Chapter 115 - 115 114 The Snipe and the Clam at Loggerheads

115: Chapter 114 The Snipe and the Clam at Loggerheads 115: Chapter 114 The Snipe and the Clam at Loggerheads “Subdue Evil, the day before yesterday when we first met this clerk, what was her strength like?” An Jing thought rapidly, bending down to inspect the battle traces within the entire Mount Xiao Zhe shop while asking Sword Spirit some information he himself couldn’t discern, “Was she at the middle stage of Qi Refinement?” “Yes,” the Sword Spirit quickly replied, “She was at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, approaching the sixth. Her strength was a bit weaker than that of the female manager who came after, yet she lacked combat experience and didn’t have a murderous aura. I didn’t pay much attention to the details.” This was odd. After finishing the inspection and standing up, An Jing’s puzzlement intensified. The clerk’s strength wasn’t weak — being at the fifth level of Qi Refinement in the Tianyuan Realm already counted as a key player, capable of controlling various Magic Artifacts and Spirit Instruments, meaning she could handle all sorts of large Spirit Instruments. Although everyone in the Tianyuan Realm practiced cultivation, due to insufficient resources, the vast majority were stuck at the Spirit Awakening stage where Essence Qi is either threadlike or river-like. Only a small portion of people with robust physiques, sufficient nutrition, and talent could reach the stage of ‘Essence Qi like a tide’ in their youth and attempt to touch upon Qi Refinement. Despite the female cultivator clerk’s age, her cultivation level must have been ground out over time. Yet being at the fifth level of Qi Refinement also entered the stage of ‘condensing spirit to nurture life’, insufficient when compared to those above but more than enough compared to those below — this placed her on the threshold of the middle class. With such strength, why would she be working as a simple cashier? She must have been concealing her cultivation level. Furthermore, with the strength of the fifth level of Qi Refinement, facing a great disorder, why didn’t she use the ‘Sword Box’ and ‘Protective Body Jade Pendant’ behind the counter? Not to mention anything else, she should at least have kept the Swift Movement Talisman in hand, right? She did have time to use the Life-Healing Talisman to save her life! Besides, the clerk’s enthusiasm was also quite strange… she had the Pupil Skill and could see through one’s age. So why was she so enthusiastic towards me at the time? Could she have misunderstood something? And also… “There are no traces of a fight,” An Jing mused, “She was shot down simultaneously by three people without any guard up— they didn’t even bother to finish her off, they just grabbed something and left.” “It’s too weird. This isn’t normal… A crime committed by an acquaintance? Or maybe…” Too many questions, he couldn’t clear his mind for the time being. If it had been an old-timer from the Black Market, maybe a veteran from the rivers and lakes could glean something from these scattered clues. But after all, An Jing was a person from another world. Though he felt that something was amiss, he couldn’t pinpoint where exactly. All he did was put on the drone glasses again and complained, “I just left Hanging Fate Manor, and now I’m entering the Xuanye Black Market — why do I feel like I’m always at the center of crisis?” “There were signs all along, we’ve just stepped into it unwittingly,” the Sword Spirit sighed softly, “I didn’t think that the Heavenly Mandate would be this troublesome, and you wouldn’t have gotten involved if you were a cold-hearted and ruthless person.” “Character determines destiny; the ancients did not deceive me,” Indeed. If An Jing hadn’t saved Huo Qing’s life, his entry into the city would have been delayed, which would have prevented him from meeting Iron Hand, acquiring the City Entry Pass and Black Market pass quickly, much less getting involved in subsequent events. If he hadn’t been provoked by the Fengdu Guards and had decided to hide and look for an opportunity to escape, he wouldn’t have run into this suspect carrying Ancient Unusual Objects. “Let’s look some more.” Despite the numerous doubts, An Jing was not a detective and wasn’t inclined to probe too deeply. But, he must understand the pattern of the storm. This way, with his current insignificant power, he could attempt to leverage more turmoil, disrupting those lofty cultivation groups’ plans that they thought were flawless. The sub-drone launched quietly, following stealthily behind the blurred