Chapter 134

Chapter 134: The Deal

Several hours later, the alarm from the detector blared.

One, two, three—three warriors with battle power exceeding ten thousand were approaching. One of them fluctuated in strength, suggesting they were at the Full Star Realm.

They were coming.

Wang Jie turned toward the direction of their approach.

In the distance, a small group led by an old man was closing in on Wang Jie. This old man was one of the five Full Star Realm cultivators from Lone Peak Gorge, a representative who had joined the Four Alliances. His name was Cui Four, also known as Gambling Hand Cui Ye.

Behind him were two cultivators from the Star Breaking Realm—one was a recent recruit, and the other had been forced by Wang Jie to collect Slaughter Stones.

There were more behind them, their faces filled with rage, clearly eager to find Wang Jie. They had just confirmed that the so-called “sword poison” didn’t exist. That bastard had forced them to gather Slaughter Stones, nearly killing them in the process. Now, with a Full Star Realm cultivator leading the way, they were determined to exact their revenge.

Cui Four led the group, moving slowly, pausing every so often to glance to the right, then to the left, making those behind him nervous. Yet, no one dared to complain.

Cui Ye held a high status in the Lock Path Interval. Although his battle power was only sixty thousand, in close combat, even cultivators with seventy or eighty thousand battle power would hesitate before facing him.

However, he never competed for attention and remained low-key. This time, he had little choice—Lone Peak Gorge had not called on him for years, and now, it was his turn to serve.

At this moment, he prayed inwardly to avoid encountering that person. No matter what the opponent’s strength, he didn’t want to risk his life.

The more one worries, the more likely it is to come true.

As gusts of wind swept by, Cui Four instinctively retreated, but the others behind him were struck by the wind blasts. Everyone except the two Star Breaking Realm cultivators was knocked unconscious.

It was pebbles.

Cui Four glanced into the distance, seeing Wang Jie advancing with Armor Eight Steps, his fist swinging out. The power and energy combined in a ruthless blow directed at the Full Star Realm cultivator.

Beep, beep, beep.

The detector continued to blare, and Cui Four watched Wang Jie approach. Rather than retreat, he took a step forward, determined to engage. Even if he was unlucky enough to face this person, he would not back down. If it was a close combat situation, he would not be intimidated.

Here it comes.

Wang Jie’s punch was deflected, and as the attack came closer, it felt as though it were drawn into a whirlpool. What was happening?

Cui Four’s expression changed. What immense power! He had planned to counterattack, but the force of this punch nearly overwhelmed him, delaying his actions and leaving both sides with time to be surprised.

“Be careful, Cui Ye! It’s him!” shouted one of the Star Breaking Realm cultivators in the distance.

Cui Four cursed his bad luck. He moved to retaliate but spoke, “Little brother, why don’t you stop causing trouble here and come with me back to Lock Path Interval?”

Wang Jie realized he was being entangled. The old man’s attack wasn’t particularly strong, but it was relentless. No matter how he avoided it with Armor Eight Steps, once he tried to attack, he was drawn back in, stuck in the whirlpool, making it difficult to break free. It was as if the old man had dozens of hands.

“Right side,” Cui Four suddenly shouted, yet his attack was aimed at Wang Jie’s left. Then, he shouted, “Top side,” while striking downward. His movements were erratic and vile.

Wang Jie retreated but was caught. It wasn’t easy to break free, so he activated Armor Eight Steps.

With a flash of his figure, he was already a thousand meters away.

Cui Four was stunned. What a strange movement technique! This was troublesome.

Wang Jie drew his sword and struck. Cui Four, in response, took out a formation book and activated it.

Three phantoms appeared.

This was the Three Trick Formation—Wang Jie had encountered it before. The old man was both cautious and despicable, as well as shameless.

“Run, it’s troublesome,” the old man shouted as he ran at full speed.

The Three Trick Formation could deceive even Full Star Realm cultivators, but it didn’t fool Wang Jie. Though he didn’t possess the One Glance Three Thousand ability, he was close enough to see through the formation.

