"I didn't expect this guy to bring Corpse Dissolving Water. He must have planned to kill me, then destroy the body and erase the evidence so even the Enforcement Hall couldn't find out. How vicious!"
Fang Chen stared at Zhang Qining's corpse and sneered. "Since you brought Corpse Dissolving Water, I'll put it to use for you."
He stood up, kicked Zhang Qining's head over, and poured the Corpse Dissolving Water onto it.
"Hiss, hiss..."
Thick white smoke rose at once. After a short while, Zhang Qining's body and clothes had vanished completely, leaving a pool of thick liquid on the ground.
Rumble!
Dark clouds suddenly covered the sky. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked, and heavy rain followed close behind.
"Patter, patter..."
The rain struck the ground, washing away all the blood and thick liquid.
Looks like even the heavens want to help me.
Fang Chen marveled inwardly, then picked up Zhang Qining's Identity Token, Flying Sword, and longsword.
The Flying Sword and longsword were both spiritual treasures. They could fetch money, but they were too distinctive. Selling them would risk exposing him, and the danger far outweighed the gain.
Fang Chen loved money, but he valued his life more.
He also had to dispose of Zhang Qining's Identity Token.
He recalled the Forbidden Grounds marked on the map of Spirit Flame Valley. Each had a star rating; the more stars it had, the more dangerous it was.
Three miles from where he stood lay a four-star Forbidden Grounds called the Heavenly Thunder Cave. Any cultivator below Foundation Establishment who entered it would die without a doubt.
He gathered Zhang Qining's Flying Sword, longsword, and Identity Token, then headed toward the Heavenly Thunder Cave through the pouring rain.
The time it took an incense stick to burn later, Fang Chen reached the Heavenly Thunder Cave.
Standing at the edge of the Forbidden Zone of the Heavenly Thunder Cave, Fang Chen looked ahead and saw only mist. He picked up a Stone and hurled it toward the haze.
As the Stone neared the boundary of the Forbidden Zone, a bolt of lightning appeared and struck it instantly.
Crack!
The Stone was blasted to dust by the lightning.
Fang Chen's eyes narrowed. He threw Zhang Qining's Identity Token toward the Forbidden Zone with all his strength.
"Whoosh!"
As Zhang Qining's Identity Token approached the Forbidden Zone, an even stronger bolt of lightning appeared and struck it. Sparks flew. The token shattered and fell into the Forbidden Grounds.
"What a terrifying place. It really lives up to its four-star rating. If that lightning struck me, I'd be dead!"
The lightning left Fang Chen shaken. The Heavenly Thunder Cave was only a four-star Forbidden Grounds. How terrifying would the five-star grounds be, let alone the six-star ones?
Spirit Flame Valley had twelve four-star Forbidden Grounds like the Heavenly Thunder Cave, three five-star grounds, and one six-star ground.
The five-star and six-star grounds lay deeper within Spirit Flame Valley.
Next, Fang Chen threw Zhang Qining's Flying Sword and longsword inside. Lightning smashed both as they neared the boundary, sending their fragments into the Forbidden Grounds.
Even the Enforcement Hall shouldn't be able to find them now, right?
Fang Chen breathed a slow sigh of relief, though he did not dare let down his guard. Cultivators possessed extraordinary abilities. Some powerful method might still uncover what had happened.
He had done all he could. Whether the Enforcement Hall found out was now up to fate.
Fang Chen returned to his previous spot and resumed chopping bamboo.
As before, he swung the Floating Immortal Sword at the Fire Spirit Sword Bamboo before him.
Clang!
The Floating Immortal Sword cut a gash into the bamboo, and red sap immediately seeped from the wound.
"Rustle!"
The Fire Spirit Sword Bamboo shook again. Its leaves fell and shot toward Fang Chen like streaks of cold light.
After his earlier experience, Fang Chen gave a faint smile. He swept aside every incoming leaf with the Floating Immortal Sword, then kept chopping.
This time, he felled a stalk of Fire Spirit Sword Bamboo in less than half an incense stick's time—twice as fast as before.
Fang Chen had not expected his strength to increase so much after killing Zhang Tielin's lackey.
If I killed another ten people, or even a hundred, how strong would I become?
His blood surged. He wanted to go kill someone at once.
But he soon calmed down. He knew the idea was unrealistic. Killing within the Glazed Sword Sect carried a penalty, and in serious cases, the killer would pay with his life.
Though Fang Chen had tasted the benefits of killing, he held himself back.
I'd better chop bamboo first. If I get the chance later, it won't be too late to start a slaughter.
With that thought, Fang Chen went on chopping Fire Spirit Sword Bamboo.
At his current pace, he could fell two stalks in the time it took an incense stick to burn. Four incense sticks would burn in an hour, enough time for eight stalks. Working six hours a day, he could fell at least forty-eight. Completing his quota of one thousand stalks would take at least twenty days.
Fire Spirit Sword Bamboo was a higher grade than Exquisite Bamboo. For every stalk he cut, Fang Chen absorbed at least ten times as much energy through the Floating Immortal Sword as he had when cutting Exquisite Bamboo.
His strength would keep growing in the process, and as it grew, he would chop faster. Barring any surprises, he would finish all one thousand stalks in less than twenty days.
The rain kept falling, growing heavier and heavier.
Three hours later, the rain stopped and the sky darkened. Less Spiritual Power flowed from the Floating Immortal Sword into Fang Chen's body.
Fang Chen had felled twenty-six stalks of Fire Spirit Sword Bamboo in all, a little more than he had expected.
"It's almost dark. Time to head back!"
Fang Chen cut down a tender stalk of Fire Spirit Sword Bamboo and split it into strips. After tying the twenty-six stalks together, he took a Paper Crane from inside his robe.
The Paper Crane was used to summon a Wind-Riding Crane. He was nearly a hundred miles from the entrance to Spirit Flame Valley. Carrying so much Fire Spirit Sword Bamboo himself would exhaust him to death.
His task was only to cut the Fire Spirit Sword Bamboo. Transporting it was someone else's concern.
He immediately channeled a wisp of True Qi into the Paper Crane.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."
The formation patterns on the Paper Crane glowed faint white, flickering as they gave off an unusual pulse. Then it gently flapped its wings and rose from Fang Chen's palm. After circling him twice, it shot into the sky toward the valley entrance.
A short while later, an enormous Wind-Riding Crane appeared overhead, making a buzzing sound.
Two thick ropes dropped from the Wind-Riding Crane. Fang Chen tied them around his bundle of bamboo, then sat on top of it.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."
The Wind-Riding Crane beat its wings furiously, slowly lifting Fang Chen and the Fire Spirit Sword Bamboo before flying toward the entrance to Spirit Flame Valley.
Before you continue