Looting the Treasure Pavilion

One year later, Yingpo Star. This was a prosperous commercial planet of the Zichen Universe Kingdom, located within the territory of the Qianwu Universe Kingdom. In terms of grade, it stood more than a notch above Qionglong Star, and its planetary lord was a Cosmic Three-Star Mercenary, a World Master-level being. An inconspicuous B6-grade cosmic ship slowly descended onto the docking harbor. The hatch slid open. A powerfully built man whose body was clad in iron armor, together with a pale-faced Lizardman, stepped down from the ship's cabin. "Two lords, according to your ship's grade, docking here at Yingpo Star's port will cost one thousand Zichen Coins for a year." The port worker's face was respectful, not daring to show the slightest negligence. Though this B-grade ship was not conspicuous among the many vessels moored at Yingpo Star's port, the two who came down from it were both powerhouses. The worker was Star Level Second Stage, and he could sense the formidable pressure radiating from the pair. These were two Cosmic-level adventurers. As for why two Cosmic-level powerhouses would enter the port aboard such a 'shabby' ship, that was not something a small figure like him needed to concern himself with. Without any reminder from the armored man, the Lizardman pulled a coin from his pocket and flicked it with a finger, sending it flying into the worker's hand—it was a one-yuan Qianwu Coin... "The ship will dock for a year. This is the fee..." "Thank you, my lord." The worker's face lit up with delight. One Qianwu Coin equaled one thousand Zichen Coins. It seemed like there was nothing to be gained, but that was the official exchange rate, which was hard to come by. Privately, one Qianwu Coin could be exchanged for at least twelve hundred Zichen Coins, and the extra two hundred was already several days' wages for him! Leaving the port, the two strolled along the bustling streets. "My lord, I've already ferreted everything out. The Treasure Pavilion here on Yingpo Star is a very important branch of the Treasure Pavilion, and it normally stores goods worth at least twenty Hunyuan." "What's more, this Yingpo Star is a prosperous commercial planet with highly developed information networks. If something were to happen to the Treasure Pavilion here, even though there's an Undying behind the Treasure Pavilion, it would be very hard for them to suppress the news." That was right... The two who had come down from the B-grade ship were Lu Qingshan's Ghost King avatar and Shang Jie. He had pulled off two jobs before, yet neither had managed to drive down Treasure Pavilion's stock price—instead, he had even taken some losses in the stock market, which left Lu Qingshan thoroughly displeased. This time, he had decided to pull off something big. He would take down the Treasure Pavilion on Yingpo Star outright. Though this Zichen Universe Kingdom had several Undying powerhouses, they had no real ties to the Treasure Pavilion. Even if they were inclined to help, he would finish the job and be gone before they could arrive—he certainly wouldn't linger waiting for them! The strongest figure on Yingpo Star was merely a World Master... If he didn't know better and insisted on meddling in other people's business... Heh heh... The Ghost King avatar wore a cruel smile. The One-Horned Ghost King was bloodthirsty and violent by nature. If not for Lu Qingshan's will holding it down, there was no telling which places it might have bathed in blood. Lu Qingshan could completely control the One-Horned Ghost King's thoughts and soul, but he could not fully master the instincts of its body. It was much like Luo Feng's Golden Horned Beast true self, which was far more ferocious and bloodthirsty than his Earthling avatar. It could even influence his thinking to a certain degree. After seizing the Golden Horned Beast's body, Luo Feng was, at the end of the day, actually a Golden Horned Beast, only with a human soul. Had he not made a trip to Chaos City before becoming Undying and gained the Chaos City Master's recognition of his human identity, he probably would never have been fully trusted and accepted by the human race. Lu Qingshan had no such worries, for his was not a case of seizing another's body; his true self had always been human, and so had his soul... "Welcome to the Treasure Pavilion..." Several Planet Level attendants at the entrance bowed in salute, displaying excellent professionalism. The Ghost King avatar's expression did not change as he strode inside. "Call your boss out here!" The moment Shang Jie spoke, the aura of Cosmic Eighth Stage seeped from his body, and the attendant who had been preparing to greet them did not dare come closer. Soon, a man with a handsome face and long, pointed, elf-like ears came down from upstairs. He gave a humph and pressed down Shang Jie's