In Liu Tiezhu's view, it was just an unintentional mistake by the child. He was afraid to go out before because he was scared. Why not just sit down and talk things out with the other families? Why make such a big fuss? We're all in the same compound, and outsiders will laugh at us.

Hua Guangzong stopped what he was doing and stood up straight. He was a head taller than Liu Tiezhu and exuded a sense of oppression. He lowered his eyes and stared at him. "Without investigation, you have no right to speak. Are you sure they didn't do it intentionally?"

If we weren't living in the same compound, I would have had my wife report it to the safety authorities a couple of days ago.

"Is it too much to just ask them for an explanation?"

Liu Tiezhu felt a chill run down his spine. This old man was just talking nonsense, but to direct that battlefield killing intent at him was a bit much.

"Then we can inform them first. Look at how much trouble your sister-in-law is causing..."

“My family gave them the opportunity a long time ago. It’s been several days already. Isn’t that enough time for them to prepare?”

Don't think that just because our family is kind, we can take advantage of you and make you back down again and again. What kind of people are you?

Liu Tiezhu, “…” I suspect you’re insulting me, but I have no proof.

Hua Guangzong snorted, "My dear granddaughter is still not feeling well and needs to rest, so you shouldn't be here."

If I weren't so angry, I wouldn't have bothered talking to him so much. I don't even know if their conversation disturbed Xiao Guai.

Liu Tiezhu: "...If you ask me, your family spoils that child too much. It's normal for him to fall down all the time..."

He dared not utter those words about her being spoiled again, because Hua Guangzong's eyes revealed a fierce glint.

"..."

Liu Tiezhu fled in panic, and Hua Guangzong ignored him, but instead glanced worriedly at Hua Xiangyun's door, wondering if the commotion had disturbed her.

&

Hua Xiangyun was currently gathering spiritual energy and had no time to pay attention to what was happening outside.

She vaguely sensed something was wrong. These past few days she had been trying to collect spiritual energy from the air, knowing that the spiritual energy here was much more abundant than in her time.

But all that spiritual energy she collected into her body seemed to vanish without a trace, which aroused her suspicion.

It's one thing to have everything reset to zero, but if she also loses her talent for cultivation, she doesn't know if she can accept it.

I just checked her over, and there's nothing wrong with her body, so it's her soul that needs to be examined.

She didn't rush to gather the collected spiritual energy into herself, but instead let it linger within her soul. Using this spiritual energy, she gradually examined herself.

Just as the spiritual energy was about to dissipate, Hua Xiangyun finally sensed something unusual in her spiritual center.

A hidden shadow was eventually discovered by himself.

She didn't act immediately, waiting until the dizziness subsided before gathering her spiritual energy again.

Before the spiritual energy could even get close, it was quickly swallowed up by the shadow.

Hua Xiangyun immediately realized that this was the culprit behind her fruitless hard training these past few days.

After several attempts, and using spiritual energy to guide it, she finally saw the shadow clearly. It was obviously the Nine Lotus Cauldron that she had prepared to contract with before. It was probably the last drop of her heart's blood that she had brought with her.

However, letting it continue to absorb spiritual energy like this is not a solution. Not only will it prevent me from cultivating, but I also don't know if there will be any hidden dangers later on.

Upon discovering this potential threat, Hua Xiangyun has always adhered to the principle of eliminating it as soon as it is discovered.

However, this thing hides in the spiritual platform after absorbing spiritual energy, so it seems we need to find a way to summon it out.

Unfortunately, his body is currently unable to accumulate spiritual energy, so he cannot perform the complete hand seals.

This was simply an unsolvable problem, and this kind of trouble made her even more dizzy.

Suddenly, she remembered that when her master was alive, he mentioned that the ancestral magic treasures were all stored and nurtured in the dantian.

I don't know if this method can be used to summon it.

Hua Xiangyun had only heard of it briefly, but had no idea how to do it. However, at this point, she had no choice but to take the risk and try.

She had already memorized the incantation to activate the Nine Lotus Cauldron, and she tried to summon it without using spiritual power.

She had just finished reciting the last incantation when a tearing sensation from her soul made her groan in pain.

Just when she thought she was about to fail again, the Nine Lotus Cauldron was now hovering in front of her head.

Hua Xiangyun could no longer hide her surprise, and her suspicions were confirmed.

It seems this was truly her last drop of blood, the complete contract.

Although she couldn't communicate with it with her current soul power, she could feel the affection emanating from the Nine Lotus Cauldron.

Excitedly, he reached out and touched the Nine Lotus Cauldron, and the lotus pattern on it shone with a radiant light.

"So you're still by my side," Hua Xiangyun murmured to herself, "but you always drain the spiritual energy I've accumulated. When will I be able to start cultivating again?"

Suddenly, the Nine Lotus Cauldron spewed out a stream of spiritual mist, which directly entered Hua Xiangyun's body.

She felt a lightness throughout her body, the dizziness disappeared without a trace, and her soul became more solid.

If I relied on the spiritual energy I had previously collected, I wouldn't be able to repair it to this extent.

Hua Xiangyun excitedly reached out and caught the Nine Lotus Cauldron. "So you're helping me convert spiritual energy?"

The Nine Lotus Cauldron spun around happily, as if pleased that its master had finally noticed this.

Hua Xiangyun touched the handle of the cauldron gratefully, "Thank you, Nine Lotus Cauldron."

So this is what Master meant by the benefits of the contract.

Unexpectedly, the Nine Lotus Cauldron began to shake violently at this moment. Hua Xiangyun was puzzled. "What's going on? Am I wrong?"

The Nine Lotus Cauldron swayed for a moment, then vanished from Hua Xiangyun's sight in an instant.

Hua Xiangyun was startled and quickly checked the spirit platform. She was relieved to find it quietly inside.

Having recovered, Hua Xiangyun no longer needed to lie on the kang (a heated brick bed) to rest. She sat cross-legged to absorb spiritual energy and found it much easier than before.

However, the spiritual energy absorbed vanished without a trace once it entered the body.

This time, Hua Xiangyun was no longer as confused as before. Instead, she became even more diligent. The spiritual energy she directly absorbed was clearly insufficient compared to the spiritual mist fed back by the Nine Lotus Mist.

With abundant spiritual energy here and the Nine-Linked Cauldrons to help her, she should be able to recover to her original level in no time.

&

Tian Guihua really went all out, but instead of going directly to the neighborhood committee as everyone expected, she went to the soap factory where Zhou Jinfeng worked first, named names, and criticized the whole family from head to toe.

When Zhou Xiaolan arrived, she had already gone to the knitting factory next door and started cursing the He and Li families by name.

He Ping'an and Li Shuixin, who rushed over, hid in the crowd and didn't even dare to go forward.

Their faces turned pale when the factory leaders came out with their parents.

Tian Guihua pointed the wooden stick directly at the two families, saying, "Shameless bastards, you have no sense of responsibility for hurting people. Especially the one surnamed He, your son used a slingshot to break my little darling's head, and blood was flowing all over the ground, but the instigator just stood by and watched him die."