Chapter 401 - 370: Coming to Confront

Chapter 401: Chapter 370: Coming to Confront

"Alright, enough arguing. Whoever the thief is, they must have left some clues. If we investigate carefully, we’re bound to find a trail. Instead of bickering here, I suggest you all start looking for those clues!"

Seeing the five Manor Masters’ argument growing more intense, the City Lord shook his head helplessly and spoke.

"That’s right. There must be clues..."

Mu Ruo nodded and was about to head toward the basement.

’No, I can’t let him go into the basement. If he follows the passage to investigate, who knows how long it will take? The Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water will probably have completely evaporated by then! I have to act fast!’

Seeing Mu Ruo about to enter the basement to search for clues, Nie Yun, who was outside, grew anxious.

The Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water evaporated far too quickly. If he let them go in to look for clues, they probably wouldn’t find anything anytime soon. If he delayed any longer, all his hard work would amount to nothing more than two useless gourds.

"Manor Master, Manor Master, something terrible has happened..."

An idea struck him. Nie Yun shouted as he flew in from outside the courtyard.

"Mu Yan? What’s wrong?" Seeing Nie Yun, Mu Ruo frowned and asked.

"Manor Master, I was sleeping in my room just now when I suddenly saw a figure dash out. I didn’t know who it was, so I followed closely. To my surprise, the person flew straight to Muaixia Manor and completely emptied their Treasure Vault!"

Nie Yun said anxiously.

"What? Emptied our Treasure Vault? Are you sure?"

Before Mu Ruo could even react, Mu Qi leaped to his feet upon hearing this.

He had just been gloating over the other party’s Treasure Vault being robbed. He never imagined that his own would be plundered so quickly.

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes! But that person was too strong. I was no match for them at all, so I rushed back to inform you!" Nie Yun said hurriedly.

"Since he robbed Muaixia Manor, he can’t have gone far! Let’s go after him! We might still be able to catch him!"

Hearing this, the Manor Masters exchanged a look and nodded in unison. SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH! In an instant, the five Manor Masters and the City Lord all took to the air, speeding toward Muaixia Manor.

’I tricked them all away that easily!’

Once everyone was gone, Nie Yun gave a faint smile and darted toward the basement.

Following the passage, he quickly reached the basement area. With a grand sweep of his hand, Nie Yun pulled the stone basement up from below, flipped his palm, and stored it in the Zihua Cave Mansion.

’You all can go cause a ruckus. I’m going to continue my research on the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water...’

After getting what he wanted, Nie Yun chuckled, returned to his courtyard, dispelled his Disguise Qi, and slipped into the Zihua Cave Mansion.

’First, I need to plug the hole in this stone chamber!’

This stone basement had a large hole he’d blasted through it with a single sword strike. If he didn’t seal it, the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water would continue to evaporate.

He found the fragments from his sword strike and patched up the hole piece by piece, sealing all the cracks with his True Qi. Only then did Nie Yun move his hand and bring over the two large gourds.

Sure enough, as soon as the gourds were placed inside the stone chamber, the rate of evaporation immediately slowed. The entire room filled with an invigorating aura.

’Now I have plenty of time. Let’s study this Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water and figure out what’s going on with it, why it’s so heavy...’

Walking over to the Little Gourd, Nie Yun reached out and opened the lid. He saw a dozen or so drops of liquid sloshing inside, each one as Radiant and bright as mercury.

Just by sniffing it, Nie Yun felt the muscles all over his body twitch with excitement. Every cell felt as if it had consumed a Great Nourishing Pill, and he couldn’t help but feel them surge with energy.

’This stuff really is incredible... It increases muscle activity, but how do I use it? And how do I achieve Telepathy with it?’

His powerful Soul Power circled the drops of water several times, but he couldn’t detect any fluctuations of will. Nie Yun’s brow furrowed into a knot.

’The drops have no soul fluctuations. How can I achieve Telepathy with them?’

’If you want to be in a relationship, the other party has to be able to communicate with you. How can you have a relationship with a stone or a tree?’

This Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water was strange, but just like any ordinary liquid, it had no will fluctuations at all. Without will fluctuations, communication was impossible. How could he establish a telepathic link with it?

After scratching his head for a long time, Nie Yun still couldn’t figure it out. He shook his head in resignation and summoned Mu Qing and Mu Xia.

Although the two were outer disciples of the Ancient City, this was also their first time seeing Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water. They studied it for a long while but couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so they had to give up.

"Forget it. You two continue researching here. I’m going to head out first."

After an unknown amount of time spent researching with no results, Nie Yun shook his head, stood up, and left the Zihua Cave Mansion.

The moment he returned to the courtyard, he froze.

’Hm? Why are all these people heading my way? Have I been found out?’

Nie Yun frowned.

In his senses, he could feel Mu Ruo, Mu Qi, the other three Manor Masters, and the City Lord hurtling toward him. It seemed they were coming to find him!

’Have my deeds been discovered?’

’Impossible!’ The moment the thought appeared, Nie Yun immediately dismissed it.

’I may not have been completely traceless, but it shouldn’t be that easy for them to find me out!’

After all, every time he committed a crime, he disguised himself as someone else. His Disguise Master Talent was second to none. If he could be seen through so easily, there would be no point in living.

Back on the Floating Heaven Continent, the Divine Thief Qianhuan had used his Disguise to run wild, tricking countless people to the point of misery without ever being discovered. Every single one of his victims had been far stronger than these Manor Masters. Nie Yun refused to believe that his own talent was so much worse than the Divine Thief Qianhuan’s.

’Regardless, I should go out and see what’s happening. If I don’t go out to meet them, it might really backfire.’

Mulling it over, Nie Yun stood up, pushed the door open, and walked out.

Before emerging, he had already recalled the version of himself disguised as Mu Jie into the Zihua Cave Mansion. Thus, he was the only one in the courtyard, and he had no fear of their investigation.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

He had just stepped into the courtyard when he heard several sonic booms as six figures landed.

"Mu Yun, you dare to toy with us? You’re courting death!"

The moment he entered the courtyard, Mu Ruo roared, his eyebrows shooting up. "Hand over the things you took from my Treasure Vault! Otherwise, I’ll kill you right now and leave you with no place for burial!"

’Hm?’ Seeing their towering rage and overwhelming auras the moment they arrived, Nie Yun thought, ’This is bad.’ He was about to flee when a thought suddenly struck him, and he understood.

’They must be trying to bluff me. If I run now, it will be an admission of guilt, and I’ll never be able to enter the so-called Lingxi Celestial Palace!’

’Although I haven’t figured out how to communicate with the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water yet, this stuff can increase muscle activity. It’s an incredibly rare treasure. With a treasure like this, the more, the better!’

"Manor Master, what is the meaning of this?" Having figured things out, Nie Yun immediately feigned outrage, staring fixedly at Mu Ruo without blinking, not backing down an inch.

"What’s the meaning? You know perfectly well. You were able to make Manor Master Mu Qi kneel, which proves your soul has reached the Mid-Stage Spirit Level. How can a mere Ultimate Venerable possess such powerful Soul Power? Who are you, really? What is your purpose in coming to our Ancient City? Confess the truth, and we might spare your life. Otherwise, you will die today!"

The City Lord took a step forward, his eyes sharp and piercing as if trying to see through Nie Yun’s heart.

But Nie Yun had lived two lives and was as cunning as a fox. How could the City Lord possibly see through him?

"Haha..." Instead of answering immediately, Nie Yun burst out laughing.

He had made Manor Master Mu Qi kneel on a whim, not expecting it to be seen as a flaw in his story. However, since he had dared to do it then, he had naturally prepared an explanation and left himself a way out.

"As esteemed masters of the Secret Realm, surely you know about Talismans, don’t you? Surely you know about Soul Marks!"

After he finished laughing, Nie Yun looked at the group before him, his gaze icy.

"I am an outer disciple, but for someone so young to have such strength—don’t you find that strange? That’s right, it’s because I have a powerful master! This time, when I returned to the Ancient City, my master feared someone might harm me and specifically left a Soul Mark in my body for me to trigger in times of danger! I never thought that triggering the mark would lead you to mistake me for an expert with a Mid-Stage Spirit Level soul. How ridiculous! If my soul was really that strong, why wouldn’t I be trying to break into the Secret Realm instead of remaining an ordinary Ultimate Venerable?"

Nie Yun spun his tall tale, once again bringing up his master.

Anyway, his non-existent master had already "come back from the dead" many times. One more time wouldn’t hurt. He might as well let the "resurrections" continue...

"This..."

Hearing the young man’s words, everyone was stunned.

Indeed, there was a world of difference between outer disciples and the disciples of the Ancient City proper. Without the guidance of a renowned master or a special opportunity, it was simply impossible to reach the Ultimate Venerable Realm before the age of twenty.

Not only had this young man before them reached the Ultimate Venerable Realm, but his strength was so great that even they were wary of him. They too found it impossible to believe that he didn’t have a renowned master guiding him.

"How can you prove that what you’re saying is true?"

Understanding this point, the City Lord’s attitude changed. He hesitated for a moment before asking.

"Isn’t that simple? I’ll just trigger the mark my master left one more time for you to feel it. You are all experts; I’m sure you can tell if it’s real or fake! And you must also know that a master of his caliber wouldn’t deign to lie to you!"

Nie Yun lied without batting an eye.

"Very well. If there is no such mark from your master inside you, we swear we won’t let this matter rest today!" Mu Ruo gritted his teeth.

"Hmph!" Ignoring the threat, Nie Yun slowly closed his eyes and covertly activated the Nameless Technique with his Spiritual Power.

BOOM!

In an instant, a powerful, surging pressure descended, blanketing everything. It was as vast as the galaxy falling to earth and as overwhelming as the rivers and seas flowing backward—a force so thick it was suffocating!

WHOOSH!

The binding pressure vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Nie Yun opened his eyes.

He had only activated the Nameless Technique for a very short time. Plus, his Spiritual Power was much stronger than before, so he merely felt a moment of dizziness before recovering, without experiencing the exhaustion that would normally make him need to sleep.

"I trust you all believe me now!" ℯℯ𝘭.

With a dark expression, Nie Yun snorted coldly. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)