217: Shi Wanshan, feeling guilty

Gu Changge looked at Xuan Yangzi and the several Old Ancestors with varying expressions before him. With a sweep of his Divine Sense, he saw that the Great Ancestor was quietly tailing Xiao Ruobai and the others, secretly protecting them, while the Third Old Ancestor was already squatting outside the gates of Glazed Holy Land, counting passing Disciples, preparing to "bully" the younger generation.

He chuckled inwardly, his fingertips subtly flicking twice. Two Chaos imprints, containing supreme Dao principles, instantly broke through the Void Realm and silently merged into the depths of the two Old Ancestors’ soul-lives. Even at the Saint King Realm, they remained completely unaware.

"That’s enough," Gu Changge withdrew his Divine Sense and smiled faintly at Xuan Yangzi.

"Since the two Old Ancestors are so enthusiastic, let them enjoy themselves, as long as they don't go too far."

He had especially hidden a lingering power within the Third Old Ancestor's imprint. The waters of Glazed Holy Land ran deep, and he had to guard against that old child going off the rails...

After leaving the intense battlefield, Xiao Ruobai and a few others found a secluded cave to rest.

Inside the cave, the bonfire crackled, illuminating the four people's faces, each with a different expression.

Xiao Ruobai circulated his Cultivation Technique, completely dispelling the stubborn Death Qi from his arm. He looked up at Wang Xiaopang, who was sprawled opposite him, looking as if he had just survived a catastrophe, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Tell me, what happened? Didn't I tell you to scout for information on the periphery and be more discreet? How did you get involved with Glazed Holy Land again and end up being chased so badly?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaopang's chubby face immediately fell. He pounded his chest and stomped his feet, his voice tinged with a cry: "Big Brother! I've been wronged! This time it really isn't my fault! Fat Master was honest this time!"

He abruptly sat up straight, his small eyes wide and round, gesticulating wildly as he began to explain.

"I was just watching the commotion outside that valley. Myriad Law Pavilion and Vast Righteous Sect were fighting fiercely, all just to snatch that newly emerged top-grade Earth-Grade Spiritual Vein! Fat Master is so cautious, I just hid far away, not thinking of getting involved at all!"

"But later... later Myriad Law Pavilion seemed to have won and was using a Magic Treasure to collect that Spiritual Vein! I have sharp eyes, and I noticed that at the root of that Spiritual Vein, it seemed... it seemed there was also a small pool of Earth Vein Spiritual Milk brewing!

That's good stuff! Fat Master couldn't resist for a moment... I just thought, I'd sneak over and scoop up just a tiny, tiny bit... just a tiny bit! After scooping it up, I'd immediately use a Talisman to escape!"

Wang Xiaopang's face showed an expression of extreme fear and heartache intertwined as he spoke, his voice even sharpening a few octaves: "Who the hell could have imagined! Just as I pulled out my jade shovel and hadn't even touched the edge!

Suddenly! Without any warning! A palm, bigger than a stone pillar, appeared out of nowhere, carrying an indescribable immense force, and slammed down with a 'boom'!"

He exaggeratedly clutched his head, as if reliving the terrifying impact: "All my protective Magic Treasures, like the Golden Silkworm Cicada Wing Armor and the Black Tortoise Shell Talisman, shattered like paper with a 'crack'! Fat Master didn't even hum, my vision just went black, and I knew nothing!"

"When I woke up..."

Wang Xiaopang said with a mournful face, on the verge of tears, "I found myself buried deep underground, unable to move! My whole body felt like it had fallen apart! And that wasn't even the worst of it..."

He said indignantly: "All my belongings were gone! The high-grade Talismans I carried in my pocket were gone! Even the Swift Wind Boots I bought at a high price, which could increase my escape speed, were stripped off me!

My whole body was scoured cleaner than my face! They only left me with a set of tattered clothes! Which goddamn black-hearted thief did this! Their methods are too ruthless! They're even more professional than Fat Master!"

Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu's eyes flickered upon hearing this. They exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of surprise and understanding in each other's eyes.

To be able to so cleanly knock out and rob Wang Xiaopang, this sly fellow, the opponent's strength was definitely far beyond imagination, and their modus operandi...

Ling Xi's cool gaze also swept over Wang Xiaopang, as if she had thought of something.

"Then what?" Xiao Ruobai continued to ask.

"Then I struggled desperately, and with great difficulty, I crawled out of the dirt. But as soon as I popped my head out, I ran right into those killers from Glazed Holy Land!"

Wang Xiaopang looked exasperated, "Those guys were like dog noses, I don't know how they found that place! As soon as they saw me crawling out of the ground, they attacked without a word!

Fat Master almost really died there! Luckily... luckily I was clever, and I had enough reserves..."

At this point, a triumphant expression of having escaped death appeared on his face. He lowered his voice and boasted: "Fat Master walks the Jianghu, how could I not have a backup plan?

I had long ago sewn a Storage Ring into the interlayer of my close-fitting underwear using a special method!

Heh, no matter how thoroughly that black-hearted thief searched, they never expected Fat Master to have this trick! That's how I managed to save a little of my capital!"

As he spoke, he subconsciously touched the only remaining Storage Ring in his pocket, still feeling lingering fear, yet also a little grateful...

Outside the cave, in the depths of the shadows, Shi Wanshan, who was completely integrated with the rocks and had suppressed his Qi to the extreme, heard every word of the conversation inside the cave.

When Wang Xiaopang tearfully accused that "goddamn black-hearted thief," especially upon hearing the phrase "their methods are even more professional than mine," Shi Wanshan's weather-beaten, rugged old face couldn't help but twitch, and a barely perceptible dark red flushed beneath his bronze skin.

He subconsciously probed the pile of newly acquired spoils in his Storage Magic Treasure with his Divine Sense, his mouth twitching unnaturally, feeling a bit sheepish inside.

"This kid's howling is really unpleasant... didn't I just take advantage of the situation to grab some loot? Who told you, kid, to sneak up so stealthily at that time? Who would've thought you were so fragile..."

When he heard that Wang Xiaopang had actually hidden another Storage Ring in the interlayer of his underwear, Shi Wanshan's heart immediately sank.

"What? There's another one? Hidden there?"

In his astonishment, his old face twitched again. He cursed inwardly, feeling both annoyed and amused: "You chubby kid! You can hide things in such a place, you're really a Genius! You hid it really well! This time I was careless, a miscalculation, a miscalculation!"

A sense of frustration from not having finished the job cleanly welled up in his heart. He subconsciously rubbed his thick finger joints, muttering to himself: "It seems next time I strip someone, I'll have to pay more attention... 'Ugh, never mind, that's disgusting!!!'"

Shi Wanshan couldn't help but imagine the scene of stripping an enemy's underwear, and a shiver of disgust immediately ran down his spine.

However, when he heard Wang Xiaopang mention that Glazed Holy Land appeared immediately afterward, his brows furrowed again, and a hint of relief and lingering fear flashed in his eyes.

"Good thing I buried that chubby kid a bit deeper at the time and set up a Restriction to conceal his Qi. Otherwise, if the people from Glazed Holy Land had dug him out on the spot, he wouldn't have been able to escape..."

But listening to Wang Xiaopang's indignant accusations from inside the cave, Shi Wanshan still felt his cheeks flush a bit, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself: "This kid, what's he howling about! Didn't I later kindly leave him a life-saving cloak and a jade pendant?

Although... well, they were things I didn't care for... but it's better than nothing, right!?"

He shook his big head, deciding not to listen to the fat man's "tale of woe" anymore. His figure silently merged back into the deeper darkness, but his retreating back somehow exuded a strange sense of... guilt and embarrassment.