Chapter 149: The Low-Key Archfiend, But Those Who Must Be Killed Shall Die

He then let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the other party still had some dignity.

They did not resort to planting a spiritual marker or attempting post-event tracking.

Otherwise, facing the targeted hostility of a ninth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator—especially with a Foundation Establishment powerhouse accompanying them—he would not have had the slightest chance of success.

Even so, this incident inevitably cast a shadow over his otherwise pleasant mood.

Upon arriving at the mission hall, the manager caught sight of him and hurried over with an excited expression.

"Fellow Daoist Fenghua, you've arrived just in time. The spiritual stones you previously provided are running low again. Here are all the monster cores we've recently acquired—please inspect them. Also, I wanted to ask if you wish to continue purchasing. If so, you may need to supplement us with some more spiritual stones..."

As he spoke, the manager handed a small pouch to Zhou Changwang.

Inside were precisely those monster cores.

"I will continue purchasing. Here are twenty thousand low-grade spiritual stones; I'll settle accounts with you shortly."

Zhou Changwang paused in contemplation before speaking decisively.

With a slight ripple of his spiritual sense, he examined the contents of the pouch.

Unfortunately, there were no monster cores of the second rank or higher.

Fortunately, the majority were high-grade first-rank monster cores—twenty-seven in total. There were twenty middle-grade first-rank monster cores, while the low-grade first-rank ones were the fewest, numbering only fifteen.

"Though there are no second-rank monster cores, these should still suffice to extract enough beast spiritual liquid to let my Star Origin Spirit Fruit Tree grow as quickly as possible."

Zhou Changwang muttered with a mixture of emotion and suppressed excitement.

Following his usual routine, he then made his way to the small auction house located at the very back of the black market. After presenting proof of five thousand low-grade spiritual stones, he smoothly gained entry.

Finding a corner seat, he sat down and began to wait quietly.

Compared to his previous visit, there were slightly more cultivators in attendance, yet virtually no Foundation Establishment experts were present.

Clearly, the finale treasure of this auction was inferior to the last one.

Indeed, that proved to be the case.

After sitting in the corner for a short while, he overheard murmurs in the crowd, learning that the grand finale item this time was merely a Foundation Establishment spiritual object.

While such objects were precious and costly, they were not essential for cultivators who had already surpassed the Foundation Establishment realm.

Naturally, they failed to generate much interest.

Zhou Changwang noticed that even the young master of the Ye family, Ye Ping'an, was nowhere to be seen at the auction.

Presumably, given the young man's background, Foundation Establishment pills were hardly scarce commodities, let alone a mere Foundation Establishment spiritual object.

As for why that person had appeared in the black market in the first place, that was beyond Zhou Changwang's knowledge.

Surely, it couldn't have been on account of his spiritual talismans.

An hour later, Zhou Changwang filed out of the auction house with the crowd.

There had been many fine treasures at this small auction, but he had not placed a single bid.

Sitting in the back row throughout the entire event, he had simply listened to Fairy Spider Chen Xiao'er introduce each item one by one.

Even so, he had witnessed a plethora of novel treasures.

As for the final grand finale item—the Foundation Establishment spiritual object—it had turned out to be a lump of ten-thousand-year spiritual marrow.

It was likewise one of the essential materials required for refining Foundation Establishment pills. Legend had it that such marrow could only be obtained three thousand meters underground, deep within spiritual veins. A single drop of this marrow was enough to refine and transform a cultivator's spiritual power.

Ten drops constituted a single portion.

The item put up for auction this time was precisely a portion of ten drops.

In the end, it was won by a mysterious female cultivator for forty-five thousand low-grade spiritual stones.

It was undoubtedly an exorbitant price.

Before the auction concluded, Zhou Changwang slipped away quietly and soon returned to the mission hall.

"Fellow Daoist Fenghua, I have successfully fulfilled your commission. The two thousand low-grade spiritual stones have been entirely spent. Here are the acquired monster cores; please review them."

The manager approached him once more, wearing a broad smile.

And indeed, he had every reason to be pleased.

Zhou Changwang had entrusted him with over fifty thousand low-grade spiritual stones in total. Calculated at a one-percent commission rate, five hundred low-grade spiritual stones had landed straight in his pocket.

For a fifth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator, that was by no means a small sum.

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist."

