Chapter 144: The Colossal Thing in the Shadows

Star-Plucking Tower.

Li Yuan's brows furrowed slightly.

For this notorious assassin organization, he naturally wished to keep his distance; he was a true disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley, with a family, a livelihood, and Wu Gong to study—only a madman would want to be an assassin.

But the boss...

In the drizzling rain, a gray-robed figure wearing a straw rain cape and a bamboo hat leaned against the doorframe; hearing no response for a long time, he raised his hand and lightly knocked on the door:

"Then I'll go?"

Creak~

The courtyard gate opened.

Li Yuan held his hammer and sized him up; the gray-robed man outside the gate was of medium build, wore a fox-shaped iron mask, and had a black curved blade hanging at his waist.

"A superior-grade famous artifact!"

Li Yuan's peripheral vision swept over that curved blade; his heart chilled slightly, but his expression remained unmoved. He invited the man inside, then closed the courtyard gate.

"Tsk, a Spirit Rat?"

The gray-robed man glanced at the trembling little rat inside the room: "I heard Spirit Rats are best at finding treasures; it seems True Disciple Li is also one of our kind!"

Blowing out the candlelight, he smiled and clasped his hands:

"Linghu Linghu Baiwan. Hmm, my fake name."

Li Yuan's mouth twitched: "You are quite frank."

"No choice. Our reputation is poor; once a true name leaks, trouble is immense. One must be cautious."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan shrugged; seeing Li Yuan's face darken, he then patted his forehead:

"True Disciple Li, rest assured. Before leaving, I took a 'Soul-Confusing Pill.' At dawn, today's events will be forgotten completely."

"Soul-Confusing Pill?"

Li Yuan was skeptical.

He had indeed heard of the Soul-Confusing Pill; he knew that taking it was like blacking out after drinking, causing one to lose all experiences during the period of ingestion.

But who would know whether he actually took it or not?

"Once you enter the tower, you will understand what 'tower rules are as vast as the sky' means. Your identity is not worth my committing such a grave taboo."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan removed his bamboo hat, revealing a bald scalp:

"Although Elder Wang made arrangements, the recommendation letter must still be examined."

"What about your identity?"

Li Yuan held the recommendation letter.

Linghu Linghu Baiwan pulled a bronze token from his chest; a fox mask was painted upon it:

"Anything that could expose my identity is not on my person. This token barely counts as one."

Li Yuan glanced at it, silently memorized it, and handed over the recommendation letter.

"Hmm, then it's settled. Let's go?"

Linghu Linghu Baiwan didn't even look; he directly reached out, took out a fire starter, burned the letter, and only then turned around.

"So mysterious."

Li Yuan's brows furrowed slightly; sensing the top-grade Six-Union Boots shining brightly within his Weapon Command Talisman, he then put on his bamboo hat, lifted his hammer, and followed.

Before leaving, he closed the door properly.

In the continuous drizzle, Li Yuan followed at a leisurely pace.

Ahead, Linghu Linghu Baiwan moved quickly, occasionally stopping to wait for him; the two went one after another out of the Inner Island.

Linghu Linghu Baiwan casually untied a black-canopied boat from the shore, propped it with a pole, and drifted downstream.

The Cold Pool water, along with all the mountain's water veins, also had rivers leading outside the mountain; once the water flowed out, it was no longer bone-chillingly cold.

Whoosh~

In the night rain, the wind was slightly cold.

Linghu Linghu Baiwan's boat-poling skills were high; fast and steady.

Li Yuan stood on the skiff, gazing at the dark lake surface, and could not help but recall that Red Dragon Fish King.

These past few days, he had specifically gone to the Library Tower to search for relevant records.

Before the Divine Weapon Pavilion relocated, the Earth-Fire Cold Pool was also a deadly zone like the Fire Dragon Mouth and Thunder-Wind Valley, abundant in rare iron ores and numerous spiritual beasts.

For thousands of years, many had come to hunt and kill spiritual fish, but the thousand-zhang Cold Pool water was enough to block even the most skilled fishermen.

The appearances of the Red Dragon Fish King were even rarer; the most recent one had to be traced back more than thirty years ago.

The last person to have seen the Red Dragon Fish King was none other than Han Han Chuijun.

'Even Old Han suffered losses from that Fish King.'

Li Yuan shook his head inwardly.

