Chapter 1417: Strong Concealment

He Lingchuan acquired three large crates before embarking on his journey. When Fan Shuang and Commander Zhao inspected them, they appeared to contain gifts. However, He Lingchuan later swapped the contents, placing Madam Zhu, the yellow-tailed tiger, and the pillbug porcupine into them respectively.

This was because the journey to Yaodu was complex, often requiring boat travel across rivers and lakes. Furthermore, Yaoguo's cities were bustling, and given the appearance of Madam Zhu and the demonic puppets, it was inconvenient for them to move about in crowded areas.

Both Madam Zhu and the porcupine could shrink themselves, fitting perfectly into the crates.

After Dong Rui tamed the two modified demonic puppets, he manipulated them slightly to keep them mostly dormant throughout the journey. Spiders inherently have a latent nature, and Madam Zhu was not bothered by the cramped, damp, and foul-smelling environment of the ship's hold. In fact, she was somewhat used to it, as wild caves were hardly any better.

All she needed was for Dong Rui to occasionally bring her some fine wine.

According to He Lingchuan's plan, Madam Zhu had already infiltrated the dense forest behind Xiaotao Mountain Villa during their last reconnaissance trip to Mangzhou, waiting for an opportune moment.

Although Madam Zhu was eager to act, He Lingchuan had actually brought her along as a last resort. Due to her unique appearance, Madam Zhu was a powerful weapon "best not deployed."

The fact that the Queen of the Cave Spiders had settled in the Yangshan Archipelago was well known to the higher-ups in Lingxu City, and Qingyang might not have been ignorant of it either. If Madam Zhu were to be seen participating in the actions of Emperor Jiuyou, it was inevitable that those with ulterior motives would eventually link the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce with Emperor Jiuyou.

Therefore, even if the plan to kill Xue Zongwu was difficult, He Lingchuan hoped to complete it independently. Had it not been for the unexpected variable of Qi Yuncheng, Madam Zhu would not have had a chance to intervene.

But since she had revealed herself, not a single one of the more than thirty people, including Qi Yuncheng, who had seen her true form, could be left alive!

The ghost ape grunted twice, clearly displeased.

It had been busy all night, yet it hadn't gotten anything to eat. Despite killing so many people, its master wouldn't let it touch a single one.

Madam Zhu also only killed and did not consume. She even retrieved all her spider silk and summoned creatures before retreating.

Qi Yuncheng's death was bound to alarm Yaoguo's high-ranking officials. There would certainly be an autopsy, so they couldn't leave too many obvious traces.

In fact, clearing up the aftermath and destroying evidence took far longer than the killing itself.

With insufficient manpower and tight schedules, even the ghost ape, pouting and sticking out its rear, had to clear its large footprints from the soil and rocks.

Oh, killing was momentarily satisfying, but the cleanup was exhausting.

He Lingchuan and Dong Rui, meanwhile, handled the victims' wounds. Thanks to the Black Armored Army's recent consecutive operations, they were well-versed in this task.

They knew that while they had cleaned up the scene, no one could guarantee it was flawless. It was impossible to leave no trace at such a crime scene.

Fortunately, this was a wilderness area, already full of dead wood, broken branches, spiderwebs, and dirt. As long as Madam Zhu's silk threads were retrieved, even the webs of summoned spiders wouldn't be conspicuous here.

"I'll get you a big fruit platter when we get back," Dong Rui promised, appeasing the ghost ape. Then, turning to He Lingchuan, he urged, "No time to lose, we need to get back quickly."

The two then parted ways with Madam Zhu here and continued their journey back to Zhuo'an on the Snail Toad.

It would only take a few days to travel from Mangzhou to Yaodu, and it was all by land. Madam Zhu no longer wanted to stay in a crate; she intended to wander there herself, picking up some tasty snacks along the way.

Once back on the Snail Toad, Dong Rui's first words were:

"Am I seeing things? Why has the black smoke around you suddenly gotten thicker?"

Previously, after He Lingchuan put on the Qianglong Battle Armor, black smoke would swirl around him, accompanied by numerous ghostly figures. These shadows would circle back and forth within a confined space, like fish in a tank.

After the recent battle, Dong Rui suddenly noticed that the number of ghostly figures had increased by at least half.

He Lingchuan had noticed this earlier but could do nothing about it. "After killing Xue Zongwu and Qi Yuncheng, more karma has accumulated around me."

"Huh?" Ling Guang asked, puzzled. "Weren't they bad people?"

"Bad people have their uses," He Lingchuan said, lacing his fingers behind his head and settling into a more comfortable position. "Unlike the villains Emperor Jiuyou killed previously, these two held high positions and power. The consequences of their deaths could be good or bad, but the cause will ultimately be attributed to me. This is karma."

Ling Guang didn't understand. "How can Xue Zongwu's death be considered a bad thing? Shouldn't the people he oppressed be cheering?"

"He was very effective in guarding Yaoguo's northern border, indeed fending off many troubles for them. With Xue Zongwu dead, Yaoguo's border defenses are suddenly vulnerable. The Luodian Kingdom might seize the opportunity to invade and raid."

"Xue Zongwu held military power and was a close confidant of the Yao King, and Qi Yuncheng was also a staunch royalist. Their deaths will create a power vacuum. This might further intensify internal power struggles within Yaoguo," He Lingchuan said softly. "There's no telling how many similar chain reactions there will be. You see, didn't I personally set these karmic events in motion?"

Ling Guang worried, "Is increasing karma a bad thing?"

"Good fortune often hides misfortune, and misfortune often brings good fortune," He Lingchuan replied, re-donning his armor.

Indeed, as Dong Rui had said, the black flames swirling around the Qianglong Battle Armor grew fiercer, and more ghostly figures whistled around him.

At first glance, it appeared even more imposing.

The man and two monkeys stared blankly at him, unsure what he was doing, until He Lingchuan asked, "Do you see it?"

"See what?" Dong Rui replied, only seeing He Lingchuan showing off.

"I'm using my primal energy."

Dong Rui shook his head, baffled. "I can't tell."

He already knew that He Lingchuan could use primal energy; he had asked about it before, but He Lingchuan wouldn't explain why. Anyway, when it came to He, he had a million unanswered questions, so this oddity was just one more to add to the list.

With a thought, He Lingchuan dispelled the flames on his armor, and only then did Dong Rui see the faint reddish glow around him.

This was the light of primal energy.

"Huh?" Dong Rui exclaimed, greatly surprised, and a terrifying thought crossed his mind. "Doesn't this, doesn't this mean...?"

"Precisely," He Lingchuan said, word for word. "Now, the karma materialized on the Qianglong Battle Armor is dense enough to conceal the presence of primal energy! This means I can use primal energy while wearing the Qianglong Battle Armor, and others won't be able to detect it."

This wasn't merely a visual effect, but a powerful characteristic-based concealment.

Ling Guang was delighted. "So, from now on, as long as you wear the armor, you can use primal energy freely?"

"Perhaps. I'll need to test it further," He Lingchuan shrugged. "Karma isn't a good thing, but at least it has this one use."

For Emperor Jiuyou, if he could use primal energy while on missions, the difficulty would drop significantly. Otherwise, He Lingchuan, despite possessing the Daifeng Army's powerful primal energy, found it inconvenient to use normally, essentially tying his own hands.

This was truly the best news he had received that night.

He Lingchuan then took out several spoils of war, all of which he had just acquired from Qi Yuncheng.

The people were dead, so the treasures couldn't go to waste. Besides, the Qi fellow clearly had deep pockets.

First was a golden needle, which appeared unremarkable on the outside.