Chapter 35: Closest Kin
The Soul Casting Technique used a direct blood relative, sacrificing their flesh, blood, and soul to reforge a Divine Artifact. Naturally, this relative would be utterly annihilated, ceasing to exist. It was truly an inhumane method.
Yang Yushan asking about the Soul Casting Technique at this moment naturally displeased Chen Dong.
'Just for a Divine Artifact? Is it worth it?'
Yang Yushan's answer would surely be yes.
His eyes burned with fervor, his expression agitated. "Just tell me the method, Sir!"
"Who do you intend to sacrifice?" Chen Dong asked.
The Yang Family father and son simultaneously turned their gazes toward the bed.
Chen Dong sighed softly. "Just as I thought."
'The Soul Casting Technique requires sacrificing a close relative. Yang Yushan's persistent questions meant he had already made up his mind to use this method. The only person they could sacrifice was likely Yang Rong, who lay unconscious on the bed. Compared to Yang Rong, the Grandmaster Yang Anfu's combat strength was far more valuable.'
Yang Rong's mother finally realized that her daughter had been chosen as the sacrifice by the Yang father and son. She burst into tears, grabbing Yang Anfu's clothes. "Anfu, that's your daughter! How can you be so heartless?"
Yang Anfu turned his head away, ignoring her completely!
Seeing her husband's cruelty, Yang Rong's mother knelt before Yang Yushan. "Father, please spare Rong'er! She's already been through so much!"
Yang Yushan kicked Yang Rong's mother away. "Foolish woman! How is Yang Rong any different from a withered old crone right now? She's completely useless to the family. We can't even marry her off. She's better off being used for the Soul Casting!"
Hearing these words, Yang Rong's mother was so heartbroken that she fainted.
What the Yang father and son failed to notice was that on the bed, two streams of tears flowed from the eyes of the unconscious Yang Rong.
Chen Dong could not bear to watch. He said coldly, "I have no designs on your family's Divine Artifact. Go ahead and infuse it with your True Qi. If that doesn't work, I'll even lend you a hand!"
To Yang Yushan, Chen Dong's words were incredibly grating, as they exposed his exact thoughts. Chen Dong could see through the Realms of both father and son, which meant his own cultivation must be extraordinary. Yang Yushan hadn't used his True Qi to infuse the sword precisely because he was conserving it to guard against Chen Dong, fearing that he might try to kill them and steal their treasure.
Yang Yushan's face flushed with embarrassment. Since Chen Dong had already called him out so bluntly, he dropped the act.
He raised his sword, pointed it at Chen Dong, and asked again, "I ask you again, Sir, tell me the Soul Casting Technique!"
Chen Dong slapped his own forehead and cursed, "You stupid old fool! I already told you, I don't give a damn about this broken sword!"
Yang Yushan slowly shook his head, his cold gaze fixed on Chen Dong. He said flatly, "This is a Divine Artifact. I dare not take the risk!"
Chen Dong mulled it over for a moment, then said coolly, "Looking at you, even if the Soul Casting for the Divine Artifact succeeds, you have no intention of letting us leave. So why should I tell you anything?"
Yang Yushan burst out laughing. "You really are clever. If this weren't about a Divine Artifact, I would do everything in my power to befriend a young genius like you. But as things stand, if you don't want to suffer, you'd best tell me the Soul Casting Technique truthfully!"
Chen Dong stared coldly at Yang Yushan and said with arrogance, "Old man, you think too highly of yourself!"
Chen Dong's words sent a chill through Yang Yushan's heart, but then he thought, 'This kid is so young. Even if he started cultivating in his mother's womb, it's doubtful he could even be a Grandmaster by now.'
Immediately, he circulated his True Qi and thrust his sword at Chen Dong.
An anger he couldn't suppress seethed in Chen Dong's heart.
To abandon all dignity and honor, to persecute even one's own flesh and blood—all for a Divine Artifact.
And so, when he struck, he had no intention of holding back.
Facing the sword thrust, he threw a punch, his lightning-fast Body Technique allowing him to graze past the blade.
The punch went straight through Yang Yushan's chest.
