Chapter 34: Secret Mechanism Cannon Powder Formula

Xu Yuan exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, finally relaxing his entire body; for these past few days he had constantly been on the brink of life and death, his spirit under extreme tension.

"Hundred Taboos" acts upon oneself, while "Eight Directions Injury Sha" affects the opponent.

Moreover, it is an area-of-effect influence, unlike Fate Arts which can directly designate a target.

The Holy Maiden made a series of erroneous judgments and choices precisely because she fell victim to "Injury Sha."

The Holy Maiden is an Eighth-Rank Artificer Cultivator, while Xu Yuan is an Eighth-Rank Fate Cultivator; at the same level, the influence of Fate Patterns becomes quite pronounced.

But the Holy Maiden was exceptionally obvious; another reason is that the Holy Maiden herself was stubborn and self-willed.

Had he faced a Seventh-Rank cultivator, throughout the entire process "Eight Directions Injury Sha" should have only caused the opponent to make a single mistake.

This is the combat method of Fate Cultivators; the reason why the Top Three Ranks of Fate Cultivators are so terrifying is that they possess numerous Fate Patterns, allowing them to constantly alternate and combine them; under various mysterious influences, opponents often lose in a complete rout without even realizing what happened.

Xu Yuan sorted through the gains from this battle; the Holy Maiden still had four Artificer creations on her body: a pair of ear-shaped ornaments made of redwood and brass. Xu Yuan fiddled with them for a moment and understood their purpose, a look of joy appearing on his face: "Good stuff."

There was also a Divine Mechanism Crossbow; although the bolts were gone, having the stepmother prepare some upon returning would not be a major problem.

Additionally, there were a small knife and a hammer.

These were the Artificer's own tools; the small knife Xu Yuan could use, while the hammer he would take back to "show respect" to the stepmother.

"Is that all?" Xu Yuan was far from satisfied: "You are, after all, the dignified Holy Maiden of the Pingtian Society; is that all you have on your entire person?"

Xu Yuan rummaged over the corpse, checking repeatedly several times; finally, he suddenly noticed the Holy Maiden's feet, as some people like to hide things under their insoles.

Xu Yuan took off that pair of repaired shoes.

He reached inside—something felt abnormal!

"There really is something?"

Xu Yuan tore the shoe open; sure enough, there was a hidden compartment in the sole, and a sheet of oil paper as thin as a cicada's wing fell out.

"Secret Mechanism Cannon Powder Formula."

Xu Yuan glanced at it and clicked his tongue, saying: "This is a cannon powder formula for casting bronze cannons! One of the foundations upon which the Pingtian Society established itself is supplying the Divine Mechanism Camp with cast cannons; this powder formula is also a core secret of the Pingtian Society."

"Their Holy Maiden secretly hid a copy of this formula in her shoe sole, hehehe; this Holy Maiden's thoughts are not exactly pure."

Having obtained this formula, Xu Yuan treasured it as if it were a precious jewel.

The cannon powder used for these cast cannons is far more explosive than the powder in Old Man Qiao's three-barreled pistol.

"It's just that..." Xu Yuan looked at the formula and scratched his head: "Several key steps inside can only be completed by an Artificer; I'll have to go ask the stepmother."

"But if she finds out my Golden Core is made of cannon powder... she'll nag endlessly again."

Xu Yuan put away the formula, tore open the other shoe as well, but found nothing hidden inside.

"Having this formula is enough."

And the greatest gain was undoubtedly wiping out everyone from the Pingtian Society in one sweep; at least for the short term, the Pingtian Society would not come after him.

Xu Yuan disposed of the Holy Maiden's corpse in the same manner, tossing it into the wild grass nearby; it would not be long before it became a delicacy in the mouths of evil spirits.

It was just past noon; today there was still plenty of time to rush back to the town.

At dusk, Xu Yuan returned to the town, preparing to spend another night at Zhao's Leather Goods Shop and return to Huicheng early the next morning.

He still kept the thick felt hat pulled low over his head, the brim lowered to cover most of his face, not wanting to attract anyone's attention.