The Red Fusion Cave was hard to enter; the Cold Pool was likewise dangerous and unpredictable. No wonder the Divine Weapon Valley had failed to find the Black Whale Hammer for over a thousand years.

"We've arrived!"

Suddenly, Linghu Linghu Baiwan spoke, stopping the boat on the lake surface.

Hmm?

Li Yuan turned back; in the night rain, the outline of the Inner Island was still faintly visible. Were all these places of the Star-Plucking Tower actually this close?

"This is a Cold-Avoiding Pill."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan dropped the oar, handed a pill to Li Yuan, and before the latter could speak, plunged headfirst into the pool water.

Li Yuan frowned; he certainly would not eat such an untraceable pill. After mastering the Red Dragon Fish Skin Armor, he also jumped into the water.

The water in the cold pool grew even colder in the night rain.

Li Yuan adapted slightly, then followed Linghu Linghu Baiwan to a riverbank on one side, over eighty meters from the river surface.

"Hmm?"

Li Yuan widened his eyes, spotted a glimmer from a crack in the rock, and immediately lunged into it, climbing inside.

Behind the rock crack lay a cave, somewhat similar to the Cold Pool Cave; torches burned on the walls, and an iron chest sat on the ground.

Inside were all sorts of masks.

"Pick a mask and put it on."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan wiped the water from his face, shivering: "Damn, this is way too cold."

The iron chest held various beast-face masks, mostly of similar material; among them, Li Yuan also spotted a ghost-face mask, very similar to the one Han Han Chuijun wore.

Li Yuan's gaze flickered slightly; he chose that ghost-face mask, put it on, and then caught up with Linghu Linghu Baiwan.

This hidden location of the Star-Picking Tower was extremely secretive.

Li Yuan followed him through the tunnel, winding this way and that, nearly getting himself dizzy before seeing light at the tunnel's end.

Passing through the tunnel, the view suddenly opened up; it seemed a mountain cavity had been hollowed out, quite spacious with many lights.

"So cautious."

Li Yuan glanced around; on the surrounding walls, there were at least a hundred openings, real and fake, leading in all directions.

It was clear the people who built this underground palace were very careful.

Li Yuan reasoned that even if this place were exposed, or even if an insider betrayed them, it would be hard to capture everyone in one sweep.

"The Star-Picking Tower has no fixed base; this underground cavern serves as a temporary gathering spot. All task acceptances and submissions happen here."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan leaped down into the cavern, and Li Yuan followed.

"Linghu, have you come to submit a task?"

A hoarse voice sounded; a black-robed old man, trembling even as he walked, emerged from a certain cave.

Li Yuan glanced over; the old man wore a snake-face mask, carried no weapon, and merely leaned on an iron staff.

"A master!"

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Though the old man appeared to tremble, his body moved like a python when walking; seemingly slow, yet maintaining extreme alertness.

"Hmm, I've taken a task to guide a newcomer."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan replied, introducing Li Yuan: "This is Snake Old Man; he manages this entire base."

"This one..."

▲c〇

He looked at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan clasped his fists: "Ghost Face greets Snake Old Man."

"Oh."

The old man nodded: "Ghost Face, hmm. I'll give you a token shortly."

"Thank you."

Li Yuan nodded in thanks.

This base was very crude; Li Yuan glanced around and quickly grasped the situation. The only striking feature was a massive stone stele standing in the center of the cavern, resembling a huge roof beam.

The stele was covered densely with tiny characters.

"Besides those few rules within the Tower, there are no other requirements. Want to take a task? Come to this stele. Don't want to? No problem."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan pointed at that stone stele.

"Chenlong Star-Picking Tower, the Execution List."

By the light of the torches, Li Yuan glanced casually and saw many familiar names.

Ranked first was Lord Master Gongyang Yu.

"Lord Master Gongyang Yu of the Divine Weapon Valley, born with thirteen Great Dragon-Form Bone Structures, a master of the five inner-secret transmissions of the Divine Weapon Valley, possessing the supreme art 'Five Weapons, Five Colors, Spirit-Void Qi,' and wielding the supreme famous blade, the Five-Colors Void-Soaring Blade..."

The tiny characters on the stele clearly listed information about Lord Master Gongyang Yu, with obvious traces of modification in many places.

"... Achieved Great Perfection in Meridian Unification forty-two years ago; achieved Organ Refinement nine years ago; suspected to have injured his internal organs while attempting Great Perfection in Organ Refinement..."

