Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 444 A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime

The restaurant, in the backyard.

The table was laden with delicious food, and Lin Chen sat alone in the courtyard.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Young Master Gu."

A sweet, delicate voice came from inside the house, and a woman with bright eyes, white teeth, and exquisite features, dressed in a red dress and light gauze, slowly walked out.

Qiao Shishuang walked gracefully and alluringly to Lin Chen.

"Thank you for helping me out of this predicament, Mr. Gu. I would like to offer you a toast to express my gratitude."

A pair of slender hands picked up the wine pot on the table, but Lin Chen reached out and pressed it down.

"I'm sorry, I don't drink alcohol. Miss Qiao, please give me the Dragon Blood Bodhi first, and then tell me what business you want to discuss with me."

Lin Chen did not lower his guard because of the beauty's toast. Although he could not tell that Qiao Shishuang had done anything under his spiritual perception, she was not to be underestimated because she was able to steal treasures from the Seven Star Sect.

"Young Master Gu, why the rush..."

Qiao Shishuang's beautiful eyes darted around, and her delicate body was about to press against her, but the next moment she felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss and couldn't help but shiver.

Before her eyes, Gu Fei seemed like a completely different person, and a sharp aura locked onto her. When she saw the meaning in Gu Fei's eyes, Qiao Shishuang had no doubt that if she didn't take out the Dragon Blood Bodhi, Gu Fei would kill her.

"Miss Qiao, my patience is limited."

Lin Chen spoke calmly, explaining that he was there because he was interested in the Dragon Blood Bodhi, not in this woman.

Qiao Shishuang didn't have any other thoughts, but she became more wary of Gu Fei. This person didn't seem like a disciple from a super sect at all.

"This is a Dragon Blood Bodhi seed."

Qiao Shishuang took out a jade box from her bosom, placed it on the table, and opened it. An oval fruit radiating a rich vitality appeared in front of Lin Chen.

Dragon Blood Bodhi is not actually stained with dragon blood, but rather is the fruit of a Bodhi tree that grows in a place where the dragon veins of heaven and earth are located.

Having confirmed that the dragon blood was genuine, Lin Chen put the jade box into his pocket and placed it in his treasure box. Then he looked at Qiao Shishuang and said, "Miss Qiao, please make it clear what kind of business you want to discuss with me."

“Since Young Master Gu is in such a hurry, then I won’t keep you in suspense any longer. I know of a place with Dragon Blood Bodhi trees, and I estimate there should be dozens of Dragon Blood Bodhi trees there. I would like to cooperate with Young Master Gu to go there and pick the Dragon Blood Bodhi trees.”

When Lin Chen heard that Qiao Shishuang knew the location of the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree, he wasn't too surprised. He had already guessed that the deal Qiao Shishuang wanted to discuss was related to the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree.

Either they know the location of the Dragon Blood Bodhi tree, or they know a treasure land where more Dragon Blood Bodhi trees are hidden.

"The Dragon Blood Bodhi is priceless; doesn't Miss Qiao want to keep it all for herself?"

Qiao Shishuang sighed softly, "Why does Young Master Gu have to test me like this? I want to cooperate with Young Master Gu because I cannot go to the place where the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree is located by myself."

"Don't worry, Young Master Gu. Since we're going to cooperate, I will definitely tell you everything and won't hide anything from you."

Lin Chen smiled slightly but did not reply. He only believed half of what Qiao Shishuang said.

“Young Master Gu, the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree is located at the border of the Fulong Domain and the Xuanhuang Domain. However, there are many powerful demonic beasts around the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree. With my strength alone, I am afraid it will be difficult to get close. That is why I want to cooperate with Young Master Gu.”

"Has this place not been discovered by other sects?"

Hearing Lin Chen's question, Qiao Shishuang smiled and said, "Young Master Gu, you may not know this, but because this is the border between two regions, neither the Fulong Sect nor the Xuanhuang Sect would send too many powerful figures to operate here in order to avoid misunderstandings. As for ordinary martial artists, they dare not get too close because of the presence of demonic beasts."

Why did Miss Qiao come to me?

Lin Chen looked at Qiao Shishuang. If the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree existed in a place with many demonic beasts, Qiao Shishuang would not need to cooperate with him at all. Anyone who can cultivate to the Innate Realm will have a few close friends and experts of the same realm on the path of martial arts.

If it were me, I wouldn't cooperate with a stranger I've only met once. Even if I admire their strength, who can guarantee that they won't have designs on monopolizing the Dragon Blood Bodhi?
Especially for a disciple like himself from a super sect, he could easily call upon several fellow disciples from the sect to cooperate. Even if he regretted it later, Qiao Shishuang would be helpless.

