315: Chapter 314 The Thief's Heart Remains Undiminished

With a thought from Chu Xuan, the indestructible flowing shadow transformed back into a long saber. As expected, it only consumed 1 spirituality value point, causing him to raise an eyebrow slightly.

"So, is this the condition for me to let them go?"

"If you feel it's not enough, you can propose more conditions," Yan Guofa said slowly, his eyelids drooping.

"We are currently in need of people. As the backbone of the fight against Specters, I hope you will all prioritize the big picture and devote more energy to handling Specter incidents instead of infighting here."

"Well said, but..." Chu Xuan let out a light chuckle, his voice tinged with mockery.

"They came at me with intent to kill, and now you want me to just brush this aside for some meager benefits? If someone else who lacks judgment tries to kill me in the future, will it be the same old story—a plea to prioritize the big picture and some random benefits to end the matter?"

Yan Guofa let out a long sigh. When he opened his palm, ten gold coins appeared; they vanished in a flash and appeared in Chu Xuan's hand the next instant.

"These ten golden spiritual money contain 1000 spirituality value points. Is this enough?"

As Yan Guofa spoke, a System prompt appeared—

"[Detected 1000 spirituality value points. Absorb?]"

Chu Xuan lowered his gaze and immediately discovered that, aside from the color, the appearance and edge patterns of these gold coins were identical to the spirit money of the Resurrection Society.

"It seems you recognize them. These share the same source as the spirit money you've seen before; they all come from the spirit gathering holy grail. However, unlike the most common silver coins, each of these golden spiritual money contains 100 spirituality value points. Not only that, these golden spiritual money can be directly stored in your Exclusive Space without authentication."

Yan Guofa continued to ask, "This should be enough, right?"

Chu Xuan weighed them in his hand and smiled. "Is 1000 spirituality value points a lot? Is it enough to buy my life, or is it enough to buy theirs?"

While speaking, Chu Xuan retrieved the spirit pearl from Lin Jie's hand. At this moment, the misty Qi within the spirit pearl was completely gone.

But in the next second, as the spirituality within Chu Xuan's body poured frantically into it, the milky-white misty Qi rapidly filled it up, directly reaching 1000 spirituality value points.

"Elder Yan, how about this: I'll return these 10 golden spiritual money to you and top it off with the 1000 spirituality value points in this spirit pearl, totaling 2000 spirituality value points. You help me finish them off, how about it? If it's not enough, I can add more!"

As Chu Xuan spoke calmly, he returned the random teleportation scroll in his hand to his Exclusive Space.

This move seemed arrogant, but it was based on deep consideration.

Because he was being targeted by Revelation, Chu Xuan had been forced to take massive action, bringing him completely into the spotlight. Besides the Resurrection Society, there was no telling how many people were watching him from the shadows.

Such as those high-level Specters guided by the Evil God's kill order.

Such as Path of Salvation contractors like Jian Mei and Huang Xiong.

As well as otherworld powerhouses like Junior Brother Shen Guyun, and others from unknown factions who might be lurking in the dark.

Who was a friend? Who was a foe?

Facing anything next, Chu Xuan needed to make the worst-case preparations in advance.

First was this Yan Guofa, who appeared kind to him.

Chu Xuan did not trust Yan Guofa, primarily because the timing of the man's appearance was too coincidental.

He didn't come early or late, but appeared exactly when Huo Gui was about to use his final trump card to perish together, and just as Chu Xuan was about to escape.

Chu Xuan highly suspected that the other party had arrived long ago but had waited until this moment to show himself for some unknown purpose.

He took out the spirit pearl now and infused it with 1000 spirituality value points to test if the other party would use Steal to take it away.

If the other party really did so, Chu Xuan would not hesitate to unleash all the Slashes in his body to draw attention.

Then, regardless of whether he could kill the man, he would take the opportunity to pull out the random teleportation scroll again and leave with Lin Jie immediately.

He would simply abandon this so-called Night Watcher identity, hide away with Lin Jie for a while, and then kill his way back once he was strong enough.

However, development might be a bit slower that way.

But if Yan Guofa compromised further, Chu Xuan could observe for a while, stay in the capital temporarily, and use his official status to acquire more resources.

At this moment, seeing Chu Xuan holding the spirit pearl, Elder Yan was first slightly stunned, then sighed again: "Young man, can't you give these old bones some Face?"

Chu Xuan said indifferently, "Elder Yan, the fact that I've spoken so much with you and haven't directly attacked them is already giving you enough Face."

