Chương 191: Chapter 80: Fury and the Storage Bag Search (I)

Hu jianwei's body struck the ground with a dull thud. Blood seeped from his seven orifices, his features contorted into a mask of agonizing distortion, and his wide, staring eyes were filled with a bottomless, chilling dread.

"You brought this upon yourself!" Yin Wuyu sneered, his voice as cold as a winter gale. He descended beside the corpse, his fingers closing around the storage bag at the man's waist. With a casual flick of his wrist, a sphere of black flame erupted from his fingertip, consuming the remains in an instant and reducing Hu jianwei to a pile of grey ash. Yin Wuyu's Divine Sense plunged into the bag. After a few breaths, a flicker of triumph crossed his face, and with a flourish, he withdrew a Mu Jade Sword.

As the Mu Jade Sword emerged, a faint, ethereal azure radiance pulsed from its surface, washing over the surroundings for a hundred zhang. The twenty-odd cultivators watching from the periphery felt a surge of heat in their eyes, their greed ignited by the artifact's glow. However, the memory of Hu jianwei's sudden, inexplicable death remained fresh. They swallowed hard, forcing their avarice back into the depths of their hearts. A Mu Jade Sword promised legendary rewards, but one needed to be alive to claim them.

To die in this Trial Realm for a treasure they couldn't hold was nothing more than a fool's errand. Yin Wuyu gripped the sword, but his expression suddenly shifted from triumph to a dark, brooding fury. His gaze turned glacial as it swept across the gathered cultivators. In a flash of black light, he vanished, reappearing mere zhang away from the group.

"Hand over your storage bags. Every single one of them," Yin Wuyu demanded, his voice dripping with an ominous gloom. His eyes, sharp as whetted blades, cut across their faces, and a streak of murderous tyranny flickered in his pupils. No one doubted that he would slaughter them all if they dared to refuse. A cultivator's storage bag was the sanctuary of their secrets and the sum of their life's wealth. To have it seized was to be stripped of everything but their cultivation—to be rendered a pauper in an instant.

Recovering from their initial shock, the twenty cultivators felt a cold resolve harden in their eyes.

"The Supreme Demon Sect may be formidable, and your cultivation, Yin Wuyu, far surpasses our own, but demanding our storage bags? This is an intolerable insult!" one shouted.

"Indeed!" another joined in.

"Individually, we are no match for you, but if we unite, who can say who will emerge victorious? Even the Supreme Demon Sect would find itself in a precarious position if it drew the ire of the majority of the Zhao Kingdom's cultivation world!"

"Hmph! We all hold Trial Stones," a third sneered.

"If Yin Wuyu intends to strike, we needn't stay for the show. we can simply shatter them and leave. Why endure his threats?" Yin Wuyu's face remained as still as a dark pool, his eyes narrowing as he weighed the defiance of the crowd, his mind churning with hidden calculations.

"What has happened?" Wei Qubing of the Three Thousand Dao Sect asked, his brow furrowing. A streak of light shimmered around him, and within breaths, he landed beside Yin Wuyu. As a rival destined to be Yin Wuyu's lifelong adversary, Wei Qubing understood him better than most. Though Yin Wuyu was ruthless and overbearing, he was a man of calculated strategy who rarely invited such widespread public outrage without cause. Yin Wuyu did not explain. Instead, he tossed the Mu Jade Sword to Wei Qubing.

Both men were possessed of immense pride; they had already agreed to a wager to collect all the swords before their final duel. At this moment, it mattered little which of them held the artifact. Wei Qubing caught the sword. Within moments, his face paled, and a deep gloom settled over his features. He turned to the twenty cultivators, his voice heavy with solemnity.

"Fellow Daoists, Daoist Yin and I are willing to swear a Demon Heart Oath. We do not covet your treasures, nor will we reveal any secrets contained within your bags. We only ask that you allow us a brief inspection." He paused, his gaze sharpening.

"If any among you truly cannot permit this—perhaps due to some item that must remain hidden—then I urge you to crush your Trial Stones and depart immediately. Otherwise, though we take no pleasure in it, we will be forced to offend you." Wei Qubing stepped forward, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Yin Wuyu. Their combined presence was suffocating, their sharp gazes scanning the crowd for any sign of guilt.

The Three Thousand Dao Sect and the Supreme Demon Sect were the only powers in Huizhou capable of rivaling the Mu Family. Their ancient lineages and deep foundations were beyond anything the other provincial sects could hope to match. The two sects were historic rivals, their relationship defined by constant friction and cold hostility. It was inconceivable that Wei Qubing and Yin Wuyu, the future leaders of these titans, would conspire to trick a group of rogue cultivators.

After a tense silence, three cultivators chose to shatter their Trial Stones and vanish, but the majority remained. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Daoist Wei, Daoist Yin, we trust that there is a grave reason for this," a cold-faced cultivator spoke up. After both men swore the Demon Heart Oath and promised silence, he was the first to hand over his bag. Wei Qubing and Yin Wuyu swept their Divine Senses through it, exchanged a nod, and returned the bag untouched. With the first successful inspection, the tension eased. The remaining cultivators lined up, surrendering their bags for the two geniuses to examine.

Moments later, as Wei Qubing returned the final bag, he looked at Yin Wuyu and shook his head slowly. The darkness in their eyes deepened.

