Chapter 150: Trap

Jiuyou turned around. With a hint of surprise on his face, he offered a slight salute with cupped fists and grinned.

"Brother Jin, it's been a while," Jiuyou said. "Your cultivation has progressed significantly. At this rate, it won't be long before you break through to the Middle Nascent Soul Stage."

Standing before him was a burly, middle-aged man over two meters tall with a fierce, fleshy face—the treasury's guard elder, surnamed Jin. The guard elders here rotated every ten years, and this man had deep ties to the Nascent Soul cultivator Jiuyou was currently impersonating: the one surnamed Wu.

Jiuyou had naturally extracted this information from the genuine cultivator surnamed Wu.

The man surnamed Jin scratched the back of his head and grinned, his tone warm and a bit proud.

"Heh, when I finally break through, I'll buy you a drink!" he said. "You usually never step foot outside, so why come to the treasury today? Have you hit a bottleneck in your cultivation?"

He edged closer and lowered his voice with a teasing smile.

"Honestly, sometimes you just have to enjoy yourself," he said. "You old fool spend all day tempering your body and practicing fist techniques without a drop of other fun. How about I get you a few Ganzhou girls to try out sometime?"

Jiuyou's expression remained unchanged, but the baleful aura within him flared into killing intent. Suppressing the urge, he gave a dry laugh and shifted the topic smoothly.

"You must be joking, Brother Jin," he said. "I came to exchange the merit I've accumulated over the past hundred years for a few pieces of Jinli Stone to temper my treasures."

A flicker of doubt crossed the burly man's eyes, but he didn't press the matter. He readily agreed and turned to lead the way. Jiuyou followed behind, his steps steady as he furtively scanned his surroundings.

While passing through a narrow corridor, the man suddenly draped an arm over Jiuyou's shoulder. His fingers paused imperceptibly before he laughed.

"Old Wu, your physique has been getting sturdier lately," he said. "You might just surpass me one of these days."

Jiuyou's expression did not change as he gave a casual reply. He noticed that, although the pat seemed entirely casual, the instant the man's fingertips touched his shoulder, he appeared to sense something. The man's smile froze for a split second.

Jiuyou didn't look back, merely pretending he hadn't noticed.

The treasury was built deep underground. With each descending level, the stored treasures grew increasingly precious.

But after passing two levels, Jiuyou began to notice something amiss. The items displayed on either side were mostly crude goods, including many that even Golden Core Cultivators wouldn't deign to look at. As one of the six major tribes of the Northern Plains, the Heavenly Flame Tribe's accumulated wealth shouldn't have been this pitiful.

It didn't make sense.

Jiuyou knew full well that while the Northern Plains' resources couldn't compare to Ganzhou's wealth, they weren't so impoverished as to be this destitute. The tribe must have realized something was wrong and quietly transferred the truly valuable items elsewhere.

He said nothing, merely pretending to be oblivious.

After walking a little further, the burly man brought him into a room resembling a meditation chamber. He casually accepted the contribution Token that Jiuyou handed over.

"Brother Wu, Jinli Stone is incredibly valuable," he said. "Recent events have caused quite a stir, so security is tight. You know the drill—we have to go through the proper procedures. Wait here a moment; I'll be right back."

With that, he turned and walked down another dark passage. Jiuyou stood in place, watching the man's back disappear around the corner as the smile faded from his own face. He reached up and brushed the shoulder the man had touched, as if dusting off something filthy. Then, he silently followed.

...

In the depths of a hidden chamber, a figure clad in refined leather stood with his back to the door, hands clasped behind him. His aura was steady, showing no trace of urgency.

"Reporting to the Great Grandmaster: that person really has come. Grandmaster Wu has likely already met with misfortune."

The burly man surnamed Jin had dropped to one knee. He lowered his voice, speaking slowly and clearly with a hint of sorrow.

"He has taken on the appearance of Wu Xiang. His disguise technique is superb," he continued. "Had I not sensed upon contact that his body lacked the blood-qi of our tribe's Heavenly Flame Body Tempering Art, I would have barely noticed. Moreover, his physical body is rather weak—he must be a Ganzhou cultivator."

The figure slowly turned, revealing an old man with black hair and a black beard, his eyes tinged with dark red. His build wasn't as burly as a typical physical cultivator, yet he exuded a mountain-like steadiness. This was one of the Great Grandmasters presiding over the Heavenly Flame Tribe.

"He really dared to come," the old man said, his voice flat and betraying no emotion.

"What is his purpose?"

"Jinli Stone," the burly man replied.

The old man nodded as if he had expected this. He fell silent for a moment, then spoke.

"No rush. I've already sent a message to the Second Elder, telling him to hurry back," he said. "If this person senses something amiss and flees early, our Heavenly Flame Tribe will have gained a Nascent Soul Late Stage evil cultivator as a formidable foe."

He paused, lifting a hand to stroke his short beard.

"First, go back and stall him," he continued. "In a while, lead him to the underground vault where the Jinli Stone is kept. I'll set up a formation there in advance. As soon as he steps inside, I'll activate it and trap him. Then the other Nascent Soul cultivators of our tribe can join forces to surround and annihilate him. We wouldn't need to fear him even if he had three heads and six arms."

"Yes." The burly man rose and hurried back the way he came.

The old man lingered no longer. He pressed his hand against the wall of the dark chamber, and the stone slid open silently, revealing a passageway extending downward. He slipped inside, his steps steady, and soon vanished within.

Moments later, he stood within a spacious underground vault.

In the center of the vault flowed a small river of molten rock. Surging heat rolled off it, turning the stone chamber stiflingly hot. At the center of the magma, resting quietly upon a black reef, was a massive block of yellow-gold crystal. It radiated a blazing light—this was the Jinli Stone, about a zhang in size.

With a flip of his left hand, eight blue array flags appeared in the old man's palm. With a casual flick of his wrist, the flags transformed into eight streaks of blue light that shot out and vanished into the surrounding rock walls.

A flash of blue spiritual light flickered through the vault and disappeared. The area looked identical to before, yet a trapping formation had already been covertly laid down.

The old man retreated into the shadows in a corner of the vault. He was just about to circulate his cultivation to conceal his aura when hurried, heavy footsteps suddenly echoed from the passageway entrance.

"This is bad!"

The burly man surnamed Jin burst out of the passageway, his face filled with urgency.

"Great Grandmaster, that person is gone!" he shouted.

The old man said nothing. His gaze shifted from the burly man's face to the distant vault entrance. His expression didn't visibly change, but the fingers resting on his knee twitched slightly before he slowly drew them back into his sleeve.

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.

"When did this happen?"

"Right after I went back." The burly man gasped for breath.

"The meditation chamber was already empty. I searched the surrounding levels, but there was no trace of him."

The old man didn't respond right away. He lowered his eyes in thought. After two breaths, he rose to his feet. His gaze fell on the Jinli Stone, and his expression cooled slightly.

"Stay alert—he might still be nearby," he said. "Quickly, Jin Hao, go inform the others. I will stand guard here today. As a fellow Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator, what do I have to fear from him?"