Chapter 71: Air Tentacles
The next day, Night Demon brought updates from the higher ups.
They agreed to let Su Chen borrow people.
One mid-layer Yang Opening, three high-layer Blood Boiling, three high-layer Qi Drawing. Not only was their strength was enough to suppress the Shadow Mountain Troops' frontline, but they also sent an additional Blood Boiling cultivator and two Qi Drawing cultivators as backup. Of course, Su Chen still needed to pay for them. Employing a mid-layer Yang Opening cultivator cost four thousand low-grade Origin Stones per day, three high-layer Blood Boiling cultivators cost two thousand, and Qi Drawing Realm were much cheaper, only costing two hundred a day. The total was roughly six thousand low-grade Origin Stones.
Apart from this, the other party had also requested that battle spoils be distributed among everyone that had battled, and if the treasures that the Hidden Mountain Troops had was greater than six thousand Origin Stones, they would split half of the excess with the organization.
This request was not too extreme. Although Su Chen had devised the plan and it was his transaction at risk, the main strength for the operation was still provided by the other party. Without them, Su Chen would not be able to complete this mission. In addition, this was Su Chen; if it were anyone else, the organization probably would have requested a seventy-thirty split.
Whose fault is it that your own strength is not enough?
However, the other party had also expressed that if their expedition was successful, they would sell those Origin Tools to Su Chen for a price of eight thousand Origin Stones, and he would not need to borrow them anymore. They would even throw in the Cloud-Stepping Battle Boots for free – in any case, they were close to being unusable, so why not use them to improve their relationship. They had also gotten rid of the renting fee this time.
Although the three Origin Tools were all defective in some way, eight thousand Origin Stones was quite a good price. Su Chen was used to them, and the other party could thus get rid of a few things of little value, as well as improve their relationship with Su Chen.
Once the matters were decided, all that remained was waiting.
While he was waiting, Su Chen was not idle. Every day he would diligently practice his Origin Skills.
At the same time, Tang Zhen continued to closely study history materials and repeatedly double- or triple-check his work as he diligently translated the ancient Arcana script.
Today, Su Chen had just arrived at the True Jade Pavilion when Tang Zhen came to meet him, his face filled with excitement.
"Young Master!"
Su Chen understood that most likely the rough translation of the ancient Arcana script was complete. He said in a low voice, "You finished interpreting it?"
"I translated one sheet." Tang Zhen secretly stuffed a piece of paper into Su Chen's hand as he said in a low voice, "Just as Young Master instructed me, the original text is also present. When you have nothing better to do, you can study and compare the two."
Su Chen held it in his hand and laughed, "It seems like I will need to ask head storekeeper for a few days of vacation."
Tang Zhen also laughed as he stroked his beard, "Young people are like this. When they get a new toy, they want to play with it for a few days. Go, go, since I am here, Young Master only needs to focus on cultivating."
"Then I'll leave everything in your care," Su Chen bowed to Tang Zhen, then left the True Jade Pavilion.
"Zhou Hong, take me to the back of the mountain," Su Chen said, beginning to closely read the page as he sat in the carriage.
The ancient Arcana technique that Tang Zhen had translated was the Air Tentacles.
This was quite a practical ancient Arcana technique. It could construct air tentacles from out of thin air to tie down an opponent. These air tentacles could exist quite a long time, and activating it multiple times would create multiple tentacles that could attack simultaneously. Its weakness was that it could be broken, its restrictive ability was only average, and it did not prevent enemies from activating their own Origin Skills.
Even people like Iron Cliff or himself could use their own physical strength to resist the air tentacles. From this, one could tell that the strength of these air tentacles was quite low.
However, its Origin Energy Pattern was simple to learn, and activating it was fast. Because of this, it was also the easiest technique to translate.
After arriving to the back mountain, Su Chen instructed Zhou Hong to stand guard, then began to practice these Air Tentacles.
Compared to before, Su Chen could afford be much more extravagant when learning Origin Skills.
One air tentacle after another appeared until he exhausted all the Origin Energy in his body. Then, Su Chen would absorb the energy from an Origin Stone and continue to practice.
All skills came about from hard work and repeated practice to succeed.
In the back mountain, Su Chen continued to rapidly absorb Origin Energy even as he was releasing it.
Because the air tentacles existed for a long time, Su Chen was rapidly surrounded by numerous air tentacles, with him in the center. These semi-transparent tentacles swayed in the air, like snakes. Under Su Chen's control, they danced crazily. Because there were too many, Su Chen felt extremely flustered while controlling them. Often, if he focused on one of them he would lose control of the other.
This helped Su Chen realize that being proficient in the air tentacles was not just related to activation speed but also controlling them appropriately. Origin Qi Scholars truly familiar with the air tentacles could create multiple in a short span of time and control them to attack using different methods and tactics.
From this one could see that the Air Tentacles actually required a certain level of soul strength. People with strong souls should be able to control the air tentacles more proficiently.
As his understanding of this Arcana technique progressed, he continued to practice over and over again.
As he furiously practiced, one could occasionally hear the sound of things collapsing. That was the sound of large trees being broken by the air tentacles and falling to the ground.
After a day of cultivation had passed, Su Chen was surrounded by fallen trees.
The branches on these trees had been neatly trimmed. Only the bare tree trunk remained. Even the tree's bark had been worn clean.