Huo Gui suddenly said in a deep voice, "Elder Yan, this kid is too arrogant. He doesn't respect you at all. Even if he isn't a Strange Creatures, he's an unstable element. It's better to eliminate him early, otherwise, he'll surely become a disaster in the future..."

Before he could finish, Yan Guofa suddenly shot him a cold glance. "If you say one more word, I'll deal with you right now."

Huo Gui's expression darkened, and he swallowed the rest of his words.

Yan Guofa looked back at Chu Xuan and slowly took out a palm-sized paper effigy. "With this added, it should be enough, right?"

The next second, the paper effigy appeared in Chu Xuan's hand; it felt extremely rough to the touch.

"[Name: i dont want to die]"

"[Function: Write your name on the paper effigy with your own blood. It takes effect after 2 hours. Carrying it afterward grants immunity to 1 instance of fatal damage.]"

"[Note: This item can only be used once. Effective for those within Level 12.]"

Along with the System prompt, Yan Guofa spoke again: "Can this thing save them once? To you, your life should be far more precious than theirs, right?"

Chu Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

It had to be said that this was indeed something he urgently needed right now.

In the current environment where Specters might possess death rules, having this was undoubtedly equivalent to having an extra life.

If he had possessed this before, he wouldn't have died three times in a row when facing the Debt-Collecting Ghost.

"I've always respected the elderly and loved the young. It's not impossible to give you Face once." Chu Xuan nodded slightly, then added:

"But let's be clear: if someone else is foolish enough to actively provoke me, I hope you won't come out to play the peacemaker afterward."

"Don't worry, this old man doesn't have many days left to live and won't stop you again. Moreover, you've demonstrated sufficient strength; I believe no one else will be so blind."

Yan Guofa's lips curled into a strained smile. Then, he gave Huo Gui and the others a deep look and said slowly, "This matter ends here. You are not to actively seek trouble again. Can you do that?"

Huo Gui was silent for a moment. "I can."

Seeing this, the other three Deputy Captains also nodded in agreement.

Yan Guofa said, "I'll put the ugly words first: this matter ends here. If anyone dares to stir up trouble afterward, don't blame this old man for turning on you."

Everyone remained silent.

"In that case, I'll take my leave first." Chu Xuan glanced around at everyone, then took Lin Jie and left the underground command center via the elevator.

Stepping outside, it was already bright and sunny. The people here seemed to have received instructions and no longer blocked them, allowing Chu Xuan and Lin Jie to depart.

"Did you remember anything?" Chu Xuan looked at the somewhat distracted Lin Jie.

"I..." Lin Jie looked dazed, and only after a long while did he say in a low voice, "Big Brother Chu Xuan, I want to go home and take a look. I want to... see it with my own eyes."

"Alright, I'll go with you," Chu Xuan said.

"Thank you."

Walking out of this massive garden, the streets and alleys that should have been bustling and full of life were still filled with people coming and going, but everyone was in a hurry. The liveliness of the past had vanished, replaced by a sense of desolation.

In the underground command center, Yan Guofa returned the three small mirrors to You Hongle and the other two Deputy Captains.

"I have reinforced the three mirrors. When you use them together, they can exert a sealing effect equivalent to sixty percent of mine. But remember, do not use them on allies again in the future."

Then, he did not forget to instruct:

"The inpatient building of St. Lianna Hospital has become a Dark Place and is expanding. There is a high probability of an S-rank Specter inside. I have no way to enter, so you must go and handle it as soon as possible."

Huo Gui said, "Elder Yan, since Captain-General Yang values Chu Xuan so much, why not let him handle this matter?"

"Yang Yu said not to interfere with Chu Xuan's actions." As he spoke, Yan Guofa flicked a small medicine bottle to Huo Gui and added in a raspy voice, "After you recover, do not go looking for trouble with Chu Xuan again. Do not concern yourself with what he does, do you understand?"

(Combined with line 71 above.)

"Thank you, Elder Yan. I've noted it." Huo Gui gripped the small medicine bottle, took a deep breath, and left with You Hongle and the other two.

Once outside, You Hongle said with lingering fear, "I really didn't expect this Chu Xuan to be so difficult to deal with."

His injuries were not yet fully healed, and his whole body still throbbed with pain. You Hongle suppressed his emotions toward Chu Xuan and asked, "Brother Huo, when are we going to handle the Specter incident at St. Lianna Hospital?"

Huo Gui snorted coldly and suddenly reached out to crush a glass bead, instantly forming an invisible light membrane that enveloped the surroundings.

