Chapter 152: What Kind of Merit Would This Be?

Oh?

Hearing Di Nufeng's disrespectful remarks, Chu Liang immediately felt a pang of anxiety.

Before he came here, he had hoped that the Alchemy Master would be an amiable elder and that a simple apology might persuade him to release the Golden-Furred Hou.

And now, there was no longer any need for him to ponder whether the Alchemy Master had a good temper.

The answer was obvious. The Alchemy Master clearly has a bad temper.

"

Heh.

" In response to Di Nufeng's scolding, the Alchemy Master displayed considerable tolerance. He smiled gently and said, "Upon learning that this spirit pet belongs to the Silver Sword Peak, I knew that you, being the unruly member, would definitely cause havoc."

"Despite knowing that it was my Hou, you still captured it?" Di Nufeng said, "You are clearly looking down on me!"

"It stole the rations that belonged to Mount Shu's guardian celestial beast," the Alchemy Master said. "Considering that it has been stealing and consuming Spirit-Energy Raising Pills for who knows how long, the fine it demands is not much. If you cause any more commotion, it won't end well for you."

"Alright then, if it's not worth discussing, let's just skip the talk..." Di Nufeng had already begun rolling up her sleeves.

"Teacher, we are supposed to show courtesy before resorting to violence!" Chu Liang hastily pulled her sleeve and whispered.

Di Nufeng turned back and said, "I thought I had just shown courtesy?"

You call the behavior earlier a display of courtesy?

Chu Liang, with a wry expression, hurriedly said, "Let me negotiate first."

"Can you get the Golden-Furred Hou back?" Di Nufeng stared at him dubiously.

"Let's try," Chu Liang said.

What else could be done? Could he really let his teacher fight a Guardian Elder? Regardless of the outcome, this wouldn't be a respectable fight at all.

Chu Liang then approached slowly. He first bowed and said, "Chu Liang of the Silver Sword Peak pays his respects to the Alchemy Master."

"You are her only disciple.

Sigh.

You look like a promising disciple..." the Alchemy Master shook his head with a sigh, appearing somewhat regretful for Chu Liang.

"Yes, the Silver Sword Peak has very few members. I have always been away for training. This Golden-Furred Hou was the only one left on the Silver Sword Peak to keep my teacher company. Therefore, my esteemed teacher has a deep bond with this pet. She is behaving this way because she is worried. If her behavior has offended you, I hope you can forgive us," Chu Liang hastily apologized on behalf of his teacher.

"You have some manners," the Alchemy Master said with a smile. "However, you don't have to say these things. I watched your teacher grow into who she is today. I naturally know her temperament and character better than you."

"What's wrong with the way I conduct myself?" Di Nufeng stood behind Chu Liang with her arms crossed.

Both of them ignored her and continued talking.

Chu Liang respectfully said, "As a humble disciple, I should not interfere in matters between my teacher and the Alchemy Master. However, I am confused about something, and I would appreciate it if the Alchemy Master could kindly explain."

"What is it?" the Alchemy Master stared at him with an intrigued expression.

Chu Liang said, "You claimed that the Golden-Furred Hou stole from the celestial beast. But, as far as I know, the Golden-Furred Hou is a friend of the Baize youngling. When it ate the Spirit-Energy Raising Pills, Little Baize had given it permission. How can that be called stealing?"

"

Heh

," chuckled the Alchemy Master. He then responded, "Your point is valid. If the Spirit-Energy Raising Pills belonged to the Baize youngling, it wouldn't be considered stealing. However, Mount Shu Sect has provided these pills to nourish the Baize as a reward for its service. Other spirit beasts, not having contributed any merit, are prohibited from consuming them. If they did, they are obliged to return them. That's the rule."

Ouch.

Chu Liang fell silent for a moment.

The Alchemy Master demonstrated very clear logic and reasoning. He was definitely winning the argument.

It was Di Nufeng's first time witnessing Chu Liang being at a disadvantage in a fight of reasoning. She immediately rolled up her sleeves and said as she stepped forward, "No. I should be the one to do it."

"No need." Chu Liang raised his hand and said, "I have a solution."

With that, he stepped forward and, in a resolute and forceful tone, asked, "If you argue that the Golden-Furred Hou has no right to eat the Spirit-Energy Raising Pills because it did not contribute any merit to Mount Shu, does that imply that if it had provided meritorious service to Mount Shu, it would then have that right?"