When Zhou Hong was called over by Su Chen, he couldn't help but be stunned by this scene. Su Chen said, "Go tell the clan's lumberjacks that there is some wood here. Ask them if they want it."
Zhou Hong was also someone with foresight. He asked, "If they ask me where these came from, Young Master, what should I tell them?"
Su Chen said, "Just tell them Fourth Young Master is extremely poor these days so I've taken up woodcutting."
"...Yes, Young Master!"
————————————
After bitterly training for a few days, Su Chen had achieved a basic mastery of the air tentacles. Thanks to him, the Su Clan's lumber business had actually experienced a small explosion.
The day of the exchange had finally arrived.
Today, Su Chen dressed himself and walked out of the Su residence.
Iron Cliff followed behind him.
He carried a large iron trunk in his hand. Nobody knew what was in it. However, every time Iron Cliff took a step, a deep footprint would be left in the ground behind him.
Once he left the residence, Su Chen walked directly out of the town. After arriving in a faraway location, he whistled.
Seven people appeared from within the forest.
Of these seven people, six of them were covered in black cloaks, and their figures were shrouded in shadows, making it so that people couldn't clearly see their faces. Even so, Su Chen was able to tell that one of them was Night Demon.
She was obviously one of the three high-layer Qi Drawing Realm cultivators.
The only one that hadn't obstructed himself was a middle-aged male.
His body was extremely brawny, and his face was densely bearded. On his back he carried a large broadsword. Most interestingly, he also held a large iron trunk in his hands. It was quite similar to the one in Iron Cliff's hands, only slightly smaller. When the two of them saw each other and the iron trunks in each others hands, a smile appeared on their faces.
Iron Cliff's laughter was straightforward and honest, while the male's laughter seemed to be much more profound in meaning.
At this time, the middle-aged man said, "Your preparations were much more sufficient than I had anticipated. No wonder it seems like everything is always in the palm of your hand. You were able to make a group of people who originally wanted to kill you serve you in the end, Young Master Su Chen. My name is Baron. I am the captain of the group that was ordered to help you this time."
He specifically emphasized 'ordered to' and 'captain'. Evidently, he was implying his own independence.
Su Chen gently smiled, "Many thanks for Baron's assistance. This is just an example of no friendship without conflict."
Night Demon didn't come over to greet him, so he pretended that he didn't know.
Baron said, "It's just as you said. Originally, when the higher-ups sent me to do things for a blind man, I wasn't too happy. Now, it seems as if you are actually quite smart. Something interesting might happen during our cooperation."
"Thank you for the kind words."
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Page 2
Chapter 72: Dark Fog
Northface City was not very close to the Flying Immortal Palace, but Baron and the others seemed to have made preparations a long time ago.
With a shrill whistle, a large carriage appeared in the middle of the forest. The carriage was two stories tall and was extremely imposing. Pulling the carts was not the commonly used large horses but rather a kind of armored Vicious Beast called the Well Armadillo. This Vicious Beast possessed extreme strength and decent speed, and lots of effort was required to tame it. Four trained Well Armadillos were worth quite a sum of money.
At this moment, Baron said, "Get on the carriage. I originally thought that using this carriage was a waste, but I didn't expect that you would actually have a Cliff Race as a servant. Now it seems that it's become quite useful."
As he spoke, he disappeared into the carriage.
Su Chen followed him in. The interior of the carriage was extremely large, roughly the size of a room. It was also decorated with prayer mats and engraved stools for meditation and resting.
Upon entering the carriage, the carriage began to move. From time to time, talisman inscriptions would shine around the carriage, and gradually it began to diffuse out a hazy fog. All traces of the entire carriage were actually completely hidden by this fog, and people outside of it would not be able to see it.
Baron laughed, "This is the Fog Concealed Carriage. It can use the fog to hide itself and avoid being disturbed by the environment. The road is long, but we should reach the Flying Immortal Palace by sunset. If the wait bores you, you can meditate first. That way, once we arrive you can unleash your peak strength in battle.
"If that's the case, then I will follow your intentions." Su Chen sat down.
However, he couldn't help but notice that even with the fog hiding them and the ability to see the terrain without physical sight, it would still take them a whole day to reach the Flying Immortal Palace. Clearly, their speed was not very fast. This was unsurprising given the extra weight that had been added on, slowing down their speed.
Extra weight?
Su Chen thought of something and stealthy felt the wall of the carriage behind him. He pushed with a little bit of Origin energy but found that he couldn't move it at all. It seemed like this carriage was constructed entirely of steel. If there was a switch installed that could convert the carriage into a battle mode, it would not only be able to pursue or escape, but it could also trap and restrict enemies. Upon recognizing this point, Su Chen slowly retracted his hand, lowering his head and focusing on his meditation.
Time passed by very quickly.
As nightfall arrived, the carriage finally arrived at the Flying Immortal Palace.
Because of the carriage's fog, they directly bypassed the Flying Immortal Palace's city gates without alerting the sentries there.
Indeed, this Fog Concealed Carriage was truly a good treasure for secretly escaping, pursuing, or infiltrating. As an underground organization, the Immortal Temple didn't need to have any other abilities. Their talent for quietly disappearing was absolutely unparalleled.
Because it was already nighttime, the streets were a little empty, with few people roaming about.