“I know what Young Master Gu is worried about, so I’ll tell you the truth. I didn’t discover the location of the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree myself. It was known to a family in the Fulong Domain. That family had a map to the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree. I went to that family’s place with a few people, but for some reason, the map was split in two. I got the innermost part of the map.”

Qiao Shishuang sighed. She also wanted to have it all to herself, but she didn't have a complete map. There were so many monsters watching in that area that it would be difficult for her to break in by herself. She would have to find someone to cooperate with.

Most importantly, the person who has the other half of the map can use it to avoid the monsters on the periphery, giving them a greater advantage than her.

“Miss Qiao, your explanation is not clear enough. If it’s just this information, I don’t intend to cooperate with you.”

Lin Chen shook his head. Qiao Shishuang was clearly not telling the truth and was being vague. He wouldn't take the risk just because of that.

"Young Master Gu, I didn't want to explain it so clearly, but it's just that it's a bit difficult to say."

Qiao Shishuang gave a wry smile, but seeing Lin Chen's resolute attitude, she said helplessly, "Fine, in order to dispel Young Master Gu's doubts, I will tell you everything."

"I have a good relationship with the grandson of an elder of the Seven Star Sect. Seven days ago, while traveling in the Dragon Subduing Domain, we encountered another martial artist who also knew the grandson of that Seven Star Sect elder. This person told us that the Chu family in Sanlian City is hiding a secret: the Chu family knows the location of a Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree." ...

……

After hearing Qiao Shishuang's account, Lin Chen understood what had happened.

The grandson of the elder of the Seven Star Sect must have admired Qiao Shishuang, or perhaps had some kind of fantasy about her. He invited Qiao Shishuang to travel in the Fulong Domain, where they encountered another martial artist. From this martial artist, they learned that the Chu family of Sanlian City possessed a treasure map, a map showing the location of the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree.

The Chu family only has one Innate Realm Transformation Realm expert, who is over seventy years old. The grandson of the elder of the Seven Star Sect discovered through investigation that the Chu family did not have an Innate Realm martial artist a hundred years ago. The only Innate Realm martial artist now is someone who accidentally found a Dragon Blood Bodhi forty years ago. By auctioning the Dragon Blood Bodhi and exchanging it for martial arts resources, he had the opportunity to step into the Innate Realm.

Dragon Blood Bodhi is very precious, and some people have suspected that the Chu family patriarch has discovered the Dragon Blood Bodhi tree. Some sects have even come to inquire, promising that as long as the Chu family patriarch reveals the whereabouts of the Dragon Blood Bodhi tree, they will guarantee the Chu family's wealth and prosperity for generations and allow Chu family members to join their sects.

However, the Chu family member stated that he had discovered the Dragon Blood Bodhi in the cave of a powerful figure. He also led many powerful figures from various sects to the cave ruins. In the end, they confirmed that the cave's owner was a powerful figure at the third level of the Innate Realm. Only then did these sects dispel their doubts.

Of course, while those sects dispelled their doubts, many families kept their eyes on the Chu family, even observing them secretly for decades. Among them was the martial artist who approached the grandson of the Seven Star Sect elder.

According to the martial artist, his father had always suspected that the Chu family had actually discovered the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree. Although the Chu family did not obtain any more Dragon Blood Bodhi Trees afterward, an investigation revealed that in recent years... members of the Chu family had been disappearing.

Unfortunately, the martial artist's father died in battle with his enemies before he could find out where the missing members of the Chu family had gone. The martial artist continued to keep an eye on the Chu family and finally discovered not long ago that the missing members of the Chu family had gone to a certain mountain range.

Therefore, he concluded that the Chu family had not taken any action in previous years because the Bodhi of the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree had not yet matured, and the Chu family was not in a hurry. However, recently, members of the Chu family have been disappearing one after another because the Dragon Blood Bodhi is about to mature.

Dragon Blood Bodhi normally matures once every hundred years. If the essence of heaven and earth is rich enough where it grows, the maturation speed will be accelerated. Once it matures, if it is not harvested within ten years, it will wither on the tree branch after ten years. If you want the fruit to mature again, you can only wait another hundred years.

"Although this person can be certain that the Chu family must know the whereabouts of the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree, he alone cannot take the map from the Chu family. If the news leaks out, many sects in the Fulong Domain will definitely take action, and the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree will no longer be his."

"According to your words, why would this person tell the grandson of the Seven Star Sect elder about this matter? Isn't he afraid that the Seven Star Sect will find out? I believe that the Seven Star Sect would not give him the Dragon Blood Bodhi. Moreover, in order to keep the secret of the Dragon Blood Bodhi, the Seven Star Sect might even kill him to silence him."

