Ms. Diviner: The Prodigal Daughter's Return

Chapter 1839: Chapter 1839: You Think I Want to Act Like a Fool?

Mu Hanyan was speechless, ”You think I want to pretend to be a fool? Isn’t this the rule of your Gao Family Black Market?”

In fact, this mask doesn’t disguise my identity at all. If Gao Weihu wanted to investigate, he could easily find out, so Mu Hanyan didn’t hesitate and directly took off the mask.

”It’s you!” Gao Weihu was slightly stunned upon seeing Mu Hanyan’s face.

”Does Manager Gao recognize me?” Mu Hanyan was also surprised by Gao Weihu’s blank stare.

”The Master Priest of Huayu Temple, though we’ve never met, I’ve heard of you for a long time. The young master from the Heavenly Sun Temple’s Dragon Chief Priest family and the young master from the Lingyu Divine Hall’s Priest Ou family have both suffered major losses at your hands. It’s also said that Xiang Qiuzhan, the bandit whom even the Five Great Divine Temples couldn’t handle, fell at your hands, though that news hasn’t been confirmed yet,” Gao Weihu said calmly.

Mu Hanyan’s gaze became slightly sharp. Long Wudang and Ou Mingzhi suffered losses in Huayu City; they surely wouldn’t want to broadcast it themselves. Due to her special identity, she also ordered the priests and citizens of Huayu City not to spread the word. The ostensible reason was to save face for the Heavenly Sun Temple and the Lingyu Divine Hall, but ultimately, it was to avoid attracting too much external attention.

So not many outsiders should know about these matters. It was unclear how Gao Weihu heard about them.

”Priest Mu doesn’t have to worry. I mean no harm; it’s just my duty to gather intelligence for the family. I happened to hear a bit about the movements of Huayu Temple. How can we not cooperate when I may still need to buy a batch of Five-Colored Soul Pearls from you? I would never harm you,” Gao Weihu explained, waving his hand when he noticed the wariness in Mu Hanyan’s eyes.

Only then did Mu Hanyan feel relieved. In fact, such things weren’t unusual. In the Holy Court Continent, the big and small families all had their ears everywhere. Each family head, despite never stepping out of the house, was well-informed about world affairs due to this reason. It seemed that Fang Weihu had just heard some rumors and hadn’t suspected her identity. Otherwise, even with great courage, he wouldn’t dare cooperate with her.

”Manager Gao, what do you need so many Five-Colored Soul Pearls for?” Mu Hanyan couldn’t help but ask, curious after hearing Gao Weihu mention buying Five-Colored Soul Pearls again.

Earlier, the auction of those 500 relic soul beads had already created quite a stir. For Gao Weihu’s 500 to be sold wouldn’t be easy. If it attracted family attention and he was labeled as using power for personal gain, he might lose his foothold in the Gao family.

”Half is for selling money, and the other half for cultivation. I must increase my power to the level of Divine Heart Priest within half a year,” Gao Weihu replied frankly without hiding anything.

”Cultivation? Raise power to Divine Heart Priest within half a year!” Mu Hanyan gave him an odd look.

If he were only selling half, breaking them up would significantly reduce risks. But to use half for cultivation and aim to reach Divine Heart Priest status in half a year seemed overly extravagant.

Previously, she had tried refining one Five-Colored Soul Pearl and found that the relic soul bead was indeed a good thing. Using one was equivalent to six months of normal cultivation. Because her power was stuck at a bottleneck, the six months of cultivation didn’t make her feel a significant increase in power, so she didn’t pay much attention.

However, she gradually discovered that while Five-Colored Soul Pearls were indeed beneficial for cultivation, they weren’t without flaws. After all, they were formed from Exotic Beast Divine Souls, and they contained many beast emotions and instincts, which were impurities for priests and needed to be cleansed; otherwise, they would accumulate and eventually cause one to lose control.

This principle is similar to why Beast Bone Relics from the Holy Court Continent can’t be used for cultivation and can only be used for Alchemy and Artifact Refining.

If one gradually refines the impurities within the relic soul beads bit by bit, it wouldn’t affect the cultivation, but it requires a lot of time. Mu Hanyan calculated that one Five-Colored Soul Pearl is equivalent to six months of cultivation, but for an average priest, eliminating the impurities takes about two to three months.

If wanting to quickly eliminate impurities, the spiritual power and Divine Thought Power derived from refining the Five-Colored Soul Pearls must be wasted. The faster the process, the greater the waste.

No wonder the Life God Temple only distributes two relic soul beads to subordinate main priests every year, fearing wastage.

Gao Weihu intends to rely on Five-Colored Soul Pearls to raise his power to Divine Heart Priest within half a year, but those over two hundred relic soul beads will waste more than half, essentially piling up money.

”Speaking this much, I won’t hide it from you. In half a year, the Life God Temple will organize personnel to hunt deep into the wilderness, and I should be on the list. Unlike before, this hunt is likely going to Black Wood Prison. If I don’t prepare early, I won’t survive. Besides, some in the family don’t want me to return alive,” Gao Weihu said, some anger showing in his eyes.

The news about the Life God Temple organizing personnel to hunt in Black Wood Prison in half a year hasn’t leaked yet. However, Mu Hanyan, being the head of a temple, will probably hear about it soon, so Gao Weihu didn’t hide it from her.

”I see,” Mu Hanyan understood.

She had heard of Black Wood Prison before, allegedly a gathering place for Exotic Beasts deep in the wilderness. The beasts living there are extremely powerful and cruel. Not even a Divine Priest, let alone a Divine Heart Priest, would likely survive.

Gao Weihu, though the son of a Right Priest, was sent to Black Wood Prison as a death mission, naturally involving the Gao family’s internal power struggle, most likely brotherly betrayal.

Gao Weihu fled the family, managing the black market business. Without any merit, he had bitter labor, yet he was sent to Black Wood Prison to die. If he wasn’t angry, that would be strange.

To save his life, he had to find a way to improve his cultivation. No wonder he took the initiative to please me; those few auctions even had hints of inside betrayal. At the end of the day, he was driven to desperation.

”Rest assured, Manager Gao. I still have some Five-Colored Soul Pearls on hand. I’ll set them aside for you. If they’re not enough, just come to me,” Mu Hanyan said.

Though she had seen many instances of brotherly betrayal among the Noble Families, Mu Hanyan couldn’t accept such things happening within the Mu Family. She felt some sympathy for Gao Weihu’s plight.

Seeing that Gao Weihu seemed trustworthy, she didn’t mind making this friend. After all, she hadn’t planned on selling the remaining Five-Colored Soul Pearls anyway. It was merely a few pleasant words, with no loss.

”Thank you, Priest Mu. You’ve made a friend in me, Gao Weihu. If there’s ever anything you need, feel free to command it. If it’s within my ability, I, Gao Weihu, won’t hesitate,” Gao Weihu said, cupping his hands with firm words. Likely due to being too heartbroken or even desperate, Mu Hanyan’s words moved him greatly.

”By the way, there’s indeed something I’d like to ask Brother Gao for help with,” Mu Hanyan remembered Long Wudang as she spoke.

”Please tell me, Priest Mu,” Gao Weihu said.