Chapter 32: Baiting the Snake
Outside Yunzhong City
Lin Jiang confidently walked out of the city gate. After half a month, he decided to lure out the snake, so he made some preparations in advance. While talking to Zhang Ruifeng, the beautiful woman, and his neighbor Jiang Feng, he deliberately mentioned how expensive the rent in Yunzhong City was. He decided to look for a cave outside the city or buy a piece of land under the control of a force.
This was also the choice of many cultivators in Yunzhong City, especially those with some strength. After all, the rent in Yunzhong City was really expensive, costing four thousand spirit stones. Outside the city, you could buy a large piece of land with that amount, but in the city, it only covered one year's worth of rent.
Of course, this had advantages and disadvantages. The city was safe because the Zhonghang Sect and Cloud Sword Sect took Yunzhong City very seriously and had strict rules. If anyone dared to kill in the city, the two sects would join forces to pursue and kill them. In over a thousand years of history, there was once a Nascent Soul Ancestor who broke the rules and was chased to death by the two sects. As for those below Nascent Soul, there were countless of them, and no one had dared to kill in the city for hundreds of years.
But it was different outside the city. Safety was not as high because even under the control of certain forces, they were not as strong and didn't have enough people to manage.
Therefore, those who settled outside the city were either powerful and confident individuals, or they were locals with no other choice. Most outside cultivators lived in the city.
Lin Jiang spread the news in advance and contacted the real estate agents in the city. So when he stepped out, a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator came forward to greet him. He was the real estate agent that Lin Jiang had contacted.
With great enthusiasm, he took Lin Jiang around outside the city and introduced him to the surroundings. Within ten miles of Yunzhong City's city wall, it all belonged to Yunzhong City. No one was allowed to stay there long-term, not even trees. The view was vast, all for defense purposes.
Two hundred miles behind Yunzhong City was the Yunzhong Mountain Range. The beginning and end of the mountain range were occupied by the Zhonghang Sect and the Cloud Sword Sect. The middle part had become a place for independent cultivators to settle. The environment there was also harsh, with low spiritual energy, which was why the two sects disdained it.
So, the vast territory from the middle of the Yunzhong Mountain Range to ten miles outside of Yunzhong City was occupied by numerous small and medium-sized forces, as well as independent cultivators. It was chaotic, but in an orderly manner.
The population of Yunzhong City was increasing, and the cost of living was getting higher. Many cultivators couldn't bear it, so they could only settle outside. The stronger forces had established many cultivator villages for them to live in.
Some villages' land could not be sold, only rented out, while some could be traded depending on the rules of different powers. Therefore, professional people were needed to lead, giving birth to the real estate intermediaries in the world of cultivation.
Lin Jiang followed this person and went to see the house seriously. Of course, Lin Jiang couldn't move out, he valued his life very much. Even if he had to pay more money, he had to prioritize safety.
That night, Lin Jiang didn't return to Yunzhong City. Instead, he stayed in an inn in a village outside the city. The next morning, Lin Jiang told the real estate agent that he wanted to go back and consider, so he went back first.
"Taoist friend Jiang, Taoist friend Jiang, help!"
While flying, suddenly, a voice came from ahead. Lin Jiang looked up and saw that it was his neighbor, Jiang Feng. He looked flustered, as if being chased by someone.
"Friend of Jiang Feng, what's wrong, what's wrong?"
Lin Jiang pretended to be shocked and asked loudly.
"Taoist friend Jiang, I'm being chased, please save me!"
Jiang Feng shouted out, and as he spoke, three people appeared behind him. Judging from their aura, they were all at the later stage of Qi Refining, and there was even one person at the realm of Qi Refining Perfection.
"Hey, friend Jiang Feng, you're going to get me killed."
"Run quickly!"
"Yes, yes, run quickly!"
Like this, Lin Jiang followed Jiang Feng and ran towards the direction outside Yunzhong City.
