All In

"Magic Treasure Fragment? Let me see it." The Purple Robe Old Daoist walked a few steps closer to Wei Suo, his expression blank as he spoke coldly.

Wei Suo reached in and took out an item—it was the fragment of the Yin Charm Blade he had just acquired.

"Scram!"

After only one glance, a cold gleam flashed through the Purple Robe Old Daoist's eyes. He spat out a single word, and six clusters of light emerged around him as a chilling pressure surged forth.

Wei Suo immediately looked like a rat fleeing with its head in its paws, turning and running out of the alley without looking back.

"That yellow-robed cultivator was extremely vigilant. You put on a flawless act while pretending to peddle it; your expression and mannerisms looked perfectly convincing. Otherwise, with those two men's cultivation, they might have killed you on the spot, and Tianyi Sect's people would not have arrived in time. Never take such risks again by tracking cultivators whose strength is so far beyond yours." Only after Wei Suo had completely left the alley and reached an area with more cultivators did the Green Robe Old Man's voice sound out. He still seemed shaken by the narrow escape.

"Damn it, good thing I used to make a living peddling things all the time." Wei Suo wiped away a cold sweat as well. The situation just now had been far too dangerous. If those two had truly wanted to kill him and silence him, then even if the Green Robe Old Man had immediately told him how to use the Yin Charm Blade, he might not have escaped alive from the pincer attack of two Circulation Realm cultivators.

"That kid was sneaking around. He's highly suspicious."

"He looks like nothing more than a low-level rogue cultivator, and he doesn't seem to be faking it. Yet he actually wanted to peddle a Magic Treasure Fragment that couldn't possibly be used. Hmph! If we kill him here and Tianyi Sect's people come, it'll be troublesome."

The Green Robe Old Man's voice suddenly entered Wei Suo's ears.

Wei Suo froze for a moment. "Old man, what are you talking about?"

"Today was so dangerous that no matter what, we need to hear what those two are plotting. I'll risk expending some vitality and send my divine sense out for a while. Don't go any farther away, or I won't be able to sense what they're saying." The Green Robe Old Man spoke rapidly.

Wei Suo's spirits instantly rose, though a flicker of emotion also passed through his eyes. When he had previously asked the Green Robe Old Man why he drank Fire Scorpion Blood, the old man had told him that once his vitality reached a certain level, an artifact spirit like him could send its consciousness some distance away from the Magic Treasure's core. But now the formation of the Ghost Nurturing Jar was damaged, and even with Fire Scorpion Blood replenishing him, the Green Robe Old Man still lost some vitality every day. Wei Suo had not expected him to risk himself so desperately for Wei Suo at a time like this.

"Tie Ce's people have already come out in full force and headed straight for Green Wind Mausoleum. They should make their move tomorrow morning."

"If anything goes wrong, we'll die without a burial ground. Are you truly one hundred percent certain?"

"If we weren't completely certain, why would we act? Don't worry. A group of Tie Ce's powerful cultivators happened to accept a commission in Seven Star City. They won't be able to return for at least two days. And the information is absolutely reliable—among those Heart Devouring Worms, there really is an elder-level Heart Devouring Worm that has advanced."

"Since the information is certain, there shouldn't be any problem."

"One more thing. There is one cultivator in there whom we must capture alive. You'll be paid an additional five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones for that. When the time comes, I'll point that person out. Don't strike ruthlessly at that person first."

"When shall we meet?"

"We'll meet at sunrise tomorrow. There are quite a few high-level demonic beasts active there at night, so they won't choose to act tonight."

"Good!"

After the yellow-robed middle-aged cultivator and the Purple Robe Old Daoist finished speaking, they each left through a different exit of the alley. Meanwhile, Wei Suo, who had blended in before a stall, was already drenched in cold sweat.

Though there had only been a few sentences, Wei Suo had already grasped the general situation.

These past few days, Tie Ce's people had been preparing to surround and kill a fifth-tier Heart Devouring Worm. The demon core of a fifth-tier Heart Devouring Worm alone was worth more than five hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. Moreover, unlike ordinary fifth-tier demonic beasts, the Heart Devouring Worm also possessed several materials that could be used to refine powerful Magic Treasures.

