The Secret

"Just as I thought!"

Shen Changchuan arrived beside the scarred man's corpse and searched the inner lining of his sleeve, pulling out a storage bag.

The storage bag was the size of a palm and entirely earthy yellow in color.

Shen Changchuan channeled his spiritual power to activate the runes near the pouch's opening, and a storage space measuring roughly two meters in length, width, and height appeared within his perception.

Inside this storage space lay some spirit stones, monster materials, jade boxes sealed with spiritual herbs, medicinal pills, and various other sundries.

A look of joy finally broke across Shen Changchuan's somewhat pale face.

It seemed that the majority of these people's wealth was contained within this storage bag.

Reflecting on this battle, although it was fraught with danger and he had nearly died several times, he had managed to strike it rich after surviving the ordeal.

Shen Changchuan did not have the time to count the spoils in the storage bag one by one for the moment.

But if nothing else, the storage bag itself was already of immense value.

As far as Shen Changchuan knew, the price of a single storage bag was at least three hundred spirit stones.

And that was only the price for black-market contraband, which might be recognized by someone at any time, leading to a vengeful pursuit.

Authentic storage bags were even more expensive!

They had always been an unattainable luxury for the perpetually penniless Shen Changchuan.

Even if the storage bag were empty, Shen Changchuan would still feel that this trip had been worth it!

After tucking the storage bag away close to his body, Shen Changchuan then retrieved the Soul-Absorbing Bell from the scarred man's corpse.

He made a brief attempt to control it and discovered that the Soul-Absorbing Bell remained silent under normal circumstances, only emitting sound when stimulated by spiritual power.

Furthermore, those sounds possessed a specialized effect against the divine sense and soul of a cultivator!

Shen Changchuan had experienced its power firsthand.

At that moment, it felt as if a heavy club had been swung down to smash against the back of his head.

He had nearly lost consciousness entirely.

"A good item!"

"The power is immense!"

If I hadn't consumed the Green Origin Water Grass, tempering and elevating my divine sense to a level comparable to the seventh level of Qi Refining, I fear I would have fallen for that trick earlier!

Recalling that scene, Shen Changchuan could not help but feel a lingering sense of fear.

At the time, under the scarred man's relentless close-quarters assault, his internal spiritual power had been severely depleted, forcing him to feign a weakness to lure the opponent into attacking, thereby creating an opportunity for a counter-kill.

But who could have known that the fellow would pull out something like the Soul-Absorbing Bell?

Even with his mind tightly coiled and constantly guarding against a potential trump card, he had been struck the moment it was unleashed.

Had the scarred man not miscalculated his strength—failing to anticipate that he possessed the divine sense of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator despite only being at the fourth level—allowing him to seize the chance for a successful counter-kill, it would have been he, Shen Changchuan, who died in this battle!

"It is only because I fused with this body's memories and fragmented soul, coupled with the efficacy of the Green Origin Water Grass, that my divine sense reached the late stage of Qi Refining, allowing me to endure it and recover my mobility in such a short time."

"Otherwise, in the face of this magical artifact, I fear I would have had no power to resist at all!"

"With this item in hand, I doubt many cultivators below the late stage of Qi Refining would be a match for it!"

Shen Changchuan sighed inwardly, his heart swelling with even greater joy.

Because this lethal weapon had now fallen into his hands, it had become his possession. The more powerful this magical artifact was, the better it naturally was for Shen Changchuan. Judging by his previous experience, this Soul-Absorbing Bell could definitely shake even a cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refining! It did not need to completely immobilize the target; as long as it could cause a momentary lapse in concentration during a battle, that would be enough to decide the outcome.

"It's just a pity that the mana required to activate this Soul-Absorbing Bell seems a bit excessive."

"At my current cultivation level, I'm afraid I won't be able to use it many times in a single fight."

