Chapter 35: Blood Cloud Thieves

Author: I Eat TomatoesCategory:

"The space between your eyebrows must not be experimented with carelessly," Aunt Meng advised. "Such attempts might reveal various benefits, but they could also lead to irreversible consequences. Everything must take its natural course."

Meng Chuan nodded.

"By letting nature take its course, you will naturally master some of its uses during your cultivation," Aunt Meng explained with a smile. "This is the gentlest method. Once you enter Yuanchu Mountain and find the secret texts about it, you will understand how to use it completely."

"Yes, Great-Aunt," Meng Chuan respectfully replied. This was precisely why he had consulted his father and great-aunt. An unknown power, with no prior experience to draw upon, and having to grope for it on his own—it was simply too dangerous. Now, he was confident in mastering 'force' within a short period, so there was no need to take risks.

"Also, the matter of the space between your eyebrows must be kept secret," Aunt Meng said, her gaze sweeping over the father and son. "You must not tell anyone else about it."

"Yes," both father and son replied.

After visiting his great-aunt, Meng Chuan returned to the Meng Manor by Mirror Lake to continue his eight thousand draws for the day.

On the training grounds, a guard stood on a tree branch, holding a repeating crossbow aimed downwards. Meng Chuan stood several yards away, his blade still in its sheath.

"This feeling is completely different from before," Meng Chuan thought. He could clearly sense every movement of the guard in the tree. The guard first glanced at his young master, then his hand muscles tensed before his finger pulled the trigger. The entire process—the trigger pull and the small arrow being propelled from the repeating crossbow—was perceived with astonishing clarity by Meng Chuan.

The instant the guard's finger began to depress the trigger, Meng Chuan's figure blurred. As soon as the small arrow flew out, a flash of blade light streaked across the sky, slicing through the red dot on the arrow shaft.

"Ah!" The guard jumped in fright. The blade light had seemed to cut right in front of him, passing extremely close to the repeating crossbow in his hand.

"Th-th-this..." The guard was stunned, and even the other guards and servants watching were startled. The small arrow was cut the moment it was fired? And from such a close distance! Even martial artists have reaction times; typically, an arrow would have flown a certain distance within that time.

"That was a pre-emptive strike," Meng Chuan casually fabricated, seeing the guards' shocked expressions. "Ma San has shot this crossbow countless times. I anticipated he was about to release the arrow and immediately struck... and indeed, as soon as it flew out, I cut it."

"Young Master is amazing.""Young Master's anticipation is truly accurate," they all praised and flattered him.

Meng Chuan smiled. Anticipation requires extensive experience and a bit of luck. The movements of powerful martial artists are often blurry to the naked eye. For instance, how fast could a Marrow Cleansing Realm guard pull a trigger while in a tree? With robes and tree branches obscuring the view, even if one could vaguely see it, striking would be too late.

But Meng Chuan was different. He could 'sense' everything with incredible detail: the change in the guard's gaze, the natural preparatory movements of his body, the precise moment he pulled the trigger... Everything was crystal clear. He didn't need to anticipate; he could strike the moment he 'perceived' it.

"If I do this, I'll hit the arrow the instant it leaves the crossbow every time. That won't help me train my blade techniques," Meng Chuan mused to himself. "Alright, I'll set a rule for myself. I must only strike the moment the arrow is fired." Meng Chuan made his decision. After all, his draw practice was about achieving speed and precision!

"Continue," Meng Chuan instructed.

"Yes, Young Master." Ma San quickly composed himself; the blade light passing so close had indeed been terrifying.

Once again, an arrow was fired. This time, Meng Chuan still observed the entire process with perfect clarity, but he only drew his blade and struck the instant the arrow was propelled. His figure flashed, and the elusive blade light sliced through the red dot on the arrow's wooden shaft. The residual blade energy then struck the iron-plated tree trunk, leaving a mark.

"The Young Master isn't anticipating anymore." The guards and servants calmed down. This was normal! For his daily eight thousand draws, the Young Master had always struck like this. Because he had visited the ancestral home, his practice of the draw had started a bit later today. Three hours would likely extend into the afternoon.

In Dongning Prefecture, an ordinary residence.

A chubby man in a hat and a bearded man arrived at the gate of the residence and knocked. The door opened, revealing a man with a sharp chin and monkey-like cheeks who glanced out and immediately smiled, "Ah, Second Master Zhao, please come in."

"Hm," the bearded man grunted in response, while the chubby man followed his 'second brother' with a grin. The two entered the residence and were led by the sharp-chinned man to a hall.

"Brother Zhao," an old man with silver hair in the hall greeted them with a smile and a cupped-hand salute. Behind him stood one of his subordinates.

"Steward Fang, have my goods all been received?" the bearded man asked casually as he sat down. The chubby man sat below him.

"Yes, they've been received," the silver-haired old man replied with a smile. "The goods arrived in three batches. At half price, that's sixteen thousand eight hundred taels of silver. I'll round it up to seventeen thousand taels. Is Brother Zhao satisfied?"

