Chapter 149: Qin Laoge Is Right

The timing and angle of this sword qi were exquisitely treacherous.

Zhou Tong's soul nearly fled his body; he twisted with all his strength to dodge, yet still caught the residual wave of the sword qi on his back—skin split, flesh torn, he screamed and collapsed forward.

A figure stepped slowly from the forest, golden longsword in hand, face icy—Li Chenghao, returned once more!

He had clearly spotted Zhou Tong being hunted, and without hesitation, he casually struck him with a sword slash—repaying the earlier ambush, and settling a small debt of gratitude for Chen Mu's group having indirectly helped him escape.

Before him, Li Chenghao's sword qi blocked the path; behind, Chen Mu's group closed in. Zhou Tong collapsed to the ground, his spine drenched in blood, utterly cornered.

His face drained of color, eyes filled with terror and bitter resentment.

"Wait, wait!"

Zhou Tong snapped his head up, shrieking in a voice sharpened by fear, "I… I know a colossal secret! About the treasure left behind by the Haoran Sect, wiped out three hundred years ago! If you spare me, I'll share the location of the treasure!"

"Haoran Sect treasure?"

Shen Ge heard this, raised an eyebrow, and sneered, "Zhou Tong, still trying tricks as death approaches? The Haoran Sect was destroyed centuries ago—if there had been treasure, they'd have dug up the earth three feet deep long ago. How could it still be here waiting for you?"

Qin Liangjing's eyes showed contempt, equally unmoved.

He'd seen too many such dying lies—mere stalling tactics.

But Pang Yunrui's expression turned curious, "Haoran Sect? The one said to have produced several Heavenly Palace realm experts within a hundred years? Old ghost, are you telling the truth? Where's the treasure?"

Zhou Tong seized this lifeline like a straw, hurriedly saying, "Absolutely true! I stumbled upon clues in an ancient tomb pointing to a mountain range at the Prefecture Border Lines between Jing'an Prefecture and its neighbor. Only I know the exact spot—swear to let me go, and I'll tell you immediately!"

His words came in a rush, his eyes darting, yet he refused to reveal the location, endlessly stressing the treasure's value and authenticity, trying to ignite their greed.

Li Chenghao stood to the side, sheathing his sword, watching coldly; upon hearing this, his face twisted with disdain—he had zero interest in such phantom treasure tales.

He bowed slightly to Chen Mu's group, "Gentlemen, the matter here is concluded. Li bids you farewell."

With that, he turned and left without a single hesitation.

"Thank you, Brother Li, for your intervention just now!" Pang Yunrui called out, bowing deeply.

"No need for thanks."

Li Chenghao waved his hand without looking back.

Watching Li Chenghao vanish beyond the horizon, Chen Mu's group turned their gazes back to Zhou Tong.

Pang Yunrui kept pressing for details, but Zhou Tong stammered, dodged, insisting the location would be clear once they arrived.

Shen Ge's patience was wearing thin, about to speak.

At that moment—a sudden change!

Zhou Tong, seemingly at his last gasp, his aura withered, suddenly flashed a cruel, cunning gleam in his eyes!

Seizing the instant when Pang Yunrui leaned in to press him and the others' attention wavered, he slid several black-blue darts from his sleeve—clearly coated in deadly poison.

"Die!"

He erupted into action, arm snapping forward—four poison darts shot like venomous snakes from their lairs, aimed straight at the faces of Chen Mu, Shen Ge, Pang Yunrui, and Qin Liangjing.

Shhh~ Shhh~ Shhh~ Shhh~

Piercing, shrill whistles stabbed the ears.

The darts flew with terrifying speed and treacherous angles.

Simultaneously, Zhou Tong himself leapt backward like a rabbit, fleeing desperately in the opposite direction from where Li Chenghao had gone!

He had been secretly regulating his breath, hoarding his final ounce of strength for this ambush and escape.

"Watch out!"

"Coward!"

Chen Mu's group reacted instantly—some parried with swords, others dodged aside, barely avoiding the poisoned darts.

Pang Yunrui roared in fury, "Old bastard! Still trying tricks?!"

"Chase him!"

Shen Ge growled, leading the pursuit.

Swoosh~

Swoosh!

The sound of wind tearing split the air.

Chen Mu, Qin Liangjing, and Pang Yunrui followed close behind, unleashing their full speed, chasing once more.

Zhou Tong was still severely wounded, his earlier burst already spent—he moved far slower than before.

The four caught up quickly.

"Old man will fight you to the death!"

Knowing escape was impossible, Zhou Tong's eyes blazed with desperate madness—he turned to make his final stand.

But how could he possibly match Chen Mu's group now?

Puch~

Chen Mu's sword flashed like lightning, instantly piercing his wrist and knocking his weapon flying.

Shhh!

Shen Ge's sword qi coiled around him, slowing his movements.

Bang~

Pang Yunrui's twin halberds slammed down, shattering his last remnants of defensive qi.

Puh!

Qin Liangjing's spear struck like a dragon, finally piercing straight through his chest!

Zhou Tong's body stiffened violently—his mad expression froze, filled with endless resentment and regret, as he toppled backward, dead.

【Corpse detected. Retrieve?】

"Yes!"

With the card in hand, Chen Mu reached out to inspect it without changing his expression.

A Martial Arts Card!

Not bad.

……

"Finally dead."

Pang Yunrui exhaled and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He then stepped forward and searched Zhou Tong's body carefully. Apart from some miscellaneous items and silver, he indeed fished out four stone souls the size of longan fruits, radiating halos and dense spiritual energy!

"Hahaha~ This old ghost robbed Brother Qin, and it looks like he robbed others too, or dug plenty out of the Purgatory Stones! Perfect, one each for us!" Pang Yunrui laughed heartily and divided the stone souls among Chen Mu and the others.

Holding the warm, energy-rich stone soul, Chen Mu felt quite satisfied.

Shen Ge smiled and said, "This exploration of the ancient ruins was, after all, not a complete return empty-handed."

"Too bad we didn't manage to snag a single Sacred Spirit Pearl." Pang Yunrui sighed.

"A treasure like the Sacred Spirit Pearl—if it really fell into one's hands, it wouldn't be a good thing either." Qin Liangjing said in a low voice.

"Brother Qin's right." Chen Mu chimed in.

His expression unchanged.

"I know the priorities, it's just a bit of a pity."

Pang Yunrui shook his head. "Forget it, let's not talk about this. Brothers, what do you think of what Zhou Tong said before he died—about the Haoran Sect treasure? True or false?"

"The wild barking of a dying man—how could that be taken seriously?" Shen Ge shook his head and laughed.

"Even if it's real, we don't know if it's true or false, fortune or misfortune." Qin Liangjing said cautiously.

"Brother Qin's right." Chen Mu nodded along.

"Brother Pang, don't let Zhou Tong box you in." Shen Ge said seriously. "Fate is in the heavens; forcing it brings no benefit."

"Don't worry." Pang Yunrui awkwardly scratched his head. "I was just asking offhandedly. Who'd believe that old ghost's lies?"

"That's good then." Shen Ge nodded.

"Forget it, let's head back to the city first." Qin Liangjing said.

"Good."

Immediately, the four of them dealt with Zhou Tong's corpse briefly and buried it, then left the mountain forest together.

……

They returned to Lu County's county city and rested for the night.

The next day.

"Brother Qin, Brother Pang, Brother Shen—till we meet again!"

At the city gate, Chen Mu cupped his fist in farewell to Qin Liangjing, Pang Yunrui, and Shen Ge.

"Till we meet again!"

Qin Liangjing and the others cupped their fists together.

"Wait!"