18: Chapter 18 Black Wind Stronghold Bandits and Cultivators

In the Wang Family mansion, inside the study, the candlelight was dim.

Retainer reported everything that happened in the Gu Mansion to Family Head exactly as it occurred.

When he heard that Gu Yan was not only at Qi Refining Stage 2 but that his strength was even above his own, Family Head sat upright in his grand chair, remaining silent for a long time.

His fingers tapped unconsciously on the tabletop, making a "du, du" sound.

Retainer stood below, head lowered, intentionally slowing his breathing. He could feel what kind of terrifying storm was brewing beneath the calm exterior of his master.

For a long time, Family Head's tapping stopped.

"Qi Refining Stage 2..." He slowly opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, "Good, a good Gu Yan, a good Immortal Fate!"

Although he said "good," there was not a hint of joy in his eyes.

He had originally thought that Gu Yan was just a beginner who had gotten lucky and stumbled into the First Level of Qi Refining. With the Qi Refining Stage 2 cultivation of his Wang Family Guest Elder, Retainer, it should have been easy to handle him.

But he never expected that the opponent's strength would also reach Qi Refining Stage 2!

This meant that relying solely on the Wang Family's own power, it was no longer possible to deal with the Gu Family.

Could it be that he should just stop here?

This thought only lingered in Family Head's mind for a moment before he ruthlessly extinguished it.

Impossible!

A secret that could make a person return to their youth, that could allow a Useless Spirit Root to Cultivate to Qi Refining Stage 2 in just a few short days...

This temptation was simply too great!

So great that it was enough to make him bet the entire livelihood and life of the Wang Family!

Since he couldn't do it himself, then... borrow a knife to kill!

In Family Head's eyes, a ruthless and incomparable determination flashed.

He stood up, walked to the hidden compartment in the study, and amidst the sound of mechanisms turning, took out a heavy black iron box from inside.

He placed the box on the table and opened it.

Inside the box, there were no gold or jewelry, only rows of neatly arranged... Spirit Stones.

A full one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

This was the entire fortune that his Wang Family had accumulated over generations, their bottom-of-the-box savings. It was the Immortal Fate he had prepared to use to break through to the Qi Refinement Stage and pave his own path.

But now, he could not afford to care about that.

"Guest Elder Retainer." Family Head's voice became unusually calm.

"What are your orders, Family Head?" Retainer hurriedly bowed.

"Tonight, you will personally take this 'generous gift,' secretly leave the city, and make a trip to Heifeng Mountain."

Hearing the three words "Heifeng Mountain," Retainer's pupils contracted violently, and the blood drained from his face.

As a Loose Cultivator who had been hanging around the outskirts of Luoyun Town, he knew better than anyone what Heifeng Mountain represented.

It was not the den of ordinary mountain bandits.

It was the lair of a group of... Bandit Cultivators who killed without blinking and made a living by plundering Cultivators!

Especially the bandit leader "Chief," who was a ruthless character at Qi Refining Level 5! There were at least eight or ten Cultivators who had died at his hands.

Going there was no different from seeking a tiger's skin!

"Family Head... please think twice!" Retainer's voice was trembling slightly, "The people of Black Wind Stronghold are all evil wolves that eat people without spitting out the bones! If they are allowed to enter the town..."

"My mind is made up." Family Head interrupted him, his tone unquestionable.

He walked to Retainer's side, patted his shoulder, his voice lowered and full of temptation.

"Wealth is sought in danger."

"As long as the Gu Family is destroyed, the secret on that old thing will be ours! By then, let alone you and me, the entire Wang Family will be able to rise to glory!"

"You tell Chief that I, Family Head, am willing to offer these one hundred Spirit Stones, plus all the Gu Family's fields and shops, and... those two beautiful women of the Gu Family, to request his help in doing one thing for me."

"Slaughter the entire Gu Family, leave none alive!"

He said the last eight words lightly, yet they carried a bone-chilling coldness.

Retainer looked at the near-insane greed and determination in Family Head's eyes and knew that further persuasion would be useless.