Although he didn't speak aloud, the three of them heard his voice simultaneously: "Do you think Chu Xuan will really let us go?"

Hearing these words from Huo Gui, You Hongle and the others were all startled.

"Everyone saw Chu Xuan's attitude toward us just now, right? We've completely crossed the line. If we don't deal with Chu Xuan soon, we will definitely be the ones who die later!"

Huo Gui's Face was grim:

"His Slashes are very troublesome; everyone must have experienced that deeply. In the Early Stage of the battle, he released a large number of Slashes at once, which caused us great trouble, but the frequency of subsequent Slashes clearly slowed down. Obviously, there is a limit. In my view, accumulating those Slashes must consume time and resources."

Someone asked tentatively, "You mean..."

"Intercept and kill him right now!" Huo Gui said with a ruthless expression.

"But our injuries haven't recovered yet, and our spirituality value points are all exhausted," You Hongle said, frowning.

"Our condition is poor, but that Chu Xuan is also not at his Peak!"

Kill intent flickered in Huo Gui's eyes. "If it weren't for those sudden, massive Slashes wrapped in black flames, I could have dealt with him right at the beginning!"

Huo Gui looked around at everyone and asked coldly, "I'm reminding you: it's still not too late to kill Chu Xuan now. Once he finishes accumulating Slashes and completes the death-substitution ritual for the paper effigy, it will be almost impossible for us to kill him! At that time, we'll be lambs to the slaughter. Do you think he'll let us go?"

You Hongle and the others felt a chill in their hearts, but they still had some misgivings and hesitated. "But what about Elder Yan's side..."

"The old guy is practically in the grave; he won't live long. If he really had the ability, would he have let Chu Xuan be so arrogant and compromised step by step? It's simply embarrassing!"

Huo Gui sneered. "I've secretly investigated; this old guy's health points limit is only 300, and his stamina is only 3 points in terms of real attributes. I don't know his other attributes, but clearly, for someone of his level, his health points and stamina are both on the low side, meaning his body must be under extreme load. If he really dared to fight us to the death, he'd probably collapse himself before he could even wipe us out!"

"Even if I'm wrong about all the above, as long as we kill Chu Xuan, could the old guy really turn on us over a dead man? If he kills us too, who else will handle the Specter incidents?"

"The Night Watchers official organization was established by all of us together; everyone put in their heart and soul, fighting Specters with our lives! Now that the fruit is ripe, Chu Xuan comes to enjoy the success, and in the future, he'll even look down on us. Plus, he could take our lives at any time because of a grudge over today's events. Are you willing to accept that?"

"We're all sensible people. From the moment we laid a hand on Chu Xuan, there was no turning back. The arrow is on the string and must be fired!"

Huo Gui took out five potions and said in a deep voice, "These are Inferior Pain-type Spirituality Potions. Each one can grant between 150 to 250 spirituality value points, but there will be three hours of side effects afterward. You choose whether to do it or not!"

You Hongle and the others looked at each other, finally gritted their teeth, and each took a potion.

Seeing this, the corners of Huo Gui's mouth curled up, and an unnoticeable coldness flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Meanwhile, in the underground command center.

Only Yan Guofa and Elder Wang, along with two others, remained. There was a brief silence before Elder Wang finally broke it.

"Elder Yan, thanks to you this time. Otherwise, no matter which side suffered casualties just now, it would have been an immeasurable loss for us," Elder Wang said with deep emotion.

Yan Guofa shook his head. "I had already arrived here; I wouldn't have let things turn out that way."

"Then you..." Elder Wang was slightly stunned.

"I just wanted to know why Yang Yu trusts Chu Xuan so much, and whether he can truly shoulder the heavy responsibility in the future."

Yan Guofa sighed. "However, he is still too young. It's hard for him to consider the big picture. We need to observe more, observe more..."

Elder Wang and the others looked at each other, then asked with concern, "Is Revelation really a high-level member of the Resurrection Society?"

"There should be no mistake. This news needs to be announced as soon as possible, but... I'm afraid it will cause an uproar internally." Yan Guofa's expression also turned grave at this moment. "From now on, things will only get harder..."

Elder Wang asked again, "Then... Elder Wei, Elder Wu, and Yang Yu—do you have any news on when they will return?"

"Elder Wei and Elder Wu probably won't be coming back." Yan Guofa shook his head. "As for Yang Yu, he became somewhat strange before he left and entrusted me with many things."

As soon as these words were spoken, Elder Wang and the others immediately realized something, and their expressions changed.

...

(4000 words, just one chapter posted today.)