Chapter 16: Kill and Steal Treasures

Chapter 16: Murder for Treasure

The spacious cave was filled with the stench of blood, with only a few glowing magical artifacts scattered on the ground, emitting faint light. The first Golden Scale Beast had already collapsed from poison, its life or death unknown. Aside from Shang Yunduo himself, there was not a single living soul in the cave.

He looked up, down, left, and right, scanning the cave, and finally turned his gaze to the hole the Golden Scale Beast had come out of.

Since it's not here, and not among the crowd, then it must have gone into this hole, right?

Shang Yunduo gritted his teeth and stepped into the Golden Scale Beast's nest.

Stepping over the broken stones as he entered, he was startled to find that the space inside was quite large. The stone path was riddled with marks of varying depths left by the beasts' horn-sharpening—mostly on the walls, but also on the ground, pits one after another.

In the novel, Xiao Chi didn't seem to encounter Golden Scale Beasts, or perhaps he met them later, when those demon beasts were beneath his notice. Or maybe he had just skipped that part of the story. In any case, Shang Yunduo had no recollection of them, knew nothing of their habits, and couldn't even imagine they lived in such a large nest.

He wondered whether this nest and the previous cave had originally been connected, or if they were two parallel caves whose walls had gradually thinned over the years as the Golden Scale Beasts battered against them.

It seemed even bigger than the last cave. Suddenly, a shiver ran through him—could there still be more Golden Scale Beasts inside that hadn't come out?

At that thought, he quickly put away the Glow Pearl, suppressed his aura, and after a moment's thought, put on the Mirage Lizard Gauze clothes he'd gotten from the fat guy, then felt his way deeper into the darkness.

After his eyes adjusted, he gradually began to make out the path. Before he had gone far, someone suddenly flew past him from behind on a sword, holding a lamp as he rushed straight ahead. Shang Yunduo was surprised that the other person really hadn't noticed him—the clothes were indeed effective. Then he heard a scream from within, followed by a thud, the light went out, and the sound stopped.

Shang Yunduo was startled. Was it a Golden Scale Beast, or... Niu Chengdian?

The cave fell silent again. Shang Yunduo stood motionless. After a long while, he faintly heard voices talking.

"So he came back after all. Pretty clever."

"The entrance is blocked. If they don't come back, they'll end up as food for the Golden Scale Beasts."

"Brother Chang, you sealed the entrance tightly, right?"

"Don't worry, Fatty Hua and the others are guarding it."

"There are still a few Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivators who aren't dead."

"What's there to fear? Even if they luck out and escape, the formation outside is already sealed tight. Without my formation plate, not even a fly can escape."

Then came low laughter from several people. Among them, one voice unmistakably belonged to Niu Chengdian, who had been pestering him for days!

Shang Yunduo's mind was about to explode.

What was going on?

Who were these people talking to Niu Chengdian?

Why were there so many of them?!

Were the two men he'd just killed working with Niu Chengdian?

Then he heard Niu Chengdian say, "I originally wanted Brother Chang to kill that Shang kid. I didn't expect him to be arrogant yet cunning—when the formation was opened, he hid and refused to come out."

Shang Yunduo's eyes shot wide open. "???!!!"

"These sect disciples are always lording it over others by using their sect's power; they're probably just useless good-for-nothings."

Niu Chengdian: "Hey, don't underestimate him. After all, he's an inner sect disciple. Killing him is one thing, but I'm afraid his master won't let it go."

Someone spoke disdainfully: "He's just a Qi Refining stage cultivator."

Niu Chengdian: "True. We'll have to clean up the traces later."

Shang Yunduo finally understood, belatedly, why Niu Chengdian had been bugging him about the inner sect, his master, and his close friends. That bastard wasn't interested in joining the inner sect at all—he just wanted to know if Shang Yunduo had any connections, and whether anyone would avenge him after he was killed!

Someone said with interest, "I wonder how he stacks up against that Tang guy."

Another immediately complained, "That Tang bastard is the toughest to handle. He broke my Binding Spirit Whip."

"Didn't he give you that Xuanming spirit treasure sword of his?"

"It's too heavy. I can't get the hang of it. But hey, is this really the death site of a Golden Core cultivator?"

"Heh, would a Foundation Establishment cultivator use Golden Scale Beasts as tomb guards? That female beast has already reached the fifth stage. If the owner of this place died not long ago, it might even be a Nascent Soul cultivator!"

Then several people laughed heartily, "This is a real haul."

"Thanks to Brother Niu for preparing the Midnight Lotus and choosing such a good time! Last time we went through so much trouble and only tricked about ten people."

"You flatter me," Niu Chengdian said smugly. "This method only worked thanks to Fellow Cultivator Fu and his formation plate, and the medical manual we got last time—otherwise, how would I have thought of the Midnight Lotus!"

The others echoed in agreement.

Compared to the Floating Cloud Flower, anything much less tempting wouldn't attract enough people, while something rarer might attract Large Sects or even Foundation Establishment cultivators. The Midnight Lotus was just right—useful but not essential for Foundation Establishment, yet it drew Water- or Fire-Spirit-Root Qi Refining cultivators just as much as the Floating Cloud Flower.

