Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Xu Lingguang exclaimed in surprise, "It actually sold for such a high price?"

The Cloud Piercing Crossbow that Youyu gave him was a top-grade Heavenly Craftsmanship item, also produced by Nine Turns Manor, and priced at 20,000 mid-grade spirit stones. At the time, Manager Zhao said that the giant crossbow was a treasure of True Monarch Fire Refining and could be used as the grand finale of the auction. He guessed that it would fetch around 300,000 spirit stones, which would be a very high price.

Unexpectedly, the final bid was 530,000 mid-grade spirit stones.

So many spirit stones falling on him could kill him.

While Xu Lingguang was happy to have made a fortune, he also felt a little guilty when he thought that the buyer was indeed Jiuzhuan Mountain Villa.

He probed, "Did the people from Nine Turns Manor ask for the seller's information?"

Manager Zhao was a shrewd man. He knew Xu Lingguang cared about this, so he inquired very thoroughly: "The person representing Nine Turns Manor in this auction was the head of the Earth Fire Vein. He did inquire about the seller's information from Qianjin Tower afterward, but Qianjin Tower has its own rules, so naturally they couldn't reveal the information to him. He gave up and didn't pursue the matter any further."

Xu Lingguang was somewhat surprised. Was the Nine Turns Manor just going to be abandoned like that?

He had worried that the unlucky guy who died was related to the Fire Refining True Monarch or something, and that the Nine Turns Manor would do everything in its power to find him, but now it seems that he had worried for nothing.

His heart was in his throat, unsure whether he should let go completely or keep holding on.

After settling the auction fees for the giant crossbow, Manager Zhao brought up another matter: "The other day, Young Master Dongyang Li from Nine Turns Manor asked me to deliver a message, saying that the casting quota for the Hidden Edge Sect has been transferred. Together with the spirit stones he promised you before, they are all in this storage bag, totaling 100,000 mid-grade spirit stones. The detailed account list is also in the storage bag."

"He also asked me to tell you that the pet exchange fair at the Beast Manor in Fengling City is about to begin, and he wants to pick out a pet. He asked if you want to come along."

Before returning to Ailao Mountain, Xu Lingguang specifically instructed Manager Zhao that if Dongyang Li came looking for a man named Guan Linxu, he should make sure not to show any unusual behavior and just relay the message to him.

He thought that since Dongyang Li had obtained the Phoenix Fire, he wouldn't have time to look for him for a while, and the forging quota wouldn't be sold so quickly. He didn't expect Dongyang Li to be so efficient.

Xu Lingguang took the storage bag, transferred the spirit stones inside into his Sumeru Ring, and then took out the list to look through it.

Dongyang Li was indeed very well-connected; he managed to list the forging quota on the black market, where it fetched 80,000 mid-grade spirit stones at auction. The remaining 20,000 mid-grade spirit stones were the reward that Nine Revolutions Manor was giving to the Earth Fire Vein. Since the Earth Fire Vein belonged to Dongyang Li alone, it naturally all went to him.

He kept what he could use, sold the rest, and gave Xu Lingguang 20,000 mid-grade spirit stones; he kept some materials and magical artifacts for himself, as well as 14,000 mid-grade spirit stones.

Xu Lingguang put away the list, but after thinking about it, he still felt that Fengling City was too far from Qingyu City, and he wasn't very interested in the spirit pet exchange meeting. So he took out the communication talisman that Dongyang Li had given him and prepared to decline.

As soon as he took out the communication talisman and said two words, Mu Yun, who was hiding in his sleeve, hurriedly and desperately tugged at his sleeve.

Manager Zhao had already gone to attend to other matters. Seeing that there was no one else in the private room, Xu Lingguang pulled him out of his sleeve and asked, "What's wrong?"

Mu Yun clasped her two little hands together and stammered, "Let's go to Fengling City."

Xu Lingguang asked, puzzled, "What are you going to Fengling City for?"

