Chapter 195: Complete Control?
***
“If one does not castrate oneself, one may still cultivate.”
Looking at the final text of the secret manual, Xiao Huo felt somewhat speechless.
Fortunately, he had the patience to read through to the end and hadn’t rashly acted in order to quickly cultivate the secret manual.
However, his lips still twitched, his heart full of complaints.
Why hide such important information at the very end?
If he were an impatient person who acted rashly without finishing reading, then the consequences would be…
He could even imagine those who had previously been eager for quick success in improving their strength, if they hadn’t seen this supplementary note, they probably would have already given up the most important thing about being a man in order to increase their power.
When they later flipped to this line of text, how desperate must they have felt?
However, to be fair, this secret manual truly deserved to be called “divine-grade.”
When cultivated to its peak, one’s form could become as elusive as a phantom nightmare, where enemies couldn’t even touch the corner of one’s clothes, let alone find any trace.
Xiao Huo’s fingertips lightly tapped the pages as he suddenly thought of Su Xinghe.
If she had cultivation and paired it with this secret manual, she could easily earn resources wherever she went and would never worry about money.
What a pity, that woman not only had no cultivation whatsoever, she didn’t even have the most basic cultivation talent.
Thinking this, Xiao Huo smiled and shook his head, dismissing Su Xinghe’s image from his mind.
A completely useless person wasn’t worth wasting any more thought on.
“My lord, did the plan succeed?”
A hoarse voice came from outside the door, followed by light knocking.
The burly man’s face was covered with an ingratiating smile as he pushed the door open and walked in, his eyes full of anticipation.
“Yes, your plan was indeed brilliant. You’ll be greatly rewarded this time!”
Xiao Huo stood up and patted the burly man’s arm, his tone clearly pleased.
“Then the reward…”
The burly man rubbed his hands together, his eyes becoming even more eager, anticipation written all over his face.
“Of course there is. How could I mistreat a meritorious person like you?”
As Xiao Huo spoke, he reached out to put his arm around the burly man’s shoulder, while his other hand reached into the storage ring at his waist and pulled out a lustrous mid-grade spirit stone.
The spirit stone’s surface emanated a faint glow, its spiritual energy concentration several times higher than ordinary spirit stones, and its quality was top-notch. Such a spirit stone was enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably for a lifetime, something they would never have access to.
“Thank you, Young Master Xiao! Thank you, Young Master Xiao!”
The moment he saw the spirit stone, the burly man’s eyes lit up, and when he received it with both hands, his knuckles trembled slightly from excitement.
He clutched the spirit stone, then seemed to remember something and asked cautiously.
“Well then, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave?”
He had other plans in mind. Besides this spirit stone, he hadn’t forgotten about Su Xingmian.
That girl had exceptional looks, if he could sell her, he could exchange her for a large sum of money.
Although this mid-grade spirit stone was already enough for him to live without worry, he still had to think about his children at home. Who would complain about having too much money?
“Go ahead, go ahead.”
Xiao Huo waved his hand at the burly man, the corner of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile, though his eyes held no warmth whatsoever.
The burly man didn’t notice the coldness in Xiao Huo’s eyes. Hearing this, he quickly bowed in thanks and excitedly turned to walk outside.
After finishing all this, he would definitely go enjoy himself!
But just as he stepped out of the courtyard, flames suddenly ignited on his clothes. The fire spread extremely fast, instantly enveloping his body.
“What’s happening?”
The burly man looked terrified and hurriedly reached to tear off his clothes, but when he opened his shirt, he saw the mid-grade spirit stone he had hidden against his chest.
At this moment, the spirit stone was emitting strange flames, tightly stuck to his skin.
He tried desperately to peel the spirit stone off, but the moment his hand touched it, the flames intensified greatly, and the searing pain made him cry out in agony.
“Ahhh…”
Shrill screams echoed through the courtyard, but in just moments, the burly man’s figure was consumed by the flames, ultimately turning into a pile of ashes.
A gust of wind blew by, scattering the ashes, as if no one had ever appeared here.
Xiao Huo slowly walked to the doorway and gazed impassively at the scene in the courtyard, his heart without the slightest ripple.
“For money, you could do anything. Then in the future, wouldn’t you betray me for even more money?”
This person knew too many of his secrets. Before entering the secret realm, he had to eliminate all uncertain factors and firmly grasp the overall situation in his own hands.
……
After gently placing the sleeping Su Xingmian on the bed, Lin Muyu finally straightened up, raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and let out a long breath, finally relaxing.
She sat in the chair beside the bed, rubbing her somewhat sore shoulders, and smiled helplessly.
“Sure enough, taking care of a child is too exhausting.”
Although Su Xingmian was already considered an adult by age, she seemed to have never received any systematic education. She didn’t know many basic common knowledge things, especially knowledge about that area, which required Lin Muyu to explain bit by bit.
However, thinking about it another way, Lin Muyu felt somewhat distressed.
This little girl’s childhood was probably spent running around seeking medical treatment everywhere. Where would she have had time to sit down and learn these things?
After relaxing, Lin Muyu looked around the room and suddenly seemed to remember something, her brows furrowing.
“Where’s Yunduo? Where did she run off to?”
……
“Come back with me. This conflict isn’t something you should be involved in.”
The blue-haired woman floated quietly, her gaze falling on the lively and energetic young girl before her, her tone calm but brooking no argument.
Her dress fluttered gently in the forest breeze, her temperament cool and aloof, emanating a faint aura of authority.
“Hehe, Senior Sister, please be merciful and let me off this once!”
Yunduo instantly rushed over, grabbed Xinlian’s hand and shook it gently, her face full of ingratiating smiles.
“I promise you, once this is over, I’ll definitely bring you back the finest wine!”
“It’s not that I want to take you back, Senior Brother sent me to fetch you.
Seeing that Yunduo didn’t want to go back, Xinlian’s composure instantly broke. She rubbed her throbbing temples, looking at the shameless Yunduo before her, feeling nothing but a headache.
In terms of fighting, Yunduo couldn’t beat even one of her fingers.
But in terms of escaping, this little girl’s speed was even faster than that fox who had mastered the Art of Space. If she really wanted to catch her, she’d probably have to completely disperse the weather in this entire region.
But if that happened, there would inevitably be massive casualties and immense karmic consequences.
“Senior Sister, you understand me!”
Yunduo dropped her playful expression, her eyes instantly reddening, tears welling up as she looked at Xinlian, putting on a pitiful appearance.
“This is my heart demon. If I can’t resolve it, I’ll be troubled for the rest of my life!”
Xinlian looked at her and remained silent for a moment before finally sighing helplessly.
“You really are as troublesome as Senior Brother said.”
As she spoke, she raised her hand and took out a deep blue jade from her storage pouch, casually tossing it toward Yunduo.
“Take this. Be careful and stay safe. If you cause trouble, I’ll come and clean up the mess.”
With those words, Xinlian’s figure flickered and transformed into a streak of cyan light, vanishing into thin air.
“Thank you, Senior Sister!”
Yunduo quickly reached out to catch the jade. It felt cool to the touch and carried a pure spiritual energy.
She put away the pitiful expression on her face, her eyes becoming serious. She bowed slightly toward where Xinlian had disappeared, her tone full of respect.
With Xinlian’s promise, she finally felt at ease.
Just then, a breeze carried Xinlian’s voice to Yunduo’s ears.
“Oh, and take good care of that little one…”
“Little one? I’ll definitely take ‘good care’ of her~”