The Celestial Phoenix Has Too Much Lust-Chapter 48: The Budget Was Rejected

fast!

The location in this specific forest, roughly between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM ..until the following morning, appeared utterly dull on any ordinary day.

Usually...

There are no ten traitorous men being tossed around like stuffed dolls everywhere by an elderly man emanating a peerless yellow aura, covering the forest with its brilliant light as if a miniature sun had dawned in the heart of the woods.

The trees were on the verge of bowing in reverence.

The ten warriors were scattered across the trees, gasping for breath, their bodies covered in wounds. Before them floated an entity that could only be described as such... yet their eyes, in their pure deceit, pictured before them a young man with long, strangely straight black hair, its strands fluttering as he hovered in the air that had turned scorching around him.

"Master, please... we are sorry... we are sinners, please have mercy on us... Oh... oh Master... Agh!"

Ling Niang’s head was severed. His head fell and rolled away, while his body plunged onto the grassy ground, the weeds staining and drinking the blood pouring from his neck.

The warriors’ nerves disintegrated before this attack. They were terrified of their fate; Ling Niang was the strongest among them, and he had died without even putting up much of a fight.

This meant only one thing: their pages had been closed.

"Lord Master... we swear! This was all because of him! Senior Ling was the one who dragged us into this... he threatened to kill us if we didn’t obey him. We were wrong!"

"Yes, we swear to you... we would never... never dare to think of betraying you. How could we betray our father?"

"We are ready to live like dogs for you for the rest of our lives, but please, have mercy on us!"

They looked utterly pathetic, weeping and pleading in a disgusting manner.

"Heh... do you truly believe that?"

They all nodded in fear under his piercing gaze. Morse, who had arrived a moment ago to witness this scene, looked on.

He hadn’t expected the suggestion provided by the System to work like this.

The System had told him at that moment that Elder Byeong had completely surrendered to the Yang energy, and that Morse could use his own power to make it merge with the Elder’s body.

Morse had thought it over and decided to save him. Simply put, the former Patriarch was dead, and if the First Elder died as well, they would be in an extremely bad position. He could save him and make him grateful to him then.

But he hadn’t expected this transformation. He continued to watch the scene unfolding before him.

"Your lives are over as far as I am concerned... but simply killing you like this will not satisfy me. Let me see whether I was a good teacher or not."

"What do you mean?"

Suddenly, Elder Byeong descended to the ground in silence, and his aura receded until it vanished. He lowered his cultivation level until it reached... the Qi Condensation stage, the beginner phase, as if he were just starting his cultivation now.

He raised his hand and gestured with his finger for them to approach, as if he didn’t have a care in the world... while smiling.

The trembling in the warriors’ bodies subsided; they stood up, preparing their weapons and forming their formation.

"This will be the final dance, my followers."

The soldiers nodded.

dash!

The ten of them lunged at him.

Morse was ready to intervene to save him.

{Dump one... do you think everyone is like you unable to use Solar Yang properly... Watch closely... you won’t see things like this every day.}

The warriors had already reached Elder Byeong.

Flash!

In a mere glimpse, the Elder vanished and reappeared behind one of them, striking him with a swift hand-blade to the back of the neck. As the first fell, he transitioned to the second, delivering a powerful blow to his jaw.

It was easy—far too easy for him. He felt that this energy had not only strengthened him but had reignited the passion for combat within his soul. Though their cultivation stages were technically far advanced beyond his current "suppressed" level, their auras had little effect.

He caught the blade of one attacker between two fingers with ease. With a sharp twist, the Elder crushed the blade, shattering it completely. Then, he delivered a kick so fast it bypassed the perception of ordinary eyes, smashing into his follower’s side and sending him flying.

The rest were no different.

Moments later, the ten warriors lay trembling on the ground. Elder Byeong’s chest heaved as he stood, unable to believe the power he now held.

"That was... enjoyable."

In the world of cultivation, you live to survive. "Enjoyment" is an unrealistic term if you are weak. Elder Byeong had never been able to enjoy his life, but now, he had risen from the dead, defeated his treacherous followers, and felt utter satisfaction.