What was recorded on the stele was even more extensive and detailed than what Li Yuan knew, including intelligence on Lord Master Gongyang Yu's past engagements.

"A master of the Chenlong Mansion, ranked among the top three. Those accepting this task must meet the employer to discuss the bounty."

Reading to the end, Li Yuan's gaze sharpened:

"Suspected to cultivate the Bai Shen Fa."

Lord Master Gongyang Yu cultivated the Bai Shen Fa?!

Li Yuan's heart gave a jolt.

"Lord Master Gongyang Yu is likely the foremost master of the Chenlong Mansion; famous for decades, his blade technique has reached the pinnacle."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan, naturally knowing what Li Yuan was looking at, casually remarked: "Over the decades, many have taken this task, but all died."

"A master of Organ Refinement, the peak expert of the prefecture; to dare take this task, one must at least be at the Meridian Unification stage, correct?"

Li Yuan saw the red annotation: 'This task has failed sixteen times.'

"Not exactly; it is said a poison expert who achieved Great Perfection in Form-Shifting was once hung on the city wall, dried by the wind, and fed to dogs."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan spoke calmly:

"The Tower does not require us to take tasks, but some people simply lack self-awareness."

"Greed blinds the mind, I suppose?"

Li Yuan saw the bounties on the stone stele: gold, silver, fields, shops, famous artifacts, Longhu Longhu Dadan, inner armor, Wu Gong manuals—everything one could imagine was there.

There was even a bounty that included several courtesans of Fucheng.

After looking for a while, he found Han Han Chuijun's bounty, but the characters were very faint, as if someone had erased them long ago.

"If all employers and their bloodline descendants are dead, and no one has accepted the mission for over ten years, the mission will also be cancelled."

Linghu Bailian added.

"No wonder Old Han wipes out entire families at the drop of a hat."

Li Yuan felt somewhat enlightened.

For a great family like the Zhao family, if someone escaped with the family wealth, even if they themselves lacked the ability to take revenge, they would post a bounty on others.

A single person's bounty might not amount to much, but like the Star Fall Tower and other assassin organizations, bounties accumulate.

For someone with many enemies who cannot cut off the roots, their bounty would pile up to a terrifying level.

Eight Ba Wanli, Fang Fang Bao Luo, Qiu Qiu Changying, Shi Hong, and Ding Zhi.

The stone stele listed the names of all true disciples of the Divine Weapon Valley; Li Yuan even saw his own name, and his expression became somewhat strange.

"Li Yuan, Dragon-Form Bone Structure, suspected to have just formed Inner Strength, cultivates the Soldier Dao and Battle-Hammer..."

"Bounty: Three hundred taels of gold, one famous artifact."

Just that little bit?

Li Yuan shook his head inwardly: "No wonder no one accepts it..."

This bounty is above standard for an ordinary Inner Strength cultivator, but with the title of true disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley, it seems too little.

"Ding Zhi's bounty isn't low, unfortunately, it has already been crossed out."

Li Yuan looked over both sides of the stone stele; he felt this stele was more detailed and accurate than the various lists at Yunshu Tower.

This information alone was worth his trip.

"The token!"

A hoarse voice came; Li Yuan reached out and took the token, finding it was a wooden token with a crudely painted ghost face on it.

"Wood, Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold: five levels of assassin tokens. Different tokens grant access to intelligence and treatment of different grades."

The snake-faced old man said this, then turned and left.

Li Yuan glanced over, and his heart sank slightly.

The old man had a silver token hanging at his lower back.

Linghu Bailian was not yet a Silver Token assassin, but the curved blade at his waist was a high-grade famous artifact, meaning he must at least be a master who has achieved great success in the Art of Changing Form.

This snake-faced old man...

"Complete ten missions and finish half of them to get an Iron Token; complete over a hundred missions to get a Silver Token."

"Accept ten missions and complete half of them, and you can get an Iron Token; complete a hundred missions, and it's a Silver Token."

"I am still short by a dozen or so missions to be a Silver Token; within the Chanting Dragon Mansion, there is only one Gold Token assassin..."

Did this fox face kill at least a hundred people?

Li Yuan was somewhat startled; a Silver Token assassin must complete at least a hundred missions.

"Let's go, let's look around other places."

Seeing that Li Yuan had seen enough, Linghu Bailian led him into another cave.

