37: Don't kill Destiny's Child, he's my new put option

The deathly silence of Black Wind Valley was torn by a dying gasp.

Ye Chen's hair was disheveled, his handsome face covered in blood and dust. He leaned on a half-broken sword, and each rise and fall of his chest brought out a burning, fishy smell scent.

His Spiritual Qi was already exhausted.

Zhao Qian, opposite him, was even more miserable. One of his arms was twisted unnaturally, and the Demonic Technique of the Blood Fiend Sect had been pushed to its limit, immersing his entire body in a thin blood mist. Yet, he could no longer hide the weakness of a lamp running out of oil.

In their eyes, only a madness that burned away all reason remained.

Mutual destruction.

This seemed to be their only destination.

And it was at this moment.

A shadow slipped silently into the valley entrance.

It was a Black-Robed Man, his figure completely obscured, revealing only a pair of eyes.

A pair of eyes filled with greed and coldness.

His appearance poured cold water over the mutual killing intent of Ye Chen and Zhao Qian.

Both their bodies stiffened simultaneously.

A despair more bone-chilling than death itself shot up from their tailbones, freezing their limbs and bones.

The mantis stalks the cicada.

Now, the oriole has arrived.

“I’ll take both maps.”

The Black-Robed Man's voice was hoarse, and the pleasure of having victory in his grasp made every word feel like a hook.

He walked step by step, his Aura so oppressive that the remaining Spiritual Qi in the valley began to tremble.

In the distance, Han Yuexi, hidden behind another jagged rock Formation, frowned slightly.

The Spiritual Qi within her body subtly stirred, almost imperceptibly, as she prepared to act.

A hand, however, gently pressed down on her wrist.

It was Lu Yuan.

He had appeared beside her at some unknown moment, his expression terrifyingly calm. He simply shook his head at her.

A flicker of confusion crossed Han Yuexi's clear, cold eyes.

Lu Yuan did not explain.

He merely issued an extremely cold command in his heart.

“Exercise.”

The next moment, the ground of the entire Black Wind Valley began to tremble slightly.

Buzz—

A low hum, as if from primeval times, echoed from deep underground.

On the weathered surfaces of the rocks in the valley, faint, long-dried lines began to light up one by one.

An extremely cold and chaotic Aura surged out from the cracks in the ground on all sides.

“This is… an ancient remnant Formation!”

The Black-Robed Man let out a shriek, his steps abruptly halting. His greedy eyes were filled with shock for the first time.

He didn't even have time to react.

A dense, impenetrable gray mist instantly swallowed all light and sound in the valley.

One couldn't see one's hand in front of one's face.

Divine Sense was suppressed by this strange mist to three feet in front of one's body.

“Ah!”

A mournful scream rang out, from someone who had been ambushed by another in the absolute darkness.

Immediately after, Sword Qi and demonic flames erupted wildly in the thick fog, without target, without order, purely a chaotic release born of fear.

Ye Chen, Zhao Qian, and the Black-Robed Man were completely plunged into a frenzy of attacking each other.

Each of them became the most terrifying nightmare in the other's eyes.

Outside the mist, Han Yuexi watched this incredible scene, the astonishment in her eyes beyond words.

She looked at Lu Yuan beside her.

This man remained calm, as calm as an outsider disconnected from this world.

But Han Yuexi knew perfectly well.

The director of this play was him.

In the thick fog where one couldn't see one's hand in front of one's face, Lu Yuan's figure.

Before his eyes, everything was clear.

【Temporary Permission: Black Wind Valley Remnant Formation 'Formation Eye' perspective has been activated.】

Everyone's position, every breath deepened by fear, every wisp of Spiritual Qi futilely unleashed, was as clear in his perception as lines on his palm.

He silently approached Zhao Qian first.

This arrogant Young Lord of the Blood Fiend Sect had long since fallen unconscious, hanging on by a thread of Qi.

Lu Yuan did not hesitate in the slightest.

He extended a finger, a wisp of Spiritual Qi condensed but unreleased at its tip, and lightly, casually, tapped Zhao Qian's glabella.

Zhao Qian's body twitched subtly, then fell completely silent.

Lu Yuan reached out and took the Storage Pouch and the incomplete map from the still-warm corpse, his movements as practiced as if he had done it a thousand times.

He turned and walked toward his next target.

The Black-Robed Man.

He was currently being besieged by countless vengeful spirits conjured by the Formation, flustered and overwhelmed, his Golden Core cultivation suppressed by seventy percent.

A sword light, silent and unseen, stabbed him from behind.

The Black-Robed Man roared, abruptly turning to block.

But what he blocked was only another attack conjured by the Formation.

The true killing intent was at his feet.

A jet-black bone spike broke through the ground, piercing his heart with an absolutely cunning angle and precision.

The Black-Robed Man lowered his head, looking at the bloody hole in his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Lu Yuan's figure slowly emerged from the shadows behind him, reaching out to catch the Storage Pouch and incomplete map that fell from him.

It was as easy as picking an unnoticed wildflower by the roadside.

Finally, he arrived before Ye Chen.

This Son of Destiny was currently battling a fierce tiger condensed from mist.

Although he was in a sorry state, a faint golden light around him protected him from the Formation's fatal erosion.

Lu Yuan looked at him, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

He raised his hand.

However, just as he was about to strike, an indescribable, immense repulsion, originating from the rules of the entire world, abruptly halted his movement.

Killing this person would surely incur the wrath of the Heavenly Dao.

【Warning: Target is protected by 'Heavenly Dao Luck'. Forcibly killing will trigger unpredictable Karma backlash. Risk Rank: Extremely High.】

Lu Yuan's raised finger trembled slightly.

Then, it slowly lowered.

The murderous intent in his eyes receded, returning to the absolute calm of a still ancient well.

He did not insist.

A good trader never goes against the major market trend.

He simply stepped forward, and under Ye Chen's astonished and furious gaze, effortlessly took the last incomplete map and his Storage Pouch from his embrace.

“You!”

Ye Chen's eyes were bloodshot with rage, but he was entangled by the fierce tiger conjured by the Formation, unable to move even an inch.

Lu Yuan did not spare him another glance.

He turned, his figure merging into the thick fog, disappearing from sight.

Leaving only Ye Chen in the Formation, letting out a beast-like roar of unwillingness, humiliation, and endless venomous hatred.

In the Immortal Cave, Lu Yuan pieced together the three incomplete maps and counted the contents of the other two Storage Pouches.

The harvest far exceeded expectations.

He looked at the still high price of Ye Chen's "Future Achievement" call options on the Exchange interface, a cold arc forming at the corner of his mouth.

Killing him would be a one-time transaction, and he would have to bear the huge risk of backlash.

But not killing him, letting him live with this humiliation and hatred… he would become an excellent, repeatedly shortable, continuously profitable, high-quality target.

“This is a good business.”