Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 544 Delivery
In the beautiful mountains, Qiu Ben, standing in the misty pavilion, would sometimes let out a soft sigh.

As the days went by, the interrogation of Bai Shi reached a stalemate, or perhaps the previous judgments about Bai Shi were wrong.

Currently, most of the Bai family members in custody have been unable to withstand the interrogation and have confessed to some bad things, but none of them have mentioned the matter of the rice shop sending people away or kidnapping people. In fact, they know almost nothing about the relationship between Shi Chun, the rice shop, and the Bai family.

In other words, since he was able to confess to things that were detrimental to the Bai family, he had already betrayed the Bai family under severe torture, and there was no longer any need to hide the matter concerning Shi Chun and the Bai family.

Conversely, it is entirely possible that the Bai family had nothing to do with the upheaval that occurred outside Dazhi City.

The reasoning is simple: although Granny Qi has high cultivation, she couldn't possibly handle everything on her own; there must be people in the know who know the inside story.

Conversely, if even those under Bai's command remain silent, then no amount of severe interrogation of Granny Qi would yield any results, and there would be no point in interrogating her.

Therefore, the Phoenix Clan has gradually become extremely dissatisfied with the actions of the Extreme Fire Sect. We have already cooperated with the Extreme Fire Sect, but you can't expect the Phoenix Clan to cooperate indefinitely, can you?
They have already begun pressuring them to stop and release the prisoners.

The Extreme Fire Sect is no longer allowed to use excessive torture; the tide is gradually turning towards protecting the Bai family.

Of course, if the Extreme Fire Sect can offer even greater benefits, the Phoenix Clan might not mind selling the entire Bai Clan to them.

The question is, is it necessary for the Extreme Fire Sect to continue paying such a huge price for a potentially wrong direction?
Therefore, Qiu Ben, who was personally overseeing the situation here, was under a lot of pressure. Some of the sect's higher-ups had already expressed their dissatisfaction with him, saying that they had sent a blockhead to oversee the situation.

Huang Lang, who had climbed to the top of the pavilion, noticed his master's melancholy. He approached his master and suggested, "Master, if all else fails, why not try contacting Yin Xu at Zhu Lang Pavilion?"

Qiu Ben shook his head slightly. "The commotion caused by forcibly breaking into Zhu Lang Pavilion was too great. It has probably alerted the enemy. It's not very meaningful to touch Yin Xu's line now. Only by avoiding Yin Xu can we lower Shi Chun's guard. Once we've sealed the bag and made sure he can't find a way out, Yin Xu's line can finally be effective. Judging from the information we've gathered, Shi Chun is extremely cunning and slippery. We must be careful. We were a bit impulsive before."

Huang Lang hesitated and asked, "Could Shi Chun have already left Jukuzhou?"

Qiu Ben: "In this regard, we might as well trust the Western Emperor's judgment. Since he judged from Yin Xu's reaction that Shi Chun had not yet left the country, that person should still be within the territory of Jukuzhou. Although we don't know what that mysterious fellow Shi Chun is up to... we should also continue to monitor Huang Yingying, whom Po Yuan reminded us to."

"Yes," Huang Lang replied, but a question lingered in his mind: would this drag on really be of any use?

That evening, at the place of imprisonment, the on-duty patrolman Yin Fei once again took the opportunity to get away from the others, approached the cell, and whispered to Granny Qi inside: "Granny, the restaurant in the city has launched the new dish you mentioned."

He didn't know what the restaurant meant by introducing that new dish, but Granny Qi's eyes lit up. She knew that the person outside who was in charge of refining the incense had successfully completed the process.

She immediately approached the bars and whispered, "Send another secret letter to Yin Xu, the proprietress of Zhu Lang Pavilion, and tell Gao He that the goods are ready and will be placed under a large rock at the place where we first met at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow, so that they can retrieve them themselves. Also, send someone to that restaurant to reserve that new dish, and reserve it for Chenshi tomorrow."

Yin Fei repeated what he had said, and after confirming that it was correct, he quickly left.

Two hours later, the so-called secret letter appeared in Zhu Lang Pavilion and fell into Yin Xu's hands.

Yin Xu couldn't help but ponder the contents of the letter. He wondered what the so-called "goods" were and where their first meeting had taken place. No one could guess.

After hesitating, she still sent the contents of the letter to Shi Chun using a mother-child symbol.

At this moment, Shi Chun and the others were hiding underground in a cave dug by Wu Jinliang using earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic or technique). There were hidden ventilation holes, so they were safe and sound, but they were bored.

The reason for the tedious waiting was to receive news from Granny Qi. Granny Qi had previously sent a message through Yin Xu, saying that the cooperation would continue.

Earlier, Granny Qi had said that the refining of the "Death-Reaping Incense" would take about ten days.

Since Grandma Qi is still able to send messages to the outside world, it means that she still has some control over the situation and the ability to continue the cooperation.

Let's trust her for now and wait for her news.

As it turned out, his wait was worthwhile. As soon as Yin Xu's message arrived, he knew where the delivery location was. Where else could Wu Jinliang and Granny Qi have first met? It was probably at Zhelanpo outside the city.

He immediately summoned his men to discuss and arrange the pickup of the goods.

When the time came to Chenshi (7-9 AM) the next day, Lao Changtai, disguised, rode the wind-scaled dragon and landed precisely at the place where he first met Granny Qi at Zhelanpo, bathed in the rising sun.