The underground cave was very simple, but the cavern inside was a world of its own.

When Li Yuan walked in, he was stunned for a moment; this cave was brightly lit with lamps, filled with the scent of wine and meat, looking like a restaurant.

"Bring two pots of Monkey Wine and three jin of Spirit Pig Meat."

Linghu Bailian called out, then pulled Li Yuan to a corner deep inside.

Soon, a woman wearing a cat-face mask brought the wine and meat over.

"One pot of Monkey Wine, priced at two taels of gold; taste it and see how it is."

Linghu Bailian reached out and poured a cup of wine for both of them.

Linghu Linghu Baiwan reached out and poured a cup of wine for both of them.

Li Yuan tasted it, and his eyes lit up.

He didn't know much about wine, but this strong fruity flavor, neither astringent nor spicy but sweet, made him very fond of it.

"If it's expensive, it's definitely good."

Linghu Bailian drank a few cups and said:

"Elder Wang's mission requirements mentioned that I should introduce the Star Fall Tower to you. How much do you know about the Star Fall Tower?"

"Just the street rumors: one hundred and eight people, assassinating kings and killing emperors."

Li Yuan answered honestly.

He really didn't know much about the Star Fall Tower.

"About the same as I was back then."

Linghu Bailian wasn't surprised; he organized his words slightly and said:

"The rumor of one hundred and eight people is true; the core assassins of the Star Fall Tower are indeed only these, and for a thousand years there have never been more."

"But core assassins are rare; people like you and me who are merely nominal members are as common as ox hairs."

"Core assassin? Gold Token?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly; he thought of Wang Wang Wenyuan—was that old master a core assassin?

"Accepting and completing over a thousand missions makes one a Gold Token, but a Gold Token doesn't count as a core; one can only say there is hope of becoming a core."

Linghu Bailian shook his head: "Speaking of which, I have never seen a single core assassin to this day."

Linghu Linghu Baiwan shook his head: "Come to think of it, up until now I still haven't seen a single core assassin."

Perhaps because of the mission, he had nothing to hide and told Li Yuan some of the less important intelligence about the Star-Plucking Tower.

Wood to Gold, and above that there are Core Assassins.

Li Yuan clutched his wine cup, somewhat startled.

This Star-Plucking Tower's power was far greater than he had previously imagined.

The Star-Plucking Tower had no fixed base, but similar gathering places were as numerous as cattle hairs, and the number of registered assassins was beyond count.

"A colossal beast!"

After Linghu Baiman staggered off, Li Yuan didn't waste anything, swept clean the wine and meat, and prepared to leave.

"Ghost Face, you have a mission."

Just as he stepped out of the 'wine house,' Li Yuan heard the familiar hoarse voice, and the snake-faced old man appeared like a ghost.

"A mission?"

Li Yuan frowned; he had no plans to take missions for the time being, and besides, didn't the Star-Plucking Tower not have mandatory missions?

"A Core Assassin has designated you to complete the mission."

The snake-faced old man's voice shifted slightly; in all these years, this was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.

"The mission and bounty, you can look at them first. Afterward, you can choose to accept, or not."

Taking the sealed secret letter handed over by the snake-faced old man, Li Yuan frowned slightly: "What is that old man Wang trying to do?"

After thinking it over, Li Yuan still opened the letter; he figured it should be related to the follow-up of the 'Bai Shen Fa.'

"Want to use Bai Shen Fa to keep me dangling—

on a hook?"

The thought crossed Li Yuan's mind, and he resolved not to be led by the nose by this old fellow, but after just one glance, his expression changed.

This wasn't a mission at all; it was more like intelligence.

The three pages of the letter only mentioned one thing: within the Divine Weapon Mountain Range there was suspected to be a Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing, which the Divine Weapon Valley had been searching for over a thousand years without success.

"When a Daoist Tianyun Daoist Tianyun Xuanbing descends from the heavens, it is born with a spirit; yet precisely because it has a spirit, those without fate find it hard to glimpse its trace."

At the end of the letter was Wang Wang Wenyuan's reminder:

"Some people simply refuse to believe it."

Who doesn't believe it?

"The people inside the Valley? The Xieshen Sect? Or the Star-Plucking Tower?"

Putting away the letter, Li Yuan's brows knit tightly; he had originally wanted to wander around the cavern for a bit, but now there was only one thought in his mind.

Someone is coming to snatch the hammer!