189: Chapter 188 Chen Erniu's Test

Heavenly Sword Sect.

Outer Sect courtyard.

Qin Changsheng's figure quietly landed in the small courtyard.

At this moment, Qin Changsheng also breathed a long sigh of relief.

Although this treasure hunt was somewhat perilous,

he had still returned safely.

This trip to the Lin family in Liuhuo Prefecture could be called perfect.

Qin Changsheng walked to the stone table and sat down, slowly closing his eyes to review the entire process of the operation.

From sensing Chen Erniu's abnormality and sending Wang Cheng to Liuhuo Prefecture, to eavesdropping on the secret message about the qiankun token, and then to laying out the dual-track strategy.

Having Hu Nan draw attention and Wang Cheng block Chen Erniu, while he took the opportunity to infiltrate the ancestral hall to seize the qiankun token, and finally evacuating smoothly—every step was precise and perfectly linked.

Admittedly, the operation was not without losses; the Incarnation Hu Nan self-destructed in the secret passage, and the Incarnation Wang Cheng dissipated in the ancestral hall, resulting in the loss of both Clones.

But Qin Changsheng didn't care about this at all.

Because they were Qin Changsheng's Incarnations, and they only required two ordinary Spirit Stones to be summoned again; to him, it was merely a negligible expenditure.

Once his mood had settled slightly, Qin Changsheng raised his hand with a wave.

In the next instant, three items appeared out of thin air nearby.

Two round, full Golden Core Yao Beast Inner Cores shimmering with a faint golden spiritual light, and one qiankun token.

As for these Inner Cores, Qin Changsheng still needed to give one to Chen Erniu.

After all, this was the agreed-upon reward.

The qiankun token was a rare treasure.

He only needed to collect four qiankun tokens to go to the Qiankun Pavilion in the East Sea Cultivation World to Cultivate Divine Abilities.

Although Qin Changsheng didn't know how to get to the East Sea yet,

he believed there must be a way.

Otherwise, Chen Erniu wouldn't care so much about the qiankun token.

At the same time, Qin Changsheng also felt somewhat fortunate.

Fortunately, he had seen through Chen Erniu's scheme early on.

If Qin Changsheng hadn't seen through Chen Erniu's scheme, this qiankun token would likely have already fallen into Chen Erniu's hands.

With a wave of his hand, a Spirit Stone appeared in Qin Changsheng's palm.

As Qin Changsheng chanted an incantation, a golden light appeared nearby.

In the next instant, Wang Cheng's figure appeared nearby.

"Return to the Spirit Stone Mine!" Qin Changsheng waved his hand.

Wang Cheng cupped his hands and quickly disappeared from the spot.

...

Half a month later, a special guest arrived at Hu Nan's courtyard.

This special guest was Chen Erniu.

Seeing Chen Erniu's arrival, Hu Nan greeted him very warmly: "Brother Chen, please come in!"

Chen Erniu didn't respond immediately, only nodding slightly, his gaze very covertly sizing up Hu Nan.

Hu Nan seemed not to notice anything and very warmly led Chen Erniu to the table.

"Come, Brother Chen, have some tea!" Hu Nan handed a cup of Spiritual Tea to Chen Erniu.

Chen Erniu took a sip of tea, his gaze resting on Hu Nan once more.

Hu Nan took the initiative to ask: "Brother Chen, you keep staring at me like this, is there something improper about me?"

Hearing Hu Nan's question, Chen Erniu finally spoke: "Brother Hu, what fine methods you have."

Qin Changsheng, far away in the Outer Sect courtyard, instantly knew that this was Chen Erniu's probe.

After all, more than half a month ago, he had been one step ahead of Chen Erniu and snatched the qiankun token.

And Hu Nan, who was collaborating with Chen Erniu, naturally became a target of suspicion.

Qin Changsheng controlled Hu Nan to say: "Brother Chen, you joke. What 'fine methods' are there to speak of? It was just good luck that I found a Breakthrough point."

