Minglong

Chapter 177 What a pure and cold martial arts technique!

As the daylight faded and the crowds at the market receded like a tide, all sorts of people from different walks of life once again flooded the streets.

Nangong Ye, wearing a veiled hat and with Xie Jinhuan's weapon hanging at his waist, hid on the roof of an old medicine shop in Xiaoyao Cave, watching the black-cloaked man in the chaotic market, his eyes filled with amazement at the 'formidable young man'.

After all, it's really hard to believe that a righteous little kid could act like a seasoned veteran of the underworld to this extent.

The cloaked figures walked slowly through the streets, their backs slightly bent. Whenever a warrior carrying a weapon passed by, they would instinctively give way, and they mostly walked in the shadows.

That's fine, but when passing by a brothel and encountering a prostitute, one might appear to look straight ahead, but in reality, slow down their pace a bit...

They would pay close attention to herbs and animal bones on the street stalls; and they would clearly show some wariness when flies or other flying insects approached...

This guy looked like a mediocre poison rat from the Gu poison sect. Nangong Ye didn't even dare to look away, since there were quite a few cloaked figures walking around Xiaoyao Cave at night. If she lost sight of him, she might not be able to find Xie Jinhuan.

And this method of trapping is clearly effective!

On the other side of Xiaoyao Cave, there is an inn on the third floor.

A monk in a yellow robe, bearing nine ordination scars, stood at the inn's window, peering through the crack at the diverse crowd in the street, and exchanging words with his partner beside him:

"What's the background of this He Can from the Luoyang branch? He's always spreading bad news in the manor, saying things like 'Xie Jinhuan has his eye on you,' or 'Xie Jinhuan is already upstairs.' Third Master will probably just refine him into a pill..."

His partner, wearing a cloak, responded to this:

"I heard he's the grandson of the second-in-command of the Luojing branch, so the higher-ups probably want to give him some preferential treatment..."

"Oh... judging from the rumors, Xie Jinhuan is indeed a bit strange. Hasn't the higher-ups investigated his movements?"

“All of Luo Jing’s former informants have been eliminated. We’ve just arrived and haven’t even settled in yet. How can we possibly find out Xie Jinhuan’s exact whereabouts…”

As the two were chatting idly, the yellow-robed monk suddenly frowned and gestured to a cloaked figure walking through the medicine market:

"Is that guy in the cloak buying medicinal herbs, the one from the Gu Poison Sect, Poison Rat?"

His partner perked up and slightly pushed open the window to take a closer look:

"This furtive, timid demeanor can only be that of a poisonous rat. Let's go take a look."

The yellow-robed monk didn't say much. He accompanied the man down the stairs, and after confirming the general location of the black-clad poisonous rat, they stood at a corner of an alley.

Meanwhile, his companion came from the opposite street, slowly traversing the dimly lit market, intentionally or unintentionally revealing the weapons at his waist, his gaze scrutinizing those on either side.

And the result was exactly as the two of them expected.

The black-clad poison rat, walking in the shadows, spotted a mysterious figure with an imposing presence ahead. Immediately alert, it stealthily slipped into a dark alley to the side.

After walking only a few steps, he found a monk's robe appearing around the corner.

?

In the blink of an eye, a fist the size of a sandbag was right in front of him.

bang~
With a muffled thud, the man in the black cloak fell straight backward and landed in the alleyway.

Thump~
Once the partner confirmed that no one was paying attention, they quickly entered the alleyway and acted as lookouts at the intersection.
"How about it?"

The yellow-robed monk squatted down beside him, pulled down his hood, and was surprised to see that the poisonous rat had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a face as white as jade.

"Hey? He's quite handsome, looks to be under twenty, and seems to have good physique. I'd guess he's a direct descendant of the Gu Poison Sect."

"Is it going to follow the Yin method of the Five Elements? If not, refine it on the spot, don't waste time."

The monk in the yellow robe placed his hand on the young poison rat's wrist and used his qi to probe it.

As a result, the chilling 'ice-cold energy' was transmitted directly to my fingertips!

"Wow! What a pure and chilling technique!"

The yellow-robed monk's eyes lit up. Fearing discovery, he quickly pressed acupoints to block the energy channels and covered the body with a black burlap sack.

"We've struck gold this time! With this appearance, age, and chilling cultivation technique, even if his cultivation is shallow, the higher-ups definitely won't be willing to refine him. They'll probably use him as the bodies for the Ghost Messengers. We'll surely be richly rewarded by Elder Xue when we get back..."

Ghost cultivators can be reborn by changing their bodies. In theory, the higher the cultivation level of the target, the better. However, young people with extraordinary potential are definitely better than old cultivators in their seventies or eighties.

If they were even more handsome, they would be the 'dream body' of a ghost cultivator, but such a candidate is extremely hard to find.

The partner felt that they had captured the core disciple of the Gu Poison Sect. Such a person could even bring down the Old Ancestor Sikong. However, the Underworld God Sect was not afraid of the Witch Alliance in the far south. At the moment, they just kept watch at the alley entrance. After the monk put the bag over the door and carried it, they quickly followed and disappeared into the night... And on the rooftop of the house in the far distance.

