Chapter 400 - 369: Evaporation

Chapter 400: Chapter 369: Evaporation

’The opportunity is here!’

Having orchestrated the whole thing, Nie Yun’s goal was to make them fight. Seeing them now locked in a blazing battle, he gave a faint smile. With a few quick leaps, he arrived at the previous courtyard, and with a single bound, he slipped through the hole he had dug.

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

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

With the Profound Jade Sword in hand, Nie Yun held nothing back. He unleashed a powerful slash.

BOOM!

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

’There’s way more treasure here than at Muaixia Manor, and this gourd is even bigger!’

Stepping through the gap, Nie Yun immediately spotted a larger gourd straight ahead. It was over half a man tall and emitted the same aura as the previous one—an energy that made one’s muscles twitch, as if they were about to leap out of the skin.

’Communicate with the jade tablet... grab!’

He employed the same trick again. This time, Nie Yun directly took out the 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! Spirit Stones, Elixirs, Spiritual Soldiers... I’ve struck it rich!’

After stowing the gourd, he gave the room a casual glance. He found that there wasn’t a single Royal Family’s Top-Grade Weapon here; they were all Spiritual Soldiers, hundreds of them. There were also Spirit Stones—tens of thousands of Low-Grade Spirit Stones and two or three hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. He let out an excited cry as his Mid-Stage Spirit Level soul swept out, clearing the entire room in the blink of an eye!

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

Having taken everything, Nie Yun activated his Celestial Eye and looked up through the ground. He saw that breaking into the secret chamber had already alerted Mu Ruo. At this moment, Mu Ruo could no longer be bothered with fighting Mu Qi and was rushing over.

However, how could Mu Qi possibly let him leave? He pursued him relentlessly, attacking with all his might!

"Mu Qi, you old bastard! You deliberately provoked me into a fight just to steal from my Treasure Vault! I’ll kill you today!"

"The pot calling the kettle black! You killed my grandson, and now you have the gall to say I robbed your Treasure Vault? You’re fucking courting death! When the hell did I rob your Treasure Vault? What would I even want with your junk?!"

The two masters were locked in a stalemate, their roars like the tide. All kinds of Martial Arts clashed, Mana boiled, and the sky lit up with radiant fireworks that illuminated the entire Ancient City.

Nie Yun glanced at the battle. Although they were evenly matched, he knew that if Mu Ruo was determined to leave, he would be here soon. Without hesitating, Nie Yun shot out through the tunnel he had smashed open.

As he moved, 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 immediately after.

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 find him.

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

’Heh, I’ll just let Mu Jie continue to impersonate me here. I’m going back to study this 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 freely change its size. After Nie Yun entered, he could shrink it down to a tiny speck of dust. Even a Primordial Saint Realm expert might not find it, even if they scanned the area meticulously with their soul!

Inside the Zihua Cave Mansion.

Nie Yun stood before the two gourds.

’Hm? Something feels off... Why has the aura from this gourd weakened so much?’

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

The two gourds constantly emanated an aura that excited the muscles. It was like a stimulant, invigorating one’s Spirit and quickening the flow of qi and blood in the body.

But now, for some unknown reason, this stimulating aura had weakened compared to when it was outside!

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

’I only just put the gourds into the Zihua Cave Mansion, and the aura has already weakened significantly. If this continues, won’t the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water inside the gourds lose its effect soon?’

"Mu Xia, do you feel anything unusual?"

Afraid he might be mistaken, Nie Yun quickly summoned Mu Xia.

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

"You’re right, it is weakening!" Seeing that she had sensed it too, Nie Yun was puzzled.

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

"I think I heard that Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water dissipates when exposed to 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 what these two gourds are for, and I haven’t transferred it to anything else... Wait, could it be those black stones?’

Halfway through his thought, Nie Yun had a flash of insight and suddenly remembered something.

The secret chambers in both Dieyi Manor and Muaixia Manor, where these gourds were stored, were both built from those stones that 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 basement of Dieyi Manor!

