Chapter 312

Chapter 312: Good Stuff

The first of the last two keys held a halberd combat technique—domineering, brutal, and overwhelming. It looked even stronger than Han Ling’s Great Sun Halberd, but it was useless to him.

The second…

Wang Jie went still.

Divine Xuan Barrier-Breaking Scripture.

Xuan Gate’s foundation.

The Nan Family had this?

A complete copy?

How?

Even at their peak—when they controlled Third Nebula—no one would simply hand over their most guarded scripture.

Unless…

Wang Jie’s mind jumped to the Four Seasons train. A clan that could roam through the void, appearing anywhere, could pry open countless doors.

He understood now why Xuan Gate would turn against the Nan Family.

Not merely because the Nan Family vanished.

But because they knew too much—and had stolen too much.

Xuan Gate stood on the Divine Xuan Barrier-Breaking Scripture, because Xuan Gate had no bridgeway art. If the Nan Family possessed their core scripture, what was Xuan Gate supposed to feel?

He tucked it away carefully. It would be useful someday.

Then came the white striped keys.

White represented the final car of the Four Seasons train—where pills, chen artifacts, formation scrolls, and other external items were stored.

He opened them one by one.

Dao-Enlightenment Pill.

Teleportation Pill.

Star-Nurturing Pill.

None of them were the rarest treasures… but they weren’t worthless either. Some were even shockingly plentiful—twenty Dao-Enlightenment Pills in one key, when he’d only had a single one on him before.

A hundred Teleportation Pills.

Then…

Bodyfall Pill?

Wang Jie stared.

The Nan Family even had Bodyfall Pills, a pill exclusive to Jia Yi Sect. It was said Celestial Master Qi from Milky Way Defense Corporation supplied them directly to Jia Yi Sect—and even Jia Yi Sect never had enough.

Yet here there were fifty five-mark Bodyfall Pills.

How in the world had the Nan Family obtained so many?

Next…

Burst Qi Pill.

Wang Jie’s pulse jumped. This pill could directly increase the qi within a cultivator’s body. It was only a roaming-star realm pill, but it was almost impossible to obtain. Few people refined it—almost only those from Dead Realm would bother.

He opened more.

Pills. More pills.

For a moment he wondered if all the chen artifacts and formation scrolls had been used up already.

Then a key finally answered him.

A long whip fell into his hand, cold and heavy with power.

Wang Jie’s eyes lit up. Now this was good.

Until he reached roaming-star realm, he needed a whip for defense. He had one already, but it was garbage—nearly unusable.

This one wasn’t.

A five tribulations chen artifact, suitable even for star-refining realm.

He stored it at once and kept going.

There weren’t many keys left now.

No formation scrolls. Only a single chen artifact.

Everything else… pills.

When he opened the final key, a small bottle rolled out, its surface radiating chill.

Wang Jie picked it up—and froze when he read the label.

Rebirth Pill.

He hadn’t even heard of Rebirth Pill before going to the Cloudstream Region. Yet in that region’s merit exchange, a single Rebirth Pill required one hundred billion merit points.

One hundred billion.

When Wang Jie had broken the sword dao grand array and saved a command hub from defeat, he’d earned only a few hundred million.

That alone spoke to the pill’s value.

You couldn’t buy something like this in the outside world.

He didn’t know what it did… but he knew enough to keep it.

With the keys opened and what he could carry stored away, Wang Jie returned his attention to the train.

The formation still trapped everyone else.

Wang Jie merged into the Red Moon again and looked out across the train’s paths and formations. He had no idea how he would ever find this train again after leaving.

But it was time.

He linked the Red Moon method to the Red Moon itself, and the train moved through the void. Below, the bottom of the lead car opened wide.

Everyone inside felt a sudden, merciless pull.

Bodies dropped.

Even hundred-star realm cultivators couldn’t stabilize themselves. It was as if the train itself had decided to fling them into the world, and nothing could resist its will.

Wang Jie stepped out of the Red Moon, seized Wu Yuan, and left with him.

—

A storm of savage wind swept across the land. Even solid rock was torn up in layers and hurled into the distance like gravel.

A stone slammed into Wu Yuan’s head.

He jolted awake, gasping, then forced himself upright.

Half his body was pinned under the boat. The other half was exposed to the gale.

In the distance, a storm wall pressed down, connecting sky and earth.

Wu Yuan lifted a hand and waved.

The storm split.

The heavens opened.

A dark, endless starry sky revealed itself, and the world fell quiet again.

Wu Yuan blinked, disoriented. Why was he here?

He lifted the boat and saw Wang Jie unconscious inside.

Alarm stabbed through him. He checked at once—alive.

“Good,” he breathed.

Where was this? He could see the stars. They were out.

“Wang Jie.” Wu Yuan shook him. “Wake up.”

Wang Jie’s eyes fluttered open. He stared at Wu Yuan blankly. “Elder… what happened?”

“I don’t know,” Wu Yuan said, voice tight. “Do you remember anything?”

Wang Jie rubbed his head and sat up slowly. “I only remember drifting on the boat. After that… nothing.”

Wu Yuan’s gaze sharpened. “And Nan Zhi?”

Wang Jie shook his head. “I don’t know. You don’t know either?”

Wu Yuan looked around again. “We’re out. I just don’t know how.”

Wang Jie hesitated. “Maybe it was that killer.”

The killer had spared Nan Zhi. Clearly, she’d been watched from the beginning. Their sudden escape didn’t feel like coincidence.

