Chapter 396 - 169: Volatilization

Chapter 396: Chapter 169: Volatilization

’My chance is here!’

After orchestrating the whole affair, Nie Yun’s goal had been to make them fight. Seeing them now locked in a fierce battle, he smiled faintly. With a few leaps, he arrived at the previous courtyard and vaulted through the hole he had dug.

A moment later, he was once again in front of the Treasure Vault.

’You two can keep fighting up there. I’ll just help myself to the treasure first!’

With the Profound Jade Sword in hand, Nie Yun held nothing back. He unleashed a powerful slash.

BOOM!

Rubble flew as a gaping hole appeared in the underground chamber.

’There’s way more treasure here than at Muaixia Manor, and this gourd is even bigger!’

Entering through the hole, Nie Yun immediately spotted a larger gourd straight ahead. It was half as tall as a man and emanated the same aura as the previous one—an aura that made one’s muscles twitch as if they might leap out of the skin at any moment.

’Connect with the jade tablet... grab!’

Repeating his previous trick, Nie Yun took out a jade tablet to communicate with the gourd. With a powerful grab, he used all his strength and, in the blink of an eye, stored the large gourd in the Zihua Cave Mansion.

’I’ll take all the treasures here, too! Spirit Stones, Elixirs, Spiritual Soldiers... I’ve struck it rich!’

After stowing the gourd, he gave the room a quick scan. He found that there wasn’t a single Royal Family’s Top-Grade Weapon; instead, there were hundreds of Spiritual Soldiers. There were also tens of thousands of Low-Grade Spirit Stones and two to three hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. He let out an excited cry as his Mid-Stage Spirit Level soul swept through the room, clearing it out in the blink of an eye!

’Time to go. That old codger Mu Ruo is about to lose his mind!’

After clearing everything out, Nie Yun looked up through the ground with his Celestial Eye. He saw that breaking into the secret chamber had already alerted Mu Ruo. At this moment, Mu Ruo couldn’t be bothered with fighting Mu Qi anymore and was rushing over.

However, Mu Qi wasn’t about to let him leave, pursuing him relentlessly and attacking with all his might.

"Mu Qi, you old bastard! You deliberately provoked me into a fight just to steal from my Treasure Vault! I’ll fight you to the death today!"

"You’re the thief crying ’thief’! You killed my grandson, yet you claim I robbed your Treasure Vault! You’re fucking looking for death! When did I rob your Treasure Vault? As if I’d want anything from your vault!"

The two masters were locked in a stalemate, their roars like a crashing tide. Clashing Martial Arts and boiling Mana lit up the sky like radiant fireworks, illuminating the entire Ancient City.

Nie Yun glanced at the battle. Although they were evenly matched, he knew that if Mu Ruo was determined to leave, he would be here soon. Without hesitation, Nie Yun shot back out through the tunnel he had created.

As he went, he collapsed the tunnel behind him. At the same time, he used the Profound Jade Sword to unleash Sword Qi in all directions, carving out new tunnels only to collapse them immediately after.

This created a chaotic mess of countless forks in the path. Even if his pursuers found the entrance, it would take them forever to track him down.

After covering all his tracks, Nie Yun left the small courtyard and returned to his own Lixuan Pavilion.

’Heh, I’ll let Mu Jie continue to impersonate me here. I’m going back to study the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water!’

Injecting another stream of Disguise Qi into Mu Jie’s body, Nie Yun flickered and entered the Zihua Cave Mansion.

The Zihua Cave Mansion was a type of Magical Treasure that could freely change its size. After entering, Nie Yun could shrink it down to a speck of dust, so small that even a Primordial Saint Realm expert might not find it even with a careful soul sweep.

Inside the Zihua Cave Mansion.

Nie Yun stood before the two gourds.

’Hm? Something feels wrong. Why has the aura from these gourds weakened so much?’

As he approached the two gourds, Nie Yun immediately noticed that something was amiss.

The two gourds continuously emitted an aura that excited the muscles, acting like a stimulant that revitalized one’s Spirit and quickened the flow of Qi and blood.

But now, for some reason, this exhilarating aura was weaker than it had been outside.

Although the change was minuscule, who was Nie Yun? His soul had reached the Mid-Stage Spirit Level. He could tell the difference between two strands of hair, let alone a change in an aura like this.

He had only just placed the gourds in the Zihua Cave Mansion, yet their aura had already diminished significantly. If this continued, wouldn’t the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water inside soon lose all its effectiveness?

"Mu Xia, do you sense anything unusual?"

Fearing he was mistaken, Nie Yun quickly called Mu Xia over.

"It seems like the aura from the gourds is gradually weakening..." Mu Xia sensed it for a moment and also noticed something was wrong.

"That’s right, it is weakening!" Seeing that she sensed it too, Nie Yun was puzzled.

’After I entered their Treasure Vault, I just took the gourds directly. There was nothing special about it, so why is this happening?’

"I think I heard that Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water dissipates when it’s exposed to air. It has to be stored in something special, but I don’t know what that is," Mu Xia said, recalling what she knew.

’It needs to be stored in something special? That must be these two gourds. I didn’t transfer it to anything else... Wait, could it be those black stones?’

Halfway through his thought, a flash of insight struck Nie Yun as he suddenly remembered something.

The secret chambers in both Dieyi Manor and Muaixia Manor that held the gourds were built from those stones that even his Celestial Eye couldn’t see through. ’Could that be the key?’

