Chapter 306: A Profitable First Strike

Crack!

The Thunder Snake slashed through the night sky.

Brother Brother Sikong's eyelids twitched wildly; he cursed inwardly, flicked his sleeve to unleash a vast cloud of fine, ox-hair-thin "Qi-Breaking Poison Needles," then pushed off with his feet, spun around, and fled—decisive and practiced.

"Truly a figure from the Thieves' List: sharp enough, decisive enough."

In the night rain, Li Yuan felt a hint of regret, lightly pressed his conical hat, and dodged the ox-hair-thin barrage of Qi-Breaking Needles.

Watching Brother Brother Sikong flee at high speed, he narrowed his eyes slightly; through the rainy night, a pale yellow light tinged with blood flickered in his gaze.

【Incense-Containing Cauldron (Fifth Tier)】

After the Commanding Register advanced to Seventh Tier, finding people became far easier for Li Yuan; not long after stepping out, he had already locked onto Brother Brother Sikong's location.

"His Wu Gong is indeed excellent."

He tapped lightly with his feet, his soles grew slightly warm; in the next instant, Li Yuan burst through the wind and rain, leaped several times, and closed the distance to over eighty meters behind Brother Brother Sikong.

After transforming Inner Qi into True Qi, his speed surged by several tenths; coupled with the buffs from three pairs of Fifth-Tier boots and two pairs of Fourth-Tier boots, how could he be anything less than ghostly swift?

"How is he so fast?"

Brother Brother Sikong glanced back through the wind and rain, his eyelids twitching wildly, but now had no time to ponder who this expert was; he surged his True Qi and darted into the shadows.

His Wu Gong was superb: silent leaps, agile shifts in form, and methods to conceal his presence; several times he dove into the shadows, leaving not a trace.

"A true specialty!"

Li Yuan's eyes lit up; were it not for the glaring glow of that weapon exposing his position, he might have lost track of this man with a single lapse in attention.

"Whoosh!"

As his thoughts shifted, Li Yuan wasted no time; diving like a soaring eagle, a Thunder Dragon Jun Tian Hammer accompanied by the thunderclap within the storm crashed down with a boom upon that patch of shadow.

"Damn!"

Hiss~

Almost exactly as he had expected, the heavy hammer halted its momentum; the ghost-masked man had indeed come to rob him.

"Robbed again!"

Burrowing underground like a mole, Brother Brother Sikong, having dug deep, was so distressed he nearly vomited blood:

"If I ever find out who you are… Ah!"

Before the thought could even flash through his mind, Brother Brother Sikong let out a miserable cry; his entire body froze in the earth and stone as if struck by lightning. Two hands formed of green-black True Qi pierced through over twenty meters of ground, firmly clamped his shoulder blades on both sides, then yanked upward with a sudden heave!

Boom!

More than half the street was ripped open in an instant; mud and sand shot skyward amid the wind and rain.

"The intel was correct; this Brother Brother Sikong's Wu Gong is indeed mediocre."

Hearing the faint murmur in the wind and rain, Brother Brother Sikong felt both shock and rage, nearly spitting a mouthful of rebellious blood.

"Let's go!"

Li Yuan grabbed the bundle with one hand, hoisted the ashen-faced Brother Brother Sikong with the other, spun his body, and vanished into the rainy night.

"The sound came from here!"

Almost as soon as the two departed, footsteps echoed outside the long street; a group of Wutang experts hurried over.

"Is this called Marrow Refining? Compared to that Huang Fu Kun, it seems far inferior…"

In the wind and rain, Li Yuan strode quickly, avoiding patrols on all sides and distant footsteps, while thoughts flashed through his mind.

Within the Commanding Register, besides five pairs of boots and the Sea-Splitting Black Whale Hammer, he also commanded a Thunder Dragon Jun Tian Hammer; this was his strongest command combination at present.

But his preparations went unused; this Brother Brother Sikong was weaker than he had anticipated. He only employed the buffs from five pairs of boots to capture him.

"Spare…"

Brother Brother Sikong struggled to speak; before he could utter a single complete syllable, his jaw had been dislocated.

"True Qi is indeed far more useful than Inner Qi!"

The True Qi-formed ape arms dissolved; Li Yuan felt satisfied. This Brother Brother Sikong's Wu Gong was lacking, but his survival methods were formidable.

Had he not transformed Inner Qi into True Qi, he might not have been able to catch him.

"This earth-burrowing skill is quite impressive."

Li Yuan avoided the patrols with complete composure.

Soon, he found an abandoned house overgrown with tall grass, slipped inside, tossed the dusty Brother Brother Sikong onto the ground, then carefully closed the dilapidated door.

The first black-eats-black operation was a complete success.

Weighing the thick bundle, Li Yuan narrowed his eyes and pulled out a small cauldron, fist-sized, adorned with various unknown patterns.

