Chapter 129: The Peril of Possessing a Treasure

A man in a suit, drenched in blood, stood in the office outside. On his back, he carried a string of severed, gore-stained heads, the thick, metallic stench of blood filling the air and turning one’s stomach.

The female secretary sat behind the desk, trembling uncontrollably, her face pale and streaked with tears, eyes wide with terror.

Xu Kang looked closer and realized that the blood-soaked middle-aged man was none other than Zhang Da, the man he had dispatched to seize the Spirit Water formula.

The thirteen severed heads strapped to his back were all too familiar—they were the thirteen experts he had sent.

At this sight, Xu Kang shuddered, his strength failing him as he collapsed onto the floor.

He understood all too well now. The loss of these thirteen experts meant that the mission to dismantle the Ma family and secure the Spirit Water formula had ended in absolute failure.

Xu Kang had not only lost his strongest subordinates and every elite expert from the H-City branch, but he had also sent a premature victory report to the family headquarters, drawing the attention of the top brass. The weight of this outcome made him feel as though he might vomit blood.

"What... how... how could this happen?" Xu Kang gasped, pulling himself to his feet and rushing toward Zhang Da, demanding an answer in a hoarse, ragged voice.

Zhang Da looked at him with hollow eyes, his expression completely vacant. He mumbled, "They told me to tell you: do not harbor any more delusions about the Ma family’s Spirit Water. If there is a next time, your head will be the next to move."

Xu Kang stood there, utterly shattered. He muttered to himself, "It’s a Grandmaster. A Grandmaster must have intervened! It’s over... I’m done for. I’m absolutely finished!"

Indeed, after this battle, his future was ruined. Far from a promotion, he would not even be able to hold onto his position as the head of the H-City branch.

The female secretary, having slightly suppressed her own terror, looked at her boss. Seeing his ghastly pallor, she felt a strange sense of pity, noting the stark contrast to his demeanor just hours ago. Before Zhang Da’s return, Xu Kang had been brimming with confidence, like an emperor at the peak of his power; now, he was a hollow, broken shell of a man, no better than a beggar.

After a long while, Xu Kang regained some composure. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, smoothed his suit, and pulled a leather suitcase from the office. He said to the secretary in a low, heavy voice, "Book me a flight to Dragon Capital immediately. The fastest one available."

With that, he walked out of the office.

"Sir, what... what about Manager Zhang?" the secretary asked in a small voice.

"Have the security guards take him away!"

After giving the order, Xu Kang reached the ground floor, called his driver, and rushed to the H-City International Airport in the dead of night.

Looking out at the cold, empty streets, Xu Kang’s heart burned with a deep, consuming hatred for the Ma Group and the mysterious Grandmaster Chen. He secretly vowed, *Ma family, Grandmaster Chen, you are the reason I have been reduced to this. Even if it kills me, I will make you pay dearly.*

As he thought this, he opened the suitcase he had brought with him. Inside were three vials of clear liquid—the Spirit Water.

"Spirit Water, what a marvelous treasure," he whispered. "The innocent are often targeted for their wealth. Even with a Grandmaster on your side, the Ma family will still fall."

...

In the outskirts of M-City, Spirit Mountain.

The sun was rising, casting golden light over the mountain. The rays refracted through the droplets of heavy mist, creating iridescent, seven-colored rainbows that transformed the mountain into a scene from a fairyland.

At the peak of Spirit Mountain, outside the courtyard, Tong Yin and Hong Gu sat cross-legged, practicing their cultivation. Inside the courtyard, the spirit mushrooms and ginseng plants absorbed the essence of the world, vibrant with life.

In the secret chamber, Chen Xian placed the last cauldron of Spirit Gathering Powder into a porcelain bottle and capped it, a satisfied smile touching his lips.

"Finally, all the spirit mushrooms and ginseng have been refined into Spirit Gathering Powder. There are fifteen bottles in total—one more than I originally estimated," Chen Xian mused.

He raised his hand, and with a soft shimmer from his storage ring, he put away the Danyang Treasure Cauldron.

Immediately after, he channeled his energy into the ring again, causing a pile of corpses to emerge, quickly filling half the chamber. The thick, pungent smell of blood permeated the air, making the atmosphere somewhat stifling.

Seeing this, Chen Xian decided not to summon any more. He planned to refine and absorb these first. While the storage ring was special and preserved the bodies from decay, it wasn't a morgue; carrying so many corpses around felt rather peculiar.

"Meow~ Master, you’re so creepy. It smells too much like blood. This Princess is going outside for some fresh air," the Spirit-Charming Cat, who had been practicing, opened her eyes. With a sausage in her mouth, she grumbled and scurried out of the chamber.

Chen Xian couldn't help but smile as he watched the little creature wiggle away.

The Spirit-Thieving Insect Mother and her two offspring remained in the chamber, continuing their cultivation. The silver-glowing flute grass continued to grow, absorbing the ambient spiritual energy.

Turning his focus back, Chen Xian sat cross-legged and began to circulate the "Supreme Chaos Art." He formed two vortices with his hands, and as they slowly rotated, several of the corpses were pulled toward him.

*Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!*

The bodies began to dissolve at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Time, like a mischievous child, slipped away unnoticed.

...

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Xian stood up and brushed off his hands. He smiled, "Finally, the corpses of the Hungry Wolf mercenaries, Xiang Kui, and the Xu family experts have all been refined. My third spirit wheel space is now completely saturated with spiritual energy."

His fourth spirit wheel, however, remained empty. He didn't yet know how much Spirit Gathering Powder would be required to fill it; fifteen bottles would certainly not be enough.

He was not in a hurry, though. As time went by, the spirit mushrooms and ginseng planted within the courtyard would soon meet the requirements for alchemy, ready to be harvested to aid his cultivation. Furthermore, the plants outside the courtyard would also gradually mature.

Chen Xian clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body, and felt quite satisfied.

Additionally, Chen Xian perceived that a cold, evil, and sinister aura had once again begun to circle him. This aura was even more potent than the one he had felt just before the lightning strike at the Hungry Wolf mercenary base.

He wondered why it hadn't triggered a lightning tribulation yet; perhaps this bizarre energy wasn't yet strong enough to incite a second tribulation.

Other spiritual cultivators trembled at the mere mention of lightning tribulations, but Chen Xian found himself looking forward to it. To him, the tribulation was simply energy to strengthen his cultivation.

After checking his status, he prepared to take some Spirit Gathering Powder, but then he remembered there were things he still needed to do.

First, he needed to send some Spirit Water back to H-City for his parents and sister, and bring some for Zhang Xin.

Second, he needed to meet Zhang Xin’s parents as she had requested.

Third, the Jade Auction was approaching.

Chen Xian had spent a total of seven days refining pills and processing the corpses, leaving only three days until the auction.

"Wait, didn't Zhang Xin say her parents would be back in a few days? Why hasn't she called me?" Chen Xian wondered, pulling out his phone.

He checked it and cursed under his breath—the battery had died and the phone had shut down automatically while he was focused on his cultivation.