He gritted his teeth and finally took the heavy iron box.

"Yes, Family Head. I... will go right now."

Thirty miles outside Luoyun Town, Heifeng Mountain.

The terrain here was steep and rugged, with jagged rocks, shrouded in a thin layer of miasma all year round.

Halfway up the mountain, a stronghold built of giant wood and mountain stones resembled a crouching Vicious Beast under the moonlight.

Inside the stronghold, fires soared to the sky, and the sound of people was deafening.

The air was filled with the strong smell of alcohol, the charred aroma of roasted meat, and... an indelible scent of blood.

Inside the Great Hall, dozens of fierce bandits with bare chests and faces full of fat were gathered around a bonfire, eating meat in large mouthfuls and drinking wine from large bowls.

Each of them carried a fierce Evil Qi.

At their feet lay several disheveled female corpses, discarded casually, obviously poor souls who had just been humiliated to death.

At the very head of the Great Hall, on a massive stone chair covered with a whole tiger skin, sat a burly man as sturdy as an iron tower.

He was bare-chested, revealing muscles bulging like mountain rocks, and a hideous scar on his chest extended from his left shoulder to his right abdomen.

This person was the head of Black Wind Stronghold, the Bandit Cultivator at Qi Refining Level 5, Chief!

He was holding a wine cup polished from the skull of an unknown creature and drank the scarlet wine inside in one gulp.

"Report—!"

A lackey came running in, rolling and crawling.

"Big Boss, outside the stronghold... outside the stronghold, there is a person claiming to be a Guest Elder of the Wang Family in Luoyun Town, saying... saying he has a huge deal to discuss with you!"

"Wang Family?" Chief put down his wine cup, his copper bell-like eyes filled with contempt, "What kind of huge deal can that bunch of local rich landlords in the town have? I won't see him! Tell him to get lost!"

"Big... Big Boss, he said... he brought one hundred... Spirit Stones!"

"Hmm?"

Chief's massive body sat up straight abruptly.

The entire Great Hall instantly fell silent.

The gazes of all the fierce bandits turned in unison toward the door.

One hundred Spirit Stones!

This number, for this group of Bandit Cultivators who licked blood off the edge of a knife, was undoubtedly a massive fortune that would drive them crazy!

Chief licked his lips, his eyes erupting with greedy light.

"Interesting."

"Let him... come in!"

Soon, Retainer, whose face was somewhat pale, was "invited" in by two fierce bandits.

Watching the mess and corpses all over the floor, smelling the pungent scent of blood in the air, he forced down the churning in his stomach and bowed respectfully to Chief at the head.

"Loose Cultivator Retainer, greets Lord Chief."

Chief did not speak, but merely examined him from head to toe with a scrutinizing gaze, a gaze that was like looking at a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Retainer felt his scalp tingle under his gaze. Not daring to play any more games, he hurriedly explained Family Head's plan exactly as it was, and opened the iron box in his hand, revealing the neatly arranged Spirit Stones inside.

The moment he saw the Spirit Stones, Chief's breathing became noticeably heavier.

"One hundred Spirit Stones, all the Gu Family's properties, and two women..." Chief rubbed his stubbly chin and sneered, "Just to kill a mere Qi Refining Stage 2?"

"That old brat Family Head is certainly willing to spend capital."

"Lord Chief, please see clearly!" Retainer hurriedly said, "There is a big secret on Gu Yan! It can not only make one return to their youth but also allow a Useless Spirit Root to Cultivate to Qi Refining Stage 2 in just a few short days! As long as you, Lord Chief, can take him down, the secret on him..."

"Will all be mine, right?" Chief interrupted him, his greed even greater.

"Exactly!"

"Good!" Chief slapped the armrest of the stone chair violently and stood up, his massive body casting a huge shadow.

"This deal, my Black Wind Stronghold, accepts!"

"You go back and tell Family Head to have the silver and land deeds ready. Three nights from now, I will personally lead people to trample the Gu Family!"

"By then, I want the whole of Luoyun Town to know the consequences of offending my Black Wind Stronghold!"