Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 55: Yang Energy Surges, the Cult Leader Notices
Hearing the commotion outside, Zhao Wuji calmly searched the corpse.

They took a leather talisman, a magical artifact, and a source crystal from the woman's body.

He then took out the bone-dissolving powder and began skillfully destroying the body to cover up the evidence.

whoosh-

A figure appeared in the outer corridor. Zhao Wuji didn't even look up and casually sent out a golden needle.

The person who appeared outside immediately fell backward and tumbled down the cliff.

Zhao Wuji dusted off his sleeves and looked at the woman's corpse, which hadn't quickly dissolved despite the corrosive effects of the bone-dissolving powder, and his expression changed slightly.

"Could it be that the bones of this Spirit Master of the White Bone Path are made of a special material? Even bone-dissolving powder cannot dissolve them."

Zhao Wuji frowned as he looked at the skeleton steaming in the foul-smelling puddle on the ground. He then took out a packet of bone-dissolving powder from his pocket and sprinkled it out.

After more than ten breaths, Zhao Wuji looked at the skeletal remains, which had shrunk but were still not completely dissolved, shook his head, and had no choice but to give up.

By this time, he had already killed several Wajin Gang experts who rushed up by firing needles.

There was a constant commotion below, with some people even shouting that they would launch rockets to burn down the bamboo house.

Zhao Wuji had no intention of arguing with these ordinary people.

He made hand seals and performed a guiding technique to disperse the aura lingering in the room and on the woman's magical artifact.

Then, he put on a straw hat, picked up Kobayashi and Yoru, and leaped out of the house.

"Release the arrows!—"

Archers were already lying in ambush all around the Wajin gang. As soon as they saw him, their bowstrings twanged and arrows were drawn.

Dozens of arrows shot into the sky, like locusts swarming across the land.

Zhao Wuji remained calm, his figure moving slowly and steadily through the air. Suddenly, his abundant true energy surged from his dantian, transforming into a terrifying vortex of energy that shattered the arrows that were attacking from all around.

There's no need to use magic to deal with these ordinary people.

"As expected, he is a Grandmaster of the Returning to Truth Realm!!"

The leader of the Wajin Gang paled and gasped, only to see the figure in the bamboo hat descend like a shockwave formed by a transparent air shield.

Suddenly, he spun around, and a burst of golden light shot out from his body, forming tiny, shimmering points of light that shot out in all directions.

"Puff puff--"

Screams accompanied by a mist of blood echoed continuously.

The leader of the Wajin Gang only felt a flash of golden light before his eyes, and a streak of light flew through the air and arrived.

Before he could even raise his sword to block, his eyes and brain felt a chill, and he collapsed to the ground, his vision going black.

Zhao Wuji carried the two men and disappeared into the golden light filling the open space of the mountain stronghold, leaving behind a ground full of terrified people and a pile of corpses that had been killed by a single needle.

...

A short while later, on a high slope outside the mountain stronghold, beside a huge rock, Zhao Wuji woke up Xiao Lin and Ye Wu.

Faced with their surprise and awe, he calmly pointed to the chaotic mountain stronghold and said.

"How much Qinghualang aged liquor did they dig up? Could the burial site be the site of the Four Treasures of Heaven, Earth, Man, and Golden Goblet?"

Ye Wu said, "My father and I only dug up a small portion back then. They must have dug up at least five hundred jars of aged wine, but the burial site wouldn't contain the Heaven, Earth, Man, Golden Goblet, and Four Treasures Wine."

Those four types of wine are buried in a natural cave in the mountains along the Chishui River; a map showing where the wine is buried is needed to find them.

Zhao Wuji said, "You grew up here. I'll give you the map to bury the wine, and I'll arrange some manpower for you. How long will it take to find the place where the wine is buried?"

Ye Wu thought for a moment and said, "Although Chishui is nearly 300 kilometers long, only 49 kilometers are most suitable for brewing wine. In the past, the Yelang Kingdom also centered around this area."

