Chapter 3363 — Thor Ri Yue's Shock

"Oh, he still owes me a Qi-Gathering Pill, and he has owed it for several months now. Do you really think his word can be trusted?" Wei Zhao curled his lip.

"That... heh heh, Mr. Lin is right. But having been cheated once, surely I should learn from the experience, no?" Thor Ri Yue was thick-skinned after all; he gave a sheepish laugh and admitted his mistake, leaving Wei Zhao with nothing to say.

"The second condition concerns energy stones," Wei Zhao said. "I need a batch of energy stones."

"Energy stones..." Thor Ri Yue's expression shifted slightly. "Mr. Lin, our Pao'li clan does not have many energy stones left. If that is your request, I fear I must refuse! Although I am the chief of the Pao'li clan, I cannot simply hand over the cultivation resources of our future generations for my own private gain and become a traitor for all time. If it comes to that, I would rather not have this fourth-rank top-grade Great Return Pill at all! Of course, if Mr. Lin gives us two fourth-rank top-grade Great Return Pills, I can make the decision to gift Mr. Lin a few energy stones—but a batch is simply out of the question. Mr. Lin, you have seen for yourself: in this vault, the spent energy stones are piled up like a mountain. To fully recharge a single spent energy stone takes tens of thousands, even a hundred thousand years—far too long! Oh, that reminds me—I forgot to tell Mr. Lin that spent energy stones can recharge themselves automatically, only the rate at which they absorb the spiritual qi of heaven and earth is rather slow."

"Heh heh, I am afraid the old chief has misunderstood me. What I meant was one-fifth of the energy stones you currently have in storage!" Wei Zhao said...

"That is absolutely impossible! Our current stockpile is twenty thousand stones—one-fifth would be four thousand. That is far too many. I cannot agree!" Thor Ri Yue said at once.

"I have not finished. The energy stones I refer to are not the old chief's stockpile, but the stones in this vault!" As he spoke, Wei Zhao pointed toward the mountain of discarded energy stones not far away.

"Ah? Mr. Lin, you mean the spent energy stones? You want those? What use are they?" Thor Ri Yue was stunned, unable to grasp Wei Zhao's meaning. "One-fifth of them, though that is a great many, is utterly useless. Oh? Mr. Lin, you cannot mean... those stones that have already recharged a portion of energy?"

At this, Thor Ri Yue's expression changed at once! Could Wei Zhao have already inspected these energy stones? Did he know that a portion of them had already absorbed some energy? And that number was roughly one-fifth! But these stones had sat here for more than ten thousand years. Though the energy in each was not especially great—perhaps a tenth of a full charge—put together, it amounted to an enormous store of energy!

Thinking this through, Thor Ri Yue grew anxious. "Mr. Lin, is your appetite not a bit too large?"

"Heh heh, old chief, you misunderstand again. The fifth I mean is the fifth on this side; I do not want those deeper within," Wei Zhao said, pointing to the energy stones at the very edge.

"Ah? These were all dumped here over the last few hundred years. What use could Mr. Lin have for them? Even if Mr. Lin wishes to found a sect, these stones will not take effect for a hundred thousand years—by then, who knows what the world will look like..." Thor Ri Yue truly could not fathom Wei Zhao's purpose.

"What use I have for them is no concern of the old chief's. I am merely speaking business. Does the old chief agree?" Wei Zhao offered no further explanation and went straight on. "To fully heal the injuries of yourself and your son—these are the two prices. Will you agree?"

"That... I can agree, but it must be payment on one hand and goods on the other!" Thor Ri Yue had wised up this time and would no longer trust in futures.

"Very well. Then let us first heal your injuries!" Wei Zhao nodded, then said, "Old chief, sit before me."

"Ah? Is there some special method for taking a fourth-rank top-grade Great Return Pill?" Thor Ri Yue was briefly taken aback; he had never seen a fourth-rank pill before, so he did not understand what Wei Zhao meant.

Still, he complied and sat down before Wei Zhao, proper and upright as a schoolboy at his lessons.

"You—Thor what was it? You will now guard your father and let no one disturb us. Otherwise, if your father dies or suffers a deviation in his cultivation, do not blame me!" Wei Zhao said, glancing at Thor Long.

He feared that while he healed Thor Ri Yue, Thor Long might launch a sneak attack, so he had to intimidate him in advance and make him dare not act rashly. Of course, Wei Zhao's stated task was to have Thor Long guard Thor Ri Yue.

"Mr. Lin, rest assured, I will let no one disturb you," Thor Long hastily promised.

"Good. Give me your wrist, then close your eyes and rest," Wei Zhao said to Thor Ri Yue.

"Oh, very well!" Thor Ri Yue was utterly baffled, but he still did as told and held out his wrist to Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao then pressed his fingers to Thor Ri Yue's pulse gate and began circulating the third layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, slowly repairing Thor Ri Yue's damaged meridians.

Recently, the third layer of Wei Zhao's Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art had shown faint signs of breaking through, but he always felt something was still lacking, some gap remaining. He had never neglected his daily cultivation, yet he remained just that one notch short.

Wei Zhao guessed that it was likely because too little time had passed since he broke through the second layer, so the third could not possibly come too quickly. Store up deeply and release sparingly, after all!

Thor Ri Yue did not know what Wei Zhao intended, but he suddenly discovered that from the meridian Wei Zhao gripped, a wondrous true qi poured in without cease, steadily repairing the ruptured meridians within his body!

What... what wondrous heart technique was this? Thor Ri Yue was stunned. He abruptly opened his eyes and stared at Wei Zhao in disbelief. "You... you..."

Thor Ri Yue's expression made Thor Long tense. He had not seen Wei Zhao give his father any pill; instead, Wei Zhao had begun circulating a heart technique mnemonic. Could Wei Zhao mean to harm his father? Instinctively, he quietly went on guard. "Wei Zhao, what are you doing?"

"Do not... do not come disturb us! Shut your mouth!" Thor Ri Yue was startled the moment he heard Thor Long's words. He could still tell good from bad—shocked as he was, the meridians in his body were being repaired in very truth. Naturally he did not want Thor Long to ruin this good fortune with one rash move; if Wei Zhao stopped healing him, he would regret it beyond measure!