Chapter Seventy-Eight: Setting the Trap

When Chu Jie poured out a hundred pieces of high-grade spirit crystals, Wu Long's eyes went wide. In Bloodslaughter City, spirit crystals were hard to come by, especially high-grade ones, yet Chu Jie dumped them out as if they were garbage—clearly, he had plenty more. Wu Long was once again convinced he had chosen the right person to follow.

"That's enough, that's more than enough," Wu Long said excitedly. With these spirit crystals, the traps could be set perfectly. He had learned a wide variety of skills; though his training in detecting spirit crystal veins had never come to much use, he had picked up plenty of miscellaneous techniques—like how to use the earth's fire veins to ignite spirit crystals and cause explosions. These were originally mining techniques, but now, they would serve perfectly for laying deadly traps.

Chu Jie poured out another hundred high-grade spirit crystals. "I have plenty of these. Here are two hundred—make sure the traps are flawless. If you do well, once our business here is done, I'll reward you all with more spirit crystals."

Wu Long and the other six immediately nodded in excitement. It was clear their leader was not a stingy man; it seemed there would be many benefits in store for them.

Chu Jie nodded. "Go set it all up, and be quick about it."

Wu Long and his six companions hurriedly went to work, preparing to fill the entire Windfire Gorge with traps.

Earlier, Chu Jie hadn't seen any other warriors in the gorge, but that didn't mean the surroundings were empty. He and Duan Kun needed to sweep the area, making sure no one would interfere with their plans.

This place was some distance from the previous rocky zone, where over a hundred cultivators at the Spirit Convergence level were likely searching for them. So many experts, it was like a great clan had mobilized together. Chu Jie and Duan Kun didn't dare face such numbers head-on; otherwise, they wouldn't need to set traps here.

The two moved like streaks of light through the surrounding regions. As expected, there were also warriors searching nearby, mostly at the Body Tempering level, led by a Spirit Convergence cultivator.

To Chu Jie, these foes were no challenge. The Spirit Convergence leader was slain in an instant by the two of them. All the bodies were swept into the Savage Cauldron. Chu Jie grew more satisfied with this treasure; it was the perfect tool for erasing all traces.

"Come, let's clear this side and then check over there," Chu Jie said.

Of course, they didn't kill indiscriminately—too much slaughter would attract attention. The traps weren't ready yet; secrecy was vital.

...

Within Windfire Gorge, Wu Long was directing his men as they laid the traps.

"Wu Long, does this look right to you?" Li Yao asked after arranging one of the sites. He felt uncertain, this being his first time attempting such a thing, and was relying entirely on Wu Long's instructions.

Wu Long replied, "Don't call me boss—I'm not the leader anymore. We're equals now. If those two leaders heard you, they might think I'm plotting rebellion. What you did is correct, now go set up that side too."

Li Yao said, "Alright, then I'll call you Brother Wu Long. Who taught you how to channel the earth veins? I never heard you mention this to anyone before."

Wu Long grinned. "A master once taught me, but he said my foundations were poor and didn't pass on everything. I don't even know where he is now. I was only guided by him, not even his disciple."

He sighed. Though he had only received a little guidance, it was enough to let him search for spirit crystal lodes. But around Bloodslaughter City, any veins had long been seized and monopolized. His skills had been wasted; unable to leave the city, his craft was shelved until today.

He always felt luck had eluded him—otherwise, he would have made his fortune long ago. But now, meeting Chu Jie, he sensed that as long as he survived, his fortunes would soon change. He was confident in his judgment of people.

"Everyone, focus! If we survive this trip into the Abyss of Gods and Demons, our day will come!" Wu Long shouted. Though no longer the official leader, he was still the one these men listened to.

The group roared in agreement, their excitement unrestrained.

Meanwhile, Chu Jie had swiftly dispatched another Body Tempering warrior, tossing him into the Savage Cauldron as if he were a melon.

"Duan Kun, do you think it's worth it for these people to throw away their lives just to hunt us?" Chu Jie asked, a little helplessly. These men were nothing but cannon fodder, unaware of their fate.

Duan Kun's expression was icy. "He who kills must be ready to be killed. They want our lives—they must be prepared to pay with their own. There's no right or wrong. That's the law of Bloodslaughter City: kill to end killing, fight to end fighting."

