Chapter Ninety-Four: The Flying Serpent Sect’s Calculations

The Evil Wind Cave wound in a tangled maze, its many tunnels all linked together. Without Jia Cheng to lead the way, Lu Han would likely never have found the Soul-Seizing Mink. And so the two of them set out into the depths of the cave.

A man’s reputation carries weight, and Lu Han could not deny that he felt anticipation mingled with a trace of nerves.

The Evil Wind Cave’s renown in the Land of Chaotic Souls needed no further explanation. Especially that mysterious Evil Wind Beast—no one knew how long it had lived, nor how formidable it truly was. Though it had once displayed strength at the second level of the Innate Realm, no one had ever been able to do anything about it.

Lu Han did not believe that no powerful expert of the Profound Monarch or Earth King level had ever entered the Evil Wind Cave. Their cultivation might have been suppressed to the third level of the Innate Realm, but their actual strength would have been far beyond that of ordinary Innate cultivators. And yet the Evil Wind Beast still remained there, perfectly fine.

Fortunately, the beast had never left the Evil Wind Cave. If it had ever emerged, no one on the Plain of Chaotic Souls would have been able to deal with it. Moreover, it spent most of its time asleep, which gave countless adventurers a chance to hunt poisonous demon beasts within the cave and make a fortune in gold coins.

“Brother Lu, I don’t seem to have heard of any great clan with a stronghold here in the Gulin Basin. Could it be that Brother Lu is a gifted disciple of some sect?” Jia Cheng asked casually.

All along, he had been trying to pry information out of Lu Han, but aside from his name, Lu Han had revealed nothing. In Jia Cheng’s eyes, Lu Han was just a young, inexperienced fool who had only recently entered the world.

Jia Cheng did not believe that someone at the Acquired Realm could come all the way from the outer reaches of the Plain of Chaotic Souls to the Gulin Basin. He instinctively assumed Lu Han must be a disciple of a great clan or a major sect, and he even suspected that the name Lu Han was a false one.

This time, Jia Cheng had been clever in the wrong way. Everything Lu Han had said was true; it was Jia Cheng alone who had filled in the rest with his own assumptions.

Still, if someone else were in his place, they would probably think the same. In the Gulin Basin, people generally believed that anyone at the Acquired Realm who managed to reach this place had done so only because an Innate expert accompanied them from the outside. More than ninety-nine percent of them were disciples of great clans or powerful sects coming here to broaden their horizons.

Of course, there were also those who had offended someone they should never have offended in the outer regions and, with nowhere else to go, fled to the Gulin Basin. Most of them were killed by demon beasts before they were even halfway here. Even if they were lucky enough to arrive, surviving in this harsh environment was still terribly difficult.

“Our Lu family is hardly some great clan. We don’t have any stronghold here in the Gulin Basin,” Lu Han said with a smile.

“Oh? Is that so? Then are the elders from your family who came with you still in the Gulin Basin?” Jia Cheng asked lightly.

He was certain that Lu Han must have been brought here by an elder of his family.

Lu Han first froze, then immediately understood what was going on.

Every question Jia Cheng had asked along the way seemed casual, but each one carried hidden intent. Lu Han’s eyes flickered as he seemed to guess something.

“Our Third Elder came to the Gulin Basin this time to purchase poisonous demon beasts. By chance, I obtained a method for capturing the Soul-Seizing Mink alive. That mink exists only on the Plain of Chaotic Souls, and I begged for a long time before I was allowed to come. These past two days, since the Third Elder has been occupied with other matters, we should hurry there and hurry back. Otherwise, I’ll probably be punished when the time comes,” Lu Han said with a solemn air.

“Brother Lu, could it be that your Third Elder doesn’t know you slipped out alone?” Jia Cheng asked.

“How could that be? If he knew, do you think I could come here?” Lu Han showed an expression of deep fear toward the Third Elder.