"Fellow Daoists, we have offended you today," Wei Qubing announced, his tone slightly softer.

"Consider this a debt of gratitude owed by Daoist Yin and myself. Should the opportunity arise, we shall certainly repay this favor." The cultivators' expressions brightened. They had lost nothing, and gaining a favor—however small—from the likes of Wei Qubing and Yin Wuyu was a significant profit in the long run. They clasped their hands in polite farewell.

Yet, as the crowd dispersed, a chilling realization hung in the air: It was an absolute rule that no one holding a Mu Jade Sword could use a Trial Stone to teleport away. And yet, not one of those twenty-odd storage bags had contained a Mu Jade Sword. Wei Qubing and Yin Wuyu exchanged a heavy glance, their resolve hardening as they nodded in unison.

"We wait!" they declared, their voices low and laden with suppressed fury. Since the teleportation array was no longer a viable escape route, the mysterious cultivator capable of masking the Mu Jade Swords' aura would eventually have to emerge at this very spot. When that moment arrived, they would ensure he paid a ruinous price for his insolence. Fury simmered beneath their stoic facades, a shared fire reflected in their eyes.

Possessing a clandestine secret art, the duo could detect the distinct fluctuations of a Mu Jade Sword within a three-li radius. This sensory advantage was the source of their confidence as they stood sentinel at the exit, prepared to ambush whoever carried the treasures. However, after Yin Wuyu had ruthlessly struck down Hu jianwei and claimed a sword for himself, a chilling realization had dawned upon them.

Their spiritual senses revealed that only two Mu Jade Swords were currently approaching the exit; the remaining six had vanished entirely from their perception, their auras utterly extinguished. This unexpected development struck them like a tidal wave of shock. The Supreme Demon Sect had spent nearly a century painstakingly deciphering the superficial layers of the Trial Realm's ancient restrictions to create the secret art of locating the exit.

To obtain this same technique, the Three Thousand Dao Sect had gone to even greater lengths, sacrificing a deep-cover mole who had been embedded within the Supreme Demon Sect for over two hundred years. They had arrived at the exit early, intending to wait in comfort for their prey, never imagining they would be the ones played for fools. Had they not intercepted a sword just before the hidden cultivator arrived, they would have remained oblivious even if he stood directly before them.

He could have strolled past their guard and vanished into the world beyond, and they wouldn't have lifted a finger to stop him. For the future leaders of the Three Thousand Dao Sect and the Supreme Demon Sect, such a catastrophic failure—letting the man with the lion's share of the swords walk free despite their sects' massive investments—would have been an eternal stain on their reputations. Their prestige would be shattered, and their standing within their respective sects would be dangerously undermined.

In the competitive world of high-level cultivation, sects like the Three Thousand Dao Sect and the Supreme Demon Sect groomed multiple successors simultaneously. Beyond the public candidates, there were often 'dark' disciples trained in the shadows to guard against rival machinations. Wei Qubing and Yin Wuyu were only considered the frontrunners because they had proven themselves the most exceptional among the current generation.

If this trial ended in a humiliating blunder that made them the laughingstock of the cultivation world, they would likely be discarded and replaced by one of the many rivals waiting in the wings. Though they maintained a veneer of calm, cold sweat drenched their backs. Their hatred for the unseen interloper reached a fever pitch. Wei Qubing fared better, his expression merely dark and brooding, but Yin Wuyu's eyes flashed with a predatory, murderous light.

A frigid, malevolent aura seeped from his pores, so intense that jagged shards of black ice began to crystallize on the ground beneath his feet. Over the next half-hour, five more cultivators arrived at the clearing. After being warned by those already present, the newcomers hesitated. One chose to immediately shatter his trial stone and flee the realm, but the other four reluctantly surrendered their storage bags.

After enduring a humiliating inspection by Wei and Yin, they stood silently to the side, waiting for the inevitable storm to break. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The silence was shattered by the piercing howl of wind as three streaks of light tore across the sky. They circled the area briefly before descending in front of the gathered crowd. Jun Wuqing landed at the head of the trio, his brow furrowing as he noted the oppressive atmosphere and the dark expressions of Wei Qubing and Yin Wuyu.

A flicker of deep-seated wariness crossed his eyes.

"Fellow Daoists, what has transpired here?" Jun Wuqing inquired, his voice steady despite the tension.

"We do not know the full details ourselves," a sullen-faced man from the crowd replied, glancing at the newcomers.

"But if you three wish to remain and witness the conclusion, you must submit your storage bags to Daoists Wei and Yin for inspection. Otherwise, you must crush your trial stones and depart this place immediately." Jun Wuqing's frown deepened. He carried treasures obtained from an ancient cave dwelling within his storage bag—items that could never be exposed to outsiders. From the man's tone, it was clear that everyone present had already complied.

Wei and Yin's resolve was absolute; to refuse would only invite unnecessary conflict. After a moment of silent deliberation, Jun Wuqing reached for a storage bag at his waist and handed it to a junior brother standing behind him, simultaneously sending a secret, urgent transmission. Though the Luoyang Sect disciple looked indignant, he bowed to Jun's stern, commanding gaze. Without a word, he crushed his trial stone and vanished in a flash of light.