Chapter 98

A room filled with low-grade spirit stones, a hundred in each tray, twenty trays on each rack, was piled up in front of the warehouse. Just a gentle light made this space, which covered at least ten acres, shimmer with a rainbow of colors. Fang Ling, who had passed through the Ten Thousand Stars Foundation Array, originally thought he had seen enough of spirit stones, but now, facing this sea of spirit stones, he realized how far he still was.

"Immortal, there are a total of ten million low-grade spirit stones here, which is this year's tribute." Lu Jing Sheng, the king of the State of Lu, said respectfully.

"Tribute?" Although Fang Ling had been informed that he would become a national immortal, he did not know what a national immortal actually did. At this moment, he had only one thought: Could these ten million low-grade spirit stones be his tribute? However, he soon realized he was thinking too much. Lu Jing Sheng continued, "Immortal, the State of Lu must offer ten million low-grade spirit stones to the five major sects every year. This has been the rule for hundreds of years."

Ten million low-grade spirit stones, and every year, this number was not small. Fang Ling glanced at the king of the State of Lu, thinking that this king, who seemed inviolable to outsiders, was essentially just a major steward for the five major sects.

"How are these low-grade spirit stones transported?" Fang Ling picked up a spirit stone casually and asked indifferently. Lu Jing Sheng smiled and said, "When the time comes, the five major sects will send Golden Core immortals to collect them. You just need to hand them over."

The two immortals made Fang Ling a bit uncomfortable. He knew that his position as a national immortal was essentially just a nominal title.

"Three million for Li Shan Palace, two and a half million each for Qingyuan Sect and Jiulian Sect." Although Lu Jing Sheng was not a particularly wise king, he understood human relations well. Seeing that Fang Ling was not quite clear, he explained with a smile. "Damn, these three take away eight million, leaving only two million for my sect and Chunyu Valley, which is not much." "And one and a half million for Chunyu Valley!" Lu Jing Sheng's voice lowered as he said this.

Fang Ling did not have a strong sense of belonging to Zhen Dao Sect, but as a disciple of Zhen Dao Sect, he felt a vein pop on his forehead at this moment. As one of the five major sects, Zhen Dao Sect's annual tribute of low-grade spirit stones was only five hundred thousand. It was truly shocking to realize this.

"Immortal, this way!" Lu Jing Sheng was also a smart person. He knew it was time to change the subject. He pressed a statue next to a spirit stone, and a door that only one person could enter slowly opened. As Fang Ling entered, he felt the surrounding spiritual energy was extremely dense. Having studied the array formations of Golden Core immortals, he instantly understood. This area was surrounded by a highly lethal array formation. This was also a warehouse, but it was more than half the size of the previous one. However, it contained medium-grade spirit stones, some medicinal herbs, and materials needed for refining.

"Immortal, there are ten thousand medium-grade spirit stones here, also this year's tribute." As Lu Jing Sheng spoke, he noticed Fang Ling's eyes fixed on a fist-sized, silver-glowing crystal. Crystal silver. This was the crystal silver needed to refine the Golden Light Mirror! On the way, Fang Ling had searched through dozens of branches of Treasure轩 but had not found a single piece of crystal silver, yet he unexpectedly found such a large piece here. According to the size of this piece, it could refine at least ten Golden Light Mirrors. Ten Golden Light Mirrors, although not enough to set up the Golden Light Annihilation Array, were better than nothing!

Lu Jing Sheng's face showed a hint of difficulty. His mother had offended Fang Ling, the national immortal. For the past two days, he had been trying to mend his relationship with Fang Ling. If he gave this crystal silver to Fang Ling, it would certainly please him. However, this crystal silver was specifically requested by Qingyuan Sect, and he did not dare to give it to Fang Ling casually. Therefore, he gritted his teeth and said solemnly, "Immortal Fang, our state still has a piece of crystal silver, though smaller than this one. I will have it delivered to you later."

Fang Ling's heart stirred, and he immediately showed a displeased expression. The power of a nation was indeed different. Such a good opportunity to extort should not be easily missed! Seeing Fang Ling's face turn cold, Lu Jing Sheng became even more anxious. Fang Ling was like an emperor to the State of Lu. Although he did not dare to go too far, replacing the king was not a big deal.

"Immortal Fang, you have worked hard coming to our state. I have a small gift for you, please accept it." As Lu Jing Sheng spoke, he took out a small spatial bag from his pocket and handed it to Fang Ling.

With a light sweep of his divine sense, the contents of the small spatial bag were already in Fang Ling's mind. There were five hundred medium-grade spirit stones, five types of medicinal herbs over a hundred years old, ten thousand pounds of spiral steel refined by secret techniques, a bundle of high-quality green silk, and five fist-sized minerals... These items, if sold, would be worth at least a thousand medium-grade spirit stones, which was a considerable fortune for Fang Ling. Seeing these items, Fang Ling's expression softened. This position as a national immortal was indeed quite good.

