Chapter 94: Kui Ox Bow

Chen Mo spread two wrapping cloths on the ground and sorted the various gold, silver, and valuables he had collected one by one.

Banknotes stained with water still had to be dried first.

The banknotes were made of special paper and were of excellent quality, so even after being soaked in water, the ink on them remained clearly visible.

These banknotes were mostly in small denominations, which were more convenient for spending.

In addition, there were some gold, silver, and jade ornaments, which were also piled together haphazardly.

These were just minor items and not worth much.

From the thirteen corpses, a total of seven Blood Essence Stones and fifteen Origin True Stones were found, along with twenty-five Mirage Spirits of various sizes.

Of course, these Mirage Spirits needed further verification of their authenticity; some would react to Inner Qi, while others had to be tasted to know if they were real.

There were also over a hundred Talismans in total, which could be considered quite valuable.

At the very least, according to his foster father, these hundred-odd Talismans would have no problem being exchanged for two or three Blood Essence Stones.

These were all items that were relatively easy to carry; Chen Mo believed that the Dutian Dao must still have many things here that were difficult to take away, or perhaps a secret treasury existed.

It was just that they could not take all of these into their own hands; they could only take half to divide, and the remaining half had to be handed over to the Imperial Court.

Sun Shouren walked over to the wrapping cloths, looked at the sorted spoils of war, and glanced hurriedly to the left and right; there was no one else nearby.

The other garrison members were also collecting spoils elsewhere; their encirclement and suppression this time could be called a complete victory, and although some garrison members were injured, none were in life-threatening danger.

This was normal, after all, looking at the entire Dutian Dao, only that hidden Dao Lord was a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator.

And in order to encircle and suppress them, the Imperial Court not only dispatched two Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators but also one Acquired Realm Martial Artist.

With such a great advantage, it would be wrong if they had only won a pyrrhic victory.

Sun Shouren reached out and swiped across the wrapping cloth; the Blood Essence Stones decreased by two, and the Origin True Stones also decreased by two.

Although they could only take forty percent of the spoils received this time.

It was truly standard practice to skim a little more in private.

Of course, one had to gauge the amount and not take too much.

Otherwise, if exposed by someone, it would be too shameful.

"Take it." Sun Shouren quietly tossed a Blood Essence Stone to Chen Mo, and then wrapped up the rest of the spoils together.

"The Dutian Dao must have other secret treasuries here; take advantage of the fact that there is no one around now and go search for them." Sun Shouren lowered his voice to give careful instructions, pointing his hand toward a mountain peak not far away.

Although not everything found in a secret treasury could be kept for oneself, as long as one found it first, one could at least take one or two good items away.

Since Chen Mo was highly skilled and bold, relying on his own strength to break in here first, he could not let him come for nothing.

Of course, they did not have much time, at most an hour or two, before the remaining soldiers would enter one after another.

By then, whatever was found would have to be distributed according to the rules, and it would be very difficult to sneak away with one or two good items.

"This child understands." Chen Mo caught the implication, did not linger, and turned to sprint away.

That mountain peak was not high, and the hills were silent, with only the chirping of cicadas and birds, and not a hint of human sound.

The trees on both sides of the mountain path were tall and dense, blocking even the midday sun completely.

Searching carefully along the mountain path, Chen Mo covered his eyes with a wisp of faint Blood Qi, just to see more clearly.

Upon reaching the middle of the mountainside, a dark, weed-covered cave entrance came into view.

Chen Mo saw at a glance that the weeds were just a cover; this cave entrance was definitely frequented by people.

Even though there was not a glimmer of light inside the cave, Chen Mo still saw the interior very clearly with the help of his Blood Qi eyes.

This cave had obvious traces of manual carving, with enough ventilation holes left to ensure smooth airflow.

Picking up his long spear to push aside the weeds, Chen Mo quietly probed inside.

