Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 629: Chapter 323: Coercion

Following the staff’s instructions, Cheng Zongyang successfully posted a mission bounty and filed a request with the Sect.

The bounty wasn’t much—just fifty Spirit Stones—and the total for both came to two hundred Spirit Stones. It was a trivial sum for him.

Once he was finished, Cheng Zongyang took the Mission Token and left the Sect office.

He glanced at his watch. It was just a little past nine in the morning.

Cheng Zongyang thought for a moment. ’I’ll head back to the mansion and continue my Cultivation. The renovation of the cottage at the market isn’t finished, so I can’t perform the sacrifice yet. And the handover of goods from the Cyan Dragon Commerce Association will still take a few more days.’

’Now that the key members of the three major Gangs are dead, they’re leaderless. Internal strife is inevitable. I’m much safer now. At least the ones tailing me are gone.’

As he ambled along, he occasionally overheard snippets of conversation and stopped at various stalls to buy special Spirit Fruit Seeds, Spirit Medicine Seeds, Elixir Recipes, and rare Martial Arts Materials.

He bought a little of anything he could eventually take back to the Martial Arts Realm to cultivate or use.

While he strolled about leisurely, Lin Changfeng was waiting anxiously in the Cheng Mansion.

He remained constantly vigilant, monitoring any activity within the Cheng Mansion. The seal on his power was temporary, and he feared that once it expired, the Black Death Qi would leak out, allowing Zhang Ye to track him down using the residual traces.

Soon, however, from his position in the wooden pavilion, he sensed that something was amiss. Although he had sealed his own power and couldn’t use his Divine Sense, he could still keenly feel someone outside the Array approaching the Cheng Mansion.

Meanwhile, outside the gate, Ma Yue arrived at the entrance, looking somewhat puzzled.

He had waited all morning, but Li Cungang never came to pick up the Storage Pouch, so he had no choice but to bring it over himself.

Fortunately, patrols in Zi’an County were stricter due to the recent incident with the three Gangs. The ensuing chaos actually reduced his chances of drawing attention.

But as he looked at the Cheng Mansion, its Array active and main gate tightly shut, Ma Yue grew even more puzzled. He could only wait.

"Ma Yue." Just then, Cheng Zongyang disembarked from a quaintly decorated Beast Vehicle and walked slowly into the alley. He spotted Ma Yue waiting quietly by the entrance at a glance.

"Boss." Seeing Cheng Zongyang return, Ma Yue hurried forward and cupped his fists in a respectful salute.

"Why didn’t you go in?" Cheng Zongyang asked with a faint smile as he walked toward the entrance.

Ma Yue immediately replied,

"The Array is active, and the gate is shut. I left a message for Li Cungang last night to have him bring something to you this morning, but I never heard from him, so I came to deliver it myself. Zhao Lide said these belonged to those people from last night. The higher-ups said to burn them so we don’t have to worry about any trouble. Based on the quantity and value, it comes to two hundred."

As he spoke, he moved to take out the Storage Pouch. The next moment, however, Cheng Zongyang stopped him, his expression suddenly grave as he stood frozen at the entrance. Ma Yue followed his gaze and saw the Boss staring intently at the Array and the gate, his eyes darting around as if searching for something.

Cheng Zongyang muttered under his breath, a sense of unease rising within him. "Neither of them is like this. Li Yihuo is methodical. If he had to leave on business this morning, he would have told me his destination last night so I’d know his whereabouts and where to look if something went wrong. But he said nothing last night, which means he had no plans for this morning. Even if an emergency forced him to leave, he would have left a sign and a coded message at the gate." He gestured for Ma Yue to back away, taking the Storage Pouch from his hand and storing it in the Wilderness World.

Seeing this, Ma Yue immediately retreated to the entrance of the alley. He knew full well that if there was trouble inside, he would be of no help. Staying would only make him a burden to the Boss.

Once Ma Yue was clear, Cheng Zongyang took a deep breath. He took out the Entry and Exit Token to deactivate the Array, his right hand already clutching a golden Talisman.

It was a Tier Three Golden Bell Talisman, powerful enough to block a full-strength attack from a Golden Core Early Stage Cultivator!

’No matter what danger lies within, this Talisman should at least buy me some time,’ Cheng Zongyang thought.

Deactivating the Array, he slowly pushed open the main gate and stepped into the mansion. Cheng Zongyang moved cautiously, his nerves stretched taut as he remained vigilant for any movement.

However, the moment he stepped into the courtyard, a terrifying pressure slammed into him.

Cheng Zongyang’s chest tightened. He looked up in terror to see a swirling mass of black mist before him. From within it, a pair of icy eyes stared directly at him!

But his adaptive Talent kicked in almost instantly, neutralizing the pressure and allowing him to recover.

Horrified, Cheng Zongyang realized he had run into a powerful Cultivator!

Without a second thought, he channeled his Inner Strength into the Golden Bell Talisman. A golden light erupted, forming a massive Golden Bell Shield that enveloped him completely.

Lin Changfeng, who was reaching out from within the black mist, seemed surprised by Cheng Zongyang’s swift reaction. He had actually managed to adapt to the sudden oppressive pressure! Anyone else faced with such an unexpected development would have instinctively tried to flee or retreat.

But instead, this man had immediately activated a Talisman!

’The only explanation is that he knew someone was inside and came prepared!’

Instantly, his grasping hand was blocked by the Golden Bell Shield.

The black mist roiled, repeatedly slamming against the Golden Bell Shield. He knew his time was limited. Once that old bastard Zhang Ye tracked him down, he’d have to run again!

Although the Golden Bell Shield was sturdy, it began to tremble slightly under the constant corrosive drain of the Black Death Qi. This caused Cheng Zongyang’s expression to turn ugly.