Chapter 112: The Road of Longevity is Truly Dangerous

Chapter 112: Chapter 112: The Road of Longevity is Truly Dangerous

"Without me, you would’ve died on the road long ago! Before we reached the Purple Cloud Valley Marketplace, I was completely loyal to you. But you, you piece of trash, actually wanted to sell the Xiao Family’s Patriarch’s Token for Spirit Stones—and to Xiao Shaojie, of all people! So what was the point of me following you?"

Uncle Liu stared viciously at Xiao Chen. All he had done was suggest Xiao Chen sell some resources for Spirit Stones, but the next thing he knew, Xiao Chen had made a deal with the main Xiao Family, arranging to trade the Patriarch’s Token and a Swordsmanship technique at the Black Market.

’Once the token is returned, Xiao Shaojie’s branch will become the legitimate line of the Xiao Family. What did I risk my life and limb for, following this good-for-nothing?’

’Wasn’t it all so I could wait for him to join one of the Three Immortal Sects, retake control of the Xiao Family, and secure more resources for my descendants?’

’With the Patriarch’s Token gone, everything was gone. What reason did I have to stay by Xiao Chen’s side anymore?’

"Cut off one of your arms and get lost."

Liu Chen, listening from inside his tent, felt a headache coming on. ’This might be slightly related to me,’ he thought, ’but you’re already selling it at the Black Market. Isn’t being picky about the buyer going a little too far?’

"Thank you, Senior."

Uncle Liu calmed down. He gathered Spiritual Power at his right fingertips and sliced off his left arm, then turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

Xiao Chen stared at the blood on the ground, then staggered to his feet and followed after him.

As the two departed, one trailing the other, Liu Chen sat in his tent and examined the Snowflake Sword in his hand.

’Perhaps this Spirit Sword caused some misunderstanding within the Xiao Family, but that’s no burden of mine. These are the rules of the Black Market. I’m not the one in the wrong, so why should I worry about their family drama?’

’Still, those two probably won’t live much longer. They were already fugitives who’d fled here in a sorry state, and now their only real fighter just lost an arm. Their chances of survival are slim.’

Outside the ravine, Uncle Liu had not even walked a hundred meters when a Spirit Sword materialized from the darkness, pinning him directly to a weathered stone pillar.

"No wonder every operation ran into trouble. You old fox, you were really torn, weren’t you? Giving me intel to guarantee the safety of your wife and child, while at the same time helping this piece of trash escape danger time and again. Were you trying to hedge your bets?"

Xiao Shaojie slowly walked over, spitting on the ground in disgust at the gusting, sandy winds of the Fire Dragon Valley night. ’So much time has passed, and not only have I failed to get the token back,’ he fumed internally, ’but the Swordsmanship technique only the Xiao Family Patriarch and Young Master are qualified to practice has fallen into the hands of the Black Feather Dynasty. I’m definitely going to get chewed out when I get back.’

"I’ve already won. If you have the guts, go ahead and storm the Purple Cloud Valley Marketplace to kill my wife and son."

Uncle Liu stared viciously at Xiao Shaojie. He knew his wife and son had already used the recent chaos as cover to take up residence in the Purple Cloud Valley Marketplace. The Xiao Family would never dare to charge in there and seize them.

"Damn it!"

Xiao Shaojie couldn’t help but curse under his breath as he recalled the two people he’d used to blackmail the man into meeting him. Once Uncle Liu had agreed to submit, those two were naturally no longer needed. Thinking back, he realized the old fox had probably planned for this from the very beginning.

"Where’s the token?!"

Xiao Shaojie looked at the stunned Xiao Chen and couldn’t resist slapping him across the face.

Xiao Chen fell to the ground, and Xiao Shaojie immediately snatched the Storage Ring from him. He still hadn’t snapped out of his shock from the recent events.

"Don’t waste your energy. That day, before you even arrived at the Black Market, I sold it to someone you can never afford to offend. Someone that not even the entire Xiao Family would dare to cross."

As he recalled the events of that day, a slow smile spread across Uncle Liu’s face. Yang Haichen was a regular at the Black Market, so the frequent vendors were well aware of his status. Anyone Yang Haichen personally accompanied had to be an Inner Sect Disciple from Purple Cloud Valley—and most likely the disciple of a Grand Elder, or perhaps even a Peak Master.