He could have hired a passerby, but after much deliberation, Shi Chun decided to send one of his own people to pick up the goods.

For example, right now, the slope is quite steep, and it's a hassle to point out the exact location to passersby in the heart-shaped grass grove.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, alluring and captivating, yet unable to conceal the lush greenery. Upon landing, Lao Changtai first surveyed his surroundings with caution, then headed straight for a large rock in his line of sight. He used his magic to overturn it, revealing a pit containing a small box.

After performing the ritual to check, he quickly took the small box and opened it. Inside, nestled in a soft cushion, was a small silver jar.

Take out the sealed jar, open the lid directly, and you'll see a lump of dark, sticky paste about the size of an egg, emitting a pleasant fragrance.

"Is this the 'Death-Killing Incense'?" Lao Changtai muttered to himself, seemingly not seeing the exaggerated fragrance he had heard of.

He reached out and used his magic to check the pit again, confirming that it was just this thing and there was nothing else.

Immediately following Shi Chun's instructions, he took out another jar, used magic to scrape all the black ointment from the small silver jar, and poured it all into his own jar. Then he threw the original box and jar back into the pit and weighed them down with the large stone. Afterward, he rode his wind scales into the air, removing his gloves and shoe covers mid-air and quickly disappearing into the distance as a streak of light.

He himself felt that he might be being a little too cautious.

Shi Chun said that at least the Extreme Fire Sect already knew that Wang Ping was Shi Chun.

There's a whole set of precautions to take after that.

Lao Changtai followed the pre-arranged route because Shi Chun and his team were lying in ambush along the route to see if anyone was following them.

After confirming that it was safe, Lao Changtai rushed to the meeting place after receiving the message.

Inside a mountain cave, Shi Chun opened the incense burner and examined it. He had never seen the real thing before, so he didn't know if it was genuine or not. If it was real, and Grandma Qi hadn't arranged for anyone to follow him, then he would really feel a bit out of place.

Several heads nearby also peered over to take a look.

"That's all..." Wu Jinliang muttered after looking at it, the amount was clearly not to his liking.

Shi Chun weighed it for a moment, "They say that three hundred catties of core can be refined into one tael, which is about right and matches the legend. As long as the ingredients are fine, we can talk about the quantity later."

Wu Jinliang nodded and said, "Let's verify the authenticity of the items first."

Shi Chun immediately said to Chu Jingtang and the other two, "Who will go and catch a live creature nearby?"

Chu Jingtang replied, "I'll go. What kind of live animals do you need?"

Shi Chun: "Anything is fine, as long as it's a little bigger."

"Okay." Chu Jingtang agreed and then left.

They went quickly and came back quickly, and soon they caught a coyote that was still baring its teeth and growling fiercely.

Shi Chun grabbed the hyena by the neck and held it until it died before throwing it to the ground. He then took out the 'Ice Sheep' he had prepared beforehand to help him breathe in an oxygen-free environment and said to Chu Jingtang and the other two, "I heard that when the 'Death-Slaying Incense' is used, the fragrance can travel very far. I wonder how effective it is at concealment when hidden deep underground. You three lie in ambush around here. If the fragrance seeps out and something seems amiss, give the warning immediately."

“Okay.” All three nodded in agreement.

Shi Chunxuan immediately nodded to Wu Jinliang.

Wu Jinliang chuckled, squatted down and pressed down on the ground, immediately creating a pit that sank into the ground along with Shi Chun and the coyote's corpse.

From an outsider's perspective, Chu Jingtang clicked his tongue and said, "This guy learned this trick, he's probably going to use it to steal people."

Wu Jinliang's snort emerged from beneath the thawing ground, "Damn it, I have plenty of money now, why would I need to steal?"

The three on the ground laughed heartily. They were quite wealthy now. Back when they were in their original sect, they never imagined that they would become so rich in just a few years. It was just that their lives were a bit too exciting.

Sigh, now that we're on board, all we can do is try to adapt.

After laughing, the three waved to each other and each took a different direction to act as hidden sentries.

After descending to a sufficient depth underground, Shi Chun spoke up: "That's about enough. If the fragrance can still waft out from this depth, going any deeper won't help."

Wu Jinliang stopped after expanding the space a bit.

Shi Chun, who was holding the Sandalwood Flame and the Ice Sheep, tossed the jar containing the Death-Slaying Incense to him.

Wu Jinliang took the jar, opened it, scooped up a clump of liquid with his index finger, and said to Shi Chun, "Then I'll just burn it?"

Shi Chun: "You're asking me? I don't know either. It's said that it was burned directly."

Alright, Wu Jinliang closed his eyes briefly to contemplate, secretly casting a spell. When he suddenly opened his eyes, a ball of orange-red flame hummed out from his fingertips, revealing that he had unleashed a fire control technique.

There was no other way. There were several people in the Mingshan Sect who practiced fire-based techniques. He, who had practiced the "All Aspects Technique," had pestered them to spar. Although he couldn't perfectly replicate their fire-based techniques, he could definitely set things on fire.

The burning flames enveloped the dark, sticky ointment on his fingertip.

Soon, a strange fragrance wafted out, an indescribable and wonderful aroma that made people feel lightheaded and almost ethereal. Only by casting a spell to stabilize their minds could they remain clear-headed.

Shi Chun stared intently at the changes in the burning ointment. Strangely, he saw bubbles rising slightly, but no smoke was seen coming out.

He immediately cast a spell, activating the supernatural ability of his right eye to observe.

(End of this chapter)