Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

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Longjiang Prefecture, the Chen Family estate.

The Chen Family estate, spanning dozens of acres, was the preeminent existence within the entire Longjiang Prefecture.

Within it, artificial mountains and flowing water, pavilions and terraces were all meticulously crafted and beautiful without exception.

In the eyes of the common people, the Chen Family of Longjiang Prefecture had a reputation: "Halls made of white jade and horses shod with gold, pearls common as dirt and gold as plentiful as iron."

After centuries of deep cultivation, the entire city of Longjiang Prefecture bore the Chen Family's imprint.

If you wanted to do any sort of business in Longjiang Prefecture and hadn't paid tribute to the Chen Family's docks, don't even think about it, because you simply wouldn't be able to continue.

Every year, who knows how many corpses of those who didn't believe in superstitions were sunk to the bottom of the Longjiang River.

Butcheries, farmsteads, fresh produce, commercial shops, horse and carriage businesses, private schools, brothels, martial schools—all visible and invisible industries within Longjiang Prefecture had shares owned by the Chen Family.

Thus, one might say.

What is wealth passed down through generations?

It is not measured by how much gold, silver, and jewels a family has, but by dominance.

Dominance over resources, dominance over knowledge, dominance over the channels of advancement.

If a noteworthy challenger appeared within the jurisdiction, that, too, was an easy matter to handle.

Eight words.

Entertain guests, behead them, take them in as dogs.

For those outsiders who excel, if they could be absorbed, they would be married off to concubines and absorbed.

After two or three generations, they would all be part of the same family.

Those who couldn't be absorbed would be sunk into the river.

In this world, having a fair share of evil spirits is all too normal.

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That's just the way of the word; some are destined to toil like beasts of burden, while others sit back and revel in power and authority.

Laozi once said, "The Way of Heaven is to take from those who have too much and give to those who have not enough, while the Way of Man is to take from those who have not enough and give to those who already have too much."

The "New Testament·Book of Matthew" also wrote—

"To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

Within the glittering grand mansion, the Chen Family patriarch Chen Fuyun, dressed in splendid silk garments, tapped to the beat as three beauties draped in light gauze danced before him.

In front of him, a great table of fine wines and culinary delicacies was laid out.

Such wines and foods were beyond the wildest imagination of others.

The wines were of two kinds; one was a grape wine transported from the far-off Arabian empire, thousands and thousands of miles from the Da Yue Empire, served in luminous cups.

The other was called "Elixir of the Immortals," a white liquor more valuable than gold, served in rhinoceros horn cups.

As for the most common dish on the table, Stir-Fried Phoenix Tongues.

It is made from the tongues of chickens, where only one tongue is used per bird, and three hundred chickens are required to prepare a single plate.

Preserves could not grace this table.

The wealth of the Chen Family could thus be seen.

The Chen Family patriarch Chen Fuyun had three passions: fine wine, fine food, and beautiful women.

He closed his eyes, listening to the soft song of the beauties beside him, his relaxed demeanor masking a deeply hidden trace of bitterness.

After the beauties finished their song, they glided over to the table, those who picked food picked food, those who peeled grapes peeled grapes, and those who passed cups of wine passed cups of wine.

"Master, why do you seem somewhat downcast? Shi Shi, An An, and Xiang Xiang are all distressed," said a beauty, whose skin was as white as frost and as smooth as jade, as she placed a grape into Chen Fuyun's mouth with a concerned tone.

Chen Fuyun deliberately licked the jade finger of the beauty, hid his bitter feelings, and laughed heartily, "In this lifetime, the master has almost obtained everything he has wanted to obtain, to eat, to taste; what is there to be dissatisfied with?"

Embracing the light-gauze-draped beauties, he kept time with his hands and sang loudly:

"Shi Shi is voluptuously charming,"

"Xiang Xiang bears me deep affection,"

"An An's company surpasses harmony,

"Four together become one."

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"Fortune from panic not yet eased,"

"New words laboriously engraved,"

"Several attempts, shifted and rephrased,"

"Treachery sits within, myself entwined,"

While Chen Fuyun's bestial desires were raging, contemplating his odds with the three beauties to make a four-to-one, suddenly the room's door burst open, a demonic wind blew in, sending all three women tumbling to the ground unconscious.

