Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 908 - 908 0550 This was specifically instructed by

Chapter 908: Chapter 0550: This was specifically instructed by the young master_1 Chapter 908: Chapter 0550: This was specifically instructed by the young master_1 Chapter 0550 This Was Explicitly Ordered by the Young Master

The guest officials, realizing the implications, immediately refused to comply. They decisively abandoned the agreement they had covertly made with Lin Zhenzhao to proceed and retreat together and one after another, approached Qi Tian. Imitating Lin Zhenzhao, they each brought out some middle-grade spirit stones and placed them in front of Qi Tian, begging for his forgiveness and expressing their hopes for a thaw in their relationship with him.

Qi Tian didn’t have much of a conflict with these guest officials in the first place, and he hadn’t taken them very seriously either. Now that there were middle-grade spirit stones up for grabs, he went with the flow, accepted the spirit stones, and forgave them.

After getting past the hurdle of Qi Tian, those guest officials hastily changed their targets and gathered around Gao Jinmei.

“Master Gao, we have no other desires than to hope that when you bestow opportunities upon us, you won’t just take one individual into consideration, but also think of us. We too hold a heart that yearns for progress.”

Gao Jinmei nodded repeatedly; she knew that she couldn’t possibly help them break through their current realms, but she wouldn’t explicitly say that. Instead, she continued to give them a vague hope. After all, Qi Tian and the others were going to stay at the City Lord’s Mansion for a while longer and she couldn’t let the guest officials lose hope and potentially act out of despair, harming Qi Tian and the rest.

“Gentlemen, my unique skill that opens up the meridians and promotes advancement in cultivation level cannot be performed every day. Each time I execute it, I must rest for two or three months before it’s possible to perform it again. It just so happens that you can take this time to prepare yourselves well. After you’ve adjusted, if I’m in a good mood, I might pick one from among you to cast the spell. That’s all, let’s leave this matter here.”

Seeing that Gao Jinmei had given a firm response, Lin Zhenzhao and the other guest officials could not continue to appeal to her. Lin Zhenzhao said, “Master Gao, you just wait and see, as soon as you’re ready to cast the spell, you’ll definitely choose me first. Hehe, I shall take my leave now.”

With that, Lin Zhenzhao bowed to Gao Jinmei and then nodded towards Qi Tian before turning to leave. The other guest officials were puzzled and didn’t understand Lin Zhenzhao’s assurance and why he was so certain.

Xia Xiaoming, who had been silent the whole time, shook his head, feeling exasperated for these guest officials. He said, “What are you still standing there for? Lin Zhenzhao is definitely going to find ways to gather spirit stones and other cultivation resources. Do you really think it is that easy to ask Master Gao to take action?”

The other guest officials suddenly came to their senses, as they recalled what Gao Jinmei said earlier: if Qi Tian wanted Gao Jinmei’s help next time, he would have to pay her ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. This price wasn’t low, and given the competition among them, it might well rise even further, depending on how much effort they put in.

Though it might mean spending double the amount of low-grade spirit stones, compared to advancing to a new realm months or even years ahead of time, such external resources were of little consequence.

After understanding this, the guest officials took their leave one after another from Qi Tian, Gao Jinmei, and the others, and soon departed. In an instant, the Flower Hall, which had been bustling with activity, was left with only Qi Tian, Gao Jinmei, and Xia Xiaoming.

Qi Tian addressed the several servants in the Flower Hall, “You all may leave. If I need anything, I will summon you.”

Not daring to disobey Qi Tian’s order, the servants bowed and retreated. Once they had gone, Qi Tian waved his hand and brought out the over a thousand middle-grade spirit stones he had just received. He kept about five hundred for himself and divided the rest in two for Gao Jinmei and Xia Xiaoming to take.

“In the future, prioritize using these spirit stones within the Imperial Family Secret Territory. The spirit stones you bring in from outside should be used for personal use only, don’t show them off carelessly,” Qi Tian instructed.

Gao Jinmei and Xia Xiaoming both nodded in agreement. As Gold Core Realm cultivators, they could sense the subtle differences between the spirit stones from here and those from the outside world. Ordinary people might not bother to investigate these small discrepancies, but they feared encountering knowledgeable and purposeful individuals who, if they investigated, would undoubtedly cause trouble.

Gao Jinmei and Xia Xiaoming each stored their share of spirit stones, after which Gao Jinmei asked, “Master, we seem to have stabilized our situation now. What should we do next? Should we establish contact with the others?”

Qi Tian shook his head, “It’s not yet time to contact Zhao Haiying and the others. At the moment, our priority is to gain the trust of Xiang Bo to have him lead us into Eastern Capital City. It’s one of the three major cities in the Imperial Family Secret Territory and will certainly reveal all of its secrets to us.”

Qi Tian, Gao Jinmei, and Xia Xiaoming continued to exchange plans using the Sound Transmission Skill in the Flower Hall, and after confirming their subsequent actions, they left. In the following days, Qi Tian stayed within the City Lord’s Mansion and did not go out. On the contrary, both Gao Jinmei and Xia Xiaoming found excuses to leave a couple of times but didn’t stay out for long before quickly returning to the mansion.

One day, as Qi Tian was sitting quietly in his courtyard reading, a loud and cheerful laugh from Xiang Bo suddenly came from outside the gate. “Qi, you truly love reading, don’t you? Anyone who doesn’t know better would think you’re aiming to become the top scholar.”