62: Chapter 62 Entrapment and Unexpected Fortune

Looking at the female Cultivator who was tied up tightly by green vines like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, the "kind" smile on Lin Cangchen's face became even brighter.

He walked leisurely to a relatively flat blue stone nearby, sat down, and casually took out a spirit fruit he hadn't finished eating from his Storage Pouch.

With a "crunch," he took a bite, and the juice overflowed.

Hmm, watching a show and eating a snack—even interrogations need a bit of ceremony, right?

The female Cultivator slowly regained consciousness. The sharp pain from her Dantian and the weakness of having lost all her cultivation made her wake up instantly, followed immediately by boundless fear.

She looked at the young man sitting not far away, eating a spirit fruit leisurely, as if he weren't the same person who had cleanly killed her accomplice outside just moments ago and then walked in to cripple her Dantian with a single finger.

How could this be an inexperienced, easily deceived young descendant of a Family? This was clearly a little devil!

"Awake?" Lin Cangchen swallowed the fruit pulp in his mouth, his tone as relaxed as if he were chatting about daily life.

"Let's talk. What's your name? What about that unlucky guy outside? Which mountain are you from? How many people came? Why did you target my Emerald Chirp Lake?"

The female Cultivator's lips trembled, her face as pale as paper. The instinct to survive made her want to struggle a bit more: "Little... Little Fellow Daoist, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding! We... we were just being chased by enemies, with nowhere else to go..."

"Tsk." Lin Cangchen interrupted her with disdain, pointing at the jade box she had taken out to act earlier with the hand holding the spirit fruit.

"'Centennial Purple-Bearded Ginseng'? You prepared your props quite thoroughly.

Also, that person outside—the timing and distance of chasing you were mastered with such precision.

Your acting skills... if we were back in our... ahem, if we were in a mortal theater troupe, you'd be considered quite a good pair."

He stood up, walked to the female Cultivator, crouched down, and looked at her with those clear (though bottomless in her eyes) eyes: "My patience is limited.

You've seen it, I'm quite decisive in killing.

If you say one more word of nonsense, I'll throw you into the lake to feed those Black-Toothed Arrowfish.

They don't care if you're a Cultivator, and they're probably quite interested in your flesh right now."

In sync with his words, a few strange splashes seemed to come from the depths of Emerald Chirp Lake, adding to the terrifying atmosphere.

The female Cultivator trembled all over, her psychological defense completely collapsing.

She finally understood: although this young man was young, his thoughts were more meticulous than an old fox, and his methods were even more ruthless.

He was absolutely not someone she could fool.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" She said with a sobbing voice, spilling the beans like bamboo beans pouring from a tube: "My name is Liu Sanniang, and the one outside is called Hu Biao... We... we are people from 'Black Evil'..."

"'Black Evil'?" Lin Cangchen raised an eyebrow; the name did have a bit of a villainous flair.

According to Liu Sanniang's confession, this "Black Evil" was a fixed Bandit Cultivator group with seven members in total.

The leader's code name was "Black Evil," and his cultivation was the highest, at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.

Besides Hu Biao, a Qi Refining Fifth Layer who had already been finished off by Lin Cangchen, and Liu Sanniang, a Qi Refining Third Layer in front of him, the remaining four were: a Qi Refining Third Layer Cultivator (responsible for keeping watch and doing odd jobs), two Qi Refining Fifth Layers (Hu Biao's partners), and a Sixth Level of Qi Refining deputy leader.

They usually operated on the outskirts of Sunset Glow Market and the desolate area between Qingshi Town and Sunset Glow Market, specifically targeting lone or seemingly weak Loose Cultivator or small Family Cultivators.

They killed for goods and committed all kinds of evil.

This time, targeting Emerald Chirp Lake was purely an accident.

The Qi Refining Third Layer Cultivator responsible for keeping watch in their group had accidentally seen Lin Cangchen, a half-grown child, entering and leaving Emerald Chirp Lake alone a few days ago.

The location was remote, and there was a suspected Formation protecting it (he had seen a faint spiritual light), so he got an idea.

After reporting back, the leader "Black Evil" thought this was a soft persimmon.

A little kid at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining—what kind of schemes or combat power could he have?

He was probably a rookie sent out by the Family for training, and he might even have some wealth on him.

So, he sent Liu Sanniang, who looked the best at acting and was the easiest to make people lower their guard, along with Hu Biao, whose strength was enough to crush a Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, to perform a "chase scene," trick the Formation open, and work from inside and outside to take it easily.

Hearing this, Lin Cangchen felt a lingering fear, followed by a surge of relief.

"Fortunately, only two came... If that Sixth Level of Qi Refining or Qi Refining Seventh Layer had come personally, I would probably have had to rely on the Thick Earth Bedrock Formation to hold out and find a way to ask the Family for help."

He secretly pondered, "Indeed, one doesn't fear the thief stealing, but the thief coveting.

If this group isn't eliminated, there will be no peace for my Emerald Chirp Lake!"

He asked in detail about the group's main hideouts and activity patterns.

To survive, Liu Sanniang naturally told him everything she knew, revealing several caves and abandoned mine pits where they might be hiding.

