Secret Mechanism Cannon Powder Formula

Xu Yuan exhaled a breath of stale air, finally relaxing. For the past few days, he had been on the brink of death, his nerves stretched to their limit.

"Unrestricted" acted on himself, while "Eight Directions Injury Sha" affected the opponent.

Furthermore, it was an area-of-effect ability, unlike Fate Arts, which could directly target a specific individual.

The Saint Aunt's series of wrong judgments and choices were precisely because she had fallen prey to "Injury Sha."

The Saint Aunt was an Eighth Stream Artisan Cultivator, and Xu Yuan was an Eighth Stream Fate Cultivator. At the same level, the influence of Fate Imprints would be more apparent.

But the Saint Aunt's case was exceptionally obvious for another reason: her inherently stubborn and self-willed nature.

If she had faced a Seventh Stream cultivator, "Eight Directions Injury Sha" should have only caused the opponent to make one mistake throughout the entire fight.

This was the combat style of Fate Cultivators. The reason Upper Three Streams Fate Cultivators were so terrifying was their vast array of Fate Imprints, which they could continuously swap and combine. Under various mysterious influences, opponents often lost completely, bewildered.

Xu Yuan sorted through the spoils of the battle. The Saint Aunt had four more Artisan Cultivator creations. One was an ear cuff made of redwood and brass. Xu Yuan understood its purpose after fiddling with it, a smile of joy appearing on his face: "A good item."

There was also a Divine Mechanism Crossbow. Although it lacked bolts, it wasn't a major problem to have his Stepmother craft some for him when he returned.

Then there were the small knife and hammer.

These were genuine Artisan Cultivator tools. Xu Yuan could use the small knife, and he would take the hammer back to "honor" his Stepmother.

"That's all?" Xu Yuan was quite displeased. "You're a dignified Saint Aunt of the Pingtian Society, and this is all you have on you?"

Xu Yuan rummaged through the corpse, checking it over and over. Finally, he noticed the Saint Aunt's feet. Some people liked to hide things under their insoles.

Xu Yuan took off the pair of well-made shoes.

He felt inside—the texture was somewhat unusual!

"There's really something?"

Xu Yuan tore open the shoe. Indeed, there was a hidden compartment in the sole. Inside, he found a piece of oil paper as thin as a cicada's wing.

"Secret Mechanism Cannon Powder Formula."

Xu Yuan took a look and gasped. "This is the cannon powder formula for the Bronze Crafted Cannon! One of the Pingtian Society's cornerstones is supplying the Divine Machine Camp with Crafted Cannons. This cannon powder formula is also a core secret of the Pingtian Society."

"Their Saint Aunt secretly hid a copy of this formula in the sole of her shoe. Heh heh heh, this Saint Aunt wasn't as pure-hearted as she seemed."

Xu Yuan treasured the formula as if it were a priceless gem.

The cannon powder used for these Crafted Cannons was far more explosive than that for Master Qiao's Three-eyed Gun.

"It's just that..." Xu Yuan frowned at the formula. "A few key steps inside can only be completed by an Artisan Cultivator. I'll have to ask Stepmother."

"But if she finds out my Inner Pill is made of cannon powder... she'll nag me endlessly again."

Xu Yuan put away the formula and tore open the other shoe. There was nothing hidden inside.

"Having this formula is enough."

And the biggest gain was undoubtedly capturing the Pingtian Society members in one fell swoop. At least for the short term, the Pingtian Society wouldn't be able to find him.

Xu Yuan disposed of the Saint Aunt's corpse in the nearby weeds, just as he had done before. Soon, it would become a feast for Malevolent Spirits.

It was just past noon. He had plenty of time to get back to town today.

By evening, Xu Yuan had returned to town, planning to stay another night at Zhao's Furs Shop before heading back to the city early the next morning.

He still wore his thick felt hat, pulling the brim low to obscure most of his face, not wanting to attract any attention.

