Mission: Seduce the Master!

Chapter 141: The banquet at Huang Jing's mansion (Part 1)

However, despite her doubts, Wan Feifei decided to remain neutral and not take any actions that could cause hostility between them. She took the pill, made the payment, and said her goodbyes before leaving. The cauldron also came with a communication token.

As soon as the two of them left, Xie Qing's face, which had been adorned with a bright smile, turned expressionless. "That woman is dangerous. I could sense her greed when she saw my abilities, but she seems to be smart enough not to do anything stupid," he thought, narrowing his eyes and clenching his fist around the small cauldron.

He looked at it curiously, wondering if its properties were as good as Wan Feifei had claimed.

As if in response to his curiosity, a familiar "ding" sound rang out, and a line of text appeared before him.

[Eight Trigrams Cauldron] | [Rank: Legendary] | [Description: The Eight Trigrams Cauldron is one of the best cauldrons in the mortal world. It enhances the properties of pills by 0.5 times, helps to purify pills well, is very sturdy, and can transform size.

If the user has a special bloodline, they can use the cauldron's hidden ability, "Eight Trigrams," to double the pill's properties with a small chance.]

"Impressive... item," Xie Qing marveled.

According to Wan Feifei, the cauldron had good properties but could not be considered the best. Now, Xie Qing could understand why. "Special bloodline? I wonder if many people in this world have it... The powerful bloodlines of the ancient era have mostly disappeared," he thought with a hint of melancholy. "But damn it, what a coincidence. I am one of the few people with a special bloodline.

What a coincidence, right?"

...whether it was a coincidence or not, it was not his concern. But, judging by the fact that Xie Qing had already started fiddling with the cauldron and trying to make something, I could explain in more detail about special bloodlines and their history.

Bloodline - this word is understood by everyone. In the current cultivation world, there are only a handful of people with the bloodlines of ancient beings, but in a very weak manifestation. Xie Qing also has a special bloodline, and it can be said that, although it is powerful, it is still in a dormant state. And you can only imagine what will happen if it awakens to 100%.

In general, cultivators with bloodlines can develop faster, have a much stronger foundation, and inherit the dao techniques of their ancestors. For example, Yu Longfeng has a technique, according to Xu Mei's story, that deprives the opponent of movement. Xie Qing assumed that this was the "Dragon's Gaze."

***

On the fifth day after Wan Feifei's generous gift, Xie Qing gathered his belongings, said goodbye to the maids, paid the last rent, and left the city. During his time in Yao Cheng, Xie Qing accumulated a fortune of 875,000 spiritual stones. This was a large sum for him, but not enough for a cultivator.

Many of the techniques he needed cost millions of spiritual stones, which made the young, greedy alchemist's heart bleed.

However, the fact was that the work of an alchemist was incredibly profitable. This type of business had strict requirements and needed a lot of investment, but most importantly - talent. Xie Qing was born under a lucky star and had this talent, even without the system. However, he did not know about it.

One way or another, our young hero continued on his journey. The reason he decided to travel on foot was not because of a desire to lead a healthy lifestyle...

"Khaaa! M-monster! D-damn it, spare us, okay? We'll give you all our loot, just don't kill us!"

"Hah, do you think I can't strip the resources from your corpse? Or do you think I'm an idiot? It's easier for me to turn you into a sieve than to listen to this nonsense."

"P-please..."

Crack!

Xie Qing mercilessly broke the neck of the bandit who had attacked him a minute earlier. He then looked around and saw that no one was left alive. The fifty-member gang had been completely exterminated, not even the dogs and chickens were spared.

"Huh... these idiots were quite diligent. I managed to steal more than ten spatial rings, and there are some interesting items here that can be sold... but only a hundred spiritual stones. Tsk, not even enough for wine."

The story was as follows. Xie Qing thought that he was lacking in battles and, to avoid getting complacent, decided to travel on foot through dangerous areas where bandits lived. And, as luck would have it, he encountered them twenty minutes after entering their territory.

"It seems that these guys are not quite right in the head. You're trying to rob a person who's walking alone and looks carefree. Don't you think you should be more vigilant? Sigh, bandits these days..." Xie Qing shook his head and scolded the bandits for their stupidity. However, it should be noted that other groups did not attack him, seeing his strength.

On ordinary days, Xie Qing would have just sneezed at them and left, but...

"Sigh... I am only driven by the Dao of Kindness. I can't understand why I have to have such a kind heart... Amitabha..."

That night, all the groups in the "Death Zone" were exterminated.

***

Jin Cheng City. Like Xie Qing's hometown on the northern continent, this place was considered one of the richest cities in the Dynasty. It was here that the Huang family was located.

Today, young master Huang's mansion was bustling with activity. "Hurry, we must set up the banquet hall with all kinds of food and alcohol! This is the young master's order!"

"We cannot let the young master be ashamed because of our mistakes! Brothers, let's do our best!"

In the morning, the servants had received an order to prepare the banquet hall in the best possible way, from beautiful decorations to expensive alcohol and trusted allies. This was because Xie Qing had sent a letter to his friend, Huang Jing, the night before, saying that he was going to visit him.

Huang Jing could not allow Xie Qing - his benefactor - to be greeted in an ordinary, mundane way. Therefore, he did everything he could to prepare for a lavish welcome banquet. This included inviting their mutual acquaintance, Fang Lan.

"Huang Jing."

Accompanied by two Qi Condensation cultivators at their peak, Fang Lan entered the mansion of the young master. She was dressed in a beautiful red dress that emphasized her slender figure. Her black hair was neatly tied in a bun (it had grown back over time).

"Sister Fan. It's been a long time since we last saw each other. How have you been?" Huang Jing greeted her warmly with a smile.

"Sigh, things would be better if I didn't have so many problems..." Fang Lan sighed tiredly and then began to look around.

Huang Jing raised an eyebrow and then laughed, "He hasn't arrived yet. We can wait for him here over a cup of tea. I would like to hear about your situation and think about how I can help you."

"T-thank you."

Fang Lan blushed, and the servants, who saw this, began to whisper to each other. "Maybe it's because of her that the young master is having this banquet?"

"No, did you not hear their conversation? It seems that they are both waiting for someone..."

"Damn, it's a pity... The young master should have taken a wife a long time ago."

"Oh, don't start..."

At the same time, Huang Jing listened to Fang Lan's situation and could not help but raise an eyebrow. "Fan Hei is so powerful? It's amazing that he even has the support of a Soul Integration cultivator... This is a serious opponent."

"Our family is different from yours. Even if we attract a high-level cultivator to our side - it's good, but what is most valued is investment in business, especially in alchemy," Fang Lan explained and took a sip of tea. "And my business is too small, and due to the limited finances, I cannot fully compete with my older brother. Moreover, he is secretly causing me trouble."

"I doubt that your family is unaware of his actions," Huang Jing reasoned with a sigh.

"Of course, they are aware. But what do they care about such a small fry like me? Fan Hei's business brings the family a large profit."

Fang Lan twisted her mouth. It was clear that she was unhappy with her situation but also helpless.

====

*Readers should remember that I once said that bloodline and physique in the setting of my book are the same thing. However, since I did not mention this often, and the attention was not focused on it, now these will be two different concepts. I apologize for the confusion.

**I may not have mentioned this, but there was something like a carnival mask on Xie Qing's face that covered everything above his lips. This is a spiritual item that interferes with perception and does not allow anyone to remember the exact features of your face.