The carriage traveled all the way to Hongwu Street, where the Golden Name Workshop was. They first wandered around on the street, borrowing the dense fog to secretly slip over the wall as if entering an uninhabited location. From the front, the black-clothed person driving the carriage reported back, "There are hidden troops near the Golden Name Workshop, roughly fifteen in total. There are two Qi Drawing Realm, while the rest are martial artists. All are armed to the teeth. There are another twenty martial artists who are on either side of the road, responsible for blocking the road's exit, and there are two Qi Drawing Realm cultivators there. There are nine people inside the Golden Name Workshop, two Blood Boiling and three Qi Drawing Realm cultivators, as well as three commoners. The last person has a strong vitality and I didn't dare to peek on him, but that should be Li Mingtang."
"As expected, there was an ambush, and all four leaders of the Shadow mountain Troops are here. They aren't even planning on going outside of the city to kill you, instead choosing to do it right here in front of the Golden Name Workshop. These bandits truly are becoming more and more arrogant," Baron harrumphed.
Su Chen knitted his eyebrows and said, "There are more Qi Drawing Realm cultivators than we predicted, and those forty-five other martial artists will be a burden. But more importantly, as soon as fighting breaks out in the city, the guards will be alerted very quickly..."
Baron, however, said, "Don't worry about it. We'll show you some of the methods the organization has up our sleeves. That way, brat, you might have some more respect for the organization."
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and two of the black-clothed people along with Night Demon disembarked, borrowing the fog to disappear in a flash. They returned after a brief moment and reported, "Baron, the seed has been planted."
Baron acknowledged this, then turned around to speak to the black-clothed person behind him. "I'll still need to trouble you, Copper Deer."
"Of course." An old, haggard voice came out from underneath the black cloth.
A sound with a strange rhythm came out from this old man's mouth. When Su Chen heard it, it gave him a strange feeling.
An ancient Arcana technique!
This was an extremely complex ancient Arcana technique that was being used.
A moment later, the strange sound stopped. Copper Deer let out a sigh and said, "It's done."
"Let's go." Baron took the lead to exit the car.
When Su Chen got off the car, he saw that they were surrounded by fog so dense he couldn't see his fingers in front of him. He said with some surprise, "Iron Cliff, what happened outside?"
Iron Cliff replied, "Fog is everywhere, Master. It seems like there's trees as well."
There were indeed trees!
Su Chen saw them as well, and he saw them even more clearly than Iron Cliff.
When his vision penetrated past the fog, Su Chen saw strangely shaped large trees densely covering Hongwu Street. They waved their branches in the fog, and occasionally white fog would also be emitted from these branches.
Baron laughed, "Have you heard of the Fog Concealed Forest? These are the trees that can be rumored to disappear. That's because there is a kind of tree known as the Fog Cypress which emits a unique kind of fog. Not only can this fog screen one's vision, but it can also screen one's sense of hearing. Just then, Night Demon and the others had sown a circle of Fog Cypress seeds. Now that the fog has emerged, we can kill to our hearts' content here and no one will find out."
"Let's go. The duration of this rapid growth technique is limited," said the old man who had activated the acceleration technique said.
Everyone directly headed for the Golden Name Workshop.
Night Demon drew near and said, "Stay behind me. I'll protect you."
This rare act of concern warmed Su Chen's heart. However, he shook his head and said, "Thank you, but there's no need. I have Iron Cliff."
"Him?" Night Demon coldly hmphed. She didn't continue speaking, but her implied meaning was 'what use will a guy who hasn't even reached the Qi Drawing Realm yet be'.
Up front, Baron and the others had already arrived at the Golden Name Workshop's front door.
Baron didn't stop moving, placing a solid kick on the door.
The door flew open, and a few people charged outside. "Who dares to cause a ruckus at the Golden Name Workshop?"
However, because of the fog's interference, the sound didn't travel very far. They were clearly very close, but when Su Chen heard it it sounded like they were extremely far away.
Baron laughed loudly, "Li Mingtang, come receive your death!"
As he spoke, his fist went flying.
"Baron! It's you?" an enraged howl came from behind the door, and a fist strike also flew forwards, actually blocking Baron's strike. However, Baron's strike was very leisurely, while the opponent had evidently used all of his strength. His voice even began to tremble. "We've been fooled, it's a trap! I'll delay this guy, everyone else quickly leave!"
As the voice spoke, a bald man rushed out from behind the door, ten or so iron rings wrapped around his arm.
Baron similarly took off the broadsword in his back as he said, "Stop them. Don't let a single one escape."
Black shadows had already shot towards those bandits.
They had been prepared, and every one of them was a bit stronger than the opponents. This ensured that they could secure success and avoid wasting battle power. The only thing they lacked was probably numbers, but because the Shadow Mountain Troops wanted to plot against the seller, their ambush troops were outside the Golden Name Workshop. Thus, because of the fog's limitation on vision and hearing, the bandits outside wouldn't know what was happening and wouldn't be able to provide support. Thus, the fight would be one-on-one. Even if they did rush over, under circumstances where there was an extra Blood Boiling Realm cultivator and an absolute advantage in terms of cultivation base, they would only be sending themselves to their deaths.
Within the dark fog, a massacre began.
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Page 3
Chapter 73: Forceful Tearing
The dark fog blocked both vision and hearing.
The conductance of sound in this fog was greatly diminished, making Su Chen, who was used to relying on his hearing, feel very uncomfortable.
Perhaps this was also the other party's intention?
