Chapter 205 - 140: Traces of a Demon Cultivator, a Surprise from Alchemist Zhuang

Chapter 205: Chapter 140: Traces of a Demon Cultivator, a Surprise from Alchemist Zhuang

In a private room on the second floor of the Qingpin Tea House on River Street, the atmosphere was quiet and elegant, offering a view of River Street outside the window.

Large boats sailed past on the Qing River. The banks were lined with shops, fronted by a walkway over a zhang wide, bustling with a surging crowd.

A single glance captured the many faces of the Marketplace.

Chen Jianghe took a delicate sip of the Spirit Tea, savoring the bitterness worth two Spirit Stones, which soon gave way to a hint of sweetness.

Duan Ming was dead.

For Chen Jianghe, this was truly a joyous occasion.

He now had one less Tribulation Cultivator plotting against him. Although he hadn’t feared Duan Ming, Chen Jianghe was out in the open, while Duan Ming lurked in the shadows.

As the saying goes, a thief can try to steal for a thousand days, but you can’t stand guard for a thousand days.

Besides, the man had the backing of a Foundation Establishment power, Qingfong Village.

"Boss Wang already sent word, forbidding Duan Ming’s gang from entering the Youxian Mountain Range, which is under Qinghe Marketplace’s jurisdiction. Since he insisted on coming in, even if he died, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator behind him can’t say a thing."

"Besides, what Foundation Establishment Cultivator from Qingfong Village has the spare time to care if he lives or dies?"

Ruan Tieniu chuckled. "Even if they did have the time, they wouldn’t dare meddle in Qinghe Marketplace’s affairs."

"Why is that? I’ve heard before that even a Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Demon Cultivator dared to run wild in Qinghe Marketplace."

Chen Jianghe asked, following Ruan Tieniu’s train of thought.

"Brother Chen, you must be talking about the Demon Cultivator Lann Tianxiang. How can a Tribulation Cultivator possibly compare to a Demon Cultivator?"

When Ruan Tieniu heard the words "Demon Cultivator," a strange glint flashed in his eyes before he quickly concealed it.

"Demon Cultivators have numerous methods, especially an endless array of techniques for preserving their lives and escaping. They’re almost impossible to catch."

"Furthermore, Demon Cultivators are extremely vengeful. Unless you’re certain you can kill them, no one wants to provoke a Demon Cultivator."

"But Tribulation Cultivators are different. They’re just a bunch of thugs who bully the weak and fear the strong. They dare to run wild in Qinghe Marketplace?"

At this point, Ruan Tieniu gave a sly laugh. "Brother Chen, don’t tell me you thought that none of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in Qinghe Marketplace came from Demon Hunter backgrounds?"

"Let me tell you a little secret that’s not much of a secret. Of the seventeen Foundation Establishment Cultivators who reside long-term in Qinghe Marketplace, six of them started out as Demon Hunters. Now, you tell me, would Qingfong Village dare to retaliate against me and Boss Wang over a single Duan Ming?"

Hearing this, Chen Jianghe was stunned.

He knew that many Foundation Establishment Cultivators lived in Qinghe Marketplace, but he never imagined that so many of them had come from Demon Hunter backgrounds.

Demon Hunters were usually looked down upon by the artisan cultivators.

Yet they had produced so many Foundation Establishment Cultivators. No wonder Demon Hunters had managed to gain a firm foothold in Qinghe Marketplace and even get the Marketplace to yield some of its profits.

And they had no fear of Tribulation Cultivators.

’So the Demon Hunters’ backing is quite formidable as well.’

’It makes sense when you think about it. As the leader of the largest Demon Hunting Team among all those in Qinghe Marketplace, how could Boss Wang not have a powerful backer?’

"In that case, does that mean you also have a Foundation Establishment Cultivator backing you, Brother Ruan?" Chen Jianghe asked in surprise.

Ruan Tieniu shook his head.

"I don’t like being managed, and I don’t like splitting my earnings with others, so I never pledged allegiance to any of those Foundation Establishment Elders who were once Demon Hunters."

"This time, although Boss Wang got two-thirds of Duan Ming’s wealth, he still has to hand over a portion of it. When you do the math, he still didn’t get as much as I did."

The corners of Ruan Tieniu’s mouth lifted slightly. It was clear he had obtained a substantial amount of wealth from Duan Ming.

Chen Jianghe didn’t press for details.

His friendship with Ruan Tieniu wasn’t deep. Even if it were, it was not a question to be asked.

One shouldn’t flaunt their wealth, so how could he just openly ask about it?

"Oh, right. Brother Chen, take a look and see if any of these are useful to you."

As Ruan Tieniu spoke, he waved his hand and took out several items from his Storage Pouch. There were Spiritual Objects and Magical Artifacts among them.

"If any of them catch your eye, Brother Chen, just say the word. I’ll give you a discount."

Chen Jianghe’s interest was piqued. His gaze fell upon the Treasures Ruan Tieniu had laid out.

It was obvious that a good number of these must have belonged to Duan Ming.

"So many?"

Suddenly, Chen Jianghe felt that something was off. There were over ten Treasures here. Though none were exceptionally valuable, their total worth was close to eight hundred Spirit Stones.

But he had to remember, Ruan Tieniu had only received one-third of the spoils.

The other two-thirds had been taken by Boss Wang.

This meant that the total wealth of Duan Ming, a Tribulation Cultivator leader, exceeded two thousand Spirit Stones.

’That seems impossible. For a Tribulation Cultivator, if he truly had this much wealth, he would have definitely converted it all into Spirit Stones to purchase resources.’

’How could he possibly carry it all on his person?’

Among the items were two High-Grade Flying Swords in perfect condition, as well as a High-Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifact.

These didn’t seem like Treasures a Tribulation Cultivator should possess.

"Hehe, when Boss Wang and I cooperate, do you think our only target was Duan Ming?"

"Of course, most of these Treasures were Duan Ming’s. As for why he had so many... Brother Chen, you’ve probably heard of Wang Kui, right?"

"Wang Kui? The Cultivator who found the Demon Cultivator’s Storage Pouch?"

Chen Jianghe didn’t just know of Wang Kui.

He had met and spoken with Wang Kui many times. Moreover, this Wang Kui still owed Yu Daniu fifty grains of Spiritual Sand.

"Mhm."

Ruan Tieniu nodded but didn’t explain any further.

No further explanation was needed.

Although the Storage Pouch Wang Kui obtained belonged to Lann Yunyi...

...Lann Yunyi was Lann Tianxiang’s only nephew. After the Lann Family was wiped out, Lann Tianxiang treated Lann Yunyi like his own son, even giving him a portion of the Treasures he plundered from the Qiyun Mountain Marketplace.

There had been rumors before that Lann Tianxiang had taken no less than seven thousand Spirit Stones’ worth of wealth from the Qiyun Mountain Marketplace.

He just hadn’t expected Wang Kui to have fallen into the hands of Tribulation Cultivators.

He glanced at the few Magical Artifacts. They were all ordinary High-Grade Magical Artifacts with no elemental attributes, so they were of no use to him.

The two bottles of Qi Recovery Pills were also useless to him in the Marketplace.

Besides, if he needed Qi Recovery Pills, he could go directly to Alchemist Zhuang and get a better discount.