Chapter 173: Human and Demon Brothers

A barren mountain.

Wang Ping'an controlled the paper person to descend from the back of the peregrine falcon Little Gray, his gaze wandering the surroundings, and soon found a small path—the road recorded on the treasure map.

This place is precisely the mountain head of the so-called Place: Zhi Yao Dao Ren Dong Fu recorded on the treasure map.

Wang Ping'an strode along the small path, walking a long distance, and saw not far away an entrance to an underground passage, with a stone tablet beside it.

Inscribed on it: Place: Zhi Yao Dao Ren Dong Fu!

'No, what you're doing is murder and robbery—can't you be a bit more high‑end?'

Wang Ping'an's mouth twitched slightly; if he weren't unable to speak, and if he weren't afraid of disturbing others and wasting his chance to earn merit, he really wanted to curse out loud, helplessly complaining:

'Surely this is a trick to fool idiots; otherwise, how could the scheme be so crude from start to finish? I don't know what kind of brainless person would fall for it…'

Before the words finished forming in his mind, Wang Ping'an suddenly realized.

He seemed, maybe, perhaps… he had been duped!

Although.

He came here with the purpose of a high‑end hunter appearing as prey!

Just as Wang Ping'an reached the entrance of the underground passage and hadn't entered yet, he faintly felt being watched; instinctively he turned his head and saw, on a nearby towering tree,

there was a small bird!

Hidden by the leaves, it would be hard to spot without a close look.

'Although the layout is crude, at least the necessary preparations have been made!'

Wang Ping'an snorted inwardly; although this small bird's performance was utterly ordinary, with his eyesight there was no way he could miss it.

This bird is almost certainly a sentinel.

The person who sold him the treasure map actually has some skill—he can even control beasts.

Wang Ping'an didn't care; he actually wanted word of his presence here to be sent to the mastermind via that little bird.

Afterward.

Wang Ping'an strode in; as soon as he entered the underground passage, his eyes lit up.

Moreover, what he saw before him, to some extent, still left him quite shocked.

Just now.

When he saw the conspicuous underground passage and stone tablet, he was angered by the mastermind's crude layout, assuming the traps below were also haphazardly set.

He never imagined they would have prepared it so carefully.

Inside.

It could be called a separate world!

It's not a simple cave but a palace; I don't know whether the mastermind deliberately chose this location or specially arranged it.

Either way, this palace is a good thing for Wang Ping'an.

Wang Ping'an rolled his eyes, thinking: 'Why not, after we kill the mastermind, use this place as a rabbit burrow?'

He knows the principle of a cunning rabbit having three burrows.

Afterward.

If he subdues other spirit beasts or even demon beasts, he can't just bring them home; he needs territory.

Although this place is not far from Jiu tou shan ji shi, it's almost certainly within the territory of the market's behind‑the‑scenes master, yet he has no intention of claiming the mountain as his own.

One would think.

The behind‑the‑scenes master of Jiu tou shan ji shi would love to have a neighbor like him!

Not long after.

Wang Ping'an arrived at the central area of the underground palace, obviously the master's cultivation spot; he could see one wooden rack after another, each rack filled with wooden boxes—whether rack or box, the lingering spirit energy shows they are all valuable low‑grade spirit wood.

Wang Ping'an casually approached a rack, reached out, picked up a wooden box, and as soon as he opened it, a burst of flame shot out, landing on him and instantly setting him ablaze.

Not long after.

The paper person instantly turned to dust, leaving only a storage bag.

'You idiot, I said there's a treasure map, and you actually believed it? If I had such a thing I'd give it to you for free—I wouldn't even sell it to you, and I myself wouldn't hunt treasure; a treasure map costs only a few coins.'

A mocking voice rang out, and immediately a figure stepped in through the door Wang Ping'an had just entered—none other than the cultivator who had sold him talismans at Jiu tou shan ji shi earlier, Fang Lu.

Besides him, there were a few others nearby—demons.

'Alright, Lao Si, cut the chatter—quickly grab his storage bag and see what's inside; if there's nothing, we'll lose out!'

The speaker was the tiger demon beside Fang Lu, obviously the leader.

'No way—can humans really be brothers with demons?'

Wang Ping'an's face turned extremely strange.

This novel you have reached

He knew Fang Lu's treasure map was fake, the intent to harm him was real—clearly meant to lure him in to commit murder and robbery.

He also guessed that Fang Lu had other accomplices.

Moreover.

It's very likely they, like Fang Lu, also sell treasure maps to others or to demons.

But he never expected Fang Lu's helpers to actually be three demons, who, from the way they address each other as brothers, clearly have an extraordinary relationship.

Perhaps this sort of thing—one person with three demons—isn't their first time doing it.

But upon reflection, for profit many people dare to break the law—let alone teaming up with demons as brothers to do evil; even selling their own backsides, as long as they can make money, he believes someone will still profit.

He never overestimates nor underestimates the upper and lower limits of humanity's bottom line!

Moreover.

This place is demon territory, and doing business with demons is quite normal.

「Big brother, you don't know, this guy, not long ago at the market took Xue Shen Dao Ren's cultivation method, not to mention, and also casually gave Xue Shen Dao Ren a hundred low-grade spirit stones, he's very rich! 」

Fang Lu's voice was full of envy, jealousy, and hatred; he said regretfully: 「Unfortunately, it wasn't him who came; otherwise, there wouldn't just be one storage bag—maybe there would be more storage bags, even more treasures! 」

Ordinary storage bags have limited space, but they are expensive; they only hold some precious treasures inside, but for those who are wealthy and extravagant.

They might not be able to afford or obtain a larger, better storage bag, so they would buy many ordinary storage bags, packing all their belongings into one after another storage bag.

He naturally knew that Wang Ping'an's paper person and the storage bag he carried would contain other storage bags, but from his grand gesture just now at the market,

Inside the storage bag there will definitely be treasures; even if there are no treasures, there will definitely be spirit stones.

「You humans often say, 'If there's no reason to show enthusiasm, it's either treachery or theft,' don't you? He's a cultivator—how could he not understand this principle? 」

The Tiger Demon snorted coldly, his face full of mockery, and jeered: 「You freely handed over the treasure map to his door, yet he didn't suspect it was fake; moreover, he dared to ask for Xue Shen Dao Ren's cultivation method and even give Xue Shen Dao Ren spirit stones—this is practically being sold out and still counting the money for the buyer! 」

A Fox Demon beside joked: 「Big brother, if there weren't so many stupid humans, how could we possibly make a fortune? 」

(End of chapter)