nChapter 86: Tracking the Eighteen Touches Clue

nTranslator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy

n“In short, for various reasons, our wise and great Sister Ling decided to join our team to subjugate the Seven Stars Sect.”

nOutside the inn, Wang Lu introduced their new teammate to Wen Bao, who seemed to have expected this to happen.

nThe illegitimate daughter of the Spirit Sword Sect’s Sect Leader, the Lady Boss of the Ru Family Inn in the Spirit Creek Town, and top martial arts grandmaster, Miss Feng Ling!

nWith a disinterested face, Lady Boss commented, “Okay, okay, let’s stop playing, quickly finish this up, or I am going back to sleep… Now that I think your team is complete, what are we going to do next, do you have a plan?”

n“Of course, our next step is to directly crash the Seven Stars main base, grab their Sect Leader and bring him back to the Wang Family Village to explain everything to the villagers. And then… whatever they want to think after that, that’s not my problem anymore.”

n“... Do you know where their main base is?”

n“How should I know?”

n“Damn! Since you don’t even know that, why are we talking about it then!? I’m going back to sleep!”

n“Don’t be anxious. Even if I don’t know, we can always find out.” Wang Lu sneered. “By following the clues, we can easily track their main base.”

n“Where’s the clue?”

n“Of course, at the previous place, the Wang Family Village.”

nThe Lady Boss was surprised. “Didn’t you already chase their people out of the village…?”

n“Old feelings remain even after a severed relationship 1.”

n“Where did the old feelings… forget it. Wang Family Village, right? It’s not far from here, yes? Remember, my ability is only effective in the Blue River Region, so…”

n“I know; it’s because of the spiritual energy node in the Blue River Region, right? Rest assured, I’m bringing you with me to add to our attacking power, not to hold us back. The Seven Stars Sect is just a trash level sect, so its main base would not be too far away from the Wang Family Village.”

n——

nWang Lu’s so-called “old feelings remain” after a severed relationship quickly broadened the Lady Boss’s horizon.

nFour days later, the group had rushed to the Wang Family Village. That night, under Wang Lu’s command, the honest business owner, the Lady Boss, has done a despicable business—sneaking into the village to kidnap a villager.

nMoreover, in accordance with Wang Lu’s instruction, she even tied the kidnapped villager with the coarse hemp rope, until the person looked like a dumpling. The rope was tied so tight that the person turned purple-red like a roasted lobster.

n“... Hey, I think this tying method might kill him.”

nShe had put the hostage on her shoulder and rushed out of the village towards the summit of the Dog Ear Mountain. The Lady Boss didn’t understand Wang Lu’s intention, so she just made a simple reminder.

nWang Lu didn’t explain. He just walked straight up to the kidnapped person, took the cleaning rag from that person's mouth, and then...

nSmack!

nA slap directly landed on that person’s cheek, and then, Wang Lu gloomily said, “If you don’t do stupid things, you won’t suffer the consequences. Remembering that we’re fellow villagers, I really don’t want to kill you, Xiaohu.”

nWang Xiaohu, who was being tied so tight that he looked like a roasted lobster, went into a panic. He even needed some time before he could recognize Wang Lu’s voice.

n“Brother Wang Lu, don’t kill me.”

nHis voice trembled and very weak.

nWang Lu humphed. “I want to ask you a few questions, after that, I will send you back.”

n“... Okay.”

n“Do you know where is the main base of the Seven Stars Sect?”

n“I, I don’t know. Only my Master… and other four stars emissary have the qualification to know the location of the main base.”

n“Who is your master?”

n“It’s He Tan… The cultivator that you killed that day.”

n“Apart from you master, do you know anyone else from the Seven Stars Sect?”

n“Zhou Mingrui… the Publicity Envoy that you killed.”

n“Besides them?”

n“I’m still new to the sect, so… I don’t know much.” Speaking to this, Wang Xiaohu began to tremble in fear. He was afraid that since he couldn’t give useful information, Wang Lu would vent his anger by killing him.

