Chapter 244: The Green Jade Lotus

"This is really a misunderstanding, really just a misunderstanding," Bai Yue forced a smile. "I'm willing to compensate for any losses on your end, please forgive the young master and spare him."

"Yes, yes, yes, our Bai family is willing to compensate you for any losses."

"We hope you can take our reputation into account...."

The head of the Bai Family spoke slowly. "Can we sit down and talk this out, friend?"

Fang Chen smiled. "I don’t know. I've heard... that the cultivation world is extremely cruel, and clans and sects being annihilated isn’t exactly rare ...."

The moment everyone heard that, Hell broke loose.

"Kill Bai Yue and his son!"

"These two unfilial son and father duo have caused us trouble because of their own selfish interests!"

In an instant, everyone turned on the two. Led by the head of the Bai family, a group of Bai family cultivators swiftly attacked Bai Yue and his son with their spiritual treasures.

Before long, both father and son lay dead. Even as they had died, they still couldn’t believe that they had been killed so swiftly and without hesitation, as if they were pawns that could be sacrificed at any moment!

After ensuring that the two had died, the head of the Bai family finally regained his composure and smiled at Fang Chen. "Is this satisfying enough, friend?"

"Now we can discuss compensation," said Fang Chen.

Compensation?

Wasn't the lives of these two enough? Everyone’s faces turned conflicted, but they didn’t dare say much.

"I wonder how much you want in compensation, friend. Perhaps we can discuss this," pondered the head of the family aloud.

Fang Chen smiled. "That’ll depend on your sincerity. I don't want spirit stones. I’ll only accept treasures and materials."

He doesn’t want spirit stones?

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

Spirit stones were the purest form of treasure in the world; if he didn't want them, then there would naturally be a lot more wiggle room in the negotiation!

After discussing amongst themselves for a while, considering Fang Chen's emphasis on "sincerity," in the end, the head of the Bai Family not only took out the spiritual treasures of Bai Yue and his son, but he also added an extra one. Among the three spiritual treasures, one had twelve Soul Imprints while the other two consisted of one with ten Soul Imprints and another with seven Soul imprints.

In addition, the Bai Family also mobilized a batch of ores originally intended for sale from their internal treasury.

"Friend, this batch of Moon Sinking Ore comes from the distant Moon Sinking Empire, totaling three thousand catties in weight. It's enough to refine ten taels of Moon Sinking Gold, valued at thirty low-grade spirit stones per tael." The head of the Bai family clasped his hands. "I wonder if this compensation is to your satisfaction?"

Moon Sinking Ore? The main material of the Dragon Mace was Moon Sinking Gold. Fang Chen nodded with a smile and stored the three spiritual treasures and Moon Sinking Ore into his storage ring.

"I am quite satisfied with this compensation,” said Fang Chen as he turned around to depart. “I will take my leave now."

However, seeing this, the head of the family hastily called out. "Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist!"

The Bai family members looked at their Head with puzzlement. The harbinger of disaster had been about to leave! Why was the head of the family asking him to stay?

"What is it?" asked Fang Chen with a faint smile.

The head of the Bai family's gaze fell on Liu Mu. "Friend, if I'm not mistaken, this person with you must’ve been exploited by unorthodox cultivators to nurture poisons, right?"

Liu Mu's eyes flickered slightly, subconsciously shrinking his neck. He thought his odor had to have irritated the family head.

Fang Chen nodded faintly. "You have quite the discerning eye, family head. Have you seen something like this before?"

"Many evil cultivators who practice poison techniques do this. We have many such cultivators at our Bai Family Port every day, so it's normal for us to see them a few times." The head of the Bai Family nodded slightly. "I dare to guess, my friend, that you’d like to remove the poison from his body?”

Fang Chen silently assessed the family head. "Continue.”