Placing a blind person in a situation where they could not rely on their hearing to put an immense amount of pressure on that person's heart.
Was this repayment? A warning? A threat? Or was it some other meaning?
Su Chen did not know.
And he did not care.
Although his sight and hearing had been greatly affected, Su Chen could still feel the fierce battle that was occurring not too far away from him. Baron and Li Mingtang especially were like two blazing suns in the dark fog. Even though they were shrouded in fog, he could still feel the forceful Origin Energy movements, not to mention the fact that wave after wave of Origin Energy was constantly pushing aside the fog.
The battle between Yang Opening experts was indeed no small matter. The fluctuations from their battle was enough to disperse the black fog, so everything was broken on sight. The brick building was just like it was made of mud. Even the stone tiger in front of the door was easily broken into pieces. The shockwaves were so large that they even limited the obstruction of the dark fog.
In terms of strength, Baron held the obvious advantage.
His combat style was open, forceful, and robust. Each broadsword strike was filled with a steady power. Although it didn't appear flashy, it contained a fatal power. In comparison, Li Mingtang was clearly more nimble, often attempting to widen the distance between them and attacking with the flying rings. His flying rings were also a kind of Origin Tool, which would return to his arm automatically after being thrown and could form a protective arm brace for close-quarters combat.
However, these multiple forms evidently didn't have any point in front of Baron. Baron's broadsword chopped towards Li Mingtang's arms, causing sparks to fly wildly into the air, clanging like a blacksmith forging iron. Li Mingtang's face continued to pale as he tried to neutralize the violent vibrations that Baron's strikes inflicted on him.
The two of them had fought each other before, and Li Mingtang had suffered a great loss and was forced to flee. Regardless of combat style or cultivation base, Li Mingtang was completely suppressed by Baron. This was why the Immortal Temple had chosen to send Baron to participate in this battle.
On the other side, the situation was even more one-sided.
There were only two Blood Boiling and three Qi Drawing Realm cultivators, while the black-clothed people had three Blood Boiling and three Qi Drawing Realm cultivators, and they had higher cultivation layers than the opponents, so they had the absolute advantage. However, one of the Blood Boiling black-clothed cultivators was significantly weaker in combat compared to the other two for an unknown reason. He was only barely holding on when faced with the fierce onslaught of bandits. Even so, he probably wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
Upon seeing this scene, Su Chen said in a low voice to Iron Cliff, "Iron Cliff, break the wall on that side, then immediately run back to me."
Iron Cliff lowered his head, charging towards the wall that Su Chen had pointed out.
This was a wall that separated the Golden Name Workshop with its neighbor. A horde of bandits appeared from behind the wall. These bandits had been affected by the fog and didn't know yet that there was a battle going on here. But as soon as the wall toppled, even if they were more blind they could recognize something was wrong. When adding on Iron Cliff's obvious body figure, they instantly recognized what was happening and charged over, yelling.
Iron Cliff turned around and ran, with a large group of people chasing him. They then discovered that their leader was embroiled in a bitter struggle and hurried over to assist. Those who were more quick-witted pulled out a whistle and began to blow on it. The whistle was extremely piercing and was able to break through the fog, alerting the bandits who were standing guard near the road.
Upon seeing this, Night Demon angrily yelled, "Su Chen, what are you doing?"
Such a complete annihilation plot was forcefully broken by Su Chen.
Su Chen leisurely replied, "Isn't it just two extra Qi Drawing cultivators and ten or so martial artists? At most it'll take a little more effort to deal with them, so why care about it? Also, if I don't draw them out, how can I go inside to try and find the treasure?"
As he spoke, he brought Iron Cliff and walked into the Golden Name Workshop.
"Dammit, what a wily bastard," everyone cursed upon seeing this scene.
Although they had decided on a method of dividing the spoils, in reality no one trusted each other.
Every person wanted to be the first to find treasure rather than others.
To Baron and the others, they had a large number of people, so naturally they had the advantage.
However, they had not expected that Su Chen would be so devious, directly attracting the ambushing soldiers and prolonging the battle. He and Iron Cliff were the first to step inside.
While everyone cursed Su Chen for his devious schemes, they couldn't do anything to him. Because those bandits were extremely vicious, each one of them going all out, the others would not be able to win in a short amount of time.
At this time, Su Chen had already entered the Golden Name Workshop.
Without investigating too carefully, Su Chen barked out, "Iron Cliff!"
"Understood!" Iron Cliff placed the iron trunk on the ground, opening it up. Inside was an impressive golden suit of armor. The instant the trunk was open, the armor stood up like a person, extending itself and leaping onto Iron Cliff's body, instantly covering him from head to toe and leaving no cracks.. Even his eyes were protected by a special water crystal visor.
"Ha!" He took a step forward with a huge burst of power. The ground cracked beneath his feet.
At the same time, Iron Cliff lowered his head, slamming into the wall in front of him. He furiously ran, beginning to tear down the house.
That's right.
Forceful tearing!
This was the tactic Su Chen had chosen to find the treasure. It was simple and explosive, but it was also the most effective.
He had no interest for the small items in the store itself. All that he was concerned with were hidden treasure storages or chests, etc.
He needed to find the treasure storage before the battle ended!
Bang!
They broke into a room.
Nothing.
They broke into another room. Still nothing.
Iron Cliff continued to charge, his feet slamming on the ground and his head breaking through walls. He used the most barbaric and simplest method to sweep the entire area, looking for any possibly hidden existences.
