98: Chapter 98: It was definitely worth the trip.

The cluster of eerie light hovered in the air for a moment before slowly contracting, returning to the iron box within a few breaths.

He sized it up cautiously and found that the black light didn't seem to be harmful.

Thus, he carefully felt his way over. His courage gradually grew as he walked back to the side of the iron box.

Looking down, he saw a six-foot-long precious saber lying quietly inside the box.

The blade was a foot wide, engraved with mysterious totemic patterns, and the edge gleamed with a silvery light.

It was just that... this saber looked a bit off.

The entire blade was wreathed in black mist, its special effects maxed out, looking as if it had grown a thick layer of black fur!

"Whoa, this is pretty flashy!"

Chun Xiaobai clicked his tongue in wonder and reached out to grab the saber in his hand.

In the next instant, his entire body suddenly sank!

"Holy crap! So heavy!"

He discovered to his horror that this unremarkable-looking saber actually weighed at least five thousand catties!

"Dammit! This couldn't be a Heaven Rank Magical Artifact, could it?"

One had to know that other treasures would turn into scrap metal after ten thousand years, but this saber—aside from growing a layer of black fur—completely outclassed any Magical Artifact he had ever seen in terms of both design and feel!

In his excitement, Chun Xiaobai gave it a casual swing!

Swoosh—

A solid, pitch-black Saber Qi instantly burst from the blade, slashing fiercely into the opposite cave wall!

Boom!

Stone chips flew everywhere as a terrifying gash ten feet deep was forcibly carved into the cave wall; rubble from the ceiling began to rain down.

"Crap! It's not going to collapse, is it?"

Chun Xiaobai was startled, but fortunately, it was just some unstable rubble falling; the cave showed no signs of collapsing.

He looked down at the large saber in his hand, his eyes burning with fervor.

He could clearly feel that by holding this saber, his strength had increased by at least twofold!

With this one strike, even a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator might not be able to withstand it!

However... this pitch-black appearance still felt a bit off.

"Holy crap!"

He suddenly thought of something and shuddered in fright, his hand shaking as he dropped the large saber directly onto the ground.

"Dammit, this couldn't be a demonic tool, could it?!"

Chun Xiaobai took a few steps back, cautiously sizing up the black saber on the ground.

No kidding, this thing really looked like those monstrous Devil Heads described in the storybooks collected by Black Wind Stronghold—wreathed in black mist and looking utterly evil.

Although he didn't sense any evil aura, this constantly flickering black light was no different from being shrouded in black mist; it truly made one's heart tremble.

However, he had only heard about so-called "Devil Heads" a few times from storybooks and from that fat guy Fang Yuan's mouth.

To be honest, he had never seen what a Devil Head actually looked like.

"Then... is this a demonic tool or not?"

He knew that the word "Devil" was an absolute taboo in the cultivation world, a type of existence that everyone was duty-bound to kill.

In other words, if this really was a demonic tool and he went around carrying it, he would likely be hunted down by the entire cultivation world once discovered.

Thinking of this, Chun Xiaobai bent his waist and, with a swift motion, picked the black saber up from the ground.

"Screw it!"

"This Great King fears nothing in heaven or earth, I only fear having no money to spend!"

"Being hunted down is nothing!"

"In this line of work, who isn't being hunted down every day?"

"When you have too many lice, you stop itching; what's there to be afraid of!"

Actually, it wasn't that he was truly so stubborn that he didn't fear death, but rather he found that holding this weapon gave him a sense of intimacy, as if they were connected by blood, making him reluctant to just leave it on the ground.

Along this journey, he had seized hundreds of weapons, and every single one of them held him back; not only could they not bring out his strength, they actually placed great restrictions on him.

But this saber was different!

Holding it in his hand, he could clearly feel his strength double!

Not by ten percent, but a full double!

This meant his attack power had received a direct +100% boost.

How could he possibly give up such an incredible thing?

"Who cares if it's a demonic tool! I'll just find some Materials later to give it a coating and hide this black light!"

"Hahaha!"

"This Great King really is a Genius!"

Chun Xiaobai weighed the black saber in his hand with satisfaction. Looking at the six "statues" before him again, they suddenly seemed much more pleasing to the eye.

As expected, it wasn't a wasted trip!

He could feel that the value of this single large saber alone was several times more than all the business he had done previously combined!

"Well, seeing as you've contributed so much, I'll give you some preferential treatment so you don't get backaches from standing too long."

In his joy, Chun Xiaobai gave a broad wave of his hand and carried the six "statues" into the depths of the cave, arranging them one by one into cross-legged sitting positions.

After finishing all this, he looked over the six people again and casually stripped the Sect robes off one of the blue-robed Disciples, putting them on himself.

Looking in a bronze mirror, he found his entire temperament had changed once more.

"Not bad, not bad," he stroked his chin vainly, "As expected, when a person is handsome, they look good in any clothes."

"When This Great King becomes an Immortal Emperor and collects three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines, won't it be a breeze?"

...

Having settled everything, Chun Xiaobai stuffed all the items into his Storage Pouch, then put all those items into that Profound Rank Storage Pouch. Hanging it from his waist, he swaggered out of the cave.

Before leaving, he slapped a second-rank "Leveling Talisman" on the cave entrance, sealing it completely. Only then did he contentedly resume his "mountain patrol" journey.

He hadn't gone far when he ran into another small team.

Using his old trick, he flashed behind the leader, immobilized them, carried them off, and returned to the cave to strip them clean.

"It's passable."

After counting the spoils, in addition to various Magical Artifacts, he had gained another thirty thousand Spirit Stones and over a hundred stalks of Spirit Medicine.

Next, he changed directions several times and used the same method to carry off four more "bellwethers." The Spirit Stones in his Storage Pouch increased by another fifty thousand, and he gained over eighty more stalks of Spirit Medicine.

After plundering these fat sheep, Chun Xiaobai patted his rear and continued patrolling the mountain.

However, as the day passed, he noticed that aside from Fang Yuan, not a single one of those guys he had "incorporated" had sent back any news.

"Dammit!" he muttered as he walked. "If they aren't cronies I trained personally, they really are unreliable!"

"These guys might have actually run off with This Great King's treasures!"

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly ran into a group of people.

There were about twenty people in this group, led by an Early Foundation Establishment Stage Disciple.

Chun Xiaobai lost interest the moment he saw this setup.

But the leading Disciple walked over quickly, looking at the blue robes on Chun Xiaobai, and asked doubtfully.

"Eh? Is this Senior Brother from the Batian Sect?"

"Huh?"

Chun Xiaobai was stunned. He looked behind himself and saw no one, only then realizing the other person was talking to him.