Zhou Changwang was quite satisfied himself.

Especially when he peeked into the pouch handed to him this time and discovered a full two second-rank primary-grade monster cores, bringing a pleasant surprise.

A single second-rank primary-grade monster core could yield eighty bottles of beast spiritual liquid, making one hundred and sixty bottles for the pair.

Even counting at a rate of four bottles of beast spiritual liquid adding one year of age to the Star Origin Spirit Fruit Tree, that amounted to forty years of growth—a far from negligible gain.

"My surname is Du, and my given name is Duping.
If Fellow Daoist Fenghua has any further needs next time, you may always seek me out."

Manager Duping said eagerly.

Naturally, he wished to ingratiate himself with a cultivator like Zhou Changwang, who possessed the immense wealth to casually expend fifty thousand low-grade spiritual stones at once.

"Easily done!"

Zhou Changwang returned the courtesy.

With that, he took his leave immediately.

He needed to depart as quickly as possible.

The saying goes that wealth should never be flaunted.

Although he had not openly done anything conspicuous in the black market this time, the items he sold commanded high prices and were exceedingly precious.

Having already drawn the attention of Ye family young master Ye Ping'an, there were bound to be others eyeing the spiritual stones in his possession.

Beyond that, there was also the matter of Duping.

While the manager might not dare leak his information, the fact that he had poured fifty-four thousand low-grade spiritual stones into purchasing monster cores would inevitably attract notice...

Earlier in the marketplace, spending ten thousand low-grade spiritual stones had drawn out the Male and Female Fiends.

In this black market, the rampage of rogue cultivators was commonplace, and instances of preying on the weak were frequent; naturally, he had to exercise the utmost caution.

Consequently, he had no intention of traveling back in the company of other groups this time.

Cleansing his person thoroughly with repeated Cleansing Spells, Zhou Changwang employed the Qi-Hiding Technique to compress his aura to its absolute limit, then surged swiftly out of the black market.

Lightness Art, Flight Art, Seven-Star Moon-Treading...

Two movement techniques combined with a martial cultivation footwork instantly propelled Zhou Changwang's speed to its absolute peak.

In the blink of an eye, he covered dozens of meters, and within a few breaths, he was a hundred meters away.

Right at that moment, several figures abruptly darted out from the black market. Their auras were noticeably stronger than those of ordinary cultivators, revealing them to be powerhouses of the seventh layer of Qi Condensation and above.

Some immediately gave chase, while others flickered with hesitant gazes before retreating.

Zhou Changwang was naturally aware of this.

Yet he simply pressed forward at high speed.

Though his own Little Peak Mountain spiritual land lay nearby, he deliberately veered off in another direction to avoid leading anyone to his doorstep and inviting unnecessary trouble.

As he sprinted forward, he did not forget to execute the Derivation Technique.

Whenever he sensed a threat ahead, he refused to approach, instantly altering his course. This left several cultivators lying in ambush along the path thoroughly bewildered, wondering why this target seemed to know of their ambush in advance, dodging away just before stepping into the trap.

An incense stick's burning time later, no other cultivators remained in pursuit behind Zhou Changwang.

Aside from his sharp vigilance, which allowed him to anticipate his enemies and evade danger beforehand, this was also attributable to his extraordinary speed.

Indeed, having mastered both the Lightness Art and the Flight Art to perfection, his speed far surpassed that of typical seventh-layer Qi Condensation cultivators.

Coupled with the martial movement technique Seven-Star Moon-Treading, it acted like a booster strapped to his already blindingly fast pace, pushing his velocity to the extreme.

Unless a ninth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator made a move, seventh or eighth-layer cultivators would find themselves shaken off before long.

Only then did Zhou Changwang revert to his original appearance and sprint toward his spiritual land on Little Peak Mountain.

Amidst the dark night, the sounds of battle echoed intermittently.

Shrieks of agony pierced the air, sending chills down the spine.

As Zhou Changwang traveled along, he crossed paths with a trio of cultivators journeying together. Both parties displayed extreme caution, maintaining a distance of several dozen meters as they each detoured slightly to pass one another.

This was the true norm of the cultivation world.

Situations where people resorted to slaughter upon sight, like rogue cultivators, remained exceptionally rare.

Even those rogue thugs would conduct as much reconnaissance as possible before targeting someone.