"Your Majesty is so generous, I cannot refuse. I will accept it with gratitude!" Fang Ling waved his sleeve, and the small spatial bag disappeared into his sleeve. He then smiled at Lu Jing Sheng. The tension on Lu Jing Sheng's forehead dissipated, and both of them smiled at each other.

After sending off Lu Jing Sheng, Fang Ling settled down in Qingfu Palace. Qingfu Palace had over a hundred servants and guards. For general matters, he did not need to worry as a national immortal, so he mainly focused on cultivation. Although he intended to visit Yunmeng Mountain soon, he had just arrived in Qudu City and did not know how many eyes were watching him. If he went directly to Yunmeng Mountain, it would inevitably draw attention. Therefore, Fang Ling decided to wait a bit longer.

"Immortal, these are the congratulatory letters from the major families for your appointment as the national immortal of the State of Lu!" Chen Jing, the chief steward of Qingfu Palace, respectfully presented a stack of letters to Fang Ling.

Fang Ling was not particularly interested in the congratulatory letters, but seeing Chen Jing's expectant gaze, he casually picked one up. This was from the Weiwu Marquis's residence, where his adoptive father lived. Besides the usual congratulatory words, it also stated: "We offer one hundred medium-grade spirit stones, ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, one piece of crystal silver, two pieces of thousand-year-old cold iron, and two three-leaf treasures..."

This immediately caught Fang Ling's attention, and his eyes began to glow green! After reading the Weiwu Marquis's tribute, Fang Ling picked up another letter. This was from the Dingyuan Marquis's residence, the maternal family of Lady Li. The amount of spirit stones offered was the same as the Weiwu Marquis's, but instead of crystal silver, it included another material for refining the Golden Light Mirror, Xi Stone!

It took half an hour for Fang Ling to read all the congratulatory letters. At this moment, he felt that being a national immortal was a great job. Regardless of other things, just in terms of the materials needed to refine the Golden Light Mirror, he had almost everything except for crystal silver and twenty pieces of fire crystal. In the past, Fang Ling thought he could never gather all these materials. Unfortunately, crystal silver and fire crystal were hard to find, but unexpectedly, he had gathered all the materials needed to refine twelve Mystic Tracing Array Flags.

Seeing the joy on Fang Ling's face, Chen Jing continued, "Immortal, the king decreed yesterday that Princess Qingyi should become a disciple and cultivate in Qingfu Palace. Please arrange her living quarters."

Cultivating in Qingfu Palace, this meant... Fang Ling looked at the meaningful smile on Chen Jing's face and understood. Thinking of the arrogant Princess Qingyi, Fang Ling suddenly had a mischievous idea. He asked, "Where do you think the princess should live?"

"I understand, sir!" Chen Jing, who was skilled at reading people's expressions, bowed respectfully and said with a smile. The delighted Immortal Fang did not say anything, tidied up the congratulatory letters, and went to check his items. For him, this life as a national immortal was just beginning...

Qingtong Mountain was located in the southern part of the State of Lu, with high mountains and dense forests. Evil creatures often appeared, so not only were there no tourists, but even hunters who made a living in the mountains were few. In recent years, a den of spotted tigers had appeared in the mountains, making it even more dangerous for people to enter.

At noon one day, a black shadow slipped into Qingtong Mountain like a ghost. At first, his steps were not fast, but after entering the mountain for ten miles, he patted his storage bag, and a black spirit banner instantly transformed into a black cloud, enveloping his body and flying deep into the forest. In a blink, the black cloud entered a pink fog.

"I, Douniu Tan, request an audience." After entering the fog for ten feet, he dispelled the black cloud and respectfully said to the void.

A short, old man in a five-colored robe appeared from the void, looked at him, and said coldly, "The sect leader has already ascended to the hall. Why are you so late?"

"Reporting to the protector, I encountered a Qingyuan Sect Foundation Establishment disciple on the way, which delayed me." As he spoke, he took out a small red sword and a human head from his storage bag and said respectfully.

If Fang Ling were here, he would recognize that the sword and the head belonged to the same person: his predecessor, Teng Sheng.

The old man glanced at the sword and nodded, "You have made significant progress in your cultivation to be able to kill a Qingyuan Sect Foundation Establishment disciple. The ancestor is waiting, go in."

"By the way, are there any other risks?"

"I have already destroyed his soul, no one else knows." The man bowed, his face full of confidence.

"Good." The old man waved his hand, and a treasure bead emerged from his mouth. Instantly, a portal appeared in the pink fog.

The black-clothed man looked at the pink bead enviously, thinking that one day when he achieved the Golden Core stage, he would also refine a treasure that could both attack and defend!

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