Chapter 569 - 569: A Plan to Murder and Steal the Goods

"Five Gathering Essence Pills!"

Just then, Jiang Xinghai took out five shimmering, brown, crystalline pills from his storage pouch.

A potent medicinal fragrance wafted out, spreading in all directions and refreshing the spirit.

Each pill was covered with five Pill Patterns, making them exceptionally dazzling.

"These are... Gathering Essence Pills!"

Zheng Wuji's eyes began to gleam.

Although he had never taken one, he had seen them depicted in the Martial Arts Atlas!

Five of them!

Five Gathering Essence Pills!

Jiang Xinghai had actually taken out five at once!

Heavens!

A flame of excitement ignited in Zheng Wuji's eyes. He now craved not only the Gathering Essence Pills in Jiang Xinghai's hand but was also intensely curious about the man's origins.

"So, are we making a trade or not?" Jiang Xinghai asked. The five Gathering Essence Pills in his hand were undoubtedly the source of his confidence in helping Zheng Wuji break through to the Celestial Destiny Realm.

Zheng Wuji's desire for the Gathering Essence Pills was practically boundless.

Gathering Essence Pills were precious alchemical treasures that provided immense help to Cultivators breaking through to the Celestial Destiny Realm.

This miraculous effect was a temptation that almost no Cultivator could resist.

These five Gathering Essence Pills were more than enough to help Zheng Wuji successfully break through to the Celestial Destiny Realm.

In fact, two or three would have been enough, with some to spare!

But if the location of Mirror Lake Manor wasn't a top secret of the War Department, he might have agreed to Jiang Xinghai's proposal without hesitation.

However, he didn't dare do so for the sake of his career.

Ultimately, however, Zheng Wuji came up with a plan. He decided to pretend to agree to Jiang Xinghai's proposal and then use the opportunity to lead everyone back to Cui Mountain Island.

He hoped that there, with the help of his father-in-law, Cao Shan, he could seize Jiang Xinghai's Gathering Essence Pills—killing him and taking his goods to satisfy his own greedy desires.

"The location of Mirror Lake Manor is top secret. I need to think it over."

After calming himself for a moment, Zheng Wuji's eyes remained fixed on the five Gathering Essence Pills in Jiang Xinghai's palm. He then added, "Brother Jiang, you should put the Gathering Essence Pills away first, lest their energy dissipates from being exposed to the air."

"I don't see any reason to put them away now that I've taken them out."

Jiang Xinghai shook his head. The five Gathering Essence Pills in his palm glowed brightly. He picked one up and offered it to Nightingale. "Have a taste. It'll be very good for you."

"I..." Nightingale had been holding onto Jiang Xinghai's arm the whole time, so she was naturally closest to the Gathering Essence Pills. The fragrance, the kind that made any practitioner of Martial Arts want to swallow them whole, was constantly tantalizing her senses.

"Go on, try it," Jiang Xinghai said again, placing the pill in Nightingale's mouth.

Nightingale smiled, moved to tears. As she felt the pill's fragrance fill her mouth, an urge to close her eyes and savor the moment welled up from within her.

"Have another one." Jiang Xinghai raised his hand and popped another one into Nightingale's mouth.

Nightingale was simply overwhelmed by the favor, blissfully enjoying the benefits the Gathering Essence Pills brought her.

Immediately after, Jiang Xinghai also popped a pill into his own mouth.

"GULP..."

A few meters away, Zheng Wuji's Adam's apple bobbed incessantly.

'What a colossal waste!'

'Is that how you're supposed to eat Gathering Essence Pills?'

'Shouldn't you be meditating to refine them and nourish your body?'

Before his very eyes, Jiang Xinghai and Nightingale each ate another one.

And just like that, all five Gathering Essence Pills had been eaten like candy.

"You ate them all... So what about the trade?" Zheng Wuji couldn't stop himself from blurting out.

Halfway through his sentence, he saw Jiang Xinghai flip his hand over, and another five Gathering Essence Pills miraculously appeared in his palm.

"I've got plenty more."

Jiang Xinghai held the Gathering Essence Pills in his palm and started walking forward with Nightingale.

Zheng Wuji was utterly dumbfounded.

'Could this Jiang Xinghai be an Alchemist?'

He watched as Jiang Xinghai and Nightingale walked past him toward the cave entrance.

In the end, Zheng Wuji couldn't resist making a move.

A sneak attack from behind!

But suddenly—

"General Zheng, what do you think you're doing?" Sun Zhen, who had been hiding nearby the whole time, emerged from the shadows.

He stood there quietly, exuding a powerful aura.

'There's someone else!'

Zheng Wuji's expression instantly turned grim. He hadn't sensed this powerful, threatening presence at all before!

This threatening feeling was no weaker than what he'd felt from Jiang Xinghai.

"You misunderstand, sir. I was just about to follow them," Zheng Wuji said, forcing a smile as he immediately started walking forward.

But Sun Zhen blocked his path with an arm. "No rush."

The implication was clear: wait until Jiang Xinghai and Nightingale were out of the cave.

Zheng Wuji instinctively wanted to fight Sun Zhen, but facing two opponents at once would be asking for trouble.

"Let's go."

The next moment, after seeing Jiang Xinghai and Nightingale exit the cave, Sun Zhen reached out and grabbed Zheng Wuji's wrist.

Zheng Wuji felt his body being pulled forward by an immense force.

A second later, led by Sun Zhen, the two of them also walked out of the cave.

Outside the cave, sunlight dappled through the dense leaves and branches.

"I'll ask one more time. Are we making a trade or not?" Jiang Xinghai asked, holding the five Gathering Essence Pills so close they were almost right in front of Zheng Wuji's face.