Chapter 1269: Secret Stronghold

The gold on the gold mountain wasn't uniform in style—gold fish, ingots, gold cakes, as well as hairpins, clasps, chopsticks, pillows, paperweights, and so on—but it was piled very casually. The silver mountain was much the same.

He Lingchuan searched around and also found all kinds of materials and metals, some of which were extremely valuable.

Dong Rui rubbed his hands and asked: "Hey, how much money do you estimate is here?"

He could no longer calculate it.

He Lingchuan walked around the secret chamber: "A preliminary estimate, it has to be at least a few million taels, right?"

"A few... million?" The last word was squeezed out of Fu Liushan's throat with difficulty.

No help for it; in the face of wealth of this magnitude, his composure was just that poor.

After all, not everyone had the chance to encounter a treasure worth millions with no owner!

Looking at that lack of composure, Dong Rui gave him a look of disdain: "Just the gold, silver, and jewelry in this secret chamber is worth a few million?"

"Gold, silver, and jewelry aren't worth that much, but these are!" He Lingchuan pointed to the materials piled in the corner, "These are far more valuable than gold and silver."

"Whose treasure is this, Immortal Minghui's or Ghost King Xuan Lu's?"

Would an Immortal accumulate worldly treasure? The three looked at each other and shrugged. None of them were Immortals, so they didn't understand the Immortal state of mind.

Fu Liushan scratched his head: "Then let's treat it as the Ghost King's."

Dong Rui didn't understand: "The Ghost King is also a ghost; he can't eat or drink, so what does he want with this worldly filth?"

"The Howling Forest also deals with ordinary mortals." Ghost King Xuan Lu was dead, so He Lingchuan could only guess, "When dealing with ordinary mortals, what is the most useful thing?"

"Money."

"If the Ghost King wants to achieve his goals, such as luring believers to be used by him, or buying off some small forces or tribes, gold and silver can come in handy." He Lingchuan laughed, "There is another explanation: Wang Xuan Lu loved wealth when he was alive and kept this habit after death, even if it was just to collect it and admire it; or perhaps, this money has other uses and was just temporarily deposited in the Howling Forest. After all, this place is off-limits to the living."

The latter two points were pure nonsense, and even he felt they weren't convincing.

"In short—" he concluded, "a huge windfall!"

He just liked such vulgar things.

The three sat in this secret chamber for a long time, feeling the glitter of money at close range. Dong Rui muttered: "This underground palace, and everything in it, belongs to us now?"

He Lingchuan smiled, knowing that the "everything" he spoke of wasn't just gold and silver treasure, but also the Brightness Well and the divine/demon remains and materials in the landfill.

This underground palace was a treasure trove for anyone.

"Yes." He Lingchuan said, then glanced at Fu Liushan.

The latter seemed to be staring blankly at the treasure, but at this moment, he shivered, his hands quickly forming a Cleansing Heart Seal, muttering: "What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over; oh, what the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over!"

He knew clearly that he wasn't included in that "us."

Treasure moves people's hearts, but treasure also brings fatal disaster! Desolate mountains, Yin *sha*, underground palaces, evil ghosts, plus two practitioners stronger than him, one of whom had even subdued the Luo Sheng Armor—could these elements together form the words "kill to silence"?

"Master Fu..."

He Lingchuan had just opened his mouth when he was quickly interrupted: "I only take my own wages; everything else has nothing to do with me!"

For this Howling Forest expedition, he, the Ghost-Catching Master, had been hired by He Lingchuan, and the wage had been agreed upon before setting out.

To hire someone to enter such a dangerous place, He Lingchuan's offer was naturally very sincere. However, in front of these three big mountains, any wage was just a drop in the bucket.

But Fu Liushan's heart was as clear as a mirror; the mountains of gold and silver had nothing to do with him.

Without He Lingchuan, he couldn't have entered the Howling Forest at all.

Even if he could enter the Howling Forest, he couldn't have killed the Ghost King in the underground palace, let alone claim this place as his own.

For such an adventure, whoever pays, whoever puts in the effort, and whoever takes the treasure—there are rules in the *jianghu*.

These three big mountains were too shocking, so as soon as he calmed down, he had to stay away from fatal disaster.

Fu Liushan was so sensible, He Lingchuan gave him a thumbs up: "A man of principle! I can't let Master Fu suffer a loss either; after we return, I'll send you an extra bonus."

Fu Liushan was overjoyed and also secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Proprietor He is generous!"

At this time, many evil ghosts were still wandering in the underground palace. After the Ghost King was eliminated, they regained their freedom but had nowhere to go—within dozens of *li*, only the underground palace had deep-sea wood for them to inhabit.

He Lingchuan allowed them to continue living in the underground palace, on the condition that they act as guards for the palace and forbid outsiders from approaching.

Wasn't that just going back to their old profession? The evil ghosts agreed very readily.

There were still quite a few corpse puppets in the underground palace; not to mention anything else, He Lingchuan specifically went to see the one the Ghost King had ambushed in the Step Sand Flower Court. He could only say that if they had really fallen into the Ghost King's trap at the time, it would have taken a great deal of effort to get out.

From now on, these were also their underground palace guards.

With matters here concluded, the three still followed the original path back to the surface, walked out of the White Jade Wall, and left this Immortal cave dwelling and Ghost King nest.

The massive wealth in the underground palace was left to be guarded by the *sha* energy and evil ghosts.

From now on, this would be He Lingchuan and Dong Rui's secret stronghold, to be used at any time. The Yin *sha* of the Howling Forest was a natural barrier; other practitioners and forces couldn't easily enter.

￥￥￥￥￥

After returning to Ju City, He Lingchuan kept his promise and gave Fu Liushan a large bonus.

Enough for him to spend comfortably for a long time.

As Dong Rui put it, "At least, you won't need the Five Ghosts Transport Technique, or those Acorn Men, in the future."

Looking at the progress of the war: speaking of which, the war on the front lines was smoother than people imagined. The Boss Situ Allied Forces advanced rapidly, not only recovering the entire territory of Gaopu but also stepping into the territory of the Bixia people.

The secret supplies from the Yao Nation were ineffective. The Bixia people sent envoys to seek help, and the Yao Nation had no choice but to pressure the Boss Situ Allied Forces on one hand, and "conscript" two mercenary armies on the other to help the Bixia people "co-defend" the central line.

Boss Situ Yu certainly wanted to counterattack the entire territory of the Bixia people to avenge his country and family, but the Yao Nation was watching like a tiger, and other allies in the coalition also expressed concern, not wanting to offend the Yao Nation to the death.

So, under the mediation of the Yao Nation, the coalition and the Bixia people began negotiations.

The coalition was, after all, temporarily formed, and if the war dragged on, internal discord was inevitable. Boss Situ Yu saw through the delaying tactics of the Yao Nation and the Bixia people, so he accepted the suggestion of his son, Boss Situ He, to fight while negotiating, using fighting to promote negotiation.

The Bixia people were beaten until they couldn't take it anymore and finally showed sincerity in the negotiations.

During this period, He Lingchuan wasn't idle either; the first clubhouse of the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce in Ju City opened with a bang.

All forces in the coalition sent representatives to send gifts to congratulate him; even the Commander-in-Chief Boss Situ Yu personally rushed back from the front lines to support the celebration, which was giving him plenty of face.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1270 =====