104: Chapter 104 Sweeping Six Strongholds in Two Days

Ye Yisong waved his hand, opening all the chests; in truth, he didn't even need to look to know the approximate value of the items inside.

From the markers displayed on the map, Ye Yisong had long known about this treasury; the most valuable item was a five-hundred-year-old Grade 4 Blood Ginseng, while the other items were merely of average value.

If the treasuries within these strongholds had stored large quantities of Spirit Stones, it wouldn't have been Ye Yisong's turn to act—the nearby Martial Ancestor Families would have long since wiped them out.

The two divided the loot equally, each receiving over two thousand Spirit Stones, a chest of Grade 2 and Grade 3 Spirit Medicine, and two Storage Pouches. As for what was inside the Storage Pouches, that depended on their luck; Ye Yisong could not clearly detect what was stored inside them from the map and could only roughly estimate their value based on the depth of the color displayed on the map.

As for that Grade 4 Blood Ginseng, it belonged to Ye Xiaowu this time, while the next time they encountered a Grade 4 treasure, it would belong to Ye Yisong.

After the two finished dividing the items, Ye Xiaowu vanished into the night once more. Ye Yisong casually picked up a roast chicken on the table that hadn't been touched much; having traveled for half a day, he was truly hungry.

It had to be said, the cook for this group of Loose Cultivators knew how to cook; the roast chicken was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with an appetizing aroma. Ye Yisong removed the chicken head and tail, which he had disliked since childhood, and swallowed the entire roast chicken, bones and all, in a few bites before heading north toward the Wolf Fang Stronghold.

Before leaving, Ye Yisong released the few people in the stronghold's dungeon; as for whether they could return home safely, that was not something Ye Yisong needed to consider.

When he arrived at the stronghold gate, Ye Yisong discovered that the two people standing guard at the entrance had long since disappeared. They had likely heard the commotion halfway up the hillside and run away. He had originally intended to send them on their way, but alas, he would have to wait for the next Opportunity.

Wolf Fang Stronghold was only seventy li away from Iron Chain Stronghold. With the help of Talismans, Ye Yisong arrived at the foot of Wolf Fang Stronghold in just over an hour.

Compared to Iron Chain Stronghold, Wolf Fang Stronghold appeared much more shabby; it didn't even have a proper gate, just two pieces of sheet metal of unknown origin hung up to serve as one.

However, the Loose Cultivators inside the stronghold were much more vigilant than those at Iron Chain Stronghold. This time, as Ye Yisong infiltrated the stronghold, he had barely killed a few lackeys and had not yet found the Chief Leader's residence when he was discovered by a Martial Artist in the stronghold.

"Brothers, Iron Chain Stronghold is attacking, get up quickly!"

"Where are those sons of bitches from Iron Chain Stronghold?"

Following the sound of huge gongs and drums, all the Loose Cultivators in the stronghold ran out. Seven or eight archers drew their bows and notched arrows, ready to fire, and over a dozen Martial Artists with various weapons gathered in the front courtyard from all directions.

"Who are you, and why do you attack my stronghold in the middle of the night?" a thin, gaunt old man in the middle sternly demanded of Ye Yisong, who stood in the center of the courtyard.

"Are you the Chief Leader of this stronghold?" Ye Yisong asked, looking at the old man in the center. Among those present, he had the highest cultivation, being a Seven-Star Martial Master, but his aura was withered, looking as if he had just suffered a serious injury and had not yet recovered.

"This old man is indeed the Chief Leader of this stronghold, Your Excellency, who exactly…" the old man replied.

Before the old man could finish his sentence, Ye Yisong had already struck first, scattering over a dozen Grade 2 Talismans toward the opposite side as if they were worthless. The crowd opposite was too concentrated and couldn't dodge in time, and seven or eight were killed in an instant by the Talismans.

Since the identity of the Chief Leader had been confirmed, Ye Yisong couldn't be bothered to waste words with these people and directly took action to eliminate most of the archers first, to prevent being injured by hidden arrows later.

