Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Chapter 146 A Change of Fortune (3K)

"You can't eat this," Xu Hao said calmly, looking down at Bai E.

Bai'e instinctively shrank back.

The fear of being stabbed three days ago is etched into her very being.

But the allure of the ley lines was too great. A low roar escaped her chest, and death energy surged wildly as she made a final struggle.

Xu Hao did not draw his sword.

He simply lifted his right foot and lightly stomped it on the ground.

boom!

The dark gold heart pumped blood violently, and the physique of the beginner level of the Forged Realm, combined with the authority of the blessed land, directly activated the earth veins beneath the stone chamber.

An invisible, terrifying pressure suddenly descended.

It's not the weapon's inherent properties, but rather the pure power of the Blessed Land's ruler.

Bai'e's body was pressed directly to the ground by this force, and her bones made a teeth-grinding cracking sound.

Her proud death energy melted away quickly in the face of pure earth vein essence, like snow melting under the blazing sun.

"Ah—" Bai E let out a piercing scream.

Xu Hao didn't even glance at her, and with a flick of his toe, he kicked the jade box into his hand.

I opened it and took a look; there were forty-five earth vein crystals, shimmering with an alluring dark golden luster.

He turned to look at Mu Fang, who was huddled in the corner, trembling.

"The steward of the Mu family?" Xu Hao tossed the jade box in his hand.

Mu Fang's face turned deathly pale. He looked at the Qi Opening Realm monster pinned to the ground, then at the unharmed Xu Hao, his mind going completely blank: "You—who are you?"

Xu Hao took out the letter with the vertical pupil mark from his pocket and threw it in front of Mu Fang.

"They traveled north through the secret passage of the Mu family in Yongzhou." Xu Hao read aloud the contents of the letter. "Someone from the Surveillance Bureau is using the Wusheng Sect to search for ancient artifacts, and your Mu family is responsible for extracting the earth vein crystals. Are these crystals a gift to the Surveillance Bureau?"

Mu Fang's pupils dilated when he saw the mark on the envelope.

Xu Hao walked up to him, looking down at him: "Is this for the Emperor of Daheng?"

"I—I don't know—" Mu Fang's teeth chattered.

Xu Hao pulled out the Devouring Abyss.

The dark gold blade pressed directly against Mu Fang's side of the neck, and the skin on his cheek was tinged with a fine layer of white frost by the extreme cold and yin energy on the blade.

"Who taught you to set up this formation? Where should the crystals be handed over in Yongzhou?" Xu Hao's tone was flat.

Mu Fang felt as if the carotid artery in his neck was about to burst at any moment, and the cold sweat that had just appeared was frozen into ice crystals.

Mu Fang's mental defenses completely collapsed: "It was—it was the eldest young master of the main family! Mu Yunchuan! He arranged it all himself!"

"Did the array diagram drawn by the young master himself?" Xu Hao lowered his wrist slightly, the blade pressing halfway into the flesh.

"No! No! It was given to us by that person from Canglu Mountain!" Mu Fang shrieked, afraid that if he was too slow, he'd be in big trouble. "Two years ago, the young master made a connection. The other party gave him this incomplete array diagram and a fragmented cultivation technique. We were only responsible for extracting the crystals here, and every month in the middle, the young master personally took the jade box to Canglu Mountain to hand it over!"

"Who is the other party?"

"I don't know! I really don't know! That person always wore a demon mask, and even his voice was hoarse. The young master didn't dare to ask any more questions, only saying that he was a living deity who could ensure the Mu family's wealth for three generations—"

"Living gods." Xu Hao chewed on these three words, glancing at the earth vein crystal in his hand. "You living gods have quite the appetite, treating earth vein crystals like food."

Mu Fang lay prostrate on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, his forehead slamming against the stone slab with a loud thud: "Sir, I'm just a errand boy, the formation is already set up, I only need to collect the crystals. Please spare my life—"

Xu Hao didn't reply. He twisted his wrist, and the back of the knife struck Mu Fang on the back of the neck. Mu Fang's eyes rolled back, and he slumped down limply.

Xu Hao turned around and looked at Bai E, who was still struggling on the ground.

"Blood crystals delivered to our doorstep, why not take them?"

The Abyss was unleashed.

A flash of dark gold light, and Bai'e's head rolled off.

A dark purple core blood crystal flew out of her body and landed in Xu Hao's palm.

The strange and monstrous creatures of the Tongqiao Realm were slain.

The first condition for repairing the secondary nail has been met.

Xu Hao put away the blood crystal and the jade box, and looked up at the top of the shaft.

The Mu family are traitors within the Imperial Observatory and members of the Wusheng Sect.

