Chapter 564 Sneaking Along!
Li Yundong watched Lin Xueqing leave in a hurry, which was very in line with her character. Before he could ask her any questions, she had already disappeared from sight.
He shook his head and then lowered his chin and thought about what had just happened.
After thinking for a while, he lifted his head and saw everyone holding their breath and staring at him attentively. They didn't even dare to take a deep breath for fear that they would disturb his train of thought.
Standing to one side, Zi Yuan asked with concern, "What's on your mind?"
Li Yundong shook his head with a frown and said, "It's strange. How did Wan Zhenyuan know that I had the thousand-year-old snow lotus? You know, I didn't even sit down after getting back home, but he already knew that I had it and that I had come back! It is really weird!"
Zi Yuan thought for a moment before saying, "Actually, you don't have to worry so much. The power of the External Elixir Sect is far beyond what we can even imagine. Before the ten years of turmoil began, the leader of the External Elixir Sect, who was also the master of the Gezao Sect, Tang Buzhou, had already begun to plan to transfer his assets to the western part of Xinjiang and the southeastern coastal provinces. At that time, Mount Gezao of the Sect had almost been deserted, especially after their leader moved to Tianshan of Sichuan. After that, he received a disciple called Xiri Ahong and passed all of his achievement methods onto him."
Hearing that, something hit Li Yundong mentally. Suddenly, he asked, "Is he the..."
Zi Yuan nodded and said, "Yes, he is Wan Zhenyuan! After that, Wan Zhenyuan was greatly influenced by his master, and was greatly influenced by the Han. He has always regarded himself as a Han man rather than a Xinjiang man. He has always been thinking about how to recover the reputation of the Gezao Sect and External Alchemy. He has been planning it for more than a decade, and even decentralized his own power from his original sect. He developed his power throughout the whole country in the frame of companies. Therefore, he has built up power all over the country, even in Tibet. As such, it's not surprising that he knew of your whereabouts!"
Li Yundong gasped deeply. He shook his head and said, "I know Wan Zhenyuan is a rare ambitious hero, but I hadn't expected him to make a plan like this and scheme for such a long time! Terrifying, so terrifying! But why did he send Lin Xueqing here? Is the Pine Valley Cottage part of External Alchemy?"
At this point, Ruan Hongling rushed to say, "Of course, the Pine Valley Cottage specializes in the tea business. The deals of Lin Xueqing and Zhong Qingsong make up most of the tea business in Mount Huang. In this world, not only the tea and herb trades, but also when it comes to the cultivation sects, at least eighty percent are controlled by External Alchemy, and ninety percent of those resources and business channels are controlled by the Gezao Sect alone!"
Li Yundong said with a grave expression, "I see! I underestimated the power of External Alchemy and the Gezao Sect! I didn't see any masters from there during the assembly, so I just looked down on them a little. I didn't know that their economic strength was so overwhelming."
Zi Yuan smiled. "They don't have masters. This has always been the pain in their hearts. Therefore, Wan Zhenyuan desperately wanted to refine the Diyuan Jindan. Even one Jindan in their hands would give them a jinshen Master in the sect. Just one Jinshen Master would help them to overturn the whole cultivation world immediately considering their economic strength, which is pretty much unrivaled."
Li Yundong sighed. "Cultivation methods, money, partners, places, and cultivation implements are all indispensable for our cultivation. It seems that money is not only important for cultivation, but also for staying competitive as a sect in the cultivation world!"
Su Chan took Li Yundong's arm and interrupted, saying, "Hey, we're rich now! We're not poor!"
Her innocent words made Li Yundong laugh. He stroked her head dotingly and smiled, "Little fool, our money is but a drop in the bucket compared to their oceans of wealth."
Zi Yuan smiled and said, "You needn't belittle yourself. The snow lotus is now in our hands. It's rare and priceless. So many people have been looking for it. Once you sell it, you'll immediately become a billionaire!"
Li Yundong laughed and said, "Are you kidding me? How could I sell such a treasure?"
Zi Yuan smiled knowingly. "Indeed! However, Wan Zhenyuan sent his men at this critical moment, meaning that he was afraid that you wouldn't cooperate with him after getting the snow lotus. He sent his men to tell you to go to Mount Huang. I think it is a warning rather than a conspiracy, more likely than not. Wan Zhenyuan and the Gezao Sect are more eager for the Diyuan Jindan than to meet you!"
Li Yundong nodded. "I agree with you. However, Wan Zhenyuan is really narrow-minded. He has no idea of what a princely man aspires to. Was he afraid that I would run away? Apart from him, who else can refine the Diyuan Jindan in this world?"
At this time, Zhou Qin, who had been silent for a while, suddenly piped up. "Master, have you decided to go to Mount Huang?"