After only a few simple attempts at controlling it, Shen Changchuan had already realized that this thing was definitely a massive drain on mana. He couldn't help but think greedily in his heart. With the mere ten percent of mana he had left, he was afraid he wouldn't even be able to ring it once.

While many thoughts flashed through his mind, Shen Changchuan's hands and feet did not stop. He first hung the Soul-Absorbing Bell on his wrist and covered it with his sleeve to make it easier to use during combat. After finishing this, and confirming there was nothing else to be gained from the scarred man, Shen Changchuan gathered the formation disk buried in the ground nearby that still held spirit stones, as well as the formation flags scattered around, and placed them one by one into his storage bag. Although he did not recognize what kind of formation it was, nor did he know how to use it, a thief never leaves empty-handed; good things must certainly be collected.

By now, all the spoils from the surrounding battlefield had been cleaned up by Shen Changchuan. He turned around, walked over to Zhao Hangao, who was unconscious not far away, grabbed the man by his collar with one hand, and prepared to leave. But at that moment, Shen Changchuan suddenly thought of something. His footsteps faltered. His eyes flickered a few times. After thinking for a few breaths and hesitating for a moment, he set down the unconscious Zhao Hangao, turned back, and placed the three corpses into his storage bag one by one. Only then did he turn and leave with Zhao Hangao in tow.

In the original spot, only a scene of mangled trees and traces of battle, such as bloodstains on the soil, remained to prove that what had happened earlier was not just an illusion. However, in this dense forest, these traces would likely disappear before long.

Zhao Family Village. The village, originally located in a valley surrounded by mountains—a place easy to defend and hard to attack, like a paradise—was now mostly engulfed in raging flames. Smoke and fire soared into the sky; even from more than ten miles away, one could clearly see the black smoke rising like giant pillars toward the heavens. Inside the village, which had almost turned into ruins, scattered corpses lay in pools of blood along the surrounding alleys and within the collapsed houses. Bodies were strewn everywhere. Those who had luckily survived had all fled into the deep mountains, panicked and trembling like headless flies, not daring to show themselves.

At the same time, Inside the most opulent mansion at the highest point of the village, Zhao Jingming, the son of Zhao Hangao and a playboy notorious throughout the surrounding region, was currently kneeling on the ground, his face a mess of tears and snot.

"Why, why?"

"My father already told you everything about that secret, and he did exactly as you demanded. Why did you still have to kill them? Why did you have to destroy the village?!"

Zhao Jingming knelt on the floor, his hands covering his face, his back hunched as he buried his head between his legs, his body wracked with sobs.

The roar of the raging inferno outside and the sound of collapsing houses merged together, ringing clearly in his ears.

The ghosts struggling and wailing amidst the flames seemed to be hurling the most vicious curses and resentment at him!

It was him!

It was all because he had invited the wolves into the fold that this once peaceful and harmonious village had met such a disaster!

Zhao Jingming's body trembled incessantly.

He dared not look up at the corpses lying in pools of blood all around him, And he dared not look at Zhao Family Village, which had already been swallowed by the raging fire outside.

He only wished to be an ostrich with its head buried in the sand, Unwilling to face this blood-soaked reality.

"Heh, naturally it is to destroy the clues and traces. What else could it be for?"

At this moment, From the seat of honor, The third of the Four Evils of He Mountain, his clothes stained with blood and radiating a murderous aura, wiped the blood from his longsword after the slaughter and cast a disdainful glance at the cowardly Zhao Jingming below.

He stood up, Holding his sharp blade, and walked slowly toward Zhao Jingming.

"Although, according to our intelligence, that person is merely an insignificant, unvalued illegitimate son of the Shen Clan, he is, after all, the son of the Shen Clan head. If he were to be murdered—"

"Heh, even though we, the Four Brothers of Heshan, are prepared to flee to the Southern Yue Kingdom's cultivation world after this and never return to these parts, it is best not to provoke such a great family."