Only after grasping the full measure of their target's background would they seize an opportunity and unleash a thunderous strike.

To attack and plunder any random target on a whim would simply lead one to follow in the footsteps of the Male and Female Fiends, serving merely as a stepping stone for others.

Of course, the reason the Male and Female Fiends had fallen was precisely because they had encountered Zhou Changwang.

Though seemingly at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation, his actual strength and methods differed from ordinary peers by a vast chasm. Relying on higher cultivation and superior numbers to encircle him... they had been entirely oblivious to the fact that Zhou Changwang was a low-profile supreme powerhouse, making their wretched end entirely unsurprising.

"I'm finally back."

From afar, Zhou Changwang spotted the defensive array of his valley, and a sense of relief washed over him.

Just as he was about to step directly into the formation to rest—

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion rang out.

Followed immediately by an outraged shout: "Which Fellow Daoist is attacking my mountain-guarding array? I am Li Pengfei, guest elder of the Water Cloud Pavilion! This territory belongs to the Water Cloud Pavilion. I ask that you depart immediately, and I shall pretend you were never here. Otherwise, if things turn ugly, you may find yourself coming away empty-handed!"

"Hmph!"

A cold snort echoed through the air.

Then came the violent sounds of magical tools bombarding Li Pengfei's protective barrier once more.

The attacker clearly had no intention of stopping.

Zhou Changwang's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

This, in truth, was another hidden drawback of setting up a black market in such a remote area.

It was inevitable that some cultivators emerging from the black market would take the opportunity to assault and plunder the residences and spiritual lands of nearby practitioners to turn a quick profit.

And right now, someone had evidently set their sights on Li Pengfei's spiritual land and launched a direct assault.

Furthermore, as fellow patrons of the Water Cloud Pavilion, and given that the man's spiritual land sat not far from his own, it would look rather unbecoming for Zhou Changwang to remain entirely indifferent.

More importantly, Li Pengfei's spiritual land was simply too close to his.

If he allowed this to pass unchecked, once the assailant tasted success, there was no guarantee they wouldn't turn their sights upon him next.

With that thought, he pivoted and charged straight toward Li Pengfei's spiritual land.

Before long, he spotted three figures relentlessly driving their magical tools against Li Pengfei's barrier.

The defensive array deployed here was likely no inferior to Zhou Changwang's own Flying Star River Array; the joint assault of three sixth-layer Qi Condensation cultivators was already comparable to the full-strength strike of a seventh-layer expert.

Even so, it merely caused the barrier to ripple slightly. While spiritual energy was rapidly consumed, it was clearly capable of holding out for a while longer.

Naturally, if this persisted, the array breaking was merely a matter of time.

After all, formations relied on the ambient spiritual energy within the land. When spiritual energy was consumed at a frantic pace faster than it could naturally replenish, it inevitably failed to sustain itself.

Before Zhou Changwang's arrival, the trio had evidently been attacking for some time.

Now, the array looked precarious, teetering on the verge of collapse and unlikely to hold much longer.

This could be inferred from Li Pengfei's increasingly frantic and exasperated voice.

"Do you truly intend to make an enemy of the Water Cloud Pavilion?!" he bellowed in fury.

"You'd best think carefully! Not far from here, other fellow practitioners are stationed. Hearing the commotion, they are bound to rush over. When that happens, you won't necessarily come away unscathed!"

Inside the formation, another voice rang out.

Zhou Changwang found it vaguely familiar; it belonged to Tian Sheng, the former master of the spiritual land he now occupied.

He hadn't expected the man to still be lingering in Li Pengfei's domain.

Yet, why did that remark sound so oddly phrased?

Realizing this wasn't the time to dwell on it, he raised a hand, and three flying swords instantly began to spin rapidly around him.

"Go!"

With a low command, the three flying swords shot out like streaks of lightning.

"As expected, there are reinforcements! Old Yan, block him!"

The three assailants were startled. One of them barked an order while continuing to direct his magical tool to slam fiercely against the grand array.

Instantly, the barrier dimmed to its absolute limit, as if it would shatter into fragments the very next second.

Seeing this, Li Pengfei could no longer sit still.

Realizing that backup had arrived and refusing to cower inside his spiritual land any longer, he bolted out of the barrier, quickly summoning a golden sword to intercept one of the cultivators.