human figure. “If all goes as expected,” he said, “someone will intercept him at the exit of Mount Xiao Zhe.” Indeed, things unfolded just as An Jing had said. As the indistinct figure, his form hidden by the Illusory Mist and Light Skill, arrived at the mouth of the ventilation shaft, he suddenly stopped. Rivers of blood lay before him, bodies piled up, submerging the path underfoot. No matter how much he tried to conceal his form, the blood still rippled around him. Realizing this, he simply dispelled his phantom-form skills, then looked around and laughed, “My friend, since you’ve been waiting for me, why hide and sneak around? Show yourself.” He was a tall, lean man, wearing martial attire that had been washed until it was somewhat faded. His face bore scars and wrinkles etched by the cold and wind. His grey and white hair was in disarray behind him, and his entire being was as if hewn from the hard rocks of a frigid wilderness, embodying an unyielding spirit through and through. Responding to his words, a figure clothed in a golden iron straw raincoat, utterly black, stepped out from the blurry blood mist; his face was unrecognizable, concealed behind an iron divination mask. If the former man was stone, then this person was like a ferocious ghost shadow emerging from the blood and freezing winds, with a piercing coldness that chilled the blood and terrified the soul. Yet, oddly, as distinct as his form was, his spiritual qi was barely perceptible as if he did not exist at all—just a solitary shadow reflected, without substance. The tall man raised his eyebrows, his eyelids trembling slightly, for as soon as the Divination Ghost Shadow appeared, he felt a tangible murderous intent locking onto him, making his joints stiffen and the cold penetrate his bones. However, the cultivation technique within him circulated the Complete Circuit, suppressing the bone-piercing chill, “Divination Ghost? Inquire spirit? No, it’s neither… indeed, you’ve come to ambush me.” While he spoke, his actions were without hesitation; as he stepped forward with his right leg, his left hand swung backward, hitting a small case at his waist, and in an instant, it vanished, its whereabouts unknown. Whoosh—the Ghost Shadow’s head turned abruptly, staring intently at the flying case, but in that very instant, the tall man suddenly pushed off the ground and surged forward like a raging storm! Bang! The ground roared, and debris flew as the tall man’s figure disappeared into a cloud of dust. Where he passed, the concrete shattered, and the blood mist churned. A heavily scarred, calloused fist burst through the air and dirt, headed straight for the divination mask atop the black-clothed figure’s head! Martial Cultivator! This tall figure was indeed one of those rare Martial Arts practitioners in the world of cultivation within the Tianyuan Realm! Seeing this punch, the man in black retreated, retreated swiftly. He moved as if he were a dry leaf in the wind, or driftwood in the waves, constantly fluctuating with the white mist and the air waves generated by the Martial Cultivator’s punch until he was finally forced by the wall he crashed into to raise his arms like a shield for defense. A loud thud resounded on the spot, and the muffled sound of explosion spread. The black-clothed figure, pressed against the wall, was forced an inch into it, evidently struck into the wall by the Martial Cultivator’s punch. Yet, the tall man who had landed the hit changed his expression drastically, for as he released his power into the body of the black-clothed figure, it disappeared without a trace, as if sinking into the sea; it was all absorbed by the wall behind his opponent. Instead, he felt a cold, bone-piercing chill, which took advantage of his punch’s momentum like a receding tide, rushing back into his body. Decisively abandoning his pursuit, the tall man stepped back and withdrew his punch, leaving behind a trail of frigid cold. As the cultivation within him circulated the Complete Circuit, forcibly expelling the chill in his body, a white mist gathered around him, and along the outer side of his arms, gray ice formed along the blood vessels and meridians. “Truly, a Ghost Cultivator!” he said gravely, looking at the man in black, “Whose side are you actually on?” Without answering, the man in black, like a ghostly specter, floated out from the dent, and at some point, he had also acquired a serpent-tailed sword, the blue spiritual qi at the blade flickering like a venomous snake’s tongue. A point of crimson spiritual light lit up behind the divination mask, locking onto the man before it.