The cave was nearly two zhang wide, and after walking a few dozen paces, a cross-passage appeared.

The cross-passage led to the left and right sides, where several more caves had been carved out.

The cave vaults stored a considerable amount of supplies; grain, salt, cloth, gold, and silver were all present.

These things were difficult to carry while fleeing, which was why the previous protectors and elders of the Dutian Dao had not taken them.

Probing deeper, at the end of the left cross-passage, Chen Mo discovered a hidden door.

It could not be called a hidden door; this should have been a carved-out cave that was later walled up with bluestone.

Although there were lighting facilities inside the cave, it was still dim; if he did not possess the Blood Qi eyes, he would never have discovered this.

Chen Mo held his breath and focused his energy, poking with his two fingers with all his might, and directly pulled a bluestone brick out from the built wall.

Through this gap, he could see the scene inside.

The cave was very quiet, with only seventeen or eighteen large wooden chests placed there, and nothing else.

Reaching out and pushing gently, he pushed the sealed brick wall down completely; Chen Mo still held his breath to prevent the stagnant air in the cave from entering his body.

With his current physical strength, even holding his breath for a short half-hour was not very difficult.

Reaching out to open a wooden chest, inside were two sets of armor, each weighing nearly a hundred catties.

These armors were all privately hoarded by the Dutian Dao, but the Imperial Court acted early enough that they did not have time to take all these things out.

The dozen or so wooden chests in the secret chamber were all filled with military equipment; various armors and weapons were all present, and they were crafted quite exquisitely.

Only the last wooden chest contained just one bow; the bow arms were carved with Kui ox patterns, and the carving was quite exquisite.

The bowstring was even more special, as thick as an infant's little finger, with a crystal-clear luster, and he did not know what kind of material it was.

As soon as Chen Mo got his hands on it, he knew this bow was extraordinary because it was very heavy.

Ordinary bows weighed at most two or three catties, and even the ten-stone bow he used did not exceed five catties in weight.

But the one in his hand weighed at least thirty catties, more than ten times that of an ordinary bow.

Chen Mo pulled the bowstring but clearly felt the strain.

He was shocked in his heart; with his current strength, he was actually somewhat unable to pull this bow.

He immediately set his stance in the secret chamber, gathering the strength of his whole body, intending to pull this bow.

Even so, he only pulled this Kui Ox Treasure Bow to seven-tenths of its full draw.

One must know that his current total strength was approaching seven thousand jin, yet he still could not pull it to a full draw.

Looking at it this way, wouldn't one need ten thousand jin of strength to fully unleash the potential of this bow?

Chen Mo slowly retracted the bowstring and looked into the box containing the treasure bow; inside, there were indeed two quivers of feathered arrows.

The feathered arrows were also quite special; apart from the tail feathers, the entire body was made of high-quality steel.

It was possible that iron-reinforced spear material was mixed in; a single small feathered arrow weighed a full two or three jin.

This was definitely a treasure bow; it was likely the most valuable item in the entire secret chamber.

The reason it was placed here was mostly because no one in the Dutian Dao Sect could pull it.

It was fortunate that no one could pull it, otherwise, if there really were such a powerhouse, the Imperial Court's encirclement this time would likely not have been so easy.

Putting the treasure bow away, Chen Mo picked up the entire wooden box and prepared to leave.

This treasure was of very high value, far exceeding all the gains he had obtained from this encirclement of the Dutian Dao Sect.

He had to take it away first and try his best not to let others know.

Otherwise, if it were truly seen by others, it would be hard to say whether this treasure bow could end up in his hands or his foster father's hands.

However, before leaving, he searched the cave once more, and after confirming there were no other secret chambers, he immediately took the items and went down the mountain.

Avoiding others quietly along the way, he returned to the temporarily stationed military camp.

Mo Hu and the others saw him and quickly gathered around.

"Foster father is fine; notify the brothers to prepare, we shall march into Xingluo Mountain in a while."

