Corrupt Creations

He suddenly got interested on her story, since she said it was something particular. Instead of leaving he got interested in asking about it.

"What is it?"

"First, can we discuss the..."

His hand moved at a speed that she was not even able to see, grabbing her neck and lifting her body from the ground.

"What is it? Tell me what it is and if I feel it is worth enough as a trading tip, we can then proceed with the trade as you wish. We, from the Lion\'s Pride Golden Palace, are not people who go back on our words, but at the same time, we hate wasting our time with useless things. So, this is your last chance... Speak."

The man released Wu Cuifen, making her fall on the ground.

Cough! Cough!

She realized she was not in a good situation, but there was not turning back now. However, Wu Cuifen didn\'t give a damn about the consequences that would be brought by thing she was about to tell him. What she wanted was to make an agreement with the Lion\'s Pride Golden Palace. But she just realized that the final decision was entirely within that man\'s hands.

After a quick internal struggle, she decided to reveal everything. Even if he didn\'t agree on helping her, at least, the man she hated the most would suffer a huge loss.

"The real reason the Wu Martial Kingdom attacked the Blazing Phoenix Sect, is not because of any kind of enmity, but because we found a Skystone mine outside one of the minor cities called Misty Horizon. While we waged war, we positioned our hidden troops there, taking control of that place. The initial plan was to..."

"Is that all? Does it mean that you are trying to make a transaction with me, offering information about a puny blue Skystone mine?" The man interrupted her while looking angry. Blue Skystone mines were very common to find, and something a Higher Ground would not even look at. That\'s why he got mad.

"No! Not a blue Skystone mine. I swear we found a lot of purple Skystones there."

"Purle Skystones? Do you think I\'m a fool?"

"No, I wouldn\'t dare. I swear it is real."

The man didn\'t say anything for some time, thinking if he should trust her or not. If what she was telling him was indeed the truth, then it would be a huge discovery. Purple Skystones were thousand times stronger than blue Skystones and probably none of the Higher Grounds had more than a hundred of those.

"There is only one way for me to know about it. We are going to trave there right now. You are coming with me. If what you said is true, then we can make a deal."

Both of them left the tavern, mounting on two horses that were prepared beforehand, disappearing from the Blazing Phoenix City.

However, none of them noticed the shadow of a man that heard everything they had discussed.

That man was Ninth Shadow.

He was doing a secret investigation to find clues about what had happened and that man was one of his targets. However, he ended up discovering something else. Something he was sure Velgor would like to hear about.

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Seth arrived at a remote corner of the backyard, where he would be able to use his Soul Sense without spying on anyone. He wanted to have a clear view of this whole place, identifying the best locations for him and Lexi to explore. She wanted him to identify from where did that spiritual energy was coming from, since she felt it would be very beneficial for her to absorb it.

However, just as he arrived at that remote corner, he saw a sixteen years old girl sitting in a comfortable position and with her eyes closed. It seemed she was meditating or trying to concentrate on something.

Looking at her from the back, he realized her dark blue hair was really long and beautiful and her skin was white as snow.

Seth didn\'t want to bother her, so he decided to leave in silence and go to another location. But just as he was about to leave, that girl raised her hands and the temperature of the whole area dropped down. There were no energy fluctuations, but it suddenly started to snow.

She looked up, admiring those snowflakes falling down, while feeling a peace she was only able to feel in this type of situation.

Seth realized she seemed more complete amidst the snow. Even her beauty was enhanced to a new level when she stood there, in the middle; capturing Seth\'s attention for way longer.

Seth felt interested on her, but it was not a type of interest a man felt for a woman, but a genuine wish to know more about someone. He slowly approached, trying to not scare her in any way.

"I didn\'t know someone from the Glazed Lake could use ice. I thought this was a water element-based sect." Seth asked while he was still a bit far from her, making sure to not bypass a certain area to not make her uncomfortable.

The girl turned towards him, making an expression of bewilderment and said: "I didn\'t know our sect accepted men as well."

Seth realized her voice was a bit cold, but it seemed it was her normal way of talking. At least, while looking at her, he didn\'t feel she seemed to be an unapproachable person, nor there was repulsion in her gaze.

"That\'s because I\'m not from your sect. I\'m sorry for being rude. My name is Seth and I was invited here as a guest. May I ask what\'s your name?" Seth stopped at a distance that wasn\'t too far nor too close.

The girl looked at him with a profound gaze and answered: "I\'m Lan Xue."

"Lan Xue? You have a beautiful name. I don\'t want to be indelicate but... I got mesmerized by the ice attribute ability you just showed. Does the Glazed Lake Sect, have ice attribute techniques as well?"

After a bit of time, she answered: "The Sect is focused on water attribute techniques and there aren\'t any disciples training in ice elemental skills. My case is a bit off... You should not bother with this."

"I see..."

"Since you\'ve asked me a question, let me ask you one thing as well. Was it Palace Master Yushui that invited you?"

"Hm? It was. How do you know about it? Ah, I see... How dumb of me... We are actually still inside Palace Master Yushui\'s Palace. You should be one of her disciples, right?"

Lan Xue didn\'t respond.

Seth took her silence as confirmation and continued: "She invited me to purify the poison of a certain person. It must be someone important for her."

Lan Xue seemed more interested in that topic.

"And... Are you able to accomplish that?"

"Hm... That\'s a very interesting question. Let me tell you a secret. Actually, I\'m not even a doctor." Seth said while smiling.

When Seth said that, Lax Xue\'s eyes turned frigid, but before she decided to do anything he continued to say some words.

"But in regards to purification, I can tell you that there is no one in this entire world that is better than me. If she is really poisoned, then there is a hundred percent chance I can heal her."

His intonation showed her the complete confidence he had in himself. However, he didn\'t really have confidence in himself, but on Lexi.

Seth had no way of really knowing how great Lexi was just by hearing her words and tales, but when the time comes, he will realize how great she really is.

Although he doesn\'t know how great she is, he still has an unwavering confidence in her abilities. Not only because she is the strongest spirit, but because she is his partner.

Somehow, Seth\'s words made Lan Xue calm down. She didn\'t know what it was, but she felt he was not joking.

Lan Xue had come here specially to meet Seth. It was no coincidence he met her here, since she wanted to meet with him. Her motives for that, were the same as Palace Master Yushui\'s motives. The Lake Mother.

Although she trusted Palace Master Yushui\'s judgement, she had to make sure Seth was the real deal and not a wolf in the skin of a lamb. There were some personal reasons that required her to do that. Lan Xue couldn\'t risk the Lake Mother\'s safety, so she decided to probe Seth\'s real character and intentions.

So far, she discovered he was rather an unusual individual.