Chapter 217: The Handle on Him

“Don’t think of tricking me. This is a Black Jade Talisman; carry it close to your body for the next two days. If any discrepancies are detected…” The woman produced a black jade token from her Pouch of Holding, her actions clearly prepared. “I’ll make you wish you were never born.”

Chen Luo stood frozen, his gaze narrowing as he stared at the jade token in her hand.

This woman had him completely trapped, not even giving him a chance to flee.

Mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators can be killed with a single strike.

A single sword can end their life.

Within the external brain, several Late Foundation Establishment minds provided feedback. Seeing their disdain, Chen Luo contemplated the possibility of silencing her permanently.

murder was certainly possible, but the key issue was the aftermath. This wasn’t the Outer City; the spiritual energy fluctuations of a Late Foundation Establishment cultivator would invariably attract the attention of powerful beings. If Patriarch Blackrock himself took notice…

“Are you considering taking action against me?” The woman, equally perceptive, sensed Chen Luo’s shift and responded by rising to meet the potential threat. “Don’t forget, I am the direct disciple of Patriarch Blackrock, marked by his imprint.”

Hearing this, Chen Luo’s expression instantly softened.

The risk was too high, not aligning with his initial objectives.

He had come here with the intent to reap benefits, not to invite unnecessary trouble. This complication was an unwelcome variable in his plan.

“Have no concern, my lady. If I didn’t intend to honor our agreement, I wouldn’t have returned,” Chen Luo said with a reassuring smile. He then took the black jade talisman from the woman’s hand. A mere trinket! Now second-ranked in talisman crafting, could he possibly be contained by such a thing?

“Hurry up,” the woman urged. “No more delays.” Only when she saw Chen Luo secured the black jade talisman within his robes did she breathe a sigh of relief. After giving him the necessary time and precautions to keep in mind, she hastily departed.

With that encounter concluded, Chen Luo entered the spirit medicine room where, using his authority as an elder, he procured vast quantities of spirit ingredients on credit. Only when the overseer refused further credit did he leave, his face a mask of feigned regret.

Night fell over Blackstone City.

In a residential estate near the mountain, Elder Li Chunxiao’s official residence came into view. As Chen Luo now assumed Li Chunxiao’s identity, this would be his home.

Inside the room, Chen Luo placed the jade talisman on the table. With a touch from his hand, delicate strands of golden energy emerged, applying both restrictive barriers and talisman magic to effortlessly seal the black jade talisman.

“Now, I’ll head out to acquire some more cultivated corpses,” Chen Luo mused. “Shouldn’t be too hard, as long as I don’t poke around too much.”

Before leaving this place, Chen Luo resolved to milk every last drop of value from Li Chunxiao’s position as an elder.

After changing her clothing, Chen Luo leaped out. She immediately sensed several auras as soon as she stepped outside.

The woman was indeed cautious, having arranged additional watchmen apart from the Black Jade Talisman. These were low-ranking cultivators at the Qi Refinement stage, inconspicuously scattered around the area. However, Chen Luo’s divine sense, being at the peak Foundation Establishment stage, easily detected their presence. Their measures were no match for her, riddled with glaring vulnerabilities.

Inconvenient, Chen Luo thought.

Looking down at the black specks resembling insects, she altered her course. In a flash, Chen Luo landed within a nearby residence.

Inside, a Qi Refinement cultivator, meditating cross-legged, felt a sudden change and swiftly grabbed his spirit perception talisman.

“Where’s everyone?”

“They’re here,” a voice suddenly said from behind him.

Pfft

Before the cultivator could even turn his head, Chen Luo snuffed out his life force. Her fingers rested on his head, and a gray aura merged into it.

In brains with higher preservation, the contained memories were also more intact. Chen Luo killed this man to discern the identity of the woman, using these memories as clues.

Madam Hua is truly beautiful; if I could just steal a kiss, I’d die content.

Amidst the jumble of memories, Chen Luo quickly locked onto any information related to the woman she had seen earlier.

“Madam Hua?” Chen Luo furrowed his brow. This guy’s not anybody important either; all I got from his obsession was this clue. Releasing the man’s brain, Chen Luo turned again, materializing in yet another residence.

Thump!

This time, he didn’t even bother with words before dispatching his target.

After extracting the brain once more, he gleaned some additional information:

Madam Hua is the Blackstone Ancestor’s disciple and knows the Fusion Spirit Elder. She has a scandalous secret involving her and Rong Qing.

With his late Foundation Establishment stage strength, ambushing these Qi Refining cultivators was as simple as crushing a piece of coal. One, two, three… By the time he reached the tenth person, Chen Luo finally stopped.

He’d eliminated nearly all the ambushing agents by this point. Through these individuals’ residual obsessions, he smoothly pieced together information about Madam Hua—and stumbled upon an explosive revelation.

Madam Hua and Rong Qing…

Li Chunxiao was merely Madam Hua’s pet, owed his position as an elder entirely to her influence. But Madam Hua herself wasn’t one to be underestimated. Beyond being the Blackstone Ancestor’s disciple, she had connections with Elder FusionSpirit. Most startlingly, she had a damning secret—one that had fallen into the hands of Rong Qing, the solitary son of Elder FusionSpirit!

How convoluted!

When Chen Luo first encountered this obsession, he struggled to grasp its meaning for quite some time.

“If this is the case…”

Chen Luo’s original plan to head towards the underground river was instantly diverted. He set off, flying towards Madam Hua’s residence without delay.

Upon entering her courtyard, Chen Luo immediately sensed an abundance of spiritual energy.

