Insolent Whelp, How Dare You Deceive Me So!

Luo Chen had indeed guessed correctly. Back when he attended the Zhenlong Black Market for the first time, its master had sought to get on his good side and specifically had the gatekeeper, a cultivator surnamed Wang, offer him a piece of advice. Among the warnings, he had mentioned that places like North Street Lane Three, Seven Star Slope, the Mass Graves, and the main road back to the inner city were the spots most prone to ambushes by predatory rogue cultivators after the market concluded. Luo Chen had been caught up in that clash in North Street Lane Three when Qiu Bo ambushed the Three Sima Cultivators. Consequently, he had instinctively chosen this area as an ambush point. That did not mean, however, that he had made no preparations in the other locations. By the time Luo Chen and Wang Yuan arrived, three masked, black-robed cultivators were already assaulting a robed figure. Shouts and bellows mingled with violently surging spiritual light, harsh and grating against the ears. "The heavy black robe, the tender disguised voice—no doubt about it, that's him." "My qi and blood senses point to him as well," Wang Yuan confirmed once more. Luo Chen watched the clash for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly. "Liu Qiang didn't team up with Zhou Yuanli, so his strength falls short of the ninth level of Qi Refining. Even with three eighth-level Qi Refining cultivators ganging up on this person, they can't force out their trump card. "Brother Wang, I'll have to trouble you." Whoosh! Wang Yuan's hemp robe snapped sharply in the night wind, and a heavy wrought-iron staff appeared in his broad, calloused hand. He gave Luo Chen a nod, gripped the staff, and charged forward in an instant. "This slope was opened by me, this tree was planted by me! If you wish to pass this way, leave behind your toll of life!" A disguised, rough, booming voice thundered through the air. Immediately following it was an earth-shattering staff shadow crashing down from above. Behind him, the corners of Luo Chen's mouth twitched. Brother Wang sure had quite the sense of humor! Yet what seemed humorous to him was an entirely different story to the others present. At the sight of that colossal staff shadow, Liu Qiang—one of the three masked cultivators—paled slightly. "Fall back!" Without hesitation, the three cultivators from the Luotian Association's War Hall broke their encirclement, leaving the black-robed figure entirely alone to face Wang Yuan's devastating strike. The robed cultivator looked on in horror and immediately threw out a handkerchief dharma artifact. "You Dahe cultivators are utterly unreasonable!" The tender disguised voice was gone, replaced instead by a crisp, delicate woman's voice. When the earth-shattering staff shadow was gently and softly enveloped by the handkerchief dharma artifact, its overwhelming force gradually dissolved away. Amid the howling gale, the black robe was blown aside, revealing the voluptuous curves of a woman beneath. "Oh?" Wang Yuan let out a soft murmur of surprise—not because of her identity as a female cultivator, but because her combat experience was remarkably rich. Even though this wrought-iron staff was not his preferred supreme-grade saber, as a grandmaster of the martial path, he was proficient in all eighteen classes of weaponry. That single blow had been exceptionally fierce and unyielding. His original intention was to force out the blood talisman in her hand. He had not expected her to instantly make the most correct countermove. Overcoming hardness with softness! Still, that was all it amounted to. Tapping his fingers in rapid succession, Wang Yuan appeared to catch the tail end of the iron staff. With each light flick of his fingers, the staff danced and bobbed, thrusting forward in a blur. "Mustering Troops Across Mountains and Rivers!" In an instant, the staff conjured dozens of shadow strikes, stabbing forward like an overwhelming deluge. Every single staff shadow carried the might of a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining. The black-robed woman's expression changed drastically. The handkerchief artifact drifted back to her side, shielding her tightly. Not only that, but crystalline snowflakes drifted out from the translucent longsword in her grip. Each snowflake met one of the incoming staff shadows with uncanny precision. Bang! Bang! Bang! Snowflakes shattered; bursts of force disintegrated. The woman seemed to teeter on the verge of collapse, yet every exploding snowflake marked the vanishing of a staff shadow. She had actually managed to withstand it. Wang Yuan's eyes brightened. After advancing his body cultivation to the second realm, he had not gained many new techniques. However, the power of his conventional methods had increased considerably. He had never imagined this woman would withstand them all. What was more, she had countered each strike using the absolute best approach. *A pity...