Before long, the two flew hundreds of miles. The surrounding area was deserted mountains. Suddenly, Jiang Feng, who was next to Lin Jiang, attacked him. Since they were close, he used a crossbow arrow and shot it towards Lin Jiang's throat.
Lin Jiang was prepared early and dodged the arrow, which brushed past his neck, startling him and causing him to break into a cold sweat.
"Jiang Feng, my Taoist friend, what are you doing?"
"What am I doing? I want your life!"
Jiang Feng summoned a flying sword and attacked Lin Jiang with extremely cruel methods.
"Why? I haven't offended you!"
Lin Jiang shouted loudly, while using a shield to desperately block Jiang Feng's attacks.
"Haha, I'll answer why. Because we have targeted you, Mr. Jiang. Surrender, as your Qi Refining level seven is no match for the four of us."
A big man caught up, and the other two approached from both sides, completely surrounding Lin Jiang.
"Why are you targeting me? I haven't done anything to offend you."
Lin Jiang's acting skills burst forth as he showed a frightened and helpless expression, followed by anger. Even he wanted to give himself a round of applause for his performance.
"Stop the nonsense. It's because you have money. You live alone in a house with a rent of four thousand a year. How many years have you been living here, wasting so much of my money."
"That's my money, not yours."
"Hehe, from today onwards, it belongs to me. Stop talking."
"Jiang Feng, aren't you afraid of my sect's elders seeking revenge if you kill me?"
"Why are you pretending? I've been watching you since the first day we became neighbors. If you have any mentors or elders, why haven't they come to visit you for so many years?"
Jiang Feng said coldly, he was rich, independent, and had no friends. Wasn't he just the perfect target in their eyes, someone who could easily be taken advantage of?
"Ah, now I remember. You must be the one who killed Taoist Friend Zhang before."
"Haha, you're right. I killed him. So what? Do you want to avenge him?"
"Why are you all so ruthless? If you want spirit stones, go and earn them yourself. Why resort to robbery and murder?"
"Is this Jiang guy's brain malfunctioning? It's so difficult to make money. We don't have the luxury of time for our kind of business."
"Boss, stop wasting time with him. Who knows if someone else might come around here soon. Let's kill him, take his storage bag, and leave."
"Alright, everyone, let's attack together. We'll go to Happy Forest tonight, and I'll treat everyone."
The leader of the group chuckled, while the others, including Jiang Feng, revealed a wicked smile. Happy Forest was famous in Yunzhong City, and the women there all shared one characteristic - they were beautiful.
"Wait a moment, one final question, let me understand clearly."
"Haha, I am happy today, what do you say?"
"A while ago, two people came to kill me, did you instruct them?"
"Has someone touched our sheep, Jiang Feng?"
The leader said to Jiang Feng, who looked confused, indicating he didn't know.
Lin Jiang became even more confused, realizing that Jiang Feng and his group were not instructed by Mo Lin, but there was someone else behind them?
"Oh my, how many people are targeting me?"
Lin Jiang felt very speechless, wasn't he being low-key enough in Yunzhong City, how did he manage to provoke so many people?
"It seems our sheep are very fat, attracting the attention of others. Regardless, I'm determined to take this sheep, let's do it."
The leader hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind to take action.
In an instant, four flying swords stabbed towards Lin Jiang, sealing off every direction.
"One Sword Flying Immortal"
"Explosive Element Technique, explode for me!"
At this point, Lin Jiang stopped pretending. Tired of acting, he immediately brought out his own flying sword, activating a secret technique, the One Sword Flying Immortal.
Although Lin Jiang had only been practicing the One Sword Flying Immortal for less than a month, he only had the basics and lacked mastery. However, with the added power of the Explosive Element Technique, it still became extremely fierce. The flying sword directly knocked away the leader's flying sword, and then continued its momentum towards the leader.
The leader's face changed, and he summoned a shield spell to defend himself. "Boom!" But in the next second, the shield spell shattered, and the flying sword cut across his neck, separating his head from his body.
"Boom, boom!"
