Chapter 298: Fury

On the second day, a young cultivator arrived at the Heishi Valley Marketplace. He was in the later stages of Qi cultivation and had a fair, innocent appearance. When he spoke, he seemed a bit shy.

The young man in the marketplace displayed curiosity about everything he saw, showing a keen interest in everything around him.

The people in the marketplace immediately recognized him as a novice cultivator from some clan, someone who didn't know much and was likely easy to deceive.

As a result, many of the merchants in the marketplace took advantage of his naivety and sold him subpar goods at inflated prices.

The young man, oblivious to being taken advantage of, remained cheerful.

This young man was actually Wang Hong in disguise.

Previously, he had posed as a strong big man and wandered through the marketplace, but no one paid him any attention.

He had no choice but to transform into this easily deceived persona. His performance was largely learned from observing Gu Wei, and he tried to mimic Gu Wei's demeanor and actions.

He believed he did a decent job at imitating Gu Wei, as evidenced by the number of people trying to scam him for Spirit Stones.

Wang Hong had finally reached the second level of his cultivation technique, the "Body Strengthening Invincible Golden Body Technique." This allowed him to enter the realm of flesh refinement.

Upon reaching this tier, both his strength and defense greatly improved. Additionally, he could now change the shape of some of his muscles with his mind, altering his body's appearance, such as making himself appear more or less muscular. However, he still couldn't change his height.

He transformed into a young man but left a large birthmark on his face. He also wore a Misty Illusion Mask.

This way, even if someone saw through his initial disguise and noticed the birthmark, they would likely dismiss it as a young person's vanity.

After being swindled out of quite a few Spirit Stones, Wang Hong strolled away from the marketplace.

Countless eyes filled with reluctance followed him. If customers like him came by every day, they had a chance to accumulate enough resources for Foundation Building.

After leaving the marketplace, he hadn't walked far when he sensed he had a fish on the hook.

Pretending not to notice, he looked around, casually wandering until he reached a secluded spot.

"Excuse me, Fellow Daoist!" Suddenly, two cultivators emerged from behind and called out to Wang Hong.

He stopped in his tracks, turned around with a nervous expression, and stared at the two approaching figures.

"Are you Treasure Hunters? What do you want? I'll have you know that I'm quite powerful," Wang Hong threatened, though his voice quivered.

"Fellow Daoist, you've misunderstood us. We mean no harm. We have a treasure passed down by our ancestors. We want to sell it, but we're wary of encountering unscrupulous cultivators who might resort to violence for the treasure. We believe you to be a person of good character, so we'd like to offer it to you at a fair price," one of the two cultivators said, trying to appear harmless.

"Is that so?" Wang Hong responded with a mix of doubt and curiosity.

"Absolutely, you can even ask around in the marketplace. We are known for our honesty, respect for elders, and kindness to the young. We never deceive anyone..." The two cultivators listed all the virtues they could think of, not concerned about being exposed. If they couldn't deceive this young man, they were prepared to take more forceful measures.

"Really? What kind of treasure is it? Show me," Wang Hong displayed an eager expression.

"We wouldn't carry such a valuable treasure on us. If Fellow Daoist is interested, please come with us to the treasure's hiding place," one of the two men replied.

They hadn't expected this young man to be so gullible, but it seemed they had easily convinced him.

The two men led Wang Hong towards a peak, and as they walked, they chatted amiably. Laughter and friendly conversation filled the air, making it seem like they were longtime friends.

Before long, they arrived at a hidden mountain cave beneath the peak.

One of the men entered first, while the other followed behind Wang Hong.

"Please, Fellow Daoist, enter quickly. All our wealth is hidden within this mountain cave. If someone were to discover it, things wouldn't end well for us," one of the men urged.

To avoid raising suspicion, Wang Hong followed them into the cave. He was confident that there were no Golden Core cultivators inside. If there were, they wouldn't need to be so secretive. With a Golden Core cultivator in the vicinity, the entire marketplace would be at their mercy. With Little Peng by his side and numerous Poisonous Bees, they had enough means to escape from cultivators below Golden Core level.

The three of them walked through the mountain cave until they reached a spacious hall.

At that moment, more than ten Qi Cultivation cultivators emerged from the path they had taken, blocking their retreat.

"What's the meaning of this?" Wang Hong asked nervously. The main actors hadn't yet appeared, so he needed to continue acting.

Suddenly, a Foundation Building cultivator stepped out from one of the stone chambers in front of them. Wang Hong recognized him. He was the head of a Qiu clan family, someone who had hosted him and Gu Wei in the marketplace before.

"Don't be alarmed, young friend. All you need to do is sign a Blood Contract, and you'll be able to leave safely. If you don't cooperate, you might experience some difficulties," the Qiu clan head said with a sly smile.

"What do I need to do if I sign it?" Wang Hong asked.

"You only need to sign the Blood Contract; you don't need to know more," the Qiu clan head replied impatiently. A mere Qi Cultivation cultivator had no right to negotiate with him.

"Hmph! I'll give you three breaths to consider. This is what will happen if you refuse." As he spoke, the Qiu clan head waved his sleeve, opening the door to one of the stone chambers.

Wang Hong glanced to the side and saw dozens of desiccated human corpses hanging in the chamber. Male and female, they had been stripped bare, with their internal organs removed. Some were completely dried out, while others seemed to have been killed just a few days ago.

What disgusted Wang Hong even more was the smell of marinated food coming from them. It was clear that these people had been processed as ingredients for some kind of dish.

Seeing this scene, Wang Hong felt a surge of anger.

"Did you do all this?" he asked in a stern voice.

"Naturally. These are the delicacies our master loves most. I carefully prepared them for our master's enjoyment," the Qiu clan head said with an intoxicated and proud expression.

"Who is your master?" Wang Hong asked again.

"It seems you have no intention of signing the Blood Contract. Capture him, but don't kill him," the Qiu clan head ordered, gesturing to the dozen Qi Cultivation cultivators.

Since they wanted to capture him alive, they wouldn't dare kill him. Their master insisted on using live human beings for their dried meat, preferably with their eyes still moving when marinating to make the meat more delicious.

Wang Hong was now consumed by fury. He drew his Long Spear and swept it horizontally, cutting down all the Qi Cultivation cultivators in his path.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay