Chapter 108: Abundant Reward

Hun Yue Gongzi could hardly believe that someone could actually steal his Gold Soul Lingzhi right under his nose.

Shame, regret, indignation and various emotions surged onto his face.

For a moment his fair, handsome face turned completely red—when had Hun Yue Gongzi ever suffered such humiliation?

The more Hun Yue thought, the angrier he got, to the point it even affected his calm; meanwhile, the Soul-refining Guard behind him noticed his young master's odd state and hurriedly called out a reminder.

After Hun Yue steadied his mind, he realized something was off: his magic treasure was an extremely rare flying-type artifact; once activated, its speed exceeded that of peers by at least fivefold, and with the boost from his grandfather, it could even fly in these ruins—so logically, no ground‑running cultivator could possibly outrun him.

Yet all the way here, he hadn't even caught a glimpse of the other's shadow.

Pfft!

Hun Yue's originally high‑speed flying figure suddenly halted; stopping so fast actually produced a fierce rubbing sound in the air.

Hun Yue's face fluctuated between gloom and clarity—whoosh! Realizing something was wrong, he immediately flew back. Meanwhile, the two Foundation Establishment cultivators running on the ground, seeing the young master fly back, instantly turned and began to sprint.

Whoosh!

Hun Yue Gongzi's figure reappeared on the mountaintop; looking at that pit, he felt a surge of anger, snorted coldly, took out a green gem from his storage bag and stuck it on his forehead.

Then a surge of divine sense comparable to that of an Early Golden Core cultivator emanated from him, instantly enveloping one‑third of the mountain peak!

Hun Yue Gongzi moved back and forth across this tall mountain peak, finally landing at the spot where Wang Ping had paused before launching his ambush.

Hun Yue's eyes narrowed, a chill flashing in them—the thief was right beside them, yet they themselves had failed to notice.

Involuntarily, that smiling face appeared in his mind—a smile clearly mixed with surprise, mockery, and ridicule.

His face burned with pain; he stood rooted in place for a long time, unwilling to move an inch.

"Young master! Have you found any clues?"

The two Soul‑refining Guards had caught up again; seeing their young master standing there dazed, they hated to disturb him, but finally gritted their teeth and asked.

Hun Yue Gongzi came to his senses and suddenly burst out laughing:

"Excellent means! Excellent means! To snatch my Gold Soul Lingzhi right under Hun Yue's nose—admirable! Admirable!"

"Record: possesses an exceptionally superb Breath‑Concealing Technique, can evade divine sense perception, a fire‑system cultivator, extremely fast speed, appearance…"

When it came to appearance, Hun Yue fell silent—that person very likely disguised his looks!

"Issue a notice to the Soul‑refining Palace and the entire West Droop Region, especially the cultivators in the ruins: whoever can provide information about this person will be rewarded with a Five‑Pattern Magic Treasure, three drops of Soul Essence, one hundred thousand low‑grade spirit stones, and a False Dao Technique."

Saying this, Hun Yue paused, a flash of resolve crossing his face: "One favor from me, Hun Yue!"

"Young master!"

The two Foundation Establishment Soul‑refining Guards couldn't help but exclaim upon hearing the final condition.

How high Hun Yue Gongzi's status is in the palace—how could these people of the Soul‑refining Palace not know?

A single favor from him is more precious than millions of spirit stones.

Hun Yue Gongzi waved his hand and said, "Go! Have everyone in the palace fully investigate which of the cultivators who entered the ruins possess Fire Spiritual Roots, and focus on them!"

Seeing the young master's resolve, the two Soul‑refining Guards could only obey.

"Wait a moment." Hun Yue's voice came again.

"Young master, what else do you command?"

"I suddenly take great interest in that cultivator; have me send word into the ruins: if that person can appear and return the Gold Soul Lingzhi, I am willing to treat him as a second‑rank steward of the palace, guarantee the resources he needs to reach Golden Core, and grant him one Dao technique."

Hun Yue again gave the order lightly.

The two Soul‑refining Guard Foundation Establishment cultivators were startled, and suddenly a hint of envy arose in their hearts toward that cultivator.

In the Soul‑refining Palace, only Foundation Establishment cultivators can become stewards; basically, aside from False Golden Core cultivators, nearly all Foundation Establishment cultivators who enter the gate are first‑rank stewards—a rank lower than theirs, while second‑rank steward status is higher than theirs.

Before Hun Yue Gongzi, even if they harbored objections, they dared not show the slightest sign.