The Alchemy Master said with a smile, "It depends on the type of contribution."

"Then why don't you be the judge of it? Please take a look at what this is!" Chu Liang raised his hand and pulled out a stone stele from his storage tool.

Bang!

The Mountainous Suppressing Stone Stele fell to the ground, causing dust to fly up and Chu Liang's clothes to flutter.

At that moment, his eyes were sparkling.

"The Golden-Furred Hou found this item the other day. It is said to be the Mountainous Suppressing Stone Stele lost in the past, a memorial to our ancestors. This artifact was taken by diabolical cultivators."

Chu Liang inquired, "I wonder, what type of merit would the Golden-Furred Hou gain for finding such an item?"

...

In the end, Chu Liang returned to the Silver Sword Peak riding on the back of the Golden-Furred Hou.

Along the way, the Big Head[1] jumped happily, appearing very pleased. This was the second time they had rescued it from the cage, and in its opinion, it was proof that it was loved by its masters.

Chu Liang was in a good mood as well. Now that the Alchemy Master agreed to let the Golden-Furred Hou eat with the Baize youngling in the future, he would no longer have to sneak around to feed his Hou anymore.

The Mountainous Suppressing Stone Stele was of great significance. Aside from being a very powerful enchanted tool, it served as a memorial to the ancestors who had sacrificed their lives. It was undeniably a significant achievement for a Mount Shu disciple to find it.

However, the merit was now being attributed to the Golden-Furred Hou.

However, this was originally Chu Liang's plan, as the Mountainous Suppressing Stone Stele had previously belonged to the Southwestern Guider. If Chu Liang had publicly donated it to his sect, he could potentially attract hatred from the Dark King Sect. In fact, even his undercover mission would have been exposed.

Therefore, Chu Liang had intended to anonymously present the item and not disclose it publicly.

This unexpected turn of events made the Golden-Furred Hou the finder of the item, and they received quite a lot of benefits through this. By the end of the day, it was a karmic reward.

"Very nice!" Di Nufeng happily patted Chu Liang on the shoulder.

"Of the four Guardian Elders, he is the one I hate the most. Because he has alchemy skills, he kept looking down on us who only know how to fight. It's like he's the only one with brains. During my younger days, I would always challenge him to fights. But later, when I surpassed him in cultivation level, he refused to fight me, saying he shouldn't bully a junior. Hehe. Seeing you outsmart him with your intelligence today feels even better than beating him in a fight!"

As he listened to his teacher recount the grievances between her and the Alchemy Master, Chu Liang suddenly realized that there was something he had missed.

Di Nufeng was the tyrant of Mount Shu, but she wasn't known as the fool of Mount Shu.

Due to Di Nufeng's usual way of conducting herself, Chu Liang would often worry that she would act too recklessly. He was often concerned that she would cause trouble.

However, he realized now that he had never heard of her suffering any setbacks despite always acting like a tyrant.

Today, he kept worrying that she might end up in a fight with the Alchemy Master. However, since she dared to take action, she had to have support somewhere.

If she were the type to be disciplined and punished easily, the senior members of Mount Shu wouldn't have indulged her to such an extent.

Certainly, there must be some undisclosed insider information, in short...

He really shouldn't have to worry about her teacher!

With this realization, Chu Liang suddenly felt relaxed.

Does this mean that I can be even more arrogant on Mount Shu in the future?

No. I am not the same as my teacher.

"I still care about my reputation," Chu Liang muttered to himself.

...

As he returned to the Silver Sword Peak, he finally settled down. However, Chu Liang didn't dare to rest as he still had some matters to attend to.

He was tasked with something and wanted to fulfill his duty faithfully.

Earlier, in the Hidden Realm, he had promised a scholar to deliver a message on his behalf. Now that he was out of the Hidden Realm, he needed to fulfill this obligation.

The scholar mentioned that the message was intended for the thirteenth daughter of the Ji family.

There was only one Ji Family in the realm of immortal cultivation. After asking around on Mount Shu, Chu Liang learned the location of the Ji family and promptly flew there on the back of the Golden-Furred Hou.

The journey was quite long. By the time Chu Liang reached the ancestral home of this esteemed and prestigious family, it was already evening.

He arrived at the Xuan Yuan Mountain Manor at the Great Emperor Valley.

1. A reminder that this is the Golden-Furred Hou's nickname. ☜