Chapter 398: Evaporation

Chapter 398 -169: Evaporation

‘My chance has come!’

After setting his plan in motion, Nie Yun’s goal was simply to make them fight. Seeing the battle now raging in full swing, he smiled faintly. With a few leaps, he arrived at the previous courtyard and vaulted through the hole he had dug earlier.

A moment later, he was standing before the Treasure Vault once again.

‘You guys can keep fighting up there. I’ll just help myself to the treasures first!’

With the Profound Jade Sword in hand, Nie Yun had no more reservations. He swung the sword fiercely.

BOOM!

Rubble flew as a gaping hole appeared in the underground chamber.

‘There are far more treasures here than at Muaixia Manor, and this gourd is even bigger!’

Stepping through the opening, Nie Yun immediately spotted a larger gourd straight ahead. It was half as tall as a man and emanated the same aura as the previous one, causing the muscles all over his body to twitch as if they were about to leap out of his skin.

‘Connect with the jade tablet, and… grab!’

Repeating his old trick, Nie Yun took out a jade tablet to communicate with the gourd. With a powerful grab, he used all his strength and, in the blink of an eye, stored the large gourd in the Zihua Cave Mansion.

‘I’ll take all the treasures here too! Spirit Stones, Elixirs, Spiritual Soldiers… I’ve struck it rich!’

After stowing the gourd, he gave the room a cursory glance. He discovered there wasn’t a single Royal Family’s Top-Grade Weapon. Instead, it was filled with Spiritual Soldiers—hundreds of them! There were also tens of thousands of Low-Grade Spirit Stones and two or three hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. Letting out an excited cry, he swept his Mid-Stage Spirit Level soul through the room and, in the blink of an eye, stripped it clean!

‘Time to go. That old fool Mu Ruo is about to lose his mind!’

Having taken everything, Nie Yun used his Celestial Eye to look up through the ground. He saw that breaking into the secret chamber had already alerted Mu Ruo. The man could no longer be bothered with fighting Mu Qi and was rushing over.

However, Mu Qi wasn’t about to let him leave. He pursued relentlessly, attacking with all his might!

“Mu Qi, you old scoundrel! You deliberately provoked this fight to steal from my Treasure Vault! I’ll fight you to the death today!”

“The thief cries ‘stop thief’! You killed my grandson, and now you accuse me of robbing your Treasure Vault? You’re fucking asking for it! When the hell did I ever rob your Treasure Vault? As if I’d want to rob your Treasure Vault!”

The two masters were locked in a stalemate, their roars like the crashing tide. All sorts of Martial Arts clashed and Mana boiled, lighting up the sky above the entire Ancient City like radiant fireworks.

Nie Yun took a quick glance. He knew that while the two were evenly matched, if Mu Ruo was determined to leave, he would be able to get here soon. Without hesitation, Nie Yun shot back up through the tunnel he had created.

As he went, he collapsed the tunnel behind him. At the same time, he sent Sword Qi from his Profound Jade Sword flying in all directions, carving out new tunnels only to collapse them as well.

This turned the single passage into a chaotic mess of countless forks. Even if his pursuers found the entrance, it would take them ages to track him.

After covering all his tracks, Nie Yun left the small courtyard and returned to his Lixuan Pavilion.

‘Heh, I’ll let Mu Jie continue to impersonate me here. I’m going back to study the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water!’

After injecting another stream of Disguise Qi into Mu Jie’s body, Nie Yun flickered and entered the Zihua Cave Mansion.

The Zihua Cave Mansion was a type of Magical Treasure that could change its size at will. Once inside, Nie Yun could shrink it down to a tiny speck of dust. Not even a Primordial Saint Realm expert would necessarily be able to find it, even if they scanned the area meticulously with their soul!

Inside the Zihua Cave Mansion.

Nie Yun stood before the two gourds.

‘Hmm? Something seems wrong. Why has the aura from these gourds weakened so much?’

As he approached the two gourds, Nie Yun immediately noticed that something was amiss.

The two gourds continuously released an aura that excited one’s muscles, acting like a stimulant. It invigorated the spirit and accelerated the circulation of Qi and blood in the body.

But now, for some unknown reason, this stimulating aura was weaker than it had been outside!

Although the weakening was minuscule, who was Nie Yun? With a soul that had reached the Mid-Stage Spirit Level, he could distinguish between two strands of hair, let alone a change in an aura!

He had only just placed the gourds in the Zihua Cave Mansion, and their aura had already diminished. If this continued, wouldn’t the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water inside soon lose all its effectiveness?

“Mu Xia, do you sense anything unusual?”

Afraid his senses were mistaken, Nie Yun quickly called Mu Xia over.

“It seems like the aura from the gourds is gradually weakening…” Mu Xia sensed it for a moment and also noticed something was wrong.

“That’s right, it’s definitely weakening!” Seeing that she had sensed it too, Nie Yun was puzzled.

‘After entering their Treasure Vault, I just grabbed the gourds and left. I didn’t do anything special. Why is this happening?’

“I think I heard that Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water dissipates when it comes into contact with the air. It has to be stored in something special, but I don’t know what that is!” Mu Xia said, recalling what she knew.

‘It has to be stored in something special? That must be these two gourds. I didn’t transfer it to anything else… Wait, could it be those black stones?’

Halfway through his thought, an idea suddenly sparked in Nie Yun’s mind. He remembered something.

The secret chambers in both Dieyi Manor and Muaixia Manor that housed these gourds were made of those stones that even his Celestial Eye couldn’t see through. Could that be the key?