Walking into the rear tent to put down the wooden box, Chen Mo then spoke to the few of them.

Hearing this, they were clearly much more at ease and immediately dispersed to get busy.

Chen Mo carefully hid the wooden box again before setting off to leave the rear tent.

Lunch had long been prepared, and as it was wartime, the food was naturally quite rough.

A large pot of meat soup mixed with dried meat and vegetables, with many unleavened flatbreads soaked inside.

It didn't taste good, but it could fill one's stomach.

After a simple meal, another two or three quarters of an hour passed, and Sun Shouren returned to the camp in a hurry with a parcel on his back.

"Did you find anything good?" He leaned over to Chen Mo's side and asked in a low voice.

Although he knew there were things in that mountain, he was not sure what they were.

"Yes, I brought it back." Chen Mo nodded lightly.

Sun Shouren smiled upon hearing this and did not ask further.

Since there was something good and it had already been obtained, that was enough.

There was no rush to look at it now; there were more things to do.

He immediately mustered his troops and marched into Xingluo Mountain.

There were still many rebel soldiers in the mountain, but at this time, they naturally offered no further resistance and surrendered one after another.

The secret storehouses of supplies stored by the Dutian Dao Sect in this place were also searched out one by one.

As night approached, the Imperial Court was indeed prepared; Zhou Dong had people bring out two large bells, which were struck once every interval in the mountain.

Chen Mo used his vision to see that, just as the Dongtian Fudi had been destroyed seven or eight tenths, only some corners remained that had not yet been covered by the Mirage Sea.

"Come with me later." Sun Shouren's tone was slightly excited; the encirclement of the Dutian Dao Sect was a great victory, and next, they should properly divide the spoils.

As for the rewarding of merits, that would still have to wait for a period of time.

Only after this matter was reported to the Imperial Court could merits be rewarded.

Zhou Dong was still sitting in the main military tent; seeing Sun Shouren arrive, he didn't say much, just nodded lightly to signal him to take a seat.

Immediately after, the other garrison commanders arrived one after another; those two Foundation Establishment cultivators were not seen, but a Martial Artist from the Surveillance Bureau surnamed Ma came.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhou Dong dismissed those around him and had his Personal Soldier guard the tent door.

"Everyone has merits in this encirclement; according to the rules, the Imperial Court gets fifty percent, and we divide the rest ourselves."

Zhou Dong said with a laugh, and the various garrison commanders were also in quite a good mood.

When it came to dividing money, naturally no one was unhappy.

"The things seized from the thieves killed by everyone earlier should, according to the rules, be forty percent for you all, forty percent for me, and the remaining twenty percent for you to divide."

Zhou Dong had a smile on his face as his gaze swept over the several garrison commanders.

"But everyone also knows that those thieves were not killed by us alone; the two Foundation Establishment powerhouses from the Surveillance Bureau also contributed.

In my opinion, for the gains from killing the enemy in this battle, I will take thirty percent, you all will also take thirty percent, and how about we give the remaining forty percent to those two Foundation Establishment powerhouses?"

Following the fall of his voice, the main military tent fell silent.

"I have no objection; it should have been done this way." Sun Shouren was the first to stand up and express his agreement.

The remaining garrison commanders naturally all agreed; after all, if they didn't agree at this time, they would not only offend those two Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators but also offend Zhou Dong.

Seeing that no one objected, Zhou Dong took out a parcel and handed it to the Surveillance Bureau Martial Artist.

The spoils obtained previously, regardless of the amount, were first handed over to him to divide so that it could convince everyone.

Or rather, even if his division was a bit unfair, as long as it wasn't particularly unjust, no one would dare to voice an opinion.

After taking the parcel, the Surveillance Bureau Martial Artist did not look at it, bowed, and stepped away.

The other spoils found on the mountain had nothing to do with them.

