Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Dinner Party
Lin Shiming watched with cold detachment, not uttering a word, allowing the others to jeer at him.
The Lu Family cultivator's smile grew even bigger.
"The Lin Family wouldn't have only sent a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator, right? Can such a cultivator withstand even a single strike from a Heavenly Demon Sect's Demon Cultivator?"
"Lu Daoyou, rest assured, this time the Lin Family also has Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators coming. Yunjing Mountain is absolutely safe. I ask that Lu Daoyou watch your words!" Lin Gang responded, his face showing some annoyance.
Even though the Ye and Lu Families are Purple Mansion Families, his Spirit Beast Sect is a major sect disciple.
In front of him, these two straightforwardly ridiculed the cultivators who came to help, which was essentially a slap in the face for him, Lin Gang.
The Lu Family cultivator then nodded, and once more glanced at Lin Shiming, the contempt in his eyes as dense as ever.
At this moment, Lin Shiyi and the others around Lin Shiming were starting to get angry.
These two families had started with insults against their own family, and they were only Foundation Establishment Late Stage themselves; their Seventh Ancestor could match Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivators.
However, at this time, Lin Shiming still did not speak; instead, he continued to sit in meditation.
Seeing that Lin Shiming would not reply, the Ye Family cultivator and the Lu Family cultivator, feeling bored, followed Lin Gang and left.
Mumbling under their breath, they were intent on seeking an audience with Xu Daolai.
As Lin Shiming watched the group leave, his eyes brimmed with confusion. He did not remember having offended these two families, nor did he recall ever making an enemy of that Lu Family cultivator.
Cultivators generally have exceptional memory, remembering everything they see. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, if he had any sort of interaction, even a brief one, he would remember it, which only deepened his confusion.
Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivators aren't in their twenties, mere youngsters causing trouble without reason.
Moreover, the Lin Family had just arrived and wouldn't have impacted the interests of the Ye and Lu Families. His role in defending an Intermediate Grade Spirit Stone Mine as a Foundation Establishment cultivator earned him only one Intermediate Grade Spirit Stone a month, adding up to twelve a year.
For Qi Cultivators, this might be a lot, but for a Foundation Establishment cultivator on a mission both important and dangerous, it seemed somewhat insufficient.
The Ye and Lu Families, being Purple Mansion Families, would not take offense over this matter.
No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't figure it out and had to let it go. With Lin Gang not present, he needed to be even more cautious.
Demon Sect cultivators wouldn't announce a fight and attack the Yunjing Mountain Formation directly.
…
Within Yunjing Mountain, in a chamber, the handsome Lu Family cultivator embraced a female cultivator, his hands wandering all over her as he held a cup of Spiritual Wine in his other hand.
Meanwhile, the Ye Family's Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator across from him wasn't drinking wine, but Spiritual Tea instead.
He delicately picked up a teacup, sipped gently, and set it down again.
Then he couldn't resist taking another sip, his expression not showing much enjoyment, however.
"After all, this is just Second Rank Spiritual Tea," the Ye Family cultivator said with some regret.
The Lu Family cultivator didn't reply, but after drinking a cup of wine, fed a sip to the Qi Cultivating woman he embraced, his other hand as busy as ever.
"Speaking of which, Lu brother, why were you so harsh with that Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator earlier? Could there be something mysterious about that Early Stage cultivator?" the Ye Family cultivator seemed accustomed to Lu Changming's temperament and continued to inquire.
Finally, Lu Changming looked up, his mouth curling into a smile:
"Bullying a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator, isn't that just like how you enjoy drinking tea and I enjoy drinking wine? It's all a matter of preference, isn't it?"
"Besides, if the Lin Family weren't so weak, you and I, brothers, would be guarding the Spirit Beast Sect's Third Rank medicine garden by now, not wasting our time in this minor vein!"
Lu Changming's face was filled with anger, and as he spoke, his hands couldn't help but tighten their grip.
