Chapter 34 - 33: A Bountiful Harvest

Upon hearing Master Xuan Ji reveal Lu Qian’s true name, Jiang Qingfeng suddenly became tense, but Lu Qian gestured that there was no problem and laughed, "Senior, you just need to flee to Ningzhou with us, Shengyi Sect will only know that four disciples have died and Master Xuan Ji has disappeared. This will become an unsolvable case. If this woman is left alive, it will bring endless troubles. Imagine, when she returns to the sect and is questioned about the deaths of three fellow disciples, who do you think she’ll blame?"

Master Xuan Ji’s expression changed and sighed helplessly, "Ah, you brat are cunning like a ghost, it seems I’ve thoroughly boarded the pirate ship."

The plan was set, and it was time to collect the spoils.

Now both Lu Qian and Master Xuan Ji were empty-pocketed and urgently needed replenishment, so they were not polite to each other.

Lu Qian went to search Chen Xingshan’s Storage Pouch, while Master Xuan Ji, prompted by Jiang Qingfeng, found the giant snake’s corpse, cut open its abdomen, and located Fang Lingkong’s body. Jiang Qingfeng herself swallowed a Healing Elixir, sat down cross-legged to restore her breath and recover.

Storage Pouch is quite mysterious. Initially, only Void Refining Cultivators could tear open the void to create a space. But later cultivators discovered a kind of Spirit Beast, the Void Spirit Beast. The beast’s hide held profound mysteries and, refined using a Secret Technique, could create a space to store non-living items.

The size of the space is closely related to the quality of the hide. When a Storage Pouch is violently destroyed, the internal space collapses instantly, losing everything inside. Furthermore, if two Storage Pouches are placed inside each other, their spaces will interfere with each other, causing a collapse.

Fortunately, the Storage Pouches of Wang and Chen were intact, and everyone gathered their things together to begin distribution.

From Li Zhenru’s Spiritual Artifacts, everyone took one item; Master Xuan Ji first chose the bell, while Lu Qian claimed the bronze mirror. A copy of the Jade Scroll was made for Master Xuan Ji, and Li Zhenru’s set of High-Tier Magic Artifact Level Array Base and Array Map were also given to Master Xuan Ji.

After gathering Wang and Chen’s items, Master Xuan Ji’s eyes sparkled, and Lu Qian and Jiang Qingfeng also looked delighted.

Fang Lingkong left behind a High-Tier Flying Sword, stacks of Talismans, several bottles of Elixirs, and over six hundred Spirit Stones.

Chen Xingshan was even wealthier. That orange-yellow, fist-sized, spherical lamp Magical Artifact emanated a soft glow; the top inscribed with two characters "Orange Slendor" turned out to be a High-Tier Defense Spiritual Artifact!

Under the recent assault of the Golden Waterfall Needle, Orange Splendor Lamp’s surface bore dents and scratches but remained functional. This Magical Artifact was estimated to be worth two to three thousand Spirit Stones, no wonder it performed exceptionally in combat.

Additionally, there was one damaged High-Tier Treasure Pearl, but poisonous mist was seeping slowly from the crack. Since none of them knew Artifact Refining for repair, carrying it would be harmful and had to be discarded.

There were also two Mid-Tier Attack Flying Swords, likely kept as spares.

Furthermore, stacks of Talismans, about ten bottles of Elixirs, although similar to Fang Lingkong, with Qi Cultivation Stage Paper Talismans, Qi Cultivation Stage Elixirs, they were of high quality and valuable.

One Jade Scroll contained a plethora of Dharma Gates, including several Magic Techniques from Shengyi Sect and even two Cultivation Techniques that could be cultivated to Foundation Establishment. Lu Qian speculated these techniques came from the cultivators of other sects; possibly all victims under her hands.

Besides, there was a yellow-skinned gourd. Lu Qian shook it, emitting a crisp sound from the liquid inside, with about half a gourd left. He saw Chen Xingshan pour this liquid on a toddler from afar earlier and now had a guess in his mind. Exchanging a glance with Master Xuan Ji, he uttered three words, "Drunken Immortal Powder!"

