Chapter 183: Linghu Sanren · Huidong Merchant Guild · Soul-Sealing Smoke

Chapter 183: Linghu Sanren · Huidong Merchant Guild · Soul-Sealing Smoke

As Xiao Chen drew the White Bone Staff, the female cultivator across from him froze for a moment before smiling. "So you're a senior from the White Bone Gate. My mistake."

To everyone's shock, she casually flicked her fingers across her storage bag and pulled out a Skull. "We're on the same side."

Huh?

Her unexpected reaction startled both opponents. Xiao Chen felt momentarily confused—what was going on?

Hu Feipeng, however, was filled with despair. Had he really run into bandit cultivators' accomplices? How unlucky could he be?

"I'm a friend of Linghu Sanren. I'm here on her orders this time."

The female cultivator continued introducing herself. "I was the one responsible for supplying spiritual materials at Shou Lake two years ago. Does the senior remember?"

Shou Lake lay two hundred li (100 kilometers) west of their location—a well-known spirit lake in the region.

"Bang!"

Hu Feipeng exploded a fireball from his palm, using the flames as cover while he desperately fled backward. Though escape seemed nearly impossible, he still wanted to fight for a chance.

"Senior, he was born in an yin year, yin month, and yin day. Don't let him get away!"

Seeing this, the female cultivator urgently warned. Having recently acquired the Yellow Spring Path legacy, Xiao Chen understood demonic cultivation techniques well. He knew this person's vital blood was perfect for sacrificial rituals.

Yet he ignored the warning, merely flicking his fingers to release two mana threads that formed a barrier, dispersing the incoming flames.

"Senior?"

The female cultivator stared, stunned. What did this mean? Her tone darkened. "Linghu Sanren specifically instructed us to gather the three yin and three yang sacrifices before dawn tomorrow. If we miss the deadline, there'll be hell to pay."

But Xiao Chen completely ignored her. Watching Hu Feipeng flee without looking back, he nodded in satisfaction. The kid was smart—running away immediately meant he wouldn't have to hold back during the upcoming fight.

"You don't need to worry about the consequences", Xiao Chen said, facing the female cultivator. "Who exactly is this Linghu Sanren you mentioned?"

Hearing this, her face paled. She realized she'd mistaken his identity. Without hesitation, she activated the talisman in her hand and turned to escape.

The talisman erupted in red glow, manifesting three flying swords in a triangular formation that slashed toward Xiao Chen. She didn't even consider dueling someone wielding a top-grade magic artifact.

But it was already too late.

The tasselled edging brocade handkerchief flew out, instantly wrapping all three swords within its folds. Then, with two flashes of golden light technique, Xiao Chen appeared before her. "No need to struggle. Answer my questions honestly, and I'll grant you a generous death."

"Tell me the time and location of the sacrifice ritual."

"Who's the chief priest? Is it Linghu Sanren?"

"And where is she now?"

Seeing the golden light technique flickering before her, the female cultivator turned deathly pale. "Golden escape technique! You're Xiao Chen!"

"You've heard of me?" Xiao Chen smiled. "Perfect. Then answer my questions honestly. I always keep my word."

But the female cultivator refused to surrender. She pulled out a jade talisman and slapped it onto her chest. "I know your escape techniques are strong, but you can't stop me."

In the next moment, blood erupted from her body. Three identical blood lights shot off in different directions, each indistinguishable from the others in terms of aura or spiritual sense.

Xiao Chen instinctively drew the wind-thunder pair swords but hesitated. If he killed her directly, wouldn't this clue disappear?

He recalled the jade talisman was recorded in the Yellow Spring Secret Manual—the Blood Shadow Escape Technique. Perhaps the Binding Immortal Rope could counter it.

With that thought, he sheathed his swords and retrieved the Binding Immortal Rope from his storage bag. Chanting an incantation, he tossed the rope into the air and commanded, "Go!"

The rope came alive, darting toward the right. Xiao Chen followed and saw the female cultivator, now bound tightly, her face filled with terror.

Using the Yellow Spring Secret Techniques to counter blood-based escape techniques proved remarkably effectively.

"Now will you answer my questions willingly?" Xiao Chen landed, gripping her. "Don't waste our time. Speak freely."

"Hmph!" The female cultivator spat, her eyes blazing with hatred. "Didn't expect you, a dog, to cultivate demonic techniques too. You're all fake saints and treacherous villains!"

"If I'm in your hands, kill me if you dare. But don't expect any intelligence from me!"

Xiao Chen raised an eyebrow. This one had backbone.

"Still refusing to cooperate?"

