A brutal aura lingered.
Curling his fingers into claws, Lu Ding held his upper body steady and tore the living corpse's sinews, bones, skin, and flesh apart piece by piece, shredding them and flinging them aside.
Blood overflowed, and no matter how the living corpse struggled, the Flying Bear phantom behind Lu Ding pinned it down so firmly it could not move.
It could only let its flesh be stripped away and its sinews and bones snapped.
Watching it all, Yan Feifan felt that, at this moment, Lu Ding was even more savage than the living corpse.
If he had a choice.
Lu Ding would rather not have used this method either. It was far too inelegant.
Unfortunately, the slashes of the Way of Jinche could not kill the living corpse instantly, and he did not want to give it even the slightest chance to transform.
So he could only use the Flying Bear Pouncing and Killing Method to pounce on this damned thing and tear it apart alive.
He stood up.
Half his clothes were stained with filthy blood.
The sweetest, most pleasing sound rang out in his mind.
[Monster contained: Living-Molt Living Corpse] [Reward obtained: Living-Molt Living Life] [Living-Molt Living Life: Can recover from injuries and restore condition by shedding skin and being born anew]
A living person shedding his skin? This skill is a little underworld-ish. Still, underworld-ish or not, as long as it works. Just imagine: an enemy finally managed to gravely injure Lu Ding, only for him to shed his skin, return to peak condition, and come surging back.
The enemy would probably despair on the spot.
Although he had gained another max-level technique.
Lu Ding still felt there was a blemish in this otherwise perfect outcome.
He had come looking for treasure.
But a sweep of the burial chamber revealed not a single treasure, only chunks of the living corpse. This fellow had been strange in life too. This was his own main burial chamber, yet he had not buried a single treasure with himself.
Another wasted effort.
Why was finding a treasured magical artifact of his own so difficult?
"Don't be discouraged, Brother Lu. We didn't find any treasure this time, but we killed the Living-Molt Living Corpse. The bureau will definitely reward us."
"They probably won't give us much. Don't get your hopes too high," Lu Ding said.
This Living-Molt Living Corpse had not emerged to harm anyone. The two of them had gone knocking on its door themselves.
So at most, it would count as a mission, earning them a few contribution points for nipping trouble in the bud.
If they could have captured it alive and brought it back, they probably would have received quite a lot.
But that would have been no different from having Lu Ding trade a max-level technique for contribution points. Only an idiot would make that deal, and he was no idiot.
"As long as we get something. I'm not greedy."
Yan Feifan was easily satisfied.
Looking around the burial chamber, his eyes shifted. "Brother Lu, I just thought of a way to keep the bureau from punishing you and get us some extra contribution points."
"What way?"
"We can do this..."
The scene shifted to Bureau 749's inquiry room. This was already Lu Ding's second visit.
The same two staff members were there, holding documents.
"So you're saying you originally went to check whether the collapsed area had been cleared and whether any monsters remained, but the moment you entered, you smelled the Living-Molt Living Corpse. At that point, Ye Xuan jumped out to stop you from entering and verbally provoked you. After you fought, he couldn't beat you and threatened you, so you killed him for obstructing official duties and threatening the life of a Bureau 749 patrol officer?"
"Then Huang Zuo jumped out and attacked you to avenge Ye Xuan, and you killed him for attempting to murder a Bureau 749 patrol officer. Finally, with the help of trainee investigator Yan Feifan, you entered the burial chamber, successfully killed the Living-Molt Living Corpse, and tore it into minced flesh, eliminating an imminent threat to Baofan District?"
"I need to correct something here. I didn't smell the Living-Molt Living Corpse. I smelled a monster. I wasn't sure what kind of monster it was, but the Flying Bear Pouncing and Killing Method I practice originated from the Flying Bear Visualization Method and has the ability to track and identify monsters. That was why I went to investigate first and didn't report the suspicious situation to the bureau beforehand. I couldn't be certain."
Lu Ding spoke with a serious expression.
This was the method Yan Feifan had devised. Although it was more or less the same, they had adjusted the sequence and timeline of everything.
To anyone who did not know the circumstances, there was not a single loophole.
