The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Wang Wan'Er nodded again. "The Wang Family only has cultivation techniques for the Qi Refining Stage. If you want a Foundation Establishment technique, you have to go to the Qixia Sect or another sect."

A sharp glint flashed in Chen Dong's eyes. 'You have to give to get.' Although he didn't know the difference between this world's cultivation techniques and those of his own, he happened to have several Inner Realm techniques that corresponded to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Not wanting to ruin her prospects, Chen Dong began to ask Wang Wan'Er about the cultivation technique she practiced and what martial arts or weapons she specialized in.

After some conversation, Chen Dong had a better understanding. The naive girl directly recited her entire cultivation technique for him, going over it twice.

The Qi Refining stage in the Wangyou Realm followed a path of refining qi to temper the body, whereas his world focused on forging a Celestial Spirit Outer Form. However, both were different paths to the same destination. Foundation Establishment used the physical body as a base to form a Golden Core, while the Inner Realm condensed an Inner World to form a Profound Pill.

Of the two paths, Qi Refining was clearly gentler and smoother, while the Celestial Spirit Outer Form was more focused on combat prowess. The reason was easy to figure out. For tens of thousands of years, the highest realm in his world was only the Inner Realm Peak. Those stages had been polished to perfection and developed to their absolute limit by countless peerless geniuses. The Wangyou Realm, however, clearly allowed for cultivation to higher levels, so these early stages were treated as nothing more than basics.

With this comparison, it was clear that Inner Realm techniques were in no way inferior to Foundation Establishment techniques—in fact, they offered even greater combat strength.

So Chen Dong said to Wang Wan'Er, "Little sister, I happen to have an ancestral cultivation technique that matches your path of cultivation. I'd like to give it to you."

Wang Wan'Er hastily shook her head. "Brother Dong, it's an ancestral heirloom. How could I possibly accept it!"

In just that short time, Chen Dong had already coaxed the young woman into addressing him as a brother.

"I can't cultivate anyway, so it's perfect for you. This way, my family's cultivation technique won't go to waste..." After some more coaxing, Wang Wan'Er agreed to accept the technique.

As expected of someone with astonishing talent, after Chen Dong recited the Cloud-Breaking Inner Vision Scripture twice and then provided a word-by-word analysis twice more, Wang Wan'Er could already recite it from memory. She could even recite the excruciatingly long, detailed analysis.

This gift from Chen Dong wasn't just a preemptive measure; he also hoped to rely on Wang Wan'Er for his escape. However, this foolishly loyal girl would need some time for her values to change.

It was now late into the night, and Chen Dong was starting to feel sleepy. Without the nourishment of True Qi, his body fatigued far too easily.

He bid Wang Wan'Er farewell and dutifully returned to his room to rest.

Another morning arrived. Chen Dong had already grown accustomed to the two suns here—one bright and one dim. It was just like his own world after its Spiritual Qi recovery, where a dim sun had eventually appeared as well.

'My world and this Wangyou Realm must be extremely close.'

Chen Dong assessed his body, which was now mostly healed. As long as he didn't use his full strength, he was fine. As expected of someone who had survived a First-Grade Pill Tribulation, his recovery speed far surpassed what it was during his Inner Realm days. And this was without the nourishment of True Qi—if it were still there, he would have healed completely long ago.

Stepping out of the small courtyard, he saw the servants of the Prince's Mansion bustling about, constantly hanging lanterns and colorful decorations. With bright red lanterns and swaths of red silk, the whole place looked incredibly festive.

Chen Dong asked Wang Yang, "What's all this for?"

Wang Yang replied cheerfully, "We're preparing for your wedding, of course!"

Chen Dong's brow furrowed. The Wang Family hadn't made such a big fuss even when they were initially planning the rush wedding to ward off ill fortune. 'All this bustling preparation must mean the date is close.' He immediately asked, "How long until then?"

"You don't know? It's tomorrow."

Alarm flashed through Chen Dong's eyes, and he immediately set off to find Master Wang.

When he arrived at the hall from the previous day, only a woman in a pale yellow dress was there. It was the woman Wang Wan'Er was afraid of: Fang Mei.

Seeing that Master Wang was not present, Chen Dong smiled at Fang Mei and asked, "Excuse me, Madam, where has my father-in-law gone?"

Fang Mei smiled faintly. "Why 'Madam'? You can just call me Mother. That's what Xian'Er calls me. You're about to get married, so you'll have to call me that soon enough."

Chen Dong winced. 'This woman is trying to get one over on me.'

Fang Mei could see Chen Dong was having trouble making the switch, so she said with a smile, "Alright, you'll get used to it in time. The Master has gone to the Qixia Sect today to invite his old martial brothers to the wedding feast here tomorrow. Don't be fooled by his appearance now—he was an Outer Disciple of the Qixia Sect in his youth. Quite a few of those martial brothers of his even made it into the Inner Sect. Oh, but why am I telling you all this? Right, what did you need to see the Master for? You can just tell me, it makes no difference."

Chen Dong could tell the woman was flaunting the Wang Family's influence. 'But it's true that Master Wang isn't home. Since he's already gone to notify his old sect mates, delaying the date will be difficult.'

So Chen Dong said, "It's nothing important. I was just hoping to go out for a stroll today."

Fang Mei nodded. "If you want to go for a stroll, then go!" Then she instructed Wang Yang, "Make sure you take *good* care of our son-in-law!"

Wang Yang understood the hidden meaning of "take care of" and immediately responded, "Yes!"

Chen Dong didn't linger at the Wang residence. He headed straight for the Drunken Immortal Tower. After mulling it over yesterday, he had come up with two ways to get the Spirit Stones he needed.

The first was to target Zhou Jue of the Zhou Family, which seemed more powerful than the Wang Family. The second was Mu Qingzhu, the Fairy from the Wangyou Sect. He had probed them both with his Divine Sense, so he had a fair understanding of them.

As for asking Wang Wan'Er to help him escape, Chen Dong didn't think it was a good idea. A single cultivation technique and one evening of friendly conversation weren't enough to make the foolishly loyal Sister Wan turn traitor.

Going after Zhou Jue was less dangerous, but it would likely take the Zhou Family a long time to come up with three hundred Spirit Stones. Mu Qingzhu was the riskier target, but given her status, three hundred Spirit Stones should be no problem for her.

Both options carried their own risks. One wrong move, and Chen Dong could easily end up dead.