If you, sir, provide me with a map of the buried wine and manpower, I can find the approximate location in as little as seven days.”

Zhao Wuji shook his head, "Seven days is too slow. There might be experts from the White Bone Path arriving."

Four days. I'll give you a maximum of four days, and then I'll give you more manpower.

As he spoke, he saw several riders coming down from the mountain stronghold. He immediately leaped away, casually throwing out several needles, which ended the lives of several more people.

From now on, he would make these Wajin gang members risk their lives to find him wine.

As for anyone else who wants to go out and deliver a message to the White Bone Path, they will be killed without exception.

"Xiao Lin, go to Chishui Town and bring back the carriage I hid in the fields. Also, take care of the wine shop; the manager there is dishonest."

If the waiter obeys, reward him with ten gold coins.

Zhao Wuji instructed Xiao Lin, and seeing that no one in the stronghold dared to come out again, he immediately led Ye Wu back to the stronghold.

After observing for a while, he discovered that he had killed almost all the experts in the stronghold.

There were a few guys who seemed to be minor leaders and strategists who showed up after he left, directing their men to go down the mountain to communicate.

Zhao Wuji then launched a surprise attack to eliminate any future troubles. He temporarily took control of the Wajin Gang and dispatched these local thugs to help him find wine.

That night, Wajinzhai was deathly silent, like a graveyard, under the cover of darkness.

In front of the tightly closed gate of the village, the fourth leader was directing his men to dig a pit more than ten feet deep.

Corpses were wrapped in straw mats and thrown into the pit. The moment the torches were thrown down, the stench of burning flesh mixed with black smoke shot straight into the sky.

The following day, a horse-drawn carriage discreetly entered the mountain stronghold.

Inside the underground wine cellar of the mountain stronghold.

Zhao Wuji stood tall and slender, his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed intently on the sealed wine jars around him. "Senior, aside from the hundred or so jars of aged wine you saw in the cellar last night, the other two hundred-odd jars are all here."

Beside him, Hu Si, the fourth leader of the Wajin Gang, who had been controlled by Zhao Wuji using golden needles to cut his meridians, spoke respectfully and with awe.

"Hu Si, of the five hundred jars of aged wine, only these three hundred-odd jars are left?"

Zhao Wuji's voice was hoarse and deep, disguised as a senior old monster.

Hu Si trembled, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead, and he quickly bowed in respect:
"Senior, you are wise. Those hundred-plus jars have already been sent to the White Bone Path branch altar, and from there they will be transported to headquarters. The rest were originally intended to be presented in batches as well."

"Bai Gu Dao Branch Altar"

Zhao Wuji seemed to be deep in thought.

Hu Si said nervously, "The Spirit Master who came from the branch altar was already taken by you yesterday, Senior."

Before he could finish speaking, his face had turned ashen.

Zhao Wuji nodded slightly, his gaze from under his bamboo hat locking onto the fourth leader like a venomous snake: "Remember, today is the first day of the ten days."

He approached slowly, his withered fingers tracing the surface of Hu Si's trembling neck. "If the people from the White Bone Path had arrived earlier, I could have left at any time, but you..."

"I understand! I would never dare to have any disloyal thoughts!"

Hu Si fell to his knees with a thud, his forehead hitting the ground hard.

The Spirit Lord was easily killed, so how could he dare to play any tricks?
"Just go."

Zhao Wuji waved his sleeve and said, "Keep your men in check and focus all your efforts on finding the wine."

If I were to discover that anyone is outwardly compliant but inwardly defying me…

"Yes! I'll go do it right away!" Hu Si scrambled out of the room, his back soaked with sweat.

Zhao Wuji then summoned several mid-level and lower-level leaders of the Wajin Gang. After threatening and bribing them, he finally felt comfortable sending them away to work for him.

The Wajin Gang was at best a disorganized mob with little to no cohesion.

