Chapter Fourteen: Scheming Against Each Other

Ge Qian looked puzzled and said, “Senior Brother, is there really such a good thing? Please, tell me quickly.”

“It’s simple,” Wang Meng replied. “You’ll be in charge of managing the herb garden. It may look like hard work, but it’s a lucrative position! With ten acres of medicinal fields, growing a few spirit herbs isn’t difficult at all. Take them to Wuyue City and you’ll fetch a good sum of spirit stones. As the saying goes, power unused is power wasted.” Wang Meng’s small eyes flashed with envy as he spoke, secretly thinking, I don’t believe you won’t be tempted.

Ge Qian’s face showed eagerness, but then he suddenly shook his head. “But if we’re discovered, it’s a crime punishable by death!”

Wang Meng said, “Junior Brother, do you know that to accomplish great things you must be brave and resourceful? If you’re this timid, you’ll never achieve anything. If you don’t tell and I don’t tell, who would ever find out? With spirit stones, you can buy elixirs and your cultivation will soar. Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, you’ll be an elder of the Tianxing Sect. Even if someone finds out, the sect won’t want to lose a Foundation Establishment cultivator; they definitely won’t pursue it. You can set your mind at ease. To tell you the truth, cultivating immortality without spirit stones and elixirs is nothing but a fool’s dream!”

Ge Qian seemed tempted again, his eyes brightening, but then he frowned. “Still, it won’t work. The distance to Wuyue City is too great—even if I use the Wind Riding Technique, it would take a whole day and night. I’m afraid the affairs of the herb garden would be neglected.”

Wang Meng laughed. “How could you forget about me? With my sword-riding skills, I can go to Wuyue City and back in a single night with ease. You just hand the spirit herbs to me, I’ll sell them for spirit stones. How about I take three parts and you get seven? That way, we’re both in this together—if you run, I can’t escape, and vice versa! What do you say?”

“That’s a good idea. Let’s do it. Fortune favors the bold, the timid starve. I’ll rely on you, Senior Brother. Let’s just split it fifty-fifty. You can come to the herb garden to collect the herbs, all right?” Ge Qian agreed.

Wang Meng had already thought this through. “That won’t do. If I show up at the herb garden too often, won’t we risk exposing ourselves? We can meet somewhere more secluded, much safer.”

Ge Qian nodded repeatedly. “Senior Brother, you truly have more experience. This is better. In fact, I think the Demon Suppression Cave in the gorge behind the mountain is a perfect spot. Ordinary disciples never go there.”

Wang Meng had a different location in mind, but this one seemed even more hidden, which was for the best. For someone at the first level of Qi Absorption, anywhere is useless anyway. “Agreed,” he said. “Junior Brother, you’re exceptionally clever. It’s settled then—tomorrow night, meet me at the Demon Suppression Cave.”

“Absolutely, I’ll be there. I’ll take my leave now.” Ge Qian slung the wild wolf over his back and hurried away.

Wang Meng watched Ge Qian’s departing figure, spat on the ground, and his smile faded as he muttered to himself, “Fool. People are always greedy. Let him taste some profit first. Once he steals those five-hundred-year-old spirit herbs, I can exchange them for a Foundation Establishment Pill. That will be the end of him!”

With a cold laugh, he summoned his flying sword, stepped onto it, and soared away.

Ge Qian finished dealing with the wild wolf, roasted the meat, packed it into his storage pouch, and began weaving through the forest to gather various poisonous plants. He knew perfectly well that Wang Meng was a weasel wishing the chickens a happy new year—far from well-intentioned. He just wanted to mind his own business in the herb garden, but if he really did steal the spirit herbs, Wang Meng would have leverage over him, and would only become more unrestrained. Once Wang Meng had made enough profit, he’d surely kill to cover his tracks.

Strike first or suffer later. Ge Qian had already decided—he’d look for an opportunity to get rid of this threat. Although Wang Meng was at the fourth level of Qi Absorption, Ge Qian stayed calm in dangerous situations and dealt with matters coolly. If an open confrontation wouldn’t work, he’d have to resort to underhanded means. In a struggle for life and death, nothing else mattered.

All these poisonous plants were for making anesthetics. He even found a rare Seven-Step Heartbreak Grass, something he hadn’t expected. He carefully picked it, his face alight with joy. Looking at the poison, he said, “Your bad luck, Wang Meng. Fate has brought me this treasure, now just wait and see!”

Returning to the herb garden, Ge Qian hurried to the thatched hut, gave all the dried meat to the little white fox, and began preparing the anesthetic. Mei Die watched him busily working and thought, Humans are so industrious. If you want something, you have to work for it. We demonfolk just hunt when hungry and sleep when tired. Looks like this fellow is making poison again—he must be going to hunt monsters. Go on, then. If you get anything good, I’ll find a way to get it for myself. Now I finally understand what it’s like to live under someone else’s roof.

Ge Qian finished the concoction, added sulfur and nitric acid, filled a bamboo tube, and hid it in his sleeve. He quickly tidied up the herb garden. As dusk fell, he took his things and set out, sticking to small paths and moving cautiously until he reached the gorge behind the mountain.

He was intimately familiar with the area and soon found a small abandoned cave. The cave was so narrow that even turning around inside was difficult, and it was about three meters deep. Ge Qian inspected it and nodded in satisfaction. Thanks to his practice of the Mountain Shifting Technique, he could now lift boulders weighing a thousand pounds and wield them with ease—no ordinary mining disciple could match his strength.

He found four thick ironwood beams, climbed above the cave entrance, and wedged each one into cracks in the rock, tying the other ends tightly with rope and binding them all to a small stone pillar. Then he laboriously carried heavy boulders above the cave entrance and skillfully placed them atop the ironwood beams—twelve in total, pushing him to the edge of exhaustion.

Satisfied, he used a pangolin’s tooth to half-cut the rope. Then he gathered vines to cover the trap, making the cave mouth look as if it were overgrown.

Surveying his handiwork, Ge Qian clapped the dust from his hands and let out a long breath. Then he found a sheltered spot to lie in wait for his prey.

The gorge was pitch black without moonlight. The wind was biting cold and howled through the darkness. At night, the demonic energy grew even thicker. Suddenly, a bright light descended from the sky—Wang Meng had arrived. He stowed away his flying sword and walked forward, extending his spiritual sense to scan a twenty-meter radius, visualizing everything in his mind. But after a short distance, he felt dizzy and sluggish.

A cultivator’s spiritual sense consumes a great deal of mental energy, and the demonic energy in this place was corrosive. Prolonged exposure risked damaging his soul, which would take at least a year or two to heal. To protect his soul, he withdrew his spiritual sense and relied on his eyes to navigate.

At that moment, Ge Qian suddenly appeared behind him. “Senior Brother, I’m here,” he called.

Wang Meng was startled and turned quickly. “Junior Brother, what a place you’ve chosen! If not for our important business, I’d never come to such a cursed spot.”

Ge Qian laughed. “Senior Brother, this way there’s no chance of anyone discovering us.”

“That’s true. Now, hand over the spirit herbs. If I leave for Wuyue City now, by this time tomorrow, you’ll have your spirit stones,” Wang Meng said.

“I wouldn’t dare carry something so valuable on me. I hid it in a cave up ahead. Please, come with me,” Ge Qian replied, walking on.

Wang Meng thought to himself, This guy is cautious—good, that just makes things safer. Once I get rid of him, no one will ever know that the five-hundred-year-old spirit herbs have fallen into my hands. With that thought, he followed along happily.

The Path of Mortal Immortals, Chapter 14—Calculations on Both Sides—end of update!