Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 622 Repeatedly
"As long as price isn't an issue, this is simple, leave it to me."

This is what Lao Xi said, patting his chest, when Lao Changtai contacted him.

On the same day they approached him, Lao Xi immediately brought over a dozen pieces of women's jewelry, the kind of magical artifacts that could be used for location tracking, and ingenious designs that were not easily detected.

If it were the kind of locating artifact that was easy to find, Lao Xi boasted that he could get his hands on thousands of them at any time.

After personally examining the jewelry, Shi Chun found that the tampering could be detected with careful scrutiny, but it was nothing compared to the ring given by the woman in red. That ring was clearly suspicious, yet no one could find any flaws even with a thorough examination. However, with the current jewelry, the problem should not be too serious given that the woman was not paying attention.

Lao Xi brought these items so that they could choose whichever one they liked, and he would return the rest.

Knowing that his efforts weren't in vain, as he would receive a commission for helping others sell the goods, Shi Chun generously bought them all, thinking that he might need them in the future.

This naturally made Lao Xi a little happy again.

The purchased jewelry was temporarily given to Lao Changtai for his use.

Lao Changtai immediately took the items to test the taste of Nian Xiu, the proprietress of Shitouji, to see which one she would choose. Anything was fine with her, as it would save him the trouble of making recommendations. That's the advantage of having a lot of items.

As a result, if the first method doesn't work, try the second.

Things went very smoothly. Lao Changtai, disguised as a peddler, passed by the entrance of Shitouji without any extra effort. He easily sold a hairpin to Nianxiu based on Wu Jinliang's fabricated story.

There were no complicated peddler's tales; he simply said that his jewelry was called "A Lifetime's Fate," and that each person could only buy it once in their lifetime, and that he would never come back to the same place to sell it a second time. He claimed that each piece was unique, and that if a woman wore this jewelry, the man would be devoted to her for the rest of his life.

Lao Changtai found these ridiculous arguments disgusting; weren't they just blatantly treating people like idiots? He felt a little embarrassed to say it, but Wu Jinliang said that as long as you're not an idiot yourself, what does it matter if you treat others like idiots?
As it turned out, the peddler's words were actually quite effective. Nian Xiu, who had initially been indifferent, couldn't help but approach the stall after hearing this, and eventually couldn't resist picking out an item.

It wasn't just sold to Nianxiu, but also to another woman.

He was a neighbor and also a friend of Nianxiu. He was in Nianxiu's shop, and it seemed that Nianxiu was giving instructions about the shop, entrusting it to him for care.

Upon hearing the peddler's words, the woman's eyes lit up, and she made her selection before Nianxiu.

Having no other choice, Lao Changtai had to sell it to her as well.

Looking at the position of the light spot on the corresponding positioning compass, Shi Chun was not surprised by the easy result. He felt that Wu Jinliang should be able to handle such a small matter by himself. Besides, that guy often played around with those women. If he couldn't even give away something like this, that would be abnormal.

The drawback is that high-level magical artifacts that can locate objects across multiple realms are indeed hard to find. Currently, such artifacts can only be located within the same realm. However, these are minor issues; it's just a matter of spending a little more time.

Soon, the agreed-upon three days arrived.

In the same courtyard where Chu Jingtang was, Shi Chun and the others were still waiting in the same old spot. Li Hongjiu, who was unconscious, had also been moved there.

When the half-human mist that emerged from the vortex reappeared, the two sides agreed on a meeting place outside the city.

After the half-human fog disappeared, Chu Jingtang stayed behind to guard the city, while Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang went directly outside the city.

He couldn't take everyone with him; it was also to maintain a balance of power. He wanted Yu Xuanbing to realize that there were other people here who could enter and leave the two realms, and that silencing him would be useless.

Upon arriving at the meeting place, Wu Jinliang began digging a tunnel, while Shi Chun waited eagerly on the ground, wanting to see what the legendary number one assassin in the cultivation world looked like.

Before they could even see the person in person, they saw the red mist fish pulling the red line as it came to investigate.

Being cautious is understandable, but Shi Chun pretended not to see it and continued to look around.

The red mist fish swam into the hole that Wu Jinliang had dug to check it out, and after coming out, it searched the surrounding area thoroughly.

After the Red Mist Fish left, Shi Chun received a message from Lao Changtai saying that the owner of Stone Story had left, but the owner's wife, Nian Xiu, did not leave with him.

After disguising himself, Lao Changtai kept watch near the stonemason's shop.

Shi Chun was somewhat surprised and suspicious. What was going on? Could it be that Nian Xiu was just a smokescreen and not actually Yu Xuanbing's wife?
If the wrong person was identified, and Yu Xuanbing took away someone else's wife, then there's no way he could ever find her again.

If that situation were to actually occur, he wondered if he should ask the woman in red to borrow the Demon Eye.
Thinking about it again, something didn't seem right. Based on Lao Changtai's observations when he was selling jewelry, Nian Xiu was indeed entrusting the shop to an outsider.

