74: Chapter 74 Return

Wang Shouren frowned in deep thought, and at this moment, an aged voice suddenly came from the transmission jade talisman of Wang Chongyang.

"Shouren, how is it over there? Have you caught the remnant soul? If you haven't caught it, make sure not to put yourself in danger!"

Wang Shouren smiled knowingly, "Rest assured, Sixth Grandpa, the remnant soul has been destroyed, and this grandson is safe and sound, on his way back."

He put away the transmission talisman, but instead of hurrying on his way, he walked slowly to regulate his Qi.

Along the way back to Lotus Pier, what he saw along the route surprised him quite a bit.

There were many more Loose Cultivators in the Wang family's territory. Some were meditating beside the spirit fields, some were setting up stalls along the mountain paths, and others were gathered in twos and threes under the shade of trees to exchange experiences on how to Cultivate.

Seeing the Wang family Disciple robes he wore, these Loose Cultivators cupped their fists in salute from afar, and several Loose Cultivators resting on the ridges of the fields even stood up to greet him enthusiastically.

"Ah, a Fellow Daoist from the Wang family! Where is Fellow Daoist returning from? Do you need any help from us?"

Wang Shouren returned the greetings one by one, pondering to himself.

The relationship between the Loose Cultivators and the Wang family had never been bad, but it was certainly not this warm.

If it were because of Sixth Grandpa's lecture on the Dao, the lecture should have begun at the very beginning of his seclusion, at least a year ago. Why were these Loose Cultivators still lingering near the Wang family?

With doubts in his heart, after half a day of travel and hearing bits of gossip, he finally learned what had happened in the Loose Cultivator circles over the past two years.

"The effect of the lecture turned out to be even better than I expected. It seems I underestimated the Loose Cultivators' thirst for knowledge from the very beginning."

The mountain gate of Lotus Pier was in sight.

Wang Chongyang stood in front of the mountain gate with his hands behind his back, looking eagerly toward the horizon, his grey robes snapping loudly in the mountain wind.

Standing behind him were Wang Yaozu, Wang Yaowen, and Wang Yaowu, followed further back by the younger generation of the Shou generation and a large crowd of Loose Cultivators who had rushed over upon hearing the news and had not yet dispersed.

Hua Shaoyang and Elder Hua were also standing at the front of the crowd. Hua Shaoyang was waving a folding fan with a hint of impatience on his face, while Elder Hua closed his eyes to rest his mind, acting as if he cared nothing about everything around him.

A streak of crimson-gold lightning fell from the horizon, and Wang Shouren revealed his figure in front of the mountain gate.

His white robes were like snow, his black hair was unkempt and draped down, and a black lotus mark between his eyebrows stood out like a dot of ink.

His figure after the Body Tempering by the heavenly thunder appeared even more slender and upright than before his seclusion. With broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and symmetrical, powerful limbs, his robes could not conceal the physique that had been repeatedly tempered by the Lightning Tribulation beneath.

His face remained clear and handsome, but it had gained a bit more sharp-angled resoluteness. Standing there, he looked like a sword tempered by thunder and fire, exuding an undeniable masculine sharpness amidst his refinement.

Hua Shaoyang stood not far away. Compared with Wang Shouren, his face, which was exquisite to the point of being uncanny, appeared overly feminine and lacking in Aura.

Hua Shaoyang himself noticed this, and his expression became slightly ugly. He closed and unfolded his folding fan repeatedly. As the son of an Elder of the Baihua Sect, he had always been conceited in terms of background, cultivation base, and appearance. But at this moment, he was suppressed in terms of Aura by the Young Lord of a country family, and he simply could not swallow this anger.

"Sixth Grandpa, Shouren has fulfilled the mission." Wang Shouren bowed and saluted, "That evil cultivator's remnant soul has been destroyed by this grandson."

Hua Shaoyang sneered, snapped his folding fan shut, took a step forward, and said,

"An evil cultivator's remnant soul, you say you destroyed it just like that? Do you have any evidence? If that remnant soul escaped to some unknown place and you just came back to report it, who of us could believe you?"

Wang Shouren glanced at him, and a pale red phantom of Qi had already appeared in his hand.