nHowever, when he looked up, he found out that Wang Lu’s eyes were as cold as the moon—his emotion didn’t fluctuate in the slightest.

n“These few days, are there people from the Seven Stars Sect that came to look for you?”

n“Ah, yes!”

n“Who?”

n“One of them was a two stars disciple. I didn’t recognize the other. He found me on his own initiative and presented me with a letter from the sect.”

n“And then?”

n“He wants me not to act rashly. The sect doesn’t want to make you an enemy, but rather, they want me to keep an eye on the situation and to inform him once there’s change.”

n“Did you report to him yet?”

n“I report nothing… I even tried to discourage some of the villagers that proposed to look for trouble on your dad, I…”

n“Enough, where’s that contact person?”

n“He said these days he would be hiding outside the village practicing. If you want to look for him, you must use a special magical tool… I hid it in my home; only I know where it is.”

nWith that, Wang Xiaohu looked up at Wang Lu with anticipation; he wanted to use this opportunity so that Wang Lu would let him free.

nThe Lady Boss asked, “You want me to look?”

nWang Lu shook his head. “No need. Moreover, it would be difficult for you to find him with your intelligence.”

n“…”

nThen, Wang Lu took a long breath. The two hundred and six sword bones trembled under the shining light of Emperor Bone and burst out an unusually powerful suction force.

nHis strength on absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy in his current low-level Qi Cultivating Stage was far more powerful than that of a few months ago. The surrounding spiritual energy was pulled by the huge suction force, frantically gathering and forming an invisible storm.

nTo little Ling’Er, this was nothing—she didn’t even feel it. But the other two cultivators near Wang Lu were horror-stricken.

n“Senior Brother Wang Lu, this is…!?”

nIn cultivating Immortal Cultivation Method, Wen Bao could also be considered as great. However, in breathing the surrounding spiritual energy, the affected spiritual energy was at most ten meters away from him, and in addition, the repelling force from surrounding spiritual energy was also great; in that ten-meter radius, if he could suck ten percent of the spiritual energy, it could already be counted as a good achievement.

nHowever, what Wang Lu did just now affected the surrounding spiritual energy within several hundred meters radius, which reminded Wen Bao of those Daoist Master of Jindan Stage in the sect when they were in deep meditation!

nHe was just a low-level Qi Cultivating Stage, so how could his spiritual energy breathing was this strong!?

nHowever, in another cultivator’s eyes, Wang Xiaohu, this scene was even more shocking; his sanity nearly collapsed.

nBy relying on the Six Harmonies Powder and Spirit Root Development Pill, more than two years ago, he became the Seven Stars Sect outer disciple. In full support from his father, he arduously cultivated for more than two years and finally reached the ninth level of Qi Cultivating Stage and understood the method of breathing the surrounding spiritual energy. In practice, he could suck a wisp of the surrounding spiritual energy to enter his body, like a trickle. According to his Master, this has been a fairly good achievement. If he persevered, in his lifetime, he could successfully reach the Foundation Establishment Stage...

nHowever, his two years of painstaking cultivation could never catch up to the volume of spiritual energy that Wang Lu just sucked! Was… was this the real Immortal Cultivator? If this was the real Immortal Cultivator, then his two years of hardship… was all for nothing!

nFor a time, the feeling of grief welled up in his heart.

nHowever, this has nothing to do with Wang Lu. This breathing of surrounding spiritual energy wasn’t intended by him to show off the awesomeness of his Void Spirit Root—in fact, for him, this was actually the greatest irony; a massive amount of spiritual energy entered his body, but only one percent of it remained.

nHe did this to look for something.

nThe Void Spirit Root was naturally sensitive, thus, in that tide of spiritual energy, Wang Lu quickly caught a trace of a subtle change.

n“Got you. Come with me.”

