At the Qian Family Estate.
In a magnificent pavilion above.
Qian Family Head and Sun Family Head gazed toward the northern part of the city, at the magnificent, golden rain of Merit, more brilliant than gold.
They were filled with envy, their mouths watering, and could only hate that they were not the ones currently bathing in that rain.
In fact.
Three days after learning that He Daren had been accepted as a disciple of the Three Purities Immortal Sect for his disaster relief efforts, the heads of the Qian and Sun families had become moved.
They had originally planned to join the disaster relief industry and get a piece of the pie.
However.
The attitude of the He family was too firm; they absolutely refused to allow the Sun and Qian families to hold any sway, nor did they permit them to skim even a bit of profit from the relief and land reclamation work.
Only a fool would do a favor without being able to gain anything from it!
Since they couldn't get a promise to "join the Three Purities Immortal Sect" and couldn't profit, the Qian and Sun families left in a huff and did not participate in the disaster relief and land reclamation efforts.
However.
Now, they were consumed with regret.
Even if they hadn't "eaten pork, they'd seen the pig run," and they knew how precious Merit was.
In the past.
They had distributed coarse rice gruel for disaster relief many times, which had earned them a good reputation in the city, but they had never received the recognition of the Heavenly Dao, nor had any Merit rain ever fallen.
Now.
The one and only relief effort they had missed had triggered such a magnificent and grand Merit rain?
Is there any justice in this world?
Is there any law?
"Brother Qian, I want to go give money to the He family."
"Me too! With so much Merit, if we could get a share of it, it would at least extend our lives by a decade or so!"
"Money is just a number. I'm already over sixty, with only a few years left. Those good-for-nothing sons of mine are hopeless and basically can't be counted on."
"Brother Sun, that kid from the He family seems foolish, but he's playing his cards step by step. It seems he's been hiding his talents and pretending to be an idiot all these years!"
"If you're outmatched, you have to admit defeat. This kid is shrewder than his old man. I concede."
"Let's go! To the He residence! Let's beg him to let us join the disaster relief effort. We'll listen to him about everything. As long as we can get a share of the Merit to extend our lives, what's the harm in giving away ninety percent of our family fortune?"
• • •
At the Zhao Residence.
In a gloomy and eerie ghostly domain, three men in the attire of True Disciples stood facing the wind.
Each stood on a rooftop, forming a Three Powers formation that enveloped the Zhao Residence at its very center. A sharp, imposing sword qi constantly emanated from them, dispelling the sinister yin energy.
The eldest—Li Longhao.
The second—Li Longji.
The third one—Li Longyou.
Suddenly.
Li Longhao, carrying a heavy sword on his back, frowned slightly. As if sensing something, he opened his eyes.
When he saw the magnificent rain of merit north of the city, his face was filled with shock. "Such a vast amount of merit... it must be for saving tens of thousands of common folk to be bestowed like this."
On the other side.
Li Longyou, carrying two swords on his back, also nodded slightly and said, "It must be a senior of high virtue and prestige from our sect who has arrived at Maple City."
"Could it be that they're worried we can't subdue Nie Linglan, so they've come specifically to back us up?"
Heh~
Li Longhao shook his head and scoffed, "A mere earth-bound spirit who has just broken through to the Core Formation Stage. What could be so troublesome about her?"
"If not for her innate ghost-domain ability, which is so elusive and hard to find, your older brother, with just one sword, could scatter her soul and ensure she never reincarnates!"
Li Longhao, carrying a heavy sword, was a full eight feet tall, his entire being exuding an aura of brute force.
He would challenge the heavens, the earth, and the very firmament.
If he could solve a problem with his sword, he would never bother using his brain.
Li Longyou sighed and said, "Big brother, don't be so impulsive. I just feel that this case of Miss Nie's vengeful ghost is strange. It feels like there's more to it."
"With just the three of us in charge, we might not be completely safe. Let's play it safe and call a few more brothers for backup."
Li Longhao rolled his eyes. "Playing it safe, playing it safe, you always want to play it safe on every mission."
"You might as well stop cultivating your twin swords and start cultivating a 'safe sword' instead!"
"And what's so strange about it? Isn't she just a Core Formation Stage ghost general? When she manifests on the seventh day after her death, we'll just strike and it'll be over!"
Li Longyou shook his head. "Big brother, you're too reckless. This is a surefire way to meet a glorious end."
Li Longhao roared, "Impudent! I am the big brother here!"
"Listen to me, and you'll be right!"
Li Longyou sighed helplessly and said, "Being loud doesn't make you right, and it certainly doesn't make you the big brother."
"Even if you were 'big dad,' that wouldn't prove your idea is correct."
"Second dad... second brother, what's your take on this?"
Only then did Li Longji slowly open his eyes. He glanced at Li Longyou languidly and said, "Third brother has a point."
Li Longhao was furious. "He has a point? In the last few dozen missions, he always thought something was fishy. Even when we had a ninety percent chance of winning, he thought it wasn't stable enough and would call for backup at the drop of a hat."
"Now, in the Sword Vein, a bunch of bastards are secretly calling us the 'Three Backup Brothers' behind our backs. Are you not ashamed?"
"I'd rather die than suffer this humiliation. Second brother, what do you think?"
Li Longji turned his dead-fish eyes to Li Longhao and nodded helplessly. "What big brother says also makes sense."
Li Longhao: ???
Li Longyou: ???
The two of them shouted in unison, "So, whose side are you on, exactly?"
Li Longji yawned and said languidly, "I'm fine with anything, as long as you don't disturb my sleep."
With that, he slowly closed his eyes again, standing on the roof to rest. In a short while, light snores could be heard; he had actually fallen asleep standing up.
However, even in his sleep, sword qi still emanated from his body.
Three strands of mighty sword qi constantly flowed into the sword formation, weakening the yin demonic energy in the Ghost Domain and suppressing the earth-bound spirit lurking in the shadows.
• • •
In the Wangbei Pavilion.
In another private box, a man in black stood by the window.
His appearance was utterly unremarkable, and his body gave off no fluctuation of spiritual energy. He would have been completely unnoticeable in a crowd.
At this moment, the man stared at the dense rain of merit in the sky, at Wang Xiu, who was enveloped in it, and at the citizens below, their faces filled with excitement.
A cold smile curled his lips.
"The Three Pure Immortal Sect is so fortunate to receive such an exceptionally clever disciple."
"If this one had encountered relief grain like that in my youth, I wouldn't have had to starve to the point of killing and cannibalizing, ending up on the path I'm on now."
A vicious look appeared on the man's face: "But the smarter and more handsome you are..."
"The more you are detested!"
"Why couldn't you have appeared two hundred years earlier? Why could those commoners eat the alms porridge while this one could not?"
"Wang Xiu!"
"Hehehehe, you have successfully caught this one's attention!"
"Your face will become this one's most perfect collection."
"And as for those commoners, they will all die, serving as the sacrificial offerings for this one's peerless demonic artifact's emergence!"
"If you are going to make me suffer, then no one shall have it easy!"
"Hehehehe~"
Just as the black-robed man was sneering, the skull-shaped talisman at his waist trembled slightly.
"Snake Maiden?"
"You little slut, do you want to be whipped with a new face again?"
A lecherous glint appeared in the black-robed man's eyes as he slowly extended his right hand and gently brushed it across his face.
• • •
Instantly.
His originally mediocre face became incomparably handsome and dashing, enough to captivate and fascinate countless women. Aside from his gaze, which remained sinister and evil, there was almost no flaw.
[
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