Chapter 107: The Masked Man

Chapter 107: Chapter 107: The Masked ManThe jade pendant that Xia Chenyu originally wore did contain a strand of Essence Energy, but after being carved by human hands, the Essence Energy had almost dwindled away, making it less effective for cultivation. Ever since Fang Bai learned that the jade stones in this world were similar to the Essence Stones of the Cultivation World, he had been preparing to work hard to earn money and then purchase a large amount of uncarved jade stones for cultivation. "These jade stones are obviously valuable, but I have no interest in them. They’re for you, Misty Rain Tower." Taoist Qingxuan closed the wooden box and casually tossed it to Wen Xiangrong. Wen Xiangrong took a quick glance at the red jade stones in the wooden box and with a chuckle, handed it over to a Misty Rain Tower disciple beside him. Although Qingcheng Temple was a Semi-Hidden Sect and its disciples focused on cultivation, rarely engaging with the material world, they didn’t place much importance on wealth. However, Misty Rain Tower was different; their disciples were deeply immersed in the secular world, with many among them being business elites who valued money a great deal more. In Wen Xiangrong’s eyes, the color and quality of those ten red jade stones were excellent, each worth at least a million, making the ten stones worth tens of millions. To anyone, tens of millions of dollars were not a small sum. Taoist Qingxuan picked up the dagger and drew it from its black sheath, instantly emitting a cold glow that made many people on the scene shiver uncontrollably. "What a fine dagger!" Wen Xiangrong exclaimed loudly in praise. Taoist Qingxuan chuckled, swinging the dagger in his hand and turning to strike at a corner of the stone table. With a light sound, the dagger effortlessly cut off a piece of the stone table and dropped it to the ground. "It cuts through stone like mud, indeed a fine dagger! This dagger is claimed by Qingcheng Temple!" Taoist Qingxuan returned the dagger to its sheath and put it into his bag. "It’s actually ’Gathering Yuan Pills’! Haha, and they’re Heaven Level ’Gathering Yuan Pills’ at that. We’ve struck it rich this time!" Taoist Qingxuan saw that the two jade bottles were identical, with the words "Gathering Yuan Pill" written on them, and was delighted once again. "Gathering Yuan Pills" are refined from nine kinds of precious medicinal herbs, each with over a hundred years of medicinal age. Even the Hidden Sects seldom possessed such pills, making them priceless treasures to the Semi-Hidden Sect martial artists. "Two bottles of ’Gathering Yuan Pills,’ one for each of us. As for the two cultivation techniques, I have the right to choose first. Mr. Wen, do you have any objections?" With reluctance, Taoist Qingxuan handed one bottle of "Gathering Yuan Pills" to Wen Xiangrong, kept one for himself, and then turned his attention to the last two cultivation techniques. Wen Xiangrong rolled his eyes, thinking, what good does it do to have an opinion? Will this old fellow listen to me? Taoist Qingxuan ignored him and picked up the two cultivation techniques, discovering that one was a sword technique and the other a movement technique. "I’ll take the sword technique, and you can have the movement technique." Qingcheng Temple was known for its sword techniques, ranking among the best even among the Semi-Hidden Sects, but when Taoist Qingxuan reviewed the Heaven Level sword technique in his hands, he found it far more intricate and superior to all the sword techniques he had practiced before, and he was ecstatic with joy. As for the movement technique, Qingcheng Temple had the Flying Dragon Body Method, which was not inferior to Wudang’s Cloud Ladder Leap, so its importance was less than that of the sword technique. S~eaʀᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. To avoid further conflict with Misty Rain Tower and to take the treasures back to Qingcheng Temple, Taoist Qingxuan resisted the urge to claim the movement technique for himself, and instead, handed it over to Wen Xiangrong. In this way, Qingcheng Temple obtained a dagger, a Heaven Level sword technique, and a bottle of Heaven Level "Gathering Yuan Pills." Meanwhile, Misty Rain Tower obtained a Heaven Level movement technique, a bottle of Heaven Level "Gathering Yuan Pills," and a box of jade stones that were of little use to martial artists. On the surface, six treasures split between them, three each—it seemed very fair, but every martial artist present knew that Qingguan City had gained the advantage. For any martial artist, a dagger that could carve stone as if it were mud was far more useful than a box of jade. However, the division of the treasures had been previously agreed upon; Qingcheng Temple getting a bit of an advantage, and Misty Rain Tower raised no objections. But when Wen Xiangrong took the Heaven Level movement technique and skimmed through it, a fierce and brutal glint flashed in his eyes. "We’ve got the treasures, let’s go!" Taoist Qingxu waved his hand expansively and, with a dozen or so disciples from the Qingcheng Temple, strode towards the cave entrance without bothering to deal with Wen Xiangrong and his company. When Wen Xiangrong saw that Qingxu had walked a distance away, he sneered with disdain and quickly stepped forward, retrieving a round, smooth medicinal pill from the mouth of the deceased Heaven Level Martial Artist. "I knew it, the body of a Heaven Level Martial Artist remaining uncorrupted for so many years, maintaining its youthful appearance, there had to be some treasure preventing decay and preserving youth. Heh, the value of this pill exceeds that of the dagger by far! That old Taoist Qingxu thinks he’s taken a huge advantage!" While thinking, Wen Xiangrong carefully placed the pill into a jade bottle, and then, with a wave of his hand, led the subordinates of Misty Rain Tower out of the cave. As he walked outside the cave, Wen Xiangrong saw a scene that made him pause, an odd expression flitting across his face. The group from Qingcheng Temple hadn’t left the valley and were instead blocked by a person at the entrance of the cave. The one blocking them was a man wearing a ghastly mask. From his build, it was clear he was a man, and a very young one at that. The masked man was dressed in a black T-shirt, paired with blue jeans, and white sneakers on his feet. He had a travel backpack slung over his shoulder, resembling a city youth in the midst of travel. In fact, the martial artists at the scene also took the masked man for a tourist who happened upon the valley by chance, figuring he might have stumbled in here accidentally. And wearing a ghostly mask might have been a peculiar quirk of this urban youth. Yet, he dared to block the path of the martial artists from Qingcheng Temple, which was incredibly bold. The martial artists in the valley, who had been at each other’s throats over the treasures just moments ago, did not care whether the masked man was a martial artist or a common man. If they were not on speaking terms, they might just kill on a whim. "Brother, listen to me, leave this place at once. What’s happening here is not something a commoner like you can get involved in!" Ghost Hand was one of the few martial artists there with a sense of chivalry, and he never killed commoners. Seeing Fang Bai looking like a stunned greenhorn, he could not bear to see him killed without reason and called out loudly from a distance. The masked man turned his head to look at Ghost Hand and chuckled, "I like you, you seem pretty agreeable. Fine, once I snatch up all of the Heaven Level Martial Artist’s treasures, I’ll share some with you." "You’re aware of the Heaven Level Martial Artist’s heritage? You... are you a martial artist too?" Ghost Hand’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at the masked man. He did not sense the commanding aura typically associated with a martial artist coming from the masked man. If the masked man truly was a martial artist, then there was only one possibility—that his strength far surpassed his own, so much so that he couldn’t sense his martial artist aura at all. "That’s right, I am a martial artist." The masked man said with a smile, "That’s why I am also very interested in the Heaven Level Martial Artist’s heritage." He then turned his gaze to Taoist Qingxu across from him, beckoned with his finger, and added, "Now, hand over the heritage you got from the Heaven Level Martial Artist, and I’ll let you leave. Otherwise, once a battle starts, you may end up just like these corpses on the ground, never able to leave this place again."