Vol. 1 - Ch. 335 - Ambush

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Upon entering the sealed chamber on the third floor, Chen Tianmo looked around. A hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes.

Seeing this, Shi Pojing smiled and said:

“Rest assured, sir. The walls of this chamber are made of a material called natural zeolite. It's completely secure. Once the door is shut, not a sound can escape."

Hearing this, Chen Tianmo relaxed slightly but still asked cautiously,

"Can you actually make the call on this matter yourself? Or should I have someone in charge summoned instead?"

Shi Pojing paused briefly, then confidently revealed his Mid-Stage Innate Realm cultivation, saying:

"Judging by what you see here, do you think I'm capable of making this decision myself?"

"Fine, then."

After a moment of hesitation, Chen Tianmo finally nodded reluctantly.

This left Shi Pojing looking rather sour. This man was far too arrogant for his liking. Still, seeing that the man had agreed to proceed, Shi Pojing swallowed his irritation and prepared to see for himself what this so-called soul-bound item actually was.

If this man's item turned out to be fake, Shi Pojing wouldn't hold back!

His fists weren't made of dough, after all!

Under Shi Pojing's expectant gaze, Chen Tianmo slowly drew out the item hidden within his robes: a short piece of pure black wood. Despite its small size, the wood was vibrant with life, and several leaves were still sprouting from it. Yet, despite the branch's evident vitality, it radiated a cold, unsettling chill that reached Shi Pojing's senses.

Sensing the energy contained within the object, along with the corresponding resonance from the sacred stone he carried, a flicker of delight rose in Shi Pojing's eyes.

This truly was a soul-bound item and it appeared to be a tree branch.

But a moment later, Shi Pojing's brow furrowed slightly. Why did this branch feel so strangely familiar to him?

"May I ask your esteemed surname, sir?"

Chen Tianmo gave a slow smile.

"My surname is Chen!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Pojing's head snapped up at once. Disbelief flashed in his eyes, and fear suddenly overtook his face.

"The Chen Clan from Chaotic Burial Mountain?!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Shi Pojing finally realized why this branch seemed so familiar it was simply a branch from a locust tree. Just with slightly different coloration!

"This is bad!"

Watching the smile spread across Chen Tianmo's face and the Qi and Blood gather visibly in his hand, Shi Pojing thought in alarm and prepared to cry out and alert the clan elders elsewhere in the building.

Only then did the color drain from Shi Pojing's face. After all, as he had explained moments earlier, this sealed chamber muffled all sound. Even if he shouted at the top of his lungs, there was little chance his voice could carry far beyond these walls.

Before Shi Pojing could think further, Chen Tianmo's fist swung toward him! Joining Chen Tianmo in the attack were two shadowy figures clad in locust wood armor that had been lying in wait nearby and were now revealing themselves.

Seeing these frighteningly familiar armored warriors, terror flooded Shi Pojing's eyes.

After all, he had already witnessed firsthand just how formidable these figures could be during that fateful clash.

At the same moment that Chen Tianmo made his move, Shi Heli, in a separate sealed chamber on the third floor, likewise glanced warily around him.

Though his attempt to break through to the Qi Manipulation Realm had failed, he was nonetheless a martial artist who had achieved Great Perfection within the Innate Realm. Having mastered the Innate State, his strength was extraordinary.

Yet, even in this supposedly sealed and secure space, he found himself gripped by an inexplicable sense of impending danger. Though he couldn't pinpoint the source of this threat, his instincts told him not to let his guard down.

"Some kind of trick!"

Just as Shi Heli prepared to forcibly break through the sealed chamber to confront whatever lay ahead, two figures clad in black armor suddenly materialized in his field of vision and surrounded him.

The moment Shi Heli laid eyes on the armored figure, he instantly knew the answer, he had heard from Shi Pojing about a mysterious, hidden method that the Chen Clan supposedly wielded. Up until now, he had only heard about it secondhand and had never witnessed it with his own eyes.

Now, seeing it firsthand, his expression turned grim because each of the two armored figures radiated a presence he felt incapable of matching in combat. They were far more formidable than Shi Pojing's earlier description had led him to expect!

Before he could think further, the two figures attacked him.

While the sealed chambers on the third floor descended into chaos, Shi Chenghong and several of the clan's core members, who had been deliberating the clan's next steps, seemed to sense something. They glanced around in confusion.

It was only when several black-armored figures materialized and attacked that the group finally snapped to their senses and scrambled desperately to dodge.

These armored warriors had appeared without warning, and one of the clan elders, too slow to react, was struck down!

The remaining elders found themselves in mortal peril, besieged on all sides by the armored figures closing in around them.

Confusion still lingered in Shi Chenghong's eyes at that moment.

This location fell squarely within the boundaries of Yunmeng City. Their own Stone Warm Pavilion was built in the heart of the bustling city, surrounded by other established powers. How had the enemy managed to attack so unexpectedly without him receiving any intelligence beforehand?

The clan had deliberately kept the upper two floors shrouded in secrecy. Out of concern for security, few clan members were ever permitted to go up there under normal circumstances. Furthermore, the building's materials were far from ordinary not only soundproof, but also remarkably sturdy.

This meant that, now trapped in mortal danger with several other clansmen, he had no way to call for aid from the rest of the clan below. He couldn't even make it up to the floor above to beg the Divine Stone for assistance!

In the brief span of time it took Shi Chenghong to think all this through, another clan elder and several clansmen had already fallen.

Feeling the icy, merciless gazes closing in around him from every side, Shi Chenghong felt as though his heart had plunged into a pit of ice.

The clan had endured countless hardships over the course of its history. Even after their crushing defeat in the previous great battle, they had managed to survive and rebuild.

Yet he never imagined that the clan would find itself plunged, silently and without warning, into a crisis that threatened its complete annihilation at this very moment.

Chen Tianmo gave Shi Chenghong no time to gather his thoughts before the armored figures unleashed another relentless wave of attacks!

While a fierce battle raged across the upper floors of the Stone Warm Pavilion, the Shi Clan members and the numerous customers on the first and second floors below seemed completely oblivious to the events unfolding above them.

The lively hum of conversation among the crowd was more than enough to drown out the faint sounds of combat filtering down from above. The atmosphere throughout the pavilion remained calm, with buyers and sellers exchanging satisfied smiles over their completed transactions.

"Take care, sir! We look forward to your next visit!"

Having finished attending to a customer on the second floor of Stone Warm Pavilion, Shi Pohua began making his way slowly toward the third floor.

His sales on the second floor alone today had brought in several thousand jade coins surely enough to earn him praise and a reward from the Clan Head. With a bit more effort, perhaps he could break through to the Innate Realm soon and earn his place among the clan elders.

This thought filled Shi Pohua with renewed motivation, and he quickened his pace. Soon, he arrived at the entrance to the third floor of Stone Warm Pavilion.

The third floor was where the clan entertained important guests and housed a good portion of its resources, along with several sealed private chambers. The third floor also doubled as the venue for the clan's official gatherings and was hardly a place just anyone was permitted to enter.

Shi Pohua pushed open the door, intending to enter the sealed chamber and report the day's earnings to the Clan Head.

But the moment he opened the door, an overwhelming stench of blood hit his nose.

He froze for a moment, but quickly composed himself. Internal power struggles and dark dealings within the clan weren't unheard of.

However, hadn't the Clan Head recently instructed everyone to proceed with caution and avoid bloodshed within Stone Warm Pavilion to prevent giving outsiders leverage? Which clansman could have been so reckless as to disregard that order?