Suddenly, an intense vibration sounded out.
Iron Cliff stopped moving. He had fragmented a bed in front of him, but his foot landed on something that prevented him from stomping forwards.
Iron Cliff reached his hand down, pulling out a large iron trunk from beneath the bed.
"This one, Master!" Iron Cliff said in a muffled voice.
"Open it."
Iron Cliff broke the lock and opened the trunk.
Boom!
A violent gust of wind burst out from the trunk. Thousands of iron needles slammed onto the metal armor on Iron Cliff's body, creating a sound like a monsoon.
Iron Cliff's figure only swayed slightly before he continued to open the trunk, unperturbed.
The mechanism in the trunk could only be activated once. When he opened it again, nothing else happened.
Su Chen looked inside the trunk only to see a few non eye-catching items inside. There were a few scrolls, some small vials, and a piece of jade. There weren't even any Origin Stones.
However, upon seeing these things, Su Chen's face revealed a satisfied smile.
After staying by Tang Zhen's side for so long, Su Chen had picked up a few things. He knew that the items in here were the real valuable items. Each one could be exchanged for hundreds or even thousands of Origin Stones.
He picked up all the items in the trunk, then said, "We earned back one-third of how much we spent earlier."
"Only one-third?" Iron Cliff was very disappointed.
Su Chen replied, "That's not too bad. After all, this is not the treasury of the Shadow Mountain Troops; it's just the treasury of the Golden Name Workshop."
"How do you know, Master?" Iron Cliff didn't understand.
Su Chen replied, "Because bandits wouldn't treat antiques as treasures. They trust in gold, silver, and precious stones more."
He looked at the surroundings. "A sly individual has more than one fallback plan. As long as Li Mingtang isn't an idiot, he definitely wouldn't keep all of his valuables in one place. This place should have at least some of his hidden treasures. Where could they be?"
Su Chen fell into deep thought.
Su Chen turned his head around and looked in another direction.
A room towered above the fallen wall. That was where Su Chen had released the ambushing troops from earlier.
As he looked at that room, Su Chen's eyes lit up. "Iron Cliff, break that room down for me."
————————————————
"Ah!" Li Mingtang was sent flying with a pained cry. His entire chest caved in as he spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.
"Tell me, where is the Shadow Mountain Troop's treasury?" Baron walked over with large strides. At this moment, he was wearing a suit of armor that was exactly like Iron Cliff's. He looked like a giant golden person. Although he was extremely majestic, his steps did not make as much noise as Iron Cliff's. This was not because his strength was less than Iron Cliff's, but rather that his control over it was much stronger than Iron Cliff.
Li Mingtang looked at Baron, wanting to say something. However, in the end he was unable to vocalize it, and his head tilted as he died.
"Dammit!" Baron tossed Li Mingtang to the ground in anger. In order to quickly finish off his opponent, his attack had been too strong.
On the other side, Night Demon and the others had completely killed off all of the remaining bandits.
They looked at each other before simultaneously charging towards the Golden Name Pavilion. They had not taken many steps, however, before a person walked out from the fog.
This was Su Chen. Behind him was Iron Cliff, who was dressed in the golden armor and was carrying a giant trunk.
"There's no need to search anymore," he said. "I searched this place already. Evidently, their treasury is not hidden here."
A black-clothed person harrumphed, "If you say there's none then there's none? How do we know if you didn't hide the treasures after finding them?"
Su Chen tilted his head. "Then what do you think we should do?"
"Take out your ring and let us take a look at it."
Su Chen thought for a moment, then replied, "I can agree to this. However, I must remind you that this is breaking our mutual trust. Today, you can suspect me, and tomorrow I can distrust you."
As he spoke, Su Chen tossed his ring over to Baron, not even giving him any time to consider.
Now that the ring was in his hand, Baron could only open it to take a look to avoid appearing weak-willed.
Of course, he didn't find any treasures.
Su Chen laughed, "Do you need to search my body as well?"
Baron said in a low voice, "There's no need. Aaron, apologize to Prince Su."
The black-clothed person called Aaron could only say reluctantly, "Sorry, Prince Su."
"No worries," Su Chen replied. "However, since we didn't find anything here, we can only go to the Shadow Mountain. Of course, if there is anyone who hasn't given up yet, you can go in to take a look as well. However, you'd best do it quickly. It takes time to get there, and if this matter stretches until tomorrow... I will need to pay an extra day's salary."
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Page 4
Chapter 74: Extermination (1)
In the end, Baron still took some people in to take a look at the Golden Name Workshop.
When they returned to carriage, Su Chen and Iron Cliff had already been sitting there for quite some time. Su Chen was even rotating the Qi in his body, seizing the moment to cultivate.
When he heard Baron return, Su Chen said, continuing to stay seated with his eyes closed, "Didn't find anything?"
"No. But if you, the person paying for all of this, aren't anxious, why should we be anxious?" Baron laughed as he got on the carriage.
The carriage began to head in the direction of the Shadow Mountain.
Now, they could finally relax. Iron Cliff took off the suit of armor he'd been wearing and put it back in the trunk.
When Baron saw it, he laughed, "Giving a Melted Golden Armor worth seven thousand Origin Stones to a servant to wear, and just to break into rooms? You are quite extravagant."
