Novel Full Chapter 64: Secret Chamber in the Cave
Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Secret Chamber in the Cave
Zhang Chi didn’t know her background, but he knew she was with the Foundation Establishment Elder, and that her group was the cause of the chaos in the valley.
As such, he certainly wasn’t about to show any mercy.
He immediately confiscated her Magical Artifact, Storage Bag, and Spirit Beast Bag. He then produced a drop of his Essence Blood, formed a hand seal for a Spirit Technique, inscribed a Blood Curse, and used his Spiritual Power to drive it into her body.
Only when the Blood Curse Technique took effect did he feel at ease. He picked her up and re-entered the Illusion Array.
Afterward, he planned to clean up the scene outside.
SWOOSH...
Just then, however, seven streaks of iridescent light tore through the Demonic Qi, charging recklessly in their direction.
Within the lights were Xie Yu and his party.
"Hmm? Was there a battle here?"
They were flying low to investigate, so they immediately spotted the signs of a struggle.
"Leave it. No bodies means nothing major happened. Our priority is to get to the bottom of this strange occurrence and rescue the other disciples."
"Right!"
But Xie Yu quickly continued onward, and after a moment’s thought, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators followed him.
They had originally come to investigate the death of a junior from the Xie Family, but upon entering the valley, they discovered that the Demonized Beasts seemed to have grown more numerous and powerful.
They had also received many distress calls from other disciples, so they all knew a major catastrophe was underway.
PHEW!
Inside the Illusion Array, Zhang Chi, who had anticipated this, still let out a sigh of relief when he saw them leave.
"You... you cast a Blood Curse on me? Do you have any idea who I am? I am Lan Xuan, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Spirit Control Sect and the young lady of the Lan Family..."
Just then, Lan Xuan, who had been lying beside him, came to. Sensing the abnormality within her body, she couldn’t help but look shocked and furious.
"Shut up! I don’t care who you are, you’re my prisoner now. If you don’t want to die, you’ll do as I say."
"Now, tell me what’s behind this Illusion Array and the Inner Layer Protection Array, then open them for me. Otherwise, don’t blame me for getting rough!"
Zhang Chi cut her off.
He knew a Demon Cultivator’s hideout must be behind the Array, so naturally, he wanted to go inside and explore.
However, he had discovered another Protective Array behind the Illusion Array.
He had taken a moment to test it earlier. Brute-force attacks had failed, as had using the deceased Foundation Establishment Elder’s Identity Token and Essence Blood. Plus, he felt it was too risky to barge in without knowing the situation, which was precisely why he had taken Lan Xuan alive.
"Don’t even think about bargaining. I’ve already found a Breaking Charm in your Storage Bag and another in the old man’s. If I have to, I’ll just use them!" Zhang Chi continued.
He hadn’t had time for a detailed inventory, but he had already performed Refinement on both Lan Xuan’s and the Foundation Establishment Elder’s Storage Bags and had taken a quick look inside.
He found that both were quite wealthy, especially the Foundation Establishment Elder.
Never mind the other treasures; a Tier Two Low Grade Forbidden-breaking Talisman alone is extraordinarily expensive.
He had also guessed their origins from the Spirit Control Sect Identity Token inside the Storage Bag. That was why he wasn’t the least bit surprised when Lan Xuan revealed who she was.
"You..."
Lan Xuan gritted her teeth and pointed at Zhang Chi, but her arm soon fell limply to her side.
"Enough. Stop wasting my time. Sign this Spirit Contract, and then get to work. And I’ll say it again: don’t bargain. You’re in no position to."
Just as Lan Xuan was thinking about how she might persuade him to let her go...
...Zhang Chi took out a blank Spirit Contract, used his Divine Thought to Imprint some terms onto it, and tossed it over with the Exorcism Technique.
This was necessary, of course, because a Spirit Contract requires the consent of both parties to be established. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed to go to such trouble.
"You... you want me to be your slave?"
Lan Xuan took the Spirit Contract and read it. Her face went pale, and she immediately clenched her fists.
"Fine. I’ll sign."
But in the end, she chose to compromise. She bit her finger and dripped a bead of blood onto the Spirit Contract.
Zhang Chi did the same.
The next moment, the Spirit Contract burned away into nothing.
