Chapter Fifty: Astonishment

Chapter 50: Shock

Unaware that someone had already discovered the entrance to the passage, Chu Jie continued to dig with all his might in the cavern, slicing off slabs of rock with the Heaven-and-Earth Treasure Wheel.

The Mad Dog Camp and the followers Wang Ye had brought were all working themselves to exhaustion.

“Boss, let’s take a break. I’m dead tired.” After a long period of excavation, one of the followers could no longer endure.

Although mining Profound Crystals wasn’t particularly strenuous, the relentless pace was still draining. Now, another large pile of Profound Crystals had been excavated and stacked in the center—estimated at over five thousand high-grade pieces. They glimmered together, saturating the area with spiritual energy. Yet, perhaps because they’d seen such quantities before, these followers merely glanced at the crystals without the greedy expressions they’d worn at first.

Chu Jie swept his gaze over them. “Rest for a while. Let’s eat first.”

By this point, only a small portion of the Profound Crystals remained in the cavern; most had been dug out. The immense harvest left Chu Jie well satisfied.

The Barbaric Cauldron rose, hanging above the pile of Profound Crystals. Its mouth tilted downward, and a suction force appeared from thin air. Countless Profound Crystals soared up and poured into the cauldron.

Seeing the fruits of their labor vanish into the cauldron again, Wang Ye looked somewhat sullen.

But the Mad Dog Camp’s followers showed little reaction—after all, Chu Jie was their boss and would never treat them unfairly.

“All right, let’s eat!”

When the last crystal entered the cauldron, Chu Jie released over a dozen Wind Serpents. After such strenuous labor, eating serpent meat could further enhance their physiques.

With the serpents released, the Barbaric Cauldron leisurely floated back.

The entire cavern instantly transformed into a picnic ground. In one corner, a pile of firewood—gathered earlier by the followers at Chu Jie’s instruction—was ready. The follower in charge of grilling roasted the serpent meat with a look of pure happiness.

Even in the Outer City, not everyone had the chance to eat Wind Serpent, but these past few days, they’d eaten it almost every meal. Once again, they felt that following Chu Jie was the best decision they’d ever made.

After just a few days of eating serpent meat, each felt their body had improved dramatically, as though a breakthrough in cultivation was imminent.

“Boss! I’m about to break through!” After a hearty meal, Chen Long was the first to feel the surge.

Chu Jie nodded. “Very good. Focus on your advancement.”

Chen Long sat cross-legged, working his cultivation technique, a trace of oil still at the corner of his mouth.

By the time everyone had finished their meal, Chen Long had advanced to the eighth level of the Body Tempering Realm. His spirits soared, and he looked even more formidable than before.

“Boss, I’m hungry again,” Chen Long called out, having expended much energy during his breakthrough.

Luckily, there was still some meat left. Chu Jie said, “Go ahead, eat as much as you want—there’s plenty of serpent meat!”

Grinning from ear to ear, Chen Long hurried off for another helping.

“Apologies for disturbing your meal. Leave all the Profound Crystals, and you can leave with your lives.”

A chilling voice sounded.

From the entrance, a middle-aged man stepped forward. He was the one speaking—Housekeeper Luo of the Luo family, at the fifth level of the Spirit Convergence Realm.

Behind him stood more than thirty subordinates, most of them at the Body Tempering stage—recruited temporarily from the Chaos District, courtesy of the Luo family’s influence there.

Bloodslaughter City was vast, and its outermost Chaos District teemed with countless factions. Sometimes, these groups did errands for the Outer City’s great clans, gaining considerable benefits in return.

Facing these uninvited guests, Chu Jie rose and sneered. “We found this place. For you to order us out—isn’t that a bit much? Here’s a better idea: cripple your cultivation, and I’ll let you leave.”

The Mad Dog Camp followers instantly formed up behind Chu Jie, moving with impressive speed, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Housekeeper Luo was taken aback by how quickly Chu Jie’s men had assembled—these were certainly elite of the Chaos District, perhaps a newly risen force unfamiliar with him.

“I suppose you don’t know who I am? Bloodslaughter City, the Luo family—I’m one of them.” He announced his background, expecting them to cower or fawn, but instead they all stared at him as if he were a fool.

With so many Profound Crystals here—even the smallest remaining pile numbered in the thousands—how could they possibly just walk away?

“Oh, the Luo family? Then I can’t let you leave. Even if you cripple your cultivation, you’ll have to leave your lives behind. The rest of you, cripple yourselves and you can crawl away.” Chu Jie’s voice was icy.

Between him and the Luo family, no reconciliation was possible—only death. Upon meeting anyone from the Luo family, there could be only one outcome: slaughter.

When Housekeeper Luo entered, he’d originally planned to find Wu Jue, but upon seeing the crystals embedded in the cave walls, he immediately lost all interest in the Greater Spirit Gathering Pill. With so many Profound Crystals, who cared about a single pill? These would buy countless pills.