【Incense-Containing Cauldron (Fifth Tier)】

【…Crafted with Zhao Zhao Tianxing stone as the base and incense as the fire, this vessel can hold vast amounts of incense without loss…】

【Command Condition: Bai Shen Fa, Third Layer】

【Command Effect: Fifth Tier (Pale Yellow): Good Fortune】

Ten years of incense.

Incense!

Li Yuan's heart raced; with just a casual glance, he sensed the vast quantity of incense stored within this small cauldron.

Incense of various colors wove into a tapestry before his eyes, containing far more incense than any incense burner he had obtained before—by an immeasurable margin!

"The lowest-grade incense is Second Tier; the highest… Sixth Tier?"

Li Yuan did a quick calculation in his mind; the resulting number startled him.

The incense in this small cauldron: the least abundant was Sixth Tier, enough to fuel the Divine Fire Weapon-Forging Furnace over a hundred times; the most abundant was Second Tier…

"Second-Tier incense, over eighty thousand strands?!"

Li Yuan sucked in a sharp breath.

Compared to this small cauldron, what were all the trifles he had picked up before?

"I've struck it rich, I've struck it rich!"

After the shock came wild joy; Li Yuan's heart pounded like a war drum. With this cauldron in hand, he could theoretically fuse over a hundred supreme-grade famous artifacts!

Not only could his weapons be upgraded and replaced, but the entire set he wore could all be stacked up to the Sixth Tier!

Wuu~

Wind leaked through the doors and windows. In the corner, Brother Sikong Xing gritted his teeth with eyes shut, his face a deathly grey.

The true qi that sealed his meridians was ferocious; a mere touch made his whole body sting uncontrollably, as if he had been struck by lightning.

This true qi is at least of the Ultimate Art level!

"I've truly struck it rich!"

For the first time, Daoist Li, who had just committed robbery against a robber, was hugely shaken and only came to from this massive gain after quite a while.

Without counting the other items in the bundle, he turned around, his voice hoarse and low:

"Brother Sikong Xing?"

Brother Sikong Xing opened his eyes.

"Still a man of iron bones?"

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow; seeing the terror in his eyes, he then remembered he had just dislocated the man's jaw.

"Almost forgot."

Li Yuan reached out; green-black true qi extended from his fingertips, forming an ape's arm to reattach Brother Sikong Xing's jaw.

"P-previous, senior."

Brother Sikong Xing forced out an ugly smile; the Ghost-Faced Man's gaze made his whole body prickle with fear.

"Your Wu Gong is so poor; how did you dare to steal from the Dao Office?"

Li Yuan was somewhat curious.

Daring to rob a master thief who had achieved Bone Refining with a body merely on the verge of Organ Refining, he himself had been prepared to flee at full speed if the ambush failed.

Yet he never expected this journey to go far smoother than he imagined.

Brother Sikong Xing felt a blockage in his heart, nearly unable to catch his breath; he struggled to adjust his breathing, his smile uglier than a cry.

"Those useless fools in the imperial court, how can they compare to you, senior?"

This old beast!

Brother Sikong Xing's heart bled.

This old beast, from who knows where, not only possessed peerless lightness skill but was extremely adept at tracking arts; amidst such a storm, in such a vast Mount Hengshan City, he actually managed to corner him.

It was simply his natural counter!

"Tsk~"

Li Yuan had only asked casually; he had already figured it out just now.

Although he possessed only the cultivation of one on the verge of Organ Refining, his combat martial arts were either Perfect or Great Perfect; coupled with the Thunder Dragon Jun Heaven Hammer he used, even without the buff from the Weapon Command Talisman, he might already be no inferior to a Zhidao Sect Bone Refiner, plus his many fierce battles with Long Long Daozhu.

"Among those at Bone Refining, these martial world wanderers are more than a tier or two inferior to the disciples of the Zhidao Sect, let alone the True Transmission Disciples."

After a moment of thought, Daoist Li's understanding of his own power level became very clear.

"What sect or school do you come from?"

Li Yuan asked again.

"Dinghai Prefecture, Yun Ding Gate. However, this junior was long ago expelled from the sect and is now merely a martial world wanderer."

Brother Sikong Xing's face was pale and wretched: "Senior, being a wanderer is not easy..."

"Yun Ding Gate?"

Li Yuan thought for a moment and simply could not recall what kind of sect this was, but he did not mind, continuing to ask about other things.

Origins, accomplices, and the full story of stealing the Yun Xiang Ding, with emphasis on the experts of the Dao Office and the Wutang.

'The Dao Office and the Wutang seem a bit weak.'

Li Yuan's heart stirred slightly.

In Mount Hengshan City, the presence of the imperial court was extremely low, far lower than in a prefectural capital; neither the Dragon Tiger Temple nor any other Qitadao Sect allowed the imperial court to station strongmen in a Dao City.