Chen Fuyun abruptly rose to his feet, only to see an elderly butler with grizzled hair in black attire step through the doorway.

That was his old butler.

However, Chen Fuyun knew that the butler standing before him was no longer the same person.

"What talent you have, Chen my friend,"

"But what a pity. Do you truly have no other desires left to fulfill?"

A grating sound like a rusty saw dragging across the bottom of a pot came deep from the old butler's throat.

"Which esteemed presence has come to jest with Chen? If you need anything, please, speak up. My Chen family is one of Da Yue's nine great lineage families. Although our branch in Longjiang Prefecture is minor, we still possess some clout."

Chen Fuyun was quick to assert his background in a tone that was half assertive, half plaintive.

"I am You Quanzi of the Dark Springs Sect, here to offer Chen a deal that might save your life," You Quanzi's voice rose again.

"Ridiculous, I am in perfect health, why would I need someone like you to save my life? Perhaps, You Quanzi, you should be more concerned about the vengeance from the Peacekeeping Office," Chen retorted disdainfully.

"It's precisely because your lifespan is limited, my friend. Am I right or not?" You Quanzi said.

Upon hearing these words, Chen Fuyun went silent, like a duck grasped by the throat, struggling to make a sound, as if his vital spot was firmly in someone else's grip.

After a long moment, he finally managed to ask, "How do you propose to save me?"

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"I have four Stygian Fruit Pills, each made with the main ingredient of Stygian Fruit. Each can extend one's life by five years," You Quanzi detailed.

"Even if consuming all four pills may yield diminishing returns, at the very least, you could live an additional fifteen years."

"You've been stuck at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm for some time now. With the help of the Stygian Fruit Pills, fifteen years of determined progression could allow you to break through the barrier and extend your lifespan even further."

"Tell me, friend, wouldn't this save your life?"

Chen Fuyun's face turned red with desire, and with a suppressed hoarse voice, he asked, "What's the price?"

"I require a blood sacrifice within your Chen estate. You will cover for me. Two thousand lives for one Stygian Fruit Pill. You help bring me the people. Once the number is met, our side will provide you with one of the pills. How about that?"

"Although I, You Quanzi, am ruthless in my practices, I've never broken a promise. You must be aware of that, and I have no wish to offend the main house of your family."

"Impossible! The Peacekeeping Office is watching too closely. How could I possibly find so many people for your blood sacrifice?"

"I can maybe arrange for twelve hundred in exchange for one pill, that I can consider," Chen Fuyun said, his eyes bloodshot as he nearly roared with the exertion of his entire being.

He didn't hesitate to bargain, not about whether to trade or not, but to negotiate the price.

Only those who have savored all the pleasures of life would dread death to such an extent.

He had no hopes of breaking into a new realm of power, but if he could trade thousands of commoners for an extra fifteen years of life, that was a deal worth taking.

It would be an honor for those commoners.

You Quanzi fell silent for a moment; this Family Head of the Chen family was even easier to manipulate than he had anticipated. He had intentionally quoted two thousand lives to create room for negotiation, but the result was even more than his anticipated margin by twenty percent.

To show some difficulty in the decision, he took a moment before finally speaking,

"Very well, I shall make a friend of you, Chen."

"If you say twelve hundred for one pill, then it will be twelve hundred for one pill."

You Quanzi wasn't the least bit worried about how the Family Head would procure the victims. Noble families were numerous with slaves and tenants, and hiding populations was an age-old talent.

Wasn't having hundreds to thousands of unregistered people a tradition for any major clan?

Muster the people, conduct secret blood sacrifices—such tasks may be challenging for the Dark Springs Sect, but not so much for the Chen family who had their brand on the entire Longjiang Prefecture. With a bit of effort, it was definitely feasible.

Cart drivers, tenants, brothels, gambling houses, slave traders, and even welfare institutions—all were viable sources.

After finalizing some details with the Family Head, You Quanzi transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished. The old butler collapsed to the floor, having been merely a vessel for a sliver of You Quanzi's consciousness projected by a secret technique.

In the afternoon, Yi Chen, accompanied by his men, combed through South City once more, leaving Yi Chen both gratified and regretful:

It seemed as though the malevolent spirits had given up on causing trouble in his domain.

He spent the whole day searching and only caught an unfortunate soul, earning him ten Deep Red Points.