49

Leaving the protective array cave, the old town mayor had just stepped into the main hall when he heard footsteps coming from the inner room.

Looking up, he saw his daughter, Chen Zhu'er, standing by the threshold. Her pale white dress was damp with sea mist, and her hair was still wet; she had clearly been waiting for quite some time.

"Father, how did your negotiations with that person go?" Chen Zhu'er asked as she approached. She was twenty years old and had delicate, pretty features.

The old town mayor sighed, sat down in his wicker chair, and frowned before speaking, "Although I managed to persuade him, this fellow is incredibly greedy.

At first, I offered two spirit stones in exchange, but he was completely unmoved. In the end, I had to raise the price to five spirit stones before he reluctantly agreed."

"Five?!"

Chen Zhu'er's voice suddenly rose, and she stomped her foot angrily, "What? Five spirit stones! Father, how could you give him so many!

It would have been better if I had just gone and dealt with them. A few fire spells would have easily taken care of those mortals; why waste so much money!"

The old town mayor's face darkened instantly, and he solemnly warned, "Don't act recklessly! Your cultivation is a secret we must keep strictly confidential.

And your spiritual root is even more crucial; not a single word must be leaked! We cannot take even the slightest risk!"

As he spoke, his eyes widened, and he pointed to the doors and windows, fearing that the walls might be overheard.

Chen Zhu'er knew her father's decision was irreversible, so she could only nod helplessly and reply, "Alright, Father. I'll be careful and not let the secret leak out."

Seeing her yield, the old town head's expression softened slightly. He picked up the cool tea on the table, took a sip, and then, remembering something, asked:

"By the way, Zhu'er, shouldn't you be serving the young master of the Xu family on Haichang Island? Why did you suddenly return a few days ago? Is it because the young master of the Xu family is dissatisfied with you?"

"No, Father." Chen Zhu'er quickly shook her head, reaching out to touch the small porcelain bottle at her waist, a hint of pride on her face.

"The young master is very good to me, bestowing upon me many Qi-Nourishing Pills, as well as precious [Spirit Awakening Pills]. I'm already at the second level of Qi Refining, and my cultivation has progressed very steadily."

"Then why did the young master let you return?" The old town head frowned, tapping his fingers on the table. "Was there something wrong with your service to the young master?"

"No, it's really not."

Chen Zhu'er denied it again. "The young master gave me some long-distance communication talismans for transmitting messages in secret. He wants me to relay information about the Ningxuan Sect's movements, such as when the resident cultivators will be replaced, and which cultivators have settled on Huangzhu Island.

Also, any news related to cultivators must be reported immediately. After all, Huangzhu Island is one of the closer islands to the Ningxuan Sect's main gate."

The old town chief frowned even more, a growing sense of unease creeping into his heart: "Isn't the Xu family just a Foundation Establishment family that relies on the Ningxuan Sect? Why would they be spying on the sect's movements? This is no small matter."

"Father, please don't ask."

Chen Zhu'er's expression suddenly turned serious. "Knowing too much is dangerous. If it weren't for the young master's favor, with my low-grade spiritual root, how could I possibly walk the path of immortality? I'm the young master's person now; I just need to do my job well."

Looking at the light in his daughter's eyes, the old town mayor sighed inwardly. This child was blinded by the allure of the 'path to immortality'.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "Alas, daughters grow up and leave home. Fine, you just focus on your cultivation. I'll handle the intelligence gathering. You absolutely mustn't act rashly. Just stay here and cultivate peacefully in our family's secret underground chamber.

The new immortal who arrived this time, I heard from the previous one, is just a greenhorn at the second level of Qi Refining. He was sent here as soon as he entered the sect; he's easy to fool."

He paused, then added, "Besides giving him five spirit stones, I also sent your brother's newlywed wife over to be his maid. That way, he shouldn't make things difficult for us."

"Father, why do you always make my brother get married? Come to think of it, you've made him marry several times already," Chen Zhu'er asked, somewhat puzzled.

“You don’t understand. Although those are cultivators, they’re still men. If you offer them your wife or daughter-in-law, they’ll feel something different and take the bait. After they’ve had their fun, these women are worthless; they’re no longer virgins.

Once the immortals leave, they’ll have to be silenced. Then your brother can marry another woman, a married woman who is also a virgin. The pleasure of that is something even an immortal would find hard to resist. This is for our family’s safety, do you understand?” the old town head explained.

“These people are focused on cultivation; how would they understand these intricacies? As long as they accept our benefits, they’ll at least show us some consideration.”

A shrewd glint flashed in the old town head’s eyes.

Chen Zhu'er was silent for a moment, then, remembering something, she took out a communication talisman from her bosom and handed it to the old town chief:

"By the way, Father, I feel something's strange about the communication talisman the young master gave me. The runes on it are different from the ones I saw on [Haichang Island]. But when I asked the young master, he only told me to do as he said."

The old town chief took the talisman. The runes on it were crooked and he couldn't understand them either. "Never mind, as long as you can cultivate properly. Don't go out usually, and whatever you do, don't let anyone find out you have cultivation. Just stay in the secret underground chamber of our house."

"Yes, Father," Chen Zhu'er replied, and walked briskly into the inner room.

Her mind was filled with the goal of reaching the third level of Qi Refining, and she was determined to complete her master's task.

After her daughter left, the old town chief went to the window and lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside.

Night had fallen, and a bitter feeling welled up inside him: five spirit stones, and a daughter-in-law—this was the Chen family's entire fortune, but if it could secure his daughter's path to immortality, it would be worth it.

But he didn't know that the long-distance communication talisman in Chen Zhu'er's possession wasn't actually destined for Haichang Island.

Xu Jincheng, the young master of the Xu family, had long since grown tired of Chen Zhu'er. The only reason he'd brought her back was to use Huangzhu Island's location to keep an eye on the Ningxuan Sect's movements.

The talismans were actually destined for another Foundation Establishment family's island, where the Xu family had established a secret contact point.

Even if Chen Zhu'er were ever exposed, the investigation would only trace back to that contact point, having nothing to do with the Xu family.

As for Chen Zhu'er's life or death, Xu Jincheng didn't care at all. He had too many maids around him.

A maid with a low-grade spiritual root—if she was gone, he could just find another one. There were plenty of rogue cultivators who wanted to pursue the path of immortality.

The old town mayor leaned against the window and yawned.

He thought: After a few days, I'll send some gifts to the immortal guarding the island to cultivate a good relationship; that will make gathering information easier.

But he never anticipated that Qingchen was no 'easy-to-fool young man' at all.

He was a man-eating