"Then kill me if you've got guts!"

"I advise you to think carefully before forcing my hand."

"What? Want to humiliate me? Come on then!"

Looks like communication was impossible.

In the past, such situations might have troubled Xiao Chen. But now, he'd just acquired the Yellow Spring Sovereign's World Salvation and Punishment Secret Manual.

This book contained a secret interrogation technique that looked promising.

"Ever heard of the 'Blood Earthworm'?"

He clenched his fist, manifesting a mana-condensed red earthworm in his palm. Then, with a flick of his finger, the worm burrowed into her body.

Within less than a quarter hour, the female cultivator truly understood the meaning of "wishing for death but unable to die."

The Binding Immortal Rope was removed, but she didn't think of fleeing.

Kneeling on the ground, she begged, "Kill me! Please, kill me!"

Xiao Chen paused the curse. "I'd gladly grant you a generous death, but you must seize the opportunity yourself."

She immediately spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube. "Tonight, at Xu Hour's moment, in the birch forest south of Wenxiang Town, we hand over the sacrifices. I don't know who the chief priest is—my stepmother personally collects them. She never tells us their destinations, and we never care. The stepmother arrives fifteen minutes early at night in the forest. Only there can you find her. Other times, I don't know where she goes. That's all I know. Kill me! Hurry and kill me!"

Xiao Chen pressed further. "Who is this stepmother? Linghu Sanren?"

"Yes, the stepmother is Linghu Sanren."

"No, the stepmother has three names. At home, she's 'Mother.' Outside, she's 'Linghu Sanren.'"

"If she's at the merchant guild, she's 'Jade Rong Immortal Girl.'"

Saying this, she pulled out a Skull and a token. "The Skull represents Linghu Sanren, the token represents Jade Rong Immortal Girl."

The token bore the characters "Huidong."

After confirming everything, Xiao Chen beheaded her with his sword, granting her a generous death.

As he flew toward Wenxiang Town on his sword, he pondered.

It seemed demonic cultivators were attempting blood sacrifices during this chaotic period. Unexpectedly, the Huidong Merchant Guild was involved.

Xiao Chen didn't know much about the Huidong Merchant Guild. He only knew it gathered many solitary cultivators and supposedly had deep background influence in the Eastern Territory.

But the specifics remained unclear.

Previously, there had been no contact between them, and now with trade routes severed, the Huidong Merchant Guild's presence had greatly diminished.

Yet now, it seemed the guild wasn't staying quiet.

"Whatever the case, I'll find out once I capture Linghu Sanren."

Wenxiang Town lay near Xiangye Mountain, less than 100 kilometers northwest of Xianghe Bazaar.

Arriving outside Wenxiang Town just before Xu Hour (7-9 PM), Xiao Chen used the Sealing Acupuncture and Concealing Qi Technique to hide his aura, quietly lying in wait within the birch forest.

As Xu Hour began, he saw a slender figure in a cloak enter the forest.

Soon, another female cultivator landed, holding two unconscious cultivators.

"Stepmother, I've brought the sacrifices."

"Zhi Fang, you're such a good girl. Always completing your tasks first. Truly my precious daughter."

They chatted casually, discussing content Xiao Chen had already learned.

Linghu Sanren had adopted sixty daughters, eventually cultivating four to the Foundation Building Stage.

The second eldest had refused to assist in the sacrifices, so she was punished with family discipline.

The third and fourth daughters became trained bandit cultivators, specialized in capturing sacrifices.

Mostly targeting solitary cultivators to avoid attracting attention from spirit origin sects.

In Hezhou, there were over 100,000 cultivators. A few disappearances were normal.

After all, cultivators naturally enjoyed fighting and adventuring. No one cared why a solitary cultivator suddenly vanished.

Over the years, even the least active fourth daughter, who had previously pursued Hu Feipeng, had killed dozens of cultivators.

According to her confession, the eldest daughter, Zhi Fang, had killed hundreds.

Not all were sacrifices—some were silenced or captured for amusement until they died.

Soon, the third daughter arrived with three cultivators, throwing two unconscious ones to the ground. She pushed forward the last conscious female cultivator.

"Stepmother, elder sister, look what I found."

"I followed that stinking man home and discovered he had a daughter too—a pure yin body. This time, I didn't eat her myself. I specially brought her back to please Mother."

Hiss!

Xiao Chen frowned, watching the trembling Young Girl.

He had planned to ambush them like a rabbit waiting in a field.

Originally, the captured "sacrifices" were Foundation Building cultivators. He only needed slight caution during the fight.

