txolops Chapter 10 Being Watched
Chapter 10 Being Watched
Seven days later, Tiandu Street on Kuixing Island was still bustling, but Han Xiaoliu had lost his initial enthusiasm.
He strolled around the medicinal herb and general merchandise sections of the trade fair again. At an inconspicuous stall, he bought an unfamiliar herb with purplish-gold leaves that emitted a faint metallic luster. He also picked up some herb seeds that were said to have been brought from some ancient ruins, as well as several miscellaneous books recording strange tales and events in the Chaotic Star Sea.
Seeing that there was nothing new to see, Han Xiaoliu gave up on the idea of continuing to look for bargains.
He swayed and blended into the crowd. After a few quick movements, he disappeared silently from the street corner. He then concealed himself and went to that familiar dark alley, quietly waiting for the hyacinths to deliver the goods.
Time passed slowly, and the agreed time had long passed, but the familiar figure was still nowhere to be seen at the alley entrance.
Han Xiaoliu's heart tightened; a bad premonition arose within him. On this chaotic and unpredictable Kuixing Island, anything could happen.
Sure enough, not long after, a slightly disheveled figure stumbled into the range of his divine sense.
It was that hyacinth boy.
He looked cautious, turning back every few steps to look around, his eyes filled with fear, clearly indicating that someone was following him.
"Senior!" The boy said in a low voice as soon as he entered the dark alley, pulling out a package from his pocket at the same time. "This is the blood of a new monster that arrived today. I was lucky enough to run into someone who had killed a level three monster, the 'Golden Spear Fish.' It took me a lot of effort to snatch this small bottle."
After speaking, he raised his head, his face full of worry: "Senior, we were stopped and questioned several times today while we were making purchases, with people asking who we were buying supplies for. It's probably because we've been making purchases too frequently these past few days, and we've been targeted. Those people are quite powerful, and their eyes are very fierce. Please be careful, Senior!"
Upon hearing this, Han Xiaoliu smiled slightly, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.
This young man is kind-hearted; even though he himself is in dire straits, he still thinks of reminding the "employer."
"Being kind-hearted isn't a good habit, especially in this cultivation world," Han Xiaoliu thought to himself.
He waved his hand calmly, "No need. Those people are already here. You should go from the back. They're not someone you can handle."
As he spoke, he tossed a bag of spirit stones that he had prepared beforehand to the other party, signaling him to flee quickly.
"Senior..." Hyacinth wanted to say something, but was stopped by Han Xiaoliu's impatient look.
Han Xiaoliu waved behind him, his tone leaving no room for argument: "Go! Don't cause me any trouble."
Hyacinth gritted her teeth, knowing that staying here wouldn't be of any help and would only be a burden.
He gave Han Xiaoliu a deep look, bowed deeply, then turned around, crouched down, and quickly slipped out from the other end of the dark alley, his figure soon disappearing into the intricate network of alleyways.
Han Xiaoliu looked in the direction the boy had left, a cold smile playing on his lips. He slowly stepped out of the shadows, his gaze icy as he looked toward the alley entrance.
The leader was a middle-aged cultivator with a sinister face, followed by two hotheads, one with a confused look in his eyes and the other with a fierce expression.
"You shouldn't have come!" Han Xiaoliu's voice came from under the black cloak, with a deliberately lowered hoarse tone, as if he were chanting some ancient incantation. His eyes, however, drifted to the pale moon above the alley entrance, as if some peerless beauty was hidden there.
The leader of the tribulation cultivators was taken aback at first, then a neurotic sneer curled at the corner of his mouth. He took a sudden step forward, making an extremely exaggerated gesture with his hands in front of his chest, as if embracing the entire universe: "I've come after all!"
This is awkward! I was trying to act cool, but the other person actually started talking back! What should I do?
We have no choice but to keep pretending!
"The ending may not be happy!"
"I like unhappy endings!"
One of his two henchmen scratched his head and looked at his boss with a puzzled expression: "Boss, aren't we here to rob someone?"
The other one couldn't understand any of this intricacies at all; he just found the conversation between the leader and the man in black robes utterly boring and a waste of his time trying to snatch the spirit stones.
He let out an impatient "Waaah!" and charged forward with a ghost-headed saber, muttering, "Who cares! A mere Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator, I'll chop him down first! Give me the loot!"
Good heavens, that's so unreasonable! They were still reciting their lines when they started hitting each other. How rude!