It was difficult to determine the exact situation at the moment, so he could only reply to Lao Changtai, asking him to continue to keep a close watch on the matter secretly.

After waiting for a while, a figure finally appeared precisely at their meeting point. It was a person who was masked and covered by a black cloak, and even wore a pair of black gloves. Apart from the eyes, not a single piece of skin was exposed, and he exuded a mysterious aura in the dim light.

Although he wasn't as tall as Wu Jinliang, he was still quite tall.

It was within Shi Chun's expectations that the other party would not reveal their true form. What truly surprised him was the source of the other party's power. Only after getting a closer look did he realize that the other party's power source was actually demonic energy!

This Yu Xuanbing is actually a member of the demonic path?

What the hell?

According to legends in the cultivation world, this top assassin also seems to have killed quite a few people from the demonic path.

Could it be that one faction killed members of the other two factions of the demonic path?
This was truly beyond Shi Chun's expectations. If he sent a demonic cultivator out, wouldn't the demonic path discover his secret of entering and leaving the two realms?

What on earth is going on? How did I end up getting entangled with the demonic path?

But now he probably has no choice but to go back on his word. If he breaks his promise and doesn't verify on the spot whether he can open the passage between the two worlds, does he think that someone as ruthless as Yu Xuanbing wouldn't dare to make a move?

Yu Xuanbing glanced at the newly dug hole and said in a hoarse voice, "Let's begin."

Although it was the first formal meeting, there was no need to verify their identities.

Shi Chun countered, "Why are you alone, Senior? Didn't you say you were taking someone with you?"

Yu Xuanbing: "He suddenly didn't want to leave."

Upon hearing this, Shi Chun breathed a slight sigh of relief. He was afraid that Nian Xiu was not his wife. It was good that she was. However, he couldn't help but worry. If he really abandoned Nian Xiu and ran away, it would mean that the assassin did not take Nian Xiu seriously. Therefore, he would not be able to use her to blackmail him if anything happened.

Now that things had come to this, he could only pretend to be indifferent and instead said, "Let's go."

After saying that, he turned around and jumped into the deep underground pit.

Yu Xuanbing followed and flashed in.

Wu Jinliang was at the very end, using magic to block the passage all the way.

Looking up at him as he landed after blocking the entrance, Yu Xuanbing asked warily, "What do you mean by blocking the entrance passage?"

Shi Chun had already thrown out a corpse and explained, "To open the passage between the two worlds, you need to use 'Death-Preventing Incense.' If it's not buried deep underground, the fragrance will spread out and cause unnecessary trouble."

“But the incense is deadly…” Yu Xuanbing muttered.

Shi Chun nodded to Wu Jinliang, who immediately took out a small jar, scooped out a small amount of ointment-like substance, and set it on fire.

Yu Xuanbing was clearly surprised. He had just witnessed the other party's earth-type technique, and now he was using a fire-type technique. It was very rare for someone to possess two types of techniques at the same time.

Shi Chun also used his magic to assist, waving his hands to pour the invisible smoke from the burning corpse onto the ground.

Before long, Yu Xuanbing saw tiny holes appear in the void. As Shi Chun performed his spell, these tiny holes began to move and gradually merged into a large hole. He immediately felt a surge of yang energy from the outside world. Upon closer inspection, he could even see the light from outside, which was truly miraculous.

Wu Jinliang had stopped, scraped the unburnt elixir of the Death-Repelling Incense from his fingers back into the small jar, and at Shi Chun's signal, slipped into the interdimensional passage and went out first.

Once outside, one immediately sees the vast green grassland below, the expansive Heart-wrapping Grass Grass, and returns to the Sacred Mountain region of Jukuzhou.

Just as he was about to float down, he noticed the movement behind him and realized that Yu Xuanbing had silently followed him out.

The two landed on the grass on the ground, one after the other.

Shi Chun was the last to emerge, landing near the two of them.

Yu Xuanbing glanced at the blazing sun and instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes. After slowly lowering his hand, he looked around and choked out, "This is Heart-Wrapping Grass, from Jukuzhou..."

As he spoke, he opened his mouth to breathe, and anyone could sense his excitement from his rapid breathing.

"Please make yourself at home, senior. How about we meet again here in three days?"

Shi Chun asked, explaining that he had brought the person to this area in preparation for contacting the woman in red and seeing if he could summon the Demon Eye to track down her whereabouts.

Unexpectedly, Yu Xuanbing took a deep breath, turned his head, and said in an unquestionable tone: "Return to the Underworld, now, immediately!"

"..."

The two people standing nearby were stunned.

Shi Chun asked doubtfully, "Senior, I suffer a considerable loss every time I go in and out. Do you think it's easy to get the Devil Incense? This is not something to be taken lightly."

Yu Xuanbing: "I'm going back to pick someone up. We agreed that I could bring one person with me. Are you going to go back on your word?"

"..." Shi and Wu were speechless again. It was clearly you who broke your promise and said that the other one didn't want to leave.

But they quickly realized that the person had come ahead to scout ahead and would only bring that person out once they were absolutely certain.

