67: Dragon Roar and Tiger Roar, the True Intention of the Dead Tree (Part 2)

It was impossible to chase him; he was not skilled in movement techniques to begin with, and by the time Liu Hong saw Chen Cuo, he was already just a blurry silhouette, vanishing in an instant.

This made him furious, and he stomped into the Chang Family's treasure vault, only to find some broken items. Although it wasn't completely empty, there was truly nothing good there that he or Young Master Han Yue would value.

Liu Hong roared, "Thief! Don't let me catch you!" His voice echoed throughout the secret chamber.

Chen Cuo paid no mind to Liu Hong's impotent rage. He was only thinking about how to safely hide these things without attracting attention so he could go demand the Wu Family's Legacy from Wu Tianqi.

"Friend, please wait!"

"Who?" Chen Cuo turned his head to look behind him, only to see a tall, white-robed man with a pair of peach blossom eyes standing behind him.

The other party's movements were agile, surprisingly able to keep up with his Shadow Shifting at Perfection Realm.

"Friend, did you just come out of the Chang Family? You must have gained a lot. I wonder if you could share some with me, and we can become friends?" Xuefu smiled, staring intently at Chen Cuo.

Chen Cuo said coldly, "Hmph, I was wondering who it was. So it's the Flower Picking Bee, Young Master Xuefu. You're trying to rob me? Do you even know who I am?"

Xuefu, nicknamed the Flower Picking Bee, was ranked seventh on the Six Doors' wanted list. This villain was a master thief and also a lecherous flower picker, specializing in harming innocent women.

"Since you know my name, why don't you kneel and surrender, and hand over all the treasures you obtained from the Chang Family?"

Xuefu's expression darkened, and the Aura of the Acquired Realm pressed down on Chen Cuo.

Chen Cuo feigned a slight sway and said in shock, "Brother Xue, so you're an expert of the Acquired Realm! My name is Zhao Asan! I'll give you the things… I'll give you a saber!"

Seeing Chen Cuo's shocked expression, Xuefu's heart rejoiced. He saw the other party throw the box over and eagerly reached out to catch it. Then, he saw Chen Cuo reveal a sarcastic smile and felt a trace of Qi surge.

A bright saber light flashed before his eyes with astonishing speed, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Whoosh!

"He's also in the Acquired Realm, and he was fishing!" This was Xuefu's last thought before he died.

Then his body was completely split apart, covered in blood, and fell to the ground in two halves. The Saber Qi sliced a huge gully into the building he was in.

"Could he be an idiot?" Chen Cuo scoffed playfully, then performed a routine body search, and indeed found a round jade pendant.

The jade pendant had the effects of concealment, breath-holding, and transformation. Even Chen Cuo's extraordinary perception didn't detect it, so it was no wonder Xuefu could approach Chen Cuo so silently. However, the other party didn't take the opportunity to sneak attack, probably because he thought Chen Cuo was only at the Lian Zang Realm.

Chen Cuo restrained his Aura and suppressed his vital energy, appearing externally like a Martial Artist of the Lian Zang Realm. Xuefu thought he could easily manipulate him, never expecting that he was a fierce tiger disguised as a sheep, catching a big golden turtle.

The rest included a jade belt wrapped around his waist and some silver notes, worth a few thousand taels.

Unfortunately, there was no Cultivation Technique.

However, just the jade pendant alone was a huge gain. The two large boxes of items could be hidden, and after this storm passed, they could be slowly transported back to Wei City, without having to carry two large boxes over walls.

—

"The Wu Mansion is indeed luxurious!" Chen Cuo silently arrived at the Wu Family's residence, hiding deep within a tall building, undetectable by anyone.

Finally, he found an isolated garden within the Wu Family's grounds that was very desolate and neglected, with no one entering or leaving, and the gate was even locked.

Chen Cuo flipped inside, found an open space, released his Internal Energy, and dug two large pits with his hands. He then put the two boxes into them, covered them with the jade pendant, and injected Internal Energy to conceal them.

This treasure actually required a drop of blood for refinement. After Xuefu died, he dripped blood onto it, allowing him to control the jade pendant. Once filled with Internal Energy, the jade pendant could maintain breath-holding and concealment for a month.

After hiding the treasures, Chen Cuo slipped out of the courtyard wall and wandered around the Wu Family's grounds. Wu Tianqi was not present; he must have gone to cut the weeds and remove the roots.

Half an hour later, it seemed as if dawn was breaking. A figure rushed into the Wu Family's inner residence. Based on the person's cultivation and attire, Chen Cuo judged that this person should be the Wu Family's head steward, Wu Lu.

All this information was told to him by Wu Tianqi when he was in Xining County. Wu Lu was at the Lian Zang Realm, and his hurried manner might be related to Wu Tianqi. Chen Cuo restrained his Aura and slowly sneaked to the top of the inner residence building to eavesdrop.

"Master, Second Master sent word that the little fish have fallen into the net, and we can now reel them in," Wu Lu respectfully said to Wu Tianlie.

