Chapter 96: Poison Fire Gun

In less than fifteen minutes, all the precious crystals and jade in the treasure vault, including the Purple Vein Sky Crystal, the most valuable treasure of the Xiao Sect branch, were collected by Yun Che into the Sky Poison Pearl. Immediately, Yun Che's gaze turned to the thirty-meter-long weapon rack. None of the weapons and armor stored here were ordinary. In particular, the Tiger Soul Sword, displayed prominently in the center, exuded a proud, regal aura amidst hundreds of other superior weapons, compelling one's gaze to lock onto it instantly.

Swords, sabers, blades, spears, lances, halberds, whips... every type imaginable was present, with swords being the most numerous. After all, like Heavenly Sword Villa, the Xiao Sect primarily used swords. Yun Che tossed all these weapons into the Sky Poison Pearl, then opened a moderately sized metal box beneath the weapon rack. A pungent smell of gunpowder immediately assailed him, and the contents within caused him to pause in surprise.

Inside this metal box were three short, oddly shaped weapons, along with nine fist-sized iron spheres. He picked up one of the weapons, examining it with a puzzled expression. To the touch, this strange weapon seemed to be made of refined steel, a material not particularly precious; among all the weapons in this vault, it could even be considered somewhat crude. Yet, it gave Yun Che a very dangerous feeling. It was L-shaped, about the length of an adult's arm, and felt heavy in his hand.

Turning it over, Yun Che saw a small label:

Poison Fire Gun!

In Yun Che's understanding, 'chong' (铳) typically referred to the hole in an axe handle, but here, it appeared as the name of an unusual weapon. This was Yun Che's first time seeing such a weapon and hearing this name, filling him with confusion. Was it not a weapon? But why was it stored beneath the weapon rack? If it was a weapon, it seemed to possess no offensive capability at all. So where did this sense of danger come from?

At the corner of the Poison Fire Gun, there was a protruding piece of metal that appeared movable. Yun Che tentatively pressed it...

BOOM!!!

With a thunderous roar, a flash of fire shot out from the muzzle of the Poison Fire Gun. The enormous recoil sent Yun Che sprawling onto the ground, and the gun itself flew from his grasp and landed quite a distance behind him. Sitting on the ground, Yun Che's eyes wide, he stared at the fist-sized, smoking black hole that had suddenly appeared on the wall above him. He swallowed hard.

W-w-what... was this a hidden weapon?! Its power was truly terrifying! And judging by the smell, the projectile just fired clearly carried a potent, lethal poison!

Yun Che walked over, picked up the Poison Fire Gun, and then took one of the metal spheres from the box. It felt very heavy in his hand, and three large characters were faintly etched onto its surface:

Heaven-Shocking Thunder!

Below the large characters, a line of smaller text read: "Shatter the casing with profound energy, then throw."

The sense of danger emanating from this dark metal sphere far surpassed that of the Poison Fire Gun, hinting at the terrifying power hidden within. Yun Che didn't dare try it and put it back in the box, a wave of emotion washing over him. These dreadful items must have been created by the Artifact Division of the Xiao Sect. If one were unfamiliar with their properties and caught completely off guard by an opponent using them, anyone lacking sufficient strength would surely die a most unjust death.

However, now that they were in Yun Che's Sky Poison Pearl, they had become vital life-saving tools for him.

Yun Che remained in the treasure vault for a full two hours, systematically sweeping every single item into the Sky Poison Pearl, leaving absolutely nothing behind for the Xiao Sect. After collecting everything, Yun Che clapped his hands in satisfaction and headed towards the exit. Just a step away, he paused and muttered quietly to himself, "To quietly empty out someone's entire family fortune... it seems a bit much. I should at least leave them something..."

With that thought, Yun Che turned around, casually picked up a weapon, and meticulously carved three lines of large characters onto the wall. After surveying his work, he strode quickly to close the three stone doors and exited the treasure vault.

As he expected, when he returned to the Medicine Hall, neither Xiao Tiannan nor Xiao Baicao had come back yet. After entering the alchemy room for a short while, Yun Che returned with a bowl of medicinal soup. He gently roused the sleeping Xiao Luocheng and said with a chuckle, "Here, drink this medicinal soup."

For the sake of his injuries and his "future," Xiao Luocheng was now absolutely obedient to this "Grandpa." Without even asking what kind of medicine it was, he picked up the bowl and gulped it down. After finishing it, he asked eagerly, "Grandpa, has my father not returned yet?"

Yun Che smiled slyly, "The time is almost up, they should be back soon. However, by the time they return, you should be asleep. When you wake up tomorrow, your profound veins will be completely crippled. Even if ten Huangfu Hes came, they wouldn't be able to save you, heheheheh."

Yun Che's words made Xiao Luocheng freeze. A sudden surge of unease welled up in his heart. He forced a smile and said, "Grandpa, you... what did you say? You're... you're just joking with me, right?"

