Zhu Cultivation Town. In a hall!

A crowd of luxuriously dressed cultivators from the Zhu Cultivation Town sat in the hall. They were all facing She Tianba who was sitting in the main seat right in front of them.

“Clan Lord She, well done! What a subterfuge! No mercy! Whenever the She Clan makes a move, it’s a great move indeed. You really uprooted Wang Ke and his clan. Not even a shopkeeper or an employee was able to escape! You killed them all, right? And now, the Golden Crow Sect’s Immortal Zhang is here, the She Clan will keep all five placements for entering the immortal sect to themselves. What a good strategy! How decisive! You have profited so much. What do you want to get from gathering us here today?” an elder said with an unpleasant face.

She Tianba replied with a black face, “Clan Lords of the Zhu Cultivation Town, you really think that I killed Wang Ke?”

All the Clan Lords were confused as they looked at She Tianba. The previous night—when Zhang Zhengdao arrived posing as a fake disciple from the Golden Crow Sect—he did not encounter anyone else. No one knew about Zhang Zhengdao, much less about how She Tianba had been played for a fool.

Still, things were different that day. The She Clan members guided the Golden Crow Sect’s disciple and showed him around town. All the town knew about this.

That coincided with the disappearance of Wang Ke’s clan, which made it apparent that it was all She Tianba’s scheme to reap all the rewards and be the one with the most gains. Every Clan Lord was envious of him.

“Now, all the major shop owners and merchants are planning among themselves to recover the money they invested in those financial products, and they’re holding you accountable, She Tianba. We all live in the Zhu Cultivation Town. You destroyed the Wang Clan and plundered all of their wealth in plain view, which is okay. But, don’t you think you’re being too greedy? You should at least return the money we paid for our financial products, don’t you think?” a Clan Lord said with a deep voice.

She Tianba was exasperated. Wang Ke scammed you and you’re trying to settle accounts with me?I don’t owe you guys anything! Only then did She Tianba realize that Wang Ke had left him a huge mess.

“Everyone, things are different from what you’re thinking!” She Tianba tried to clarify with a deep voice of his own.

“Oh?” Everyone said with clear distrust.

She Tianba sighed lightly and told them everything that happened in the past two days. All the Clan Lords were stunned after hearing the events that transpired.

“You mean you caught the real Princess Youyue, but Wang Ke swindled the princess from you with a fake Princess Youyue?” one of the Clan Lords asked in shock.

“Yes, Wang Ke is a liar. He came to our Zhu Cultivation Town with an evil scheme! He cheated to get your money. He cheated me out of my five placements to enter the Golden Crow Sect!” She Tianba snarled.

All the Clan Lords looked at She Tianba with a peculiar gaze; it seemed that no one believed him. Are you making up a story?

She Tianba cursed and swore oaths to show that he was telling the truth. He also showed all the evidence to everyone. Only then did he manage to half-convince everyone.

“During the recent days, you guys continuously sent men to snatch Princess Youyue from the Wang Clan at night, but Wang Ke killed them all. Then he sold the corpses back to you at an exorbitant price. Don’t you hate him? The Wang Clan was able to do this because they have some fighting power. If our She Clan wanted to obliterate them, how comes there were neither noises nor blood in the premises? You all went to check out the Wang Clan mansion, right? Did you see any blood? Didn’t you see the underground tunnel?” She Tianba continued to explain.

The group finally began to believe him.

“Wang Ke is a downright scoundrel! He scammed so much money from me with his financial product... He killed my nephews, and even sold their bodies back to me at sky high prices! Such a heinous crime! Unforgivable!”

Finally, all the Clan Lords believed She Tianba’s explanations. While they were expressing their hatred toward Wang Ke, they were also sympathizing with She Tianba, who really lost big time.

A Clan Lord suddenly looked at She Tianba and said.“I get it now! Wang Ke fooled you with a fake Golden Crow Sect’s disciple! And now, a real disciple from the Golden Crow Sect came to your place. Wouldn’t that mean…!”

She Tianba’s face grew bitter.

“Clan Lord She, is the Golden Crow Sect’s disciple that arrived today also called Immortal Zhang? Would that be…!” another Clan Lord asked with deep concern.

“Impossible. If he’s also fake, how can his surname also be ‘Zhang’? Moreover, he has the jade pendant from my nephew as an authentication item. It can’t be wrong this time. This Immortal Zhang is the real one!” She Tianba affirmed bitterly.

