde and asked back, without revealing his stance.

 

When Zhou Mingde heard him say that, he said without hesitation: “I suggest giving it to Jiacheng. He had previously achieved excellent results in the martial competition of the cultivating clans, and he is also the grandson of Elder Daofu who sacrificed himself for the clan. He deserves a Foundation Establishment Pill!”

 

“Then give it to Jiacheng. I have no objection!”

 

Zhou Daoyi nodded.

 

Zhou Mingde’s tension eased, and he said, “Alright then. I will be entering seclusion for a while. The aftermath will be in your capable hands, Daoyi.”

 

“Rest assured, Senior Uncle. I will take care of it,” Zhou Daoyi replied respectfully.

 

With that settled, Zhou Daoyi escorted Zhou Mingde out of the palace. Once he was alone, he summoned the blue macaw named Blue and instructed it to bring Zhou Chun forward.

 

In the privacy of the Central Palace, Zhou Daoyi candidly revealed every detail about how Zhou Zhengkang had been uncovered and dealt with, sharing this information with Zhou Chun without any concealment. He emphasized the importance of secrecy once more.

 

As Zhou Chun listened, he was struck by the ruthlessness and decisiveness of Zhou Mingde, the Grand Elder’s skill in handling matters left him in awe.

 

A favored disciple whom he had nurtured and poured countless efforts into over decades—such a treasure could actually be spoken of in such terms of disposal.

 

This ruthless decisiveness was truly beyond what ordinary people could muster.

 

While inwardly marveling at this, he quickly assured: “Clan Leader, rest assured. I am fully aware of the stakes and will not utter a single word about it.”

 

“It’s unfortunate that your cultivation is still lacking. If there were an opening for the Foundation Establishment Pill, I would personally strive to secure it for you.”

 

As Zhou Daoyi gazed at the young disciple he increasingly favored, he sighed softly, lamenting that Zhou Chun was not born in a more opportune time.

 

Then his gaze narrowed slightly as he addressed Zhou Chun with a serious expression: “But don’t lose heart. Once your cultivation reaches the Twelfth Layer of Qi Refining Stage, I will make every effort to support you in obtaining the Foundation Establishment Pill.”

 

This was the first time Zhou Daoyi had explicitly stated his intention to assist Zhou Chun.

 

With these words, Zhou Chun’s path toward establishing a solid foundation would undoubtedly become much smoother.

 

Even with Zhou Chun’s temperament, he was overwhelmed with excitement and hurriedly paid his respects to Zhou Daoyi, saying: “Clan Leader’s kindness deeply touches my heart; I thank you with all my soul. Please allow me to pay my respects!”