Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 628: Chapter 322: Immortal Sect Steward (Part 3)

Later, when he couldn’t find anyone from the Shadow Alliance, he targeted Zhao Yonglong with the intent to rob him. As it turned out, Zhao Yonglong had already sold all the Foundation Establishment Pills to various families and didn’t have a single one left on his person.

After that, he waited for half a year and had only recently seen Cheng Zongyang again.

This time, he set his sights on Zhao Yonglong just as he was leaving the city. He killed him and took the one Foundation Establishment Pill on his person. As for the other three, he secretly stole them from the families who had previously bought the pills from Zhao Yonglong.

In truth, only three of the families had their Foundation Establishment Pills stolen. The fourth family had already used theirs but, not wanting to reveal they had a new Foundation Establishment Cultivator, they pretended theirs was stolen as well.

Lin Changfeng paid no mind to being framed for the theft.

Subsequently, Lin Changfeng turned his attention to Cheng Zongyang. But just as he was about to make a move, he heard that a Foundation Establishment Pill was being offered as a bounty. He decided on that approach instead of moving against Cheng Zongyang directly.

His goal was simply to find out who was behind it all, why there were so many Foundation Establishment Pills, and where the Teleportation Array led.

But there was one thing Zhang Ye had guessed wrong: Lin Changfeng had only become an Alchemy Master in the last five-odd years.

During his many years as an assassin, in addition to the Shadow Alliance’s mission bounties and internal rewards, he also seized the fortunes of his targets. As a result, he had amassed vast wealth.

He then secretly imprisoned and coerced several Alchemy Masters, forcing them to teach him their Alchemy Techniques. Afterward, he purchased large quantities of Spirit Medicine to practice. It wasn’t that he had any particular Talent for it; rather, his Black Death could assist him in controlling the fire and the finer details of Alchemy, allowing him to progress at an incredible pace.

Now that he had finished refining the Spirit Revival Pills, he was naturally relieved. All that remained was to wait for Cheng Zongyang’s return!

Just a moment later, however, he seemed to remember something. He immediately took out a Black Talisman and pressed it against his body.

Instantly, the Black Talisman dissolved into a black rune that spread across his skin. The Black Death Qi within him vanished without a trace, and his aura dissipated until he seemed like an ordinary person with no Cultivation.

’Now let’s see how you’ll track me.’

Meanwhile, Zhang Ye, who was on his way to the South District, stopped midway. He frowned, staring at the spot before him where the trail of Black Death Qi had vanished.

’That guy actually found a way to hide his Black Death? How did he do that?’ Zhang Ye rose into the air, spreading his Divine Sense over the entirety of Zi’an County while continuing to command the Jade Bottle to resume its Tracking.

But he found nothing at all!

At the same time, Cheng Zongyang had arrived at the Sect’s administrative office early in the morning, his mind completely preoccupied with getting his Fragmented Map identified via the bounty.

He had no idea that Lin Changfeng had already infiltrated his manor, nor did he realize that he was already caught in the throes of an unknown crisis.

"Can you analyze this Fragmented Map?"

Cheng Zongyang asked the office attendant, his eyes full of anticipation. As far as he was concerned, this Fragmented Map was of the utmost importance. It could potentially lead to the place he was searching for, so he was naturally anxious about the outcome.

The attendant frowned slightly, pondering for a moment before replying, "That will take some time. If you choose to post a bounty, I can publish the information for you. If you entrust the Fragmented Map to us for processing, then a bounty isn’t necessary."

"If I leave it with you, roughly how long would it take?" Cheng Zongyang pressed. He wanted a definite timeframe to plan his next steps, as he couldn’t stay in the Cultivation Immortality Realm indefinitely.

The attendant shook his head, replying helplessly, "It’s hard to say. The time frame is difficult to determine. However, I can give you a Gossip Jade Scroll and notify you immediately as soon as we have any news. The fee to commission the Sect is one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones. As for the bounty, you can set the price yourself."

"Can I do both at the same time?" Cheng Zongyang asked, a flicker of hope in his eyes. "If the bounty is fulfilled first, can I cancel the commission I gave you?"

The attendant nodded and affirmed, "You can, but we will deduct a ten percent service fee, regardless of how much time has passed."

Cheng Zongyang stroked his chin, lost in thought. He was weighing the pros and cons in his mind, trying to figure out which approach would be more beneficial.

In the end, he decided to pursue both options simultaneously. ’With two avenues open at once,’ he thought, ’if the bounty is fulfilled first, I can cross-reference the result with whatever the office finds. That should prevent any problems.’

Of course, this all hinged on the premise that the Fragmented Map was truly from the Ice and Fire Cultivation Immortality Realm and not the Martial Arts Realm.