Chapter 450 - 447: Luo Qi

Chapter 450: Chapter 447: Luo Qi

"Deposit."

The wooden boxes, along with the ore inside, vanished in an instant.

Fang Han moved without pause, circling the storeroom and touching one wooden box after another.

With every touch, another batch of ore disappeared.

In just a few breaths, the dozens of wooden boxes in the storeroom had all vanished.

The numbers on the panel flickered.

[Wealth: 450,000 gold → 700,000 gold]

’An increase of 250,000 gold.’

Fang Han glanced at the line of numbers, quite satisfied.

Including his gains from the medicinal field, this trip had already brought him 450,000 gold in wealth.

He was one step closer to the one million gold needed to unlock the Level 8 Talent Amplification.

He turned and walked out of the storeroom. He glanced at the four corpses propped against the wall, then at a wooden cabin in the distance.

Inside the cabin, the aura of the Third Grade expert remained steady, completely unaware of what had just happened.

SWISH!

Fang Han withdrew his gaze. With a flicker of his body, he retraced his steps and darted out of the mining camp.

He had arrived without a sound and now left without a trace.

In just a moment, he had flown out of the mining camp and vanished into the night.

...

The afternoon sun spilled through gaps in the clouds, brightly illuminating the medicinal field’s valley.

Feng Yuan stood before the storeroom door with his hands clasped behind his back. His gaze swept over the empty wooden shelves, his expression grim.

Behind him, two middle-aged men in Steward’s Robes were carefully examining something.

One was thin with a high-bridged nose, his nostrils flaring slightly as he tried to catch any lingering scents in the air.

The other was stout. He was crouched by the threshold, pinching a nearly invisible speck of dust between his fingertips and studying it closely.

These two were Stewards from the Netherworld Pavilion who specialized in Tracking. Although their Cultivation was only at the Sixth Grade, they were highly accomplished in the art of Tracking and had solved many difficult cases for the pavilion.

"Well?"

Feng Yuan spoke, his voice hoarse.

The skinny Steward stood up, his brow deeply furrowed. He shook his head.

"Elder, the thief was extremely cautious. There are almost no lingering scents at the scene. I... I can’t track them."

Feng Yuan’s gaze shifted to the other man.

The Sturdy Steward also stood, his expression equally grim.

"There are no footprints on the ground, either. I can’t track them that way."

Feng Yuan’s face grew even darker.

Moments ago, he had personally used a Tracking Secret Technique to circle the storeroom, both inside and out, trying to find any clues.

As he was more skilled in Tracking Techniques, he had indeed found some traces—faintly visible footprints.

But after leaving the warehouse, the prints had been scattered by the wind and were impossible to find.

"Expand the search area," Feng Yuan said grimly.

The three of them activated their Body Techniques, radiating out from the valley to search the surroundings.

Feng Yuan took the east, the skinny Steward took the west, and the Sturdy Steward took the south.

They agreed to meet back at the valley entrance in two hours.

Two hours later, the three returned to the valley entrance one by one.

Feng Yuan’s face was ashen. The skinny and Sturdy Stewards looked just as grim. The three exchanged a look, each seeing the frustration in the others’ eyes.

"I found nothing in my sector," the skinny Steward said in a low voice.

"Mine either," the Sturdy Steward added.

Feng Yuan said nothing.

The eastern direction he had personally searched had also yielded nothing.

The thief’s trail had vanished without a trace, as if it had simply evaporated.

He had been in charge of Tracking matters for the Netherworld Pavilion for many years and considered himself quite skilled in the art.

Yet today, he hadn’t even caught a shadow of the thief.

"Search again," Feng Yuan gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse.

The three split up again, this time expanding the search radius to ten li.

Several hours later, the three gathered once more.

Still nothing.

Feng Yuan stood at the mouth of the valley with his hands behind his back, staring at the distant, rolling mountains. He remained silent for a long time.

He had to admit that with his abilities, he couldn’t find this thief.

"Send a message to the Sect," he spoke, his voice low and tinged with resentment.

"Just say the thief is highly skilled, left no traces at the scene, and that we were incompetent and unable to track them."

The skinny Steward and the Sturdy Steward exchanged a look, both seeing the helplessness in the other’s eyes.

’If even Elder Feng Yuan is at a loss, what can we do?’

"Yes."

The skinny Steward acknowledged the order and turned to prepare a Mail Eagle for the message.

Feng Yuan stood his ground, his brow knitted as his gaze swept over the ransacked storeroom.

’Who could have done this?’

’To be able to sneak into the medicinal field without alerting anyone, kill two people, steal all the herbs, and then retreat unscathed—’

’Such methods are far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary Martial Artist.’

He shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside.

’These matters are for the Vice Pavilion Master to worry about.’

---

In the great hall deep within the Netherworld Pavilion, Li Wushang stood before a window with his hands clasped behind his back. He held the message just sent by Feng Yuan, a slight frown on his face.

’Left no traces, unable to track...’

He murmured the contents of the letter, a flash of surprise in his deep-set eyes.

’Feng Yuan is highly accomplished in the art of Tracking. If even he is at a loss, this thief must have some real skill.’

’Still, the theft at a small medicinal field isn’t a major issue.’

