Chapter 211: Dark Commission

Sa was tall and sturdy, and his cultivation was also quite strong.

But Lao Tie bit his calf, a huge force surged, Sa couldn't keep his footing, fell embarrassingly to the ground, and tangled with Lao Tie as they rolled around.

People and horses overturned, utter chaos.

Wu Tie crossed his arms over his chest, chuckling as he watched Sa roll on the ground and curse.

Shi Fei, Tie Dajian, and the others also chuckled, looking at this snake‑person with a ferocious aura; before Wu Tie arrived, he had been arrogant, and seeing him embarrassed made everyone feel delighted.

The stone cave also had several other exits.

While Sa rolled on the ground cursing, a faint sound came simultaneously from three of the exits—the sound of bowstrings being drawn.

Wu Tie snorted coldly: "Now it's just a bite on the calf; if you dare shoot a hidden arrow, I'll bite your throat."

Wu Tie pointed a finger; three thin bolts of lightning shot from his fingertips, landing before the three caves that had made noise, and exploded with three booms, blasting three barrel‑sized holes in the ground.

Concentrating his brow's divine eye, he obtained the Divine Ability to Slay Evil Divine Thunder, and his mastery of thunder‑power grew deeper each day.

Now he could casually unleash ordinary thunder attacks; though not powerful, they were enough to scare off petty underlings.

Inside the three caves, there was not a hint of movement.

Lao Tie and Sa, who had been rolling on the ground, also stopped; Sa lay spread‑eagled, shamelessly, lightly patting the ground with his hands, showing he fully admitted defeat.

Lao Tie stood proudly on Sa's chest, lowering his head to stare fixedly at his flecks‑of‑gold eyes.

"Dog! Pah!" Lao Tie spat out human words, then slammed into Sa's body a few times before raising his head, tail high, swaying arrogantly, and darting to Wu Tie's side to plant himself.

Lao Tie shook his head and swayed, every black hair on his body glowing.

He felt very pleased.

This body's condition was far better than he had imagined. Though not as familiar as his own body, nor as agile as the Heavenly Howling Dog's body, it was extremely strong, very strong.

After all, it was transformed from Osiris' Second Divine Artifact, the Tower of Rebirth; this body's strength is astonishing, and it also has some clever uses.

For trash like Sa, Lao Tie could easily tear him apart—no wonder he was proud.

"You're not a dog… or rather, you're not an ordinary dog."

Sa spat out the sand in his mouth, shook his body upright, glanced at Wu Tie, then straightforwardly bowed deeply to Shi Fei, Tie Dajian, and the others.

"Then, I apologize for my earlier arrogance."

"The strong deserve respect… even we who worship chaos and darkness know that the strong must be respected."

The Great Heavenly King smiled faintly: "Earlier, did you think we weren't strong enough?"

Sa grinned, flicked out his tongue with a hiss, and laughed: "You're strong, but I'm not weak either… and I have other experts behind me, so I don't feel I need to respect you."

"But this lord made me feel an irresistible, mighty power that even the lords behind me cannot match. Such a strong one is your companion, so you too deserve respect."

Wu Tie raised his thumb, smiling at Sa: "Surely you're a petty person, yet also frank and lovable… Lord Sa, you've come to us—what's the matter?"

Wu Tie sighed, shook his head: "I followed my companions' markers, finally making my way here; you're an outsider, yet you found this place before me—I must say, your Dark Guild is really impressive, huh?"

Sa smiled proudly, hands on his hips, putting on a restrained grin.

"That's natural; if I lacked even this bit of skill, my hide would have long been turned into leather armor."

He flicked his tongue, then said solemnly: "I came to you because I really have business. I originally doubted your strength, but now I believe you can do it."

"Hm?" Wu Tie frowned, looking at Sa.

"It seems Lord Sa really has business coming to you—but what could the Dark Guild possibly have you do?"

"We sense a threat." Sa truly was blunt; he didn't play mysterious games, getting straight to the point: "The Great Snake Clan has returned; they want to unify the Black Snake Domain, returning the chaotic Black Snake Domain to their rule… that's not good."

