Taking Over Black Wind Stronghold! Enormous Gains

Painting Scroll World, Hengduan Mountain.

Wang Hu was in a dense forest, with several Xingfeng Sect martial artists gathered around him.

They were the martial artists who had survived from the Xingfeng Sect, around a dozen in all.

They had fled while Chen Feng was fighting He Sandao and Jiang Xiao.

But after learning that Chen Feng had slain the chief of Black Wind Stronghold, they had come running back.

Wang Hu did not refuse to let them rejoin. Before, he would certainly have disdained to associate with them.

But right now, they needed all the hands they could get, so he could only keep them around for the time being.

Still, Wang Hu had made up his mind that they could never become core members of the Xingfeng Sect in the future. They would remain on the fringes.

"What have you found out?" Wang Hu asked. He was sitting cross-legged, tending to his injuries.

After more than a day, his injuries had nearly healed.

That was also thanks to the Xiantian medicinal pill.

A Xingfeng Sect martial artist reported respectfully:

"Most of Black Wind Stronghold's bandits have fled. Only a few hundred people remain in the stronghold. Some of the minor sects on Hengduan Mountain seem to have heard the news, and several groups have already come to ask about the sect master."

Wang Hu sneered at those words.

He naturally knew what those minor sects were thinking. Now that Black Wind Stronghold's chief had died at their sect master's hands,

Hengduan Mountain was, in name, already the Xingfeng Sect's.

Naturally, those people wanted to know what the Xingfeng Sect would do next.

Wang Hu rose to his feet.

"Leave a few people here to wait. The sect master will return tomorrow or today. Everyone else, come with me to Black Wind Stronghold!"

Wang Hu was naturally going to Black Wind Stronghold to take it over.

He certainly could not wait for Chen Feng to come back before acting. He had to get things done first.

The Xingfeng Sect martial artists immediately looked excited. If the Xingfeng Sect occupied Hengduan Mountain, their own standing would rise with the tide.

And from the look of things, Wang Hu did not intend to hold their earlier desertion against them.

Soon, Wang Hu led his men to Black Wind Stronghold's headquarters.

Though there were only a dozen or so of them, not one had a trace of fear on his face.

Their sect master had their backs. Even if the Black Wind Stronghold bandits had ten times their courage, they would not dare touch them now.

When the Black Wind Stronghold bandits saw Wang Hu and his men appear, they immediately came out to meet them, several hundred strong.

One man stepped out from among the bandits. He held a folding fan, appeared to be around forty, and had the bearing of a scholar.

"I am Liu Qian, Black Wind Stronghold's strategist. Might I ask whether Sect Master Chen is here?"

Liu Qian was extremely respectful.

He had only returned to Black Wind Stronghold yesterday, having been away on business recently.

He had never expected to hear, as soon as he returned, that both their chief and second chief were dead, killed by a minor sect within their own territory.

Faced with this turn of events, Liu Qian had chosen not to flee like the others. Instead, he had stayed behind with a group of people.

He planned to bring the remaining men over to the Xingfeng Sect. As far as he was concerned, making a living under one person was much the same as under another.

He was just a mortal. In times like these, he could not survive without a power to rely on.

"Our sect master isn't here. We've come to take over Black Wind Stronghold. With a show of force like this, are you planning to resist?"

Wang Hu's gaze was icy. Facing several hundred men, he showed no fear.

He had not been afraid even before a Xiantian expert. How could these people frighten him?

Liu Qian hastily waved his hands.

"You misunderstand, brother. Who knows how many innocent people that He Sandao killed? Sect Master Chen rid the people of a scourge by slaying him. We have nothing but admiration for Sect Master Chen and the Xingfeng Sect. How would we dare resist?"

"We were waiting for Sect Master Chen to come. We're ready to follow him and join the Xingfeng Sect."

With those words, Liu Qian not only denounced his former employer but also took the opportunity to praise the Xingfeng Sect.

Wang Hu looked at Liu Qian. He felt that the man before him was far too slippery and no good.

But he could not make a decision on Liu Qian's request without authorization. Everything would have to wait until Chen Feng returned.

"First, take me inside. Whether you can join the Xingfeng Sect will have to be decided when our sect master returns."

Wang Hu said.

Liu Qian immediately smiled. "Of course. You must be Wang Hu, brother?"

After learning of He Sandao's death, Liu Qian had immediately looked into the Xingfeng Sect.

Aside from its master, Chen Feng, the most important figure in the entire Xingfeng Sect was Wang Hu, who was also the person Chen Feng trusted most.

"Mm." Wang Hu nodded and said nothing more.

He did not like dealing with people like Liu Qian.

"Your display of loyalty that day filled me with admiration."

Liu Qian offered him a word of flattery. Wang Hu had been captured by He Sandao that day and tortured nearly to death.

But even at such a critical moment, Wang Hu had refused to reveal any information about Chen Feng.

That kind of loyalty was not something an ordinary person possessed.

"How much money does Black Wind Stronghold have now?"

Wang Hu asked with a stern face, entirely unmoved by Liu Qian's flattery.

Liu Qian immediately replied:

"About fifty thousand taels of silver and three thousand taels of gold. The quantities of cultivation methods and medicinal pills used for cultivation have all been recorded."

Liu Qian produced a small booklet.

Wang Hu took it and glanced through it, shock flashing across his face.

Black Wind Stronghold's wealth far exceeded his imagination.

He had never seen so much money in his entire life.

Seeing the shock in Wang Hu's eyes, Liu Qian smiled faintly.

"Brother Wang Hu, people all over Hengduan Mountain are uneasy right now. I suggest we first send people to reassure those minor sects and let them each develop on their own. When Sect Master Chen returns, we can summon their leaders to discuss setting new rules for Hengduan Mountain. What do you think?"

Wang Hu considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Mm, we'll do as you say."

In the secret chamber, Chen Feng's figure emerged amid a series of ripples.

Chen Feng had slept a full ten hours before waking.

After waking, he gave Li Xiaorou some instructions and immediately chose to return to the Painting Scroll World.

His physical injuries had nearly healed.

The effectiveness of the Xiantian expert's medicinal pill had taken him by surprise. If he brought it to the modern world and sold it for ten million a pill, someone might still buy it.

But he would never actually sell it. The moment he did, trouble was sure to follow. Its effects defied the heavens so utterly that there was no way to explain them.

More ordinary medicinal pills, however, were another matter. As long as they did not stray too far beyond modern-world technology, there was still room to work with them.

Stepping out of the secret chamber, Chen Feng immediately saw dozens of people standing guard outside its entrance.

Chen Feng had never seen them before, and he instantly grew wary.

The dozens of people also spotted Chen Feng. They froze for a moment, then all dropped to one knee.

"We greet the sect master!"

All of them were exceedingly respectful, not even daring to raise their heads to look at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng asked the man in the lead, "Who are you?"

He did not let down his guard.

The martial artist in the lead immediately replied:

"Lord Wang Hu assigned us to guard the entrance to the secret chamber. He has already led men to take over Black Wind Stronghold, and he's there now!"

After taking over Black Wind Stronghold, Wang Hu had immediately sent people to guard the secret chamber's entrance.

Although Wang Hu did not know what was inside the chamber,

it was unquestionably the place Chen Feng valued most. Wang Hu had previously been responsible for guarding its entrance all along.

So after taking over Black Wind Stronghold, he had sent people to guard it at the first opportunity.

The martial artist in the lead then explained the current situation on Hengduan Mountain to Chen Feng.