bookrebus Chapter 1823 A Mix of Dragons and Snakes
Chapter 1823 A Mix of Dragons and Snakes
As the dust settled, the area in front of Yangtong Mountain Pass was deathly silent, save for the sound of the wind and occasional groans.
Those bandits who had survived knelt on the ground, trembling, not daring to lift their heads.
Mingchuan walked up to a Nascent Soul cultivator who appeared to be a minor leader, looking down at him: "Black Viper Mercenary Group? Shaquan Village?"
"Yes...yes!" The leader kowtowed repeatedly. "Seniors, please understand! We really are from the Black Viper Gang! It was the gang leader who accepted a huge anonymous bounty, ordering us to impersonate the Dragon Roar Temple here and ambush any powerful cultivator teams emerging from the depths of the Lost Desert...We truly didn't know it was you seniors!"
"If we had known, we wouldn't have dared to do it even if we had a thousand lives!"
"An anonymous bounty?" Mingchuan and Master Lingxu exchanged a glance. "Tell me the details."
The underling dared not hide anything and spilled the beans.
A few days ago, an anonymous high-value bounty appeared on the underground black market in Shaquanji. The target's characteristics were vaguely described, only emphasizing that it was "a team with considerable strength that has recently appeared from a specific route in the Lost Desert." The reward was outrageously high, and a 30% deposit was required in advance.
The Black Viper Mercenary Group is one of the biggest local bullies in Shaquan Town. The group leader, Black Viper, is a ruthless Nascent Soul cultivator who took on this job.
Based on a rough route map attached to the bounty, they determined that the Yangtong Mountain Pass was the best ambush point. So they set up their formation there, disguising themselves as Longyin Temple troops. They thought that firstly, they could use the prestige of Longyin Temple to intimidate their target, and secondly, if they failed, they could frame Longyin Temple and escape themselves.
"Do you still have that route map and the bounty poster?" Mingchuan asked.
"The route map was destroyed after the leader read it. The bounty order is a coded jade slip, which requires a special method to decipher. Only the leader and a few core members know its contents... The jade slip should be on the leader. He... he usually stays at the Shaquanji stronghold and doesn't come out easily."
The underling answered tremblingly, "Our leader this time is the deputy commander Zhan Xiong, the one who was just... was knocked away by the senior..."
"War Bear?" Mingchuan looked at the human-shaped crater on the mountain wall.
With a flick of his sleeve, Master Lingxu snatched the unconscious, heavily armored giant from the air and threw him to the ground.
The blue-faced fox stepped forward, her jade hand gently pressing on the forehead, a blue-green light flowing around her as she probed the other's memories.
After a moment, she withdrew her hand and frowned slightly: "There is a restriction in his soul. The core memory about the source of the bounty is locked. Forcibly breaking it will trigger self-destruction. However, the other information is clear. The Black Viper Mercenary Group has considerable power in Shaquan Town. In addition to the overt protection and exploration business, they also do murder, robbery, and smuggling of contraband in secret."
"The captain, Black Viper, is of unknown real name. He is at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage and is suspected to have a powerful backer at the Divine Transformation stage, but this is very secretive. The vice captain is this War Bear, who is at the late Nascent Soul stage and is known for his great strength and thick skin."
"Regarding this bounty, all he remembered was that the reward was extremely high and the target was likely an important figure from the Spirit Realm, but he didn't know exactly who it was. Setting up the disguise as the Dragon Roar Temple was both the bounty seeker's request and Black Viper's idea, a two-birds-with-one-stone scheme."
Master Lingxu pondered, “An anonymous bounty, vague target, and requirements to impersonate Longyin Temple... It seems that the other party does not want to reveal their identity directly, and may even want to sow discord between us and Longyin Temple.”
"Could it be Yueyao? Or some other faction within the Dragon Roar Temple?" Ye Yan speculated. "Someone who knows we might be going down this path, but doesn't want to get involved personally..."
“Possibly, but not necessarily.” Mingchuan shook his head. “If Longyin Temple really wanted to make a move, the beast tide trap on the outskirts of the desert would have been more in line with their style. This time, it seems more like they’re using someone else to do their dirty work, or… they want to see what we’re made of and cause some trouble for Longyin Temple.”
He looked in the direction of Shaquan Village: "It seems we have no choice but to go to Shaquan Village. The Black Viper Captain and that bounty order might be able to tell us more."
"And these people?" Crimson Fox pointed at the bandits kneeling on the ground, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.
“Remove their cultivation, erase their memories, and leave them here to fend for themselves,” Lingxu Zhenren said calmly. “Outside the Holy Domain, the strong prey on the weak. Since they chose this path, they should be prepared for this day. We are not bloodthirsty people, but we need not be so merciful as to be a woman’s pity.”
The blue-faced fox nodded, and with a gentle wave of her jade hand, a soft rain of azure light fell, precisely penetrating the dantian of each bandit.
Screams rang out one after another, but quickly subsided.
All the bandits lost all their cultivation and collapsed to the ground, their memories of the day's events also becoming blurred.
"Let's go to Shaquan Village." Mingchuan took the lead and flew towards the pass. "Let's meet that Black Viper Captain. Perhaps, there are more answers to our questions there."
The five people did not linger, but transformed into streaks of light and quickly passed through the Yangtong Mountains.
Behind them, only a ground littered with unconscious cripples and a jagged crater in the mountainside remained, silently recounting the brief but intense battle that had just taken place.
Lost on the edge of the desert, three hundred miles north of the Yangtong Mountains.
A patch of green suddenly appears in the hazy yellow sand sea, like an emerald inlaid on gold.
This is Shaquanji, a gathering place for cultivators established based on the few stable spiritual springs and oases in the desert.
From a distance, the oasis is not large, only about ten miles in circumference, with a clear spring gushing out in the center, nourishing the surrounding forests and spiritual fields.
The outer perimeter is a ring of messy but sturdy earthen and stone buildings of varying heights and with a rugged style, mostly inns, taverns, shops and simple cave dwellings.
Further out is a simple protective array that emits a faint spiritual light, serving both to block the wind and sand and as a form of warning.
Although named "Gathering," this place is home to thousands of cultivators year-round, as well as a large transient population, making it arguably the most bustling and chaotic spot on the edge of the desert.
Mingchuan and his group of five concealed their presence, disguised themselves as ordinary desert explorers, and quietly entered Shaquan Village by blending into the flow of people coming and going.
The air was filled with the strange smells of sand, sweat, cheap alcohol, roasted meat, and various pills, ingredients, and monster corpses.
The streets were narrow and crowded, with shops displaying their goods directly outside their doors, and shouts, bargaining, and arguments filled the air.
The monks were dressed in various ways: some were mercenaries clad in armor, some were explorers wrapped in sand-proof robes, some were lone travelers with a cold aura, and some were brokers and spies with shifty eyes who looked around.
It's a mixed bag, truly living up to its name.
"Let's find a place to stay and gather information first," Master Lingxu transmitted his voice. "There must be a dedicated inn and intelligence point here."
The five walked along the main street for a while and soon saw a three-story earthen and stone building. A tattered flag of the Sand Travel Inn hung in front of the door. The aura of the cultivators coming in and out was obviously stronger than that of the surrounding area, and most of them carried a murderous aura.
"Right here."
Ye Yan led the way inside.