He glanced sideways at Morse, who was leaning against a tree, applauding him.

"Great job... you were amazing."

At that moment, his divine senses detected the auras of other warriors. Elder Byeong raised his guard once more, releasing his aura at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, waiting and expecting another wave.

Morse noticed the arrival of a new group of warriors along with the three Elders. They were all gathered here now. Elder Byeong stood ready for battle, raising his arms in a perfect combat stance, as if no one there could possibly matter to him.

The new arrivals looked at their comrades groaning in pain on the ground; they were seized by fear and bewilderment. They had expected to find them dead, but instead, they didn’t even recognize, at first glance, who this young man was—radiating the same Yang aura as Morse.

They froze in terror just from looking at him. As for the other Elders, they recognized him immediately, and it was the surprise of the century for them. They wanted to flee now, before they were utterly destroyed.

Elder Byeong was on the verge of lunging toward them, his killing intent surging.

"Wait! Wait! We didn’t come to fight!"

Byeong’s expression darkened; he simply couldn’t believe it. "Give us a truce; we can settle our accounts another time..."

Elder Byeong lowered his aura but remained on high guard. Morse watched in wonder; he knew he had to prevent a full-scale battle between the Elders, despite his burning desire to punish them for the conspiracy happening behind his back and what had happened to Ni Ni Layan. He had to put the Clan first to avoid irreparable damage.

He approached, but he couldn’t believe what he saw.

Ni Ni Layan appeared, hovering with great difficulty due to the Yin overflow. Beside her, the Elders had provided warming tools—the precious spirit stones from their own swords.

"Damn it, she’s going to die..." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The Yin energy had saturated Ni Ni Layan; she was on the verge of freezing solid. Morse sprinted and took flight toward her. The Elders scrambled out of his way as he reached for her.

"Time is running out!"

He thrust his hand out... and she reached out hers. Morse grabbed her hands firmly.

Two days later... In the Clan’s Tech_no_logy Department.

Morse sat in his office, surrounded by his followers, whose numbers had increased significantly over the past two days. He was very pleased today; the family’s reputation had recovered slightly after the recent defamation, and due to the rumors he had personally spread, Concubine Qian was now being ostracized by everyone.

He was happy until the budget request document arrived from the Clan’s accounting department. He rubbed his forehead as his nervous followers watched him review the document.

Naturally, the request for 500,000 Gold Taels had been rejected. No surprise there.

"What shall we do then, Elder?"

"Don’t worry, I’ll handle it."

As he finished reading, he saw a "Compensation" note. He was surprised; while the official budget was only 10,000 Gold Taels, the top four Elders of the Clan had personally sent 100,000 Gold Taels as an "investment" in the Technology Department.

There was also a note from Elder Byeong stating that if he needed more, he could contact him directly. Morse leaned back in his chair with a sigh of relief.

"Things aren’t as bad as I expected..."

He opened the System interface:

[Host: Morse Xuan]

[Status: Solar Yang Meridians | Cultivation: Mid-Stage Golden Core]

[Dual Cultivation Points: 20,000]

Morse sighed looking at his balance. No one knew how much he had to sacrifice to get this amount.

"Alright, everyone... nobody leaves tonight. The real work starts now. Light the furnaces!"

The team grew excited. Morse looked at his points and decided to purchase a blueprint for a Handgun from the System. He addressed his team:

"Everything before this was amateur work. From now on, we manufacture seriously. Our first device is... a Handgun. But not the ordinary kind I showed you. This time, we’ll leave our mark: we are selling Aphrodisiac Bullets."

Since this world was degenerate to the core, they would sell out instantly. In a world built on lust, he decided to create non-lethal bullets that drastically increased physical desire. He had gained a much deeper understanding of Yin, Yang, and lust over the past two days...

He covered his face in shame, remembering the "hectic" events of those two days. Before selling his "cutting-edge" products, he had to secure the patents. Even if his work was hard to copy, a cheap imitation could ruin his brand.

After registering his patents at the Imperial Office and receiving approval, Morse decided to produce what he could with his current budget before moving on to bigger projects.

Little did he know that these "items" could easily fall into the wrong hands...