After speaking, Hu Nan glanced at Chen Erniu and then said: "On the other hand, Brother Chen, you weren't very fair. At the time, you only told me to sneak into the secret room to get the core, but you didn't tell me at all that there were Warning Fireworks in the secret passage. It almost caused me to be cornered by the Lin family; I only managed to escape by a stroke of luck."

Hearing this, a flash of doubt crossed Chen Erniu's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Brother Hu, do not blame me. This was indeed my oversight. When I was scouting the Lin family's defenses earlier, I only checked the location and defenses of the secret room. I never imagined the Lin family would actually set up Warning Fireworks in the secret passage. Otherwise, I would have certainly informed you in advance and would never have let you fall into danger."

His words were airtight, explaining away his 'oversight' while cleverly avoiding his true purpose.

Qin Changsheng naturally knew that Chen Erniu had known about those Warning Fireworks all along.

Chen Erniu had intentionally not told Hu Nan so that Hu Nan would attract the attention of the Lin family's experts.

This was meant to allow him to seize the qiankun token easily.

"Then it seems I have wronged Brother Chen!" Hu Nan said.

By the stone table, Hu Nan and Chen Erniu sat opposite each other, seemingly enjoying a pleasant conversation filled with pleasantries, but the underlying probes and confrontations never ceased.

The masked sword expert outside the ancestral hall half a month ago was a Heart Demon that Chen Erniu could not let go of.

If that sword expert hadn't blocked him,

the qiankun token in the ancestral hall would have already been his.

After a moment of silence, Chen Erniu picked up the Spiritual Tea on the table, took a light sip, and then said: "Brother Hu, during the chaos at the Lin family in Liuhuo Prefecture half a month ago, you luckily escaped, so you must have seen many of the Lin family's Cultivators. I have something I'd like to ask you; I wonder if you know a sword expert from the Lin family?"

Hearing Chen Erniu's words, Qin Changsheng naturally knew who that sword expert was.

That person was Qin Changsheng's Incarnation, Wang Cheng.

Hu Nan shook his head slightly and said: "I don't know much about the Lin family, and I don't know of any sword expert!"

After saying this, Hu Nan waved his hand, and a round, full Golden Core Yao Beast Inner Core shimmering with a faint golden spiritual light appeared in his hand.

Hu Nan gently placed the Inner Core on the stone table and pushed it toward Chen Erniu: "Brother Chen, on that day we agreed to sneak into the Lin family together to get the cores, and the cores obtained would be split equally between us."

Seeing this, Chen Erniu was not polite at all and directly put the Inner Core into his Storage Pouch.

"Brother Hu, do you know who it was that drew Lin Zhentian's attention that day?" Chen Erniu asked again.

"I don't!" Hu Nan shook his head slightly.

Chen Erniu asked a few more follow-up questions, all regarding the Lin family.

But Hu Nan consistently responded without a leak, every sentence being reasonable and logical.

After probing repeatedly for a long time and seeing that Hu Nan's answers were always impeccable, Chen Erniu had no other choice.

He knew that continuing to probe would yield no further results.

Thinking of this, Chen Erniu slowly stood up and cupped his hands toward Hu Nan: "It's getting late; I shall take my leave first."

Hu Nan also immediately stood up, returned the gesture, and said in a bright tone: "Brother Chen is too polite."

Chen Erniu nodded slightly, said nothing more, and quickly dashed off into the distance.

Watching Chen Erniu's departing figure, the smile on Qin Changsheng's face gradually faded, and his eyes returned to calmness.

He wasn't surprised by Chen Erniu's suspicion.

After all, Chen Erniu was the Reincarnation of a Soul Transformation Stage powerhouse; his intellect and insight were far beyond what an ordinary Cultivator could compare to.

At the same time, Qin Changsheng also understood that Chen Erniu obtaining an invitation to enter the Sword Imperial Pool of the Sword Villa was absolutely not for an Earth-Grade Low Grade longsword.