12: Ghost Hand's Abacus and Hunter's Menu

Returning to the putrid-smelling sewer, Jiang Chen did not immediately begin to plan his next move.

He sat down cross-legged and poured out all five hundred Spirit Stones.

The rich Spiritual Qi made even this filthy place feel a bit fresher.

He needed to recover, and even more, he needed to adapt.

Adapt to this body that had been doubly transformed by "Formless Life Essence" and "Array Dao Heavenly Heart."

He closed his eyes, and the Eye of Insight and Array Dao Heavenly Heart operated simultaneously.

The entire world, in his perception, was dismantled into countless layers.

The bottom layer was the substance itself.

One layer up was the flowing energy; the Spiritual Qi, Earth Fiend, and Yin Wind invisible to the naked eye now had clear Veins.

Further up were the entangled Karma, countless visible and invisible threads of fate connecting all things.

This feeling was like someone who could only read black-and-white newspapers suddenly acquiring a super optical computer capable of connecting to the interstellar network.

The amount of information was explosive.

Jiang Chen endured the throbbing pain in his Soul and began to try and sort through this information.

He discovered that the fate line on Liu An, the City Lord’s Mansion steward he had killed, did not immediately dissipate after his death; instead, like a broken lute string, it still vibrated slightly in the air, emitting some extremely faint emotional energy carrying "resentment" and "unwillingness."

For "Formless Life Essence," these energies were worthless Impurities.

But for the "Formation" in this area, they were like nourishment.

Jiang Chen "saw" that this emotional energy was being drawn by an invisible force, slowly merging into the land beneath his feet.

Beneath Sanhe City, there seemed to be a massive, ancient Formation, rooted in the entire city.

It was absorbing the energy dissipated after the death of all living beings in the city.

"Interesting."

Jiang Chen's heart stirred.

This discovery was more valuable than him obtaining five hundred Spirit Stones.

At dawn, Jiang Chen had absorbed all the Spirit Stones.

His "Formless Life Essence" had grown a bit stronger; although still far from the next qualitative change, it already made him feel that every cell in his body was filled with power.

More importantly, after a night of adaptation, his control over the "Array Dao Heavenly Heart" had also initially stabilized.

He stood up and left the sewer.

He was going to see Ghost Hand.

Firstly, to solidify his identity as "A Yu."

Secondly, he needed information about the "Soul Severing Mountain Range."

Even if he could see through the Formations there, for information about "people," the Shadow Tower was more professional.

For example, when would Su Qingxue go? Who would be with her? What were the recent movements of the Hundred Herb Valley?

These were all pieces of information that would not be on a map.

The agreed meeting place was a coffin shop in the west of the city.

When Jiang Chen walked in, a dry scent of wood and tung oil assailed him.

The light in the shop was dim, and a hunchbacked old man was in a corner, planing a piece of wood with rhythmic "sha... sha..." sounds.

Ghost Hand stood beside an unpainted cypress coffin, her figure seemingly blending into the surrounding shadows.

She was still in her black clothes, veiled, with only her eyes, calm as an ancient well, exposed.

"You did very well," Ghost Hand spoke first, her voice devoid of emotion, "An accident, a warehouse fire, leaving no loose ends. Much cleaner than many so-called 'Silver-tier' assassins."

Jiang Chen did not respond.

He just looked at Ghost Hand.

In his new vision, the layer of mist around Ghost Hand seemed to have thinned somewhat.

He could see more clearly that her main fate line, deeply bound to the "Shadow Tower," was entangled with dense, thorny "Killing Lines."

Each one represented a Soul that had died by her hand.

And deep within these Killing Lines, there was an extremely subtle, faintly sorrowful pink thread connected to her own heart.

That was a "Love Line," but it was broken.

At the break, black "resentment" Qi continuously seeped out, like an unhealing wound, constantly eroding her main fate line.

Jiang Chen could even "see" that the failure of her future assassination mission was not entirely due to the target's strength, but also largely related to the backlash of the Heart Demon caused by this broken Love Line.

Everyone has their own "Achilles' heel."

Ghost Hand was no exception.

Jiang Chen silently noted this information, then spoke in a hoarse voice: "Next mission."

Ghost Hand seemed pleased with his directness.

She liked dealing with smart, efficient people.

"No hurry," she took out a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve and tossed it over, "This is your reward. Three 'Qi Concealment Pills.' Enough to perfectly hide your Qi from Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators."

Jiang Chen took the porcelain bottle, opened it, and sniffed.

The medicinal fragrance was pure; it was genuine.