"Esteemed Baron has pretty good sight," Su Chen laughed. "I just used it to prevent any accidents that might occur. After all, once the battle starts, nobody knows what will happen. I just cursorily brought it along to break into different rooms, incurring Baron's ridicule."
Baron agreed, "However, a grade nine Melted Golden Armor for a Cliff Race servant is more understandable."
The Melted Golden Armor's defensive strength was high, and its defensive capabilities could compare with a grade eight armor. The only lacking aspect was that it was simply too heavy, and normal Origin Qi Scholars might not be able to use it. The Cliff Race were innately strong, and so this battle armor could be considered the most suitable choice for Iron Cliff. When Iron Cliff was searching the house, he had been able to block the flying darts even though he hadn't activated the armor's defensive capabilities. If he had used Origin Stones to activate it, the defensive power would be even stronger, and even the blood aura might not be able to break through it in one slash.
Of course, to Baron this defensive power could be broken with a sword. His Melted Golden Armor was a grade six tool. It was lighter than Iron Cliff's, but its defensive power was a number of times greater.
Just as Su Chen wanted to speak, Baron shushed him, gesturing at him to avoid making noise.
People began making a racket outside. Large hordes of soldiers charged over upon discovering the disturbance.
The Fog Concealed Carriage passed through them like air. The soldiers continued to charge forward, unaware. Everyone inside the car maintained absolute silence.
They were as quiet as corpses.
At this moment, an unusual, low hum suddenly sounded out above the Fog Concealed Carriage, just like a clocktower was sounding out.
Everyone's hearts shook. Even the Concealed Fog Carriage let out a loud sound.
This loud sound shocked all the soldiers, and they all began to look around. "What was that noise?"
Everyone was shocked, and the second clocktower strike rang out.
The Well Armadillos simultaneously stopped moving, as if they were about to yell, and the Origin Formations on the carriage began to release a shocking light as if it wanted to escape from the fog that concealed it.
At this moment, a black-clothed person suddenly took off his hood. This was the black-clothed person with a lower combat prowess that Su Chen had noticed earlier.
His face was deathly pale, and his blue eyes glowed with a strange light.
He put his palms together, letting out a low chanting hum.
Su Chen couldn't hear clearly what it was. The Well Armadillos had already begun to howl, and even the Concealed Fog Carriage began to flicker into view, appearing in front of the soldiers as the clocktower continued to ring.
Even so, the soldiers seemed to be unaware of this fact, actually leaving while minding their own business.
The Concealed Fog Carriage continued to advance, constantly flickering into view as the clocktower rang out. However, all the people around them seemed to be unaware, continuing to search.
This happened all the way until they exited the city.
The clocktower's bell stopped ringing, and the Concealed Fog Carriage returned to normal. The blue-eyed, black-clothed person relaxed his hands. His figure shook, as if he had been drained of all his strength.
Baron quickly came over to support him and said, "Well done, Li."
"Beautifully done." Everyone began to congratulate the person named Li.
A black-clothed person began to laugh, "Thankfully, Li was here. The Inspections Department will only be able to eat our farts this time, haha."
Knowing that Su Chen didn't understand, Night Demon said, "Li is an Illusion Master and is an expert in that field. Just then, the bell sounds were from the Inspections Department, who was sounding out the Awakening Bell to disrupt the use of Origin Energy and any concealment techniques. If it weren't for Li's soul illusions, we would have been discovered."
Illusions were soul techniques which could be used to directly influence the surface of a person's soul, causing them to hallucinate. Thus, only those with innately powerful souls were suitable for studying and using soul-type illusion techniques. Li was such an Illusion Master with an extremely powerful innate soul. He had been specifically trained by the organization. His main task was to conceal everyone and hide their traces.
Upon knowing this, Su Chen could also understand Li's performance up to this point. He had most likely been saving his strength, waiting for this very moment.
Indeed, no method or tactic was invincible under the heavens.
Although the Concealed Fog Carriage was good, it wasn't impossible to break through it. As for Li's illusion techniques, they were enough to make Su Chen sigh in admiration.
This entire noiseless battle had greatly broadened Su Chen's horizons. His understanding of Origin Qi Scholars had once again increased.
Once exiting the city, the Shadow Mountain was a straight journey to the west.
The Shadow Mountain Troops' headquarters were hidden in the mountain. These bandits were extremely devious and would never provoke people they couldn't afford to provoke. Occasionally, armed forces would come. However, they wouldn't do battle; instead, they would give up on it and hide in the mountains, waiting for the armed forces to retreat before continuing to live freely.
This had happened back and forth a few times already. Even the Flying Immortal Palace could do nothing about them.
However, because of this, the Shadow Mountain Troops could be considered completely screwed.
Their four leaders had all been killed, and the Shadow Mountain Troops had not received any information about it until now.
When the Fog Concealed Carriage arrived in front of the Shadow Mountain camp. The bandit sentries standing guard were still there napping.
"What a motley group," Baron coldly harrumphed.
He displayed the utter disdain that elite terrorists held towards a low-class criminal group who only focused on robbery to maintain their living.
"Captain, how should we do things?" someone asked Baron.
"To deal with this trash, we don't need to have any kind of plan. Let's just surround them up completely. Copper Deer, you watch the front door. Don't let a single person leave this place. Night Demon, you're responsible for infiltrating the place. Find any existing secret tunnels and storage areas. Everyone else, come with me. We'll charge into the front door."
"Yes, Sir!" Everyone yelled.
