Seeing Chu Tianbai's expression, Chu Jingzhuo immediately knew he had guessed right!
Yes, he had been bluffing.
Everyone knew how difficult it was to obtain a spirit beast egg.
Unless it's from one's own tamed spirit beast, trying to snatch an egg from a mother beast requires perfect timing, favorable conditions, and sheer luck, it's nearly impossible!
For someone like their Master, who could sit at home and have spirit beasts deliver eggs to her, that was an exception, not something ordinary people could copy.
And even if one got hold of a spirit beast egg, it wasn't guaranteed to hatch.
Though both cultivators and spirit beasts absorbed spiritual energy and converted it into spiritual power, they were still different species, practicing different cultivation methods.
Spirit beast eggs needed the mother beast's spiritual energy for nurturing.
A cultivator could also use their own spiritual energy, but the effect was less than one-tenth of the mother beast's.
However, one could also find another spirit beast to help hatch it.
Of course, that was even harder than obtaining the egg itself.
Even spirit beasts of the same species might not agree, let alone those of different species.
Therefore, Chu Jingzhuo had deduced that Chu Tianbai's egg must still be unhatched!
And naturally, Chu Tianbai wouldn't hand over a treasure like that.
Spirit beast eggs were incredibly precious!
So Chu Jingzhuo had thrown the words out just to test him, and sure enough, he got a reaction.
But after confirming it, his feelings were complicated.
—It was his father who had obtained that spirit beast egg!
He had long suspected his father's death wasn't so simple, and now with this bluff, he finally confirmed his own suspicions.
"You're spouting nonsense!" Chu Tianbai's face showed visible panic. "Who—who has a spirit beast egg?! You think spirit beast eggs are as common as chicken eggs?!"
Although he denied it, the doubtful and heated gazes of those around him made him uncomfortable.
No one else in the Chu Family knew he possessed such a thing!
Chu Tianbai quickly smoothed over his panic, forcing composure, "Out of respect for my position as patriarch and your elder, I was willing to negotiate and compensate you. But if you're just making baseless demands, I can't possibly agree!"
Others nodded in agreement, "Yeah! Spirit beast eggs aren't like hens laying eggs in the street, where would we even get one?"
Whether true or not, they couldn't admit it!
Chu Jingzhuo raised a brow, smiling faintly as he looked at Chu Jinglin, "Cousin Lin, you've spent all these years trying and still haven't managed to hatch it. That's really…"
"Truly trash!" Qin Yiwei finished for him, perfectly in sync.
The word 'trash' landed like a slap, and Chu Tianbai's heart sank.
Sure enough, Chu Jinglin exploded, "You're the trash! I'll have you know I'm this close to hatching it!"
The moment those words left his mouth, Chu Tianbai felt his vision go black.
Damn it!
What kind of idiot son was this?!
He had just denied it, and his own son immediately exposed everything!
Had this boy always been this stupid?!
"Oh~ Fourth Junior Brother was right, you really do have a spirit beast egg," Jiang Yunnuan drawled, eyes gleaming.
"Of course," Chu Jingzhuo nodded. "That spirit beast egg was obtained by my father, it was meant for me."
"Bullshit!" Chu Jinglin leapt up and roared, "That's my spirit beast egg!"
"Jinglin!" Chu Tianbai's face had gone black as the bottom of a pot.
"My father got that egg for me!" Chu Jingzhuo shot back, unyielding. "He said he found a spirit beast egg in the forest, the mother beast must've died, so he planned to bring the egg home for me!"
But not long after, his father died.
Chu Jingzhuo had long buried the memory. After all, spirit beast eggs were too far removed from his life.
With his spiritual root damaged, how could he have cared about such things back then?
But recently, as he was surrounded by spirit beasts in his sect, he had begun recalling many things he had once forced himself to forget.
Before, he hadn't had the strength or the power to reclaim that egg.
But now, with his Master's support, his fellow disciples beside him, and spirit beasts at his back, he no longer had to cower!
Even if he couldn't hatch it himself, he wasn't about to let Chu Tianbai and his son keep it!
"Your father lied to you…"
"Anyway, my terms are simple," Chu Jingzhuo interrupted coldly. "I want those two things. If you refuse, I'll have to ask the seniors to take action!"
Chu Tianbai's face darkened to ink.
Both the Eight-Ginseng Wood and the spirit beast egg were priceless treasures!
If he handed them over, it would pain him to death!
He turned his eyes toward Tan Fangjun, silently pleading with determination.
Meeting his gaze, Tan Fangjun paused briefly, then smiled.
He had to admit, Chu Tianbai was indeed decisive.
Realizing he couldn't protect the items, he immediately sought Tan Fangjun's help.
Better to give them to him than to Chu Jingzhuo.
That way, the Chu Family's ties with Changtian Sect would only deepen.
After weighing the pros and cons, Tan Fangjun quickly decided to intervene.
Whether it was the Eight-Ginseng Wood or a spirit beast egg, they were both worth stepping in for!
"I don't know which sect this young friend comes from?" Tan Fangjun stepped forward with a smile. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Tan Fangjun, an inner-sect steward of Changtian Sect."
Changtian Sect?
At that name, several pairs of eyes turned toward the person in the hat, Ke Chongbo.
Now they understood why he had suddenly pulled out a veiled hat earlier.
It was because he had recognized someone!
Tan Fangjun followed their gaze in puzzlement, but all he saw was a figure wearing a hat.
The person's build looked a bit familiar, but he couldn't see their face—so he didn't think much of it.
He simply smiled at the group, but his presence was suffocatingly oppressive.
"I've already heard the whole matter," Tan Fangjun said pleasantly. "In my view, this is all just a misunderstanding!"
"Misunderstanding?" Everyone looked at him.
"Yes, a misunderstanding!" Tan Fangjun concluded firmly. "These people were just joking with you, there was never any assassination attempt. After all, you're all one family!"
Chu Jingzhuo and his group: "..."
They almost wanted to applaud.
This man's ability to lie through his teeth was incredible!
He'd just cut off the issue at its root!
If the assassination attempt on Chu Jingzhuo and Zhou Wanyao was a misunderstanding, then everything that followed could be brushed aside easily.
Naturally, Chu Jingzhuo's compensation requests could also be ignored.
"In that case," Tan Fangjun continued, smiling shamelessly, "as an inner-sect steward of Changtian Sect, I'll act as a mediator. Patriarch Chu, offer them an apology, and this matter will be settled."
As they listened to Tan Fangjun's shameless "mediation," everyone fell silent.
Chu Tianbai and his son were already smiling smugly.
This was Changtian Sect, after all!
"Jingzhuo, this is Steward Tan of Changtian Sect, he's the most just and fair person you'll ever meet!" Chu Tianbai said proudly, his grin triumphant.
"Oh? And what if I refuse?" Chu Jingzhuo arched a brow.
"Young man, there's no need to be so hot-tempered." Tan Fangjun wasn't angered. Instead, he looked at him with condescending arrogance. "How about I take you for a visit to Changtian Sect?"
At that, everyone's faces changed.
That was a blatant threat!
—"Steward Tan certainly speaks boldly!"