Beside him, Tian Sheng also rushed out, reacting swiftly to join the fray.

As the battle erupted—

"Ah!"

Right at that moment, a shrill scream pierced the air.

It was none other than the cultivator who had moved to intercept Zhou Changwang's flying swords. Failing entirely to defend against the onslaught, he was pierced straight through the head by a sword beam.

Dead beyond a doubt.

"Old Yan!"

The remaining two cried out in shock, disbelief etched across their faces.

Old Yan's strength wasn't the highest among the trio, but he was a genuine sixth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator with solid means, particularly adept at defensive arts.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, he had fallen to another's hand?

Zhou Changwang's expression, however, remained entirely placid.

Against 'Old Yan,' he had naturally seen no need to unleash the Five Elements Lightning Transformation Art—that would be like using a cannon to swat a mosquito, utterly unnecessary.

Moreover, with 'outsiders' present, he preferred not to display too much of his true strength.

Thus, he had merely employed the Lesser Three-Talent Sword Technique.

Even so, it was a genuine swordsmanship art.

In his spare time, Zhou Changwang had practiced it diligently.

Though not yet cultivated to perfection, he had successfully pushed it to the stage of Great Accomplishment.

Under the banner of Great Accomplishment, the Lesser Three-Talent Sword Technique offered peerless attacking speed imbued with profound array principles. The three swords flew out, brushed gently against one another to deflect Old Yan's flying sword, and then darted straight toward the man. With a thrust, a twist, and a turn, the three blades landed on the target in rapid succession.

Without even fully showcasing the profundity of the technique, Old Yan failed to withstand it. His defenses were shattered, and a sword pierced directly through him.

"Damn it! You forced my hand!"

The cultivator who had been engaging Li Pengfei turned cold with dread upon seeing Zhou Changwang shift his gaze toward him. He hurriedly flipped his hand, revealing a spiritual talisman.

"Hmm?"

Zhou Changwang's eyes narrowed as he recognized the item the man produced: it was none other than the high-grade first-rank Thunder-Sealing Talisman that had previously slipped through his own hands.

He was well aware of the talisman's might—it possessed the full-strength offensive power of a seventh-layer Qi Condensation cultivator.

While he wasn't afraid, he preferred not to show too much before onlookers. Raising a hand without hesitation, he pointed a finger.

A flash of golden light vanished in an instant, tearing straight through the man's protective barrier and punching right through his skull with unstoppable momentum.

In the blink of an eye, the man dropped dead.

Before he could even activate the talisman in his grip, it slipped from his lifeless fingers. Zhou Changwang reached out with a beckoning motion, pulling it straight into his grasp.

The last remaining assailant was still locked in combat with Tian Sheng. Both were sixth-layer Qi Condensation cultivators, trading blows evenly.

Abruptly realizing that his two brothers had perished in the blink of an eye, the man was seized by terror. Without a second thought, he turned tail and fled.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Though startled by Zhou Changwang's lethal efficiency, Li Pengfei harbored an even deeper hatred for the miscreants who had attacked his formation. He immediately gave chase.

Together with Tian Sheng, the two quickly intercepted and slew the fleeing man.

By the time the skirmish ended, Zhou Changwang had already collected the storage bags of the fallen pair.

Neither Li Pengfei nor Tian Sheng raised any objections to this.

After all, since Zhou Changwang had slain the men, the spoils naturally belonged to him.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, many thanks for your rescue today. Otherwise, I..."

Hesitating slightly, Li Pengfei stepped forward with a grateful expression.

"Think nothing of it. I merely wished to avoid being caught in the crossfire."

Zhou Changwang waved a hand dismissively and said, "Since nothing else is amiss, I'll be heading back."

Without lingering, he turned and strode straight toward his own spiritual land.

"Old Li, didn't I tell you? Fellow Daoist Zhou is no ordinary person," Tian Sheng remarked as he sidled up to Li Pengfei from the sidelines, wearing an 'I told you so' expression. "Back then, I wasn't scared of him—he genuinely had the skills."

"His strength is formidable indeed," Li Pengfei murmured, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes. "I didn't catch how he killed Old Yan, but that finger technique... why did it look so much like the Gengjin Finger? But since when is the Gengjin Finger that powerful?"

"Who knows?" Tian Sheng sighed emotionally. "Still, with a neighbor like that around, our safety is much better guaranteed."

