Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 284: Chapter 163: Heavy Blow (Part 2)

Su Jianye couldn’t begin to imagine the consequences if something were to happen to Su Qiming and Su Jie. After all, the two Pill Masters supported a full third of the Su Family’s business.

The entire Su Family launched an investigation but could only determine that Su Qiming had mysteriously departed with Su Jie a few days prior. Su Jie had returned two days after that to report they were safe, but no one knew what the two were actually up to.

The Su Family scoured the city for them and even searched the lands beyond its walls. But after several days, they found no trace of Su Jie or Su Qiming.

"They must have been killed," Su Jianye said, his expression dark.

No matter what he was doing, Su Qiming would never be away from home for this long. The Su Family’s elixir business couldn’t function without him. He must have run into trouble; that’s the only reason he wouldn’t be back.

"Issue a bounty! Anyone who provides useful information will be rewarded with ten thousand silver." Su Jianye’s killing intent surged. "If I find out who harmed them, I will slaughter their entire clan."

Without Su Qiming and Su Jie, the Su Family was bound to suffer a major blow, and their business would shrink.

Shrinking business meant fewer resources, and fewer resources would create problems for the family’s Martial Artists in their cultivation. If this vicious cycle continued, the Su Family would sooner or later be relegated to a second- or third-rate clan.

As the bounty was announced, news of the two Pill Masters’ disappearance—Su Qiming and Su Jie—shook Cyan Yang City. The ten-thousand-silver reward tempted many, but unfortunately, no one had any information regarding their whereabouts.

The news soon reached the Purple Sun Sect, where many were stunned by the ten-thousand-silver bounty.

"A ten-thousand-silver bounty... The Su Family is just too rich."

Tang Xiao’s face was a mask of greed. His family had a little money, but nowhere near this much. They’d have to sell all their assets just to come up with ten thousand silver.

"Just to find two people, and they’re willing to spend that much."

Shen Liang was shocked. Compared to the great families of Cyan Yang City, his own from a small county seat was no better than a beggar’s. Their entire family fortune probably wasn’t even worth ten thousand silver.

Guo Huai said, "You don’t understand Su Qiming and Su Jie’s value to the Su Family. If they could be saved, the Su Family would gladly spend tens of thousands of silver. The Su Family is in real trouble now. Without Su Qiming and Su Jie, I’m afraid it’s only a matter of years before they fall into the ranks of second- or third-rate families."

An Ping’s eyes glinted. "Who do you think did it? Daring to kill a Su Family Pill Master... aren’t they afraid of being found out?"

Guo Huai shook his head. "Even the Su Family has no idea who did it. How could we possibly guess?"

"Two Pill Masters... why weren’t they safe at home practicing alchemy? What were they doing running around outside? Could there be something more important for them to do than alchemy?" An Ping’s eyes darted around.

’Could Su Qiming have found out who the Blazing Blade was and gone to avenge his son? And then gotten himself killed by the Blazing Blade, who has a Bone Marrow Cleansing Cultivation?’

’Otherwise, he couldn’t think of anything else that would require a pampered Pill Master like Su Qiming to take matters into his own hands, only to end up disappearing.’

"If you’re so interested, you can go ask Su Qiming in the afterlife."

Tang Xiao chuckled, uninterested in speculating. Whoever killed Su Qiming, an expert capable of killing a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist, was not someone he could afford to provoke.

Su Qiming had been at the Marrow Cleansing stage for many years. Even if a Pill Master wasn’t a skilled fighter, he wasn’t someone an ordinary person could just kill.

The one who killed Su Qiming was likely an expert at the Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement level.

An Ping ignored Tang Xiao’s jibe. A thought struck him. ’Is this related to Xu Yang?’

He had secretly written to Su Qiming, suggesting a possible connection between Xu Yang and the Blazing Blade. ’Did Su Qiming already go looking for trouble with Xu Yang?’

’Or was Su Qiming killed by the Blazing Blade while he was confronting Xu Yang?’

He was startled by his own idea, but it felt unlikely.

’If Xu Yang had such an expert backing him, everyone would have known about it long ago.’

He had written to Su Qiming simply to use him to get Xu Yang killed, not because he actually believed there was any connection between Xu Yang and the Blazing Blade.

’Now that Su Qiming is dead, should I write to the Su Family about this?’ An Ping wondered.

Su Qiming was dead, but Xu Yang was still alive. That meant his plan to have Xu Yang killed had failed.

’Forget it. No need to bring trouble upon myself.’ An Ping quickly dismissed the idea.

It wasn’t as if he was dead set on killing Xu Yang. And writing to the Su Family now would put him in danger as well.

What if the Su Family decided his letter was what got Su Qiming killed? He’d be in for a world of hurt. Leaving aside his status as a Pill Master, just the fact that he was a Bone Marrow Cleansing Martial Artist meant Su Qiming’s death was a devastating loss for the Su Family.

With the real killer still at large, if he tried to use the Su Family to harm someone, they would surely see through it. The Su Family wasn’t full of fools.

...

"Good!"