The black stones must prevent the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water from dissipating. If even a tiny crack appeared, this precious treasure would vanish completely. To prevent any mishaps, they naturally had to set up such dense alarm Restrictions!

It was like a water tank. If the tank sprang a leak, no matter how small the crack, it could eventually cause the entire structure to collapse, leading to an irreversible loss.

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

Having figured it out, Nie Yun felt a wave of frustration, unsure of what to do.

He had gone to all this trouble to set a trap and lure the two Manor Masters into fighting. Their battle was likely over by now. Rushing over recklessly would be like walking straight into a trap. Forget about 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 grasping its secrets and forming a spiritual connection with it, one couldn’t even use it on others—taking a single drop for oneself would be enough to be crushed to death, let alone benefit from its effects.

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

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

’Wait, that’s right! I just killed Mu Yan. I can disguise myself as him and head over to take a look. Maybe I can steal some of those black stones while I’m at it!’

With a new plan in mind, Nie Yun’s Disguise Qi swirled, and his appearance changed once more, transforming him into Mu Yan.

There was no such thing as a Soul Jade Scroll in this place. Although Mu Yan was dead, no one knew it yet. This was the perfect opportunity for Nie Yun to use his identity to accomplish his goal.

Exiting the Zihua Cave Mansion, Nie Yun quietly left Lixuan Pavilion and swiftly made his way toward the Manor Master’s Courtyard.

This time, he didn’t conceal his aura. After all, Mu Yan was a steward of Dieyi Manor. With such a major incident happening in the clan, it would be more surprising if he didn’t show up.

He made no attempt to hide, encountering many people along the way. Nie Yun didn’t speak, however, merely giving a casual nod before continuing on.

As expected, the battle between Mu Ruo and Mu Qi had ended. The Manor Master’s residence was now a ruin, the air thick with the smell of battle. The unique power of the Primordial Saint Realm still coiled in the air, seemingly ready to ignite at any moment.

"Your family’s Treasure Vault was robbed. What the hell has that got to do with me? If you want to pin this on me, you’d better see if your fists are hard enough!"

Before he even entered the courtyard, he heard a loud roar. The voice was filled with anger, but even more so with glee. It seemed 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 matter is definitely related to him! He struck at the very foundation of my Dieyi Manor! This won’t end until one of us is dead!"

Another long cry followed, laced with such intense hatred it was as if he wanted to flay the thief alive and pick their bones clean.

’The City Lord? No wonder they stopped fighting. So, the City Lord has arrived...’

Hearing the exchange, Nie Yun knew their commotion had been so great that it had alarmed the City Lord.

The City Lord’s Soul Realm was the same as his own. As long as he maintained his Disguise, the man definitely wouldn’t be able to see through it, so there was no need to be afraid.

"Alright, both of you, stop arguing. I believe 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 seize the opportunity to steal the treasure. What a deep scheme, and what ruthless methods!"

Worthy of his title, the City Lord pondered for a moment after hearing their explanations and figured out the crux of the matter, speaking slowly.

’This guy is really something,’ Nie Yun thought to himself.

Outside, Nie Yun nodded in silent agreement.

His own plan wasn’t overly complex, but for the City Lord to have figured it out so quickly, he was truly 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. After hearing the City Lord’s explanation, they thought for a moment and came to a realization. Their eyes swept over the remaining few people, their voices chilling.

The Five Great Manors each governed their own territory. They were allies on the surface but schemed against each other in the shadows. This plot killed two birds with one stone, pitting Dieyi and Muaixia against each other so the culprit could reap all the benefits. It was truly vicious!

"Heh, don’t drag me into your dog-eat-dog fight. I was sleeping just now and was woken up by all your racket!"

"Me too. Two old geezers of your age, getting fooled by such a simple trick. I say you might as well give up on living and just go jump in a cesspool to drown!"

"What a disgrace. If you want to make accusations, find some proof first. Without proof, 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 from 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 I have to die, I’ll make sure you don’t get away with it!

Looking at the completely looted underground chamber in the passage, tears streamed down Mu Ruo’s face as he shrieked in rage.

’Fuck, who the hell did this?’