Then, reflecting uncomfortably on the words he had shouted to the three rogue cultivators earlier—which sounded suspiciously like deflecting danger onto others—he wondered if Fellow Daoist Zhou would hold a grudge.

He shrunk his neck in sudden panic.

"What do you mean by 'our'? You're leaving by the end of this month. I can't afford to keep you here," Li Pengfei snapped with a cold huff.

"Then give me back my spiritual stones! Two thousand low-grade spiritual stones, not a single one less. And return the spiritual planting tool I lent you earlier..." Tian Sheng instantly threw a tantrum.

"I don't have any—not a single spiritual stone..." Li Pengfei's face darkened into a scowl, and he abruptly fell silent.

***

"I didn't expect such trouble right on my doorstep," Zhou Changwang muttered with a resigned shake of his head.

Fortunately, they were merely three sixth-layer Qi Condensation cultivators, making them easy to deal with.

Soon enough, he returned to the familiar sanctuary of his spiritual land. Seeing the undisturbed environment, a wave of relief washed over him.

"As for today's harvest, there's quite a bit to account for.
First, selling the spoils of the Male and Female Fiends alongside my own talismans netted nearly fifty thousand low-grade spiritual stones. Combined with the fourteen thousand I already had, that totals sixty-four thousand four hundred low-grade spiritual stones—truly a massive sum.
However, purchasing monster cores cost me fifty-four thousand low-grade spiritual stones.
Now, I am left with exactly ten thousand low-grade spiritual stones."

Zhou Changwang calculated silently. Though his spiritual stone reserve had dwindled in the exchange, his inventory of monster cores had swelled enormously.

Two second-rank primary-grade monster cores, thirty-five high-grade first-rank monster cores, thirty middle-grade first-rank monster cores, and twenty-eight low-grade first-rank monster cores.

"I wonder how much beast spiritual liquid all these will yield in total?"

Gazing at the collection of monster cores in his storage pouch, Zhou Changwang felt a surge of excitement.

He estimated they could provide at least one hundred and fifty years of accumulated age for the Star Origin Spirit Fruit Tree.

Perhaps it would even be enough to fully mature the tree.

Next, he turned his attention to the two newly acquired storage bags.

He had initially thought it would be a while before he saw any new windfalls, yet two fools had eagerly collided with him so soon.

Using his proficiency in breaking seals, Zhou Changwang swiftly cracked open both storage bags.

He emptied their contents before him.

"Fifteen hundred low-grade spiritual stones. Among the talismans, aside from that high-grade first-rank Thunder-Sealing Talisman, there are two refined Wicked Face Ghost Talismans and five finished Hairy Zombie Talismans... This fellow clearly bought talismans from my stall earlier. He must have altered his appearance so I wouldn't recognize him."

An expression of sudden realization dawned on Zhou Changwang.

Just as he used methods to alter his appearance, others could do the same.

In the black market, it was inconvenient to employ the Spirit Inspection Eye, so naturally, he hadn't noticed.

Of course, it mattered little to him.

He only cared about selling his wares; what buyers did with them was none of his business.

Once they crossed him, he felt no compulsion to show courtesy simply because they were past customers.

When it came to enemies, swift execution was necessary to prevent them from wasting valuable talismans.

"Aside from talismans, these two didn't carry anything particularly special. Three magical tools in total, all of middling grade, and three bottles of pills of little use to me. There are plenty of jade slips, though—over eighty of them. Hopefully, there'll be something good or novel inside..."

Zhou Changwang sifted through the items.

The most valuable asset was his own talisman returned to him. Everything else, excluding the spiritual stones, amounted to perhaps one or two thousand low-grade spiritual stones—a far cry from the immense wealth of the Male and Female Fiends.

That was to be expected, however.

The Male and Female Fiends had been seasoned criminals—one at the sixth layer, the other at the seventh—with a minor reputation in the marketplace and years of plundering under their belts. Naturally, nameless thugs like these couldn't compare.

With that, he began inspecting the pile of jade slips one by one.

"Invisibility Technique, Wall-Passing Technique, Water Control Scripture, Fire Dragon Art... I certainly didn't expect to find such pleasant surprises among these slips."

Sorting through the collection of jade slips, Zhou Changwang's eyes flashed with pleasant surprise.