Ouyang Ying, the Governor of Mount Hengshan, was merely an external imperial official who had just barely reached Organ Refining, while Ding Xiu, the Master of the Mount Hengshan Wutang, though a Zhun Sect master who had fully achieved Blood Exchange.

But in a Dao City, he could not be counted as a top-tier expert.

"Senior?"

While Li Yuan pondered, Brother Sikong Xing cautiously spoke up; although his heart was stifled, he still forced a smile:

"The rules of the martial world are to seek wealth without taking life. This junior accepts defeat and hopes you will raise your hand in mercy and let me go once..."

"Rules of the martial world?"

Li Yuan glanced at him; this fellow seemed very familiar with this process. Could it be he had been robbed before?

Thinking this, he felt it was indeed quite possible.

Compared to acting personally, robbing a robber was obviously much safer and carried no fear of offending the imperial court.

"Yes, yes, yes."

Brother Sikong Xing nodded repeatedly; since his life was at stake, he not only voluntarily handed over everything he carried but was also willing to pay a life-buying price.

"Letting you go is not impossible."

Li Yuan did not intend to kill this Brother Sikong Xing; he would not take the blame for the pot of stealing incense.

Brother Sikong Xing's face lit with joy, already prepared to bleed money.

"However, this little life-buying price of yours is not enough."

Li Yuan thought for a moment and put forward a request.

He was very interested in Brother Brother Sikong's Qing Gong, his art of disguise and disguise, and that strange martial art that let him burrow twenty-plus meters underground in an instant.

'Where did this black-hearted maggot come from?'

Even with some preparation, Brother Brother Sikong's vision went black and he nearly toppled to the ground—this old bastard was going to wring him dry.

"No good?"

"Fine!"

Brother Brother Sikong gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement.

After agreeing, he actually felt relieved—so what if his martial arts were leaked? He had no sect; he wouldn't be purged.

Rip—

Under Li Yuan's gaze, Brother Brother Sikong tore open a piece of beast hide on his belly, identical in color to his own skin, on which was transcribed a Qing Gong technique.

"Spirit Crane Following the Wind?"

……

Li Yuan sized it up. With his eyesight, he could naturally tell this Qing Gong was probably genuine, but he still pulled out a few lines and cross-checked the context with Brother Brother Sikong.

Seeing this masked man being so cautious, Brother Brother Sikong could only accept his fate and grit his teeth as he handed the thing over.

"Earth Burrowing Art? Simple and brutal."

Li Yuan flipped through this so-called Earth Burrowing Art and immediately lost interest. It looked like a leg technique that had gone astray, paired with a pair of specially made iron shoes.

On the other hand, Brother Brother Sikong's art of disguise and disguise—he flipped through it and found it astonishing.

This disguise wasn't makeup, but rather a strange art that worked with the Gu Fa to change one's face, height, and even root bone.

'What a fine thing.'

Daoist Li, who had reaped a great harvest, narrowed his eyes, while over there, Brother Brother Sikong's eyes were vacant and he had already collapsed to the ground.

This time, when he took the risk of stealing from the Dao government office, besides relying on his Qing Gong and disguise art, it was also because he needed to gather ingredients for a Blood-Refining Spirit Pill.

Now, he had thoroughly offended the imperial court; not only was the stolen goods taken, but he had also thrown in his own Yi Shen Wu Gong to boot. How could a single word 'miserable' even begin to cover it?

"Take this."

After taking the things, Li Yuan didn't leave directly, but took out a bottle of healing medicine and tossed it to Brother Brother Sikong.

"Many thanks, Senior."

Brother Brother Sikong steeled himself and took the pill, and under Li Yuan's gaze, swallowed it with the look of a man walking to his death.

"Cough, if this old man wanted to kill you, he wouldn't need to use medicine."

Li Yuan glanced at him.

"Many thanks for Senior's mercy in sparing my life."

Brother Brother Sikong's face was numb. The grievous blow he had suffered tonight left him unable to recover for a long time, looking as if he would submit to any punishment.

But Li Yuan's perception was so keen that he could detect that he was still secretly trying to break through the sealed qi meridians.

"Mm."

Li Yuan saw through it but didn't say so, watching as Brother Brother Sikong healed his wounds.

During the interrogation, he had already switched to wearing palm-controlled items that boosted the spirit, such as the 'Five-Step Spirit Snake Belt' and 'Spirit Fire Listening Ox Bone Ring'.

Brother Brother Sikong was very unwilling, but once he accepted his fate, he was quite cooperative and didn't deliberately play tricks.

"Hah!"

After a long while, Brother Brother Sikong, his face full of mixed feelings, opened his eyes, somewhat wary and suspicious:

"Senior, this junior has nothing left, what more do you want to do…"

"Cooperate!"