* Wang Yuan sighed inwardly, reaching out into the empty air to seize the staff once more. "Gather!" The next instant, all the shattered staff shadows seemed to reverse through time, rapidly reforming. Driven by an uncanny surge of inner force, they converged together. A staff several dozen yards long rose into the night sky above Seven Star Slope. The black-robed woman watched in horror, her scalp tingling and her soul nearly leaving her body. "What kind of technique is this?!" With no time to think, a blood talisman abruptly appeared in her hand. "You forced my hand!" Spiritual power surged into the talisman, and it ignited on its own without any wind. A brilliant, dazzling crimson glow flared outward. Along with it came a deep, heavy fragrance reminiscent of orchids and musk. The scent caused even the woman herself to daze for a split second. By the time she snapped back to her senses, a colossal blood-red palm had already drifted forward, slamming into the towering staff. Rumble! A thunderous explosion echoed for nearly ten miles. The blinding glare lit up the entire night sky, faintly visible even from a hundred miles away. Amidst the blast, a furious and alarmed cry rang out. "A Fu family blood talisman—damn you!" When the light finally subsided, Seven Star Slope, once a notorious hunting ground for predatory rogue cultivators in Dahe Market, had been completely leveled. A massive crater several hundred yards wide appeared before the woman's eyes, her face as pale as golden paper. Inside the crater lay a mangled, dismembered corpse, resting motionless. Panting heavily, the woman burst into hearty laughter. "Damned predatory rogue! Serves you right to die! Serves you right!" It was only a shame about that blood talisman she had just acquired. Its might was indeed formidable—it did not merely rival the Great Perfection of Qi Refining; it far surpassed it, carrying a sensation almost akin to a strike from a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Just as she was laughing freely and heartily, her expression abruptly changed again. "This is outrageous! Is Dahe Market nothing but a nest of predatory rogues?" Cursing under her breath, she dared not linger. Gathering her remaining strength, she mounted her flying artifact and fled in haste. Not far away in the outer market, dozens of multicolored streaks of light were already racing frantically in this direction. *** Beneath a large tree, Luo Chen swallowed hard. "Is this what Brother Wang meant by 'only affecting a radius of a hundred meters'?" The sheer scale of that explosion covered an area far beyond a hundred meters! Wang Yuan strode over, dusting off his robes. "That woman has rich combat experience and sharp eyes. The original fake blood talisman likely wouldn't have fooled her. "So I added a little extra something to it." *No wonder!* Luo Chen came to a sudden realization, though he still coveted the sheer power of that fake blood talisman. If it could be mass-produced, it could pose a genuine threat to Foundation Establishment cultivators. If every cultivator in the Luotian Association's War Hall carried one, they could practically walk unchallenged throughout Dahe Market. Noticing his gaze, Wang Yuan sneered softly. "Don't expect me to mass-produce these talismans. It would interfere far too much with my cultivation." Luo Chen gave an embarrassed chuckle. True enough. It had taken Wang Yuan a full ten days to craft this single fake talisman, draining a substantial portion of his qi and blood in the process. If the goal was purely lethality, it would be far better for Wang Yuan to focus on raising his own cultivation. One must not put the cart before the horse! The two looked out toward what had once been Seven Star Slope—now better described as Seven Star Crater—where dozens of light streaks were lingering and circling. A few others had already plunged into the depths of the night in pursuit. "Brother Wang, that shout of yours was a stroke of genius!" "How else could we make a name for the Fu family?" The two exchanged a knowing smile. Everything was understood without saying. *** The following day, after a night of fermenting rumors. Every rogue cultivator in Dahe Market learned of the previous night's battle. The reputation of the Fu family's blood talismans was thoroughly established. Countless people were discussing the item, desperate to get their hands on one. Of course, many others openly condemned them. As a former Foundation Establishment clan, the Fu family was secretly abducting cultivators, flaying their skin and draining their blood to craft talismans. Such behavior was no different from demonic practices, and everyone had the duty to destroy them! In an instant, the Fu family was thrust directly into the eye of the storm. Within the Luotian Association, Luo Chen, having finished his daily pill refining, could also hear the discussions among the members. The indignant voices, in particular, left him well satisfied. From the look of things, the plan was proceeding smoothly. In that case, they could proceed to the