If that was the case, it would explain the alarm Restrictions placed in the Dieyi Manor’s underground chamber!

The black stones prevented the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water from dissipating. If even the slightest crack appeared, this precious treasure would vanish completely. To prevent any mishaps, it was only natural to set up such dense alarm Restrictions!

It was just like a water tank. If the tank sprang a leak, no matter how small the crack, it could eventually lead to an entire dike collapsing—an irreversible loss.

‘I didn’t think the black stones were anything valuable back then, so I didn’t take them. Now, the fight between Mu Ruo and Mu Qi should be about over. Am I supposed to go back and steal again? But if I don’t, all this Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water will eventually dissipate completely… What should I do?’

Having figured it out, Nie Yun felt a wave of frustration. He didn’t know what to do.

He had meticulously schemed to lure the two Manor Masters into this massive fight. By now, their battle should have ended. Rushing over rashly would be like walking right into the lion’s den. Forget stealing the black stones; he’d probably be hunted down by everyone the moment he appeared!

The Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water was as heavy as a mountain. Without comprehending its mysteries and achieving a spiritual connection with it, one couldn’t even use it themselves, let alone give it to others. Taking a single drop would be enough to crush a person to death, so what use was it now?

But if he didn’t go, all the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water he had worked so hard to steal—which he intended to use to increase the vitality of his younger brother’s muscles—would likely evaporate completely before he even had a chance to use it!

For a moment, Nie Yun was stuck in a dilemma.

‘Wait, that’s right! I just killed Mu Yan. I’ll disguise myself as him and head over to check things out. Maybe I can steal some of the black stones while I’m at it!’

With that thought, an idea took root. Nie Yun activated his Disguise Qi, and his appearance changed once again, morphing into that of Mu Yan.

This place didn’t have anything like Soul Jade Scrolls, so even though Mu Yan was dead, no one knew. This was the perfect opportunity for him to use his identity to get the job done.

Exiting the Zihua Cave Mansion, Nie Yun quietly left Lixuan Pavilion and sped towards the Manor Master’s Courtyard.

This time, he didn’t conceal his aura. After all, Mu Yan was the steward of Dieyi Manor. It would be more suspicious if he *didn’t* show up after such a major incident.

He made no effort to hide, encountering many people along the way. Nie Yun didn’t speak, simply giving them a casual nod before continuing forward.

The battle between Mu Ruo and Mu Qi had indeed ended. The Manor Master’s Courtyard was now in ruins. The scent of battle hung heavy in the air, and the unique power of the Primordial Saint Realm still lingered, seeming as if it could ignite at any moment.

“Your family’s Treasure Vault was robbed, so what the hell does that have to do with me? If you want to pin it on me, you’d better see if your fists are hard enough first!”

Before he even entered the courtyard, he heard a furious shout. Though angry, the voice carried an undertone of glee, as if the speaker was delighted that the Dieyi Manor’s Treasure Vault had been robbed.

“You…! City Lord, you must see justice done for me! This incident today is definitely related to him! He’s struck at the very foundation of my Dieyi Manor. This is a feud to the death!”

Another roar followed, laced with such intense hatred that it sounded as if he wanted to flay the thief and scrape his bones clean.

‘The City Lord? No wonder they stopped fighting. It seems the City Lord has arrived…’

Hearing the exchange, Nie Yun knew the commotion they had caused was so great that it had alerted the City Lord.

The City Lord’s Soul Realm was the same as his own. Even if he appeared in his true form with his Disguise, the man wouldn’t be able to see through it, so there was nothing to fear.

“Alright, both of you, stop arguing. It seems to me you’ve fallen into someone else’s trap. This person impersonated Mu Ruo to go to Muaixia Manor and kill Mu Xiang, then came here to divert the trouble and steal the treasure in the chaos. Such a devious mind, such formidable methods!”

Worthy of the City Lord, after listening to their explanations and pondering for a moment, he understood the crux of the matter and spoke slowly.

‘This guy is truly impressive!’

Outside, Nie Yun nodded to himself.

What he had done wasn’t overly complex, but for the City Lord to figure it out so quickly… he was no simple character.

“We fell into someone’s trap? Damn it! Which one of you did this?”

Neither Mu Ruo nor Mu Qi were fools. Hearing the City Lord’s explanation, they thought for a moment and came to a sudden realization. Their eyes swept over the remaining few people, their voices turning frigid.

The Five Great Manors each governed their own affairs, appearing amicable on the surface while scheming behind each other’s backs. This “killing two birds with one stone” plot, making Dieyi and Muaixia fight while another reaped the benefits, was truly vicious!

“Heh, that’s a dog-eat-dog fight you’ve got there. Don’t you dare drag me into it. I was sleeping just now and was rudely awakened by your racket!”

“Same here. Two old geezers at your age, getting fooled by such a simple ploy. I say you might as well give up on living and go jump in a cesspool to drown yourselves!”

“What a disgrace. If you’re going to make accusations, find some evidence first. Without evidence, it’s all just bullshit. We don’t have the spare time to entertain your drama!”

The three Manor Masters were no pushovers. Seeing the hostile tone of Mu Ruo and Mu Qi, they each snorted coldly.

“I don’t care which one of you did it! If I find out who it was, I swear, even if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll make sure you won’t have an easy time!

Staring at the now-empty underground chamber, which had been completely plundered, tears streamed down Mu Ruo’s face as he howled in a fit of rage.

Damn it, who the hell did this? (To be continued.