Chapter 39: Chapter 39

“Ah, disciples of a great and reputable sect, yet all they carry are Xibe goods!”

Liu Jinshui’s face was full of disdain as he shook his head and sighed.

“It really is a sign of declining times!”

Li Xiaobai also put on an act of lamenting for the world.

“Junior brother, have you finished packing?”

“All packed up.”

“Shall we split the loot?”

“Let’s do it!”

Liu Jinshui clapped Li Xiaobai on the shoulder, and the two vanished from the spot, feeling somewhat guilty about splitting loot at the crime scene.

For such an important task, of course one had to find a secluded place to do it.

In the inner area, a certain jungle.

Li Xiaobai and Liu Jinshui laid out all their gains.

The ground glittered with a stunning array of precious medicinal herbs and dazzling treasures, with Spirit Stones piled up like a mountain.

“Senior brother, is this all of it?”

“Junior brother, they’re just Xibe goods.”

Li Xiaobai’s face darkened, knowing he had been duped by his senior brother.

To believe that the chubby fellow would honestly hand over all the treasures was something Li Xiaobai would never believe even if he were beaten to death.

The fact that Liu Jinshui could lay out so many rare items without batting an eye meant he was hiding even more valuable treasures.

Unfortunately, while rummaging through the rings, he had blurted out his agreement with Liu Jinshui’s description of the items as Xibe goods.

Now, hoping to get his hands on anything more valuable was out of the question.

“Then, let’s split.”

Li Xiaobai sighed, and they divided the items evenly. Although there were not many high-tier items, it was still enough to be considered a large sum of money.

Calculating his savings, Li Xiaobai was astonished to find that he had over ten thousand Lower Grade Spirit Stones on hand.

Once he sold off the Spiritual Artifacts, medicinal herbs, and all the other miscellaneous items, he would surely become a rich man!

With such wealth, wouldn’t he be able to pick and choose luxury items from the mall at will?

The thought of those flashy mounts brought an uncontrollable smile to Li Xiaobai’s lips.

Lamborghini, Gundam Sentinel—these were every man’s dream.

“Senior brother, won’t we get caught doing this?”

Li Xiaobai asked, as it was a matter grave enough to cost them their heads. Although it felt good to rake in the money now, when it came time to settle the score later, not even ten heads would be enough to appease them.

“What’s there to fear? We only went in after the Soul-Bewitching Array took effect. Nobody saw our faces, relax!”

“Plus, these cultivators are all about face. If someone takes their Space Rings, it’s their own fault for not being skilled enough. They can’t blame others and certainly won’t publicly call for our heads.”

Liu Jinshui was completely unconcerned, having done this sort of thing more than a dozen times and becoming quite adept at it.

Li Xiaobai’s face darkened. So, they wouldn’t call for their heads publicly, but that meant they would be hunted down in private.

As expected, his senior brother was unreliable.

“Junior brother, do you specialize in cultivating your body?” Liu Jinshui suddenly asked, pinching Li Xiaobai’s muscles.

“Yes, I train for defensive strength,” Li Xiaobai replied, slightly puzzled and honestly answering without fully grasping his senior brother’s intention.

“How strong an attack can it withstand?”

“Nascent Soul Stage is not a problem.”

“Keep blowing your own trumpet!” Liu Jinshui was utterly skeptical.

Li Xiaobai immediately took out a Demonic Beast inner core from his Space Ring and swallowed it whole. Thunder rolled and smoke rose from his body.

After a moment, Li Xiaobai let out a satisfied burp and exhaled a breath of impure air.

Liu Jinshui watched, dumbfounded.

“Damn it, junior brother, how did you cultivate to become so strong? It’s been less than a month since you started, and you’ve become this powerful!”

Liu Jinshui was shocked. Everyone knew how fragile the inside of a body could be, yet his little junior brother was able to swallow a Demonic Beast inner core whole, allowing the wild Spiritual Energy to wreak havoc in his Dantian. With such a level of physical strength, he might indeed be able to withstand an attack from someone at the Nascent Soul Stage.

“Junior brother, your physical prowess is wasted on petty thievery. Don’t you want to pull off a big heist?” Liu Jinshui whispered mysteriously.

“Please teach me, Senior Brother!”

Li Xiaobai knew that an opportunity to make money had come again.

“Do you know why all the major sects are gathered here?”

“The Dragon Serpent Fruit deep within the mountain range?” Li Xiaobai thought of what Yin Susu had said before.

“Junior Brother is well-informed, indeed knowing about the Dragon Serpent Fruit. Correct, the cause of the uprising of the demonic beasts is due to a mature Dragon Snake Fruit Tree.”

“All the major powers have come, ostensibly to purge the demonic beasts and suppress the unrest, but in reality, they want to share in the spoils deep within the mountain range.”

Liu Jinshui said with some surprise, finding it unexpected that Li Xiaobai also knew about the Dragon Serpent Fruit.

“Could it be that Senior Brother also wants a share of the spoils?”

“Indeed, our Second Senior Sister had controlled the State Preceptor to learn about the approximate location of the Dragon Serpent Fruit before entering the mountain range. At this moment, many top practitioners from various sects are purging the demonic beasts; their speed of entering the core area of the mountain range isn’t fast. We could certainly take a step ahead and snatch the Dragon Serpent Fruit before the other sects do.”

“Has Senior Brother found it?”

“Indeed, currently only I know where it is.”

“The area near the Dragon Serpent Fruit must be extremely dangerous, right?” Li Xiaobai said dryly.

“Isn’t that why I have you, Junior Brother?” Liu Jinshui chuckled slyly.

“Seventy-thirty?”

“Sixty-forty it is, to leave a share for the other Senior Brothers and Sisters.”

“Deal!”

“Let’s go!”

…

At the same time, deep within the Divine Beast Mountain Range by the riverside.

The many cultivators trapped within the Soul-Bewitching Array gradually came to.

After floundering in the water for a bit, they all came ashore.

“Damn it, that damn fatso tricked us; he must have taken the treasure!”

“But if he had the power to obtain the treasure, why would he need to trick us into the water?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He wanted us to trigger the formation first, so he could pick up an easy bargain!”

“No, wait, have you guys noticed you’re missing something?”

“My Space Ring is gone!”

“Mine too!”

“Could it have fallen into the water?”

“Impossible. The ring is very secure; unless someone took it off, it can’t fall off on its own!”

“It was that damned fatso, he tricked us into the water just to steal our rings!”

“…”

Atop a certain mountain peak,

the same scene unfolded again.

After the Soul-Bewitching Array vanished, everyone came to, and the first thing they did was check for injuries. Finding none too serious, they breathed a sigh of relief.

However, they soon realized something was amiss.

Their hands were empty; the Space Rings had vanished without a trace.

“Damn it, someone took my Space Ring!”

“Mine is gone, too!”

“My Primordial Armor has been swiped, and it’s a Mid-grade Spiritual Artifact!”

“That’s my life’s savings!”

The cultivators howled in distress. One cultivator felt his finger, and his expression changed instantly—his ring was also missing.

Not only his, even Yun Mengqing from Xiao Cheng Sect had an astonished expression; she found not only her ring was stolen, but even the soft armor she wore close to her body had been removed, causing her face to flush with embarrassment.

But the most unfortunate had to be Zhang Rui.

He had been stripped clean from head to toe, not to mention Space Rings; even his underpants had been taken. He was quite literally embracing nature.

“Who the hell did this, I, Zhang Rui, will never be on good terms with you!”