“But if the killer appeared,” Wang Jie said, “why didn’t they kill us?”

Wu Yuan’s brows knotted. “That’s what I want to know.”

He glanced at Wang Jie. Back then, it had only been the two of them and Nan Zhi. The reason they were alive wasn’t Wu Yuan.

So it was either Wang Jie… or Nan Zhi.

But Nan Zhi had wanted Wang Jie dead.

And the killer’s swordsmanship matched the method used to wipe out the Nan Family.

Without evidence, the truth stayed locked.

Wu Yuan’s head snapped up. “Someone’s coming.”

From beneath the starry sky, Yun Jian arrived, with Xue Jian following.

“Wu Yuan?” Yun Jian called.

“Yun Jian?” Wu Yuan stepped forward. “You got out too? What happened?”

“I don’t know how we got out,” Yun Jian said evenly. His gaze flicked to Wang Jie, then back. “Come on. Jian Yi is gathering everyone.”

Wu Yuan nodded and followed.

The events of the Four Seasons train demanded an answer. Everyone wanted to know who the killer was.

Before long, the survivors assembled.

Every club with a hundred-star realm expert came. Xu Huang club’s Su Su and Qing Xiao were there too—Su Ji Kong was dead, and they wanted the killer found. Wu Ming was present as well.

Guan Shan club had lost two hundred-star realm cultivators. That alone made this a crisis.

Inside the formation, deaths could be hidden. But when everyone had been flung out, Su Ji Kong’s corpse, Guan Sou’s corpse, and Lan Tui’s corpse had fallen among them.

Only then did everyone realize there was someone terrifying among them—someone who could kill a hundred-star realm expert with a single sword.

It left a sour fear in the air, as if they’d all been used as pieces.

Shao Ling Er’s face was drawn and grim. Everyone in Dao Yi club besides her was dead.

Chen Song spoke first. “Clubs clash. Life and death are fate. That’s normal. If you have grudges, settle them. If you want revenge, take it.”

“But this Nan Family trip was… wrong.”

He swept the crowd with his gaze. “We don’t know who killed Su Ji Kong, Lan Tui, and Guan Sou. More people died as well. And the method matches the extermination of the Nan Family. That is why we’re here.”

“We can lose,” Chen Song said, voice hardening, “but we cannot be left without knowing why. If anyone has clues, speak.”

Silence answered him.

Wang Jie’s gaze drifted to Pei Lin.

Pei Lin was watching him.

Their eyes met briefly—then both looked away.

Wang Jie’s brow furrowed. Pei Lin had to have suspected Nan Zhi. Why hadn’t he said anything?

Shao Ling Er suddenly turned on Wu Yuan. “You, from Black-White Heaven—why were you watching us from the start?”

Wu Yuan answered without hesitation. “Because the Zhi in your club is the true descendant of the Nan Family.”

He and Wang Jie had agreed: reveal that much openly.

The crowd erupted.

Shao Ling Er’s eyes widened. “Zhi is a Nan Family descendant?”

Wu Yuan nodded. “Yes. That’s why we watched you. At first we weren’t certain. Later, we confirmed it.”

“Where is she?” Ke Mu Sheng demanded.

“I don’t know,” Wu Yuan said.

Wang Jie added, “We lost her. She understands formations.”

Wu Ming’s gaze sharpened. “Brother Wang, you could keep up with her, couldn’t you?”

He looked toward Pei Lin. “Right?”

Pei Lin’s expression didn’t change. “I don’t know.”

Wang Jie’s voice cooled. “If I could keep up with her, do you think you’d be looking at me right now? Don’t forget—the killer is the most terrifying thing here. I think they were already watching Nan Zhi from the beginning.”

He swept the crowd. “Whether Nan Zhi is even alive is a question. And anyone who survived here… got nothing.”

Harsh. But true.

With a presence like that, no one would win.

The killer might have been hundred-star realm. Might have been star-refining realm. Might have been ancient. Might have been their age.

Without proof, no one could accuse anyone of breaking the rules.

In the end, the gathering dissolved.

Wang Jie exhaled. “That’s it? We’re just leaving?”

He’d expected violence.

“There were too many clubs gathered,” Wu Yuan said. “No one can afford to fight.”

He looked at Wang Jie. “We find our people and return. This will be decided by the sect.”

It sounded simple, but Wang Jie couldn’t shake the sense that it had ended too abruptly.

Wu Yuan clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll get used to it. Club conflict isn’t war. It doesn’t have to be to the death.”

He gestured toward the crowd dispersing. “Everyone in these clubs is an elite. Any death is a loss. The unspoken rule is: if you can’t compete for the resource, stop. There’s no point turning it into slaughter.”

Wang Jie nodded. “If every competition ended in blood, there wouldn’t be anyone left.”

Wu Yuan chuckled and led him off to regroup.

Whether Ban Xia had held back or not, Black-White Heaven club hadn’t suffered much. Three people had died, but all at other clubs’ hands—and in club clashes, three deaths barely counted as a loss.

Yu Zhi, Han Ling, Mo Wan Yin, and the others regrouped one by one. Then they headed back.

They weren’t far from the sect. Before long, the familiar Ring-Sect Corridor came into view.

As always, participants would have to submit detailed reports of everything that happened.

And this time, the sect would definitely care.

This mission had been massive—and it involved the deaths of hundred-star realm.