n——

nAt the same time, in a hidden place within the mountains, under the illumination of a rare bright moonlight, Wei Wenqing, who was cultivating his sect’s cultivation method, suddenly opened his eyes.

n“... Strange, is it just me or the surrounding spiritual energy has really changed?”

nFor a cultivator with a man-made spirit root, especially a cultivator with Six Harmonies Spirit Root, this shoddy spirit root, it was extremely difficult for them to detect the change in the surrounding spiritual energy. Their sense of spiritual energy was just like the story of the blind men and an elephant—the majority of it was just a subjective speculation. It was just that the change just now was too intense, thus, no matter how dull his sense was, he was still be able to sense it.

nWei Wenqing thought about it and decided not to take the risk and temporarily stopped his meditation. From the point of view of an outer disciple like him, there was no difference in delaying his cultivation for just a day.

nTherefore… this monitoring task was really boring.

nAs a two stars disciple, he didn’t know much about the Wang Family Village, however, he vaguely knew that this place was rich with spiritual energy. After his sect incidentally stumbled upon this place, they planned to focus their development here, making it their future strategic location. However, previously, there was a major incident. He didn’t know about the specific of that incident, but he heard that there were dead persons… Could it that the sect’s people who died came to haunt, thus, causing the previous change in the surrounding spiritual energy?

nFeeling the gentle light from the moonlight, Wei Wenqing self-deprecatingly smiled. No matter what, he was a cultivator, so why would he bother to try to scare himself? Any little devil that he might encounter might not necessarily be his opponent!

nHowever, waiting without doing anything was too boring; should he take the advantage of the night to try to sneak into the villager's house? During daytime, he could see the village from afar, and there were a few simple and beautiful village girls. He really didn’t expect this far away mountain village to produce such fine products… It would be a pity if they just ended up in the hands of boorish villagers. Thus, it would be better if he was the one who tasted them… At the same time, he could think of some double cultivation method! Thinking of this, Wei Wenqing began to be consumed by lust.

nHowever, the next moment, a plain looking sword was hung on his neck. Realizing what it was, cold sweat immediately began to pour out on all over his body.

nThen, a ghost-like voice suddenly sounded from behind him, “Ha! I found a stray fish.”

nThe next thing he knew, someone kicked him, tied him up, and tortured him. In short, he was miserable.

nThrough Wei Wenqing’s interrogation, more facts were exposed.

nThe Seven Stars Sect was indeed reluctant to part with Wang Family Village. For a trash level sect like them, a place with rich spiritual energy like the Wang Family Village was basically their dream treasure; it was priceless, so it was really hard for them to give it up. It was just that Wang Lu had scared the crap out of them by killing a few of their people several days ago, so for a moment, they refrained from advancing recklessly.

nAnd when they heard Wang Lu had left the village a few days ago, the Seven Stars Sect’s greed flared up again. The Seven Stars Sect’s elder who had spent the most effort sent a couple of two stars disciples to wander around the Wang Family Village to observe the situation.

nUnfortunately, this step was a bad chess move; not only did these on-the-lookout minions fail to do their proper role—bringing valuable intelligence back to the Seven Stars Sect’s main base—one of them was instead caught by Wang Lu and thus spilled the clue for him.

n“Speak, where is your Seven Stars Sect’s main base?”

nBeing tied up like a fried dough twist, Wei Wenqing’s whole face was bloody; his eyes were half-frightened and half dazed. Listening to Wang Lu’s question, he just groaned for a long time; his voice seemed to break.

nHowever, Wang Lu still grasped what he meant.

n“Oh, you said you are not sure; two stars disciples are not qualified to know the whereabout of the main base, and you just acted according to the order from a four stars emissary… Damn, your chicken feather sect is so complicated. Tell me where is your four stars emissary then?”

nWei Wenqing groaned for a while and then looked up at Wang Lu in despair mixed with hope.

n“... Marquis County?”