That's why he hid farther away to reduce detection risk.

But now, an unexpected hostage appeared—a Qi Condensation Third Layer cultivator who seemed injured.

If a battle broke out, her safety couldn't be guaranteed.

"Thud!"

The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed.

Linghu Sanren beheaded the Young Girl with one sword strike. "Reckless!"

"This morning, what did I tell you before we left? This time, we're capturing Foundation Building cultivators. No room for error. Otherwise, once discovered, the consequences will be endless."

"Mother, I was extra careful the entire way. There's no way anyone could have discovered us", the third sister said, her voice tinged with a sense of grievance.

"I was just excited to find such a perfect toy. You don't come across something this good once a year", Linghu Sanren replied with a grin.

"You dare talk back!" Linghu Sanren suddenly snapped, her brows knitting together. "Go set up a perimeter outside and check if we're being followed."

Carrying a cultivator like this would slow down their escape speed, making them easy targets for anyone tracking them.

"No need to go outside", Xiao Chen said, his hammer already swinging. "Let's chat right here in the woods."

Three beams of light shot toward the eldest sister, trapping her within a sword array. At the same time, the Binding Immortal Rope shot toward Linghu Sanren, while Xiao Chen charged at the third sister with his massive hammer. His strategy remained unchanged - when facing multiple foes, always target the weakest first to quickly reduce their numbers.

The eldest sister leapt back the moment she saw the sword beam, but she was a fraction too slow. The Lesser Trinity Sword Array locked onto her, and without help, she was as good as dead.

"You're from the White Bone Gate?" Xiao Chen asked, his voice cutting through the chaos.

Linghu Sanren hastily pulled out a small orb and smashed it against the ground, releasing a thick white smoke that concealed her from the Binding Immortal Rope. But the third sister wasn't so lucky.

A golden light flashed before her eyes, followed by a pumpkin-sized hammer crashing down. She barely managed to raise her sword technique to block.

A dull thud echoed as the force drove half her body into the ground. She spat a mouthful of blood, and before she could catch her breath, another wave of nausea forced her to vomit more blood. As a spell cultivator, surviving a physical cultivator's ambush without immediate death spoke to her solid cultivation foundation.

Xiao Chen swung his hammer again, shattering her like a watermelon, splattering crimson juice everywhere.

"Third Sister!" Linghu Sanren's scream came too late.

Five flying daggers, each glowing with a different color, spun through the air in a formation. Their unique design allowed them to use the formation to borrow each other's power, bypassing defensive magic artifacts.

Xiao Chen summoned four top-grade defensive magic artifacts in quick succession. Though the first four daggers managed to deflect one artifact, new defenses immediately replaced them. When the final dagger reached him, it was met by the Hua She Bone Spear, which coiled around it like a serpent.

Only then did Xiao Chen realize these were five top-grade magic artifacts - a complete set. Even a peak Foundation Building cultivator would struggle against this formation.

Linghu Sanren's voice cut through the smoke. "Cultivator Xiao, why not retract your Binding Immortal Rope? Let's talk."

Xiao Chen summoned the Golden Light Pearl and jade ruyi while asking, "Talk about what? We're already in the middle of a fight."

"You just killed two of my disciples", Linghu Sanren said. "But since you withstood my Five Elements Whirling Blades, I can't claim victory either. Why not call it a truce?"

Xiao Chen shook his head. "Soul-Sealing Smoke from the Eastern Territory's Yunchi Forbidden Realm? I've never heard of it. Even Golden Core Zhenren can't enter that place."

The smoke thickened as he launched two massive hammer shadows, but they struck an invisible barrier with a metallic clang. He followed with the Golden Bamboo Hairpin, which vanished into the smoke like a needle in cotton. Even the Mysterious Flame from his Treasure Gourd of Hidden Flame failed to penetrate.

"I told you", Linghu Sanren's voice carried a smug note. "This smoke is a defensive artifact refinement from the Yunchi Forbidden Realm. Only major cultivation clans prepare these as last-resort safeguards for their legitimate bloodline."

Xiao Chen began forming Scarlet Flame Bombs, realizing the smoke couldn't move. He prepared thirty-six bombs, launching them in a barrage that thinned the smoke just enough to reveal a shadowy figure.

"Try this!" he shouted, unleashing the Luotian Holy Flame. The orange-red flames pressed the smoke to the ground, allowing the Binding Immortal Rope to bind Linghu Sanren tightly.

The smoke dissipated as her mana supply was cut off. Xiao Chen smiled coldly. "Now it's my turn to ask questions."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end