Li Yundong nodded. "Yes! And actually, it can't be delayed. I'll go now!"
"Master, I want to go with you!" Zhou Qin immediately cried.
As soon as she finished saying this, Su Chan, who was next to her, also shouted, "I want to go, too!"
Hearing this, the little foxes joined in. "Leader, we also want to go to the Yellow Mountain to have a look!"
"I agree, Mount Huang is the most fantastic mountain in the world! We have never been there before!"
"Leader, take us to have a look!"
Suddenly, the group of women in the living room all started clamoring. Li Yundong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He pretended to be angry and glared at Zhou Qin and Su Chan as he shouted, "Do you think I am going sight-seeing? Do you know how many people are eyeing us covetously like hungry tigers right now?"
Zhou Qin and Su Chan looked at each other and, each complaining in their hearts, "I am not going to play this game. The little foxes want to, but not me. What does it have to do with me?"
But they also knew that Li Yundong was trying to warn others by punishing them, so they both lowered their heads and didn't say a word.
When the foxes saw that both Zhou Qin and Su Chan had been scolded, they immediately shrank back and stopped making any noise.
Seeing that he had finally 'crushed' these little foxes, Li Yundong turned his head to Zi Yuan and said, "I'm going to Mount Huang now. I'll leave the family in your care."
Zi Yuan was a little worried and asked, "Are you going alone? Aren't you going to rest for a while? It's barely been ten minutes since you got here!"
Li Yundong shook his head and said, "I am not in the mood. I can't relax my heart with such a precious treasure on me. In order to avoid more trouble, I'd better go as soon as possible. You don't have to come with me. It's more convenient for me to go alone."
Seeing his determination, Zi Yuan didn't ask to accompany him. She said softly, "Get back early and be careful."
Li Yundong smiled and nodded at her.
Ruan Hongling, who was standing to one side, knew that Zi Yuan's words were rarely gentle or concerned. However, when she spoke to Li Yundong, it was as if he was a husband who was about to leave home and leaving his wife at home. The wife was also concerned about her husband who was about to go far away. The atmosphere between the two of them was a little strange, but they didn't notice at all!
Ruan Hongling laughed in her heart. She wanted to get them together, so she began to devise a scheme for it.
But while she was thinking about it, she saw Li Yundong leave, and then she heard someone shouting from outside, "Master, Master!"
Ruan Hongling came to the door with Su Chan and the others and looked out curiously, only to find that John, Kris, and Alba were standing outside. As soon as the three foreigners saw Li Yunyang, they knelt to the ground in a row and shouted.
When Li Yundong saw that these three nuisances had come, he felt a headache and said with a wry smile, "What are you doing here? How do you know where I live?"
John rushed to say, "Master, we sincerely want to be apprenticed, so we found out where are you living from others!"
Suddenly something hit him in the heart, and then he immediately looked at Zhou Qin. She smiled awkwardly and said, "Feng Na asked me yesterday. It would have been inappropriate for me not to tell her..."
Li Yundong shook his head, then bent down and helped them up. "No, I can't take you as my disciples now."
Although John was bigger than Li Yundong in size, he stood up uncontrollably when Li Yundong extended his hand. He couldn't help asking, "Master, why won't you accept us? Are we not sincere enough?"
Kris also said seriously, "We have already done what you asked us to do. Why are you still not willing to take us as your disciples? Just because we are foreigners? Is race really so important to you?"
Although Alba couldn't understand what they were talking about, she also knew that her companions were begging from their expressions, so she kept nodding and then pointing at herself and shouting her new Chinese name in her poor Chinese, "Zhao Jing, me, Zhao Jing!"
Li Yundong didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He couldn't tell them directly that he was about to hurry to Mount Huang, so he didn't have time for them. Moreover, he hadn't thought clearly about whether or not to receive them.
Li Yundong thought for a moment before saying vaguely, "Not now. It's not the right time!"
Kris quickly pressed on. "Then when will the right time come?"
Li Yundong hesitated for a moment. "It's the right time when I say it is!" Then, he smiled apologetically at Kris and the other two. "Sorry, I have something urgent to do. I'll go now."
Then, he left quickly. John and the other two chased him for a few steps, but after getting just a few meters, Li Yundong turned a corner and disappeared immediately.
Kris, John, and Alba's faces were instantly filled with disappointment.
Alba complained, "Damn! He is such a chauvinist pig! Who has a gun? I'm gonna put a bullet in 'im!"
John was shocked. "What did you just say?"
Kris also shook her head and said, "Alba, you can't say such a thing. In the eyes of the Chinese, that's terribly disrespectful!"
Alba shrugged her shoulders. "I was just joking. I thought he was going too far, that's all."
The three foreigners looked at each other and sighed simultaneously, then frowned and thought in their hearts, "What can I do to succeed in being apprenticed?"