"Why?" Wu Tie narrowed his eyes at Sa: "Why do you think it's bad?"

"We like chaos; chaos is the source of our darkness." Sa spoke bluntly: "Look, in the chaotic Black Snake Domain, our Dark Guild's power is great… but in the strictly disciplined Great Dragon Domain, our outpost there develops poorly."

Shaking his head, Sa lamented: "For example, in the dead‑water‑like Wa Valley, there's nothing but that poor wretch Jinbi…"

"Too peaceful, too tranquil an environment is harmful to us, very harmful."

"We all know how impoverished that poor fellow Jinbi has become… as a steward of the Dark Guild, he often loses his pants completely."

Sa didn't know what funny thing he'd thought of; he clutched his belly and burst into hysterical laughter, shaking all over, and only after a long while could he barely control his laughter.

"What a pitiful fellow… his position is inherited from his father, whom I know and am on good terms with; his father and he alike are so poor they've become a joke."

"Because Wa Valley is too peaceful, too like a dead pool of water, our Dark Guild has no chance to grow there."

"So the Black Snake Domain must stay chaotic, the Great Snake Lair must stay chaotic… if a unified great power appears here, we don't like it."

Sa voiced his opinion on the situation of the Black Snake Domain and the Great Snake Lair.

Wu Tie narrowed his eyes at Sa: "Do you want to sabotage the Great Snake Clan's actions? You don't want them to return?"

Sa spat on the ground: "Only a grandson would want them back… I really want to gnaw that Great Snake Yi's brain like a berry."

Wu Tie spread his hands: "Then go do it… with your strength, figuring out their movements and wiping them out—is that hard?"

Sa frowned, digging his claws into his smooth scalp; the sharp claws and hard scales on his scalp scraped together, making a "crack‑crack" sound.

"First, our Dark Guild isn't good at frontal combat."

"Second, our rules… we try to avoid appearing before ordinary people as much as possible, and try to avoid fighting and loss."

"Third, over ninety percent of the experts around the Black Snake Domain have recently been transferred away by the higher ups."

Sa sighed helplessly: "I can't tell you where they were sent, but they're all gone; now the Black Snake Domain's periphery lacks high‑end combat power, so I can only figure things out on my own."

Sa looked at Wu Tie, flecks of gold flashing in his eyes: "The superiors warned me that if the Black Snake Domain were truly retaken by the Great Snake Clan, and they redid its rules… then I'd end up as poor as Jinbi—and I don't want that."

He raised a hand, ticking his fingers: "Look, I have twenty‑four wives, over eighty children, and thirty‑plus of them are of marriageable age—whether bride price or dowry, it's a huge sum…"

He spat heavily on the ground and snarled: "Becoming as poor as Jinbi? I'd rather die."

"So you came to us because you want our help?" Wu Tie widened his eyes.

"Well… talking with smart people really saves effort." Sa hissed with a smile, eyes narrowed to slits: "We've watched the whole process of the Great Snake Clan invading the Great Snake Lair; we must say, they've been quite striking."

Sa pointed at the Eighteen Guardian Palace Heavenly Kings and the disciples of the Six Dao Palace.

The Great Heavenly King furrowed his brows: "If that's the case, then just now you were still so arrogant and haughty?"

Sa laughed more and more brilliantly; he bowed deeply to the Great Heavenly King, performed a salute, then straightened his body, quite surprised as he asked him: "Is it that, from the very start, I ought to show you that I value you all greatly, that I desperately need your help?"

"Press the price, press the price, put on airs to press the price…… Esteemed…… Great Heavenly King." Sa snapped his tongue fiercely; the snake's forked tongue in his mouth shot out over a meter long, and he laughed even more brilliantly: "Of course, I understand, the folks of the Six Paths Palace…… their brains are a bit……"

"Hiss, hiss!"

Sa didn't finish his words, but everyone understood his meaning.

The Six Paths Palace folks' brains are a bit simple……

The Eighteen Palace-Guarding Heavenly Kings narrowed their eyes, staring at Sa with ill intent.

If the atmosphere between the two sides weren't still decent, they'd probably have rolled up their sleeves and turned this snake-person into a fine set of leather armor.