The Spirit Pet Exchange Conference, judging from the name, should be a place to sell spirit pets. Mu Yun, a highly sought-after treasure-hunting rat, might accidentally be recognized if he goes there, and might even be targeted by spirit pet dealers. Why would he bother joining the Spirit Pet Exchange Conference?

Mu Yun hung her head and fidgeted for a while before huffing and puffing, "I want to go find my uncle."

"Grandpa said that my uncle was kidnapped by a human cultivator, and he's probably suffering in some spirit pet sect. Grandpa has already gone out to look for him. I'm thinking that there are so many spirit pets at the exchange meeting, maybe my uncle will be there."

"Let's go take a look." He looked at Xu Lingguang expectantly.

Xu Lingguang hadn't expected Mu Yun to be hiding such a secret, and immediately patted his little head affectionately: "Your grandpa went to see your uncle too? How long has it been?"

Mu Yun counted on her little hands for a long time, but couldn't figure it out. She said, "It's been a very, very long time."

“When Grandpa went to find my uncle, I was about to turn ten. Grandpa had said that he would take me out to see the world when I turned ten, and that only by seeing enough treasures could I become a qualified treasure-hunting mouse. But not long after, my uncle disappeared. Grandpa went to find him and said that he would definitely come back before my tenth birthday, but he never did.”

At this point, Mu Yun puffed out her cheeks unhappily: "I figured I was already ten years old, and according to the clan's rules, I could go out on my own, so I went out by myself."

But after coming out, he got lost and wandered around aimlessly. He ended up in the Ailao Mountains and found them to be beautiful and lush, so he decided to stay there and not leave.

Of course, getting lost was a bit embarrassing, but Mu Yun cleverly glossed over this part.

Xu Lingguang: "..."

So Muyun is not actually a native rat of Ailao Mountain, but a runaway offspring.

His grandfather didn't know if he had gone back yet. If he hadn't found his youngest son and went back to find that his eldest grandson was missing, he would be extremely worried.

Xu Lingguang looked at Mu Yun with the eyes of someone looking at a brat, and said helplessly, "Then let's go to Fengling City and see. Even if we can't find your uncle, it would be good if we could run into your grandfather."

However, going to Fengling City isn't something you can just do on a whim.

Xu Lingguang was no longer the clueless newcomer he once was. As far as he knew, Fengling City, where the Ten Thousand Beasts Manor was located, was relatively close to the Nine Turns Manor, but it was quite far from Qingyu City, a distance of one or two thousand miles.

Fengling City is much richer than Qingyu City, and has more cultivators with profound cultivation. They, being weak and small, need to be well prepared before they go there.

Xu Lingguang first sent a message to Dongyang Li, and then inquired about the news of Fengling City from Manager Zhao before returning to Ailao Mountain.

Since it was still early before the Spirit Pet Exchange Meeting, he first prepared the ointment for Lan Jian and sent it over. He then carefully gave Lan Jian a thorough treatment before mentioning that he was going to Fengling City and might not be on the mountain for a while.

Lan Jian was slightly displeased when she heard that he had only been back for a short time and was about to go out again.

What's so great about the outside of the mountains? Everyone wants to go down.

But he had no reason to stop it, so he could only mutter, "I know."

Xu Lingguang noticed that his tone was a bit strange, but didn't think much of it and said, "There are too many people at the Spirit Pet Exchange Meeting in Fengling City. Yu Rong and the others have sensitive identities, and I'm worried that something might happen, so I won't bring them this time."

Lan Jian's ears twitched, and she suddenly looked up at him.

Xu Lingguang, feeling stared at intently, unsure if he had said something wrong, could only tentatively ask, "Is there a problem?"

Lan Jian shook his head: "You're right, we don't need to take them this time."

Xu Lingguang was a little confused, but seeing that he had agreed, he didn't say anything more, packed his things, and got up to leave.

After he left, Lan Jian got up and paced around.

He remembered that there was also a branch of Qianjinlou in Fengling City, and he should go and inspect it.