"Little... Little Fellow Daoist, I've said everything I know!

Please, spare my life!

My cultivation is already gone, I'm no threat to you anymore!

I swear I'll leave immediately and never return to Luoxia County!" Liu Sanniang begged with tears and snot streaming down her face.

Lin Cangchen looked at her, silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

"What a fine youth of the new era who follows the five stresses and four points of beauty, transmigrated here, and now destroying corpses and erasing traces has almost become a professional skill..." He muttered to himself, but his face remained expressionless.

Being kind to the enemy is being cruel to oneself.

He understood this principle.

Letting a tiger return to the mountain? That doesn't exist.

This Liu Sanniang looked pitiful now, but who knew if she would find a way to contact "Black Evil" for revenge after regaining her freedom?

Even if she didn't have the ability, leaking the news would be troublesome.

He stood up, turned his back to Liu Sanniang, and said in a flat tone: "In your next life, find an honest profession."

Before the words faded, he backhanded a Geng Metal Finger, and a flash of golden light vanished.

Liu Sanniang's pleading voice stopped abruptly, her pupils dilated, and her body went limp.

Lin Cangchen didn't look back and skillfully repeated the process of looting the corpse, Fireball Technique, and Spirit Rain washing.

Looking at the two new piles of ashes on the ground being washed away by the rain, he felt no ripples in his heart, even wanting to lament—the environment really is the primary productive force for reforming people.

After cleaning up, he finally had the mood to count the "spoils of war" this time.

First were the two Storage Pouches.

Hu Biao's space was slightly larger, nearly one cubic meter, while Liu Sanniang's was only about half a cubic meter.

Opening them, Lin Cangchen's eyes immediately lit up.

"Ho! The ancients didn't deceive me when they said killing people and setting fires brings a golden belt!"

Two First Grade, Low Rank Magical Artifacts—Hu Biao's ghost-head broadsword and Liu Sanniang's autumn water sword—were of average quality, probably only worth twenty or thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Some scattered Spiritual Plants and Ore looked of low grade, like things they had accumulated from robbing other low-level Loose Cultivators, with limited value.

But what really made Lin Cangchen's heart race was the Spirit Stones!

In Hu Biao's Storage Pouch, there were over one hundred and fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones! In Liu Sanniang's Storage Pouch, there were also nearly eighty!

Added together, that was a full two hundred and thirty-plus Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

For a Loose Cultivator at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, this was definitely a huge sum of money.

Clearly, this was the harvest from the "Black Evil" group's recent "business," which hadn't been distributed or turned over yet, just in time for Lin Cangchen to benefit.

"I'm rich, I'm rich!" Lin Cangchen happily transferred all the Spirit Stones into his own Storage Pouch, feeling his pocket instantly bulge.

Added to what he had sold the Formation Plate for and what the Family had issued, his total assets were now approaching three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones! Among Cultivators at the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, he was considered a small wealthy man.

After the excitement, he calmed down.

He looked at the two empty Storage Pouches and the pile of miscellaneous Materials, and a plan gradually took shape in his mind.

The "Black Evil" group must be eradicated!

Not just for the safety of Emerald Chirp Lake, but also to act on behalf of heaven (and incidentally make some extra money).

But relying on himself alone to deal with the remaining five, especially the leader at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer, was too risky.

He must use the power of the Family.

He immediately took out a Sound Transmission Talisman, reported the situation here, as well as the personnel composition and general activity range of the "Black Evil" group to Clan Leader LinYaozong, and requested Family support to ensure this cancer was wiped out in one go.

After doing this, he took out the Jade Slip recording the "First-Tier Complete Formation Inheritance."

Taking out this complete inheritance directly would be too shocking; after all, Hu Biao and Liu Sanniang's cultivation levels were there, and it didn't make sense for them to possess such an inheritance.

He thought for a moment and had an idea.

He took out a new blank Jade Slip, pressed it to his forehead, let his Mental Energy sink into it, and began to selectively copy the content of the "First-Tier Complete Formation Inheritance."

He copied the complete layout methods and Formation Plate refining techniques for four First Grade, Low Rank Formations: "Small Spirit Gathering Array," "Dust Mote Array," "Warning Formation," and "Bewitching Soul Array," as well as brief descriptions of the principles and breaking ideas for several common First Grade, Low Rank Formations and some first-rank middle-grade Formations.

As for deeper Formation principles and First Grade, High Grade Formation knowledge, he skipped them all.

Soon, a brand new "Incomplete first-rank middle-grade Formation Legacy" Jade Slip was completed.

The content inside was enough to allow a beginner to step into the threshold of Formations without appearing too abrupt.

"Hmm, I'll just say I found it in the corner of Hu Biao's Storage Pouch.

It was probably loot they got after robbing some Loose Cultivator who knew a bit about Formations.

They didn't know the value of it themselves, but it's my gain." Lin Cangchen put away the new Jade Slip with satisfaction.

Next, it was time to wait for the Clan Leader's reply, and... a thunderous annihilation against the "Black Evil" group.

Lin Cangchen looked toward the direction of Sunset Glow Market, his eyes slightly cold.

Want to treat me as a soft persimmon to squeeze? Then let's see whose fist is harder.