Because the Surveillance Bureau had no troops, the numerous spoils on the mountain, while said to be divided among the garrison commanders, were actually for them to take and distribute to their own Personal Soldiers.

"I have already had people roughly check and verify the various gold, silver, and valuables on the mountain. Besides the fifty percent handed over to the Imperial Court, out of the remaining fifty percent, I will take fifteen percent, and you all can divide the remaining thirty-five percent."

Zhou Dong took out several account books and distributed them for everyone to examine.

Being able to complete the inspection and calculation within half a day, it had to be said that this speed could already be called quite fast.

The various garrison commanders naturally had no objections to this; some did not even look at the ledger.

After the spoils were divided, the atmosphere in the tent became even more cheerful, and Zhou Dong ordered a banquet to be prepared.

The merry banquet lasted until late at night, when everyone finally dispersed.

"Come, take these two Blood Essence Stones and keep them for when you cultivate. Also, these few Mirage Spirits—if you can eat them, do so; if not, take them and trade them for pills."

On the way back to the camp, Sun Shouren took a small package from his Huai and handed it to Chen Mo.

Long before the banquet began, Zhou Dong had given each of the garrison commanders the spoils they had captured in the heat of battle.

"Foster father, are you not drunk?" Chen Mo did not immediately take the package and asked softly.

Two Blood Essence Stones plus a few Mirage Spirits was not a small amount; it already accounted for thirty or forty percent of what his foster father had received this time.

Previously, he could at most be considered as having helped retrieve corpses, and he hadn't helped kill the enemy, so it would have been good enough to receive one Blood Essence Stone.

If he were to take more now, it would be somewhat unreasonable.

"Drunk my foot. I can't use much of this stuff; just take it since I'm giving it to you." Sun Shouren scolded with a laugh and shoved the package into Chen Mo's hands.

With his level of cultivation, taking more Blood Essence Stones wouldn't be of much use, so it was better to give them to Chen Mo to help him improve his strength.

"Then this child thanks you, foster father." Chen Mo happily accepted the package.

He understood in his heart that these things were not being distributed to him as a share, but were his foster father's extra care for him as an adopted son.

Over the next few days, all the various gold, silver, and valuables stored in the treasury of the Dutian Dao Sect were brought out and distributed one by one.

Every severed head was also tallied and compiled into a register, waiting only to be reported so that the Imperial Court could issue rewards.

The rebel troops who had surrendered were also temporarily confined here.

The Imperial Court did not intend to kill them; there were houses and terraced fields on the mountain, so they were left there to continue farming for the Imperial Court.

As for this Blessed Land of Xingluo Mountain, experts sent by the Heaven Supervision Bureau would arrive one after another to take over.

The soldiers from the various prefectures set out once more to return to their respective jurisdictions.

They had come empty-handed, but everyone had gained something upon their return.

Some soldiers carried cloth on their backs, while others carried two large jars of salted salt.

According to their official rank and the amount of effort they had contributed, everyone was also distributed a fair amount of silver.

Chen Mo also received eight hundred taels of silver; these captured spoils were only a small amount, as the real bulk would depend on the official rewards.

More than ten days later, Sun Shouren led his army back to Xingyuan Prefecture, and the Imperial Court's rewards had already been issued.

…………

…………

There is another chapter at 7:00 PM.

Also, recommending a book by a good friend; there is a link below, everyone can take a look.

"I Have a Cheat and Kill Through the Dungeon World"

Synopsis: 【Entering Dungeon: Scarlet Selection】

【Dungeon Type: Single-player】

【Host detected entering dungeon, cheat loaded successfully】

【Please select one of the following three cheats】

……

【Entering Dungeon: Bloody Train】

【Dungeon Type: Large-scale Multiplayer Dungeon】

【Number of Participants: 30】

【Please select one of the following three cheats】

……

Mu Rufeng understood; his cheat could be refreshed in every dungeon.

(End of chapter)