"Oh, I was joking before, but this time, your grandpa, I, am not joking with you." Yun Che chuckled, his smile dangerously cold. He reached up and lightly swept his hand across his face. Layer after layer of thin skin peeled away easily, revealing his original features. His voice also returned to its natural tone. "Good grandson, take a good look at who your grandpa is!"

Seeing a face suddenly transform right before his eyes, Xiao Luocheng felt as if struck by lightning. His eyes bulged out to an extremely exaggerated degree. In that instant, he wondered if he was dreaming... but even in a dream, such an absurd and bizarre scenario seemed impossible.

"Yun... Yun Che!!"

"Hm?" Yun Che grinned, a cold smirk on his face. "Xiao Luocheng, my good grandson, why have you suddenly become so ill-mannered? How dare you address your grandpa by his given name."

"Impossible... impossible! How could it be you... impossible!" Xiao Luocheng recoiled, his expression contorted to the extreme: terror, shock, humiliation, horror, disbelief. His eyes remained continuously bulging, as if he had witnessed the most terrifying sight in the world. After a while, he finally realized something and began to scream in panicked desperation, his voice trembling and hoarse, "Someone... quickly, someone... help!"

"It's no use even if you scream yourself hoarse. You know your old man kept everyone away from here to prevent my identity from being revealed and to avoid delaying your treatment. Tsk tsk, how well-intentioned of him." Yun Che rested his chin in his hand, observing Xiao Luocheng, who was pale and terrified to the extreme. He said with a smile, "But you don't need to be so scared. I won't kill you. After all, you've affectionately called me grandpa for several days and even swore to be filial for life... Hehe, even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs. How could I, as your grandpa, kill my own good grandson? Grandpa will ensure you lie comfortably in bed for the rest of your life, making you remember grandpa's kindness forever."

The dramatic change before his eyes, coupled with Yun Che's words, caused Xiao Luocheng's psychological defenses to nearly collapse. At this moment, even his lips were bloodless. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears, he would never have imagined that this "peerless divine doctor" could possibly be Yun Che. They were on completely different levels, people who couldn't possibly have any connection. Such a psychological shock almost shattered his entire worldview. For the past few days, everyone had revered him as a god, serving him like the old Sect Master, and he himself had knelt before him, kowtowed, and called him grandpa for days. Such humiliation would leave a lifelong imprint on his soul.

"Yun Che... we had no past grievances, no recent enmity... and you even severely wounded me first... what else do you want to do...?" Xiao Luocheng asked, his voice deeply trembling with fear.

"Heh heh," Yun Che sneered coldly, his expression turning indifferent. "When we first met, indeed, there were no past grievances and no recent enmity. But even without enmity, you still intended to destroy me... Hah, no need to deny it. I've encountered more people who wanted to kill me than you've seen in your entire life. I know exactly what you intended to do to me then. As for your reason for wanting to cripple me, you know it best. If it had been anyone else, they would have likely been crippled by you. Too bad, you encountered me."

"I don't have many great virtues. Besides my exceptional looks and transcendent demeanor, I only have one other trait: I repay kindness tenfold and vengeance a hundredfold. You wanted to destroy me, so I will destroy you first. We had a prior agreement, yet your father personally came to New Moon Profound Palace to take my life. In that case, I'll turn your entire sect upside down!"

Yun Che's eyes narrowed, a cold sneer and arrogance on his face. "When you wake up tomorrow, tell your father that this was just a small lesson. I am naturally a harbinger of disaster. If you continue to provoke me, my next move won't be so 'gentle'! Who knows, your entire sect might just vanish forever from the Profound Sky Continent!"

"You..." Xiao Luocheng's eyes widened, staring intently at Yun Che. At this moment, Yun Che had undoubtedly become his most terrifying nightmare. He only managed to utter one word before his vision went black, and his body toppled heavily backward.

Yun Che let out a cold laugh, straightened up, and muttered with a hint of frustration, "In this state, I can only resort to such secretive, contemptible methods. I wonder when I'll reach the stage where I can act without restraint and simply crush them by showing up."

Crippling someone merely for their malicious intent, then breaking into their sect and stealing a thousand years' worth of accumulated treasures, was indeed a bit excessively cruel. However, Yun Che urgently needed a large quantity of high-grade medicinal herbs to quickly improve his strength... and the Xiao Sect's outer branch just happened to stumble into his path at the perfect moment, bringing about its own misfortune, truly a case of terrible luck.

Yun Che wiped his face, then lightly patted it a few times, instantly reverting to the appearance of "Huangfu He." He didn't immediately turn and leave, because the Xiao Sect was too large and located in the mountains; he knew he would get lost on his own.

After another half an hour, Xiao Tiannan and Xiao Baicao finally rushed back. Both had flushed faces and excited expressions, clearly indicating that the "King Profound Dragon Pill" was now in their possession.