"Just as I thought!"
Shen Changchuan walked over to the scar-faced man's corpse.
From inside the man's sleeve, he found a Storage Bag.
The Storage Bag was palm-sized and earthy yellow.
Shen Changchuan channeled his Magical Power into the runes near the bag's opening, and a Storage Space two meters in length, width, and height materialized in his perception.
Inside this Storage Space,
lay some Spirit Stones, Demon Beast Materials, Jade Boxes sealing Spirit Medicines, Spirit Pills, and various other miscellaneous items.
A hint of joy appeared on Shen Changchuan's pale face.
It seemed
most of these men's wealth was inside this Storage Bag.
The battle had been fraught with danger, bringing him to the brink of death several times,
but surviving the ordeal
had resulted in a huge windfall.
Shen Changchuan didn't have time to take a detailed inventory of the Storage Bag's contents yet.
But setting everything else aside,
the Storage Bag alone was worth a small fortune.
As far as Shen Changchuan knew,
a Storage Bag cost at least three hundred Spirit Stones.
And that was the black market price for stolen goods.
There was always the risk that someone would recognize it, leading to a quest for revenge.
Legitimate Storage Bags were even more expensive!
For a perennial pauper like Shen Changchuan, it had always been an unattainable treasure.
Even if the Storage Bag had been empty,
Shen Changchuan would have felt this whole ordeal was worth it!
He tucked the Storage Bag securely against his body.
Then, Shen Changchuan took the Soul-Attracting Bell from the scar-faced man's corpse.
He made a simple attempt to control it.
He discovered that the Soul-Attracting Bell didn't normally make any sound. It only chimed when activated with Magical Power.
And those chimes had a special effect that attacked a Cultivator's Divine Sense Soul!
Its power
was something Shen Changchuan had experienced firsthand.
It had felt like a massive club smashing into the back of his head.
He had nearly passed out.
'Good stuff!'
'It's incredibly powerful!'
'If I hadn't consumed the Cyan Essence Water Grass, which tempered and elevated my Divine Sense to a level comparable to the Qi Introduction Seventh Layer, I probably would have been done for!'
Recalling the earlier scene, Shen Changchuan couldn't help but feel a flicker of lingering fear.
At the time, under the scar-faced man's relentless close-quarters assault, his Magical Power had been severely depleted. He'd had no choice but to intentionally reveal an opening to bait an attack, creating an opportunity for a counter-kill.
But who could have known
that guy would pull out something like the Soul-Attracting Bell?
Even though Shen Changchuan's Heart Spirit was on high alert,
constantly wary of a potential trump card, he had still been hit in an instant.
If the scar-faced man hadn't misjudged his strength,
if he hadn't expected that a Qi Introduction Fourth Layer Cultivator could possess Divine Sense Strength on par with someone in the Qi Introduction Late Stage, Shen Changchuan wouldn't have been able to seize the opportunity to successfully counter-kill.
Otherwise, the one to die in this battle would have been him, Shen Changchuan!
'It's only because I merged with this body's memories and fragmented Divine Soul, and also because of the Cyan Essence Water Grass, that my Divine Sense reached the level of the Qi Introduction Late Stage. That's the only reason I could withstand it and recover so quickly.'
'Otherwise, I would have been completely helpless against this Magical Artifact!'
'With this, probably very few Cultivators below the Qi Introduction Late Stage would be a match for its wielder!'
Shen Changchuan sighed inwardly.
At the same time, his heart filled with even more joy,
because this deadly weapon
was now his.
The more powerful the Magical Artifact,
the better it was for Shen Changchuan, naturally.
Based on his prior experience,
the Soul-Attracting Bell could definitely affect even a Cultivator at the Qi Introduction Seventh Layer!
It didn't need to completely immobilize them.
As long as it could make them waver and reveal an opening for just a split second in battle, that was enough to decide the victor!
'It's just a pity that this Soul-Attracting Bell seems to consume too much Magical Power.'
'At my current Realm, I doubt I could use it more than a few times in a single fight.'
After just a few simple attempts to control it,
Shen Changchuan had already realized this thing was an absolute Magical Power guzzler.
A greedy thought couldn't help but surface in his mind.
With only ten percent of his Magical Power left,
he probably didn't even have enough to make it chime.
While these thoughts flashed through his mind,
Shen Changchuan didn't stop moving.
First, he hung the Soul-Attracting Bell on his wrist and covered it with his sleeve for easy access in battle.
After doing that,
and confirming there was nothing else to be gained from the scar-faced man's body,
Shen Changchuan collected the nearby Array Plate—still buried and holding Spirit Stones—and the scattered Array Flags, placing them all into the Storage Bag.
Although he didn't recognize the Array and didn't know how to use it,
a looter never leaves empty-handed.
He was definitely taking all the good stuff.
By now, Shen Changchuan had cleaned up all the spoils from the battlefield.
Shen Changchuan turned around,
walked over to the unconscious Zhao Hanguo, and lifted him by the collar with one hand,
ready to leave.
But just then,
something occurred to Shen Changchuan.
He stopped in his tracks.
His eyes flickered.
After a few breaths of thought and a moment of hesitation,
he put down the unconscious Zhao Hanguo, turned back, and put the three corpses into the Storage Bag one by one.
Only then did he pick up Zhao Hanguo again and depart.
Left behind,
only shattered trees
and the bloodstains on the ground remained as evidence that what had happened was no illusion.
However, these traces
would likely vanish soon enough within the dense forest.
...
「Zhao Family Village.」
The village, once a paradise nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, a place easy to defend and hard to attack,
was now mostly engulfed in raging flames.
Flames and smoke soared into the sky.
Even from more than ten li away, one could clearly see massive pillars of black smoke rising endlessly toward the heavens.