Holding the telescope, Nangong Ye watched as her blond-haired friend was packed up and taken away, her beautiful phoenix eyes filled with astonishment.

She had just seen Xie Jinhuan, who was pretending to be weak but actually strong, being cornered by the two men. She thought that this guy would show off his skills in front of everyone and torture and tear the two men to pieces. She never expected that he would pretend to be unconscious and fool the two lackeys!

That would be much more convenient. We could sneak over, raze the enemy's lair, and then go home. We might even catch a big dragon!
Thinking of this, Nangong Ye quietly followed, her beautiful phoenix eyes even revealing a hint of excitement at the impending great reward...
-
Songhe Bay, on the outskirts of the city.

It was located in a summer retreat about two miles from Zhou Ming'an's residence.

The villa is situated along the Luo River, surrounded by bamboo groves and offering great privacy. A few guards with swords at their waists patrol the four entrances.

Lights shone deep in the courtyard, and in the lakeside teahouse, Xue Laosan and He Man sat side by side.

He Man, whose nickname was He Feinu, was originally the Crown Prince's tutor. After the He family incident, he went into hiding here until the Northwest branch arrived, at which point he resumed his internal schemes.

Because of the great changes in his family, He Man's face also showed some sorrow as he spoke:

"The martyrdom of Grandpa and He Hai was indeed unexpected. Fortunately, Grandpa was resolute and sacrificed himself to save the king, thus preventing us from being fully exposed."

"It's just that Emperor Qian is such an ingrate and ruthless. My He family really treated him like a son-in-law. If it weren't for the help of my He family, he wouldn't have been able to ascend the throne twenty years ago, and he wouldn't have been able to live to yesterday."

"In the end, he wiped out my entire He family and even caused my aunt's death..."

The third brother, Xue, had shed the mist, now wearing a black monk's robe, with long hair flowing down his shoulders and Buddhist prayer beads around his neck.

"Although the Underworld God Sect is not tolerated by the righteous path, it has a clear system of rewards and punishments. The He family has made great contributions to the sect, and the sect will remember them. As the He family's direct grandson, Young Master He will be the direct successor of the Underworld God Sect's inner sect. However, Young Master He's request to bring He Can back is indeed beyond my expectations. Does the young master also want to bring him into the inner sect?"

He Man shook his head: "Grandpa wanted He Can to leave, thinking of leaving behind an incense offering. But the altar master felt that once you enter the demonic path, you either die and your clan is wiped out, or you ascend to immortality. Leaving a way out means that you, like Grandpa, have the intention to retreat. That's why we captured He Can and made the most of him."

Blood Elder No. 3 nodded: "With no retreat and only desire, the leader of Luojing Altar is indeed a promising candidate for the demonic path."

"No poison, no manly man; he's always been like that."

……

Meanwhile, deep underground.

The spacious underground chamber was supported by stone pillars, from which oil lamps hung. Having been sealed for so long, it had just been opened and was cold, damp, and emitted a faint stench of decay.

More than ten poisonous rats wearing cloaks were bound with iron chains and had their acupoints sealed. They were tied side by side to the wall. Their medicine bottles, poisonous snakes, hidden weapons, and Gu worms were all confiscated. Although they had woken up, they were all silent and pale.

Only Bu Hanying, who couldn't see anything in the dimly lit room without her glasses, was still chattering:
"Master Dao, I'm not lying to you. I still owe the Thief Saint Bai Zhan tens of thousands of taels of silver for goods. He's a ruthless man; he even dared to rob Eunuch Li. Xie Jinhuan may ignore me, but the creditors won't just leave me alone..."

At the back door of the basement, He Can, dressed in a monk's robe, leaned against the wall, listening intently to the sounds above, and responded upon hearing them:
“I’ve said it a hundred times, I’m not in charge. If you keep making trouble, this mad dog next to me has been eyeing you bunch of old geezers for a long time. He’s bisexual and has nothing better to do here, so he might use you to relieve his pent-up desire.”

Bu Hanying tightened her grip and immediately shut her mouth.

Zhang Chu, sporting a shaved head and carrying his sword, leaned against the other side of the back door. Upon hearing this, he said coldly:
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll lock you up too, so you won't have a chance to escape later."

"Why wait? We'll be fine if we leave now, but if we wait any longer, things might not go as planned."

“I’m from the Luojing branch, and I have no connection with Elder Xue. If you dare to betray the sect and flee, you’ll die a hundred times worse than you.”

"See? You hesitated even when trying to save your own life. You're not cut out for cultivation..."

As He Can was speaking, he suddenly heard a voice from above:
boom--

The deep rumble traveled deep into the earth, causing the candle to flicker slightly and dust to fall.

Many of the poison rats from the Gu poison sect looked up in confusion.

Bu Hanying was about to ask what happened when she turned her head and saw that the two blurry figures standing not far away had vanished without a trace, which puzzled her:

"Hey? Where are those two guards?"

"Perhaps something happened up above, and they went to provide assistance."

"Wow! As expected of a demonic cultivator, their reaction is incredibly fast. Unlike us Gu Poison Sect, who just run away as soon as trouble strikes..."

"really……"

……

(End of this chapter)