’Since both the former and current Young Masters of the Xiao Family saw me as nothing more than a pawn,’ he thought, ’there’s no reason for me to cling to my principles anymore. Even if the Xiao Family eventually gets the token back, the price they’ll have to pay will cause them a headache for a long, long time.’

"Who was it?"

Xiao Shaojie glared, his eyes bloodshot. According to the Xiao Family’s ancestral teachings, only the wielder of the Snowflake Sword was the legitimate head of the family. The Elders were already using this as an excuse to defy his orders, and the Inner Sect Disciples from Thunder Mountain were even refusing to associate with the Xiao Family. He had every reason to be frantic.

"That Marketplace is under the control of Purple Cloud Valley. Who do you think it could be? Go on, test them one by one. You’ll get your answer eventually."

With those final words, Uncle Liu gathered Spiritual Power in his remaining right hand and thrust it through his own heart. As his life force dissipated, he was still smiling.

"AGH—!"

Xiao Shaojie let out a furious roar, but Liu Chen, who was watching the show from afar, immediately drew a bow and shot an arrow that blew off his arm.

A wave of excruciating pain hit him, but before Xiao Shaojie could scream, the Meridian Passage Cultivator in his group clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Senior, please forgive us! We’ll leave right now."

With practiced ease, the Meridian Passage Cultivator dragged Xiao Shaojie away. The other Guards tied up Xiao Chen and beat a hasty retreat. As they vanished, only Uncle Liu’s corpse remained, slowly slumping down from the stone pillar.

A Spirit Arrow shot from afar, pulverizing the stone pillar. Liu Chen returned to his tent and took out the Snowflake Sword. ’This Spirit Sword is no longer suitable for maintaining my disguise,’ he mused. ’Fortunately, everyone in Fire Dragon Valley who’s seen it is now dead.’

’Then again, I can now use this sword openly. I might even be able to turn a small profit from this situation.’

’Even a mere Death Warrior was that calculating. The Road of Longevity is truly a dangerous path.’

Liu Chen’s original plan had been to spend the next few days focused solely on practicing Magic, striving to turn more of his techniques into unique ones.

If everything went according to plan, his Divine Movement Technique and Escape Shadow Technique should have transformed into unique versions around the ninth day of the ninth month.

But plans rarely survive contact with reality. While watching the nightly drama had been enjoyable, it inevitably delayed his cultivation.

The delay wasn’t too significant, however. In the pre-dawn hours of the tenth day of the ninth month, as pillars of light shot up into the sky one after another, Liu Chen felt himself become one with the shadows. Whether he was sneaking through a shadow or leaping into another, his movements were now flawless, never compromising the concealment of his Escape Shadow Technique.

[Escape Shadow Technique: Unique]

This was the first of his Advanced Magic techniques to become unique, and one of only two Advanced Magic techniques Liu Chen currently possessed. The other was the Divine Movement Technique. If all went well, both of his Advanced Magic techniques would become unique by dawn.

As the first light of dawn broke over the horizon, the Spiritual Veins of the Divine Movement Technique deconstructed and reformed in Liu Chen’s mind. When the final Spiritual Vein pattern was complete, two new Spiritual Veins merged directly into his legs.

[Divine Movement Technique: Unique]

’It has an effect similar to the Body Protection Technique, activating automatically when I run but not wasting any Spiritual Power when I’m idle. The consumption is only a third of what it used to be. Not bad.’

Liu Chen was very satisfied with the transformation of his Divine Movement Technique. It was now the morning of the tenth day of the ninth month. If the trial followed its usual schedule, a third of the allotted time had already passed.

’There have been almost three hundred pillars of light, but according to the map, they’ve all been in the outer regions. Maybe it’s time I started heading toward the center.’

Liu Chen stepped out of the ravine and surveyed his surroundings, making a quick decision. It was clear the next stage of the trial was about to begin. Time to move on.

’Those Princes of the Black Feather Dynasty are bound to be heading for the center, too. My disguise will probably be useless by then. It would be perfect if I could run into a few of those pillars of light along the way.’