Chapter 148 - 112: Beating Them at Their Own Game, a New Deal, Massive Gains

Chapter 148: Chapter 112: Beating Them at Their Own Game, a New Deal, Massive Gains

"Y-you, what are you doing here?"

Perhaps out of sheer shock, Duan Feng’s voice suddenly stuttered, and a terrified expression instantly covered his face.

He couldn’t help but take a step back. His heart plunged into an ice-cold abyss, as if a massive wave of fear had completely engulfed him.

BAM!

The moment the words left his mouth, Duan Feng saw Su Chen’s massive palm whistling toward him, slapping directly onto his forehead.

THUD.

After knocking Duan Feng unconscious, Su Chen grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into the cave.

Although the entrance was narrow, the space inside was quite spacious—more than enough to comfortably fit five or six people.

As soon as he entered the cave, Su Chen spotted the chest Duan Feng had buried in the ground. He dropped his captive and dug out the chest.

Opening it with a hint of anticipation, Su Chen’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Gold bars.

Qi Blood Pills.

And... Profound Essence Pills!

The chest was divided into four compartments. Three held the gold bars and the two types of pills, while the last one contained a pile of miscellaneous items.

Su Chen’s attention was immediately drawn to the Qi Blood Pills and Profound Essence Pills.

"Ten Profound Essence Pills, thirty Qi Blood Pills, seven or eight gold bars, and a bunch of worthless clutter."

After a careful count, Su Chen quickly tallied the number of pills and gold.

Looking at the spoils, a smile naturally formed on his face. "This trip definitely wasn’t in vain!"

After securely packing the pills and gold bars, he looked down at the unconscious Duan Feng.

After a moment of thought, he decided to give him a quick death, ending his life with a single strike of his blade.

He knew Duan Feng was from the Profound Water Sect and that he was connected to the Rebirth Sect. Originally, he had wanted to use this as blackmail to force Duan Feng to supply him with Qi Blood Pills and Profound Essence Pills.

Unfortunately, the man had not only discovered his identity but had also colluded with the Rebirth Sect to murder him. If he still tried to cooperate with such a person, there was no guarantee Duan Feng wouldn’t try the same trick again.

Coupled with his intention to monopolize Duan Feng’s hidden wealth, he figured he might as well go all the way and permanently eliminate the threat.

Although it meant losing an opportunity for a long-term supply of Qi Blood Pills and Profound Essence Pills, it was a much safer choice.

After all, even if Duan Feng agreed to cooperate, it wouldn’t be sincere. An unreliable partnership was worse than no partnership at all.

Packing up the chest, Su Chen returned fully loaded.

...

For several consecutive days, Heqiu failed to track down Su Chen’s whereabouts. The man seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving absolutely no trace behind.

Not even Hong Risheng’s mansion yielded any news.

Although he had locked onto a target, the lack of progress left even Heqiu in a bind.

Fortunately, a turning point emerged.

Upon receiving a message, Heqiu returned to the Profound Water Sect and learned from the Head of the Xuanfu Courtyard that another disciple had gone missing.

The missing disciple this time was Duan Feng, an Alchemy Master from the Xuandan Courtyard. He was normally a man of few words and had already been missing for several days.

The person originally in charge of investigating this matter was a good friend of Heqiu’s. However, upon hearing the news, Heqiu took over the case himself.

He had a strong feeling that Duan Feng’s disappearance was connected to Su Chen’s.

Thus, he temporarily set aside Su Chen’s case and began investigating Duan Feng instead. A quick investigation immediately unearthed some glaring issues.

"Are you saying that Duan Feng is highly likely to be colluding with the Rebirth Sect?" The Heads of the Xuanfu Courtyard and the Xuandan Courtyard looked rather shocked upon hearing Heqiu’s theory.

Heqiu nodded. "That’s right. I investigated Duan Feng’s whereabouts over the past month and discovered that he was frequently in secret contact with someone, covertly supplying them with Qi Blood Pills."

"But that alone doesn’t prove he was in contact with the Rebirth Sect, does it?" the Head of the Xuandan Courtyard asked in a deep voice.

Heqiu didn’t speak. Instead, he pulled out a medical book and extracted a piece of evidence from within its pages.

"This is the proof. Duan Feng tucked this letter inside the medical book. If I hadn’t ordered someone to tidy up his room, it likely would have never been found."

The two men took the letter and began to read it. Though referred to as a letter, it was actually more of a ledger—a record of Duan Feng’s transactions with the Rebirth Sect.

"Outrageous!"

After reading the contents, the Head of the Xuandan Courtyard flew into a violent rage. This bastard had actually used the sect’s medicinal ingredients to refine Qi Blood Pills. Instead of handing over the surplus pills to the sect, he had sold them directly to the Rebirth Sect.

Such behavior was even more despicable than Yu Xian’s. After all, Yu Xian had only stolen for his own personal gain, whereas Duan Feng had sold them to the enemies of the Profound Water Sect.

"Then, his current disappearance... could it be...?" The Head of the Xuanfu Courtyard’s expression was much calmer as he looked at Heqiu.

Heqiu gave a slight nod. "We can’t rule out that possibility. Of course, it’s also possible he realized the Rebirth Sect was going to move against him, so he absconded beforehand."

"Whether he is dead or alive, if he wants to defect from the Profound Water Sect, we’ll have to see if he has the capability to do so!" the Head of the Xuandan Courtyard snorted coldly, then immediately issued an order for his men to detain Duan Feng’s family.

"By the way, Heqiu, how is the investigation into Yu Xian’s matter going?" the Head of the Xuanfu Courtyard asked suddenly.

Heqiu shook his head. "The target has been locked down, but the trail has gone cold."

"Who is it?"

"The man’s name is Su Chen. He might be connected to Hong Risheng." Heqiu then explained the progress of the investigation.

"Hong Risheng..." the Head of the Xuanfu Courtyard muttered under his breath, falling deep into thought before saying, "Alright, continue investigating this matter."

"Yes, sir!"

...

In the blink of an eye, three more days passed.

On this day, Su Chen swallowed a Profound Essence Pill. As the pill’s medicinal power dissolved within his body, the progress of the Profound Yuan Technique on his interface suddenly updated.

Without even looking at it, he directly activated the simple mode. After swallowing his saliva three hundred times, he upgraded the Profound Yuan Technique to the second layer.

With the advancement of the Profound Yuan Technique, the inner force within his body was instantly stimulated. Its circulation speed abruptly accelerated, tempering his internal organs slightly faster than usual.

Furthermore, the most obvious change was that a brand-new, unfamiliar inner force had actually been generated within Su Chen’s body.

No, it wasn’t exactly unfamiliar. He could feel that this inner force originated from the Profound Yuan Technique, though it was currently extremely weak.

Compared to the inner force of the Iron Cloth Shirt, the difference was night and day. The former was like a newborn infant, while the latter was already a fully grown adult.

Moreover, unlike the Iron Cloth Shirt’s inner force, the primary area this weak inner force tempered was not his lungs, but his kidneys.

And the speed of this tempering process was just like the Iron Cloth Shirt in its early stages—slow and with minimal effect.

However, upon noticing this detail, Su Chen felt as though he had discovered a whole new world. His eyes brightened, gleaming with a strange, radiant luster.