Chapter 114: Chapter 19: The Death of Wang Tong

Yang Jing returned to his Cave Mansion in San Yuanli. For the past few days, he had been staying there to avoid being found.

His three apprentices were waiting for him. Chi Yu was already fast asleep, nestled in Iron Head’s arms.

As demons, they had long lifespans. Two years had passed with almost no change in their appearance, though Chi Yu looked a little older.

“Master, this is the hangover soup Aunt Jingjing sent over.”

Yinjiao said, pointing to the soup on the table.

Yang Jing nodded. He possessed a Pure Yang Body, making his physical form immune to all poisons, so a few jars of Spirit Wine could hardly get him drunk. Still, not wanting to let it go to waste, he picked up the bowl and drank it. Then, he took out several paper-wrapped packages from his Storage Bag.

Inside the packages was untouched Spiritual Food that he had packed up to bring back.

This Spiritual Food was a great supplement for one’s Vitality. A Qi Cultivation level cultivator might even suffer from over-nourishment if they ate too much, which was why many of the dishes had been left untouched.

Chi Yu, still in Iron Head’s arms, caught the scent of the Spiritual Food. Her nose twitched twice, and she scrambled up, her eyes fixed on the paper packages on the table.

“Go on, eat.”

Seeing her greedy expression, Yang Jing pinched her little cheek.

“Over the past two months, the Demon Country’s secret agents in Huangyuan Marketplace have dwindled. After all, the Taixu Sword Sect has been lying in wait for them, and they’ve lost too many people. No matter how much the Demon Country values Yinjiao, they won’t continue to senselessly throw away lives.”

Two years ago, Yang Jing had keenly noticed a significant increase in the number of Sword Cultivators in the Marketplace.

Although these Sword Cultivators were dressed as Independent Cultivators, Yang Jing had comprehended Sword Intent, was highly sensitive to Sword Qi, and possessed the Bright Qi Talent, allowing him to easily discern their true identities.

To be a Sword Cultivator and also operate in secret—only a cultivator from the Taixu Sword Sect’s Demon Slaying Hall would do such a thing.

Coincidentally, the Demon Country’s Yao Nian Army agents were also active in Huangyuan Marketplace at that time, trying every possible means to investigate the underground Spiritual Spring.

Yang Jing arranged for one of the Yao Nian Army agents to expose their tracks in front of the Sword Cultivators. That very night, a great battle erupted in the underground river, involving more than seven Foundation Establishment Cultivators and demons.

The outcome of the battle, who won and who lost, remained unknown.

After that, the ceaseless conflict over the Spiritual Spring between several Foundation Establishment Clans suddenly came to a resolution. It was to be jointly developed by the six most powerful Foundation Establishment Clans in Huangyuan Marketplace. The six families urgently mobilized manpower and resources, covering the entire Spirit Vein with a Grand Array in the shortest time possible.

It was rumored that the Taixu Sword Sect had organized a force that not only sealed both ends of the underground river but also dug out entire sections, turning them into a surface river.

“The Taixu Sword Sect’s Demon Slaying Hall Sword Cultivators won’t be staying in Huangyuan Marketplace for much longer. In three days, we will be leaving on the Five Elements True Spirit Sect’s Flying Boat, which will draw everyone’s attention. This will be the perfect time to make our move.”

Yang Jing said to Yinjiao and Iron Head.

“It’s time for Wang Tong to make his exit.”

That day, he would be under public scrutiny almost the entire time, giving him the perfect alibi. It was the best opportunity to completely sever ties with the Profound Carp Association.

That’s right. Yang Jing was planning to bite the hand that fed him.

The Profound Carp Association talked a good game, but they had never stopped coveting the Alchemist. After placating Yang Jing with the position of Si Yuan, they had started making overt and covert inquiries around Huangyuan Marketplace, trying to uncover the Alchemist’s identity.

If the cultivators from the Taixu Sword Sect’s Demon Slaying Hall hadn’t shown up, the Profound Carp Association would have started openly and brazenly monitoring Yang Jing’s movements.

Since the Profound Carp Association didn’t want to part on good terms, Yang Jing could only prepare a big “gift” for them.

