Chapter 537: Chapter 538: Tricky Moves
Young Master Ao’s eyes blazed with fury like a starving tiger surveying the crowd; his mount, the Sea Dragon Horse, neighed loudly and let out a sky-piercing whinny, its ferocious nature fully exposed.

Seeing this scene, the surrounding cultivators also shrank back a bit; indeed, he was from the direct lineage of a prominent family—how could he possibly covet their possessions?

But it was at this moment that the fat man in white bounced out again and shouted sharply, “Let us not forget, we are here to see Lady Long, and naturally, the gifts we’ve prepared are no ordinary items. This fellow is clearly eyeing the treasures in our hands, wanting to snatch them all in one fell swoop; we must not fall for his scheme!”

“Exactly, this guy just wants to stir up trouble!”

“I even secretly took a millennium-old Snow Lotus from my family, hoping for a chance to bask in her grace. This Snow Lotus is something even Great Crossing Realm Cultivators would covet. If you don’t hand over your treasures today, we will not let this matter rest!”

“That’s right, that’s right…”

The fat man in white had just finished speaking when several people immediately jumped out to recount their losses, each one claiming that the gifts they had prepared were exceptionally rare treasures coveted even by Great Crossing Realm Cultivators.

However, after this reminder, the cultivators also came to a realization; if it were just their everyday belongings, perhaps Young Master Ao wouldn’t really be interested, but today everyone had come prepared with gifts fit for the granddaughter of the Old Dragon King of the Eastern Sea—how could any of these be mediocre?

Clearly, Young Master Ao had set his sights on this rare opportunity, aiming to make a huge fortune!

“Stop trying to weasel your way out of this. I am from the Gongsun family; although we’re not as renowned as the noble clans, we are still a big family. Once this incident is over, I will personally pay a visit to the Ao family and give Young Master a forewarning to prepare for the wrath of our family!”

The cultivators were seething with rage; in their eyes, this Young Master of the Ao family had become an enemy!

Young Master Ao was at a loss for words, glaring murderously at the fat man in white; he had the impulse to kill him, as it was this very man who had twice targeted him, it was obvious that the current predicament had been orchestrated by his opponent—who was quite detestably crying ‘thief’ to cover his own theft.

If he ever caught him, he would surely flay him alive and feed him to a Demonic Beast!

But if he didn’t handle the situation well right now, not only he wouldn’t be able to extricate himself, but his family’s reputation could also be tarnished; he could only keep explaining and try to stabilize the crowd first.

It was then that he suddenly felt his finger touching something—or rather, he realized with shock that his finger was now bare.

The Space Ring had vanished without a trace!

All around were crowds of people; it was impossible to determine who had stolen his ring.

“Dammit, stop your bickering, my Space Ring has been stolen too!”

“Who on earth did this, you damn fatty, speak up, was it one of your accomplices?!”

Young Master Ao erupted in fury, his vicious gaze making all the cultivators tremble; they had the wrong person, Young Master Ao was pushed forward just to divert their attention!

However, when they sought out the fat man in white, they found that he had already disappeared from the crowd.

Damn it, it was still that accursed fatty!

Did he think he could conceal his deceit just by changing his appearance?

“Dammit, I’m going to slaughter that fatty!”

“What is the cause of this clamor? This is Chunxiu Tower, not a marketplace.”

From within Chunxiu Tower emerged a Madame, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, gazing upon the cultivators beating their chests and stomping their feet with a face full of displeasure.

“The lady is upstairs, and such behavior is truly unbefitting of a distinguished gathering. If you continue to behave in this manner, you are not welcome at the lady’s tea party today!”

The madam’s expression turned somewhat grim as she spoke coldly.

“Yes, yes, yes, we were presumptuous and disturbed the young lady, truly sorry.”

Cultivators, doused with a pail of cold water, forcefully suppressed the fury in their hearts and said to the madam with nodding and bowing heads.

This was someone else’s territory, and if they didn’t obediently comply, they likely wouldn’t stand a chance with Long Xue today. After all, the theft of the Space Rings was ultimately their own fault; even if they wanted to seek justice, they should turn to the Elders of the Punishment Hall.

Making a fuss in front of Chunxiu Tower was indeed somewhat inappropriate.

“Glad you understand, the tea party is about to commence. You should all enter early. I hope that today, each young master will perform well,”

said the madam sternly, reminding them before turning away and leaving.

“Young Master Li, let’s go. It was just a farce after all. This Ao Gou is usually arrogant and overbearing; he truly has been too presumptuous. Having to face this predicament is like a case of a biter being bitten.”

Beichen Shixi looked indifferent, unconcerned with the commotion outside.

In his view, it was a great embarrassment for so many cultivators to have had their Space Rings silently stolen. Had it been him, he likely would’ve been too ashamed to stay any longer.

“Hmm, that’s fine,”

Li Xiaobai nodded, feeling that this round, his senior brothers and sisters were in high spirits.

They used Young Master Ao’s attention as a distraction to steal and profit immensely, then they incited the relationship between the cultivators and Young Master Ao, inflaming the conflict. Focusing all of Young Master Ao’s attention on the troublemaking cultivators, they then backstabbed him by stealthily taking his ring without anyone noticing.

Such arrogance could only be attributed to his own senior brothers and sisters.

It was just uncertain what the seniors had planned next. The most worrisome was senior brother no. 6, Liu Jinshui. This fellow was a master of scheming and one had to be careful not to fall for his tricks. Although Xiaobai now had unbeatable defensive power, if cornered by him, financial loss was inevitable.

One must remain vigilant!

Following the crowd, they walked slowly up to the third floor. Here was a small world; with one step inside, the surrounding environment spun, stars shifted, seasons changed, turning the place lush and green.

This was a city enshrouded in the cold, bright moonlight. Within the entire city stood only a giant tower, with a Luminous Pearl glittering at its peak, illuminating the entire sky as if it were daylight.

On either side of the road were no superfluous shops, all adorned uniformly with Luminous Pearls.

Although it was nighttime, inside the city one did not feel an ounce of darkness, the faint glow was just right, illuminating the path without discomfort.

This clear light, casting over one’s body, even gave a subtle sense of clarity and tranquility.

Truly marvelous.

“It’s no wonder that it’s the small world where Lady Long resides. Using Luminous Pearls to light up the night, such grandeur could perhaps only be afforded by the Old Dragon King of the Eastern Sea?”

“These Luminous Pearls have quite the origin. Twenty-three make a set, and there are twenty-three sets in total, brightening the night and also known as the twenty-three Mermaid’s Essences of the Eastern Sea. It is said that with the Sea Clan’s Cultivation Techniques, it’s possible to light all twenty-three Mermaid’s Essences simultaneously, creating an illusion of the moon rising above the sea.”

The surrounding cultivators, looking at the Luminous Pearls, showed faces full of envy. Walking down this road, no matter how many times, was always a fresh experience.

Everywhere they looked were treasures of substantial worth; a single pearl could easily fetch a million high-grade Spirit Stones if sold. Yet here, they were merely used to mark the path, an extravagant display to the extreme.