Following Baron's orders, Night Demon took the lead, disappearing into the night. Next, the black-clothed person named Copper Deer threw out a few seeds. Under the control of his rapid growth technique, a small forest suddenly appeared in the Shadow Mountain Troops' camp.
At the same time, the remaining black-clothed people began storming the place. They had no intention of staying hidden.
The lazy sentries were finally awoken by the disturbance caused by the large trees emerging from the ground. When they saw the fluttering pieces of paper on the front door, the bandit sentries began to yell, panicked, "Heavens!"
At least they had not forgotten their responsibilities. They ran to a large bell and began to shake it, yelling, "Wake up, enemies are here! We're being raided by enemies!"
The giant bell began to echo inside the mountain range, shocking a flock of birds into the sky. Following this, countless bandits began to yell foul-mouthedly.
Baron and the others did not prevent the enemies from doing this. They simply stood in place, silently waiting.
The bandits finally grouped together. Upon looking at the vast swathe of people, Baron suddenly smiled.
The heat of bloodthirst appeared in his eyes.
He said, "It's slaughtering time!"
Blade light began to blossom.
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Page 5
Chapter 75: Extermination (2)
It was a battle without suspense.
Although there were more than three hundred bandits, their fates were to be slaughtered when faced with an official Origin Qi Scholar.
The black-clothed people were like gods of war in the night. They leapt to and fro in the battle, activating all kinds of strange Origin Skills, mercilessly slaughtering those bandits.
Baron was like a god wearing golden armor. He majestically stood at the very front, completely ignoring all attacks sent his way. He didn't even wear the Melted Golden Armor, allowing the bandits' arrows, blades, and spears to land on his body. He didn't even need to activate a barrier; he could block their attacks simply with his fleshy body. The broadsword in his hand swung through the air easily and carried a sword light with it. It split whatever it hit in two.
Li's situation was completely different from Baron's. He leisurely walked among the masses. Those bandits were seemingly unable to see him; not a single attack landed towards him. At the same time, Li would thrust the Blackwood Serpent Staff in his hand towards the enemies' hearts. The staff was only a foot long, and it was completely made from blackwood and sculpted in the shape of a serpent. At the end of the handstaff was a sharp blade. His enemies would collapse immediately, not even knowing where the attack had come from. Occasionally, if he was facing too many enemies, a thick black fog would emerge from his body. Under the covering of the fog, each and every bandit was shredded to pieces. Their deaths were very slow, yet they were also very painful.
Aaron's attacks were much more concise. He was pouncing like a leopard, and his eyes were extremely bright. He wielded a paper-thin blade in his hand. Every time he struck out, he hit the opponent's weak points, such as their heart, throat, or even their Qi Sea. His attacks were extremely fast. Often, they would be struck by what seemed to be only a flash of blade light. They would find themselves dead as Aaron walked away. Although he was only a high-layer Qi Drawing Realm cultivator, his attacks were vicious and he killed very quickly, even more so than Baron himself.
However, he was not the one who killed the most people.
The person who killed the most was Smoke.
Smoke was one of the three Blood Boiling cultivators in the seven-man platoon. As his name implied, he enjoyed setting things on fire.
He was the brightest existence in the dark night. When he stood there, flames began to surge in all four directions with him as the center. The flames seemed to have eyes, avoiding all of the allies. They were as nimble as snakes, wrapping around the bandits. Thus, the snake-like raging flames were the brightest existences on the entire mountain in the otherwise dark night. Smoke had also become the brightest person present. He wreaked havoc on the bandits. At least one-third of them died to his hands alone.
The remainder panicked, furiously attempting to flee, but the forest that Copper Deer had laid down became their last nightmare.
This was a giant tree that grew demonic faces on it. They would not move initially, but every time a bandit ran into the reach of their branches, large numbers of branches would reach out like pieces of rope, restraining them. Then, the demonic faces would open wide, and the targets would slowly be sent into the Demonic Face Tree's mouth. During this period of time, the targets would struggle incessantly; their panic was the Demonic Face Tree's favorite seasoning. In the end, the tree would swallow the target and slowly chew them to pieces. During this time, one could still hear the heart-rending cries of the people being eaten.
The man-eating forest completely ruined the bandits' line of defense. They had nowhere to run, and no desire to do battle any longer.
Su Chen was the only one who didn't make a move.
Any time that the bandits attempted to make a move towards him, Iron Cliff, who was wearing the Melted Golden Armor, would block all of their attacks. He focused all his efforts on protecting his master, doing his duty as a loyal soldier.
Occasionally, Iron Cliff wouldn't be able to block an attack. However, this wasn't an issue because Su Chen still had Qingbai at his side.
Qingbai was a young person with a delicate face. He was one of the three Qi Drawing cultivators of the seven-man platoon.
He did not possess Aaron's extremist attitude. In fact, he looked just like a neighbor's big brother. When he spoke, his face would sometimes redden. He appeared to be quite gentle.
However, his attacks were not gentle at all.
Qingbai didn't use any weapons. His fists were his weapons.
His fists were white, but they were as tough as jade.
Whenever any attacks came flying his direction, Qingbai's hands would intercept them just like he was snatching insects out of the air. Then, he would let go, allowing them to fall to the ground.
An arrow suddenly flew by, and Qingbai grabbed it. Perhaps because his movements had been too loose, the tip of the arrow slipped through his fingers, pressing onto Su Chen's eyelid.