Xu Yang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard about the bounty. If the Su Family was offering a reward, it meant they didn’t know he was behind it.

That gave him some breathing room.

’An Ping!’ A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

The only lingering threat from this whole affair was likely An Ping. But since An Ping spent all his time in the Purple Sun Sect, Xu Yang couldn’t find an opportunity to deal with him.

After taking a mission to refine ore on Li Fire Peak, Xu Yang’s life returned to its peaceful routine. He focused on his Muscle and Marrow Cleansing while contemplating the Fuyue Bear King’s Palm.

One day, upon returning from Li Fire Peak, he found Sun Tao, Zhang Yong, and Jiang Ping sitting in the courtyard, chatting idly with Wang Weihua.

It was worth noting that when Xu Yang had first moved into this courtyard, ten people had lived here. Now, only six remained.

Over the past two years, four of them had left and never returned, having met their end in the outside world.

Of Xu Cheng and Wan Hai, whom he had met when he first arrived, only Wan Hai was still alive. Xu Cheng had gone on a mission six months ago and never returned.

The six who remained were Xu Yang, Sun Tao, Wan Hai, Jiang Fan, Wang Weihua, and the half-crippled Jiang Ping. The mortality rate was nearly fifty percent.

If Jiang Ping hadn’t narrowly escaped with his life, he would be dead too.

"Senior Brother Sun, you’re back?"

A smile broke out on Xu Yang’s face when he saw Sun Tao. His gaze swept over the three of them, noting they were all unharmed and in high spirits.

"From the looks of it, Senior Brothers, you must have had a good haul!" Xu Yang said with a smile.

Sun Tao grinned. "We had good luck this time and made some small gains. If we didn’t want to come back for the Outer Disciple Grand Competition, we would have stayed a few more days. That guy Zhang Hong even grumbled at us for a bit."

As he spoke, he gave Xu Yang a meaningful look. Xu Yang took the hint and didn’t press the matter.

That evening, the four of them got a private room at a restaurant.

"We managed to gather some Pure Yang Grass and Tiger Bone Vine on this trip," Sun Tao began. "If you want them, Junior Brother, we can part with them, but we’ll only accept contribution points."

The items weren’t his alone, so he couldn’t make the decision unilaterally. This was the outcome of his discussion with Zhang Yong and Jiang Ping. As for Zhang Hong’s share, they would compensate him with silver.

Xu Yang’s brow furrowed slightly. After trading for the Fuyue Bear King’s Palm, the contribution points he had left, even with the ones he’d gotten from Tian Jing, amounted to less than fifty—only enough for a single stalk of Pure Yang Grass.

"You need contribution points. Are you looking to trade for Elixirs or a Cultivation Technique?" Xu Yang asked.

The need for contribution points usually meant one thing: Elixirs or a Cultivation Technique from the Hidden Skills Hall. He had access to both. He had Gathering Essence Pills and an even stronger technique, the Earth Demon Six Harmonies Saber.

"Elixirs," Sun Tao said.

He and Zhang Yong were trying to break through to Gang Qi Great Success and needed Elixirs. Jiang Ping was aiming for Gang Qi Minor Achievement and also needed Elixirs.

Xu Yang thought for a moment before saying, "I managed to buy a few Gathering Essence Pills on the black market the other day. If you’re willing, I can trade these three Gathering Essence Pills for your Tiger Bone Vine and Pure Yang Grass."

According to the Purple Sun Sect’s exchange system, the Pure Yang Grass and Tiger Bone Vine were worth eighty contribution points.

The Gathering Essence Pill wasn’t available in the Purple Sun Sect’s exchange system, but its effects were only slightly weaker than the Guiyuan Pill. The value of three of them would convert to at least eighty-something contribution points—more than enough to trade for the Tiger Bone Vine and Pure Yang Grass.

"Deal!" Sun Tao agreed instantly, and Zhang Yong and Jiang Ping nodded as well.

They didn’t doubt Xu Yang’s claim. Everyone knew he had earned one hundred and ninety contribution points from the trip to Qingyuan County, so it wasn’t surprising he could have bought Gathering Essence Pills on the black market.

Even with eighty contribution points, they wouldn’t be able to trade for three Gang Qi Realm elixirs, and dividing the points would be a hassle. In a way, they were getting the better end of the deal with Xu Yang.

Of course, by not handing the items over to the Sect, their intention was to make a little extra profit. Besides, apart from Sun Tao, Xu Yang didn’t consider the others to be his friends anyway.

After dinner, they returned, and Xu Yang handed over the Gathering Essence Pills to the three of them, receiving the Tiger Bone Vine and Pure Yang Grass in return.

The three men went into seclusion once more to absorb their recent gains, while Xu Yang resumed his regular cultivation schedule.

Over the next few days, the Outer Disciple residential area grew noticeably more crowded. Outer Disciples from all over began to return, preparing to participate in the annual Outer Disciple Grand Competition.

A few days later, the Sect finally announced that registration for this year’s Outer Disciple Grand Competition was open. They also announced the rewards.