Thinking of this medicine that had once killed a Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment Array Cultivator, Master Xuan Ji looked gloomy, indicating Lu Qian to take it away quickly. Lu Qian tightened the cork of the gourd carefully and tucked it into his Storage Pouch.

Finally, there were more than thirteen hundred Spirit Stones!

Seeing the spread of good items everywhere, Master Xuan Ji was indeed tempted. But he knew that he hadn’t contributed directly to defeating Chen Xingshan; although he taught Lu Qian some Grand Array changes, it was done using Li Zhenru’s Array Base and Array Map. So when it came to contributions, he didn’t deserve much.

Yet Lu Qian surprised him greatly by giving him half the Spirit Stones, half the Elixirs and Talismans, a copy of the Jade Scroll, even including the High-Tier Flying Sword and two other Mid-Tier Magical Artifacts — leaving only the Orange Splendor Lamp for himself.

Judging from Lu Qian’s calm demeanor, he was evidently not pretending to be generous.

Considering staying with this young man doesn’t seem bad.

Surveying the acquired rewards, their previous efforts were repaid manifold. Lu Qian couldn’t help feel, indeed murder and arson lead to lucrative gains. Chen Xingshan’s considerable wealth, now completely into the enemy’s hands upon her death, made Lu Qian resolve to be more cautious in the future.

Jiang Qingfeng’s injuries were not severe; just her organs were impacted, and her body covered with bruises. With some breath recovery, she opened her eyes and stood up.

Lu Qian separated part of his share including Talismans, Elixirs, and his Spirit Turtle Shield, and handed them to Jiang Qingfeng.

"Junior sister!" Qingfeng became anxious, "One must not receive unearned rewards, besides this shield is your protective item. How could it be given away lightly?"

Lu Qian shook the Orange Splendor Lamp and smiled, "Elder sister, we are clearly rewarding services; please don’t refuse. If it weren’t for you exhausting that wicked woman’s Spiritual Power first, I couldn’t have won so easily, you contributed a lot in this fight. Besides, your Jade Pendant only protects yourself, yet this little shield can protect both you and Taotao..."

On saying this, they paused, exchanging a glance, Jiang Qingfeng exclaimed, "Oh right, Taotao!"

They quickly tidied up, following Lu Qian’s advice, they cremated Wang and Chen’s bodies to obscure the cause of death.

Initially, Lu Qian intended to use the giant snake’s venom gland to corrode the bodies and mislead Shengyi Sect. However, the serpent’s skull was astonishingly hard, potentially damaging Artifacts used. Thus the plan was abandoned.

Although the Snake Demon’s corpse was also a treasure, there wasn’t time nor any means to handle it. Lu Qian carefully plucked two of its venomous fangs instead. Those fangs were well over three feet long, arm thickness, radiating a piercing cold glow, clearly excellent for Artifact Refining.

After cleaning up, the three boarded the Flying Ship heading toward the foot of the mountain.

At this moment, the moon set in the west, the stars disappeared, and the horizon showed a pale white. The long night was ending, everyone feeling exhausted. Lu Qian still pushed himself to introduce everyone to one another.

Upon hearing that Master Xuan Ji wanted to accept Lu Qian as a disciple, Jiang Qingfeng gave him a curious look, leaving him even more puzzled. Qingfeng then spoke about why she left Taotao and climbed the mountain to find Lu Qian. They took out their Communication Talismans and found the talisman’s Spiritual Light remained intact, indicating no problem.

Master Xuan Ji explained, "You misunderstood. The communication talisman’s contact interruption was because I and this young man entered the array. Inside an array, the connections between inside and outside are severed, thus the communication talisman fails."

After speaking, he remarked, "But because the talisman failed, you recklessly came to rescue this lad, showing your deep bond."

Jiang Qingfeng’s face flushed slightly, and Lu Qian felt very touched.

While talking, the three reached the foot of the mountain, finding the place where Qingfeng and Baitao separated, but now saw no trace of them.

Jiang Qingfeng anxiously rushed forward and finally found Taotao behind a large rock.

The little girl had cried herself to sleep. Her face was smeared with traces of tears and snot, her entire body dirty, while tightly clutching her favorite ghost face mask.