53: Why didn't you say so sooner?

"But Gou Longxun is a Acquired Martial Artist no matter what, it's still a bit difficult for us to get close to him."

The High Priest hesitated, actually a little scared.

The Fude Orthodox Sect's secret art requires long-term setup and nurturing, and a surprise attack would require close-range casting.

But once they get close to Gou Longxun, with his strength as a Acquired Martial Artist, whether they can successfully cast the spell is a question.

"Don't worry, that old geezer has begun his death seclusion. I'll inform you in advance when the time is right."

The smile on Gou Longjian's face became increasingly chilling.

It seemed he was plotting against a stranger, not his own father.

"If it's in the next few days, we'll need fifty living souls to nurture the new Earth God."

The High Priest nodded, as long as he didn't have to confront Gou Longxun directly.

"Fifty living souls, you say?" Gou Longjian's eyes darted around, and he immediately thought of a place.

No one cared about the lives or deaths of those people; it was an excellent place to nurture an Earth God.

"Leave it to me."

...Early the next morning, Chen Heng carried the pile of fragments and got into a carriage heading for the White Tiger Hall.

Counting the Optimization opportunity refreshed early yesterday morning, his current number of Optimizations had reached six.

The optimization buttons on Eight Extremes Fist and White Tiger Geng Metal Saber were both flashing.

Also, the Five Elements Five Organs Diagram and Nine Revolutions Longevity Art could now be further Optimized.

However, Chen Heng temporarily didn't plan to Optimize them. He intended to save up for a while longer to see if the Indestructible Vajra Divine Art could be Optimized again.

Although Chen Heng's body now was not much different from steel, he always felt a lack of security.

Moreover, he still needed some Optimization opportunities to Optimize qi and blood decoction, which were major expenses.

"Bring more Anomalies, the Optimization opportunities are really not enough..."

Chen Heng sighed, how he wished killing demons and monsters would also reward Optimization opportunities.

Then he would have an endless supply of Optimization opportunities.

Before leaving this morning, Chen Heng directly had Xiao He brew one-third of the qi and blood decoction in stock.

After returning home today, he would Optimize all of them into blood refining powder, which would yield approximately fifteen servings of blood refining powder.

The quality of medicinal herbs available in Qiyang City was truly not commendable, far inferior to the herbs in his own medicine storage before.

"After today, I will be only one step away from Profound Connection."

Chen Heng clenched his fist, his heart filled with an unparalleled desire for strength.

After last night's battle, Chen Heng seemed to have touched upon his own Martial Dao.

But he always felt it was a bit different from the three paths Qi Longhu mentioned.

To call it the Hegemon's Dao, it felt like something was missing.

To call it the King's Dao, there were also some differences.

As for the Wanderer's Dao, that wasn't even close.

"Forget it, things will sort themselves out."

Chen Heng himself didn't care; perhaps even the Martial Dao could be Optimized?

Soon, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the White Tiger Hall, and Chen Heng walked into the main hall carrying the bag of fragments.

Qi Longhu saw Chen Heng at a glance, a strange smile appearing on his face.

Hmm, very mischievous.

Completely different from the demeanor of a master when they first met.

"You're here so early today, did you hear the news?" Qi Longhu put down his teacup, adopting a profound and mysterious look.

Chen Heng's mouth twitched. He had been in the White Tiger Hall for so long, and he had never seen Qi Longhu do serious work.

"What news?" Chen Heng sat directly opposite Qi Longhu, placing the small bag of fragments on the table.

"I also have good news to tell you."

"You first?" Qi Longhu raised an eyebrow, a bad premonition in his heart.

"You go first." Chen Heng shook his head, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip.

Hmm, old white wine with a hint of tea.

"Alright, I'll go first." Qi Longhu suppressed the unease in his heart and cleared his throat.

"Your Hall Master, after much contention, helped you exchange that mine for half a share in the Five Spirits Merchant Guild."

"How about it, surprised?"

"?" Chen Heng was full of questions.

"When did this happen?"

"Just today, no, yesterday." Qi Longhu took out the prepared share certificate and handed it to Chen Heng.

Chen Heng took the share certificate in a daze and looked at it carefully.

Goodness, calculating it, the income from this half share wasn't much different from the mine.

"Alright, I've said what I needed to say, it's your turn."

Qi Longhu was very satisfied with Chen Heng's expression, and his whole mood brightened.

"Why didn't you inform me earlier?" Chen Heng put down the share certificate and pointed to the bag of fragments.

"I've already killed the Anomaly in the mine. It only needs to rehire people to mine to resume operations."

"Let me tell you, I will absolutely not hand over this mine. You don't know how much effort I put into killing that Anomaly."

"And don't even think about getting back this share; it's already given."

"?" This time, it was Qi Longhu's turn to be dumbfounded.

"No, from when you raised the problem to when you solved it, it hasn't even been three days, has it?"

"It's just... solved?"

"Then wasn't all my hard work in vain?"

The two stared at each other, neither expecting the other to act so quickly.

The entire main hall fell silent for a moment, and finally, both of them sighed.

"Forget it, it's given, and it can't be taken back." Qi Longhu waved his hand, as if the matter had never happened.

"Well, since I solved the Anomaly, shouldn't I get to pick two treasures from the Guild Master's treasury?"

Chen Heng rubbed his hands; he was still very covetous of Gou Longxun's treasury.

"Don't think about that for now, the Guild Master is in seclusion." Qi Longhu rummaged in his drawer for a while and pulled out a map.

"Your credit for this will be noted for now. Let's first deal with the Five Pass Heretical Cult matter."

Saying that, Qi Longhu pointed to several locations.

"Once Gou Longjian has scouted out their hideouts in a few days, we'll go and wipe out those madmen from the Wutong Sect."

"At that time, I'll take care of two, and you'll take care of one, how about it?"

"Is the Wutong Sect very strong?" Chen Heng glanced at the suspicious locations on the map and asked, looking up.

"Their strength isn't too great, but that's only not too great for you and me."

"Their methods are treacherous and ever-changing, extremely difficult to deal with."

"Ordinary Martial Artists who encounter them will only find death, most likely being offered as human sacrifices to the Wutong God."

"So, to be safe, this extermination mission will only involve the two of us. Others can handle the aftermath."

"How about it, can you take it?"

"Of course." Chen Heng thought for a moment and still accepted the mission to exterminate the Wutong Sect.

"Don't worry, the rewards for this mission will definitely not be small, but we'll have to wait until the Guild Master comes out of seclusion."

"Alright, that's all I have to say. When that kid Gou Longjian has figured out the situation, I'll call you."

Qi Longhu put away the map, but he didn't seem to intend to let Chen Heng leave.

"Is there anything else?" Chen Heng looked at Qi Longhu curiously.

"Since we're idle anyway, how about we spar a bit, old man?"

As a Profound Connection master, Qi Longhu could tell at a glance that Chen Heng's hard cultivation had advanced further.

His fists were itching.

"Alright, let's practice." Chen Heng's eyes lit up; he also wanted to test how his hard cultivation was doing.