The third brother walked to the side of the trembling Zhao Jingming, And whispered softly into his ear:

"As long as everyone who knows the truth is dead, and you and your father have vanished without a trace, any subsequent investigation will only focus on you two. It will have nothing to do with us four brothers."

"Even if they truly suspect us, by then we four brothers will have already flown far away with the inheritance. The Shen Clan doesn't have the reach to stretch their hands tens of thousands of miles away into the Southern Yue cultivation world."

"I shall thank you and your father on behalf of my eldest brother!"

The third brother's voice was eerie.

His tone carried a hint of mockery, Yet there was also a measure of genuine sincerity.

He truly was grateful to Zhao Jingming.

Who could have known, That the truth behind the incident where the head of the Hu Clan of Dawan Village—who once held some reputation in these borderlands—killed a collateral descendant of the Shen Clan, actually involved the inheritance of a True Cultivator at the Out-of-Body Stage?

And who could have known, That the person who secretly tipped off the Shen Clan, leading to the exposure of the Hu Clan's crime and their ultimate destruction, was actually Zhao Hangao, the village chief of Zhao Family Village, not far from Dawan Village?

I fear no one would have ever imagined, That Zhao Hangao, a mere cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Induction, A simple, submissive farmer who spent his days toiling in the fields, actually held a massive secret regarding the ruins of an Out-of-Body Stage True Cultivator!

It was only because of an idiot like Zhao Jingming, who had lived a life of ease since childhood, And who kept babbling about being unwilling to live an ordinary life and seeking an exciting career, that he wanted to run off and mingle with rogues like them.

Normally, when faced with such clear-eyed, foolish idiots, They would have simply stripped them clean and finished them off.

Yet, they never expected that just a few sweet words during the process would cause him to blurt out such a monumental secret!

One must know, That was the cave dwelling ruins of an Out-of-Body Stage True Cultivator!

The Out-of-Body Stage, Was absolutely the realm of an invincible big shot in these borderlands!

Moreover, according to their deductions, it was the legacy of a member of the Elephant Mountain Sect, which had been wiped out three hundred years ago!

If one could inherit that legacy, It was not to say that it would give the Four Brothers of Heshan hope of catching a glimpse of that divine Out-of-Body power, but at the very least, it was enough to give each of them a chance to attain the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement!

With such monstrous wealth crashing down upon them, even if there were significant risks involved in the process, it was absolutely worth it!

"No, that's not right. The Shen Clan, a great family like the Shen Clan, won't be deceived by you so easily, you..."

Zhao Jingming trembled, agitatedly trying to say something, but a sharp longsword, with a squelch, had already pierced through his back, run through his body, and punctured his heart.

The rest of Zhao Jingming's words were choked off in his throat, never to be spoken again.

"Rest assured, Brother Zhao, there is no need for you to worry about that; we four brothers have our own plans."

"Brother Zhao has bestowed such boundless wealth upon us. Such great kindness is truly impossible to repay, so we can only send your entire family to the Yellow Springs to reunite."

"Don't worry, Brother Zhao, your father will soon follow you onto the road to the Yellow Springs; you won't have to worry about being lonely down there without any company."

Zhao Jingming's body collapsed powerlessly, and in his final moments, his eyes revealed endless resentment and regret.

Father... I'm sorry. I was wrong.

Looking down at the corpse on the ground, the third brother wore a sneer of mockery on his face.

He wiped the blood from his longsword with a rag, and turned to leave.

However, at that very instant, Clang!

A clear chime of a bell resonated throughout the empty room, the sound carrying a sort of invisible magic that struck deep into the depths of one's spiritual consciousness.

In a flash, the third brother felt as if an iron rod had been smashed heavily against his head, his mind turned dizzy and muddled, and his entire body froze in place.

My computer broke the day before yesterday and I only got it fixed at the shop yesterday afternoon, so the second chapter is late.

I'm numb.

I have no money.

If I had money, I would definitely buy myself a backup laptop.