Chapter 97
*Crack!*
A fist-sized dark mineral easily snapped in two within the massive dark-blue pincers.
The juvenile iron-clawed crab raised its two massive pincers toward Lu Xuan, its bulging eyes hinting at disdain.
"Haven't pinched for a while, huh? Your skills have improved!" Lu Xuan sighed with a smile, offering the split iron ore to the crab's pincers.
Divided into halves, quarters, and eighths, the ore visibly shrank in size at the relentless efforts of the crab, demonstrating remarkable resilience.
Accompanied by successive cracking sounds, Lu Xuan's thoughts drifted.
This invite to the hidden realm made him feel a lack of control as a freelance cultivator. Normally, he tended fields peacefully, avoiding conflicts and merely displaying his talent as a skilled cultivator of plants.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, he had established a cooperative relationship with the Hundred Herbs Hall, aligning himself with their interests despite preferring his quiet farming life.
But when the Wang family's cultivators came knocking, he found himself unable to refuse, despite his reluctance to help identify plants within the secret realm. The helplessness of a lower-tier freelance cultivator was evident.Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only
This experience prompted thoughts of leaving Lin Yangfang Market.
The Hundred Herbs Hall's recommendation to the Wang family, regardless of their motives, had clearly brought trouble, erasing any mutual goodwill.
However, his attitude toward Steward He remained unchanged. Over the years, the lean elderly man had genuinely cared for him.
Yet, the Wang family's loss of two high-level cultivators in the secret realm would surely lead to inquiries, possibly affecting him despite his clear conscience.
Leaving the market raised the question: where to next?
Switching to another market? It seemed, to Lu Xuan, that the world was much the same wherever one went, with restrictions unavoidable.
Finding a secluded mountainous region to cultivate plants alone? Unrealistic. Cultivating required pure spiritual energy, preferably near spiritual veins, and living solo might invite malevolent entities or beasts. Furthermore, obtaining high-tier plant species would be challenging.
Therefore, joining a sect seemed the best choice.
With his current cultivation at the eighth level and exceptional plant cultivation skills, he was qualified to enter a sect.
Joining a sect had clear advantages: purer spiritual energy for plant growth, a safe environment, and access to high-tier plants and young spiritual creatures.
Lu Xuan spoke truthfully, albeit omitting crucial details.
Discovering malevolent entities, reporting to Li Jianfeng, eliminating the contaminated Li Jianfeng, evading a cunning malevolent entity, and dealing with several suspicious groups of cultivators...
The biggest lie isn't nine truths and one lie but ten truths that, when combined, form a lie.
Learning from Steward He that apart from Lu Xuan, five or six other plant cultivators had returned, leaving only He Ping unaccounted for within the Hundred Herbs Hall, Lu Xuan felt somewhat relieved. His words now carried more credibility with the increased number of survivors, and the risk of blame from the Wang family became distributed.
Pausing for a moment, feigning indecision, Lu Xuan finally, albeit reluctantly, spoke to the lean old man.
"Elder He, there's a chance He Ping might not return. When I fled, I glimpsed him being targeted by malevolent entities. It's highly likely he's met with misfortune."
"Is that so? This won't make it easy for the Wang family to explain."
He Ping had affiliations among the hall's alchemists, making his disappearance of significant concern.
"There's one more thing I must clarify. When we were gathering and identifying plants, Wang Ruhai from the Wang family, who should have stayed in the camp, ventured out alone into the realm. He got contaminated by malevolent entities, causing this calamity."
"Is this true?" Steward He asked seriously.
"The other plant cultivators can testify."
"In that case, the situation changes."
If it was merely contamination by malevolent entities, it could be dismissed as an accident, and the Wang family could rightfully inquire about the surviving cultivators.
But because Wang Ruhai neglected his duty to safeguard the plant cultivators and, instead, brought calamity due to his negligence, it absolved Lu Xuan and others from any blame.
On the contrary, the deceased plant cultivators would now be attributed to Wang Ruhai's negligence.
More than ten plant cultivators entering the realm were treasured assets to various factions in the market. Losing any of them would cause significant damage.
With the knowledge that the outcome resulted from a mistake made by the Wang family's cultivator, the other factions and powers in the market would surely demand an explanation.
Amidst this conflict, there would be no time or inclination to pursue someone like Lu Xuan, a minor freelance cultivator.
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