Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 129: Chapter 129 Zou Mei’s Purpose

Because there were no Fire Rock Beasts blocking their path, Zou Mei and her two companions quickly departed from the Heavenly Pond Sea of Fire. Eager to seek compensation and rewards from Li Zongrui, Zou Mei led Zhou Quan and Wang Tao straight down the mountain, not lingering any longer on Redflame Mountain.

To Zou Mei’s surprise, Li Zongrui was already waiting for them at the entrance to Redflame Mountain.

”Miss Zou, you’ve finished your training so soon?”

When Li Zongrui saw the trio return without any sign of Ye Qingchen, he was thrilled. It seems the task I entrusted to Zou Mei was executed perfectly.

”Young Sect Master!”

Upon seeing Li Zongrui, the three of them bowed respectfully. Zou Mei stepped forward to his side but remained silent.

Li Zongrui observed Zou Mei’s hesitant expression and understood. He waved to Zhou Quan and Wang Tao and said, ”You two go back and rest for a while. I have something to discuss with Junior Sister Zou.”

Zhou Quan and Wang Tao exchanged a glance, bowed to Li Zongrui once more, and departed. They wondered why the Young Sect Master had come to see Zou Mei, but they didn’t dare inquire about his affairs and could only leave with their doubts. However, thinking of Zou Mei’s fine figure and enchanting face, the two men felt they had their answer.

Once Zhou Quan and Wang Tao were out of earshot, Li Zongrui couldn’t help but ask, ”Junior Sister Zou, you can speak freely now. Where is Zhao Jiehui? Why didn’t he come out with you?”

”Reporting to the Young Sect Master,” Zou Mei said proudly, ”Zhao Jiehui and Ye Qingchen both perished in the Heavenly Pond Sea of Fire. By now, I fear not even their bones remain.”

Hearing Zou Mei’s words, Li Zongrui’s spirits soared. Dead? That bastard Ye Qingchen has finally died according to my plan! Sister Su Su will definitely be delighted to hear this news!

However, Li Zongrui still had some reservations. He asked, ”Junior Sister Zou, did you personally witness their deaths?”

Zou Mei shook her head and quickly explained, ”Although I didn’t see them die with my own eyes, they were besieged by a horde of Monster Beasts. I also destroyed their escape route. Even if they had extraordinary abilities, there’s no way they could have escaped!”

Li Zongrui nodded with satisfaction. The Fire Rock Beasts in the Heavenly Pond Sea of Fire have strength equivalent to a Fourth-Realm Martial Master. Although Zhao Jiehui is a Fifth-Realm Martial Master, he couldn’t possibly escape death when facing an endless horde of them. Moreover, Ye Qingchen is only a Second-Realm Martial Master. Even if Zhao Jiehui could have escaped, he would have been severely hindered by a burden like Ye Qingchen. At the first sign of a crisis, Zhao Jiehui probably would have abandoned Ye Qingchen to save his own skin. And Zou Mei was meticulous enough to destroy their escape route. With that, there’s absolutely no chance Ye Qingchen could have survived.

At this thought, Li Zongrui couldn’t help but burst into laughter. For a moment, he forgot the propriety between men and women and patted Zou Mei’s shoulder in praise. ”Junior Sister Zou, you are truly brilliant! You’ve handled this for me, and I won’t treat you poorly.”

What Li Zongrui did not expect was that his casual gesture caused Zou Mei’s body to go limp. Pretending to be too exhausted to stand, she took the opportunity to lean into his arms. The act thoroughly disgusted Li Zongrui, and he immediately pushed her away.

However, since Zou Mei had just helped him, he couldn’t be too harsh. He simply frowned and said coldly, ”Junior Sister Zou, please have some self-respect!”

Zou Mei hadn’t expected Li Zongrui to be completely unmoved by her advances. After all, latching onto the Young Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect was probably the dream of most of its female disciples.

Unfazed by being pushed away, Zou Mei simply cooed, ”Young Sect Master, I was injured in the Heavenly Pond Sea of Fire. My legs were just a little unsteady.”

Li Zongrui shook his head. Compared to the pure Li Susu, this Zou Mei is like the earth and the heavens. Simply incomparable!

Li Zongrui didn’t want to dwell on the issue. The deed is done. Now, I must quickly tell Li Susu the news of Ye Qingchen’s death. That should make Sister Su Su happy.

With that in mind, Li Zongrui waved a dismissive hand at Zou Mei and said, ”Since you’re injured, Junior Sister Zou, you should hurry back and recover. This matter stays between us. If a third person finds out... Hmph! I’m sure you understand the consequences.”

After speaking, Li Zongrui turned to leave. He had given that extra warning because his father seemed to care a great deal about this Ye Qingchen and had repeatedly told him not to cause him trouble. If his father found out he had schemed against Ye Qingchen again, he wouldn’t do anything too serious, but a period of confinement would be unavoidable.

Seeing Li Zongrui about to leave, Zou Mei quickly called out, ”Young Sect Master, wait a moment!”

I can’t just let him walk away, Zou Mei thought. Because I helped him, I didn’t even get my share of the profits from this trip. How can I not squeeze him for a hefty sum after all my effort these past few days?

Li Zongrui stopped and looked back at Zou Mei impatiently, saying nothing as he waited to see what else she wanted.

Seeing his impatient expression, Zou Mei understood her chances of getting close to the Young Sect Master were slim to none. In that case, I might as well extort a hefty sum from him right now.

With this in mind, Zou Mei said directly, ”Young Sect Master, Zhao Jiehui unexpectedly died along with Ye Qingchen, and all the loot from our expedition was with him. We’ve ended up with nothing. To be frank, Young Sect Master, on this trip to Redflame Mountain, we gathered countless spiritual herbs and even obtained over a hundred Fire Essences...”

Li Zongrui irritably tossed a storage ring to Zou Mei. ”Here are ten Low-grade Spirit Stones. Consider it your compensation. If you get any greedier, I’ll make you regret it!”

I’m not a fool, Li Zongrui thought. How could I not see her blatant extortion? Over a hundred Fire Essences? I know perfectly well how abysmal the drop rate is. With their level of strength, there’s no way they could have killed that many Fire Rock Beasts.

With that, Li Zongrui turned and left without a backward glance.

Zou Mei was surprised that he had given her another ten Low-grade Spirit Stones. That’s twenty in total, counting the first ten! This is a huge gain. Compared to this, Zhao Jiehui’s share of the loot is nothing!

Zou Mei contentedly put away the storage ring and headed back to her own courtyard.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the Heavenly Pond Sea of Fire, Zhao Jiehui and Ye Qingchen were still besieged by a swarm of Fire Rock Beasts, desperately holding on.