Chapter 249: Chapter 190: Director of the Reincarnation Department (2)

Gazing at Lv Hong lying in the blood wax, his entire body gone save for his still-intact head, Qin Xuan had to admit it was an eye-opening sight.

Seeing that Qin Xuan wasn’t afraid, Lv Hexsong became utterly furious. His voice, like a great resounding bell, echoed throughout the Blood Boiling Arena.

"I am already at the True Mansion Fifth Level, you brat! Why aren’t you begging for mercy?!"

’Even if Qin Xuan successfully guided his Life Star, he’s just a Star Mansion First Level Cultivator. Where does he get the nerve to fight me?’

"Have you considered the possibility that I possess more than one Positional Divine Technique?"

Qin Xuan smiled faintly. The moment his voice fell, the Flame Demon suddenly transformed!

The next moment, Lv Hexsong felt a sudden, sharp pain in his chest.

PTHOO!

He couldn’t stop himself from spitting out a large mouthful of dark red, stagnant blood and dropping to one knee. Specks of golden light were mixed in with the blood, and his True Mansion Fifth Level aura deflated like a punctured ball.

"No, impossible... You clearly never made contact with me! How could I possibly be poisoned? What kind of Demon Technique did you use?!"

Lv Hexsong’s pupils suddenly shrank to pinpoints as a strong sense of suffocation washed over him.

He struggled to get up, his breathing growing heavier and heavier. His eyelids felt as heavy as lead, and then everything suddenly went black.

THUD!

He collapsed to the ground, his body growing ice-cold.

Until the moment of his death, Lv Hexsong believed he had been poisoned, never realizing he had been killed by the Positional Divine Technique, Zuo’e·Heart-Eroding Nail.

It couldn’t help but remind Qin Xuan of Ye Lan, who had died in the same way.

’Ye Lan truly was a member of the Daqian Royal Family. His insight was far superior to Lv Hexsong’s...’

Qin Xuan summoned his Lifebound Longsword and plunged it viciously into Lv Hexsong’s corpse.

HUM!

The Lifebound Longsword trembled lightly, letting out a cheerful hum.

All of Lv Hexsong’s blood transformed into pure Demonic Essence, gurgling as it flowed back and converged within Qin Xuan’s Dantian.

His Cultivation Realm, which had been accumulating power in the Vermilion Bird Star Domain for a long time without a breakthrough, suddenly shattered its bottleneck.

Star Mansion Second Level!

A brilliant light erupted from Qin Xuan’s eyes.

By now, his Lifebound Longsword had already evolved to a deep gold color due to his ascension to the Star Mansion Realm.

"Hahaha, as expected of a True Mansion Fifth Level Cultivator! So useful!"

Qin Xuan laughed heartily.

He collected Lv Hexsong’s glistening white bones. He was about to casually toss them into the space of the Black Flood Dragon’s Reverse Scale, but then had a second thought. Worried they’d be devoured by that gluttonous little bastard, Little Hei, he threw them into the fragment of the Cyan Nether Blessed Land instead.

’This old bastard’s corpse might be useful for refining Golden Bone Shadow Soldiers. I can’t let it go to waste.’

With Lv Hexsong’s death, the Blood Boiling Arena slowly faded away.

However, to Qin Xuan’s surprise, ripples suddenly spread through the void. The figure of a Golden Core True Demon wearing a gray Daoist Robe slowly emerged from an Array.

"I am Gao Fengliang, Director of the Holy Sect’s Reincarnation Department. Congratulations, Valley Master Qin, on successfully surviving the Blood Boiling Arena. I am now transferring all the Spiritual Fields and Cultivation Resources of the former Black Water Abyss Master, Lv Hexsong, to you!"

Gao Fengliang was a middle-aged Demon Cultivator in his fifties, and he spoke with a cheerful smile.

’Winning in the Blood Boiling Arena also means you get to take over the opponent’s Spiritual Fields and Cultivation Resources?’

This sudden, unexpected windfall made Qin Xuan overjoyed.

No wonder Lv Hexsong had been so brazen and ostentatious. It turned out he’d had his eyes on Heart Rot Valley all along!

"Thank you for your trouble, Master Gao. I appreciate it."

Understanding etiquette perfectly, Qin Xuan clasped his hands and bowed.

Compared to Ji Boyan, who was also at the Golden Core Stage, Gao Fengliang’s aura was much weaker.

’He should be at the level of about two and a half Zhu Zhaos from the Vermilion Bird Star Domain...’ Qin Xuan silently made his assessment.

Cultivators of the same Realm in the Holy Sect were much stronger than those in the Vermilion Bird Star Domain.

To be honest, Qin Xuan didn’t know what his own true combat strength was at the moment.

In the Vermilion Bird Star Domain, not even the Star City Divine Son at Purple Mansion Peak was his match. But now that he was back in the Circulation Realm, even without the advantage of a higher Realm, facing Gao Fengliang, who was also a Golden Core, Qin Xuan felt a deep sense of apprehension welling up inside him.

He realized that even if he used every trick up his sleeve, he probably wouldn’t be a match for Gao Fengliang at all!

’The Holy Sect’s foundation is truly powerful... I wonder if it has any connection to the Holy Blood Sect in the Vermilion Bird Star Domain...’

While Qin Xuan was pondering this, Gao Fengliang had already led him to the treasury of the Black Water Abyss.