Lan Xuan, however, clearly felt an invisible shackle bind her. If she were to disobey, her Divine Soul would shatter, killing her instantly.
Zhang Chi, on the other hand, was protected by his Jade Pendant and would be completely unaffected even if he were to violate the terms.
The contents of the Spirit Contract were simple: Lan Xuan was to become Zhang Chi’s slave, obeying his every command.
If she performed well, Zhang Chi would grant her freedom after one hundred years.
Such a Spirit Contract was completely unfair, yet Lan Xuan had no choice but to accept it.
After all, this way, she could at least stay alive.
Otherwise, the moment she opened the Array for him, he would surely have disposed of her once her usefulness was at an end.
The one-hundred-year term, however, gave her a glimmer of hope.
She was already at the Qi Cultivation Peak. If she could reach Foundation Establishment, her Lifespan would extend to three hundred years.
She could afford to wait one hundred years.
In fact, it was this very clause that made her accept the Spirit Contract so quickly.
Zhang Chi hadn’t arranged this Spirit Contract on a whim. He wanted to plant an informant within the Demon Dao to gain intelligence more quickly.
Besides, Lan Xuan was at the Qi Cultivation Peak. If she managed to reach Foundation Establishment, she would be of great use to him. Keeping her alive was clearly more advantageous than killing her.
With the dual constraints of the Spirit Contract and the Blood Curse, he had no fear of her betraying him.
Including a time limit in the Spirit Contract was meant to give her a degree of hope and motivate her to be proactive.
"Lan Xuan pays her respects to Master. Master, behind this Array is a cave. There’s no one left inside, but there are a few truly valuable items."
"Master, you just need to give me the Spirit Control Sect Identity Token."
"The Inner Layer Protection Array and the Outer Illusion Array are both Tier Two Low Grade. Therefore, they can only be opened by a living, authorized Cultivator, of which I am one."
In the next moment, Lan Xuan had already adjusted her mindset, bowing respectfully and speaking up of her own accord.
As she bowed, she deliberately took the opportunity to display her shapely figure to Zhang Chi.
Clearly, she was well aware of her assets.
At the same time, she was also extremely curious, unable to understand how Zhang Chi could ignore the Illusion Array and pass through it so freely.
Even she would be completely disoriented in here right now without the aid of an Identity Token.
But she was keenly aware of her new status and didn’t dare to ask a single question.
"Alright."
Zhang Chi nodded.
He had some knowledge about this, so he wasn’t surprised.
For instance, the Array at the mine back then had been too low-level, allowing even those who weren’t the original owners of a Servant Token to pass through with ease. High Tier Arrays, however, were far more stringent.
Lan Xuan took the Token, immediately found the path through the Illusion Array, and walked up to the Inner Layer Protection Array.
It was a black curtain of light that rippled like the surface of water. It appeared ordinary, but its defensive power was immense.
Even Zhang Chi’s full-powered sword strike from before hadn’t been able to breach it.
SWOOSH...
As Lan Xuan channeled her Spiritual Power into it, the Spirit Control Sect Token quickly shot a beam of light at the curtain.
The curtain of light shuddered, and a gap immediately appeared.
The gap expanded rapidly, soon becoming large enough for a person to pass through.
Lan Xuan dutifully entered first, with Zhang Chi following close behind.
Once through, Zhang Chi swept the area with his Divine Thought. He immediately found himself in a deep, spacious cave. The surroundings were unremarkable, but the Spiritual Qi was quite abundant.
There were also signs of recent habitation, clearly marking this as the former hideout of the Spirit Control Sect Cultivators.
The Spirit Control Sect Cultivators had left in a hurry; there were even torches on the cave walls, still burning and crackling.
"So where are these ’valuable items’ you mentioned?"
After his inspection, Zhang Chi couldn’t help but frown.
The Spiritual Qi here was abundant, but he had no time for Refinement.
Besides, there was no Spiritual Vein here, making the Spiritual Qi like a river without a source. Even if he had time to cultivate, the gains would be limited.
Other than that, there was clearly nothing of value here.
"Master, please be patient and follow me!"
Lan Xuan, however, just smiled faintly and walked toward a corner of the cave.
K-CHUNK... K-CHUNK...
The spot looked perfectly ordinary, but after she manipulated something, the rock wall slowly ground open, revealing a huge secret chamber to Zhang Chi.