Chapter 269: Chapter 269: Forgery
Shen Hao quietly left the small hill, his gaze lingering as he watched the two figures heading toward Caiyuan Village, his mind heavy with conflicting thoughts.
To be honest, Shen Hao enjoyed risking things and gambling, but only when he had a measure of confidence.
But truthfully, looting the dead belongings of Yu Shengjue was not a rational choice. This was why he had previously taken the "out of sight, out of mind" approach and hadn’t touched Yu Shengjue’s possessions—worrying that, once he saw them, greed would overwhelm him.
But no matter how much he calculated, reality outpaced him—a Wind Bell from the Valley of Love Flowers and Xiao Hai from the Red Flame Sect. Their greed might have been tolerable, but they shattered Shen Hao’s plans all at once, diverting the aftermath onto a whole new path.
Burn the corpse, scatter the ashes, gather up anything that might expose them, then clap your hands, look left and right, pretend "I know nothing" and hope to fool everyone? You think the Celestial Toad Sect wouldn’t investigate?
And with the calculated missteps, everything slipped out of Shen Hao’s control; not only was he thrust into unknown risk, he’d also handed leverage to others.
This was no auspicious sign.
If you’re going to risk it, better finish it—only severing all possibility could set things back on course. The challenge lay in what should be done.
Shen Hao stood in place, gazing toward Caiyuan Village for a long while, silent.
About half an hour later, Shen Hao took out that box of spirit stones Wind Bell had handed him from his storage bag, studied it for a long time, then poured out all the spirit stones, storing them separately. He stared lost at the box in his hands.
Especially at the fist-sized sect emblem on the box, which Shen Hao looked at again and again.
Normally, even the noble families in the secular world didn’t randomly carve their family crests—every emblem must be accounted for, as these things in a sense symbolize the family’s outward image. They even keep updating the craftsmanship to prevent ill-intentioned people from forging them.
If noble families in the secular world are cautious with their emblems, how much more would a first-class sect like Celestial Toad Sect be?
The box was jade, two feet square, fitted with a simple latch, and at the opening, there was a sealed miniature array, powered by the faint energy given off by the spirit stones inside. Boxes used for long-term storage of spirit stones are generally like this, varying only in size and refinement.
Shen Hao put the box on the ground and punched it, shattering the jade box into several pieces, then adjusted the force and angle with his fists, continuing relentlessly.
After more than ten breaths, the jade box was utterly destroyed, fractured in irregular pieces.
After finishing, Shen Hao collected all the fragments together, not missing a single piece, then ran back behind the small hill—the spot where Yu Shengjue’s body had once lain.
The traces here had already been handled by Wind Bell and Xiao Hai; nothing suspicious remained.
Shen Hao checked the spot, then tossed the crushed jade box fragments onto the ground, scooped up some earth to cover most of the pieces, leaving only a small portion with exposed, barely noticeable edges. Then he started a fire on the ground, but there was only some turf and weeds so the blaze was small—maintained by Shen Hao, it barely burned an oval patch about a yard in diameter.
Finally, Shen Hao agitated his True Qi, causing a gust, blowing away most of the ash from the burnt patch. Without careful inspection, you’d never notice anything had been burned here.
Having done all this, Shen Hao painstakingly erased every trace he’d left. Then he changed his expression and returned to the place where he’d set up to cook earlier.
It should be late at night now. Shen Hao sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes to meditate, and kept his perception on alert—intentionally staying here so he could detect anyone entering at the very first moment.
Later, two people entered, but as they exited the Illusion Realm, their souls were shredded by Cloud Sword Domain—instant death.
By his count, on the morning of the twentieth day of the tenth month, more cultivators entered—this time, twelve in all.
This matched the spreading effect of news that Shen Hao had predicted before.
The news would be blocked by Xuanqing Guard at first, but with mismanagement and escalation, word would leak out. Agile sects would learn first, then it would multiply—passed from one to another, until rumors turned to a storm, and everyone able would converge. There might even be sharp-sighted types who judged the origin of Caiyuan Village’s "restriction" before entering.
Shen Hao was sharp-eyed; the instant these twelve cultivators entered, he recognized their identities from their belts, chest ornaments, or embroidered patterns on their clothing.
Among them, Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute and Celestial Toad Sect had two each; five people came from second and third-tier sects of Jingxi Territory. The last three wore bright yellow martial attire, with ornate golden swords embroidered on their chests.
He was wary and distant toward the sect members, but when it came to the three in gold sword-attire, Shen Hao relaxed greatly.
Bright Yellow Warrior Armor—such clothing, in Jingjiu Dynasty, only one group could wear: the greatest cultivator force under the royal family—the Golden Sword Guard.
Also called Golden Sword Cultivators.
Shen Hao knew at least one Golden Sword Cultivator personally: Commander Pang Ban of Xuanqing Guard. Plus, Golden Sword Cultivators stood apart from local powers, directly subordinate to the Royal Family, similar to Xuanqing Guard. Thus, among Xuanqing Guard, Golden Sword Cultivators were always considered their own.
The arrival of Golden Sword Cultivators meant the upper echelons of Jingjiu Dynasty were aware that the restriction anomaly at Tu Kui City was unusual—and took it seriously. Perhaps they already knew the truth?
After all, Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute, who understood things best around here, had also sent two people.
"Sirs, be careful!"
This was Shen Hao’s instinctive warning, addressed to the three Golden Sword Cultivators. Yet he immediately realized they needed no reminder; each was protected by a defense array—same as the kind Yu Shengjue used, able to block the Cloud Sword Domain’s illusion for a short time.
Obviously, all twelve came prepared.
Shen Hao’s warning earned him a nod from the three Golden Sword Cultivators; all wore surprised expressions, perhaps not expecting to find a lively Xuanqing Guard inside Cloud Sword Domain.
Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute, Celestial Toad Sect, and Golden Sword Cultivators formed their own groups; the rest banded together, each raising defense arrays before unlocking their body arrays and exposing themselves to Cloud Sword Domain’s illusion.
Shen Hao watched the whole process. Within a few breaths, Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute, Celestial Toad Sect, and Golden Sword Guard almost simultaneously broke free from the illusion, the other five sect cultivators following soon after.
Shen Hao went up, first bowing respectfully to the three Golden Sword Cultivators: "I am Shen Hao, Hundred Households of Black Banner Battalion, Xuanqing Guard, Fengri City. Greetings to the three sirs!"
"Oh? You are Shen Hao?"
"Yes, sir, I am."