By assigning and controlling certain individuals in batches, he was able to maintain overall control.

If one of them harbors disloyal intentions, the others under their control, whether out of fear or a desire to curry favor, will naturally report to him immediately.

After finishing his trivial matters, Zhao Wuji's eyes burned with fervor as he began to vigorously activate the Yang Pearl, absorbing the yang energy from jars of aged Qinghualang liquor.

Yesterday, he had already absorbed more than 120 jars of Qinghualang aged wine in another cave, bringing the yang energy in the first yang pearl to 815 strands.

If he absorbs all two hundred-plus jars today, his yang energy will reach an unprecedented level of abundance.

"This trip was worthwhile. Although I offended the White Bone Sect, it was entirely worth it. Moreover, as long as I handle this properly, it will be very difficult for the White Bone Sect to find out my identity."

"If we could find the four kinds of precious wines—Heaven, Earth, and Man—"

Zhao Wuji absorbed the yang energy rapidly, jar after jar, feeling quite cheerful.

Nine days have passed since he left the imperial city, and his immortal cultivation has now reached the level of 'Qi Induction Level 27/100'.

With this replenishment of Yang energy, although it is not enough to accumulate a full Yang Pearl, it is at least enough to support his cultivation to the mid-stage of Qi Induction.

With the yang energy absorbed from all 215 jars of aged Qinghualang liquor, the yang energy within the Yang Pearl reached 1478 strands.

At this very moment, the Wajin Gang, led by their fourth leader, was searching for the legendary burial site of the wine in the rolling mountains, following Ye Wu's instructions.

These gang members were completely unaware that their actions had already fallen into someone else's trap.

However, at the same time, deep in the mountains of the distant Yu and Yun kingdoms, piles of white bones and skulls gathered, forming a hazy gray-brown mist with eerie malevolent energy.

Within the mist, a chilling roar suddenly erupted from a palace of bones, and all the skeletal lamps in the entire palace burst into flames at the same time.

A ghostly green flame emerged from the hall, illuminating a blood jade altar.

However, on the altar, one of the four bone imprints had already cracked, and bone dust was flying everywhere.

"Who killed the Black Jade Spirit Master? Investigate thoroughly immediately!"

In the blink of an eye, a tall and imposing figure swept in from outside the hall, knelt on one knee, and his black robes fluttered without wind: "Your subordinate will immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the disappearance of the Black Jade Spirit Master."

With a swift grasp of his withered hand, the cracked bone mark on the altar crumbled into numerous bone fragments.

Amidst the gathering of wisps of spiritual energy, several strands of scarlet malevolent energy emerged, forming a magical blood seal for tracking.

...

Meanwhile, in the imperial city of Xuan Kingdom, the candles in the Empress's palace went out two hours earlier than usual.

After being exposed to the Linglang Cave by Emperor Zhaoming with a single document, this once domineering empress actually learned to restrain herself, at least on the surface.

Emperor Zhaoming, however, took this opportunity to restore Consort Li's status and position in Jingqing Palace, seemingly indicating his dissatisfaction with the empress dowager.

Consort Li, who had returned to the inner palace after being confined to the cold palace, regained favor and became extremely popular.

However, how could the world know that on the list of immortals recruited by the Linglang Grotto Heaven, the line of "Consort Li Shiyu" was marked with "Superior Golden Light".

Emperor Zhaoming had laid out this plan many years ago, intending to re-establish an empress.

Consort Li was once in Jingqing Palace, where she was ostensibly demoted but actually protected.

Now that the Demon Queen has been punished for her misconduct, the Linglang Grotto has begun to recruit immortal beings, a move that Emperor Zhaoming has seized upon...

5.3k update. Please vote! My friends, this book will be featured on Sanjiang this Sunday and is expected to be available for purchase next Wednesday. Please read and vote a lot; I'll release a big update then!

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(End of this chapter)