Chu Jie nodded.

In the surrounding area, they had slain a hundred Body Tempering cultivators and three Spirit Convergence experts. By the time they returned to Windfire Gorge, three hours had passed, but the traps were still not complete. Seeing how hard the others were working, Chu Jie immediately took out some Wind Serpent meat and roasted it for them.

They had spent the last two days in constant battle, without a proper meal. The Wind Serpent meat was soon ready, sizzling and dripping with fragrant oil. He roasted five in total, enough for everyone.

As soon as the meat was ready, Duan Kun called over the seven Spirit Convergence followers to eat.

"Boss, we've set up seventy percent of the traps. It won't be long before we're done," Wu Long reported, still working and not immediately joining the meal.

Duan Kun nodded. These men were reliable and truly putting in effort. "There's enough time—eat first, then go back to work," he instructed.

Wu Long then led his men to the campfire, where they devoured the meat hungrily.

"Is this Wind Serpent? Boss, you have such delicacies! We never dared eat this in the outer city—now, following you, we're living well," Wu Long exclaimed, delighted by his good fortune since joining Chu Jie.

Previously, he had refused to pledge loyalty to any faction, as most had bullied him before. He preferred to lead his own little band, eking out a living on the city's fringes. Now, having sworn himself to Chu Jie, he was filled with hope for the future.

"I have plenty of Wind Serpent meat—eat your fill," Chu Jie laughed, watching them eat heartily.

Here, roasting meat was especially easy—the land was saturated with earth fire, making everything convenient.

Seeing their enjoyment, Chu Jie took out another five Wind Serpents from the Savage Cauldron. He had plenty stored up. Before battle, how could he let his followers go hungry?

Windfire Gorge also offered many places to hide. Chu Jie hoped that, when the time came, his followers would survive. They were sincere toward him—he would not let them perish here.

Though these seven had not been with him long, Chu Jie already felt he could trust them.

After eating, the seven returned to finish the traps.

"We can't let these men die," Duan Kun said quietly.

Chu Jie nodded. "They're ours now—we have to keep them safe."

Both men were of the same mind.

Another hour passed, and all the traps were finally complete. The entire gorge had changed; it no longer appeared a landscape of endless magma—at least a third of the lava had vanished.

"Boss, we're done. We've set up simple formations using spirit crystals at many points—they're easy to activate, and once triggered, their power will be immense," Wu Long reported, explaining the activation method to Chu Jie and Duan Kun.

Chu Jie nodded. "Excellent. Now I want to test them."

Wu Long and his men had set up over thirty traps in the gorge, all powered by spirit crystal formations that could be triggered from a distance. Activation required special talismans Wu Long had crafted—just infuse them with spiritual power and the formations would respond. He handed thirty-six of these talismans to Chu Jie.

Chu Jie stowed them away, giving half to Duan Kun. When the time came, they would split up in the gorge.

As for Wu Long and his men, having proven their value and loyalty, Chu Jie planned to have them cover the flanks at the gorge’s edge, avoiding exposure if possible.

"Come, let's test the traps," Chu Jie said.

The nine of them went to one of the traps. Nothing seemed out of place; in fact, it looked like a simple footpath. Originally, there had been magma here, but now it was completely concealed.

"Boss, just trigger the talisman," Wu Long said.

Chu Jie had already memorized which talisman matched which trap. He quickly took out the one for the trap ahead.

Everyone retreated a safe distance, and Chu Jie activated the talisman. It was a spirit crystal, now transformed by Wu Long into a talisman. As Chu Jie infused it with power, it became a streak of light that shot into the distant trap.

Boom! The ground seemed to tremble.

A pillar of lava as thick as five men burst from the earth like a fire dragon, soaring nearly ten meters high, its force terrifying. Any cultivator above the eruption would be instantly reduced to ashes.

After the pillar shot up, it began to falter, then rained down as a fiery storm, spraying in all directions.

"Back up a bit more—don't get hurt," Chu Jie said with satisfaction. Within a hundred meters of that fire dragon, anything would be scorched. Even a Spirit Convergence expert would be severely wounded.