While he was flying back toward the Huang estate, Cao Yun made sure that Hongyu's condition was indeed alright. As it turned out, he had been right and her bloodline had been enhanced by the Five Bloods Pheasant's blood. And with a bit of the Fire energy contained within the Hellish Dragon Fruit, she was in perfect health. Besides, he could feel that he was even closer to her than before. Most likely, it was due to the Rune of Fire that was now within his Drop of Wrath. As she was a bird of fire, it made sense that getting more intimate with fire would also bring him closer to her.

Maybe, over time, he might even be able to resolve the Evil Qi within her without any external means. The problem was that this Evil Qi was inextricably linked to her fourth core, but even to her overall body. It wasn't just a seal forced upon her by someone else, like it was the case for demonic cultivators. No, this Evil Qi was a true part of her so Cao Yun would have to find a way to separate it from her without destroying her very foundation.

For now though, he wasn't too worried. As long as she didn't use it, she would not be tormented for a long time. Her slowly forming fifth core had been infused with some of the properties of the Drop of Wrath thanks to Cao Yun's blood pills. That way it would balance out her fourth core, unless she was trying to use too much strength. As she was a demonic beast, she couldn't control her use of Qi like humans. If she tried to use too much of it, she would ultimately draw some power from even her evil core.

It didn't take Cao Yun and Hongyu too long to come back.

As soon as Cao Yun felt the Fenghuang bloodline, he stood up on Hongyu's back. In front of the stables, Huang Si was waiting. Since Cao Yun had made no effort to be stealthy, it wasn't surprising. But he still was surprised that she had been waiting in person. Somehow, he was ready for her to not pay him too much mind. Apparently, he had been wrong. However, he knew he was right about one thing. She had clearly used him to get rid of her own problems and he had helped her. No matter how much he had gained from it, he didn't like it at all. What truly stroked him the wrong way was what it implied. Most likely, she knew who he was.

Despite the proximity of their bloodline, Hongyu wasn't too pleased with Huang Si. Although she couldn't understand what had happened, she knew that woman had been responsible for the danger she and Cao Yun had faced. Moreover, Cao Yun didn't like her, so Hongyu imitated him. That being said, she wasn't being hostile either, she just showed how irritated she was when she heavily landed in front of the woman.

Huang Si barely showed any sign of being bothered as her expensive clothes were being covered in dust and even ripped here and there. Despite her Wei Qi, her hair was also disheveled.

"Miss Huang, I'd like to have a few words with you!"

"Of course. I have gotten a room ready. Just follow me."

Without any hesitation, Cao Yun followed her. They went underground a bit and she lead him into a room with incredibly thick walls. There was no doubt that this room had been built so that no one could sense what was happening inside. For a family that had so many secrets, it wasn't surprising at all.

"Mister Guai, please take a sit."

"I don't care for such formalities, Miss Huang. You knew that that Five Bloods Pheasant would rather die than give up his Hellish Dragon Fruit. Yet, you didn't tell me anything! Your plan was suspiciously light on that part."

"Indeed, I have no reason to hide it now that you've been successful. I had other plans to get rid of the nuisance, but when I got words that you were coming here, I had to change them. However, isn't it true that you benefited a lot from that hunt? After all, the Hellish Dragon Fruit had a Rune of Fire on it, didn't it?"

"You even knew of that and you didn't try to claim it for yourself?"

"Well, I don't really care about that. I am in here for a very specific goal and with the war getting closer and closer, I don't have time to be greedy for even more. Besides, you're an alchemist and a close friend of our family, so there's no harm."

"A 'friend'? That still remains to be proved..."

"Come one... We both know that there is no such man as Guai Mo, right, Young Sect Master?"

By coming back, Cao Yun wasn't expecting Huang Si to just admit to everything. Thankfully, she didn't seem to know about his real identity. But he was very impressed by her ability to lie. He had not sensed a single thing from her behavior. Either she was lacking any form of conscious, or she had trained herself extensively in her ability to show absolutely no emotion. For a woman who had wanted to become the next matriarch, this seemed normal.

"You shouldn't be too amazed. After all, my former rival seems to find you extremely interesting and impressive. I wanted to judge for myself. And I have to admit that your prowess is great. Even without showing your martial art to the world, you've subdued that almost 7-core demonic beast. If you had been free to act as you wished, it would have died without being able to put up any kind of fight."

"Miss Huang, people are not toys you can just manipulate as you see fit for your amusement!"

Hongyu had almost got severely injured by using her evil core and Huang Si was still acting as though everything was just a game that didn't concern her.

"Please, calm down."

"I know why you chose this place! While I was meditating in the Deep Cloud Ridge, I sensed it beneath my feet. There is a Dragon Vein coursing through this place. And you hope to develop a mine that would make the Xiliang Mines look ridiculous in comparison."

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"Oh? So you've also figured that out... Most impressive indeed. But I intended to talk to you about it too. This is the reason why I couldn't call for a Spirit Warrior. For now, I can't afford to bring too much scrutiny to my discovery. Apart from Huang Cixi, I don't anyone could figure it out. I made a very fortuitous encounter when I discovered this place. Alas, I can't take care of everything myself."

"You still want my help after just using me?"

"Lord, I am ready to offer a lot to you. I know that you're at the stage of your cultivation when you need Fire Qi. Within the mines, we have found many ores. And among them, we found high spirit stones. Some of them were even full of Fire element. They could be very beneficial both to you and to Hongyu."

"And what would you like in exchange?"