At the sight of that expression, Jia Cheng gave a strange smile, then quickly returned to normal. It lasted only an instant, but Lu Han noticed it nonetheless.

“Brother Lu, don’t worry. I remember that place clearly. Once we catch the Soul-Seizing Mink, we’ll head straight back and won’t waste any time. It’s just that, Brother Lu, do you need my help with the capture?” Jia Cheng suddenly changed the subject.

“No need. Just watch me then,” Lu Han said confidently.

The two of them unconsciously quickened their pace.

“Hmph. I wonder where this naive brat came from. After today, the method for capturing the Soul-Seizing Mink will belong to me. This boy is lucky—people from the Wen family couldn’t do anything about it and could only rely on brute force to catch one. Once I have this method, I’ll be the only one who knows it. With just the Soul-Seizing Mink alone, I’ll make a fortune. Jia Cheng will rise at last! And that sword of his looks pretty decent too. All of it will be mine!” Jia Cheng thought to himself.

He did not believe for a second that an Acquired cultivator could escape from his grasp. In his eyes, Lu Han was already meat on the cutting board.

The fact that someone at only the ninth level of the Acquired Realm could independently capture a Soul-Seizing Mink was proof enough of how precious that method was. Jia Cheng believed such a method deserved to be in his hands alone. Lu Han’s Bluefall Sword was strapped to his back, but the ancient, understated hilt had a star-like allure that was impossible to ignore. The moment Jia Cheng laid eyes on it, he knew the sword was no ordinary weapon.

“Jia Cheng, Jia Cheng. You’ve led me to the Soul-Seizing Mink, so I ought to thank you. But I do hope you don’t make a decision you’ll regret for the rest of your life. I, Lu Han, am not some soft persimmon you can squeeze however you like,” Lu Han thought silently.

At full strength, Lu Han might not be able to defeat Jia Cheng outright, but he was confident he would not lose.

Thus the two men each carried their own hidden schemes as they pressed onward.

Meanwhile, on the other side, a group from the Flying Serpent Sect was on the move.

They seemed to be heading in the same direction as Lu Han and the others, only farther ahead.

“Young Sect Master, as expected, Princess Qincheng and the others have fallen into the trap. They have already entered the Evil Wind Cave,” a man suddenly rushed over from the front and knelt on one knee before the young sect master of the Flying Serpent Sect.

The Flying Serpent Sect’s young sect master gave off an icy, sinister air. His slightly purplish lips made him look as though he had fallen into a frozen pit.

“Very good. But once they discover something is wrong, could anything go wrong? Besides, there are many adventurers in the Evil Wind Cave every day,” the young sect master asked in a cold voice.

“Rest assured, Young Sect Master. You may not know the Evil Wind Cave very well. The few cave entrances Princess Qincheng entered are all on the outermost edge. We from the Flying Serpent Sect have already cleared out the beasts there. That place might as well be our territory. As for the Evil Wind Beast, I think the Young Sect Master should know a little about it. Even if our luck is terrible and it wakes up, we still have a way to keep it from entering that cave entrance,” said an old man beside the young sect master with great confidence.

This elder was the Flying Serpent Sect’s Seventh Elder, sent here by the sect master specifically to deal with the Flower Elder by Princess Qincheng’s side. After all, this matter could not be exposed. The Murong royal house was not yet a force the Flying Serpent Sect could afford to provoke.

“Shen Tai, your fiancée is only the beginning. After this, it will be your turn, and your entire Heavenly Astral Sect will be ruined by my hands, Tan Jun. Even the Murong royal house will not escape!” The young sect master of the Flying Serpent Sect clenched his right fist until it cracked.

“Once this is done, everyone in the stronghold—and all of you as well—will be rewarded handsomely!” he said with a grand wave of his hand.

“Young Sect Master is wise!”

Everyone answered in unison.

The young sect master of the Flying Serpent Sect never acted without weighing the odds. This operation was foolproof, and a reward was naturally guaranteed.

“Move out!”

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