Lin Chen stared intently at Qiao Shishuang. Even the Fulong Sect, the overlord of the Fulong Domain, would be tempted by a treasure like the Dragon Blood Bodhi. If the Fulong Sect found out, the Seven Star Sect might not get a chance.

"Because this person knows that Zhuo Huai will not tell the sect about this matter, not even his grandfather."

Qiao Shishuang pondered for a moment and explained, "Zhuo Huai is the grandson of that Seven Star Sect elder. His grandfather was not particularly strong among the many elders of the Seven Star Sect. If it were reported to the sect, he would only get one or two Dragon Blood Bodhi at most. But if it were told to his grandfather in private, it would definitely be distributed to his brothers. Zhuo Huai and his brothers are half-brothers and have deep grudges against each other."

There are too many examples of brothers fighting each other in large families. If this is the case even among brothers with the same father and mother, let alone half-brothers, Lin Chen understood the meaning behind Qiao Shishuang's words.

Zhuo Huai and his brothers had a long-standing feud. He didn't want to find the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree through their grandfather, which ultimately benefited his brothers.

"In Zhuo Huai's view, only the head of the Chu family was at the first level of the Innate Realm. He and that other person were enough. The two of them went to the Chu family and forced the head of the Chu family to hand over the map by threatening the lives of the Chu family members. But what I didn't expect was that after obtaining the map, Zhuo Huai and the other person actually wiped out the entire Chu family, just to prevent the news from leaking out."

Qiao Shishuang looked at Lin Chen with a complicated expression: "The reason I didn't say these things just now was because I was afraid that Young Master Gu would misunderstand and think that I am a cruel person. The massacre of the Chu family has nothing to do with me."

Lin Chen didn't care whether Qiao Shishuang really didn't do anything, but the Chu family's experience proved the saying, "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime."

The Chu family patriarch's ambitions are too grand; he wants to monopolize the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree. If he had chosen to hand over the Dragon Subduing Sect to the Dragon Subduing Sect in the first place, the sect would certainly have been willing to protect the Chu family and even grant them several outer sect disciple slots.

With the strength of the Fulongmen, there is no need for them to kill people to cover up a Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree.

"At that time, I was waiting for Zhuo Huai to return at a restaurant in Sanlian City, but after waiting for a long time, I did not see Zhuo Huai. Instead, I heard news from other people in the city that the Chu family had been destroyed by fire and all 374 members of the Chu family had died in the fire."

"It was then that I learned that Zhuo Huai and his companion had wiped out the entire Chu family. As for the arson, it was to destroy the evidence. After learning that the Chu family had been destroyed, I went back to the restaurant. This time, Zhuo Huai finally returned. But to my surprise, Zhuo Huai was seriously injured. After wiping out the Chu family, he was ambushed by his companions on the way back. Fortunately, Zhuo Huai was able to escape thanks to the treasure left by his grandfather, but he was already dying."

"The Dragon Blood Bodhi I gave you, Young Master Gu, was brought back by Zhuo Huai. Besides the Dragon Blood Bodhi, there was also half a map. Unfortunately, Zhuo Huai died after he finished telling his story."

Qiao Shishuang finished speaking in one breath, and without waiting for Lin Chen to ask, she took the initiative to explain: "I know that Young Master Gu will ask why I did not tell Zhuo Huai's grandfather about this. Firstly, Zhuo Huai's grandfather may not believe what I said, and secondly, even if he did believe me, I cannot guarantee that he would not kill me to silence me for the sake of the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree."

“I come from an ordinary family and am not from any major sect. The Seven Star Sect will not hesitate to kill me to silence me. Don’t be fooled by my status as a Xiantian Realm expert. I am nothing in front of the Seven Star Sect.”

Qiao Shishuang had a self-deprecating look on her face. Lin Chen gave Qiao Shishuang a deep look. She had these worries, but he was more afraid that she wanted to hide the news because she coveted the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree.

However, none of that mattered to him. What he needed to consider now was whether or not to search for the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree.

"Let me think about this matter."

"Young Master Gu, you need to hurry. The one who killed Zhuo Huai will definitely search for the Dragon Blood Bodhi Tree as soon as possible. If they find it first, then all our efforts will be in vain."

I will give you an answer tomorrow.

……

Lin Chen settled down in the backyard of the restaurant, holding the Dragon Blood Bodhi in his hand. At this moment, the [Racing Against Time] prompt appeared again on the panel in front of him.

[Absorbing the energy of the Dragon Blood Bodhi can raise your Qi and Blood level by one level with three Bodhi seeds. Considering all aspects of the host's martial arts, the current Qi and Blood level is low and needs to be caught up as soon as possible.]

(End of this chapter)