"Ah!" The female cultivator beside him couldn't help but hum out.
"Go, go, go, how buzzkilling. When Xu Daoyou comes out of retreat, I'll definitely have a proper talk with him. To think that he would bring out such trash!" Lu Changming directly sent the female cultivator away.
The female cultivator's face paled, but under Lu Changming's angry gaze, she had no choice but to leave the room.
Meanwhile, Ye Mingqiu also finally showed a bit of interest:
"Does Brother Lu refer to Xu Daoyou having an additional opportunity here at Yunjing Mountain?"
...
On the other side, Lin Shiming was also brought back to Yunjing Mountain by Lin Houyuan, and as soon as Lin Shiming returned, he immediately sought out Lin Xianzhi.
To understand the information about the Lu and Ye families.
But apart from knowing that the Lu family was a Beast Taming Family and the Ye family was a well-known Sword Cultivation Family in Qingzhou, most of the other information was of no use.
Lin Shiming shared the oddities of that day, and Lin Xianzhi also shook his head, clearly just as confused.
Lin Shiming had no choice but to return to his quiet cultivation.
And then, after another three days passed, the Lin family and the others finally received the notice to attend the banquet prepared by Xu Daolai.
The banquet wasn't held with much grandeur. With the great enemy at their doorstep, grandeur wasn't feasible; after all, people were needed to defend Yunjing Mountain.
Lin Shiming followed behind Lin Xianzhi, still wearing an unfriendly expression.
Soon the two entered a grand hall where luxurious brocade carpets were laid, and the decorations on both sides were equally lavish and grand, adorned with porcelain and jade items.
In the hall, Lin Shiming finally saw Xu Daolai, the Deacon of Yunjing Mountain.
A slightly chubby middle-aged cultivator who liked to squint his eyes.
Xu Daolai's attire matched the grandeur of the hall, opulent and regal, dressed in brocade and adorned with splendid sashes.
Almost at the same moment that the two of them entered, the cultivators from the Ye family and the Lu family also arrived almost simultaneously.
"I thank all Daoyou for coming from afar to aid us!" Xu Daolai stepped forward, greeting each one.
Then, even more so, he handed a small Storage Bag to each cultivator.
"My fellow Daoyou, this is a little token of my defensive intention prepared for everyone. I hope that in the coming days, we can unite and defend Yunjing Mountain together, to make a contribution against the Demon Cultivators for the sake of the Three Sects of Zhao Kingdom!"
Xu Daolai continued, while Lin Shiming, almost unconsciously, let his Divine Sense probe into the Storage Bag.
He saw a hundred Intermediate Grade Spirit Stones neatly inside, which gave Lin Shiming quite a shock.
With the three families bringing a total of thirteen Foundation Establishment cultivators, even if each cultivator got a hundred Intermediate Grade Spirit Stones, that would be equivalent to a hundred and thirty thousand Inferior Grade Spirit Stones.
And cultivators like Lin Xianzhi, Lu Changming, and Ye Mingqiu who were in the later stages of Foundation Establishment obviously couldn't be receiving the same amount of Spirit Stones as him.
Doing so wouldn't just fail to ensure fairness, but would also make the cultivators feel that Xu Daolai was insincere.
By this calculation, a considerable amount of Spirit Stones must have been given out, and with the frontlines consuming such a great amount of Spirit Stones, Xu Daolai's provision of such a quantity of Spirit Stones was indeed thought-provoking.
Throughout the banquet, the cultivators indulged in a luxurious meal of Third Rank Spiritual Delicacies.
During this time, aside from the Lu family still being unfriendly towards them, the Lin family, nothing problematic occurred. However, the frowns of the Lin family's cultivators grew tighter.
But it was not directed at the Lu family, but rather at the unknown danger.
Xu Daolai offering so many benefits and calling upon two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Purple Mansion families indicated that he was also dissatisfied with the defense of Yunjing Mountain.