Night was like thick ink splashed across the sky.
A waning moon hung high at the horizon, casting a cold, clear glow that made the land seem all the more sinister.
Tianfeng City, west gate.
Three figures rode swift horses and silently slipped out through a secluded city gate.
They were Wang Teng and the two Qi Condensation Fifth Layer protectors.
To avoid drawing attention, all of them had changed into ordinary night attire.
"Brother Wang, wait for me!"
Behind them, Liang Feng rode a scrawny horse as he panted and chased after them.
Wang Teng had also forcibly made him change into black clothes and cover his face with black cloth, making him look utterly ridiculous.
"Useless trash! You can't even ride a horse properly?" Wang Teng snapped impatiently.
Liang Feng did not dare talk back. He could only whip the horse's rump desperately and barely keep up with the group.
In truth, he was reluctant a hundred times over to come.
Going to a ghostly place like the Mass Grave in the dead of night sent chills down his spine just thinking about it.
But he did not dare disobey Wang Teng's orders.
Besides, Wang Teng had promised him a large sum of Spirit Stones once the matter was done.
At the thought of the Spirit Stones, the little fear in his heart was smothered by greed.
The four rode at full speed and soon arrived at the legendary Mass Grave west of the city.
Before they even drew near, a freezing wind carrying the stench of rot and a gloomy chill rushed at their faces, making them shudder.
As far as the eye could see, crooked grave mounds, ruined tombstones, and stark white bones scattered across the ground were everywhere.
Several crows perched on withered branches, cawing harshly and adding even more strangeness to the atmosphere.
"Damn it, this place is fucking unlucky!" Liang Feng cursed, instinctively edging closer to Wang Teng.
"Shut up!" Wang Teng barked as he dismounted.
He warily swept his gaze over the surroundings, then took a specially made bone whistle from his robes, placed it to his lips, and blew a string of low, bizarre notes.
The sound carried far through the silent night.
A moment later.
From behind a tall grave mound not far away came a rustling sound.
Then, a thin and gaunt figure dressed in black, with an evil ghost mask over his face, emerged from behind the grave mound.
"A man from the Blood Fiend Tower?" Wang Teng asked in a low voice.
"Hehe, Young Master Wang, I trust you have been well." The masked man spoke in a hoarse voice like a night owl.
He was the Blood Fiend Tower assassin who had been tracking Chen Chen all along!
He did not know that the man he had come to trade with was the archenemy of the target his master had ordered him to eliminate.
He had merely received orders from above to complete a transaction with a disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect.
"Where are the goods?" Wang Teng got straight to the point. He did not want to stay in this cursed place for even another second.
"The goods are naturally here." The masked man smiled. "But Young Master Wang, you know our rules. Inspect the goods first, then hand over the money."
"Hmph." Wang Teng snorted and took a heavy bag from his storage bag before tossing it over. "There are ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones inside, the price you asked for."
The masked man caught the bag and swept it with his Spiritual Sense. After confirming that nothing was amiss, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Young Master Wang is indeed straightforward."
As he spoke, he too took a black wooden box from his robes.
When he opened it, a rich bloody stench mixed with strange energy fluctuations instantly spread through the air.
Inside the box lay more than a dozen fist-sized, blood-red crystals.
Blood Soul Crystals!
An evil object refined from the souls and blood essence of countless living beings through a wicked Secret Method!
To righteous cultivators, this was a deadly poison. Yet to those who cultivated evil arts or needed it to refine sinister pills, it was a supreme treasure they dreamed of obtaining!
Greed instantly burst from Wang Teng's eyes.
This was it!
With this batch of Blood Soul Crystals, he could exchange them at the sect for the Breakthrough Pill he had longed for day and night!
"Very good."
Wang Teng forcefully suppressed his excitement and reached out to take them.
However, at that very moment.
A sudden change erupted!
Whoosh!
A sharp whistle split the air, shooting out without warning from behind another grave mound nearby!
It was an arrow!
An arrow wrapped in fierce true qi!
Its target was the black wooden box containing the Blood Soul Crystals!
"Not good!"
Wang Teng and the Blood Fiend Tower assassin both underwent drastic changes in expression!
Without a second thought, they moved at the same time, trying to snatch back the wooden box.
But it was already too late!
The arrow was too fast!
Bang!
With a muffled explosion, the black wooden box was struck precisely by the arrow and shattered into pieces in midair!
The dozen or so Blood Soul Crystals scattered in every direction, falling all around them!
"Who is it?!"
Wang Teng and the Blood Fiend Tower assassin roared in unison, their gazes as sharp as blades as they looked toward where the arrow had come from!
Behind that grave mound, a figure slowly rose to his feet.
It was a young man dressed in coarse hemp clothes, wearing a bamboo hat.
A black longbow was gripped in his hand.
"It's you!"
The instant Liang Feng saw the figure clearly, he cried out in shock!
He would recognize him even if he turned to ashes!
This bastard was the one who had won his Azure Cloud Token at the Immortal's Abode!
Why was he here?!
"So it's you, you little bastard!" Wang Teng's eyes instantly erupted with towering killing intent as well!
Though he did not know Chen Chen, Liang Feng's reaction had already told him everything!
This was the bastard who had made the Azure Cloud Token, already in his grasp, fly away!
And now he had come to ruin his plans again!
He was simply courting death!
"You actually dared to show yourself!"
Wang Teng roared, and the true qi of the Second Level of Qi Condensation exploded forth as he prepared to charge at Chen Chen!
However, the Blood Fiend Tower assassin moved even faster than him!
The moment the assassin saw Chen Chen, terrifying killing intent also erupted from his eyes, along with... a flicker of barely perceptible wild joy!
He had searched everywhere in iron shoes to no avail, only to find it without any effort at all!
The brat he had searched for day and night for several days had actually delivered himself right to his doorstep!
"You little beast, hand over your life!"
He let out a hoarse roar as the terrifying aura of the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer surged skyward without reservation!
His entire body turned into a bolt of bloody lightning and shot straight toward Chen Chen!
He wanted to capture this brat alive before Wang Teng could!
Because from this brat, he could sense the aura of that Soul Chasing Jade... the one that filled him with extreme dread!
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