Chapter 310 - 176: Forming Teams, Heading into the Mountains

"Think you can escape?"

Gu Sheng’s mouth curved into a faint smile as he casually aimed and squeezed the trigger of the crossbow.

The deaths of Mu Qingyuan and Mu Qinghe had thrown Mu Qingwen into disarray. He stumbled as he fled, his steps chaotic, and he didn’t make it far before an arrow pierced his skull.

"Ah! Initially, I just wanted to extort a bit of money from you all. It turns out it’s hard to persuade the damned when doom’s at hand!"

As Gu Sheng mocked them with his words, his hands were far from idle. After securing the Shattering Star Crossbow at his waist, he immediately began rummaging through the three bodies meticulously.

"Hmm? What’s this?"

Gu Sheng discovered a small box on Gu Qingyuan’s body. Earlier, he hadn’t noticed it due to their simple disguises.

The edges of the wooden box were gilded, making it look exceptionally valuable.

"Could there be some treasure inside?"

Anticipation instantly welled up in Gu Sheng’s heart. Unable to contain his excitement, he opened the box, and upon seeing its contents, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"Haha, who would’ve thought that after all this trouble, it would end up falling into my hands!"

Inside the box was a palm-sized, purple-black wooden block etched with three golden patterns, along with four black fruits. Both the wood and the fruits had faint arcs of electricity coursing over them—they were the Three-Pattern Iron Thunder Wood and Thunder Fruit that the group had taken from the canyon earlier.

Mu Qingyuan and the others had planned to bring these items to the Holy Pill City branch to request Huang Laoshi’s assistance in forging the Three-Pattern Iron Thunder Wood into a treasure. However, they’d delayed their plans for a day of indulgence, ultimately allowing the items to fall into Gu Sheng’s lap.

If there were a cure for regret, Mu Qingyuan and Mu Qingwen might wish they could completely obliterate the roots of their troubles. Had they not wasted time at Bright Moon Pavilion, perhaps their fate wouldn’t have been so tragic.

After closing the box, Gu Sheng continued to plunder the belongings of the three corpses.

In addition to the Three-Pattern Iron Thunder Wood and Thunder Fruit, Gu Sheng discovered silver notes totaling three hundred thousand taels. This fortune represented the entirety of the trio’s savings accumulated over the years, originally meant to pay Huang Laoshi for refining the treasure, but it all ended up benefiting Gu Sheng.

Mu Qingyuan and the others had sold everything they could to scrape together this money. Besides a few healing pills, they had nothing else on them.

After meticulously collecting all the spoils, Gu Sheng retrieved every arrow he had fired, then carefully gathered the poisoned hidden weapons crafted by the Thousand Poison Sect scattered on the ground.

"Redirecting disaster, huh? Let’s see if I can give it a shot!"

Gu Sheng’s lips curved into a faint smile as he shot the poisoned hidden weapons into the corpses of the three men.

Toxins infiltrated their bodies, and a rancid stench immediately started emanating from the corpses. Once Gu Sheng wiped away all traces of his presence, he clapped his hands and left with his spoils, heading back to Holy Pill City.

These Three-Pattern Iron Thunder Wood and Thunder Fruits were items Huang Chengyun had sought for quite some time. Gu Sheng dared not bring them back to his sect without caution. If discovered, it would be a situation akin to mud on the pants—whether it looked bad or not, it’d still be incriminating.

The items were too valuable. Though Gu Sheng was aware of the black market in Holy Pill City, he didn’t dare to sell them there. Such treasures would tempt even individuals at the Golden Bone Realm. With no corresponding strength to back him up, Gu Sheng decided, after much contemplation, to entrust Huang Laoshi from Mu’s Merchant Guild.

Gu Sheng waited in the city overnight, and when Mu’s Merchant Guild opened in the morning, he walked in.

"Oh! You’re here quite early today,"

Qingqing spotted Gu Sheng and greeted him with a smile. "Are you renting the forging room again today?"

Gu Sheng shook his head. "I’m here to see Huang Laoshi today. Could you kindly inform him for me?"

Realizing Gu Sheng had come to see Huang Laoshi, Qingqing did not dare delay and immediately turned to notify him.

"Follow me; Huang Laoshi is waiting for you in the casting room."

The two made their way to Huang Laoshi’s exclusive underground casting room.

Inside the room, the bellows roared furiously, and the flames in the forging furnace burned brightly. The intense heat rendered even the specific cooling mechanisms ineffective, and Gu Sheng began sweating just upon entering.

Huang Laoshi, who was shirtless, was busy by the forging furnace. When he noticed Gu Sheng, he grabbed a nearby cloth to wipe his sweat and walked toward him.

"You have something for me?"

The temperature in the forging furnace indicated that Huang Laoshi was working on something of extraordinary grade. Even during yesterday’s process of smelting Deep Sea Silver, such high temperatures weren’t necessary. Not wanting to delay Huang Laoshi, Gu Sheng got straight to the point and took out the box.

"Huang Laoshi! I’d like you to temporarily safeguard these items for me. I’ll give you a diagram later—a blueprint. While I can’t be sure about its grade, it certainly won’t be inferior to the silencer!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Huang Laoshi’s curiosity was piqued. Even for someone as experienced as him, Gu Sheng’s proposal regarding the silencer concept was highly advanced, making him eager to see the blueprint Gu Sheng mentioned.

Glancing at the box, Huang Laoshi joked, "Well, the box is gilded! It looks like what’s inside is no small matter. Aren’t you worried I’ll just keep it for myself?"

Gu Sheng chuckled boldly and replied, "Then consider it my filial offering to you!"

Huang Laoshi laughed heartily at this. "You sure know how to flatter! Don’t worry; I wouldn’t be shameless enough to take a junior’s belongings. Leave it here—no one in Holy Pill City will dare lay a hand on it!"

Gu Sheng cupped his hands in thanks toward Huang Laoshi. "Thank you, Huang Laoshi! I’ll leave you to your work; I won’t disturb you further."

After bidding farewell to Huang Laoshi, Gu Sheng immediately hurried toward the Holy Pill Sect. By his estimation, today marked the day they were set to head into the Red Cloud Mountain Range.