It also formed a crystal of magic within its body, which could be used to refine Magic Treasures similar to sound-based demonic artifacts. Its outer hide was an exceptional material for stealth-type Magic Treasures. To some high-level cultivators skilled in artifact refining, the value of such a rare demonic beast—one that was difficult to hunt—had long since exceeded merely several hundred or several thousand Spirit Stones.

A force like Tie Ce certainly had no shortage of powerful Circulation Realm cultivators. But judging from the contents of those two men's conversation, Tie Ce's people had received information that there was only one Heart Devouring Worm, while in reality there was far more than one. There was even an advanced Heart Devouring Worm, just like the Red Armored Beetle Boss.

Many cultivators on Tianxuan Continent were accustomed to calling demonic beasts that had lived for a long time and broken through their original tier Elder Grade demonic beasts.

The Heart Devouring Worm had originally been a low-tier fifth-level demonic beast, and it also possessed an innate talent for invisibility. Even if it had only advanced by one tier, it was at least a mid-tier fifth-level demonic beast.

A mid-tier fifth-level demonic beast already possessed strength equivalent to a Circulation Realm Third Level cultivator. And Wei Suo now knew that after advancing, such Elder Grade demonic beasts would generally develop one or two unique innate abilities. In other words, an advanced Heart Devouring Worm Elder would actually be even harder to deal with than an ordinary mid-tier fifth-level demonic beast.

If they had only prepared enough White Phosphorus Beast Bone Powder to reveal one Heart Devouring Worm, only to encounter several Heart Devouring Worms along with a Heart Devouring Worm Elder, then even with many Circulation Realm cultivators holding the fort, the situation would be extremely dangerous.

Moreover, from the tone of those two men, it seemed they had laid an ambush. They intended to wait until Tie Ce's people and the Heart Devouring Worms fought until both sides were battered and broken, then come out to clean up the mess and sweep Tie Ce's people away in one net!

In this short time alone, Wei Suo had already seen three Circulation Realm cultivators preparing to deal with Tie Ce!

The life or death of Tie Ce's other people had not the slightest thing to do with Wei Suo, but Nangong Yuqing was among them.

After hesitating for a moment, Wei Suo gritted his teeth and took out the communication jade talisman again, pouring a stream of True Essence into it.

"You've really decided to interfere in this matter?" The Green Robe Old Man's somewhat chilling voice immediately entered Wei Suo's ears. He seemed already able to sense Wei Suo's thoughts.

"Damn it, I'm going all in! I still need to borrow Spirit Stones from her!"

After pouring True Essence into the communication jade talisman, Wei Suo raced toward the largest notice board on the north side of the city.

"Then don't save Spirit Stones this time. At the very least, let me spend every Spirit Stone on you before we go." The Green Robe Old Man's voice rang in Wei Suo's ears. This time, there was also a trace of killing intent in his voice.

"Fine. We'll prepare the things in a moment."

After agreeing to the Green Robe Old Man, Wei Suo hurried to the notice board. He casually grabbed a low-level rogue cultivator who was studying the notices, clearly looking for a way to earn Spirit Stones, and directly took out a Mid-grade Spirit Stone. "Brother, want to earn this Spirit Stone?"

"Yes!" The low-level cultivator, who had not even reached the Sea of Consciousness Realm Second Level, immediately nodded vigorously.

"I'll pay you five Low-grade Spirit Stones up front. Help me stand here until tomorrow morning. Find a sign to hold up and write the character Wei on it. If a female cultivator surnamed Nangong comes to ask you about it, tell her not to leave. Tell her to pour some True Essence into the thing she has, and I'll come immediately. Whether she comes or not, as long as you stand here all night, I'll give you another five Low-grade Spirit Stones tomorrow."

"Just hold a sign and pass on that one sentence?" The low-level cultivator grabbed the five Low-grade Spirit Stones in delighted disbelief. Then he quickly found a wooden board, wrote a huge Wei character on it, and stood beneath the notice board as still as a block of wood.

"Golden Jade Pavilion should still be open."