Wu Tianlie sat cross-legged on a futon, exhaling a mouthful of turbid Qi with a breath, his mind instantly clear. He said joyfully, "Really? That's truly excellent! My Wu Family has finally eliminated a formidable enemy. It's not in vain that I painstakingly lured that little brat. Finally, when the other party was weak, I launched a decisive attack."

"Congratulations, Master, your long-cherished wish has been fulfilled, and you have avenged the Ancestor!" Wu Lu bowed even lower, saying in a deep voice.

Wu Tianlie's gaze shifted, and then he said to Wu Lu, "Let Tianqi reel them in. Don't let any fish escape the net."

At this moment, Wu Lu was still bowing, not moving, his lips slightly moving as if he had something to say.

Wu Lu's expression was strange, and his gaze unconsciously glanced at Wu Tianlie twice: "It's just, Master, Second Master said, he said..."

"Said what? Don't beat around the bush, just say it!"

"He said that the Martial Alliance people are willing to cooperate with our Chang Family, but they have a condition, and that condition is... is... to kill you!"

Wu Lu shouted, pulling a dagger from his sleeve, and raised his hand to stab Wu Tianlie in the chest. They were less than two meters apart. Wu Lu reached Wu Tianlie in two steps and stabbed down fiercely.

"You!... Ah!"

Wu Tianlie raised his Internal Energy, intending to attack and kill Wu Lu, this traitor. But as soon as he circulated his Internal Energy, he found that his Internal Energy instantly dissipated throughout his body, and his entire body became limp.

With a squelch, the sharp blade entered his body, thoroughly mangling his heart. Wu Tianlie let out a mournful cry, staring fixedly at Wu Lu, his eyes seeming to turn into thousands of knives, wanting to slice him into a thousand pieces. But in the end, he only let out a desperate sigh and died beyond death.

Strangely, Wu Tianlie's corpse did not shed a single drop of fresh blood; instead, it withered.

"I'm sorry, Master, I had no choice. My entire Family, wife, children, and elders, are all in Second Master's hands. I can only obey him." Wu Lu frowned, mourned Wu Tianlie's corpse for a moment, then opened a secret compartment beneath the futon he was sitting on and took out a key.

He then took Wu Tianlie towards the Family's secret chamber, which was both the Family's secret chamber and the Wu Family's place for isolated Cultivation. He wanted to hide Wu Tianlie's body there first.

Chen Cuo silently followed behind, watching Wu Lu handle Wu Tianlie's body, then come out with a wooden box and head towards the direction out of the city.

He was completely shrouded in a black robe, not revealing a single trace, like a ghost, closely following behind Wu Lu.

—

"Wu Tianqi, I refuse to accept this! How did you know my Chang Family's retreat route?" Chang Zhiqin knelt on the ground, propped up by his saber, his lips pale, gasping for breath.

He was exhausted. Dozens of talented clansmen he brought were either dead or wounded, with only seven or eight still standing.

"Want to know? Hmph hmph, come out!"

Upon hearing this, a young Chang Family member in coarse cloth clothes and a delicate face, slashed a fat man next to him with his sword, moved his steps, and in a few steps, reached the Wu Family's camp.

"Chang Lie!"

"Ah ah ah!"

"You bastard, you actually dared to betray the Chang Family!"

Seeing Chang Lie flee to the Wu Family, Chang Zhiqin instantly understood everything. His face showed bitterness, and tears streamed down as he pointed at Chang Lie and said, "You, just because of your mother, you betrayed the Chang Family."

"Hmph, this is what you deserve, this is retribution. More words are useless, die!"

Wu Tianqi waved his hand, and all his subordinates behind him swarmed forward, hacking the already incapacitated Chang Zhiqin to death with random blades, and killing all the escaping Chang Family members.

The Chang Family, annihilated!

"Second Master, we found it! The Dragon Tiger Relic is indeed in Chang Zhiqin's hands!" A Wu Family servant said, holding a jade box.

"Good. Has Wu Lu returned?"

Wu Tianqi opened the box and saw a golden sphere coiled within the jade box, emitting an astonishing Aura. He then asked about Wu Lu's whereabouts.

"Second Master, I'm here. Everything is done."

Before his voice faded, Wu Lu rushed over and handed the wooden box to Wu Tianqi.

"Good, you've done very well. Now get ready, there's another tough battle to fight!" Wu Tianqi clenched his fist, a strong killing intent rising in his heart.

"Who are you talking about fighting!"

A calm, devil-like voice sounded behind Wu Tianqi.

...

Vajra Sect, Changshun Street!

"Innate Cultivation Technique, truly extraordinary. The Concept within it actually requires special means to contain!"

"Dragon Tiger Relic, the Chang Family's Dragon Roar Tiger Howl Skill Legacy, Withering Wood True Origin Skill, the Wu Family's Withering Wood True Origin Skill Legacy. Which one should I Cultivate first?"