Chapter 290 - 204: Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf, Bountiful Spoils

Chapter 290: Chapter 204: Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf, Bountiful Spoils

He took a few staggered steps, avoiding the center, and steadily entered the armory.

Seeing so many sharp, cold weapons inside, most of which were better than his own saber, a fervent glint appeared in his eyes. At the same time, he kept a part of his mind focused on his surroundings.

A faint creak sounded.

Jiang Chen spun around to face the entrance and sneered,

"Come on out. I knew you would come."

Xie Yuan’s figure materialized at the entrance, and he watched Jiang Chen in silence.

Jiang Chen snorted, his eyes darkening slightly.

"You won’t even give face to Chief Qin. You truly live up to your reputation as a wanted criminal."

"I *am* giving Senior Brother Qin face. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have made it here alive,"

Xie Yuan said calmly.

He took a step forward, onto a brick near the entrance. Jiang Chen’s eyelid twitched as he watched, but strangely, he noticed that nothing happened.

A hint of doubt crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced by a fervent look.

"Do you really think a successful sneak attack is a measure of your true strength? To think you’d dare to confront me face-to-face. I suppose I should thank you for your arrogance, haha—"

"The traps here are quite ingenious. They won’t trigger unless you’re carrying enough items to meet a certain weight. But if they are triggered, the traps in this armory are the most dangerous on this entire layer."

Xie Yuan cut him off, speaking as if to himself while lightly tapping his foot on the stone brick.

Seeing Xie Yuan’s expression, Jiang Chen was overcome with a sense of foreboding.

"What are you talking about? How do you know that?"

"I imagine this trap was designed specifically to punish the greedy. It’s the perfect place for your grave."

After saying this, Xie Yuan stomped his foot down hard, leaped backward out of the room, and slammed the door shut behind him.

Jiang Chen’s expression changed instantly. Hearing the chilling sound of mechanisms grinding within the walls, he charged for the door, but it was too late.

"AHH—Xie Yuan!!!"

Vicious whooshes tore through the air, accompanied by shrill screams from inside the room. Xie Yuan pressed against the stone door, using its own weight and the bolt to lock it tight.

Sensing the pounding from within growing weaker and weaker, Xie Yuan’s ears twitched. He shook his head, erased his tracks, and vanished.

A moment later, Qin Zhenyang and Yuan Zhenying arrived, drawn by the noise. Hearing the faint sounds from inside, they hurriedly opened the stone door.

Jiang Chen lay on the ground, his body pierced by javelins and sharp arrows, blood pooling around him. Behind the stone door, countless bloody palm prints were smeared in a chaotic, desperate pattern.

Qin Zhenyang saw that Jiang Chen’s consciousness was fading, that he was barely clinging to life, and was still muttering the name "Xie Yuan." After a moment of silence, he said grimly,

"This Xie Yuan is vengeful over the smallest slight, utterly arrogant, and cruel in his methods. He’s no saint. The ’arch-fiend’ assessment was clearly accurate. If I see him again, I must capture him and imprison him within the sect’s gates, so he cannot harm anyone else."

Yuan Zhenying, however, seemed unimpressed by his judgment.

"That man Jiang was the one who attacked first. It’s no wonder Xie Yuan struck back. I think there’s nothing wrong with his temperament."

「3rd Layer, in an apothecary.」

Xie Yuan’s figure appeared inside. He ducked his head, dodging a hidden arrow that shot out from the side. He then grabbed a cattail-leaf fan, fanned it furiously at a small hole to blow the poisonous smoke back inside, found a random porcelain bottle, and used its stopper to plug the hole before plopping down onto a chair.

He coughed twice, his face pale and his spirit drained. An attack from a Qi Blood Third Transformation expert was not so easily endured. If not for the immense power of his "Sweeping Away a Thousand Soldiers" technique absorbing some of the impact, he feared he wouldn’t even be able to walk right now.

Even so, he had suffered severe internal injuries. Combined with his massive energy expenditure, he was now an arrow at the end of its flight. He’d had little strength left when facing Jiang Chen; otherwise, his presence wouldn’t have been detected.

But if Qin Zhenyang hadn’t intervened, that Jiang Chen would have attacked him right then and there. Xie Yuan could not tolerate that.

According to Xie Yuan’s temperament, if someone was coveting his things from the sidelines without taking action, he couldn’t be bothered to deal with them. He’d just let them keep dreaming.

But for anyone who dared to actually reach out a hand, he would show no mercy. An axe to the hand was the only appropriate response.

’When I get out of here, the news that I have treasures and a Secret Technique is probably going to spread.’

It wasn’t just Jiang Chen. Many people had, to some extent, been casting glances at Xie Yuan.

With so many people witnessing the events in the ruins this time, the name Xie Yuan would surely spread far beyond the borders of Yunzhou.

Xie Yuan shook his head, though he wasn’t particularly bothered.

’Good thing I’m just an ordinary disciple of the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect, a diligent cultivator who gets along with others. I have nothing to do with that wanted criminal, Xie Yuan.’

He found a few high-quality Healing Elixirs in the apothecary and began to treat his wounds on the spot. The 3rd Layer was still vast, with an almost countless number of rooms. This apothecary was in a remote corner, so for the time being, he didn’t have to worry about being disturbed.

After his injuries had initially stabilized and some color returned to his face, Xie Yuan’s eyes couldn’t help but glitter as he looked at the shelves packed with rare medicinal herbs and elixirs.

’So many Treasure Medicines. If only I could take them all...’

This single apothecary alone would likely cause an uproar in the outside world. Many of the medicinal ingredients inside were top-tier treasures even for cultivators at the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm, with no shortage of earth-grade treasures among them, all neatly stacked on the shelves.

Unfortunately, Xie Yuan was just one man with two hands. There was no way he could carry so much.

"Time to pick some medicine!

"Blood Lingzhi? Not the small ones, I want the biggest one...

"Mountain King Ginseng, nothing less than a hundred years old...

"Blood Patterned Purple Dragon Vine? Takes up too much space, pass...

"High-grade Buddhist Small Returning Pills... I’ll take five bottles—no, three, I need to save room for other things..."

Xie Yuan filled a sack to the brim, hoisted it over his shoulder, and sighed.

"If only I had a spatial bracelet or something."

Unfortunately, he didn’t possess an item of that caliber, nor had he heard of any being here. He could only pack up the Treasure Medicines he had so carefully selected and leave in satisfaction.