Uncle Rong Kui sat in Zhang Asao's tea shop, leaning against the earthen wall on the west side, trying to shrink his bulky body as much as possible to avoid drawing attention.

The tea shop actually had no building; two earthen walls were erected on each side, with bamboo poles laid across the top, extending forward for ten feet, covered with cloth to provide a place for passing travelers and merchants to drink water and rest.

One bowl of tea cost one copper coin.

Many travelers simply could not afford a restaurant meal; they would come to buy a bowl of hot tea, soak their carried flatbreads until soft, and consider that a meal.

By now, as the sky grew darker, there were hardly any people left in the tea stall.

Uncle Rong Kui waited until now, finally seeing Xu Yuan emerge from the mountains; his eyelid twitched.

This kid is back!

He went into the mountains and came out again; what did he go do?

Uncle Rong Kui had a guess in his heart, but he didn't even dare to believe that guess himself.

"The Pingtian Society is strong in soldiers and horses..."

Not a single person has returned!

Uncle Rong Kui actually felt a certain amount of wariness toward this kid in his heart!

He dropped ten copper coins, stood up, and walked out, turning into the alley nearby.

Having sat here all day, Zhang Asao hadn't driven him away; better to give a bit more money.

He had been staying at Widow Yang's house these past two days; tonight was the last time, and he too would have to leave early tomorrow morning.

Heading south from the tea shop toward the street entrance, he passed through a small alley.

Uncle Rong Kui's nose twitched, catching a familiar scent; he turned to investigate—suddenly, a cold sweat broke out all over his body!

Xu Yuan's feet were off the ground, floating in the air; at some point, he had already stuck to Uncle Rong Kui's back!

Getting old, eh? Stalking a young lad, yet getting discovered!

He didn't know that for a "Fate" of an acquaintance like himself, as long as he appeared nearby, to Xu Yuan's eyes, he was like a lamp in the dark night.

A point of cold light fell upon Uncle Rong Kui's neck.

The cook's neck was very thick, wrapped in a layer of thick fat beneath the skin.

The cold light pressed down lightly; the neck dimpled slightly, and a drop of blood seeped onto the skin.

Uncle Rong Kui quickly shouted: "Don't move, don't move, it's one of us!"

Uncle Rong Kui had already recognized that the cold light in Xu Yuan's hand was the Holy Maiden's small knife; the Holy Maiden had used this very thing to lift open Er Liang's skullcap.

"He indeed..." Uncle Rong thought silently.

Xu Yuan looked at him coldly: "One of us?"

Uncle Rong Kui raised his hands, beads of sweat pouring from his forehead as he forced a smile: "I know you don't believe me, but don't rush—let me explain…"

"Stop blabbering!" Xu Yuan tightened his grip, and the dagger sank deeper.

Uncle Rong Kui hurriedly said: "I'm a Chief Flag of the Demon Extermination Army—I have my waist token, right here in my chest—I can show you! I'm truly on your side, don't misunderstand, keep your hand steady…"

Uncle Rong Kui wanted to slap himself—he always blabbed when nervous, an old habit he couldn't break in decades.

Xu Yuan frowned: "Demon Extermination Army?"

"Yes yes yes, the same one your second uncle belongs to."

Xu Yuan's face turned icy cold—he was about to strike: "You came here specifically for me!"

The official name of the Demon Extermination Army is the "Imperial Ming Jin Yi Wei Outer Province Demon Extermination Thousand-Household Office," established two hundred years ago.

At that time, the Imperial Ming had just conquered Korea, but resistance flared across the peninsula, so they used the pretext of "demon extermination" to form this force.

This Thousand-Household Office had broad duties: suppressing large-scale uprisings, hunting down remnants of the previous dynasty hiding among the people, and casually eliminating local malevolent spirits.

Later, as the Imperial Ming added provinces like "Mongol-Yuan" and "Dayuan," they followed the same system, entrusting the "Demon Extermination Thousand-Household Office" with pacifying regions and crushing disloyalty.

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(End of Chapter)