The Divine Artifact that Yang Yushan had deemed so important fell to the ground with a CLANG. A look of disbelief could still be seen in his vacant eyes.
Yang Anfu, Xue Tianxiang, and Xue Lele all stood with their mouths agape!
They had never imagined Chen Dong could be this powerful.
A mighty Grandmaster, killed in a single punch!
Yang Anfu, completely devoid of True Qi, was filled with terror and scrambled backward.
Chen Dong said coldly, "Not only did you not want to pay the consultation fee, but you also planned to keep us here! Do you still want to keep us?"
Yang Anfu shook his head frantically.
Chen Dong asked again, "Is anyone going to pay the consultation fee?"
Yang Anfu was stunned. 'This man still wants a consultation fee?'
Chen Dong grew impatient. Facing Yang Anfu, who only had half a life left after being drained by the ancient sword, he stomped on his chest, ending his life.
He picked up the ancient sword, which now possessed a faint Divine Light, and said to Yang Rong on the bed, "I know you're awake. Do you hate me now?"
Yang Rong struggled to speak. "I don't."
Chen Dong smiled. "Very good!"
He waved the ancient sword at Yang Rong, and the Divine Light on the blade faded once more.
Yang Rong's aged body slowly regained its vitality.
Within a few breaths, she transformed from a woman in her seventies or eighties back into a beautiful young maiden.
Xue Lele's eyes sparkled as she watched. 'If he waved that sword at me a few times, could I get even younger?'
Chen Dong shot her a glare.
She quickly shrank back and stuck out her tongue.
With a flick of his wrist, Chen Dong recalled the Silver Needles from Yang Rong's body.
Chen Dong asked, "Can I get the consultation fee now?"
Tears still streamed down Yang Rong's face as she said mournfully, "Mr. Chen, they all wanted this Divine Artifact. Please, take it as your consultation fee!"
Chen Dong frowned. 'What use do I have for this stupid sword? All I wanted was money, but I just killed her grandfather and father. Asking for cash now would be going too far.'
He spat in disgust, shot a look at Xue Lele and Xue Tianxiang, and strode out the door.
Back at Hundred Herbs Hall, Chen Dong wrote down the Array he had used to stabilize Yang Rong's life force for Xue Tianxiang. He had long noticed that Xue Tianxiang was very interested in it but was too embarrassed to ask.
Upon receiving the technique, Xue Tianxiang was as happy as a child.
Afterward, Chen Dong had Xue Lele drive him to the Jiangzhou Hotel. Today was the second day of Tang Dan's acupuncture treatment.
「Meanwhile, as Chen Dong was heading to the Jiangzhou Hotel.」
The Li Group was holding another meeting.
It was the same Conference Room 2.
Lu Chunhong, who had a slutty vibe no matter how she dressed, was the first to speak. "President Li, the materials king, Liu Qi, sent someone this morning to collect payment. He said all our old debts must be settled immediately, and from now on, we have to pay upfront for materials before they'll deliver. Otherwise, not a single bag of cement or a cubic meter of sand."
At the head of the table, Li Huiran nodded. She was already aware of this matter; Lu Chunhong was just repeating it for the sake of procedure in the meeting.
After speaking, Lu Chunhong didn't sit down. Instead, she pushed up her glasses, tilted her head, and continued, "President Li, there's one more thing. This afternoon, the five major banks sent notices one after another, demanding we repay our loans by tomorrow."
The conference room erupted in an uproar!
Li Huiran asked nervously, "All five major banks?"
Lu Chunhong nodded, her face grim.
The entire conference room instantly broke out in gasps of dismay!
In their line of work, bank loans always had some shady aspects.
During the construction process, because the scale of the projects was large and the costs were high, they all relied on special loans issued by the banks. Most were mortgage-backed loans—using money to borrow more money.
If a bank, ignoring all deadlines and circumstances, absolutely insisted you repay a loan, it was a very difficult situation to handle. If you didn't repay, all your project funds would be frozen directly, and there would be no one to appeal to.
For all five major banks to send notices at once, someone had to be pulling the strings from behind the scenes. The terrifying part was that the Li Group's current capital was nowhere near enough to repay the loans and cover the material costs.
Her face pale, Li Huiran replied weakly, "I understand."