next step. "Call Sima Xian here!" Before long, Sima Xian arrived in the council hall. Looking at this calm, honest man, Luo Chen marveled inwardly. During that clash in North Street Lane Three, the man had tried to cover his younger siblings' retreat, taking the full brunt of a strike from a supreme-grade dharma artifact. Who would have thought he would actually survive? All three Sima siblings were completely safe and sound. Now, they were all doing quite well within the Luotian Association. The second sister, Sima Huiniang, had demonstrated considerable talent over at the Gold Hall. Heavily relied upon by Gu Caiyi, she had already been designated for the position of deacon. As for the third brother, Sima Wenjie, Murong Qinglian had also offered a favorable evaluation of him. He was merely a bit impetuous, still lacking experience when handling miscellaneous personnel matters. "President, what do you need of me?" Luo Chen wore a gentle smile. "Make a trip to the Fu family for me and deliver this letter into the hands of their clan head, Fu Zhang." Taking the letter respectfully, Sima Xian stood waiting for further instructions. Luo Chen, however, gave no further assignments, choosing instead to ask him about the regions beyond Dahe Market. "We three siblings haven't visited many places—only Snow Lotus Market, Taishan Market, Liuguang Market, and Tianye Market." "You haven't been to Tianlan Immortal City?" "No, the journey is too distant. We only know that Tianlan Immortal City was built through the joint funding of the Seven Jade Cauldron Sects. Home to hundreds of thousands of rogue cultivators and millions of mortals, it ranks among the top ten supercities in the Jade Cauldron Domain." "Are there many such great cities in the Jade Cauldron Domain?" "Not many. Such supercities generally must be founded upon a third-tier spirit vein, capable of supporting the cultivation of Golden Core Masters." At this point, Sima Xian hesitated before adding, "Word has it that Dahe Market also intends to establish an immortal city." "Dahe Market?" Luo Chen asked in surprise. "This place only possesses a single large first-tier spirit vein. How could it qualify to become an immortal city?" Sima Xian shook his head. "I'm not privy to the inner details, but rumor says the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect genuinely harbors such intentions. Besides, the rank of a spirit vein is not set in stone. Perhaps those great sects possess wondrous secret methods to elevate a spirit vein's grade!" Hearing him say this, Luo Chen fell into deep thought. Because the cultivation world was governed by spiritual energy, nothing was truly immutable. Given ten thousand years, a first-tier spirit herb might not be inferior to a third- or fourth-tier one. Even those spirit fields brimming with spiritual energy in Crescent Moon Valley had originally been cultivated step-by-step from ordinary fertile soil into first-tier spirit fields. Suddenly, he remembered the closure of the Dao Discussion Platform. At the time, he had assumed that Golden Core Master was merely putting on airs to stir up chaos. Looking back now, perhaps it was related to elevating the grade of the spirit vein. Moving past the topic, Luo Chen asked about the customs and notable figures of the neighboring markets. "Formidable Qi Refining cultivators?" "There are quite a few. For instance, Qiu Bo and Liu Han of Liuguang Market, or Hao Xuan, Jin Donglai, and Wang Cheng of Taishan Market. Even Snow Lotus Market, notorious for its bitter cold, has powerful Qi Refining experts like Fairy Liangyue and Nangong Qin. "Oh, Nangong Qin is considered an expert of Dahe Market now, so he hardly counts as being from Snow Lotus Market anymore." Names rolled off Sima Xian's tongue, accompanied by brief anecdotes of their deeds. Luo Chen listened with keen interest, and one name in particular—Fairy Liangyue of Snow Lotus Market—sounded increasingly familiar to him. Only after Sima Xian departed did the realization strike him. A Brocade Handkerchief and a Frostflower Sword—wasn't that the very black-robed female cultivator Wang Yuan had praised so highly the previous night? As expected, any cultivator capable of making a name for themselves possessed extraordinary qualities. Even though Wang Yuan had concealed his true combat strength the previous night, with his vast experience, he had still needed to employ ruthless measures just to force out that blood talisman. That alone showed her strength was among the very best of the ninth level of Qi Refining. *Still, why did a cultivator from Snow Lotus Market come all the way to Dahe Market? Could she be planning to relocate here, just like the Nangong family?* *** While Luo Chen was pondering these random thoughts, inside the Fu family manor. Smack! A palm slammed down upon a sandalwood table, the released force pulverizing it into fine powder. Ignoring the wood dust scattering across the floor, Fu Zhang flew into a violent rage. "Insolent whelp, how dare you deceive me so!"