Sa laughed with a hiss, feeling the ill will in the Eighteen Heavenly Kings' gazes; he hastily waved his hand, the spirit light on his wrist bracelet flashing, and piles upon piles of primal herbs, primal fruits, gold coins, gems, beautiful jade, and rare metal ingots instantly piled up before everyone into a small mountain.

Wu Tie raised the corner of his eye.

The resources and wealth Sa threw out were roughly ten times the fee Wu Tie had previously paid to the Dark Guild.

Obviously, the Dark Guild had made up its mind; they were determined to sabotage the Great Serpent Clan's actions.

"But, not enough." Wu Tie said calmly: "Just the Great Serpent Clan alone— that Great Serpent Yi is a soft egg, and those black serpents aren't hard to deal with either."

"But, they have the Bodhi Clan behind them." Wu Tie said coldly: "Should we, for this wealth, go up against a powerful three-city-state ruling family? Hehe."

Sa flicked his tongue, quickly glanced at the Magic Chapter King: "Dealing with the Bodhi Clan would also be a good thing for this esteemed one."

"No, no, no, don't mix my affairs with Wu Tie's decision." The Magic Chapter King quickly spoke to clear himself: "You're well-informed; since you know my identity, you know I indeed have a grudge against the Bodhi Clan."

Spreading his hands, the Magic Chapter King put on a roguish expression: "But what of it? I've let go of this hatred…… I…… lack ambition, am a good-for-nothing, I don't really care about this grudge……"

"And Wu Tie, I regard him as my teacher…… therefore, his decision need not, and indeed should not, take my attitude into account." The Magic Chapter King firmly shook his head: "I absolutely will not allow Wu Tie, on my account, to clash with the Bodhi Clan."

Wu Tie spread his hands, smiling at the Magic Chapter King: "Good lad…… your attitude is completely correct."

"Damn!" Sa cursed.

He glanced at Wu Tie, sunk-voiced: "Wipe out Great Serpent Yi, dispel the Bodhi Clan's thought of again invading the Black Serpent Realm…… what compensation do you need?"

Wu Tie looked at Sa, pondered a moment, quickly calculated all the causes and effects of this matter, then said in a low voice: "Speaking only of wealth and resources, these are already more than enough…… we are not greedy."

"But, we need a promise." Wu Tie looked at Sa coldly: "From today onward, the Dark Guild must not, concerning me and everyone around me, sell any information related to us, no matter who or at what cost."

"Furthermore, if anyone finds you and wants to buy information related to us, or wants to use you to do anything to us…… you must immediately inform me." Wu Tie looked at Sa, stating his conditions word by word very clearly.

He had witnessed the Dark Guild's might and terror.

These information dealers living in the darkness, or those who also do odd jobs on the side, wield power that is immensely strong and immensely fearsome.

Wu Tie did not want himself and his companions constantly living under others' gazes.

When he still lacked the strength to stop the Dark Guild from doing that, he could only negotiate with them.

"Is that so?" Sa pondered, nodding: "In that case, I can still decide…… then, as long as you help us deal with the Great Serpent Clan, and as long as you can make the Bodhi Clan give up its designs on the Black Serpent Realm, we'll do as you say."

Wu Tie raised an eyebrow: "From what you say, does the Bodhi Clan want to control the Black Serpent Realm?"

Sa spread his hands, speaking solemnly: "Do you think otherwise? Why would they spend vast sums, dispatch an elite army to venture into the Black Serpent Realm?"

Sa gave a cold chuckle, muttering: "However, the Bodhi Clan's army…… heh. Of course, it's still quite troublesome, very bothersome; we can only rely on you."

The Bodhi Clan's army.

Wu Tie recalled the Bodhi Clan's 20,000-strong army's "wonderful" performance in the Great Serpent Cavern.

As the Magic Chapter King said, the Bodhi Clan is actually just as rotten compared to the Great Peacock Royal Clan; they're merely competing in rottenness.

"Then, it's decided."

Wu Tie waved his hand, gathering up all the resources and wealth piled into a small mountain.

Great Serpent Clan? Even without Sa bringing it up, Wu Tie actually also needs to track them down.