Anyone would be tempted by such a trove, not just him. The more than thirty men behind him and the two experts he’d brought each had their own thoughts.

“Do you know what happens to those who cross the Luo family?” Housekeeper Luo threatened, “No matter what faction you belong to, if you offend us, we’ll uproot you completely. A petty power from the Chaos District dares to mouth off to me? You must be tired of living.”

“I heard there’s a cultivator named Chu Jie who killed some of your men and destroyed your herb garden. Yet you haven’t managed to do anything to him,” Chu Jie retorted. He wore a mask, so Housekeeper Luo didn’t recognize him.

Housekeeper Luo fell silent. It was true—they hadn’t managed to harm a hair on Chu Jie’s head, and he’d even stolen their Heaven-and-Earth Treasure Wheel.

Had he known Chu Jie stood before him now, he’d have coughed up blood on the spot.

“Your Luo family is a joke,” Chu Jie continued, his killing intent peaking. In this place, even if he killed Housekeeper Luo, no one would ever know.

Since they’d found this place, he could not let them leave alive.

Nine Suns Sky-Splitting Claw!

Chu Jie unleashed his strongest attack. Behind him, nine burning suns appeared, and a golden dragon claw, as if tearing the sky asunder, manifested above Housekeeper Luo’s head.

The dragon claw descended. Housekeeper Luo had no time to dodge; he tried to meet it with his fists, but how could he hope to withstand Chu Jie’s Nine Suns Sky-Splitting Claw? The spiritual barrier he conjured was instantly ripped apart.

The claw seized Housekeeper Luo’s head, and with a sickening squelch, crushed it.

The nine suns howled past, blasting Housekeeper Luo’s upper body into fragments.

A Spirit Convergence fifth-level master—instantly slain!

Everyone around was stunned. The two experts who’d come with Housekeeper Luo hadn’t thought much of Chu Jie at first, but by the time they moved, it was too late—Housekeeper Luo was dead.

A chilling silence blanketed the cavern. No one dared make a sound. Even the Mad Dog Camp and Wang Ye’s group were shaken—Chu Jie was terrifying. He had killed a Spirit Convergence fifth-level master as casually as swatting a fly!

Shock!

“Cripple your cultivation and leave,” Chu Jie threatened after killing Housekeeper Luo.

But no one moved. After all their hard-earned training, who could willingly destroy their own cultivation? Yet begging for mercy now would be useless—Chu Jie would not spare them.

Still, the men Housekeeper Luo had brought did not lose hope entirely. For among them were two experts: Li Feng and Chen Wansheng, both at the seventh level of the Spirit Convergence Realm. In terms of strength, they were only slightly weaker than the former Demon Lord, but now there were two of them.

“Master Li, Master Chen, you must avenge Housekeeper Luo!” one of the men called, hoping to use the Luo family’s name for protection; otherwise, even these two experts might kill them as well.

“Silence,” Li Feng snapped.

The man fell silent, his face ashen—now he was truly doomed. They might all perish here.

“We came down here looking for someone. Do any of you know a man named Wu Jue?” Li Feng asked Chu Jie.

Chu Jie pointed to a corner. “Over there. Go take a look.”

Li Feng’s subordinate went to check, but found only some clothing and a shattered body—Wu Jue had been killed by the Wind Serpent King.

He brought the remains to Li Feng. Everyone felt Wu Jue had died miserably and could hardly bear to look.

But Li Feng’s expression didn’t change; he even rummaged through the remains before looking up and asking, “Where’s the black box he carried?”

The atmosphere tensed instantly. Everyone held their breath.

All here knew that Li Feng was far more formidable than Housekeeper Luo. The Mad Dog Camp could sense the deadly intent radiating from him—it was reminiscent of their battle with the Demon Lord, which still haunted them.

“We threw the box away,” Chu Jie replied, then added, “If you want to leave, I’ll let you go with dignity—no need to crawl—but you must leave your cultivation behind.” He immediately guessed that this man was the true owner of the Greater Spirit Gathering Pill, but he’d already consumed it and couldn’t very well cough it back up.

If anything, he ought to thank Li Feng; without him, he might never have found such a treasure to advance his cultivation so quickly.

Li Feng laughed in fury. “Fine. You take my Greater Spirit Gathering Pill, then have the nerve to tell me to leave? Very well. Here’s my offer: you all leave now and leave every Profound Crystal here. Consider it compensation for the pill. That’s my final concession.”

Chu Jie looked at Li Feng with disdain. “How many Profound Crystals is a single Greater Spirit Gathering Pill worth? You want to swallow up all the crystals here as compensation? Are you joking?”

He would brook no compromise—all the Profound Crystals here were his, not a single one left behind, much less handed over to these two. Their cultivation might be formidable, but he did not think himself without a chance.

For a moment, the tension was palpable—battle could break out at any second.

At that moment, the other expert, Chen Wansheng, spoke. “Why bother negotiating? He’s just a fifth-level Spirit Convergence cultivator—killing him is as easy as squashing an ant!”