With the ancient secret realm about to appear, all Qi Refining cultivators were gathered nearby, and it took almost no effort to pull them in.

Shang Yunduo's heart grew cold.

They had set up the formation themselves? And the fake Midnight Lotus was also Niu Chengdian's doing?!

He deliberately made up lies to deceive people, just to lure in Qi Refining Cultivators?

The sudden truth left Shang Yunduo stunned, and he instinctively felt it was absurd. What was their goal? What were they after?

To trick this group into killing Golden Scale Beasts?

No—if they wanted to kill Golden Scale Beasts, why not hire Foundation Establishment or Golden Core cultivators?

Were they afraid that a Foundation Establishment or Golden Core expert would take the treasures and kill them?

Then they could have just commissioned a task.

Shang Yunduo knew that certain marketplaces had organizations specializing in commissioned tasks. When Xiao Chi was at his poorest, he worked for such organizations, and when he needed rare materials, he would ask them for information. Though not as prestigious as the Large Sects, they valued their reputation and wouldn't ruin it over a few Golden Scale Beasts.

Why?

Since they had set up the formation, the deception wasn't to break the formation.

There were multiple Golden Scale Beasts, so it wasn't about killing them either.

If the target wasn't the Golden Scale Beasts, and they specifically needed a bunch of Qi Refining rogue cultivators, then it could only be...

"Ouch."

"Careful."

"These damn Golden Scale Beasts—they've left their nest full of pits and bumps."

"They're just beasts. What, you expect them to sweep the place every day?"

They all burst out laughing again.

“Thank goodness for these beasts. Otherwise, taking out so many Qi Refining cultivators at once would’ve been a real pain.”

“And even more thanks to these rogue cultivators. Otherwise, hunting a Golden Scale Beast would have been tough—angering the mother beast would've been a disaster.”

“I wonder if they can kill another one.”

“Hahaha!”

“Two birds with one stone! Perfect!”

“Shh, it seems someone’s coming!”

The nest fell silent again.

But Shang Yunduo's heart was churning with shock.

So they really set up this whole place just to kill people and steal their stuff.

He almost laughed out loud.

Xiao Chi had run into plenty of treasure-killings before, but usually it happened right after someone got something really valuable—like leaving an auction. Then you had to watch your back.

But what did these guys have? A bunch of Qi Refining rogue cultivators. To be blunt, they couldn't even score a half-decent sect heirloom.

As he was thinking, two rogue cultivators flew in one after another. They were clearly terrified by the Golden Scale Beast, didn't see anyone, didn't hear a thing, and didn't notice anything wrong. They just tossed their glowing artifacts up high to get a look at the cave and figure out which way to run.

However, the glowing artifacts illuminated not only the beast’s nest but also themselves.

“Ah—!”

“Clang—!”

The first person was hit, but the second deflected a flying dart with his sword. “Who?!”

Startled, he quickly ducked behind a rock.

The dart that was knocked down landed close to Shang Yunduo. In the glow of the artifact, he could clearly see it was the same kind of dart that had been used to ambush them in the forest.

“Who's there?! Come out!”

The hidden cultivator didn't dare take any risks and sent the glowing artifact around again. But aside from the body on the ground and his partner sitting there expelling poison, he saw no one.

Shang Yunduo also moved further back. When the light passed, he poked his head out and looked ahead.

He hadn't yet mastered locating people by sound. The voices were low and the cave echoed, so he couldn't pinpoint them exactly, but he could get a general sense of where they were.

If they hadn't moved, they'd still be to his right front, but he couldn't see anyone there.

Mirage Lizard Gauze—Shang Yunduo thought of the robe he was wearing. These people must also be using this kind of camouflage.

Actually, this kind of camouflage wasn't that hard to see. Shang Yunduo had looked it over when he put it on. The robe was stitched from many small lizard skins, and the color changes at the seams were obvious. In sunlight, you'd spot it up close, but the cave was too dim.

Everything quieted down; no one moved. Only the dripping of water in the cave and the sounds of fighting between the Golden Scale Beast and the cultivators in the distance could be heard. It seemed that the Golden Scale Beast had also returned to the cave where the earlier battle had taken place.

The remaining cultivators wouldn't last long. If they didn't find an exit soon, they'd all be trapped and die here.

Shang Yunduo took out a handful of fruit pits from his storage pouch.

His Flame Control could only shoot fireballs one at a time. If he could fire a row like Zhang Yu did with her ice cones, then flushing out the enemy would be easy—no way they'd just stand there and let themselves burn.

Should he try throwing them over?

Based on what he heard, the other side had at least five. Him and the rogue cultivator above? Just two.

If he'd known, he should have picked up some darts. Thinking about it, he grumbled to himself. His pouch held a decent amount of stuff—a thick stack of Haste Talismans—but, unfortunately, no hidden weapons.

He had to wait for a few more allies.

