Chapter 36: Extortion
Shen Tianxuan’s face suddenly darkened. He never thought that Mo Xingyao would speak so bluntly.
Mo Xingyao continued, "I wanted to give you some face since your sect is one of our top customers, but you seem to have no understanding of your place. This is my birthday, yet you act so presumptuous! Do you think that just because we trade with you, we wouldn’t dare offend you, Shen Tianxuan!?"
"We of the Thousand Treasure Hall trade with both the Righteous Path and the Demonic Path. We strive to remain neutral so we can maintain harmony, but what you just did was out of line! far out of line!"
"Moreover, you came here with an engagement entourage based on a promise made by my father when he was drunk. Tell me, is something as important as an engagement supposed to rely on the words of a drunken man? And even if it were, you should still consider the relationship between your patriarch and my father! They are not brothers or friends, in fact! they can be considered enemies!"
"I’ll ask you this, Shen Tianxuan. Are all people from Heaven’s Spire Sanctuary this shameless, or is it just you?" Mo Xingyao vented her frustration, insulting Shen Tianxuan without giving him an ounce of face.
This was her birthday, and she had tolerated enough. If these shameless people wanted to cause a ruckus, they would get it. If they wanted war, they would get that too.
As the daughter of the leader of the Demonic Path, she had never feared war. In fact, all demonic cultivators thrived on it, especially those of the Sky-Severing Demon Valley, who walked the ruthless Slaying Path of the Demon.
Damn... why do I feel like I’m being protected? Wasn’t I supposed to be her bodyguard? This warmth, this jittery feeling in my chest, and this bit of embarrassment... is this what it feels like to be protected by a sugar mommy!?
Wei Chen’s thoughts wandered in nonsense once again. He blushed slightly, then slowly adjusted his position closer to her, just in case that idiot suddenly lost his temper and tried to attack her.
Shen Tianxuan gritted his teeth. He had never suffered such humiliation in his life. Worst of all, Mo Xingyao, this bitch! actually dared to slap his face like that!
This time, they had come with an engagement procession, having already held an internal meeting within the sect, deciding that doing so would bring them the greatest benefit.
Their sect, Heaven’s Spire Sanctuary, was an ancient sect. Although ancient, it didn’t possess much power. Among the surviving ancient sects that endured the Calamity Era, they stood among the lower ranks of that hierarchy.
Because they had hidden themselves within a secret realm for far too long since the past era, when they finally emerged, they found their realm lacking in many necessities—tools, goods, minerals, and alchemical ingredients.
What they did have in abundance, however, were spirit crystals and spirit stones from the last era, which contained far denser spiritual qi than those of the current age.
They also knew very well that what the Thousand Treasure Hall wanted from them even more than their high-grade spirit stones and spirit crystals were the lost schematics of various arrays. It was common knowledge that ancient sects often possessed such lost array schematics.
That was why they believed the Thousand Treasure Hall wouldn’t dare to not give them face. As for whether Mo Xingyao would agree to the engagement or not, they hadn’t cared from the start.
What they truly aimed for was the rumor itself. As long as there were whispers of an engagement between them and Mo Xingyao, that alone would be enough for them to gain benefits.
They never expected Mo Xingyao to retaliate like this. Didn’t this money-grubber want their spirit stones anymore?
"Lady Mo, is this how the Thousand Treasure Hall receives its important guests?" Shen Tianxuan asked in protest.
"Guests? Heh!" Mo Xingyao sneered. "You came here and tried to kill my man. Is that what guests do? The fact that I didn’t have my sect elder chase you out is already giving you a lot of face!"
Shen Tianxuan glared at Mo Xingyao before letting out a cold snort.
"Hmph! Born a demon, always a demon! There’s no way you can turn over a new leaf!" With that, Shen Tianxuan turned away.
"Everyone! Let’s return! Since the Thousand Treasure Hall refuses to receive us as guests, we shall meet them as enemies on the battlefield!"
With this command, the people from Heaven’s Spire Sanctuary turned and began walking out of the hall. Elder Ming kept his eyes on Wei Chen, wary that he might attempt an ambush.
He trusted his own assessment of Wei Chen, this man was definitely a skilled assassin, judging by his earlier power burst and his movement technique that was fast yet completely traceless. From the clash alone, he knew that aside from himself, no one in their group could withstand Wei Chen’s attack.