Wei Suo glanced toward the south side of the city from afar and muttered that to himself before immediately setting off again toward Golden Jade Pavilion in the south.

"You're a little rattled right now. For a low-level cultivator like that, even two Low-grade Spirit Stones would have made him stand there until dawn. A few more Spirit Stones on you might let you buy another useful artifact and greatly increase your chances of surviving this trip." As Wei Suo raced onward, the Green Robe Old Man's voice sounded again. "The more dangerous it is, the less you can afford to lose your head."

Wei Suo shuddered and instantly calmed down considerably. "Understood." After uttering those three words, Wei Suo continued racing all the way, but his eyes were now like two frigid stars.

"Senior Wei? May I ask why you have come so late?"

The market district in the south of the city generally did not close early. Since Golden Jade Pavilion specialized in all kinds of artifact refining materials, and some materials gathered that day needed to be processed immediately, it usually remained open until midnight. When Wei Suo arrived, Golden Jade Pavilion was indeed still open. However, seeing how hurried Wei Suo appeared, a silver-robed youth responsible for receiving customers, who recognized Wei Suo, was greatly surprised.

Wei Suo looked at the silver-robed youth and said rapidly, "I want to commission your pavilion to spread a message. I also need to purchase and pawn some items. And I want to ask whether the robe I had you alter last time is ready."

"That robe was finished today, actually." The silver-robed youth was still somewhat astonished. "May I ask what sort of items Senior Wei wishes to pawn and purchase?"

Wei Suo expressionlessly took out the Treasure Pouch and removed two items from it. "I want to buy some powerful artifacts or Magic Treasures. If Golden Jade Pavilion has anything to my liking, then not only these two items, but also this Treasure Pouch and Golden Silk Talisman Brush that you auctioned off can be pawned first."

"Jade Cloud Ganoderma? And this jade box is?" Upon hearing Wei Suo's words and seeing the items he had taken out, the silver-robed youth was immediately shocked.

Wei Suo glanced at the youth. "This is a Treasure Origin Jade Box that can prevent the spiritual energy of spiritual herbs from dissipating. Have you heard of it?"

"A Treasure Origin Jade Box? Senior Wei, the value of these items is too great. Neither someone of my standing nor Deputy Shopkeeper Liu can make this decision." The silver-robed youth's expression changed again. "Please allow me to invite Shopkeeper Tian out."

Wei Suo nodded. "In that case, first help me spread a message. I'm about to leave the city immediately to hunt a demonic beast, and I need to hire two cultivators to accompany me. Help me designate Tie Ce's people. Have them come directly here to find me."

"Alright!" After seeing Wei Suo's many possessions, the silver-robed youth knew that the Spirit Stone fee for spreading a message was nothing to him. Thus, he did not waste words. He nodded, quickly gave instructions, and then immediately ran inside to invite Shopkeeper Tian.

Wei Suo sat calmly, watching the silver-robed youth run inside, then poured another stream of True Essence into the communication jade talisman.

Now, Wei Suo could only hope that Nangong Yuqing would see the communication sent through the jade talisman, or that Tie Ce had not truly come out in full force as the yellow-robed cultivator had said, leaving some of their people in Lingyue City.

If it truly came to it, then he would gamble everything he owned and go all in!

(I saw a reader's comment, so let me explain. Perhaps I did not write it clearly enough. There are two kinds of spiritual herbs or other materials whose spiritual energy rapidly dissipates. One kind will quickly lose its spiritual energy after being picked, no matter what, unless a special preservation Magic Treasure like the Treasure Origin Jade Box is used. The other kind will wither if it is not picked at a specific time. It is like certain flowers: if they are allowed to keep growing after blooming, then once they set seeds, they naturally wither, and one must wait for the seeds to grow into spiritual herbs again. Once picked and prevented from continuing to grow, however, the spiritual energy of these herbs will not dissipate quickly. Jade Cloud Ganoderma belongs to the latter kind. This may be mentioned again in later chapters. Finally, the awesome thing is—did you see this chapter title? Yesterday, we were only a little short of breaking the grand milestone of 7,000 red votes. Can we be a little more ferocious today, go all in, and blast past 7,000 in one stroke?!)