From a distance, Cui Four was already running away, clearly not planning to engage Wang Jie any longer.

The two Star Breaking Realm cultivators followed him.

Wang Jie activated Sword Step and darted forward. Cui Four looked back, his pupils shrinking. How could it be? The Three Trick Formation didn’t work at all?

Before his eyes, Sword Step flashed, and he was struck by a sword. A light clang echoed from his chest, the massive force throwing him back. Yet, he wasn’t injured and quickly changed direction to keep running. “Little brother, it’s all a misunderstanding! I, the old man, came to deliver Slaughter Stones to you.”

Wang Jie sneered. “Alright, you stay. Let’s have a chat.”

“No need for that,” the old man said, his speed not slow. If not for Sword Step, Wang Jie would have had a hard time catching up.

It needed to be resolved quickly.

The detector blared again, signaling that experts were approaching from three other directions.

Power and energy combined in the Sword Form technique, a single line to heaven.

Cui Four’s figure froze, then he turned and braced himself for the blow. He couldn’t dodge it.

With a sharp clang, his Star Artifact shattered, and the sword shadow pierced through him. Blood splattered as he stood still, spitting out a mouthful of blood before slowly falling to the ground.

Wang Jie walked away.

Not long after, Lie Qiu arrived, shaking the ground. “Cui Four!”

Cui Four lay on the ground, coughing up blood. He bitterly muttered, “I, the old man, did my best. I couldn’t win, so there’s nothing I can do.”

Lie Qiu checked his injuries with a serious expression. “Such a powerful sword qi, it even shattered your second-tier Star Artifact. Who is that person?”

Cui Four shook his head. “I don’t know him, but he’s very young. It seems he only came for the Slaughter Stones and didn’t mean to kill me.”

“What battle technique did he use?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“How have you lived so long, and yet you don’t recognize anything?”

Cui Four grimaced. “I’m tired. You all go after him.” With a wave of his hand, he collapsed.

Lie Qiu snorted, rising and scanning the surroundings.

At that moment, Feng Wen Sheng arrived, checked Cui Four’s wounds, and seemed relieved.

His power was similar to Cui Four’s, or perhaps even weaker. If he had been the one to encounter that situation, he would have fared even worse.

“We can’t go on like this, or we’ll all be killed.”

“Then go ahead. I’ll find him myself,” Lie Qiu said.

Feng Wen Sheng looked at her. “What if he keeps hiding? How long will you be able to find him? A year? Two years? Three years? What will Black White Heaven say about this? Don’t forget, Sword Mastery Heaven doesn’t belong to us. If we fail to protect it, we…”

His words were left hanging, but they made it impossible for Lie Qiu to refute.

At that moment, one of the people Wang Jie had forced to gather Slaughter Stones cried out, “He contacted me.”

Lie Qiu and Feng Wen Sheng turned toward the personal terminal. “Did you find his location?”

“He wants to talk.”

Feng Wen Sheng signaled for the person to open the terminal.

“Hello there.”

Lie Qiu shouted angrily, “Who are you? Where are you? Get out here!”

From afar, Wang Jie’s voice sounded relaxed. “I was going to end this, but your attitude doesn’t please me. Never mind, let’s keep playing.”

“Wait!” Feng Wen Sheng interrupted Lie Qiu, staring at the terminal. “I’m Feng Wen Sheng, from one of the Four Alliances. Tell me what you want. We want to resolve this as well.”

“Ah, now this sounds like someone who knows what he’s doing. The woman earlier should be quiet. Her voice is annoying.”

Lie Qiu was furious but had to suppress it.

Feng Wen Sheng spoke. “Say it. What do you want?”

“Help me gather a thousand Slaughter Stones, and this matter is over.”

“A thousand Slaughter Stones? What do you need so many for? Most of them are useless.”

“Are you going to help me find good ones?”

Feng Wen Sheng…

Lie Qiu shot him a glance. What an idiot.

Feng Wen Sheng sighed. “That’s not what I meant. I just want to talk reasonably.”