Su Chen's eyes did not move at all as if he couldn't see anything and didn't know anything.
"Apologies, I almost let you get injured," Qingbai apologized with embarrassment.
"No worries. Almost... means that it didn't happen, right?" Su Chen gently laughed, appearing as if he had no idea how much danger he had just been in.
"As long as you don't mind," Qingbai said with a bashful expression.
As such, Su Chen continued forward, with Qingbai following closely behind him.
Even though Su Chen had not found any secret treasury stores in the Golden Name Workshop, Baron did not want to give Su Chen any more opportunities to search for treasure on his own.
The battle progressed very rapidly, and the number of bandits drastically decreased.
When Su Chen arrived in the mountain camp's main pavilion, he couldn't hear shouting from outside anymore. All that he could see was flames lighting up the night sky.
"Any spoils? Qingbai," Baron stepped forwards to say.
"There's nothing, sir, you guys killed them too quickly," Qingbai responded softly.
"They were all just weak trash. Killing them was no fun," Baron replied, then turned around and yelled behind him, "Don't kill them all, leave some of them alive!"
A large group of people were tossed to the side after being knocked unconscious.
He grabbed ten or so of these remaining people and then continued to kill.
A plume of black smoke suddenly appeared. Night Demon slowly faded into view, and she was holding onto a beautifully dressed woman.
"There is a secret tunnel behind the mountain. Fourteen bandits wanted to escape from there, and they have already been dealt with. This is Li Mingtang's wife; she should know where the treasure is hidden.
Upon hearing that they had captured Li Mingtang's woman, everyone became interested.
"Li, stop killing, go interrogate this woman with Night Demon!" Baron said.
"Yes." Li let out a very demonic laugh, then floated away.
Illusion Masters were great interrogators. No one could lie in front of them, since their soul illusion techniques could easily see through them.
However, this woman clearly had no intentions of holding out. She knelt on the ground and continuously kowtowed. Li only asked one sentence and she spilled everything that she knew.
Once she revealed the treasury's location, Madame Li continued to kowtow continuously, causing the floorboards to vibrate violently. She continued to yell, "Please spare me, I already told you everything that I know..."
"Noisy!" Li said impatiently. He slammed his palm onto the woman's head, actually cracking her skull in one blow. Perhaps because he had used too much strength, Li's own face paled slightly, and he swayed on his feet.
Copper Deer laughed, "Slow down there, Li, don't waste so much energy on a woman."
This sentence had a double meaning, making everyone laugh. Only Night Demon let out an unhappy "hmph".
"Okay, since everyone already knows where the hidden treasure is, let's go." Baron stood up.
By following Madame Li's instructions, everyone eventually found a secret tunnel hidden behind a fake boulder in the back of the mountain.
The secret tunnel led to a room. Upon opening the room, they found that it was filled to the brim with gold, silver, and precious stones.
Although they were treasures in the secular world, they could still be exchanged for quite a few Origin Stones.
Aaron and Iron Cliff were responsible for taking inventory and came to a sum very quickly.
There was a total of twenty thousand taels of pure gold.
This was not a small sum, but didn't count for much considering that this was the belongings of a Yang Opening Realm cultivator.
"Damn, in any case they were still the Shadow Mountain Troops, yet they only had so few valuables," Copper Deer said unhappily.
"Bandits will always be bandits. If they stored up any more money, they would have quit being bandits a long time ago." Night Demon did not find it strange.
"Interrogate some other people and see if there are any other hidden treasuries," Baron said. Evidently, he was also not satisfied by their spoils.
The result, however, was disappointing. Evidently, this was the extent of the Shadow Mountain Troops' riches.
Baron sighed, "Little Brother Su Chen, it seems like your luck is not too good. Based on our previous agreement, if this shipment of goods is worth twenty thousand Origin Stones, we first subtract six thousand. Of the remaining fourteen thousand Origin Stones, seven thousand are yours. If we subtract the tool rental and employment fees, you still owe us a thousand Origin Stones."
Su Chen laughed, "I'll pay the thousand Origin Stones once I return to Northface City. As for this trip, I'm happy that I was able to earn this much anyways. I am already quite satisfied."
"So you know how to be tactful," Aaron harrumphed from the side.
"Hm?" Baron stared at Aaron. Aaron did not dare to continue speaking.
Although they had schemed against each other when finding treasures, Baron didn't wish to actually become enemies with Su Chen.
After all, the money was a small issue, but the organization's plans were greater.
If their plans failed because of a little bit of money, there would be greater problems.
Thus, he thought for a moment and said, "Although Little Brother doesn't mind, I still feel a little guilty. Since I killed Li Mingtang and obtained his Flying Moon Wheels, I think I've earned enough battle spoils. I don't need the four thousand Origin Stones that belonged to me anymore. Consider it a personal gift from me to Prince Su..."
Su Chen hurriedly said, "There's no need to do this. We decided how to divide the spoils from the very beginning. Rules are rules, and they shouldn't be carelessly broken. Regardless of how much I was able to obtain, you can have faith that this will not affect the relationship that we've built."
He directly refused.
Upon hearing these words, Baron let out a sigh and laughed, "With these words from Prince Su, I feel relieved."
He wanted to politely say a few more sentences. However, at this moment a piercing cry suddenly sounded out. "Young Master Su... Young Master Su, save me..."
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