"Nothing. I always intended to give them to you in order to apologize for testing you. But I would like to form an alliance with you."

"I already have a good relationship with your family."

"That's my point. I want to form an alliance between you and me. Of course, I won't ask you to interfere with my family matters. However, there are some personal affairs for which I might ask your help. Governor Jiahe is a direct threat to my project. And my family can't get involved, not in this Subei Province."

"So what do you want from me?"

"As you're going to be a very powerful alchemist in this province, you'll obviously get a lot of influence. I just need your help to buy some lands here and there. With your name, it will be easier. And this would help me tremendously with almost no effort of your part."

"... I'll have to think about it. But if I do buy some lands, I will ask for a percentage of your future mines."

"Of course. I was ready for this. I can give you 5% of any ore found in the plots of land you'll buy for me."

"I demand 10% of those and a minimum guarantee of sixty Yuanbao every year for two centuries."

Thanks to what he had sensed underground, Cao Yun had been able to understand that those new mines would be ridiculously profitable. The Xiliang Mines were producing three or four thousand Yuanbao worth of ores every single year. But this figure would probably be produced in a month or even a week by these new mines. So he had a lot of room to negotiate. As much as he didn't care too much about money, Cao Yun knew it was important for almost any project.

He had an even more important plan in mind however. After negotiating a few hours with Huang Si, he obtained a detailed map of what they had already explored. Getting a good understanding of the subsoil of this province might help him a lot, especially when it came to setting up array formations.

-

When they were done negotiating, both Huang Si and Cao Yun had obtained what they really cared about. Cao Yun now had a steady income, even though it wouldn't start right away. And Huang Si was certain he would help her get her operation started as soon as possible as he needed it to in order to get his money.

They were still negotiating minor details when someone interrupted them. A servant almost barged in the room, she was Cai Ying, Huang Si's most loyal servant. At first, her mistress almost burned the air around her because of her anger. However, she knew Cai Ying better than that. If she had been so disrespectful, then the matter was serious.

"Young Mistress, esteemed guest, forgive this impolite one. There has been a terrible theft."

"A theft?! What's been stolen?"

"The young mistress' personal chambers were robed of many jewelries and important documents. And the esteemed alchemist's room was robed of the spatial ring he left behind."

Huang Si was much more troubled by the documents. Although they were encrypted, they contained some sensitive information. But soon, she forgot everything about them as she felt an intense pressure all around her. In an instant, she spread her Wei Qi around Cai Ying or the poor girl would have fainted. In Cao Yun's eyes, she could see a fury like she had never seen before.

"My ring?! Someone stole my ring, in your own house?!"

"Please, sir, calm down. I can compensate..."

"There is no amount of wealth on this planet that can compensate this!"

After working on his Flying Poison for some months now, Cao Yun's anger was much more formidable. Without realizing it, he had even used a bit of 'Bleeding Eyes'. Bored by this conversation, Cao Yun rushed through the door and reached his guest room in a matter of seconds. Several guards were alerted by his outbursts, especially after a theft had just been perpetrated.

Thankfully, Huang Si was fast enough to tell all the guards not to do anything to disturb Cao Yun. She had seen something dangerous in his eyes. No matter who had stolen from him, they were going to regret it very soon. In fact, it was good for her as she would probably get her things back as well, if there was anything else to recover.

In Cao Yun's sea of consciousness, Dian Mo could see the Drop of Wrath getting agitated. Unlike Huang Si, he knew why. Cao Yun's stolen spatial ring had nothing of real value. However, it contained the paintings of his family by his mother. He had been worried about taking them with him. Thus, he had left them behind. And he had been so protective of them that he had even placed several seals on his spatial ring. Apart from a late Spirit Warrior, any cultivator would need several weeks at the minimum to open the spatial ring. Maybe the thief had thought it meant the content was precious. It was, but only to Cao Yun.

"Hey, boy, calm down! With the excitement of your recent cultivation session, you're letting your anger take over. Think with your rational mind. You should have found the solution already!"

"Of course!"

Hearing Dian Mo's words, Cao Yun did calm down. He was right. Cao Yun had placed several seals on his spatial ring. With his understanding of array formations, he could trace it without any major problem. Hence, he immediately took out his compass. The artifact flew in the air in front of Cao Yun and he injected his own Qi within the object. Then, he carefully aligned several points with his perception of Qi.

It didn't take him long to get a reading. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Huang Si behind him.

"Sir, my apologies. We called everyone. Only Di Xihe is missing. We still can't be sure, but either she is the culprit or the culprit took her with them."

It made sense. Cao Yun was unable to feel any unfamiliar Qi in his room. Most likely, the young servant that had been assigned to him was to blame. As furious as he was, he hadn't lost any common sense. Right now, he didn't want to kill anyone, he simply wanted his possession back. But if that girl didn't know what was good for her, then she couldn't blame him for being ruthless.

"I have a rough idea of where she is. I will bring back what she stole from you. Don't let anyone interfere with me!"

"Yes."

Huang Si had been close to enough powerful seniors to know when to shut up. Cao Yun was not in the mood to speak right now. He had lost the murdering glint he had earlier. Somehow, he had calmed down. But now, he had the eyes of a hunter. That young servant was as good as captured already.

Without any delay, Cao Yun jumped out of the residence and immediately found himself on Hongyu's back. She had felt his anger without any need for words. They were as intimate as a brother and his sister now, as if they had been raised together. Hongyu quickly flew in the direction showed by the compass.