Just as he was about to set the letter down, hurried footsteps sounded from outside the hall.

"Vice Pavilion Master, an urgent report!"

It was Liu Jin’s voice.

Li Wushang frowned. "Come in."

Liu Jin strode in, holding an urgent, wax-sealed report in both hands, and presented it.

Li Wushang took the report and broke the seal.

As his eyes swept over the words, his expression instantly turned hideous.

’The four disciples guarding the mining camp’s storeroom were killed. The entire stock of Spirit Iron, Spirit Copper Ore, and a batch of rare ores have been stolen...’

He read the report’s contents, his voice growing lower and heavier with each word.

The air in the hall seemed to freeze.

Liu Jin stood with his head bowed, not daring to breathe.

SLAM!

Li Wushang slammed the letter onto the desk. The ironwood desk cracked on impact, the fissures spreading like a spiderweb.

"Good. Very good!"

His voice was hoarse, thick with suppressed rage.

"First the medicinal field’s warehouse, and now the mining camp’s. It seems someone has set their sights on my Netherworld Pavilion!"

He stood up and began pacing back and forth in the hall, hands clasped behind his back, his expression so dark it seemed to drip water.

To rob two of the Netherworld Pavilion’s properties in a row.

This was a provocation. A grave provocation against the Netherworld Pavilion.

"No matter who you are, you will die for offending the Netherworld Pavilion."

Li Wushang stopped pacing. His gaze fell on Liu Jin, his voice ice-cold.

"Feng Yuan has already failed. We can no longer rely on him."

He fell silent for a moment, his mind rapidly sifting through the pavilion’s experts in Tracking.

A name surfaced in his mind.

"Send a message to Elder Luo Qi. Have her take charge of the investigation," he spoke, his voice low.

Liu Jin was taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Luo Qi was a Second-Grade Elder of the Netherworld Pavilion. While her Cultivation wasn’t the highest among the Elders, she was widely acknowledged as the best at Tracking.

She specialized in Tracking Techniques, and to this day, no one had ever escaped her pursuit.

However, Elder Luo Qi was currently overseeing a highly important mining operation. If she were to be reassigned, that mine’s defenses would be left vulnerable.

"Vice Pavilion Master, if we reassign Elder Luo Qi, what about the property she’s guarding...?" Liu Jin asked cautiously.

"Have Elder Chen Li take her place temporarily."

Li Wushang waved his hand, cutting him off. His tone was indisputable.

"The thief has already robbed two of our properties. If we don’t find them soon, there will be a third, and then a fourth."

He paused, a cold glint in his deep-set eyes.

"Yes, I’ll see to it at once."

Liu Jin dared not say more. He bowed, then turned and quickly exited the hall.

His footsteps soon faded at the end of the corridor.

Li Wushang stood before the window with his hands behind his back, gazing at the heavy dusk outside, his face as dark as water.

He had a bad feeling.

This thief would absolutely not stop here.

---

The next morning, as the sky began to brighten, Fang Han awoke in a hidden cave.

He stretched his limbs, took some dry rations from his robes, and chewed them slowly with a sip of fresh water.

After looting the mining camp yesterday, he had traveled through the night to find this cave far from the site to rest.

After a night of rest, his energy had mostly recovered.

With a thought, he summoned the system panel.

[Host: Fang Han]

[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 256x (Ninth Level Amplification requires 10,000,000 gold)]

[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Stepping Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Secret Technique Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Horizontal Training Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Wealth: 700,000 gold]

’Only 300,000 gold to go,’ Fang Han muttered to himself.

He was just 300,000 gold short of the 1,000,000 gold needed to unlock the Level 8 Amplification.

But if he continued to target smaller properties like before, he would need to raid two more to gather the remaining 300,000 gold.

’Should I target a larger property and get the 300,000 gold all at once?’ Fang Han mused.

’If I choose a larger property, the storeroom will surely hold more resources of higher value. I should be able to get the 300,000 gold in one go.’

’However, a larger property will also have stronger guards.’

He had read through detailed intelligence on all of the Netherworld Pavilion’s properties back in Tingyu Hall. The larger ones were all guarded by a Second Grade Martial Artist.

’I’ve decided. I’ll hit a larger property!’

After a moment of consideration, Fang Han made up his mind.

His next target would be a large property. He would aim to get the 300,000 gold in one go, bringing his total wealth to one million and meeting the condition to unlock the Level 8 Amplification as soon as possible.

’The main thing is, time is of the essence!’

The reason Fang Han was willing to take a bigger risk and target a larger property was primarily because time was not on his side.

He was confident that with his current Concealing Breath techniques, it would be extremely difficult for even the Netherworld Pavilion’s best tracker, the Second-Grade Elder Luo Qi, to find him.

But if the Netherworld Pavilion exhausted all their options and still couldn’t track him, they would very likely order all properties to transport their stored resources back to the pavilion.

Once the resources were returned to the Netherworld Pavilion’s headquarters, he would have no more chances.

The Netherworld Pavilion’s headquarters was guarded by a Grandmaster Powerhouse. He wouldn’t dare infiltrate it even if he had ten times the courage.

Therefore, he had to loot as much as possible before the Netherworld Pavilion could react.