The head of the Bai family's eyes brightened slightly, and he began, "The Liu Family and the Huang Family, two hundred miles away, specialize in the business of spiritual medicines. Countless spiritual medicines are transported to and from their port every day. Moreover, the two families also share a common medicinal field. As far as I know, one of the plants they cultivate, called the 'Hundred-Year Green Jade Lotus,' is about to finally reach maturity. The lotus seeds that plants produce have miraculous detoxification effects."

The Bai family members finally understood why the head wanted to keep this disaster around for longer and excitement flashed in their eyes.

Fang Chen smiled knowingly. "Are you at odds with these two families? Do you plan to use me to teach them a lesson?"

The head of the Bai Family calmly said, “That’s precisely my intention, but whether you want to do it or not is entirely up to you. I’m just telling you what I know just to lend you a hand."

Fang Chen nodded and led Liu Mu outside the hall before transforming into a sword and shooting through the air, leaving behind a sword intent that lingered for several breaths before dissipating.

"That’s a sword transformation technique!"

"He really is a sword cultivator...."

The people inside the hall were left shocked. They weren't blind; they could distinguish whether Fang Chen was using sword control or sword transformation, the latter being a distinctive ability of a sword cultivator.

Only sword cultivators could comprehend sword transformation techniques.

"Aren't you afraid that the Liu Family and the Huang Family will cause trouble for us if you do this, Dad?" said Bai Qianqian worriedly.

"These people have been arrogant for way too long. Even if I don't do this, they will still find trouble with our family. It's better if we took the lead." The head of the Bai family revealed a faint smile. "Those few spiritual treasures and the Moon Sinking Ore can be considered valuable gifts, too."

Hearing that, The Bai Family cultivators clasped their hands in salute.

"What a wise decision, family head!"

If it weren't for the family head’s decisiveness, they would’ve been the ones whose blood bathed the floor of this hall!

"What if cultivators from the Sea Dragon Sect come knocking? What will we do?" Bai Qianqian looked worried.

"We'll tell them the truth. We are victims, too." Her father patted her shoulder. "The sword cultivator was able to kill a Foundation Building Realm cultivator at such a young age, after the Sea Dragon Sect learns of this... they might not necessarily continue to pursue the matter."

Bai Qianqian was surprised to hear that. "But he killed their heir...?"

The head of the Bai family smiled. "Would you try to avenge me if he kills me?"

Bai Qianqian's expression changed slightly, then she smiled bitterly. "I guess... probably not."

"There you have it; cultivators know how to weigh the pros and cons of every action. I believe that the Sea Dragon Sect Leader will know which decision he ought to take." The family head smiled. "Go on, take care of the affairs at your uncle Bai Yue's house and organize the accounts."

"Yes." Bai Qianqian immediately nodded, turned around, and left.

***

The port controlled jointly by the Liu Family and the Huang Family was several times larger in scale compared to the Bai Family's. There were countless small and large vendors selling many goods, including sea beast cores, marine spiritual materials, as well as a variety of spiritual treasures, talismans, and pills.

"No wonder the Bai Family wants to use me to suppress the Liu Family and the Huang Family. Although the two places are only two hundred miles apart, this port is much larger. Their profits here must be several times higher than that of the Bai Family," said Fang Chen as he walked with Liu Mu.

"The Huang Family and the Liu Family are going to sell the yields of their medicinal fields today. Many people are rushing there for the auction. Let's hurry up. Maybe we can pick up some bargains."

"What bargains? These two families are extremely shrewd. If you think we can buy anything at a decent price, you must be dreaming."

"Whatever, let's just go and have a look. The spiritual medicines grown by the two families are quite comprehensive. I might find some of the spiritual medicines I've been looking for for years."

"I'll accompany you then."

Hearing this conversation, Fang Chen showed a smile. "Little Liu, let's go take a look too. Maybe we can get a Green Jade Lotus seed for you to try and see if it can detoxify the severe poison in your body."

A glimmer of hope appeared in Liu Mu's eyes. He had been dreaming of returning to normal!