Chapter 98: Chapter 70: Harvest (5/6)_1
Translator: 549690339
After the great battle, this small island returned to tranquility.
Xu Yang bent down, picked up the great bow, and looking at the clearly cracked bow with its lost elasticity, he shook his head helplessly.
This bow was now junk.
It pained him a bit because it was his proudest creation in the recent years.
The bow was made from ink bamboo that was tougher than steel but as flexible as green bamboo, and the bowstring was taken from a Spirit Monster-level dragon-kind fish. Moreover, with the enhancement of his craftsman skills and after spending a year and three months, he had finally completed it.
With such a Dark Iron Bow coupled with armor-piercing arrows forged from hundred-refined steel, empowered by his Yuan Skill, and the augmentation of skill traits such as unfailing accuracy and the Nine-Star Continuous Beads, even a Martial Arts Grandmaster or a reborn Demon Beast would perish under its arrow, without a chance of survival.
The woman who summoned the Green Jade Spirit Armor was the perfect example.
She was strong and the Green Jade Spirit Armor was formidable, but still, it couldn’t withstand his fatal arrow.
Unfortunately, such arrows could only be used once; otherwise, the Dark Iron Boat and Gengjin Sword of that green-robed scholar might have been salvageable.
Such a pity, such a pity!
Xu Yang shook his head, stepped over the fragments and debris, and came to the side of the green-robed scholar’s corpse.
His complexion was pale, blood oozed from all seven orifices. Although his outer appearance was mostly intact, the organs under his skin, as well as his meridians and bones, had already turned to mush.
There was no need to crush his bones and scatter his ashes to ensure safety.
It was just a bit disgusting.
Xu Yang shook his head again, bent down, and quickly stripped his spoils from the body.
A green robe that was faded and significantly damaged.
A small gold-embroidered bag hanging at the waist, still in relatively good condition.
Beyond that, there was nothing else; even the Flying Sword from earlier was nowhere to be found.
After searching him, and then others, Xu Yang acquired three differently styled small bags and some various trinkets—talisman stones, jewelry, and such, their purpose unknown to him.
The main finds were still the four small bags.
As a transmigrator, he hadn’t eaten pork, but he’d seen pigs run.
If he wasn’t mistaken, these four small bags must be the standard-equipped Storage Bags of Immortal fate Men!
But how to open them?
Xu Yang tried to pull the bags open by force, but nothing budged.
It wasn’t that he lacked strength, he just felt that any further force could rip the bags apart.
Brute strength wouldn’t work.
Xu Yang hesitated for a moment, then tried to stimulate his Divine Intent and channel a thread of Gang Yuan into the bags.
Subsequently, the bags opened automatically.
Not only did they open, but they also established a mental link with Xu Yang, allowing him to “see” inside the Storage Bags.
It was a tiny space about a square foot, surrounded by chaotic streams of air. He could reach in or simply will it, and items within autonomously came forth, quite convenient.
“Is this a Storage Bag?”
“The laws of space are indeed miraculous! ”
Xu Yang, like a child with a new toy, began to place various items into the Storage Bag and take them out again, thoroughly enjoying himself.
After a while, he calmed down, put everything away neatly, and picked up the fourth Storage Bag.
It was the green-robed man’s Storage Bag.
With a thought of Divine Intent, he channeled Gang Yuan.
But this time, the Storage Bag didn’t open on its own.
Xu Yang frowned, for he sensed a spiritual imprint on this bag.
A spiritual brand? A password lock?
Xu Yang hesitated for a while, then stimulated his Divine Intent to wash away the spiritual imprint on the Storage Bag.
It wasn’t difficult, and in just a moment, the spiritual brand on the Storage Bag was erased by his Divine Intent.
The Storage Bag then opened, revealing a space five square feet in size, several times larger than the other Storage Bags.
Not only was the space larger. but there were also more items inside. Aside from the nearly scrapped Gengjin Sword, there were many things Xu Yang couldn’t name.
Well, essentially, Xu Yang couldn’t name any of the items.
What do you expect? He wasn’t a Cultivator, so naturally, he had no idea what these things were used for.
But no matter, he couldn’t understand, but someone else could.
“Screech! ”
With a cry, a Golden Eagle swooped down and dropped a bloodstained, scar-covered man before Xu Yang.
It was the very white-robed man that had been captured earlier.
Cultivators are indeed Cultivators. Even though his body was pierced by the Golden Eagle’s claws, going right through his shoulder blade, he was still conscious. Now, lying on the ground, instead of crying out in pain, he tried to get up and flee for his life.
Only to be flipped over by a smack of the Golden Eagle’s wing, he rolled right in front of Xu Yang.
Xu Yang paid no attention to him, arranged the Storage Bags in front of him, and then without looking up said, “I have some questions for you.”
The man glanced at the four very familiar Storage Bags on the ground, then sneakily caught a glimpse of the several corpses around him as well as the wreckage of the Dark Iron Boat and immediately knelt down, banging his head on the ground like smashing garlic.
“Senior, please spare my life, we were blind and ignorant, and disturbed your cultivation. I am willing to be your servant for all eternity, to atone for my sins…”
“Silence!”
A cold shout interrupted his words.
Xu Yang sat cross-legged on the ground, his face cold and detached, “I’m not in the mood for chatter right now. I ask, you answer. If not, you die!”
The man fell silent under such direct and domineering words, then gritted his teeth and said, “If the senior has any questions, this lowly one dares not refuse to answer, but please promise to spare my life. Otherwise, I’d rather die than reveal a single word.”
Having said that, he looked up with a bit of confidence, “The senior has obtained this Immortal fate but still wanders in the mortal world, which suggests you haven’t entered the Cultivation World yet. Although this lowly one is of little merit, I still know a lot about the various matters within the Cultivation World and affairs of the world. As long as the senior makes a heart demon oath to spare my life, I will surely…” He was cut off abruptly, unable to continue.
Why did he stop?
Because he noticed that the Immortal fate man with a terrifyingly powerful strange treasure was looking at him with a very odd expression.
Could it be… pity?
Pity for what?
After feeding the fish, Xu Yang, having washed the blood from his hands, returned to his dwelling with five Storage Bags.
Ninety-nine percent of people in the world cannot endure severe interrogation, unless their Cultivation reaches the Condensing Spirit realm allowing their spiritual will to overpower the physical body and suppress all pain and stimuli.
This man was not that one percent, and his Cultivation had not reached such a realm.
So, he quickly confessed, disclosing everything he knew, holding nothing back. There was no helping it; although the method of torture wasn’t Xu Yang’s preference, having been around for so many years and having been an emperor in two lives, he had inevitably picked up some techniques.
After dealing with this minor character, Xu Yang returned to his cozy little house to sort out the sequence of events and his gains from the battle.
The whole affair was actually not complicated.
These people had no relation to him and didn’t even know of his existence.
This time their venture into Dongting Lake was to assist a woman named Tie Xiner in slaying an enemy.
It’s indeed curious that Tie Xiner, the sole survivor of the Iron Lion Gang after her parents and several brothers known as the Eight Roaring Lions were killed by traitors, managed to encounter a stroke of luck while on the lam. She became a Cultivator, entered the Immortal Cultivation World, and eventually returned to the Iron Lion Gang to seek revenge for her family.
Unexpectedly, the traitor also turned out to be an Immortal fate man with a strange treasure, and during their fierce battle, although he was ultimately no match for her, he managed to save his life and escape into Dongting Lake.
Left with no other choice, she had to call on friends and recruit a group of fellow Cultivators to help, including Zhang Guanghua, a late-stage Qi Cultivation expert, to search Dongting Lake and pursue the enemy.
But they did not find the enemy; instead, they stumbled upon his hideout and ended up being annihilated in the process.
The world is indeed unpredictable.
But this had nothing to do with Xu Yang.
Her ordeal merely provided him with some information.
Immortal fate Men are indeed fat sheep!
But that does not mean Immortal fate Men must necessarily be at odds with Cultivators.
Immortal fate Men can very much become Cultivators.
And sometimes, Cultivators can also become “Immortal fate Men” inadvertently.
In the end, it all boils down to strength.
If you’re weak, without sufficient background, and in possession of precious treasures, you’re an innocent person with a guilt-inviting treasure, open to attack and murder by anyone as an “Immortal fate Man.”
On the other hand, if you’re strong and well-backed, even if you started out as an “Immortal fate Man,” acquired various fortunes, and possessed strange treasures, you could still proudly be a Cultivator since no one can defeat you, or the cost of attacking you does not justify the gains.
In short, the identities of Immortal fate Men and Cultivators are not fixed, and there are no marks to prove that one is indeed an Immortal fate Man with great treasures.
This means that Xu Yang can now enter the Cultivation World as long as he doesn’t reveal too much, and others will at most see him as an enigmatic Loose Cultivator rather than an Immortal fate Man on the rise with precious treasures.
Of course, Robbing Cultivators are an exception. To those ruthless bastards, as long as they can rob, and succeed in robbing, that’s their “Immortal fate!”
“So, can I go to the Cultivation World now?”
Sorting through the information he had acquired, Xu Yang felt an urge to act.
But he quickly subdued the thought.
His strength was not weak. Zhang Guanghua and Tie Xiner were both in the late stages of Qi Cultivation, and the remaining three were at the middle stage; yet, against him, they couldn’t last a few moves.
Such strength was already enough to get by in the Cultivation World and even flourish there.
Xu Yang also intended to venture out and see more, gather information, and broaden his horizons.
But not just yet.
Knowing oneself and the enemy assures victory in every battle!
His understanding of the Cultivation World and Cultivators was still insufficient to act hastily.
While he might be able to cope with rootless Loose Cultivators off the beaten path, if he encountered the direct disciples or even the elders and sect masters of major Immortal Gates, he would clearly be no match for them.
The first step in entering the Cultivation World is to contact Cultivators, understand Cultivation, and become a Cultivator!
Now, the means to understand Cultivators and the Cultivation World lay before him.
Opening up all five Storage Bags, he took out everything, and carefully sorted and arranged the items by category.
They could roughly be split into four categories.
The first was Cultivation Skills, various Cultivation skills and a collection of miscellaneous knowledge.
The second was consumables, such as Talismans, medicine pills, Spirit Stones and other daily necessities for Cultivators.
The third was Magic Artifacts and equipment, like Zhang Guanghua’s Gengjin Sword, Tie Xiner’s Green Jade Sword, and that palace-dressed woman’s peach blossom fan.
Mostly, they were low-grade magic artifacts, only the Green Jade Sword was a mid-grade artifact.
Gengjin Sword was indeed a high-grade artifact, but sadly, it was nearly destroyed by his “Lightning Thunderbolt Fist.”
Apart from these conventional items, there were also special items beyond the ordinary, such as that slightly familiar Jade Pendant, which was a trial token issued by a sect called the Green Jade Sect.
Any Cultivator possessing it could proceed to the Green Jade Sect to undertake trials, and upon passing, they could become a disciple of the Green Jade Sect.
For Xu Yang, this item was somewhat useless, but if sold, it could still fetch a good number of Spirit Stones..