The phantom was so blurry that only an outline remained, but one could faintly recognize it as a distorted old man's face, emanating an extremely faint Aura of blood and Evil Qi.

He held the phantom in his palm and said in a clear voice, "This is the very last wisp of soul breath left by that evil cultivator's remnant soul; the rest has completely dissipated between heaven and earth."

The crowd crowded closer to take a look. Hu Shan reacted the fastest, rushing forward in almost a single stride, cupping the phantom in his palm. His Foundation Establishment Stage Divine Sense probed into it and checked it repeatedly several times, and the tension on his face finally turned into uncontrollable joy.

"That's right! It's this blood Evil Qi! Exactly the same as the one on Ning Chuan!" He held the phantom, his beard shaking with laughter, "Good! Good! The remnant soul has been destroyed, and the scourge of the evil cultivator is hereby settled!"

Hua Shaoyang snorted coldly and turned his face away, "It's just a wisp of a remnant soul, was it really that hard to catch?"

Wang Shouren glanced at him, frowning slightly.

He had searched out quite a few fragmented pieces of information about the Baihua Sect from the broken memories of the Blood Demon Immortal. That old monster seemed quite familiar with the Baihua Sect, and what made him even more concerned was that the old monster had actually sensed a trace of extremely faint familiarity from Hua Shaoyang back then.

Yet Hua Shaoyang was a frivolous person whose spiritual breath was vain and impure. His cultivation base was clearly piled up with Medicinal Pills, and he looked nothing like someone who practiced evil arts.

Then there was only one possibility: he was carrying some Magic Treasure related to the Blood Demon Immortal.

Wang Shouren suppressed the thoughts in his heart, turned around, and cupped his fists toward Hu Shan, "Senior Hu, can the matter promised to this Junior be fulfilled?"

Hu Shan laughed heartily, carefully put away the wisp of soul breath, stroked his beard, and said, "Naturally. As long as you can produce things of equal value, this official will definitely go and beg for the lesser guyuan pill for you."

Wang Shouren nodded, took out a Storage Pouch from his bosom, and presented it with both hands, "There are two thousand Spirit Stones here. Trouble Senior Hu to intercede on my behalf."

The entire scene fell silent for a moment.

Two thousand Spirit Stones, and he took them out just like that?

Even Wang Yaozu was stunned for a moment, and Wang Yaowu behind him widened his eyes even more.

Hu Shan took the Storage Pouch, and with a sweep of his Divine Sense, confirmed that there were indeed neatly arranged two thousand Spirit Stones, not a single one missing.

A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but he didn't ask much. He simply put away the Storage Pouch and said solemnly, "Good. Since I promised you, this old man will naturally handle it. This official will take his leave first."

"Respectfully seeing off Senior Hu." Wang Shouren cupped his fists in salute, and the Wang family members and Loose Cultivators also bowed to see him off. Hu Shan stepped onto a Flying Sword, and a cyan beam of light soared into the sky, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Hua Shaoyang did not leave. He snapped his folding fan open and said coldly, "Magistrate Hu has left, but our business is not over yet. The bet is still on, and this Young Master has not yet taken away the person that should be taken away."

Wang Shouyi said angrily, "Hua Shaoyang, Ning Chuan was an evil cultivator to begin with, and his methods were unglamorous. How can you have the nerve to speak of such a victory?"

Hua Shaoyang sneered, shaking his folding fan gently, his tone frivolous and resolute.

"Winning is winning, and losing is losing. Ning Chuan being an evil cultivator, that was a matter for later. He defeated your Wang family in the arena. In my opinion, it's rather your Wang family who doesn't dare admit defeat and is making a farce here."

Wang Shouyi clenched his fists tightly, grinding his teeth so hard they clicked, but he couldn't find words to refute.

"Your name is Wang Shouren, right?" Hua Shaoyang closed his folding fan and pointed it from afar at Wang Shouren, "What will you do? Today, this Young Master is going to take my woman away."

Elder Hua behind Hua Shaoyang was still closing his eyes to rest his mind, but the pressure of the Foundation Establishment Stage Late Stage had already quietly unfolded, silently enveloping the entire mountain gate.

Wang Shouren took a step forward, his gaze meeting Hua Shaoyang's icy stare, "You want to take someone away? Not a chance."