Silver Chest! Omen Blood Blade!

"What a pity..."

Wu Yu rummaged through the items on the corpse, his brows knitting slightly.

The remaining equipment on this Captain Liu of the Inspection Bureau had already been damaged beyond use.

The rest, such as the spiritual energy batteries and spatial wristwatch, had long since vanished.

"They cleaned him out thoroughly!"

Wu Yu shook his head.

To be honest, he bore no ill will toward Captain Liu.

From the man's earlier behavior, he seemed rather concerned with saving face and was not actually as selfless as he appeared.

But in the real world, people like that were already quite good. At the very least, they would uphold order in some circumstances.

When facing a hypocrite, there was still a chance of survival.

But once one fell into the hands of a true villain, even death might become a luxury!

When a man died, the lamp went out. Wu Yu did not dwell on it and instead looked toward the Silver Chest and the direction Bai Xiaotian had fled.

He took out the Bronze Token and opened the [Map] to compare.

"This direction... barring accidents, leads out of the cave!"

"Will Bai Xiaotian come back after resting up?"

Wu Yu pondered briefly, then made a few more arrangements near the passage.

Though small stones were rather poor carriers for sigils, they had the advantage of being everywhere and unlikely to draw attention.

One trap after another was laid, blending perfectly into the surroundings and proving difficult to detect.

"More or less done."

Not long afterward, Wu Yu drew a deep breath and returned to the Silver Chest.

He did not intend to chase down Bai Xiaotian.

On one hand, the other man's talent was quite terrifying. Who knew whether he had some trump card left?

On the other hand, the man was extremely cunning. It was entirely possible that he had set traps outside and was waiting for Wu Yu to walk into the net himself.

"Whether I fight the Mountain Lord or not, I can't use the nearby evacuation point after getting out."

"I have to go somewhere else."

Wu Yu glanced at the [Map] and estimated the distance and time.

Judging from his previous speed, it would take roughly an hour to reach the next closest evacuation point.

"Not bad."

He let out a breath, sat directly atop the Silver Chest, and watched the surroundings vigilantly.

[Silver Chest]

Opening countdown: 14 minutes 59 seconds.

Second by second, time passed. The cave was utterly silent, and the atmosphere was somewhat terrifying.

Only faint breathing could be heard in the air.

Suddenly!

Crack—!

A crisp sound came from the Silver Chest. Wu Yu's eyes lit up as he rose and looked over.

This was the third chest he had opened. With practiced ease, he grabbed the lid and lifted it!

The chest opened, revealing several cards inside.

[Bloodstained Rope]

Type: Quest Item.

Quality: None.

Description: Soaked in the blood of a Transcendent creature, with its Transcendent pressure lingering upon it for a long time.

[Omen Blood Blade]

Type: Weapon.

Quality: Purple.

Description: A blood blade cursed by the Mountain Lord. It had fallen from the ranks of Transcendent weapons, but its material remained extraordinary.

[Fish-Scale Armor]

Type: Armor.

Quality: Purple.

Integrity: 71%

Description: A damaged suit of Transcendent armor, torn apart by the Mountain Lord. Only this piece remained usable.

There were only three items in the Silver Chest.

One weapon, one piece of armor, and one quest item.

Wu Yu carefully examined their status panels, looking thoughtful.

"These three items seem to have belonged to the Transcendent Martial Artists killed by the Mountain Lord!"

Among the information he had gathered earlier, there had been accounts of Transcendent Martial Artists fighting the Mountain Lord.

But judging from the First Chief's records, the entire affair had been plotted by that First Chief. He simply had not expected the martial artists in the city to be so useless, or the village chief to be such a coward!

Until his death, the Mountain Lord had merely hidden away with heavy injuries, while the village chief had not even dared leave the valley.

"Forget it. Use them first!"

Wu Yu could not be bothered to think further and directly crushed all three cards.

The first card shattered into motes of light and scattered away.

A three-meter-long rope appeared in the chest!

The second card dissolved into light, revealing a half-meter-long short blade.

The third card dissolved into light, revealing a damaged suit of armor.

Wu Yu tossed the rope into his inventory, removed his outer clothing, grabbed the armor, and forced it onto himself.

Fortunately, the Fish-Scale Armor was already damaged. Even though he did not know how to wear it properly, he managed to squeeze into it. Wu Yu then put his outer clothing back on, concealing the Fish-Scale Armor.

"So heavy! This thing weighs at least fifty jin!"

Wu Yu's expression changed. Only after his body, brimming with qi and blood, exerted a little force could he move freely again.

"Good thing I strengthened my body three times!"

"Plus, I have the [Heaven's Return Wonder], so the only thing this affects is my mobility."

"But compared to its defensive power, losing a little agility is nothing."

Wu Yu touched the gap in the armor and nodded in satisfaction.

This Transcendent armor had already lost its Transcendent power, but its protective capabilities alone were still quite impressive!

The Diamond Badge had twenty-five percent spiritual energy remaining. Better safe than sorry—when it came to protection, one extra layer was one extra layer!

After jumping around on the spot and gradually getting used to it, Wu Yu picked up the [Omen Blood Blade].

"A purple-quality short blade!"

Wu Yu's eyes gleamed slightly. He took out the [Fine Short Blade] for comparison and found them utterly incomparable.

The [Fine Short Blade] was made of iron and had already developed several chips after multiple battles.

The [Omen Blood Blade], meanwhile, was overall reddish in color. Forged from an unknown Transcendent material, it faintly glimmered with a bloody light.

"Perfect for replacing it!"

Wu Yu smiled faintly and tossed the short blade into his inventory.

The [Fine Short Blade] had already been inscribed with the [Bi Fang Sigil], so he could use it as a concealed weapon later.

After toying with it for a while, a flash of inspiration struck Wu Yu.

"Right! The Fine Short Blade can only hold one because the material is too poor!"

"This is Transcendent material. How many can it hold?"

His eyes flickered as he looked at the [Omen Blood Blade].

Back when he had experimented on those bandits, Wu Yu had discovered that multiple [Bi Fang Sigils] could be stacked and detonated together.

However, different carriers produced different results!

For example, on a human body, [Bi Fang Sigils] could be inscribed in different locations and then exploded together.

A small stone, however, could only hold one. Inscribing a second would erase the first.

The same applied to the Fine Short Blade, the crude chopper, and the bandits' short bows...

Wu Yu's heart stirred as he looked toward the blade.

At the rise of a thought, golden runes traced themselves across the blade, forming the image of a divine bird.

After waiting for a while, another thought descended. Golden runes traced themselves over the blade, and a second [Bi Fang Sigil] was completely inscribed!

"It worked! So it really was a material issue!"

"Following that logic, talismans would definitely work! Materials imbued with spiritual power would be even better!"

Delighted, Wu Yu continued inscribing.

In the end,

five [Bi Fang Sigils] were inscribed upon the [Omen Blood Blade]!

Golden and crimson light intertwined across the blade, as though special effects had been added to it, making it extremely conspicuous in the dark cave.

"Not bad! Not bad!"

Wu Yu swung it a few times, thoroughly satisfied.

Then, he took out a steaming bowl of fine beef noodles and began wolfing it down on the spot.