This game is getting more and more interesting.

He gripped the Devouring Abyss tightly and disappeared from the stone chamber.

Yongzhou, the main residence of the Qin family, Kuye Hall.

Before dawn, Qin Wang'an, the head of the Qin family, was already sitting in his study.

He is fifty-seven years old this year, with gray hair, and his triangular eyes always have a calculating look on them.

The carrier pigeon arrived at the fourth watch of the night. When the bamboo tube tied to the pigeon's leg was removed, there was only a piece of paper inside.

"The Myriad Poisons Forest is in turmoil; its scale and nature are unknown. Retreat across the board."

Qin Wang'an flipped through the note three times before placing it beside the candlestick.

"Call Qin Wuyong back."

The steward accepted the order and left.

Qin Wang'an picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then put it down.

The tea has gone cold.

He wasn't afraid of what kind of trouble the Myriad Poisons Forest might cause.

This forest has been turbulent for hundreds of years, with strange beasts causing disturbances every now and then. The three major families have been stationed on the border for generations and have long since figured out the pattern.

What he feared was the miasma.

The second message from the outpost mentioned that the miasma concentration had decreased by 10%.

%.

Seventy percent of the Qin family's profits from their medicinal herb business come from special products from the edge of the Ten Thousand Poison Forest: Ghost Face Mushroom, Blood Vine, Rotten Heart Lotus, and Thousand Poison Gu Grass.

These things cannot grow outside of miasma environments.

If miasma decreases by 10%, production will decrease by at least 20%.

If prices drop by 20%, they'll have to go up.

Is it a good thing that prices have gone up?

not good.

When prices rise, people who can't afford it will look for alternatives.

Medicine merchants from outside Yongzhou would then seize the opportunity to grab market share.

The foundation of the monopoly held by the three major families is that they are the only ones with this business, not the price.

Qin Wang'an narrowed his triangular eyes.

We need to send someone in to take a look.

At the same time, in the main residence of the Mu family, at the Cuiwei Pavilion.

The first thing Mu Chenyuan, the head of the Mu family, did after receiving the carrier pigeon was not to read the message, but to call over Mu Fang's deputy, who was in charge of the household affairs.

"Where is Mu Fang?"

The deputy's face was grim. "The steward entered the mushroom valley on time last night, and as usual, he should have sent a message back before dawn. But so far—there's been no news."

Mu Chenyuan tapped his fingers three times on the armrest.

Only five people in the Mu family knew about the matter of Mushroom Valley: Mu Chenyuan, his eldest son Mu Yunchuan, the steward Mu Fang, and two Yi Jin Realm martial artists who were responsible for escorting them.

Mu Fang went missing just as the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest erupted in chaos.

Mu Chenyuan did not believe in coincidences.

"Have Yun Chuan take people to investigate."

"The young master left the city earlier to pick up the goods at the border. He plans to go directly to Heron Mountain —"

Mu Chenyuan stopped knocking.

Mount Canglu is the place where the earth's veins crystallize. Every month in the middle, Mu Yunchuan personally takes a jade box up the mountain and delivers it to the person wearing the demon mask. This connection was established two years ago. The other party does not reveal their identity or face, but only makes a promise: "I will guarantee your Mu family's wealth for three generations."

Mu Chenyuan believed it.

It wasn't because the words were particularly pleasing, but because of the gift the other party presented—a fragmented cultivation technique for the Tongqiao Realm.

With the help of this technique, Mu Yunchuan broke through the Yi Jin realm last year and entered the Inner Strength realm.

The Mu family has never produced a master of the Inner Strength Realm in three generations.

"Send a message to Yun Chuan. Tell him to postpone his trip up the mountain and come back first." Mu Chenyuan stood up and walked to the window.

In the courtyard outside the window, several precious medicinal herbs unfurled their leaves in the morning dew.

The miasma has subsided.

This news made him even more uneasy than Mu Fang's disappearance.

The bronze cauldron in the mushroom valley is powered by the earth veins of the Myriad Poisons Forest.

If the earth's veins malfunction, the cauldron will be ruined, and the crystal supply will be cut off.

Crystallization supply cut off, this guy from Canglu Mountain —

Mu Chenyuan suddenly felt that something had changed.

The Gu family was the slowest to react.

Gu Xiangtian, the head of the Gu family, was entertaining the "adults" stationed at the Observatory. When the wine was flowing freely, a carrier pigeon landed on the courtyard wall and fluttered for a long time before being discovered by the servants.

After reading the letter, Gu Xiangtian cursed, stuffed the note into his sleeve, and continued toasting.

Let Wan Du Sen Hai cause trouble, it's not like they haven't done it before.