Compared to the worthless elder Li Chunxiao, Madam Hua was the true power holder in Blackstone City. Her living quarters were far superior to Li Chunxiao’s. The courtyard featured a second-rank spirit gathering array connected to one of Blackstone City’s spiritual meridian branches, resulting in a spiritual concentration reminiscent of the cultivation rooms atop the mountain.

Dispelling his divine sense, Chen Luo scanned the courtyard and swiftly pinpointed Madam Hua’s location.

Transforming into a shadow, he silently glided into the rear courtyard.

Madam Hua was bathing, using this as part of her cultivation practice. The spirit liquid she bathed in, custom prepared by a second-rank alchemist, accelerated the refinement of her spiritual energy and the growth of her spiritual energy dragon.

Chen Luo, unconcerned, entered her room and calmly began to peruse the books. The cultivation techniques collected by Madam Hua, a powerful elder, proved highly beneficial. In a short while, Chen Luo had already gained much from her varied collection.

“Who is it?!”

Madam Hua, having just finished her cultivation practice, pushed open the door. But after taking only half a step, she halted. observing the figure leafing through her collection of books. A surge of energy coursed through Madam Hua as her protective magic artifact materialized, swirling around her form.

“Keep your voice down. It wouldn’t be good if others heard,” urged Chen Luo, raising his head. In the lamplight, his transformed face was revealed—still bearing Li Chunxiao’s likeness.

“Li Chunxiao? Who gave you the audacity to dare show up here!”

As Madam Hua took in Chen Luo’s appearance, her fury flared. She never expected this mere pawn to be so disobedient—not only had he failed to go where he was supposed to, but he’d also infiltrated her residence.

Despite Li Chunxiao being at the Mid Foundation Establishment stage, he was nothing more than a well-trained dog in Madam Hua’s eyes. She had meticulously arranged every aspect of his cultivation, from the techniques he learned to the spiritual artifacts he obtained. And now, this creature had grown large enough to turn against its master.

“Get out within three breaths, you dog.”

Madam Hua stood at the door, watching Chen Luo inside. For some reason, this pawn she had personally cultivated gave her an unprecedented sense of unfamiliarity.

“Leave?” Chen Luo put down the book in his hand.

In his mind, the mummy’s brain suddenly appeared. Armed with the information he had previously acquired, it effortlessly deduced Madam Hua’s true nature.

“Surely, my lady, you don’t believe your petty tricks can control me?” As Chen Luo spoke, he began to scrutinize Madam Hua without restraint.

He was struck by a plan that maximized his interests.

Rather than searching for resources himself, why not leverage Blackstone City’s authority to make them come to him? His initial strategy had been to exploit Elder Li Chunxiao’s identity to skim off the top before making a hasty exit. But now, looking at Madam Hua, he realized this plan could be adapted.

By using Madam Hua’s name to gather resources, he could save time and effort, ensuring a steady stream that would flow endlessly. He could even avoid risk altogether.

Madam Hua’s fury ignited instantly, unleashing the gu insect within Li Chunxiao’s body. Yet, in a twist of fate, Chen Luo before her remained utterly unaffected, sitting calmly in his chair and playing with the inkstone on the table.

“Who exactly are you?!” Madam Hua exclaimed, her senses alert to the anomaly.

“I am Li Chunxiao. Do you find issue with that, Madam?” Chen Luo gazed at her, his face bearing the unmistakable features of Li Chunxiao.

“This is Blackstone City, not a playground for the likes of you. Cause the slightest disturbance, and legions of formidable experts will descend upon you.”

“I have connections with Fellow Rongqing,” Chen Luo revealed. “He entrusted me with a secret.”

At the mention of “Rongqing,” Madam Hua’s expression shifted dramatically. Her jaw clenched as her eyes flashed with recognition of that name.

“What secret is this?!” she demanded, her composure finally cracking after a long moment.

It was clear she perceived Chen Luo as someone dispatched by Rongqing.

“I seek cultivation techniques suitable for the Core Formation Stage,” Chen Luo declared, his demands escalating like a wildfire. “I’d appreciate about ten sets or more. Oh, and don’t forget high-grade spirit materials, knowledge of third-order formations, pills, talismans, and artificing.”

As he rambled on with his outrageous requests, Madam Hua’s eyes blazed with barely contained fury.

“Impossible! Do you take me for the Lord of Blackstone City? The things you speak of cannot be obtained outside at all.”

“It’s precisely because they cannot be obtained that I’ve come to seek you out, Madam,” Chen Luo said, his face full of sincerity.

I originally planned to leave after one job, but you forced me to stay. Now that I’m here, surely you owe me some favors, no?

“No, I can only give you some spiritual materials.” Madam Hua took several deep breaths, ultimately controlling her anger and choosing to step back.

“Madam, this shows a lack of sincerity,” Chen Luo said, getting up and walking next to Madam Hua. As he approached, she unconsciously took a few steps back, trying to maintain some distance. This piqued Chen Luo’s curiosity even more; he wondered what leverage Rong Qing had used to instill such fear in her.

“Madam, you wouldn’t want our… relationship to be known to outsiders, would you?” Chen Luo said with a smile.

Relationship? What relationship could I possibly have with you! Madam Hua thought.

“I’ll find three more Foundation Establishment level cultivating corpses at most,” she relented. “Blackstone City lacks Core Formation level corpses, and I cannot obtain them either.” Now she regretted her earlier decision.

Had I known Li Chunxiao was trouble, I wouldn’t have approached him during the day.

But now, it was too late for regrets.