Chapter Thirty-Six: Reaping What One Has Sown

Liu Zhengwen turned to the people behind him and said, “Did you see that? These two are already spent forces. We can swoop in and reap the spoils, and then split everything among ourselves. What do you all think?”

A cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Absorption activated his Heavenly Eye Technique to examine the situation closely, immediately beaming with delight. “Senior Brother is right—this is a heaven-sent opportunity! If we don’t take it, someone else will.”

A cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Absorption nodded repeatedly, expressing strong agreement. In the face of great profit, people often forget their own limitations.

Ge Qian pushed his Heavenly Eye Technique to the limit, scrutinizing the two groups—one chasing, one fleeing. The pair escaping ahead, though wounded and seemingly desperate, actually moved with careful strategy. The pursuers behind them maintained a steady, unhurried pace, keeping a consistent distance as if trained to do so.

Could this be a case of playing the pig to eat the tiger? The road to Five Peaks City was already fraught with danger; perhaps it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

With this thought, he said, “Senior Brother, I find those people very suspicious. I fear there’s deception at play—we’d do better to stay out of it.”

Liu Zhengwen’s face darkened. Inwardly, he scoffed at Ge Qian’s inexperience, thinking him nothing but a useless alchemist who had never seen the ways of the world. In the world of cultivation, killing for treasures was as common as breathing. He replied, “Junior Brother, I’ve already checked everything thoroughly. Besides, with the three of us, we can take down the two ahead in a flash and leave as soon as we’re done.”

The fifth-level cultivator curled his lip with disdain and said, “How about this, Junior Brother Ge—you can wait here while we handle them. But don’t expect any share of the spoils.”

Liu Zhengwen secretly gave a thumbs-up. This way, they could have both the spoils and teach Ge Qian a lesson about the law of the strong. Smiling, he said, “Let’s settle it then. Junior Brother, wait here, we’ll be back soon.”

With that, he spurred his flying sword toward the two wounded men ahead, the other two cultivators shooting him a smile before stepping onto their own swords to follow.

Ge Qian shook his head, thinking to himself, Since you’re so eager to die, I won’t join you. Suddenly, he urged his flying sword to full speed, racing toward Five Peaks City.

Liu Zhengwen quickly intercepted the two fleeing cultivators. They both looked like itinerant cultivators, dressed differently but each at the sixth level of Qi Absorption.

The leader, a gaunt young man, called out to Liu Zhengwen, “Fellows of the Celestial Star Sect, help us fend off our enemies and we’ll reward you handsomely.”

Liu Zhengwen burst into laughter. “No need for that—we’ll send you on your way to the afterlife. Then everything you own will be ours. Brothers, let’s move!” He tossed out a low-grade flying sword, slashing it toward the gaunt cultivator.

The other two, lacking magical weapons, quickly formed hand seals and cast a fireball and a water blade at the other wounded cultivator—a yellow-faced man.

The yellow-faced cultivator laughed heartily, a murderous aura bursting from him, his injuries suddenly nowhere to be seen. He threw out a high-grade magical tool—a Violetwood Ruler—which turned into a streak of violet light, shattering both the fireball and water blade with a single blow.

He then cleaved at the waist of the fourth-level cultivator, whose face turned ashen with fear. He nearly fell off his sword but had barely regained his balance when a sharp pain struck his waist. With a scream, he was cut in two.

The fifth-level cultivator realized they’d been tricked. Terrified out of his wits by his junior’s screams, he soiled himself in terror and turned to flee.

The yellow-faced cultivator manipulated his Violetwood Ruler to snatch the storage pouch from his fallen foe with practiced ease, clearly a man used to robbing and killing. He then mounted his sword to give chase.

Liu Zhengwen was filled with regret, knowing he’d fallen into a trap. But now, the gaunt cultivator had him entangled with a low-grade flying sword. Both were at the sixth level of Qi Absorption, matched evenly in combat.

At that moment, Liu Zhengwen cast a sidelong glance and saw the yellow-faced man pursuing his fifth-level junior, while Ge Qian was nowhere to be seen—evidently, he’d fled early. Clearly, Ge Qian was not as simple as he appeared.

Just as Liu Zhengwen was searching for a way to extricate himself, a great whooshing arose behind him—the three pursuers had arrived, the weakest among them at the fifth level of Qi Absorption, the others at the sixth.

Not daring to hesitate, Liu Zhengwen hastily threw out two fireball talismans. The gaunt cultivator deftly parried with his flying sword, blocking the fireballs. Taking advantage of the opening, Liu Zhengwen fled recklessly on his sword.

The gaunt cultivator was unwilling to let him go, giving chase and shouting, “Too late to run now! Since the Five Wolves of the Wang Clan began our path, not a single prey has ever escaped. Surrender and die!”

Liu Zhengwen didn’t answer, gripping a spirit stone to absorb its energy, wishing he could sprout wings and fly. Suddenly, a scream echoed ahead—something bad had happened to Wu Yu, without a doubt.

He immediately turned and fled in the direction Ge Qian had gone. In his mind, Ge Qian was only at the fourth level of Qi Absorption and couldn’t possibly outpace him on a flying sword. Once he caught up, he could use Ge Qian as a shield against the Five Wolves, buying himself time to escape.

After a hundred miles of pursuit, Liu Zhengwen was in a panic, his back soaked with sweat. Impossible—by now, he should have overtaken that useless alchemist, yet there was no trace of him.

Just then, a fierce wind swept from behind. Startled, Liu Zhengwen hurriedly manipulated his flying sword in response, but the Violetwood Ruler, being a high-grade magical tool, cleaved his sword in two with a single blow of violet light.

The flying sword was linked to Liu Zhengwen’s mind. He spat a mouthful of blood in pain, dazed for a moment before the violet blade slashed down, splitting him in two and raining blood across the sky.

The yellow-faced cultivator’s eyes gleamed with excitement. He stretched out his tongue to lick the blood from his lips, then manipulated the Violetwood Ruler to hook the storage pouch and pull it into his hand.

Four streaks of sword-light arrived at his side. The gaunt cultivator said, “Big Brother Yellow Wolf, that was beautifully done! These greedy fools thought they could get an easy gain, but dying at our hands is just what they deserve. Hahaha!”

Yellow Wolf was the nickname of the yellow-faced cultivator—his real name was Wang Bao. The Five Wolves of the Wang Clan were all itinerant cultivators who came together because they shared a surname. By robbing and killing, they gathered the resources they needed for cultivation. Their teamwork was flawless, and with the eldest—Yellow Wolf—wielding the high-grade Violetwood Ruler, their actions rarely failed.

He turned the storage pouch in his hand and frowned. “Gray Wolf, don’t celebrate too soon. I fear this tactic won’t work for long. Four came, but one got away. That man saw through our trap—he’s a real threat to us.”

A short, fat man whose flesh quivered as he spoke said, “Big Brother is right. For him to see through our plan, he must be exceptionally shrewd. We’ve come this far without finding him—could he be hiding nearby?”

Yellow Wolf nodded. “Fat Wolf is right. I think he’s hiding somewhere in these mountains. Let’s split up and search. He doesn’t seem very advanced, so keep your distance and send a transmission if you spot him.”

All agreed eagerly, for whoever killed him would claim his possessions, allowing their murderous enterprise to continue. Why not?

And so, the Five Wolves of the Wang Clan dispersed onto the mountains, searching carefully as they went.