The three groups seemed to be stuck in a staring contest, seeing who had more patience.

Niu Chengdian's group had no idea Shang Yunduo was there. Shang Yunduo, outnumbered, didn't dare reveal himself. And the rogue cultivator above didn't know there were two groups hiding below.

Time crawled by. It hadn't even been fifteen minutes, but the rogue cultivator above was about to lose his cool.

Shang Yunduo hesitated, wondering if he should secretly contact the guy. He was afraid the man might think he was the one who ambushed him. Just as he was hesitating, his ears twitched—he heard something slicing through the air.

Someone else was coming!

A bright light blazed in, leading the way. A young woman stood on a flying sword, her silhouette familiar.

Shang Yunduo was blinded for a moment, but when he focused, he saw—what luck!—an old acquaintance!

But charging in like that, Zhang Yu was a dead woman.

Shang Yunduo ripped off his robe. “Someone's up ahead! Watch out for darts!”

His sudden move caught Zhang Yu's attention. She noticed him and also spotted the rogue cultivator behind a rock. She thought Shang Yunduo meant that cultivator and was about to attack, but then Shang Yunduo jumped out, flung a handful of fruit pits toward the right front, shouted “Over here!” and whooshed back into hiding.

Zhang Yu was startled, but she sensed the faint spiritual energy fluctuation ahead and heard the fruit pits thudding against bodies.

Her expression changed. Without a second thought, she switched targets and hurled a row of ice cones mixed with flying needles toward the right front.

Shang Yunduo praised inwardly: Nice!

And quickly added, “Darts! They've got darts!”

Zhang Yu raised the white cloth she'd just picked up in the cave to block, then spun and threw another handful of needles.

The rogue cultivator hiding above finally caught on and seized the moment. His sword flew toward where Niu Chengdian's group was hiding.

Seeing they couldn't avoid it, Niu Chengdian and his crew started fighting back, revealing themselves.

The rogue cultivator was shocked to see six people appear and quickly retreated.

Zhang Yu was also startled. How could there be so many people?

And every single one of them was spotless!

“What's going on?”

Shang Yunduo said, “They faked the Midnight Lotus to lure everyone here, then kill them and steal their storage pouches!”

Everyone there was shocked.

Niu Chengdian's face also fell. He recognized Shang Yunduo's voice from behind the rock. “Is that Senior Brother Shang?”

“Pah! Don't call me senior brother. Daoist Zhang, where's your brother?” Zhang Yu was still reeling from the truth. Her expression flickered. “The Midnight Lotus… they faked it?”

Shang Yunduo: "They said it themselves!"

Zhang Yu's face twisted with fury. She flew out with a sword in one hand and a white ribbon under her control in the other, charging straight at Niu Chengdian's face: "You killed my brother! I'll kill you!"

"?!?!" Shang Yunduo thought to himself, Oh no. Without Zhang Yan, the three of us won't stand a chance!

However, the enraged Zhang Yu's strength exceeded Shang Yunduo's expectations. She actually had Niu Chengdian, who was a cultivation level above her, on the defensive and unable to strike back. As for Niu Chengdian's friends, they clearly just wanted to watch the excitement; none of them even intended to get involved.

That rogue cultivator was only at the eighth level of cultivation. Seeing Zhang Yu's ferocity, he was shocked. After observing the situation, he proposed, "That fellow cultivator, let's join forces to assist Daoist Zhang!"

Shang Yunduo had the same idea.

Since they had already been exposed and the enemy's goal was to kill and steal treasures, they would never let him go no matter what. Since that was the case, it was better to take advantage of the fact that those few didn't want to intervene; the three of them could jump Niu Chengdian and kill him, then defeat the others one by one.

Perhaps he had already overcome some of his fear of killing.

Perhaps his hatred for Niu Chengdian was deeper, or maybe it was because he had companions, or he had recognized that it was a life-or-death situation. This time, Shang Yunduo didn't instinctively pull his punches as he had before when dealing with the fat man and the female cultivator wielding the chain-sword. He focused only on getting this over with quickly and taking down Niu Chengdian in one blow. His sword moves were sharper and more imposing than ever before.

He didn't dare hold back at all. Certain that he could hit, Shang Yunduo gathered all his strength, gritted his teeth, and swung with full force. The wind from his sword made Niu Chengdian think, 'Oh no!'

Feeling the sword wind coming from behind, he hurriedly swung his sword to turn and block, but was knocked flying by Shang Yunduo's majestic sword. He crashed into the wall, spat out a mouthful of blood, and the sword in his hand had broken.

The spectators' expressions instantly changed.

Zhang Yu and the fan-wielding rogue cultivator were also stunned.

Shang Yunduo himself was also stunned. What happened?

Zhang Yu muttered reluctantly, "My brother was right. You really are the strongest among this group."

Shang Yunduo: ???

Author's note:

Yunduo: (Dumbfounded) Huh?! (Turns around) (Coldly) I have no idea how strong I am! (Feeling guilty)

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Today's chapter is extra long~ (Puffing out chest proudly)