Uncle Rong Kui sat in Sister Zhang's tea stall, leaning against the western earthen wall, trying to shrink his large frame to avoid drawing notice.

The tea stall wasn't a proper building. Two earthen walls stood on either side, with bamboo poles laid across them and extending out about ten feet. A cloth was draped over them, providing a place for travelers and merchants to drink water and rest.

A bowl of tea cost one copper coin.

Many travelers couldn't afford to eat at restaurants and would buy a bowl of hot tea, soaking their own flatbreads in it for a meal.

As dusk approached, there were few people left in the tea stall.

Uncle Rong Kui had waited until now, and finally saw Xu Yuan emerge from the mountains. His eyelids twitched.

The kid was back!

He went into the mountains and came back out. What had he been doing?

Uncle Rong Kui had a guess, but it was a guess he dared not believe himself.

"The Pingtian Society is powerful..."

Not a single one of them had returned yet!

Uncle Rong Kui felt a sense of apprehension towards this kid!

He dropped ten copper coins and got up, walking into the alley next door.

He had sat here all day, and Sister Zhang hadn't kicked him out. He'd give her a little more money.

He had been staying at Widow Yang's place for the past two days. This was his last night; he would be leaving early tomorrow morning.

From the tea stall, heading south towards the street, he passed through a small alley.

Uncle Rong Kui's nose twitched as he caught a familiar scent. He turned to investigate—and was instantly drenched in a cold sweat!

Xu Yuan's feet left the ground, and he floated in the air. He didn't know when he had ended up behind himself.

I'm getting old, he thought. I was tailing a young man and I still got discovered!

He didn't know that the "Fate" of familiar people like this, as soon as they appeared nearby, was like a lamp lit in the dark to Xu Yuan.

A glint of cold light landed on Uncle Rong Kui's neck.

The cook's neck was thick, with a layer of fat under the skin.

The cold light pressed down slightly, causing the neck to indent a little, and a drop of blood seeped from the skin.

Uncle Rong Kui quickly shouted, "Don't do anything, don't do anything, we're on the same side!"

Uncle Rong Kui recognized that the cold light in Xu Yuan's hand was Saint Aunt's small knife. It was with this very thing that Saint Aunt had cracked open Er Liang's skull.

So it's true... Uncle Rong Kui thought to himself.

Xu Yuan looked at him coldly, "On the same side?"

Uncle Rong Kui raised his hands, sweat beading on his forehead and dripping non-stop. He forced a smile, "I know you don't believe me, but don't rush, listen to me..."

"Stop rambling!" Xu Yuan applied more pressure, and the small knife sank in a little further.

Uncle Rong Kui hurriedly said, "I'm a banner officer of the Monster Extermination Army. I have a waist token, it's in my pocket, I can show it to you. We're truly on the same side, please don't misunderstand. Keep your hand steady..."

Uncle Rong Kui wanted to slap himself. He talked too much when he got nervous; it was an old habit he hadn't been able to break for decades.

Xu Yuan frowned, "Monster Extermination Army?"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's the same Monster Extermination Army as your second uncle's."

Xu Yuan's face turned icy, and he was about to strike, "You came for me specifically!"

The official name of the Monster Extermination Army was the "Huangming Jin Yi Wei Outer Province Monster Extermination Thousand Household Office," established two hundred years ago.

At that time, Huangming had just conquered Korea, but resistance forces on the peninsula were rampant. Thus, under the guise of "exterminating monsters," this force was formed.

This Thousand Household Office had broad responsibilities: it was responsible for suppressing large-scale riots, apprehending remnants of the previous dynasty hiding among the populace, and incidentally dealing with Malevolent Spirits in villages and towns.

Subsequently, Huangming successively added provinces like "Mongol Yuan Province" and "Dayuan Province," and followed this system, with the "Monster Extermination Thousand Household Office" responsible for pacifying regions and suppressing dissent.

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