—

At this moment, most of the people in Huangyuan Marketplace had gathered in the main square to watch this year’s batch of Outer Disciples from the Five Elements True Spirit Sect depart.

This year was especially eye-catching because one of the new Outer Disciples came from an Independent Cultivator background.

At the former Huang Clan Territory, the traces left behind by the Magical Combat that day had already been leveled.

A number of cultivators from the Yushan Huang Clan had survived the day their clan was annihilated. These survivors either joined other Foundation Establishment Clans as Guests, relying on their Artifact Refining skills, or simply became Independent Cultivators.

A once-great clan was now scattered and displaced.

Because Huangyuan Marketplace had not announced what would be done with the Huang Family’s original Spirit Vein, and since this area was located at the tail end of the underground Spirit Vein, the entire stretch of land had become completely desolate.

Two months ago, Independent Cultivators would still visit from time to time, trying to scavenge some valuables from the ruins. But because everything of value had already been picked clean, even the Independent Cultivators had stopped coming in recent days.

Two cultivators from the Taixu Sword Sect’s Demon Slaying Hall were hidden inside a Stealth Array, lying in wait.

They had specially cultivated a Spiritual Eye Skill for Breaking Illusions and had also brought a Demon-Revealing Mirror, all for the purpose of finding members of the Demon Country’s Yao Nian Army who were disguised as Independent Cultivators and trying to fish in troubled waters.

The Demon Country was sending its Yao Nian Army spies into the Chen Kingdom as if it had gone mad.

The Merit Points they had earned in the past two months even exceeded what they had accumulated in the last ten years.

As cultivators of the Taixu Sword Sect’s Demon Slaying Hall, the two of them naturally knew why these Yao Nian Army spies were acting so frantically.

The Sword Cultivators who had carried out that mission sixty years ago were from the Demon Slaying Hall. Losing three Golden Core and seventeen Foundation Establishment cultivators in a single go was the most devastating loss the Demon Slaying Hall had suffered in a thousand years.

Even today, it had not recovered its Vitality.

“These Yao Nian Army demon brats are getting fewer and fewer. It won’t be this easy to earn Merit Points in the future.”

The younger of the two Sword Cultivators said with a hint of boredom, lying on the ground and toying with the Demon-Revealing Mirror in his hand.

“The Five Elements True Spirit Sect’s Spirit Crossing Envoy is leaving today. The Yao Nian Army might take this opportunity to make one last gamble. We must heighten our vigilance and not let our guard down.”

The other, more mature-looking cultivator said sternly, sitting cross-legged with his Flying Sword resting on his lap.

He was just about to say a few more words to his junior brother when he suddenly let out a soft “Huh?” He saw Wang Tong, the Third Shopkeeper of the Celestial Treasure Tower, suddenly stagger into the ruins of the Huang Clan Territory.

’The Third Shopkeeper of the Celestial Treasure Tower… instead of watching the ceremony, what is he doing here at a time like this?’

The two Sword Cultivators exchanged a glance, their vigilance instantly rising. Having come to Huangyuan Marketplace to carry out a mission, they had naturally memorized the faces of key figures.

After a moment’s hesitation, the older Sword Cultivator directly crushed a Jade Token. To prevent their hidden lookout post from being discovered, the two of them were only responsible for surveillance; their Foundation Establishment-level senior uncle was in charge of taking action.

Barely a few breaths later, a nearly invisible streak of Sword Light flared in the sky.

“I hope it’s a big fish.”

The young Sword Cultivator said excitedly.

Clearly, the size of this “fish” was somewhat beyond his expectations. Before long, seven streaks of Sword Light of various colors flew over one after another, all descending into the ruins. A moment later, several streaks of Sword Light shot back up into the air and vanished over the horizon.

The two Sword Cultivators exchanged a look, knowing that things had just gotten serious. An ordinary Yao Nian Army agent would never have alerted this many people.

A Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator, no longer caring about exposing the hidden post, flew directly into the Stealth Array on his sword.

“Can the two of you confirm that this Wang Tong came here alone, and that after he entered the ruins of the Huang Clan Territory, no one else went in?”

The two Sword Cultivators glanced at each other and nodded firmly.

“Good! You two have performed a great service this time!”

The Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator was overjoyed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep