The moon reached its zenith.
Twenty li to the south of Peng Yue Mountain, within a strip of dense forest purposely left intact by a reclamation group.
A skinny old man with a grey robe and a goatee rested against a large tree, eyes closed in meditation.
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After a long while, a faint sound of footsteps arose.
Under the shadowy moonlit trees, a figure wearing a white mask and a black cloak, holding a wooden box in his left hand, approached briskly.
The black cloak billowed, and the figure’s eyes were cold and aloof, bearing down like a terrifying giant bat.
“Did you bring the White Jade?” Shang Huan, behind the mask, lowered his voice and spoke slowly, trying his best to sound calm, indifferent, and oppressive.
“Here, here!” The old man with the goatee hurriedly took out a bulging cloth bag from his sleeve and tossed it to Shang Huan.
Shang Huan caught it with his right hand, which was gloved in brown fur, and weighed it.
Clap!
The wooden box slipped from his left hand and landed on his shin.
Shang Huan then turned around to leave, making a swift and decisive exit.
…
A quarter of an hour later.
Twenty-three li southeast of Peng Yue Mountain, in a similar dense forest.
Shang Huan, with the white mask in hand, squinted his small eyes into slits, his face brimming with a fawning smile as he looked at the six siblings of Wu Mountain.
“Troubling all the older brothers and sisters!”
“This is the last deal!”
“After tonight, we can rest for five days.”
“No trouble,” Lu Ku replied with a smile.
He then looked admiringly and asked cautiously, “I didn’t expect Mr. Gongsun to also refine artifacts. I thought sir was more skilled in alchemy.”
“Sir’s abilities are not for us to speculate,” Shang Huan said with great admiration.
I didn’t expect it either.
“Have you found him, the target is a middle-aged man in his forties with a crooked mouth?” Wu Ruo, standing by his side, asked as he opened his eyes.
“That’s him.” Shang Huan raised his hand to fit the mask onto his face, ready to go and deliver the Spiritual Pulp.
“There seems to be someone behind him, two li away,” Shi Xian said coldly.
Shang Huan, who was just bending over to pick up the box, suddenly stiffened.
“Are you sure?” Lu Ku’s eyes narrowed involuntarily.
“The Wood Spirit Boy can’t see him,” Wu Ruo said as his eyebrows furrowed.
“Let’s go!” Lu Ku’s face became stern.
“Have the Wood Spirit Boy run in another direction, and we’ll leave here immediately,” Lu Ku instructed Wu Ruo calmly.
Without a word, Shang Huan ran off with the six siblings of Wu Mountain.
His heart couldn’t help but pound with fear.
Thank goodness…
Thank goodness I found these helpers, or I would have been in danger tonight!
Someone is definitely envious of this business!
…
The group sprinted away, changing directions multiple times and running for half an hour, until Shi Xian used the Truthful Listening secret technique several times to confirm there was no one within ten li.
Only then did they stop.
“Thanks to the older brothers and sisters!” said Shang Huan, still shaken.
With a small smile playing on his lips, Lu Ku waved his hands, “We’re here for this purpose.”
“We’ve got to earn that compensation, right?”
Immediately, Shang Huan patted his chest and assured, “Mr. Gongsun is very generous.”
“The previous time I delivered the Wood Spirit Boy, I just ran an errand and he gave me six White Jade Coins for my trouble.”
“You all definitely won’t miss out!”
Running errands got this fat man six hundred White Jade?
What they loot from the hunt wouldn’t be much more than this!
The group exchanged glances.
Working for Mr. Gongsun seemed not so bad after all…
Seeing their expressions change, Shang Huan felt smug inside.
“The Lower Courtyard will buy another two hundred Wood Spirit Boys soon.”
“When the time comes, you guys join me, just like now, to scout the way for me.”
“I’ll share half of my part with you! How about that?” Shang Huan offered with a grin.
Then he saw the six siblings stiffen all over.
Shang Huan instantly burst into laughter internally, touched, aren’t you? Ha ha!
“Are you sure it’s two hundred Wood Spirit Boys?” Lu Ku asked quietly.
“Yeah!” Shang Huan said proudly.
Then he saw Lu Ku and the others turn their heads simultaneously to look at Ai Ji.
“You’re done for!” Shi Xian declared coldly.
“Not you too!” Ai Ji despaired.
Compassion filled the faces of the five siblings.
Even Xu Rao, who always bickered with him, couldn’t resist patting his shoulder, his usually gloomy face filled with schadenfreude as he said, “Congratulations!”
“Get lost!” Ai Ji snapped, exasperated.
Shang Huan wore a look of bewildered confusion, feeling that the atmosphere was strangely off.
This reaction was a bit unexpected.
…
In a dense forest twenty-three miles to the southeast.
Zhang Jin fiddled with the Wood Spirit Boy in his hand and couldn’t help sighing, “Quite vigilant.”
“It’s not an easy route to track the Spiritual Pulp either.”
“The Administrative Affairs Institute has applied for two hundred more Wood Spirit Boys.”
“Things are getting tricky,” Zhang Jin frowned deeply.
“Sir…” A man with a crooked mouth stood not far behind him, his head dripping with sweat, as he cautiously spoke up.
“Do you think I could possibly…”
Thud!
A soft noise.
A short arrow suddenly pierced through his forehead.
“It’s better if fewer people know about this matter.”
After standing in deep thought for a while, Zhang Jin was still not ready to give up.
“Too many cooks spoil the broth. The vast network involved in the sale of Spiritual Pulp… I refuse to believe that there isn’t someone tipping others off!”
…
Below Peng Yue Mountain, in the Yiyou District, inside the underground secret chamber beneath Chen Mu’s wooden house.
Chen Mu sat cross-legged on a soft couch.
In the incense burner, Calming Pills were being roasted to concentrate and calm the spirit.
On a little table, a barrel the size of a watermelon was placed, filled with ice-chilled Spirit Nourishing Medicine Tea.
In front of him, chunks of tree core as long as a forearm and as thick as a bowl’s opening were neatly stacked, filling an entire wall.
Chen Mu took a deep breath, “Time to cultivate!”
With a scoop and lift, a piece of the tree core flew into his hand.
Within the Jade Seed, a small cloud of mana began to churn as a sesame-sized Primordial Talisman rapidly condensed into form.
The moment the talisman materialized, it was pulled into the Primordial Talisman.
The piece of tree core in Chen Mu’s hands had already become a little wooden horse with a cylindrical body and a cylindrical face.
His right index finger pressed on the wooden horse’s forehead.
Hisss!
A flash of silver light disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
Removing his finger, a teardrop-shaped white spot instantly appeared on the wooden horse’s forehead.
As black smoke filled the air, Chen Mu, unfazed, collected the little wooden horse into his Five Ghosts Bag and then started on the next one.
After making six of them, Chen Mu began to feel irritable.
“Power bank, it’s your turn now.”
“Seven Souls Return to Origin!”
…
In the Bingchen District, within the third pioneer team.
Ai Ji lay on the grass, feeling utterly defeated, and stared at the sky listlessly.
“Ah… two hundred of them!”
“When will this ever end!”
“Based on the last calculations, at most it’s just a month,” Lu Ku said with a smile, trying to console.
“It’s only a month, just bear with it and it will pass,” Xu Rao said with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Don’t you feel smug!” Ai Ji snapped petulantly, “If he wants to speed up the progress, he might end up draining your spirit too!”
The others, who were just recently cheerful, suddenly became tense.
That could happen!
The men exchanged meaningful glances.
Suddenly, a gentle sensation brushed through their minds.
Thump!
Xu Rao’s face turned pale, and he couldn’t help but collapse to one side.
Ai Ji was startled at first, but then he burst into laughter, “Looks like it’s not just my own bad luck!”
“Congratulations!”
Xu Rao’s expression immediately darkened like gloomy waters!
He shrugged off Yu Lin holding his arm and struggled to get up, carefully feeling the changes in his body. But suddenly, his eyes bulged, and a chilling killing intent rose abruptly from him.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Ku noticed something was amiss.
“My Triple Yin Slaying Demon Technique is gone!”
What did he mean?
The men looked at Xu Rao in confusion.
“The secret technique I’ve painstakingly cultivated over many years, the Divine Will Talisman of the Triple Yin Slaying Demon Technique, just disappeared.””
Gongsun Sheng?!
The men suddenly felt a chill run down their spines!
The United Heart Gu could even snatch away Secret Technique Talismans?!
Had their hard work and cultivation been all for someone else to benefit?
“We can’t wait any longer!” Xu Rao’s expression was as dark as water: “Let’s take action!”