Lin Jiang activated a defensive spiritual talisman, and three flying swords stabbed at the protective shield formed by the talisman, perfectly blocking the flying swords.
"Big brother"
"Big brother"
"My plan failed, let's retreat quickly"
The three of them were extremely terrified. Their eldest brother, who had reached the advanced stage of Qi Refining, couldn't withstand a single move and was killed. How terrifying was this strength? Wasn't this supposed to be Qi Refining Level 7? It must be the Foundation Building Period.
The three of them reacted swiftly. Without saying a word, they split up and fled in three different directions.
"Big Idiot, Small Idiot, get to work and kill them"
Lin Jiang slapped his Spirit Beast Bag and released two Aurora Falcons. He had been raising them for years, even though he only fed them the cheapest spiritual beast meat and never gave them a chance to fly freely. Yet, their strength continued to increase, and they were now at the peak of the late first stage.
The Aurora Falcons, understanding human sentiment, turned into white lights and flew away. Meanwhile, Lin Jiang chased after Jiang Feng and directly threw a stack of spiritual talismans, forcing Jiang Feng to stop and defend himself.
"Taoist friend Jiang, it's a misunderstanding, all of this is a misunderstanding"
"It's a misunderstanding, but I don't misunderstand. Today I'm here to kill you."
"I'll fight you."
"Explosive Element Technique"
Lin Jiang once again used the Boom Boom Technique, sacrificing another hundred years of life force. With one swing of his sword, he cut down Jiang Feng. He didn't have time to play a slow battle with this person, anyway life force wasn't valuable.
After picking up Jiang Feng's storage bag and flying sword, Lin Jiang flew back and took the big man's storage bag and flying sword as well. Then he went to watch the intense fight between Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao.
The fight between the Aurora Falcons was very primal and simple. They would first fly high into the sky, then dive down at amazing speed, swooping past their target. With one swipe of their claws, even if the other person had summoned a magical tool, it would break into pieces.
After several rounds of this, when both of them ran out of magical tools, they were torn apart by the Aurora Falcons' piercing attack. Even their heads were shattered, it was extremely bloody.
"It's too wasteful, don't play like this next time. After breaking the magical tools, just use the bird's beak to peck. I know you can do it."
Lin Jiang said to Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao, they held back because they had been suppressed for too long. Otherwise, the battle would have been resolved long ago.
"Chirp chirp"
Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao were very unhappy. They had been locked up for many years and were not allowed to play for a while.
"Alright, alright. Since you two did a great job today, I'll let you play outside for a day. Is that okay?"
Lin Jiang said as he took out some jerky he had with him and gave a piece to Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao. Then he let them go and play.
Lin Jiang had been in Yunzhong City for many years and hadn't explored the surroundings. He wanted to stroll around and relax a bit.
The other two people's bags were also put away. As for the bodies, he didn't care. There were plenty of wild beasts in the wilderness, and they would finish it in less than two days. Moreover, there was no government in this world, so who would come and investigate?
Lin Jiang found a secluded place and counted their gains from this trip. The four of them were much wealthier than Mo Lin and the others. They found over five thousand spirit stones alone, as well as various pills and materials. Lin Jiang estimated the total value to be around fifteen to sixteen thousand, with about five to six thousand spirit stones per person.
"These martial arts techniques are quite good. I can practice them when I have free time."
Among their belongings, Lin Jiang also found over ten jade scrolls, which contained some secret martial arts techniques. They were all at the yellow rank level, but better than the usual ones. If he had time, Lin Jiang thought it would be worth practicing them. One could never have too many skills, after all.
"Oh no, the Shadiao guys caused trouble and actually asked for help."
Lin Jiang had just finished organizing his spoils and was preparing to find a place to wander around, when suddenly he sensed the Shadiao's plea for help. Lin Jiang had signed a master-servant contract with them, allowing the Shadiao to communicate simple information to Lin Jiang through their minds. In the past, they only said they were hungry, but this time, they were actually asking for help.