"The next mission is very difficult," Ghost Hand finally got to the point, "But the reward is also equally generous."

She paused, seemingly observing Jiang Chen's reaction.

"Li Wei, the Young Lord of the Golden Saber Sect. In three days, he will lead people to escort a batch of Ore back to his Sect via the 'First Line Gorge' east of the city. I want you to kill him."

"The reward is one thousand Spirit Stones. Plus, access to the Shadow Tower's internal D-tier intelligence for one month."

The Golden Saber Sect, a second-rate Sect near Sanhe City, was known for its overbearing saber techniques.

The First Line Gorge was precisely on the path to the Soul Severing Mountain Range.

This mission was practically tailor-made for him.

Jiang Chen sneered inwardly.

There weren't so many coincidences in this world.

Ghost Hand, or rather the Shadow Tower, was testing him and calculating against him.

They had probably vaguely guessed through certain channels that "Heavenly Demon" Jiang Chen's next target was likely Su Qingxue of the Hundred Herb Valley.

This mission was both a test of his strength and an attempt to use him to create animosity with the Golden Saber Sect and muddy the waters.

They might even want to observe whether he was indeed the wanted "Jiang Chen."

If he accepted the mission and actually appeared near the First Line Gorge, it would indirectly confirm their suspicions.

What a brilliant move to kill two birds with one stone.

"I can't take this mission," Jiang Chen directly refused.

Ghost Hand's eyes showed a flicker of emotion for the first time.

"Why?" Her voice grew a little colder, "Do you think the reward is too little? Or are you afraid of the Golden Saber Sect?"

"The reward is not little, and I'm not afraid of the Golden Saber Sect," Jiang Chen threw the porcelain bottle back, "But I don't like being used as a pawn."

His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet coffin shop, it was exceptionally clear.

The hunchbacked old man's planing sound had stopped at some point.

The air instantly became somewhat heavy.

Ghost Hand fell silent.

Her eyes, calm as an ancient well, stared intently at Jiang Chen, as if re-evaluating this "newcomer."

She hadn't expected that the other party could see through this calculation.

Even more, she hadn't expected him to dare to expose it face-to-face.

This was no longer just bold, but... arrogant.

"What do you want?" After a long while, Ghost Hand spoke again.

The initiative had changed hands.

"Very simple," Jiang Chen extended two fingers.

"First, I want two thousand Spirit Stones. Li Wei's life is worth that much."

"Second, I don't want any D-tier intelligence access; that kind of common knowledge is useless to me. I want the most core intelligence about the 'Soul Severing Mountain Range,' including but not limited to... the activity patterns of all Hundred Herb Valley Disciples in the mountain range recently, known methods for breaking ancient illusions, and... all possible locations where the 'nine revolutions soul restoration grass' might appear."

When the words "nine revolutions soul restoration grass" came out of Jiang Chen's mouth.

Ghost Hand's pupils suddenly constricted.

She could finally confirm.

The "A Yu" in front of her was, one hundred percent, the "Heavenly Demon" Jiang Chen who had stirred up the entire Southern Domain!

He had indeed come for Su Qingxue!

The Killing Intent in the shop flashed and disappeared.

The hunchbacked old man's hand was already pressed on the blade of his plane.

But Jiang Chen seemed completely unaware.

He just stood quietly, as if waiting for an answer.

He was gambling.

Gambling on the "businessman" nature of the Shadow Tower.

A living "Jiang Chen" with top-tier assassination talent and a clear objective was far more valuable than handing him over for the bounty of the seven great Sects.

As long as he could demonstrate sufficient utility and unpredictability.

The Shadow Tower would choose "cooperation" rather than "hunting."

Time passed breath by breath.

Finally, Ghost Hand slowly nodded.

"Alright."

She uttered two words, her voice carrying a hint of imperceptible... excitement.

Yes, excitement.

Collaborating with a madman who dared to overturn the Heavenly Dao's chessboard was, in itself, an exciting gamble.

"The Spirit Stones and intelligence will be exchanged here in three days. I don't care how you do it; I only want Li Wei's head."

"Deal."

Jiang Chen turned, without the slightest hesitation, and walked out of the coffin shop.

The moment he stepped out the door, Ghost Hand's voice came from behind him.

"A Yu."

Jiang Chen paused.

"Welcome to... the real Shadow Tower."

Jiang Chen did not look back, his figure disappearing around the street corner.

The real Shadow Tower?

The smile on his lips grew colder.

A true hunter never cares what the hunting ground is called.

He only cares when the next dish on the menu will be served.