The moment it was opened, Qin Xuan was practically blinded by the sight!

Countless Tier One and Tier Two herbs and Spiritual Materials were piled up, nearly filling the entire treasury. All sorts of Magical Artifacts and Spiritual Artifacts were on dazzling display.

In addition, there were several small mountains of glittering Spirit Stones. A rough estimate put the number at well over a hundred thousand!

"Valley Master Qin... Valley Master Qin?" Gao Fengliang’s drawn-out voice pulled the dazed Qin Xuan back to reality.

With a deadpan expression, he took out a blood-red Sheepskin Scroll covered in densely packed, tiny script.

"Sign this transfer contract, and all the Cultivation Resources of the Black Water Pond Master will be yours."

Qin Xuan reached out a large hand and covered the contract without even looking at it. He said righteously, "Master Gao, how can you say such a thing? Those who are present should get a share. How could I take it all for myself?"

As he spoke, Qin Xuan walked straight to the small mountain of Spirit Stones, filled a Storage Pouch with one hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones, and then shoved the pouch into Gao Fengliang’s hands.

"A small token of my appreciation. I hope Master Gao won’t refuse it."

At the same time, the huge ball of light in his mind suddenly began to flicker.

Two bamboo slips flew out from it.

[Middle-Middle Draw: Refuse to sign the contract. Neutral.]

[Middle-Lower Draw: Sign the contract with pleasure. Gain nothing, and may risk incurring debt. Ominous!]

Gao Fengliang’s eyes lit up slightly, and he looked quite surprised.

He hadn’t expected Qin Xuan to be so calm. He knew that most ordinary Purple Mansion Cultivators would lose their heads when faced with such an opportunity.

"Valley Master Qin is too kind..."

Gao Fengliang’s eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled. He nonchalantly accepted the Storage Pouch, then slapped his forehead and said, "I’m old and feeble. It seems I’ve grabbed the wrong contract. It’s not this one; it should be the other one."

With a flick of his wrist, the blood-red Sheepskin Scroll in his palm suddenly transformed into an unremarkable document made of tanned Tier Two demonic cowhide.

The contents were also very simple, with only a few lines, and the key points were clearly marked.

[All proceeds from a life-and-death battle in the Blood Boiling Arena must be tithed within one month: 5% each to the respective Altar Master and Hall Master, and 10% to the Blood Loan Money Shop. For those who deliberately evade taxes past the deadline, the tax will be doubled, and all proceeds will be confiscated!]

Qin Xuan was stunned, so shocked he couldn’t speak.

"There’s something you may not know, Valley Master Qin. Don’t think the tax is high. This is the normal tax rate for a Jia-level Contract. I mistakenly took out a Ding-level Contract just now."

Gao Fengliang even took out the original blood-red Sheepskin Scroll and deliberately pointed out a few lines of text hidden in the margins, which had been intentionally concealed with Golden Core Divine Sense, for Qin Xuan to see.

"If we went by the Ding-level Contract, you would have to tithe 15% each to your Altar Master and Hall Master, and 30% to the Blood Loan Money Shop... If you failed to pay on time, you would automatically take out a loan and have to pay double."

Qin Xuan’s eyes widened. His worldview had been shattered once again.

’Fucking hell, they’re complete animals!’

’When it comes to being inhuman, you guys really take the cake. Who could possibly see text hidden by Divine Sense?’

’And forget the 60% tax on the Ding-level Contract.’

’If you miss the deadline, it doubles! Doesn’t that mean you end up having to pay an extra 20% out of your own pocket?’

’Thank goodness I was sensible enough. Even though I gave away a hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones, it’s so much better than being in debt. I still get to keep quite a lot in the end...’

Qin Xuan couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.

He was discovering that he was getting along in the Holy Sect like a fish in water. This time, he had even acted ahead of his Golden Finger.

"Valley Master Qin, I’ll let you get to it. I still have to make a trip to the neighboring Withered Marrow Cliff. As for the third and final opportunity to enter the Blood Pool Sword Tomb, I hope Valley Master Qin will seize it."

Gao Fengliang headed off in the direction of Blood Spring Mountain.

As he left, he intentionally but casually gave Qin Xuan a tip, as a sort of repayment for the kickback he received.

...

On the other side, Wang Qianru was not nearly as clever as Qin Xuan.

Fang Mingshan of Withered Marrow Cliff was dead. According to the Holy Sect’s rules, the nearest Incense Master, Wang Qianru, had the priority right to seize the Spiritual Fields there.

Just after she had expended great effort to finally fight off three True Mansion Second Level Demon Cultivators from Withered Marrow Cliff in succession, Gao Fengliang approached with a beaming smile.

"Lady Wang, I am the Director of the Holy Sect’s Transportation Department... Please sign this transfer contract, and all the Spiritual Fields and Cultivation Resources belonging to those three can be transferred to your name."

Wang Qianru’s reaction was exactly the same as Qin Xuan’s.

’There’s such a good deal?!’

She signed the Ding-level Contract in Gao Fengliang’s hands almost without a second thought.

BUZZ!

A bloody light flared, shot into the center of Wang Qianru’s brow, and left behind a bright red brand.

After she came to her senses, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

However, after a few days passed with nothing out of the ordinary, she began to enjoy the inheritance left behind by Fang Mingshan and the others with a clear conscience.