“Then, what are you going to do now? You lost the person Immortal Zhang wants, wouldn’t that...!” a Clan Lord said curiously.

“This is exactly why I’ve gathered all of you here!” She Tianba tried to clarify with a deep voice.

“Oh?” everyone said with interest.

She Tianba took a deep breath and said, “I’ve reported everything truthfully to Immortal Zhang. The real Immortal Zhang was indeed furious, but he finally relented and gave me another chance after my persistent pleas!”

“Oh?”

She Tianba said after taking a deep breath, “Immortal Zhang said he can delay his report to the Golden Crow Sect, as long as we can recapture Princess Youyue before he returns to the Golden Crow Sect; he can pretend as if nothing ever happened!” 

A Clan Lord nodded and said, “Oh? Immortal Zhang is really easy to negotiate with. No wonder Clan Lord She sent everyone out to search for Wang Ke and Princess Youyue!”

“Wang Ke and everyone who escaped with him had less than a day to flee. They can’t be far… I want to invite everyone to send your clan members to search together!” She Tianba said solemnly.

“Invite us to search together?” All the Clan Lords’ expressions changed.

“Yes. I will reserve one of the five placements for the Golden Crow Sect. Whichever clan finds Princess Youyue, I will hand it as a gift to that clan!” She Tianba said in a serious tone…

Everyone’s eyes glowed, “Hahaha! How could we ever turn down your request, Clan Lord She! Don’t worry, we’ll send all our men to search for them! Even if we have to dig a few meters underground, we will do it!”

Wang Ke had a fair amount of clan members; finding one would mean finding Princess Youyue. And the finder would receive a placement for the Golden Crow Sect, along with the money scammed by Wang Ke. All the Clan Lords were rubbing their fists in exhilaration, itching to move out immediately.

“All your support makes me feel even more assured!” said She Tianba with a peal of laughter.

Although the She Clan was the most powerful cultivation clan in the Zhu Cultivation Town, their manpower was limited after all. It wasn’t at all compared to the combined strength of all the clans. The more people they had, the more likely they could find the princess.

“That shouldn't be delayed any longer. We’ll make arrangements immediately!” a Clan Lord said.

“Hold on! Hold on, there’s one more thing!” She Tianba smiled bitterly.”

“Oh?”

“Although Immortal Zhang allowed me to fix the problem, it comes with a cost! She Tianba smiled bitterly.

“I knew it. The Golden Crow Sect’s disciples are never easy to negotiate with. He was definitely bribed by your very own She Clan, right?” a Clan Lord asked in laughter.

“Yes, ” She Tianba replied with a bitter laughter, “I promised him... 200,000 pounds worth of spirit stones!”

“200,000 pounds?” All the Clan Lords were aghast as they cried out.

The She Clan is that rich?

“But how can the She Clan afford this much money! I gathered all of my clan’s wealth, and it was only 50,000 pounds. I really need your help to figure out how to handle the remaining 150,000 pounds!” She Tianba laughed bitterly.

“Our help? Do you think we have the money?” All the Clan Lords shook their heads immediately.

“Take it as if I, She Tianba, would have borrowed from all of you. I will make use of all the She Clan’s properties, treasures, and weapons to hold as a pledge to all of you. I will also return with 20% interest. How about that?” 

She Tianba looked at everyone.

“Clan Lord She, if your clan doesn’t have that much money, you shouldn’t try to bribe Immortal Zhang with that large amount!” a Clan Lord said, laughing bitterly.

She Tianba looked at everyone and asked earnestly, “A Golden Crow Sect’s disciple has seen bigger sums of money than this! At first, I only asked for 50,000 pounds worth of spirit stone, but Immortal Zhang flung his sleeves and wanted to leave immediately. I... I had no choice but to promise 200,000 pounds. 

“That is why I’m here asking for your help. If you guys are still worried, how about using three placements into the Golden Crow Sect as a pledge? As long as I pass this trial, I will return everyone’s contributions along with the interests. If I cannot, then the three placements will be yours. I can swear an oath with Immortal Zhang as our witness. Does that work?” The Clan Lords looked at each other.

Although 150,000 pounds of spirit stones was a massive amount, there were many cultivation clans gathered in She Tianba’s place. If they were able to contribute all their savings, they would manage to put together the required amount, but…!