Chapter 462: Witch Tribe Trade Seeks the Truth

"Moruo Jinge, is it you?"

A burly man clenched his fists tight, with many martial arts masters from noble families standing on both sides of him.

This was a battlefield in the vicinity of Gongliang City.

The scope of this engagement was vast, starting from Fucheng and extending all the way to Gongliang, Su Cheng, and other places.

In the wild, the suburbs, the mountains, and by the lakes, scenes of fierce fighting were everywhere.

Martial arts masters blasted out pits with a single punch, collapsed town buildings, caused river embankments to burst, and left rice paddies parched.

Strong Martial Artists were even more incredible; their fist techniques triggered anomalies in heaven and earth, causing sudden changes in climate and shifts in terrain—snow falling in the sweltering summer, dry wells freezing over, and cold cicadas vanishing.

The martial artists held the advantage on this battlefield, slaughtering the nearby Witch Tribe members and scouts to the last man.

The middle-aged man leading them was named Cao Wudang, the preeminent figure among the martial arts masters of Weinan Cheng and the number one person in the Martial Arts Association.

Weinan Cheng was the second-largest city in this prefecture, second only to Fucheng; it was teeming with talent and numerous martial arts halls, and this time the Martial Arts Association had sent two thousand eight hundred men.

Cao Wudang was the Martial Arts Association President leading this team.

His status in Weinan Cheng was comparable to that of Yan Shan in Fucheng.

A nursery rhyme went: Fucheng hates the Overlord, Weinan has Cao Wudang, peerless in the world.

This high-level martial arts master was surrounded by elite martial arts masters from Weinan Cheng; with this lineup, they were not afraid even if they encountered a Witch Tribe.

However...

The Moruo Jinge who appeared before them was a Great Witch of the Goumeng Tribe, a Strong Martial Artist.

Although he had broken through thirty years ago and was currently only at the first level of Qiangwu Yichongtian, he belonged to the younger, late-generation among Strong Martial Artists.

But the gap between a Strong Martial Artist and a martial arts master was truly a chasm between heaven and man; no matter what, the difference could not be erased by numbers.

"Cao Wudang, you killed hundreds of my Goumeng Tribe's sons."

Moruo Jinge narrowed his eyes, "It is also your bad luck to have met me; today I shall leave you all without a place to be buried."

This was the cruelty of the battlefield.

Although, in theory, soldier should face soldier, general face general, Strong Martial Artist face Strong Martial Artist, and martial arts master fight martial arts master.

However, it was impossible to achieve perfect matchups; whether it was the martial artists or the Witch Tribe, there were situations where they would slaughter the other side's cannon fodder.

The martial artist side had no Strong Martial Artist present, and Moruo Jinge, having bumped into Cao Wudang's group, was about to deal a lethal blow.

Suddenly...

"Just you alone? That makes things easy."

Cao Wudang reached his hand into his bosom, his expression showing not a hint of despair or misery.

The next moment, he actually slowly pulled out... a wheel.

A bronze wheel would have been one thing, but behind the wheel was an axle, and the axle was connected to three other wheels...

It was as if a hole had been torn in Cao Wudang's bosom, with a bronze horse-drawn carriage hidden inside the opening.

Thud! The heavy bronze carriage landed on the ground; pulling the carriage was not a horse, but a deformed, ugly monster... a Charm.

Moruo Jinge, in his shock, blurted out, "A Calamity Charm Treasure!"

That was right, this bronze carriage was indeed a treasure refined from the remains of a Calamity Charm.

The treasure was named the 'Styx Carriage', and it had a 1:1 volume ratio to a real carriage, making it extremely difficult to transport.

Yet, how could such a massive treasure be hidden on one's person and brought around by Cao Wudang so casually? The Witch Tribe's informants had scoured the area before the battle and had not seen a trace of this treasure.

Moruo Jinge had been certain the opponent had no trump cards, which was why he had taken the initiative to strike; he had not expected to be caught off guard.

"You are only at the first level of Qiangwu Yichongtian, while I am at the peak of the martial arts master realm, and I have a Calamity Charm Treasure; who dies is not yet certain!" Cao Wudang sneered, feeling fortunate in his heart; it was thanks to obtaining that Mysterious Pocket before the battle that he could store this treasure, giving him the capital to reverse the situation at a critical moment.