Hun Yue Gongzi's publicly posted bounty was unknown to Wang Ping; after meeting up with Tie Lanshan and the others, he found a mountain peak and patiently studied the array patterns, comprehending their designs.

According to Tie Lanshan, the patterns within the array contain the aura of the Heaven‑Earth Dao; the more one contemplates them, the greatly they aid in cultivating spells and even Dao techniques.

Having reached the limit of what he could comprehend from the array patterns, he could go no further; thus Tie Lanshan advised him to fully focus on comprehending the array patterns in his sea of consciousness.

Upon fully grasping one type, that pressure would also dissipate a bit.

Wang Ping followed Tie Lanshan's advice and began to wholeheartedly comprehend the first type of array pattern.

It resembled the oracle‑bone script of his past life, looking like the character for "mountain" in shape.

Just this single pattern, Wang Ping contemplated for a month.

After a month, Wang Ping formed a sword‑finger with his right hand and, using spiritual power, successfully drew the first array pattern in the air.

Thus, to anyone unaware, it would look as if he were drawing talismans!

After the mountain‑shaped array pattern was drawn, the surrounding attribute‑less spiritual power actually showed a tendency to turn into fire‑attribute spiritual power, but because there was too little of it, the transformation could not be completed.

This discovery sparked great interest in Wang Ping; presumably, the principle behind a great array altering the Heaven‑Earth illusion is roughly like this!

If there were enough array patterns forming a series, he feared he could convert sufficient fire‑attribute spiritual power above great rivers and rivers.

However, the most crucial aspect is the inspiration this pattern gives him for forging.

"One month has already passed; the ruins' exit will open again, we should head out too!"

Tie Lanshan awoke from his contemplation and spoke up to remind everyone.

Wang Ping realized belatedly that a month had already passed; contemplating this pattern, he hardly felt the flow of time at all!

Since the ruins' exit closes on a schedule, nobody wasted any time; they all headed straight for the exit.

Few cultivators who enter this place ever leave, because the spiritual energy here is thick—even using it for seated meditation is stronger than the outside world nowadays.

Thus, along the way, Wang Ping and his three companions rarely encountered any fellow cultivators.

However, at the ruins' exit, Wang Ping indeed bumped into a few acquaintances: still dressed in white robes, the White‑robed Young Master, and in black attire, the Soul‑refining Palace's Hun Yue Gongzi.

Moreover, Old Bai stood alone in a corner, though the cultivator beside him had disappeared.

Duo Bao Gongzi saw Wang Ping, smiled and nodded; Wang Ping did the same—he felt favorable toward Duo Bao Gongzi.

Old Bai then congratulated Lan Ming on rescuing several close friends; as for this Old Bai, Wang Ping harbored a hint of wariness—being able to break the Qi‑training limit without breaking through the Foundation Establishment bottleneck, Old Bai's secrets are surely not few!

As for Hunyue Gongzi, Wang Ping merely swept past him as if it were nothing.

At the exit there were only a few of them; seeing Wang Ping, Xiao Ge's eyes lit up. They headed for that mountain peak, but came up empty-handed; upon returning, they were given a stern scolding by the unhappy Hunyue Gongzi.

Now that they saw the main person, they naturally wouldn't miss the chance to claim credit, and immediately wanted to send a mental message to Hunyue.

Wang Ping sighed inwardly; after a month of secluded cultivation, he had originally intended to let this person go, but now it seems such a person had better be reincarnated early!

Hunyue, after hearing the mental message, turned his head to glance at Wang Ping, then looked at Duo Bao Gongzi, and gave no order to capture.

What he wants is a complete Blue Cry; with Duo Bao Gongzi here, it's obvious this cannot be done.

Besides, the Golden Soul Herb is lost; capturing him would be useless, better to keep him alive and decide later.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

A highly regular vibration sound rang out; the exit of the ruins had already appeared, and Bai Lao was the first to flash out.

Next came Hunyue's group; Wang Ping and his companions, together with Duo Bao Gongzi, walked out of the ruins!

Outside, it was still bright moonlight and starry sky; Bai Lao and Hunyue Gongzi had disappeared, only Xiao Ge and the four of them sped off into the distance.

Wang Ping's mind stirred; the Soul-devouring Butterfly hidden in Xiao Ge's mind suddenly activated.

The flying Xiao Ge suddenly let out a miserable scream, clutching his head as he plummeted from the sky.