If that was the case, it would explain the warning Restrictions placed in Dieyi Manor’s underground chamber!

The black stones prevented the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water from dissipating. If even the tiniest crack appeared, this precious treasure would vanish completely. To prevent any mishaps, it was only natural to set up such dense warning Restrictions.

It was like a water tank; if it developed a leak, no matter how small the crack, a single anthole could collapse a great dike, leading to irreversible losses.

’Back then, I didn’t think the black stones were anything special, so I didn’t take them. Mu Ruo and Mu Qi’s fight should be about over by now. Am I supposed to go back and steal again? But if I don’t, this Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water will eventually dissipate completely... What should I do?’

Understanding the situation, Nie Yun felt a wave of frustration, unsure of what to do.

He had set up this scheme to bait the two Manor Masters into fighting. Their battle should be over by now. Rushing over recklessly would be like turning himself in. Forget about stealing the black stones, he’d probably be hunted down by everyone the moment he showed his face.

The Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water was as heavy as Mount Tai. Without comprehending its mysteries and establishing a spiritual connection with it, one couldn’t even use a single drop without being crushed to death, let alone give it to others. What good would it be then?

But if he didn’t go, all the Spirit Rhinoceros Spring Water he had worked so hard to steal, which he planned to use to increase the vitality of his younger brother’s muscles, would probably evaporate completely before he even had a chance to use it.

For a moment, Nie Yun was caught in a dilemma.

’Hmm, that’s right! I just killed Mu Yan. I can disguise myself as him and head over to check things out. Maybe I can steal some of those black stones while I’m at it!’

An idea struck him. The Disguise Qi swirled, and his appearance changed once again, transforming him into Mu Yan.

There were no such things as Soul Jade Scrolls in this place. Although Mu Yan was dead, no one knew it yet. This was the perfect opportunity for him to use Mu Yan’s identity to get things done.

Exiting the Zihua Cave Mansion, Nie Yun quietly left Lixuan Pavilion and flew toward the Manor Master’s Courtyard.

This time, he didn’t conceal his aura. After all, Mu Yan was the butler of Dieyi Manor. With such a major incident happening in the clan, it would be more suspicious if he didn’t show up.

He traveled openly, encountering many people along the way. Nie Yun didn’t speak, merely giving casual nods as he continued forward.

Just as he expected, the battle between Mu Ruo and Mu Qi was over. The Manor Master’s Courtyard was now in ruins. The air was thick with the smell of battle, and the unique power of the Primordial Saint Realm still lingered, seeming as if it could ignite at any moment.

"So what if your family’s Treasure Vault was robbed? What the hell does that have to do with me? If you want to pin this on me, you’d better see if your fists are hard enough first!"

Before even entering the courtyard, he heard a loud roar. The voice was filled with anger, but even more so with glee, as if the speaker was delighted that Dieyi Manor’s Treasure Vault had been robbed.

"You... City Lord, you must see justice done for me! This incident today is definitely related to him! He has struck at the very foundation of Dieyi Manor. This is a feud to the death!"

Another long cry followed, this one thick with intense hatred, as if the speaker wished he could flay the thief and pull out their bones.

’The City Lord? No wonder they stopped fighting. It seems the City Lord has arrived...’

Hearing the exchange, Nie Yun knew the two of them had caused such a commotion that they had alerted the City Lord.

The City Lord’s Soul Realm was the same as his own. If he appeared in his disguise, the City Lord definitely wouldn’t be able to see through it, so there was nothing to fear.

"Alright, both of you, stop arguing. I believe you have fallen into someone else’s trap. This person impersonated Mu Ruo to go to Muaixia Manor and kill Mu Xiang, then came here to divert the blame and seize the opportunity to steal the treasure. What a deep scheme, what formidable methods!"

As expected of the City Lord. After hearing their explanations and pondering for a moment, he understood the crux of the matter and spoke slowly.

’This guy is really something.’

Nie Yun, listening from the outside, nodded to himself.

What he had done wasn’t overly complicated, but for the City Lord to figure it out so quickly showed that he was no simple character.

"We fell into someone’s trap? Damn it! Which one of you did this?"

Neither Mu Ruo nor Mu Qi were fools. After hearing the City Lord’s explanation, they thought for a moment and came to a realization. Their eyes swept over the remaining people, their voices chilling.

The Five Great Manors each governed their own affairs. They were amicable on the surface but schemed behind each other’s backs. This "one stone, two birds" plan that made Dieyi and Muaixia fight while the others reaped the rewards was truly vicious.

"Heh, you two dogs are biting each other. Don’t drag me into it. I was sleeping just now and was rudely awakened by the two of you!"

"Me too. Two old men of your age, tricked by such a simple ploy. I think you might as well give up on living and just go jump in a cesspool to drown!"

"What a disgrace. If you want to make accusations, find some evidence first. Without evidence, it’s all just bullshit. We don’t have the time to entertain your nonsense!"

The other three Manor Masters were no pushovers either. Seeing the hostile tone of Mu Ruo and Mu Qi, they each snorted coldly.

"I don’t care which one of you did it! If I find out, I’ll make sure you don’t have it easy, even if it’s the last thing I do!

Looking at the completely looted underground chamber through the tunnel, tears streamed down Mu Ruo’s face as he shrieked in anger.

Damn it, who the hell did this? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)