imposing air. "Two gentlemen, if there's any goods you wish to purchase, I will serve you myself. There's no need to frighten the other people in the shop." "Heh heh, indeed, we can't go dragging the others into this..." The Ghost King avatar wore a cruel smile. "So you're the boss of the Treasure Pavilion?" "I am." "Then you can hand over every treasure in the Treasure Pavilion to me. This one is Han Li, a space pirate..." "What!" The Treasure Pavilion's handsome Domain Master was startled. His gaze fell upon the armored man, and something suddenly came to him. In the universe, there were many powerhouses who liked to seal themselves inside armor to shield their identities; the old man had not connected it to anything, but upon hearing those words, he suddenly recalled the two incidents that had befallen the Treasure Pavilion not long ago. "Run!" True or not, the Treasure Pavilion Domain Master turned and fled. "You think you can get away?" Boom!! Vast world power surged forth. The Ghost King's World Master projection pinned the Domain Master in place, leaving him unable to move. As for the other employees in the Treasure Pavilion shop, the very instant the world projection appeared, they had already collapsed unconscious. And this was the Ghost King holding back; otherwise, they would long since have been smashed to pulp. "My lord... you can't do this. We have an Undying Deity behind the Treasure Pavilion..." The Domain Master forced out the words with difficulty. "Why is it that every time you people run into me, you just love to say this line? So what if there's an Undying Deity—can they catch me?" He lifted the Star-Cleaving Blade in his hand, and the Treasure Pavilion Domain Master's arm was cut clean off, an interspatial ring upon it dropping into the Ghost King's hand. "Where are the rest of the goods?" Lu Qingshan asked coldly. According to the intelligence Shang Jie had gathered, the Treasure Pavilion on this Yingpo Star held at least twenty Hunyuan in assets, and this ring contained less than five. "My lord, this is already all of the Treasure Pavilion's goods." The Domain Master spoke in terror. "Ah!" Suddenly he let out a wail of agony as another arm was sliced away. The Ghost King said coldly, "The next stroke takes your head, and the one after that takes your Life Core. Think it through carefully before you answer." "My lord, this truly is all of the Treasure Pavilion's assets. All that remains is the bank accounts." A flash of cold light, and the Domain Master's head was struck from his shoulders. "You're rather loyal. But do you know the price of loyalty?" A powerful surge of soul power ruthlessly battered its way into the Treasure Pavilion owner's soul. For a Domain Master powerhouse, as long as the Life Core remained intact, losing one's head was of no consequence. But at this moment, his soul and memories were being pored over at will. This was a form of applying the Heart Soul. Compared to enslavement, this method of soul search was even more brutal. The one subjected to the spell would not only endure tremendous agony, but their soul would suffer severe damage as well. It was a truly vicious soul technique. "Aaaah." The Treasure Pavilion Domain Master screamed in torment. When the Ghost King finished the soul search, he casually swung his blade and shattered the Domain Master's Life Core. A Domain Master powerhouse who had originally possessed a lifespan of a million years simply vanished into nothing, just like that. Then. Several of the Treasure Pavilion employees who had lain unconscious had their bodies burst apart. From this Domain Master's memories, Lu Qingshan knew that these were all core members of the Treasure Pavilion, and so he did not spare them. As for the other attendants and temporary workers, Lu Qingshan did not strike to kill. He came to the second floor and raised a hand to blast open a chest, taking out a World Ring from within. Most of the Treasure Pavilion branch's goods were stored in this World Ring, worth over thirty Hunyuan units—considerably more than Shang Jie's earlier investigation had turned up. Counting the interspatial ring from before, the total haul from this trip came to thirty-five Hunyuan units. Lu Qingshan was quite satisfied with the take. Yet just as he was basking in the joy of his gains, a vast world projection spread out and covered the entire Treasure Pavilion. "Which friend has come to my Yingpo Star... Please, show me, Yase, a little courtesy." "Boom——" The three-story building of the Treasure Pavilion was directly shaken apart by world power, collapsing. The Ghost King avatar, his whole body clad in armor, shot up into the air. As for Shang Jie, he had already been stored away into his inner world. "Yase, is it? This is a grudge between me and the Treasure Pavilion. I advise you not to go meddling where you don't belong!"