Robbed and Turning the Tables

Chapter 16: Robbed and Turning the Tables

After everyone rested for half a day and enjoyed a delicious feast of snake meat, they cautiously began searching the canyon. In less than half a day, they found the sect token mentioned in the mission, but the monster beast described in the mission was nowhere to be seen. Clearly, the giant serpent had been guarding the mission site. It was strange, though—why had the monster beast left the site and traveled seven or eight li away?

Once they confirmed the mission was complete, the three began to speculate. Could something there have attracted the giant serpent? Monster beasts were far more sensitive to Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects than humans. Since searching wouldn't take long anyway, they followed that hunch and returned to the place where they had first fought the serpent.

After just over half an hour, Lei Dong was lucky enough to find a lingzhi in a damp, secluded spot deep in a ravine. He often read all sorts of miscellaneous records, so after examining it carefully, he determined that the lingzhi was nearly at the Hundred Year Fire stage. Of course, "Hundred Year Fire" did not mean the lingzhi had grown for a full hundred years. It was simply a way to classify the maturity of certain spirit herbs and spiritual objects. In a place rich in spiritual energy, one might mature faster, reaching this stage in just a few decades. In a poorer location, even two hundred years might not be enough.

In any case, this lingzhi had not yet reached the Hundred Year Fire stage. Perhaps the giant serpent had abandoned its post and come here to guard this lingzhi, which had not yet fully matured. Once a spiritual object reached a certain level of maturity, its effects far surpassed those of one that had not. This lingzhi might be only a hair's breadth away, but that sliver could mean a tenfold—or even several dozenfold—difference in price.

As a result, after their initial excitement, the three hesitated. If they picked it now, each might get a few spirit stones. But what if the lingzhi matured in just a few days? Finding a lingzhi of this grade in such a remote wilderness was certainly lucky. But luck didn't strike again and again. Who knew how long they'd have to wait for another chance to make a fortune?

"Let's pick it," Wei Hua suggested, clearly pained. "Who knows how many years it'll take to mature? We can't stay here and watch over it every day. Someone else might find it and take it. Let's be short-sighted this once and take what we can get."

"Fine, let's pick it," Chen Ge said through gritted teeth. Why hadn't it already matured when they found it? Why did it have to torment them like this?

"Wait," Lei Dong stopped them. "I think I read somewhere that when you find an immature wild spirit herb, you can transplant it and grow it yourself. It might not survive the transplant, but that's still better than killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Maybe if we tend it for a few days—or at most a year or two—it'll be worth over a hundred spirit stones."

"Transplant it?" Chen Ge and Wei Hua clearly hadn't had Lei Dong's patience for reading such miscellaneous books. They were both surprised and skeptical. A hundred spirit stones—split three ways, that'd still be dozens each. It was certainly tempting.

Fortunately, both men were steady by nature, but they also had a taste for taking risks. The tenfold difference in profit immediately convinced them to go along with Lei Dong's idea. Since Lei Dong owed them for their earlier help, he decided to return first to look up the relevant information and prepare tools for the transplant. Meanwhile, the other two would stay nearby and keep watch over the lingzhi.

A journey of over three hundred li was quite a trek without a carriage.

Even though Lei Dong had undergone Marrow Cleansing and Hair Washing and could run very fast, the round trip still took several days.

When Lei Dong finally returned, the two men, who had grown restless waiting, were overjoyed to see him. Keeping watch in the wilderness for days had been miserable. But Lei Dong wouldn't let them help dig it up. After all, he had at least read a little about the process; those two knew practically nothing. He had them keep watch while he climbed down into the ravine, took out the jade box and jade spade he had bought for one spirit stone, and carefully transplanted the lingzhi.

This thing would be a treasure worth a hundred spirit stones once it had matured, worth as much as dozens of Level Two Demonic Beasts. Lei Dong didn't dare be careless for even a moment. It took nearly half an hour before he managed to move the lingzhi into the jade box without damaging it. The jade box's main purpose was to keep the lingzhi's spiritual energy from dissipating. But it still needed to be transplanted into a suitable environment as soon as possible.

