A clever escape from danger

There were dozens of cultivators at the inn, all of them there for the Black Antelope Thunder Ox horn.

However, Xu Changshou was so powerful that he had instantly killed two cultivators at the Qi Refining Twelfth Layer, cowing everyone else. Otherwise, they would have robbed him long ago.

Of course, although Xu Changshou was strong, they had not given up on the Black Antelope Thunder Ox horn.

They clung to him like stubborn medicinal plasters.

They were waiting for a chance to strike.

When Xu Changshou suddenly entered the common room, he naturally drew everyone's attention at once.

Whoosh!

With a sweep of his hand, Xu Changshou tossed an ox horn nearly a meter long onto the table.

In an instant, many eyes turned red with greed.

Greedy gazes gleamed in the darkness.

Has Junior Brother Xu gone mad? What is he doing?

Ye Shanhua's heart pounded with dread.

Xu Changshou knew perfectly well that these people wanted the Black Antelope Thunder Ox horn, yet he deliberately brought it out in full view of everyone. Wasn't he courting death?

"What is this brat up to?"

"Should we make a move?"

"Could it be a trap?"

The cultivators lurking in the shadows stirred restlessly.

"Ahem!"

Xu Changshou cleared his throat and said, "Fellow Daoists, this Black Antelope Thunder Ox horn is of no use to me. Since you're all interested, I'll sell it to you. The highest bidder wins."

The words "the highest bidder wins" instantly made everyone understand his intentions.

For most people, a Black Antelope Thunder Ox horn was of little use beyond being sold for money.

That was precisely Xu Changshou's situation.

Of course, for a small number of people, the horn was immensely useful.

It was an excellent material for refining a Pseudo-Magic Artifact, and it possessed the lightning attribute.

Cultivators with the lightning attribute were rare, but they did exist. As long as there were such cultivators, there would be no shortage of buyers for this thing.

Otherwise, these cultivators would never have traveled thousands upon thousands of miles from the western continent to this barren land.

For example, if a Lineage produced a gifted disciple with the lightning attribute, that disciple would certainly need a powerful lightning-attribute Pseudo-Magic Artifact before reaching Foundation Establishment.

In that case, even if the Lineage had to exhaust all its resources, it would obtain a lightning-attribute Pseudo-Magic Artifact or excellent lightning-attribute refining materials for its prodigy.

Likewise, if some powerful figure had a disciple or descendant with the lightning attribute, many people would seek lightning-attribute Pseudo-Magic Artifacts or artifact-refining materials to curry favor with that figure.

Most of the cultivators who had come to Fire Mulberry Country to hunt Black Antelope Thunder Oxen were in such circumstances.

Ye Shanhua nodded to herself, a smile spreading across her face.

She had never expected Xu Changshou to be so resourceful. Selling the Black Antelope Thunder Ox horn openly here would not only let him reap the benefits while avoiding disaster, but also earn him a tidy sum of spirit stones.

Of course, that also depended on having a certain amount of strength.

If Xu Changshou had not been strong enough, they would simply have robbed him. Who would bother buying it?

Under the present circumstances, buying it with money was the safer option for everyone.

As for whether the buyer would then be robbed by other crooks, Xu Changshou had no need to worry about that.

Better a fellow Daoist should die than he himself. Whoever wanted to die could go right ahead.

"Name your price, fellow Daoist," a hoarse voice called out.

"Twenty spirit stones."

Xu Changshou spoke calmly.

His asking price was very low. A Black Antelope Thunder Ox horn normally sold for around thirty to forty spirit stones.

"Splendid! Twenty spirit stones, was it? I'll take it." The cultivator's voice sounded like a drake's quack, grating on the ears.

"I bid twenty-one spirit stones."

This speaker had a youthful voice.

The duck-voiced cultivator snapped in displeasure, "Fellow Daoist, do you mean to make an enemy of me?"

The youthful voice chuckled. "There's no need to talk of enemies. Our fellow Daoist just said the highest bidder wins. If you want it, raise your bid. If you can't afford it, keep quiet!"