The bearded man nodded slightly. "Those were just ordinary goods. I have a few more valuable items here."

"Please show them," the silver-haired old man's eyes lit up.

"The first item is a jade horse," the bearded man said, taking a wooden box from his robe. When he opened the box, it revealed a smooth, cool jade horse, lying flat. The sculpted jade horse was slightly larger than a palm, white and lustrous, yet its surface mysteriously glowed with a faint red aura.

"It's an ornament carved from top-grade 'sheep-fat' jade," the silver-haired old man nodded slightly. "It must have been a beloved item of a Godfiend, perhaps kept on their desk for a long time, allowing its Godfiend aura to seep into it. While it offers little help in cultivation, it is indeed a rare artifact. For this, I can offer five thousand taels of silver."

"Fifty-five hundred taels," the bearded man stated.

"Very well, very well. As Brother Zhao wishes, fifty-five hundred taels," the silver-haired old man chuckled.

Next came the second, third, and fourth treasures, which together were worth over twenty thousand taels of silver. Each one was a rare item.

"This is the last item, and it's a true treasure," the bearded man said seriously. He then took off his outer coat, fumbled inside his clothing to undo some internal clasps, and produced a mysterious object heavily wrapped in cotton cloth. The silver-haired old man watched intently.

The bearded man unwrapped the cotton cloth, and immediately, a strong, overbearing aura diffused through the air.

"A Godfiend aura? Could it be a Godfiend inheritance?" The silver-haired old man speculated, but when he saw the unwrapped item, he frowned. "So small? And no text at all?" It was a broken black iron fragment, only the size of a palm. Even a single page of a typical Godfiend inheritance would be the size of regular paper.

"What is this thing?" the silver-haired old man asked.

"We don't know," the bearded man replied. "This black iron fragment has no text or techniques on its surface. It's also broken. But... the Godfiend aura it emits is incredibly potent, far stronger than an ordinary fragment of a Godfiend inheritance."

"Perhaps it's a small fragment of a Godfiend weapon," the silver-haired old man chuckled. "I'm willing to offer three thousand taels for it."

"It can't be a weapon," the bearded man shook his head. "It's very flat, like a fragment of paper. I can't think of any weapon that would have a fragment like this."

"Can one attempt to receive an inheritance from it?" the silver-haired old man asked. Godfiend inheritances typically allow one to immerse themselves and witness Godfiends demonstrating techniques. That is an intent-realm inheritance. Like the fragment of the Godfiend blade technique that Meng Chuan received from the Third Elder, which allowed for intent-realm inheritance.

"No," the bearded man shook his head. "Several cultivators at the Seamless Realm in our stronghold have tried, but none could sense anything."

"Then it's not a Godfiend inheritance," the silver-haired old man chuckled. "Even though the Godfiend aura is incredibly strong, an item with no discernible use, even if related to a Godfiend, is worth at most five thousand taels to me."

"One hundred thousand taels of silver," the bearded man stated. "Not a single copper coin less."

"One hundred thousand taels?" The silver-haired old man's eyes widened. "A genuine fragment of a Godfiend inheritance typically fetches over a hundred thousand taels. But yours offers no inheritance and we don't even know what it is. Why such a high price?"

"First, our 'Blood Cloud Bandits' paid a considerable price for this black iron fragment. Second, just because its Godfiend aura is incredibly strong, it must be extraordinary," the bearded man explained. "One hundred thousand taels was set by our leader. If you want it, you must pay that much."

"Wait here. I'll go ask my master," the silver-haired old man said, nodding to his subordinate.

"Alright," the bearded man and the chubby man waited patiently.

Soon after, a refined man walked over.

"Brother Zhao," the refined man smiled and nodded. He then looked at the black iron fragment and hesitated. "May I examine it closely?"

"You may," the bearded man nodded.

The refined man took it, gently stroked the black iron fragment, and observed it for a long time. He then said, "The Godfiend aura is indeed extremely potent, but it's very likely just a fragment of a powerful Godfiend's personal item, possibly completely useless. At most, I'm willing to offer twenty thousand taels to take a gamble on it."

"As I said, one hundred thousand taels, no less," the bearded man reiterated.

"Then there's nothing more we can do," the refined man gently shook his head.

"Alright then." The bearded man smiled and nodded. "We will be staying in Dongning Prefecture for a few days. If you change your minds, you know how to find us."

"Understood," the refined man nodded.

"Here are the thirty-eight thousand taels of silver notes we agreed upon earlier," the silver-haired old man said, placing a stack of notes on the table. The bearded man took them and quickly checked, confirming they were all one-thousand-tael denominations, totaling thirty-eight notes.

"We're leaving. No need to see us out," the bearded man said, leading the chubby man away directly.

The refined man watched them leave, then frowned and said, "Steward Fang, quickly draw that black iron fragment exactly as it appeared. Once you've finished, we'll go see the Hall Master."

"Yes, sir," the silver-haired old man respectfully replied.

"Perhaps the Hall Master and the others will be able to identify what kind of treasure this is," the refined man mused.