Before the Nine-Star Martial Master Ye Yisong, the Loose Cultivators of Wolf Fang Stronghold were like a flock of little lambs, slaughtered completely by Ye Yisong in a few flashes and movements, as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Using the tattered clothes from the old man's body to wipe the bloodstains from his sword, Ye Yisong searched the few courtyards symbolically for a moment, and finally, in the basement of one of the courtyards, he found the treasury of Wolf Fang Stronghold.

No wonder they didn't even have a decent gate; the treasury only contained two or three thousand Spirit Stones and a few stalks of Grade 3 Spirit Medicine. Ye Xiaowu took one thousand Spirit Stones, and generously gave all the other items to Ye Yisong.

"So poor, it's truly a disgrace to mountain bandits!"

Ye Yisong complained; this little bit of income wasn't even worth the value of the Talismans he had just used.

Complaining was just complaining, but the work still had to be done. Seeing another map appear in his mind, Ye Yisong smiled knowingly and rushed toward the next destination.

Spending two days and two nights, Ye Yisong swept through six of the eight strongholds to the east of Luomu Mountain. Along the way, he did not encounter a single instance of decent resistance; it was all a one-sided slaughter, destroying them like dry weeds and rotten wood.

It was truly a bit like bullying children. With the cultivation of a Nine-Star Martial Master descending, plus numerous Grade 2 and Grade 3 Talismans, except for a few Chief Leaders and Second Leaders who could withstand one or two of Ye Yisong's moves, none of the other mountain bandits were a match for even half of Ye Yisong's move.

...

"Third Brother, what do you think this kid is doing?" Ye Xiaowu asked, looking at Ye Xiaosan beside him, puzzled. "With just this little bit of stuff, I reckon it's not even worth the Talismans the kid just scattered."

"There isn't even a decent opponent near Luomu Mountain; is it worth wasting time on these petty thieves?" Ye Xiaowu was clearly somewhat knowledgeable about the situation around Luomu Mountain. When they were free, they would also sweep the area around the Family to prevent any Grade 4 Demonic Beast from breaking through and harming the Family's Prodigy Disciples.

Disciples in the Family would often explore the dangerous areas around Luomu Mountain in groups to increase their own combat experience.

For their safety, the Family would naturally conduct periodic sweeps of the surrounding area.

"I don't understand it either," Ye Xiaosan replied. To tell the truth, he also didn't understand why Ye Yisong suddenly wanted to sweep all the strongholds around Luomu Mountain. Just as Xiaowu said, the value of the Talismans Ye Yisong spent attacking these six strongholds far exceeded the harvest this time.

Ye Yisong didn't gain any training from the battles either; it was all a clean sweep. Why bother making this trip!

"Third Brother, could it be that this kid struck a big windfall at Weishui River, and is afraid of encountering a Grade 4 Demonic Beast, so he doesn't dare to look for trouble with Yao Beasts, and thus thought of attacking these strongholds to scavenge another windfall!" Ye Xiaowu guessed, a flash of inspiration hitting him.

"That is not an impossible possibility." Ye Xiaosan couldn't think of any other reasonable explanation and could only temporarily accept this theory. Young people are still too prone to wishful thinking; where is Opportunity so easy to find?

"What are you doing?" Ye Xiaowu asked, looking at the hand Ye Xiaosan extended, confused.

"What is seen is shared; give me half of what you obtained these past two days." Ye Xiaosan said as if it were only natural. He had seen it—all six times added together, the harvest was at least twenty or thirty thousand Spirit Stones. He couldn't have come out for nothing, right? If he took half, he could also obtain over ten thousand Spirit Stones; that was not a small amount!

"Uh?" Ye Xiaowu looked at Ye Xiaosan speechlessly. For the first few times, Ye Xiaosan hadn't asked him for anything, and Ye Xiaowu had thought Ye Xiaosan didn't care for these peanuts.

So this is where he was waiting for me!

So we do the work, you watch from the side, do nothing, and just take half?

Hindered by the fact that Third Brother's strength was far superior to his own, Ye Xiaowu painfully took out the Spirit Stones he had harvested over these two days and divided ten thousand Spirit Stones for him.

"We've arrived at Fire Cloud Stronghold; this stronghold is not easy to deal with, keep an eye out later." Ye Xiaosan accepted the Spirit Stones with satisfaction and instructed Ye Xiaowu.