Han Xiaoliu looked at the three clowns and shook his head helplessly.
He didn't want to cause any trouble, but the other party clearly wasn't going to let him, this fat sheep, go easily.
His eyes turned cold, and his spiritual power suddenly erupted, instantly enveloping the entire dark alley with a powerful pressure.
"Since the three of you are so enthusiastic," Han Xiaoliu's voice turned cold, "let's get started, Bubble."
A flash of lightning illuminated the dark alley, as bright as day, and the blinding light instantly tore through the deep night of Kui Xing Island.
"Sizzle—Boom!"
A deafening explosion resounded in the narrow space, as if thunder from the heavens had been dragged down to the mortal realm.
That was not the dazzling light of ordinary magic, but pure, violent lightning with an aura of destruction, which devoured everything in the alley with overwhelming force.
Immediately afterwards, a massive surge of spiritual energy spread outwards like a tsunami, causing the lanterns under the eaves of nearby houses to shake violently and make a clanging sound.
The sheer power of this fluctuation is beyond the capabilities of a Qi Refining cultivator. Even among Foundation Establishment cultivators, few can unleash a mid-level lightning spell with such dominance.
"What's going on?!"
"What was that sound just now? Thunder Magic?!"
"Such powerful spiritual energy! Which direction is it from?"
The patrolling cultivators were instantly alerted. They either flew on their swords or used their movement techniques to rush toward the source of the burst of spiritual energy.
When they arrived at the dark alley, they found only a scene of devastation.
The alley walls were charred black by the lightning, and the air was thick with the pungent smell of sulfur and blood. On the ground, three charred corpses lay sprawled, already lifeless.
Their magical artifacts and storage bags had all disappeared.
"What ruthless methods!" A cultivator who looked like a patrol captain squatted down with a solemn expression, carefully examining the scorch marks on the ground. "This lightning magic... is pure and domineering."
"Captain, look at the wound and the residual spiritual energy. It's at least a mid-level lightning spell! Moreover, the caster's control over lightning magic has reached a level of perfection, which is why it can cause such precise and terrifying damage." Another cultivator gasped, his voice trembling slightly.
"When did such a powerful lightning cultivator arrive at Kui Xing Island?" someone couldn't help but exclaim. "Such methods suggest he's a master in the mid-to-late stages of Foundation Establishment, or even..."
"Even what?" the captain interrupted him, his eyes sharp as knives.
"It might even be a Core Formation expert!" The cultivator lowered his voice even further, as if afraid of disturbing something.
Upon hearing this, the surroundings fell into an instant of deathly silence. A Nascent Soul stage cultivator—that was someone they could only look up to. How could he suddenly appear on Kui Xing Island and kill three cultivators with such swift and decisive methods?
"Whoever it is, this is no small matter!" The captain took a deep breath and made a decisive decision. "Immediately seal off this alley; no one is allowed to approach! Quickly, send a message to inform the island lord and the two deputy island lords! Tell them that a mysterious master of thunder magic has appeared on Kui Xing Island, with ruthless methods, and is suspected to be in the late Foundation Establishment stage!"
"yes!"
Several cultivators immediately sprang into action. Some were responsible for maintaining order at the scene, while others quickly took out communication devices to transmit the situation as quickly as possible.
After fleeing the scene, Han Xiaoliu quickly returned to his temporary residence.
Inside the room, he made no attempt to hide his actions and started "dividing the spoils" with Bubble.
He took out the magical artifacts from the three charred corpses one by one and examined them carefully.
A large, cold-looking sword, an antique bronze mirror, and a dagger were all neatly arranged on the table.
"This is for you, and this is for you too," Han Xiaoliu said to Bubble beside him, pointing to the dagger and the bronze mirror.
Bubble excitedly put away the two magical artifacts and then happily stared at the three storage bags.
He opened the storage bags one by one, and emptied out the spirit stones, monster resources, and other miscellaneous items inside.
The spirit stones were piled up, numbering in the dozens.
"We'll split these spirit stones equally," Han Xiaoliu said, dividing the spirit stones into two piles, one of which was given to Bubble.
This was the first time he had been so "generous" in sharing the spirit stones with Bubble. In the past, he would keep them for himself and only give Bubble some snacks.
Bubble looked at the spirit stone in front of her and jumped for joy, her happiness overflowing.
Seeing Bubble's happy expression, Han Xiaoliu couldn't help but smile faintly.
Indeed, getting something for free is what makes people happy!