n——

n“I can’t believe you’re so happy doing this.”

nUnder the dim light of the night, the Lady Boss sighed with emotion as she looked at the cold corpse lying motionless on the ground.

n“I thought you would at least spare his life.”

nWang Lu thought for a moment. “Actually, I really wanted to spare his life, letting him be unconscious here for several days. By the time he wakes up, the matter would already be over, and a fry like him wouldn’t be able to return to a stormy sea.

nThe Lady Boss curiously asked, “Then why did you…?”

n“While I was hesitating, I didn’t realize that I have put too much force. Who told this guy to have such a fragile body.” Wang Lu shook his wrist and sighed with regret.

nThe Lady Boss was silent for a moment. “... This guy truly died in injustice. But this is also good; if you let him live, there’s a chance he might run back to that emissary, and then, they might retaliate by lashing out at Wang Family Village.”

nContrary to her expectation, Wang Lu actually sneered. “Humph, if they really have that much courage, then I’ll just get rid of anyone they sent here. Not to mention… if they really killed a few villagers out of spite, that’s actually good, this group of idiot villagers is asking for it. If they won’t shed tears without seeing the coffin first, then let them see the coffin. What a pity, I’m not able to do it myself.”

nThe Lady Boss felt cold behind her back. “You’re too ruthless towards your own Wang Family Village…”

nWang Lu coldly sneered. “I used to be like you, a gentle and amiable cultivator, until I took an arrow in my knee 2… Those idiot villagers brought all of these upon themselves; I have already shown extreme tolerance towards them.”

nThe Lady Boss faintly sighed. “Things are not as bad as you think. Wang Lu, I think you’ve gotten carried a bit too far...”

n“Too far? Too far is good. One of the purposes of our experiential learning this time is to cut all of our ties with the mortal world. If I don’t go too far, how could I cut these ties?”

n“You misinterpret this!”

nWang Lu was a bit impatient with the Lady Boss’s wrangling, so he fought fire with fire. “Wen Bao, come here and explain to her.”

nBeing given this heavy responsibility, Wen Bao was extremely flattered; he came over and enthusiastically explained to the Lady Boss, “Sister Ling, this time, you’re wrong. It is clear that the ignorance of the common people originates directly from nature; it is ingrained in them and un-erasable. To these fools, we should be as ruthless as an experienced general. Otherwise, they will drag you down to their own level and then use their rich experience to beat you. So, do not treat them as people’ they do not deserve to be human, but rather pigs, dogs, and insects. As the saying goes, the world is unkind, so they treat all living things like lowly dogs, in other words…”

nWen Bao was talking non-stop, but when he turned around to see the pair of cold eyes of the Lady Boss, his voice suddenly wilted ninety percent.

n“In other words, we must eliminate our compassion and sympathy to these ignorant masses and objectively treat them as tools to reach our objectives so that their insignificant lives could have a little bit of value…”

nBeing intensely stared coldly by the Lady Boss, Wen Bao’s voice continued to get smaller and smaller, until finally, his voice became as subtle as the mountain insects—almost imperceptible to hear...

nUnfortunately, even if Wen Bao was broken by this stare, the Lady Boss was unable to shake Wang Lu’s frame of mind. When he was in a good mood, this guy was especially jovial and great to talk to, but once he got angry, he would be exceptionally stubborn… However, it was no wonder that he got angry. Listening to him narrate the process, she knew he had suffered injustice in his own backyard. If this combination of swindler and ignorant incident happened on another person’s side, it would have been a joke. However, when it happened on one’s own side, it would be a tragedy.

nTherefore, right now, she could only take one step at a time. If he were really about to do an outrageous thing, she would simply knock him out with her punch and directly bring him back to the Spirit Sword Mountain.

n------------------------------------------------

n1 From the idiom: Lotus roots may break, but the fiber remains joined

n2 This reference should be very obvious to gamers. Clue: Elder Scrolls

n