Three days later, the news spread in all directions.

Cao Wudang of Weinan, relying on the advantage of the Calamity Charm Treasure 'Styx Carriage', slew the Goumeng Tribe Strong Martial Artist Moruo Jinge.

After the news broke, both sides were in an uproar; the martial artists' morale soared, while the Witch Tribe members were filled with despair.

The first Strong Martial Artist to fall in this war belonged to the Witch Tribe camp.

"The Mysterious Pocket has a unique space inside and can store items several times or even tens of thousands of times its own volume."

"Cao Wudang used this object as a cover to unexpectedly deploy the Styx Carriage and kill Moruo Jinge."

"We must find out the source of this object, otherwise we of the Witch Tribe have no chance of winning."

On a mountain peak wreathed in clouds and mist, several Strong Martial Artists of the Witch Tribe were discussing this matter.

The Giant Baxiang Shanshanluo was among them; he was only half a head shorter than the mountain peak that towered into the clouds, and he was sitting on the ground with his back against the mountainside.

Other Witch Tribe Strong Martial Artists were present; some were hidden in large masses of green mist, others had skin covered in Totems, and each one possessed an inexplicably powerful aura, causing the very mountain peak beneath their feet to tremble slightly, as if it could not bear the weight.

One of the Strong Martial Artists had skin peeled back on his forehead, from which grew a black horn like a bamboo shoot; he was the Ox-Slaughtering Witch from the Zhongxi Tribe.

He said in a deep voice, "Although this object is strange, it has long since ceased to be a secret among the human martial artists."

"That little old man Kunpengzi is very cunning; he actually didn't inform us of the relevant news, letting us be caught off guard."

"Baxiang Shanshanluo, contact him immediately and see how he explains this!"

The giant sitting on the ground opened his mouth, revealing a ferocious set of fangs; he smiled, waved his hand, and signaled for them to wait.

Clouds and mist drifted, mountain winds passed by, and time slowly slipped away.

"Kunpengzi said that it is not difficult to know the source of this object; he wants to see our Boundary Stele!"

Once these words were spoken, the Strong Martial Artists present were shocked and furious, "Does that old white-haired dog dare to do this?"

The Boundary Stele was a biological entity of the Witch Tribe, and its importance was comparable to the Nine Tripods of the human race.

After the Martial Saint of the Origin defeated the ancient Witch Tribe back then, he made a pact with the various Witch leaders of the time, banishing them into Beijing, with the location of the Boundary Stele serving as the dividing line between the human race and the Witch Tribe.

The process and content of that year's alliance were all recorded on the Boundary Stele, making it a holy object of the Witch Tribe.

There were also many legends regarding the creator of the Boundary Stele; some said the Martial Saint of the Origin used his finger as a pen to write the text, while others said it was written by the mentor of a fallen Witch Tribe leader at the cost of his life.

Regardless, the text on the Boundary Stele was the most precious record in the Witch Tribe, second only to the Nine Tripods.

They were cooperating with Kunpengzi, but both sides harbored ulterior motives and were on guard against each other.

The Witch Clan's Great Witch Warriors also knew that Kunpengzi coveted the Boundary Stele, but for the other party to take advantage of their plight to make demands was simply a provocation.

The fury of the Great Witch Warriors evaporated the water vapor and clouds near the mountaintop, and the originally verdant mountain forest quickly withered and changed color, turning into a lifeless, barren ridge in the blink of an eye.

"The Boundary Stele is a sacred object; how could we let an outsider see it? Kunpengzi is delusional."

However, Kunpengzi was one of the few allies the Witch Clan had, and they relied entirely on him to gather intelligence from within the human race.

"This matter must be decided by Hutiannu."

Several Great Witch Warriors immediately transmitted the news back to the territory occupied by the Witch Clan in the rear, reporting it to the Great Witch Chief Hutiannu.

A moment later, Hutiannu's response arrived.

The Ox-Slaughtering Witch said slowly, "Hutiannu has spoken: let him take two looks, but the price is that Kunpengzi must provide the information on the maker of this item, and also give us an intact pouch."

Taking a look is defined by an interval of two blinks; this duration is called one look.

The Witch Clan allowing Kunpengzi to take two looks meant allowing him to observe the Boundary Stele at close range, but he could only blink three times.

(End of this chapter)