“This is my request. Once you gather them, I’ll tell you where we meet. At that time, give them to me.” Wang Jie paused before adding, “Don’t try anything funny. If you play games with me, I promise that no one will be safe in Sword Mastery Heaven. If your people come, I’ll kill one for each. Let’s see who has the patience.”

With that, the conversation ended.

Feng Wen Sheng looked at Lie Qiu. “Help him find them.”

Lie Qiu nodded, sneering. “Fine, I’ll deliver them to him.”

“It’s not you, it’s us. Once we find them, we have to be able to retrieve them,” Feng Wen Sheng waved, signaling everyone to fully focus on gathering Slaughter Stones.

Meanwhile, Wang Jie made his way to the Fourth Layer.

No need to get entangled with them. Once all the Slaughter Stones were found, he would complete the trade at the Twelfth Layer. The Fourth Layer was the safest place for him to conduct the transaction, but he couldn’t remain in Sword Mastery Heaven forever.

This matter needed to be concluded.

There would be a great battle soon. Wang Jie thought about it, then decided to go to the Sixth Layer and find some help.

A while later, Wang Jie sat in the gravity zone of the Fourth Layer, focusing intently on the Thousand Colored Stone, refining his control over Lock Force.

One month passed.

Two months passed.

His control over energy continued to improve, and his mastery over Lock Force reached the level of “One Glance Sees Two Thousand Eight.”

The goal of “One Glance Three Thousand” was getting closer.

The Thousand Colored Stone had indeed accelerated his progress. Combined with the gravity zone, the exercises, and the Obstacle Breaking Pill, he was advancing at an astonishing pace.

One day, he received a pleasant surprise.

One of the materials for the Heaven Reversal path was completed. It moved five people to tears.

He had done nothing. Previously, when he tried to tell stories in Sword Mastery Heaven, it had failed. The only possible cause for success was Luo Yan.

Before, he had asked Luo Yan to spread the stories, not expecting this kind of surprise.

Luo Yan was truly a sincere person.

Now, only two materials were left—mastering a Star Method and gathering a thousand Slaughter Stones.

It was close. Very close.

He had been stuck at the Ten Seals stage for too long. He wasn’t even at the peak of Ten Seals yet, let alone breaking through the Ten Seal Great Mountain to reach the Star Breaking Realm.

He didn’t know how much longer it would take.

With that thought, he resumed his cultivation.

The Lock Path Interval was not in a hurry. They knew what was happening.

Fu An hadn’t expected his guesses to be right. When he learned that Wang Jie hadn’t emerged, he found it strange. Given his strength, he shouldn’t have died in Sword Mastery Heaven.

Then, a series of events led him to wonder if it had something to do with Wang Jie. The man’s background was mysterious.

Now, it was clear.

With his power, it wasn’t surprising that he had done all this.

Miao Tai was under control, the Four Alliances and Lone Peak Gorge were interrogating him in turn, but he truly didn’t know what was going on. Knowing this much earlier would have been better than staying in Sword Mastery Heaven.

Now, everyone was waiting for the Slaughter Stones to be collected. Waiting for the moment of the trade.

Another month passed in the blink of an eye.

Wang Jie left the Fourth Layer and headed for the surface, opening his personal terminal to make contact.

Feng Wen Sheng immediately responded. “We’ve really run out of leads. Many Slaughter Stones were already shattered. We’ve found 952 so far. These were left here by Black White Heaven over countless years, and during that time, ten people have died.”

952, huh? Wang Jie already had 62 Slaughter Stones himself. Combined, that was enough.

“Come to the Twelfth Layer. The trade will take place there.”

At the Twelfth Layer, Wang Jie sat cross-legged on a pile of rubble, quietly waiting. Before long, a group of eight arrived. Leading them were Lie Qiu and Feng Wen Sheng, followed by a Full Star Realm cultivator and five Star Breaking Realm cultivators.

As they arrived, Wang Jie opened his eyes, his expression calm.

Lie Qiu led the way, stepping onto the rubble slope, staring at Wang Jie. With a wave of his hand, the others dispersed, surrounding the area.