Besides, the rewards for stumbling upon a monster while treasure hunting and anticipating a threat to nip it in the bud were different.
The staff members looked at Lu Ding suspiciously.
Their investigation had confirmed that he did indeed cultivate using the Flying Bear Visualization Diagram.
So it was also true that the Flying Bear Pouncing and Killing Method had originated from it.
But there was one questionable point.
"Lu Ding, while Ye Xuan was obstructing you, did you inform him that you were investigating a monster?"
Lu Ding shook his head. "No. Bureau 749 regulations forbid disclosing detailed mission intelligence to outsiders, and patrolling Baofan District is my mission. I couldn't tell him. That would violate regulations. Besides, why should I tell him? Does every outsider have the right to know our Bureau 749 investigators' operational plans and movements?"
The reasoning was sound.
But aren't you following the rules and regulations a little too closely?
You really won't bend them even a little?
At that moment, in the eyes of the two staff members, Lu Ding became a terrifying genius who strictly followed rules and regulations, possessed iron-fisted methods and a ruthless disposition, and would never share the same sky with demons, monsters, and ghosts.
Although the process was strange and the outcome felt somewhat off.
They simply could not find fault with his reasoning.
It really was difficult to handle.
Finally, after a series of repeated confirmations.
Lu Ding walked out of the inquiry room unscathed.
He also gained fifty contribution points and five hundred thousand in cash along the way.
It truly was an unexpected windfall.
Yan Feifan had been waiting in the car for some time, and the two returned to Baofan District.
Once back, they settled down and rested for two days.
Nothing else happened in the meantime.
They had finally gotten some free time, yet no one offered to treat them to a meal, and no one came seeking revenge or trouble. It was as though time had stopped.
It made Lu Ding think this was the calm before the storm.
After all, he had quite a few matters hanging over him now. He had killed Ye Xuan, who had come down from Great Black Mountain, and stolen the Heavenly Principle Sect's Wind-Calming Pearl. One was a bandit den and the other an evil cult. Neither was easy to deal with.
Yet neither place had so much as let out a fart for two whole days.
That's not right.
Until this day.
Wen Yuquan sent him a message. Someone had made an offer for the Wind-Calming Pearl, and it was quite substantial.
One hundred-year-old ginseng child, one platter-sized old lingzhi that had become a spirit, one Wrathful Rooster, and finally, thirty million in cash.
If Lu Ding had not seen that final thirty million.
He would have thought the buyer was offering these things so he could stew them all in a pot.
Ginseng, lingzhi, and a Wrathful Rooster—it was practically a mountain produce market.
Still, although these things sounded a little rustic, every one of them was excellent for aiding cultivation.
Powerful tonics!!
And taken individually, apart from the thirty million, each of the first three was worth no less than the Wind-Calming Pearl.
Lu Ding was curious too. Just who had such immense wealth and was so lavish with it?
Wen Yuquan told him only three words: treasure dowsing folk.
Then that makes sense. These people were famously wealthy. They spent years burrowing through remote mountains. Wherever there were good things, they would be there.
Years earlier, before Lu Ding had joined Bureau 749, he had already heard of their reputation.
People said golden chickens and golden children hidden inside rocks in various places had all ended up being fished out by treasure dowsers.
Their fame had reached the point where even ordinary people knew about them. When it came to wealth, apart from the proper major powers, if these people called themselves second, no one would dare claim first.
Strictly speaking, treasure dowsers were actually not all that different from tomb robbers.
The only difference was that treasure dowsers were more capable. Tomb robbers only robbed tombs, while treasure dowsers dared to do anything. They were ruthless characters and desperadoes through and through.
Lu Ding vaguely remembered hearing the Thousand-Gold Elder say that the Heavenly Principle Sect raised Flying Centipedes precisely to produce a Wind-Calming Pearl and cooperate with treasure dowsers to capture the lingzhi people and lingzhi horses on Headwind Mountain.
Now treasure dowsers had approached him to buy the Wind-Calming Pearl.
Could this have something to do with the Heavenly Principle Sect?
With that question in mind, Lu Ding headed to the meeting place.