Just as Lei Dong let out a sigh of relief and was about to climb back up, he heard a commotion above the ravine. Wei Hua's voice was especially loud, shouting furiously, "We just got here. We haven't seen any Level Two Demonic Beast or sect token. You've got one Qi Refining Second Layer and two Qi Refining First Layer cultivators. Don't think we're easy to bully!"

Lei Dong immediately stopped moving. Wei Hua had clearly shouted that for him to hear. Without making a sound, Lei Dong summoned his trusted Ghost Soldier and slowly climbed up the ravine. He peeked out and, sure enough, saw three men and women wearing the uniforms of the Yin Sha Sect's Third Generation Disciples facing off against the other two.

Of course, these three clearly weren't from Myriad Ghost Cave. Otherwise, even if they weren't close, they would at least have recognized one another. Sure enough, the leader, a Qi Refining Second Layer cultivator, wore a cold, arrogant expression. "Looks like you're from Myriad Ghost Cave. Well, my Extreme Yin Cave is bullying you. What are you going to do about it? Hand it over if you know what's good for you. Otherwise, I'll break your arms and legs before searching you. That'd only make things unpleasant." As he spoke, he raised a crimson Flying Sword. From its liveliness and aura, it was clearly far superior to the standard Ink Green Small Swords used by Lei Dong and the others.

So they were from Extreme Yin Cave. Though they were all disciples of the Yin Sha Sect, they belonged to different masters and different Mountain Peaks. Naturally, there was rivalry and bad blood between them. It was said that Extreme Yin Ancestor of Myriad Ghost Cave had always been at odds with their own Myriad Ghost Ancestor. At this thought, Lei Dong came up with a plan. He sent the Ghost Soldier far around them, circling wide before slowly approaching the arrogant Qi Refining Second Layer cultivator with great care.

The three opponents couldn't see it, but Lei Dong deliberately let Chen Ge and Wei Hua see the Ghost Soldier. These two might not be old, but with their family backgrounds, they were already as cunning as old foxes. They put on a show of being both fearful and fierce, shouting, "What are you trying to do? Don't you dare! We're all fellow disciples of the same sect. If you lay a hand on us, we'll report you to Myriad Ghost Ancestor, and you'll regret it!"

"Hahaha!" The Qi Refining Second Layer young man saw Chen Ge and Wei Hua acting tough despite their fear and guessed that they were scared. Laughing, he sneered arrogantly. "The Cultivation World is a place where the strong prey on the weak. If you're too weak, don't blame others for bullying you. Reporting us? That's hilarious. You're not core disciples of Myriad Ghost Cave. Even if you were, Myriad Ghost Ancestor couldn't help you."

"You're talking nonsense! Our Ancestor's divine arts are unmatched under heaven. If you dare lay a hand on us, he'll avenge us!" Wei Hua shrilled.

Lei Dong was a little puzzled. He'd only wanted those two to distract their opponents. Why were they shouting praises of Myriad Ghost Ancestor? Still, puzzled or not, he continued directing the Ghost Soldier to drift around and sneak up behind the arrogant cultivator.

"Give it a rest. Myriad Ghost Cave has always ranked below Extreme Yin Cave. I'm a core disciple of Extreme Yin Cave. If I kill a few ants like you, would that old fellow Myriad Ghost really go to my Ancestor and argue over a few ordinary disciples? And even if he did, I wouldn't be afraid. My Extreme Yin Ancestor doesn't fear your Myriad Ghost Ancestor." The more he spoke, the more pleased with himself he became. He muttered under his breath, grinning viciously. "Looks like you're determined not to listen. Then let me show you what my Fire Cloud Sword can do."

He had barely finished speaking and hadn't yet had the chance to direct his Flying Sword when he suddenly froze. A chill prickled across his back. He turned around in confusion and heard a soft rip. A crimson Ghost Soldier, its armor clearly defined, was baring its teeth at him with a vicious grin. At the same time, the Ghost Soldier's blade swept toward his neck.

Blood rained down.