"Twenty-two spirit stones," the duck-voiced cultivator said angrily.

The youthful voice replied mockingly, "I bid twenty-five spirit stones."

"You..."

The duck-voiced cultivator fell silent.

"Twenty-eight spirit stones," the hoarse voice spoke again.

"Thirty." The young cultivator could not help frowning.

"Thirty-five." The hoarse voice remained unhurried, seemingly full of confidence.

"Thirty-eight!" the young cultivator said through gritted teeth.

"Forty spirit stones." The hoarse voice was still calm.

A long silence followed those words.

The young cultivator stopped bidding.

Xu Changshou nodded slightly. "Forty spirit stones. Does anyone have a higher bid? If not, it belongs to this fellow Daoist."

He waited a long while, but no one else bid.

Xu Changshou smiled. "Fellow Daoist, please show yourself."

One of the doors opened, and five or six elderly cultivators at the Qi Refining Twelfth Layer emerged.

They entered the common room. The elder leading them tossed Xu Changshou a Storage Bag and said in his hoarse voice, "Fellow Daoist, here are forty spirit stones. Please check them."

Xu Changshou took the Storage Bag and glanced inside. All forty spirit stones were there.

"The payment is correct. This belongs to you now, fellow Daoist."

Smiling, Xu Changshou cupped his hands in a slight bow, then returned to his room.

After he left, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

"Damn it, they're from the Lu Family Fort."

"The Lu Family Fort actually sent this many people."

"I heard the Lu Lineage produced a prodigy with a thunder-fire spiritual root. This horn must be for him."

"Should we make a move?"

"Let's wait and see. The Lu Family Fort's people aren't easy to deal with."

After obtaining the Black Antelope Thunder Ox horn, the group hurried away with the hoarse-voiced elder in their midst.

The other cultivators promptly left the inn as well. Some quietly followed the elders, while others vanished into the boundless night.

Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua were the only cultivators left in the entire inn.

Only then did they finally breathe easy.

Xu Changshou had effortlessly resolved a terrifying crisis.

"Junior Brother Xu, you really are something," Ye Shanhua praised him with a broad smile.

"Senior Sister Ye, I was terrified just now too."

Xu Changshou secretly broke into a cold sweat. The Cultivation World was more frightening and more wicked than he had imagined.

Late that night.

Xu Changshou took out his Storage Bag and tallied his gains.

His greatest haul was naturally the black antelope thunder ox hide, along with two valuable Pseudo-Magic Artifacts.

He also had more spirit stones. Before coming here, he had counted them: three hundred and twenty-two.

Now he had three hundred and seventy-seven. Apart from the forty spirit stones earned by selling the horn, the remaining fifteen had belonged to the elderly couple from the Union of Joy Sect.

A full fifty-five spirit stones-nearly half a year's earnings for Xu Changshou.

No wonder people said murder and arson earned you a golden belt. In the Cultivation World, killing and robbery were the quickest roads to riches.

After tallying his wealth, Xu Changshou began cutting up the black antelope thunder ox hide. It was much larger than the Savage Bull King's hide, yielding a full two hundred and forty pieces.

Two hundred and forty pieces meant two hundred and forty Thunderstorm Talismans, more than enough for his needs.

Early the next morning, Xu Changshou and Ye Shanhua left Thunder Marsh Town.

"We pay our respects to the Thunder God."

"Countless blessings upon Lord Thunder God."

"Lord Thunder God, protect us..."

Thunder Marsh Town was holding a grand temple fair and erecting a gilded statue of a young man called the Thunder God.

People carried the gilded statue through the streets, while townsfolk knelt in worship on either side.

The gilded statue depicted the youth standing atop a Red-Scaled Horse, a treasured sword in his right hand and his left hand forming a hand seal.

Legend had it that the Thunder God could command lightning. He had battled the Thunder Beast for three hundred rounds in the Thunder Pool before finally slaying it with a single stroke of his sword, ridding Thunder Marsh Town of a deadly scourge.

Hundreds of years later, the legend still circulated in Thunder Marsh Town.

Incense offerings flourished at the Thunder God Hall, enduring through the years.