Yu Xuanbing seemed to know he was in the wrong, and added, "In addition to the ten days I promised you, I will help you kill one more person."

The outcome would simply be a matter of who has the bigger fist, but for Shi Chun, it was actually a secret delight. As long as Yu Xuanbing still cared about that lady, it would be best if he could bring her out. This way, they wouldn't have to alarm the woman in red to help track her down, saving them a lot of trouble.

As long as he can grasp the opponent's weakness, he is not afraid of whether the opponent is a demon or not.

So even if Yu Xuanbing doesn't offer any benefits, he will still agree.

He suddenly looked up at the sky. Although the exit between the two realms had already dispersed, the dispersed golden threads were still there because they had not yet captured the souls of this realm. However, the area they had dispersed was quite large.

Based on past experience, it should still be possible to save time if we hurry.

He had already soared into the sky in a flash, quickly casting spells in the air to catch the corpses. This was much more troublesome than doing it next to the corpses, but after some effort, he still managed to recreate the entrance to the two worlds.

The opening has shrunk considerably. There's no other way; it would take a long time to retrieve everything. Now it's just big enough for a person to crawl in and out.

"Hurry up, the effects of the medicine won't last long, senior, take him with you." Shi Chun pointed at Wu Jinliang.

Yu Xuanbing immediately grabbed Wu Jinliang and flew up. When they reached the cave entrance, he first threw Wu Jinliang in to scout the way, and then followed him in.

Shi Chun was naturally the last to evacuate.

The three of them quickly returned to the cave they had been in before. Shi Chunxu dispersed his magic with a gesture, and the passage between the two worlds immediately disappeared again.

Yu Xuanbing, who witnessed it firsthand, was secretly amazed. He never expected that the barrier between the two realms, which even powerful beings could not break, could be breached by a person with low cultivation.

Next, Wu Jinliang led the way again, and the three of them resurfaced on the ground.

Once on the ground, Yu Xuanbing took out the Mother-Child Talisman and sent a message: Come, the location hasn't changed.

Then you just wait where you are.

Soon, Yu Xuanbing noticed the movement underground. After using magic to investigate, he discovered that the corpse underground had come back to life and was running around wildly.

He had heard of the wonderful effects of the incense that could kill, so he wasn't too surprised.

Not long after, Shi Chun also took out a mother-child talisman to check. It was a message from Lao Changtai, informing him that Nian Xiu had also set off.

Shi Chun glanced at it, felt reassured, and quickly erased the message.

After waiting for a while, a thin figure dressed like Yu Xuanbing floated over and shrank behind Yu Xuanbing as soon as it landed.

Yu Xuanbing nodded to Shi Chun and said, "We can go now."

Shi Chun gave Wu Jinliang a wink, and Wu Jinliang immediately moved to a different spot to beckon them over.

After the people gathered together, Wu Jinliang cast another spell and sank them underground.

The way they left was naturally the same as before.

But after they emerged, they found themselves in a mountain forest bathed in the glow of the setting sun, with the distant, bustling city faintly visible.

Yu Xuanbing looked around in surprise and suspicion, clearly becoming wary. The thin, cloaked woman holding his hand tightly was obviously very excited and couldn't help but cough unconsciously.

Knowing Yu Xuanbing's confusion, Shi Chun quickly explained, "This is the capital of the Northern Kingdom. You wasted the points I set up before. It really costs me a lot to set up each time. You saw the corpses before. Every time you run around, it means you've lost another life."

Yu Xuanbing had already used magic to quickly search the surrounding area. After confirming that there were no problems, he asked, "Give me an address?"

Shi Chun glanced at the woman beside him, then picked up a stone from the ground with a spell, wrote down an address, and threw it to Yu Xuanbing.

After reading it, Yu Xuanbing nodded slightly, then crushed the stone with a bang, grabbed his wife, and disappeared into the depths of the mountains.

Shi Chun immediately took out the positioning compass. After seeing the flashing light on it, he breathed a sigh of relief, put it away, and then used magic to gather some of the scattered golden threads in the void. After reopening the passage between the two worlds, he returned to the underworld with Wu Jinliang.

After returning to the surface of the underworld from underground, Shi Chun sent a message to Lao Changtai.

After waiting for a while, Lao Changtai arrived carrying Li Hongjiu, who was unconscious and wrapped in a white cloth.

The group changed locations, sank underground again to open the passage between the two worlds, and returned to the mountains and forests near the capital of Beiju with Li Hongjiu, but not to the previous location.

After surveying the surrounding area, Shi Chun handed the positioning compass to Lao Changtai, saying, "I'm entrusting you with finding that woman's residence. This is no small matter; you must change your appearance and be extremely careful to conceal it."

It's best not to let anyone else know about this; it's most appropriate to hand it over to Lao Changtai.

Lao Changtai naturally understood. After receiving the positioning compass, he nodded slightly to Wu Jinliang, who was holding Li Hongjiu, and then slipped away.

(End of this chapter)