Elder Ming positioned himself at the rear of the group, guarding against any sudden strike from Wei Chen.
"Wait!" Mo Xingyao’s voice called out urgently.
Hearing this, Shen Tianxuan’s lips curled into a mocking sneer. He turned back and shouted loudly,
"Hmph! It’s too late to regret! Demoness, I, Shen Tianxuan, will never—"
He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes locking on the paper filled with numbers that Mo Xingyao held in her hand.
Mo Xingyao spoke with her usual business-like smile. "Please don’t forget, this is the receipt for the collateral damage you caused within this hall." She pointed at each listed item as she read.
"Three broken high-grade spirit jade pillars, five meters of auspicious white jade ceiling, ten shattered prosperity jade lamps, one destroyed calligraphy piece from the Sect Leader of Calm Verdant Mountain, and medical fees for my man..."
Her slender finger moved down the list until it rested on a long string of numbers, where three digits had been crossed out and replaced with an even larger total.
"At first, I intended to collect only seventy-five percent of the total collateral damage. But since you’ve declared yourself my enemy," Mo Xingyao paused briefly,
At that moment, a group of dark-robed swordsmen emanating demonic qi suddenly appeared, surrounding the members of Heaven’s Spire Sanctuary.
"I’ve decided to collect one hundred fifty percent of the total damages, totaling seven million five hundred thousand spirit stones. You can forget about leaving until you pay in full. And since we’re enemies now, the interest rate will accrue daily at twenty percent per day," Mo Xingyao said firmly.
"You!" Shen Tianxuan glared at her furiously.
Elder Ming looked around before stepping forward. "Do you really think these ants can stop us from leaving?"
Mo Xingyao smiled. "You can try. Because other than you, I don’t think anyone here can stop my people. And I’m sure my man can stall you long enough for us to kill all of yours."
Hearing this, Wei Chen stepped closer to Mo Xingyao. His left arm had recovered enough to move, though it wasn’t fully healed yet.
Elder Ming glanced around and realized that all the black-robed swordsmen were at the Nascent Soul realm. His group also had some Nascent Soul cultivators, but considering this was the enemy’s territory and their numbers were inferior, if they fought, they would be at a disadvantage.
"Hmph!" Elder Ming snorted, then waved his hand. A storage ring flashed, and a large pile of spirit stones appeared beside him.
Mo Xingyao used her spiritual sense to check the amount. The pile contained exactly seven million five hundred thousand spirit stones, not a single one more or less.
"Thank you for your patronage," Mo Xingyao said with a satisfied smile, waving her hand for the black-robed swordsmen to retreat.
"Hmph!" Shen Tianxuan snorted, then turned to leave. He feared that if he lingered any longer, this money-grubber might find another excuse to extort them.
After everyone from Heaven’s Spire Sanctuary had left, Mo Xingyao nodded and instructed her servants to gather all the spirit stones she received from Elder Ming and move them to the warehouse.
"Dear guests," Mo Xingyao turned to address the hall, "I apologize for this interruption. Please continue enjoying the feast, and we will prepare some compensation gifts for you."
With that said, the guests cheered and resumed mingling with each other, continuing the banquet as if nothing had happened.
As for Mo Xingyao, she quietly let out a sigh of relief. She had successfully avoided this marriage calamity once again.
Right now, her father, the Sky-Severing Demon Sovereign, was in the middle of closed-door cultivation. If not for that, those people would never have dared to act so arrogantly here.
Even though this was the Thousand Treasure Hall and not the Sky-Severing Demon Valley, and there were no top-tier combatants present like in the valley, no one could guarantee that if her father found out she had been bullied, he wouldn’t personally pay a visit to those bullies and cause a scene.
Now, she could only wait for her father to emerge from his closed-door cultivation.
"Are you okay?" Mo Xingyao asked Wei Chen, looking at his injured left arm.
"Don’t worry, I just need some rest and it will recover," Wei Chen replied.
This time, he had been injured, which made him realize that his current cultivation level was still not enough to ensure his safety. He needed to cultivate further and become stronger.
"By the way, do you have a place where I can cultivate without being disturbed? I just need a short session to adjust and recuperate," Wei Chen asked.
Hearing this, Mo Xingyao nodded. "We have one. How long will you need for this session?"
"A few days will suffice," said Wei Chen.