As for the miasma decreasing by 10%, we'll talk about it when it decreases by 30%.

He's more concerned now about when those guys from the Observatory will leave.

They eat them in batches, and their eating habits are even more unsightly than those of bandits.

The northern edge of Wandu Forest and Sea, where Zeyong meets.

Xu Hao stood on a bare rocky hill.

Shiqiu is located at the northernmost end of Wandu Forest. Twenty miles further north lies the territory of Yongzhou.

He specifically chose this spot.

The Devourer rested across his lap, its blade emitting a faint, dark golden glow.

He took out the Dragon Roar Guard iron token given to him by Wu Qingshan from the Sumeru Warehouse and turned it over.

The small characters on the back read: "The holder of this token is under the jurisdiction of the Dragon Roar Guard and may be deployed or used at will."

Wu Qingshan had said that he didn't need to find any spies in Yongzhou; he just needed to make a little noise, and they would come on their own.

What kind of noise was that?

Xu Hao stood up and clipped the token to his waist.

He closed his eyes, and the dark golden pathways of his five internal organs opened completely.

The power of this blessed land extends to the northern edge of the myriad poisonous forests and seas.

Then he did one thing—he suppressed all the miasma within a 30-mile radius of the northern edge.

It's not dissipation, it's compression.

The dense miasma that originally permeated the edge of the forest and surged into the territory of Yongzhou began to recede southward like a receding tide.

The pale yellow poisonous fog peeled away from the bushes and moss on the ground, retreating into the depths of the dense forest along an unseen force field.

Half an incense stick later, the thirty-mile northern edge of the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest Sea became a miasma-free zone.

This is an extremely clear signal.

The aura of the Myriad Poisons Forest has persisted for hundreds of years and has never receded on a large scale.

The three major families have been stationed on the border for generations, and their sense of miasma is sharper than that of dogs.

At this moment, the miasma has not only decreased by 10%, but has been completely cleared within a 30-mile radius of the northern edge.

The news will spread to all the outposts in northern Yongzhou within half a day.

The Dragon Roar Guard's spies—those seasoned veterans who have been rooted in Yongzhou for many years, regardless of their status as innkeepers, bandit leaders, or black market merchants—would certainly notice this anomaly.

The sudden appearance of an entity capable of controlling the miasma of the Myriad Poisons Forest on the border of Zeyong is high-level intelligence that any intelligence officer must personally verify.

Xu Hao sat back down on the hilltop, took out some dry rations from his bag, and took a couple of bites.

The black tortoise poked its head out of the bag, sniffed the dry, fresh air, and looked puzzled in its beady green eyes.

There was no water around, so it retreated.

The effort we put in to wait for others should not be wasted.

Xu Hao closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the scroll painting of the blessed land.

LV2 Blessed Land Perception covers all the areas he can reach in the Myriad Poison Forest.

He began scanning the areas on the scroll that were not yet fully clear, focusing on the deep topography in the south and southwest.

The scroll slowly unfolds, revealing details inch by inch.

The course of the underground river, the geological structure of the swamp bottom, and the precise location of the three overlords at the Qi Refining Realm —

Then he saw something that shouldn't be in the depths of the poisonous forest.

To the south of the Myriad Poisons Forest, about two hundred feet below the surface, lies a vast layer of metal in the deep rock formations.

It's not a mineral vein.

The veins are naturally formed, with random orientations and uneven distribution.

This metal layer is too neat.

The edges are neat and the thickness is uniform, as if someone had laid a whole iron plate underground.

There are faint patterns on the iron plate.

The scroll's perception precision was insufficient to discern the specific details of the patterns. However, the surface of the metal layer emitted an extremely faint aura, entirely distinct from the power of the dark gold ley lines.

ancient.

Silence.

It carries a sense of killing intent.

Xu Hao frowned slightly.

A blurry line of text appeared in the corner of the scroll, the characters broken and discontinuous, as if it were an incomplete display due to insufficient information.

[Detected ————Ancient————Chen————Remnant————Years————·————·————]

[Recommendation: Upgrade the Blessed Land to L — Unlock the Deeper Level —]

The text flashed twice and then disappeared.

Xu Hao opened his eyes.

The sound of light footsteps came from the bushes below the hill.

It's not a beast—beasts can't create this kind of deliberately suppressed yet impossible-to-eliminate rhythm.

Someone is coming.

It was faster than he expected.

Xu Hao didn't move.

The Devourer rested across his lap, its dark gold patterns slowly flowing.

The footsteps stopped ten feet below the rocky hill.

A hoarse voice came from behind the bushes.

"He who carries the order, state your unit number."