Within the village, which had been reduced to ruins,
bodies lay scattered in pools of blood in the alleyways and collapsed houses.
Bodies littered the ground.
The few lucky survivors had fled deep into the mountains, running around like headless chickens, trembling in terror, too afraid to show themselves.
Meanwhile,
inside the lavish mansion at the village's highest point,
Zhao Hanguo's son,
Zhao Jingming, a well-known dandy in the surrounding area, was kneeling on the floor, his face a mess of tears and snot.
"Why? Why?!"
"My father already told you the entire secret! He did exactly as you asked! Why did you still have to kill people? Why did you have to destroy the village?!"
Zhao Jingming knelt, covering his face with his hands, his back hunched as he buried his head between his knees, his body wracked with sobs.
The roar of the flames and the crash of collapsing houses from outside mixed together, reaching his ears with stark clarity.
The wailing spirits struggling in the inferno seemed to be casting the most vicious curses and resentments upon him!
'It's me!'
'It's all because I brought this wolf into our home that this once peaceful and tranquil village met with such a disaster!'
Zhao Jingming's body trembled uncontrollably.
He didn't dare to look up at the corpses lying in pools of blood around him.
He dared even less to look outside at Zhao Family Village, now engulfed in fire.
He just wanted to be an ostrich with its head buried in the sand,
unwilling to face this bloody reality.
"Heh heh, to destroy all traces and clues, of course. What else would it be for?"
At that moment,
from the head seat,
the third brother of the He Mountain Four Fierce—his clothes stained with blood, his aura murderous—spoke. After finishing his killing spree, he wiped the blood from his longsword and glanced contemptuously at the cowardly Zhao Jingming below.
He stood up,
sword in hand, and slowly walked toward Zhao Jingming.
"According to our intel, that person is just an unimportant illegitimate son of the Shen Family. But he is the Shen Family Patriarch's son, after all. If he were to be murdered..."
"Heh, even though we He Mountain Four Brothers plan to flee to the Nanyue Immortal Cultivation World after this and never return, it's best not to get targeted by a major family like that."
The third brother walked up to the trembling Zhao Jingming,
and whispered in his ear:
"As long as everyone who knows is dead, and you and your father disappear without a trace, any subsequent investigation will focus on you two. It will have nothing to do with us four brothers."
"Even if they do get suspicious, by then, we four brothers will have already taken the inheritance and fled. The Shen Family isn't capable enough to extend its reach tens of thousands of li to the Nanyue Immortal Cultivation World."
"So on behalf of my eldest brother, thank you, both father and son!"
The third brother's voice was low and eerie.
His tone carried a hint of mockery,
but there was also a sliver of sincerity in it.
He was genuinely grateful to Zhao Jingming.
Who could have known
that the infamous incident back then—when the Patriarch of the Hu Family of Dawan Village, who had some renown in the Border Desolate Land, killed a Shen Family branch disciple—was actually related to the inheritance of a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm?
And who could have known
that the person who secretly reported it to the Shen Family, leaking the news of the Hu Family's murder and ultimately leading to their annihilation, was none other than Zhao Hanguo, the village chief of Zhao Family Village, not far from Dawan Village?
No one would have ever imagined
that Zhao Hanguo, a mere Qi Introduction Fourth Layer minor Cultivator,
a quiet, subservient farmer toiling in the fields, was actually holding a massive secret related to the remains of a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm!
Only an idiot like Zhao Jingming, who had lived a life of comfort since childhood,
would spout nonsense about being unwilling to live an ordinary life, seeking a life of excitement, and wanting to run with Tribulation Cultivators like them...
Normally, when faced with such an idiot with clear, foolish eyes,
they would have just chewed him up and spit him out.
But they never expected that just a few flattering words would make him spill such a huge secret!
You have to understand,
that was the cave abode of a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm!
The Soul Emergence Realm!
An invincible powerhouse in this Border Desolate Land!
And according to their deductions, it was the legacy of a Disciple from the Xiangshan Sect, which was destroyed three hundred years ago!
If they could obtain that inheritance,
it wouldn't just give the He Mountain Four Brothers a chance to glimpse the divine might of Soul Emergence,
it would at least be enough to allow all of them to reach the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Realm!
With such a heaven-sent fortune falling into their laps,
even if it meant taking considerable risks, it was absolutely worth it!
"No, that's not right... The Shen Family... a major family like the Shen Family won't be fooled so easily by you... You..."
Zhao Jingming trembled, trying to say something in his agitation,
but the sharp longsword,
SHLICK!
had already plunged into his back, piercing through his body and his heart.
The rest of Zhao Jingming's words were stuck in his throat, never to be spoken.
"Rest assured, Brother Zhao, you don't need to worry about that. We four brothers have our own plans."
"Brother Zhao, you've delivered a monumental fortune to us. Such a great favor is truly impossible to repay. The only thing we can do is send your entire family to the Yellow Springs to be reunited."
"Don't worry, Brother Zhao. Your father will be on his way to find you on the road to the Yellow Springs soon enough. You won't have to worry about being lonely down there."
Zhao Jingming's body fell limply.
In his final moments,
his eyes filled with endless unwillingness and regret.
'Father...'
'I'm sorry... I was wrong...'
Gazing at the corpse on the ground, the third brother's face twisted into a mocking sneer.
He wiped the blood from his longsword with a cloth,
about to turn and leave.
However,
at that very instant,
CLANG!
A clear chime from a Bell echoed through the spacious house.
The sound seemed to carry a formless, magical power that bored straight into the depths of one's Sea of Divine Sense Consciousness.
Instantly,
the third brother felt as if an iron rod had smashed viciously into his head.
His mind went blank,
and his entire body froze in place.