Chapter 18: The Theft of the Armory (Third update! Seeking recommendations and collections!)

Ever since Zhang Nuo discovered the pattern of when the "Nine Dragon Sword Case" gathered Spiritual Qi, he went to cultivate at that time every day without fail; after all, with the Spiritual Qi being so lush, practicing yielded twice the result with half the effort.

In the blink of an eye, seven days later, the time Zhang Nuo had agreed upon with the "Mysterious Heaven Gold-Devouring Insect" arrived. He walked out of his Cave Abode early in the morning and headed straight for the pre-arranged spot. He had never left the Spirit Insect outside for such a long time before, so he was somewhat worried in his heart; if the insect were snatched by someone else or some accident occurred, the loss to him would be significant. Now that he finally knew the insect's marvelous uses, he valued it even more.

Arriving at the agreed-upon place, Zhang Nuo looked left and right. Seeing that the insect had still not arrived, he felt somewhat anxious. After waiting for nearly half an hour, a familiar sound of vibrating wings finally reached his ears. When he turned back to look, he saw a golden beetle that had appeared behind Zhang Nuo at some unknown moment.

Zhang Nuo's face was filled with wild joy, and his previous worries vanished all at once. Seeing that the insect could return safe and sound was a great stroke of luck, though judging by the mental connection coming from the insect, it seemed very happy this time.

With no time to think, Zhang Nuo grabbed the insect and placed it into his robes, then walked quickly toward his Cave Abode. The "Mysterious Heaven Gold-Devouring Insect" was still in a state of extreme excitement inside his robes, and as wisps of mental connection transmitted into Zhang Nuo's mind, he himself could not help but feel happy as well.

However, the mental connection between Zhang Nuo and the Spirit Insect was currently only a vague existence, and the insect could not clearly explain what had happened over these past few days. The only thing he could be certain of was that the insect seemed to have made a huge haul this time.

Just as one foot stepped into the Cave Abode, Zhang Nuo suddenly discovered that the atmosphere was a bit off. He saw Lin Fan sitting on a chair, while Gao Dakuan, Qu Yuan, and Ye Ling'er were all standing to the side with their hands hanging down. Seeing Zhang Nuo walk into the Cave Abode with a face full of smiles, all four of them cast their gazes upon him.

This startled Zhang Nuo; he did not know what had happened or why his master and the others were looking at him with such gazes. He immediately wiped the smile from his face, walked properly before Lin Fan, and then bowed deeply.

"Nuo Er, where did you go?"

Lin Fan looked at Zhang Nuo expressionlessly, the trace of anger on his face still difficult to conceal.

"I went outside to clear my head!"

After saying this with trepidation, Zhang Nuo stole a glance at Lin Fan and saw that the anger on his face had not yet subsided. He felt very worried—could it be that his master had discovered the matter of the Spirit Insect?

"I just returned from the main peak. The Divine Sword Sect's armory has been robbed, and the whereabouts of over a hundred Magic Treasures are unknown! Have you noticed anything unusual these past few days?"

Hearing Lin Fan's words, Zhang Nuo's mind went "buzz." The sect's armory had been robbed and over a hundred Magic Treasures were missing—what a massive event this was. The Divine Sword Sect had been on a downward slope for years, and now that so many Magic Treasures had been lost, Sect Master Sun Yiyang would likely be furious. No wonder Lin Fan was so angry.

However, what Zhang Nuo was concerned about was not this matter, but rather a thought that suddenly occurred to him: he had let the "Mysterious Heaven Gold-Devouring Insect" go out to forage on its own, and it was clearly very excited when it returned. Could it be that the hundred-plus Magic Treasures in the sect had all been eaten by this little thing?

On the way back, through their mental communication, the information Zhang Nuo received from the insect made him feel that it had eaten a large amount of metal, rather than ore.

"Master, I haven't discovered anything! I have been cultivating in my room during this time!"

Zhang Nuo answered hurriedly; he had to distance himself from this matter. If anyone discovered that it was his insect that had eaten those Magic Treasures, the consequences could be easily imagined.

"That's right, Master, Junior Brother has been cultivating in his room these past few days and hasn't left the Cave Abode at all!"

Gao Dakuan was also putting in a good word for Zhang Nuo. Lin Fan's expression softened somewhat. Previously, when he returned from the Divine Sword Sect, Sect Master Sun Yiyang had said that with so many Magic Treasures stolen, there must be an inside job; otherwise, the thief could not have stolen so many treasures without a sound.

Lin Fan also knew clearly that his four disciples rarely went into the sect, let alone to the armory to steal Magic Treasures. The reason he acted this way was simply to give Sect Master Sun Yiyang an explanation.

"All of you should cultivate properly in the cave from now on and do not go out again!"

Lin Fan picked up the wine gourd at his waist, took a few gulps, and then said slowly. Although his disciples did not have very high cultivation, they would absolutely not do such things as eating from the inside and helping the outside. He said this to let them clear themselves and avoid unnecessary suspicion.

The four of them agreed repeatedly, and then each walked toward their own rooms. Suddenly, just as Zhang Nuo turned around, the gaze Lin Fan cast toward him held a bit more surprise.

"Nuo Er, has your cultivation improved again these past few days?"

Zhang Nuo's steps came to an abrupt halt. He turned back and nodded at Lin Fan somewhat bashfully. Although it had only been a short ten days, with the help of the Spiritual Qi gathered by the "Nine Dragon Sword Case," he had already reached the peak of the Qi Refining Stage Third Layer; with just a little more time, he would be able to advance to the Fourth Layer.

Lin Fan nodded in approval, though he was not particularly happy. The first few layers of the Qi Refining Stage were very easy to cultivate; it was just that Zhang Nuo's previous cultivation speed had been too slow, so it seemed a bit special that it had suddenly become faster.

"Keep working hard!"

Lin Fan waved his hand twice, signaling that Zhang Nuo could return. The stone in his heart finally landed, and Zhang Nuo walked quickly back to his room. After closing the stone door, the first thing he had to do was take out the Spirit Insect from his robes and carefully ask what it had been doing during these ten days!