My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting-Chapter 247 – Happyland, Undying Husk Slaughters a Fifth Rank Foe, Enemy Right Beside You! - Part 1
Chapter 247 – Happyland, Undying Husk Slaughters a Fifth Rank Foe, Enemy Right Beside You! - Part 1
A few days later.
Another ebony kinghound was delivered from afar and placed in a secret chamber of the Black Cloaks headquarters.
This sixth rank demon dog, known for its dense muscle and raw power, could smash through iron doors at will and was impervious to blades. Once it recognized a master, it would remain utterly loyal.
Li Yuan didn’t need long to tame this second ebony kinghound. He opened the cage and let it walk out. Both fierce demon dogs circled dutifully at his feet, then lay down contentedly. Li Yuan tossed them two bloody chunks of meat. Each dog grabbed its share and began tearing into it on the floor, not minding his presence in the slightest. There was no possessive guarding of food, nor any threatening growls.
“Master,” Wang Heran said cautiously, “the people from that merchant guild were a bit too curious this time. They asked me why we’re purchasing sixth rank demonic beasts. How should I respond?”
“Just tell them I plan to kill and eat it,” Li Yuan replied offhandedly. “I enjoy eating meat, especially organs... But on the market they sell organs and meat separately. I wanted a complete sixth rank demonic beast so I could have it all. That’s the sort of lavish lifestyle the upper crust leads, right?”
Wang Heran nodded. “Understood. They also mentioned that if we’ve actually bought a demonic beast to tame, they hope we’ll let them know. Apparently, they have a high-profile client who’s run into some trouble and is gathering experts skilled in beast taming. This client even promises to share sixth, fifth, or even possibly fourth rank beast taming skills with us possibly. Are you interested in that?”
Li Yuan absentmindedly patted one of the ebony kinghound’s head while thoughts flickered through his mind. In this world, gold and silver could buy virtually any resource under seventh rank, but not even a morsel of sixth rank demonic beast meat. Blood gold, however, could purchase both sixth rank demonic beast meat and almost every type of sixth rank skills—except for alchemy, weaponsmithing, and puppet making—as well as sixth rank weapons.
This purchasing power covered the needs of most martial artists in the world, since the majority were stuck at seventh rank, and those with better luck and talent were stalled at sixth rank. That was simply the way things were now.
Once it reached fifth rank or above, however, everything became scarce. Nearly every powerful faction produced its own specialty goods, much like every ancient ghost street had its own unique products. To buy one of these specialties, you first had to secure the right to purchase it; having money alone wasn’t enough.
So, it sounded like this merchant guild’s big client possessed beast taming skills above the sixth rank. Li Yuan lowered his gaze in thought for a moment. Then he said, “Just tell them you’re not sure. You don’t really know who your mysterious backer is, so you need more time.”
“So neither admitting nor denying anything, and just stalling for now?” Wang Heran clarified.
Li Yuan nodded. “Exactly. Try to find out which faction this client belongs to and what problem they’re facing. But don’t push too hard if it isn’t easy.”
“Understood, Master. I’ll be careful,” Wang Heran replied. “Oh, by the way, that merchant guild is called the Jade Rabbit Guild.”
Li Yuan considered the name for a moment; he’d never heard of them. Like the Red Ant Guild, they were likely yet another group hidden in the depths of this world.
They were still talking when hurried footsteps approached from outside. Wang Heran left to check, while Li Yuan stayed in the secret chamber. A few moments later, Wang Heran returned, his face dark. He was muttering under his breath, “What a joke... This is unbelievable...”
“What happened?” Li Yuan asked.
“Yang Changgu, the vice leader of the Beggars Sect...he’s dead,” Wang Heran said. “They immediately promoted another vice leader in his place—someone we have no ties to. But that’s impossible. We practically control the entire Beggars Sect.”
Li Yuan’s pupils contracted slightly. He paused, recalling what Yan Yu had told him. The human-skin manacles were selling out the moment they arrived in stock. She mentioned she was tempted to raise the price if she were allowed to.
“Master,” Wang Heran said, “should we take action?”
Li Yuan shook his head. “No, just tell everyone to stay alert.”
“Yes, Master.”
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“Morning, Master Li!”
“Morning,” Li Yuan nodded with a warm smile.
“Bringing your daughter to Culinary Delights for breakfast again?”
“Sure am,” Li Yuan said with a laugh. “We’ve gotten used to this place. Whenever I’m in town, I come here every day.”
Hand in hand with Sheng’er, Li Yuan navigated the bustling streets and arrived at a small restaurant that was always overflowing with people. Despite the crowd, two seats remained empty, waiting just for them. No matter how busy it got, no one ever took those seats.
A waiter who knew them well hurried over. “Same as usual, Master Li?”
Li Yuan grinned. “One bowl of mushroom noodles, two trays of soup dumplings, and a serving of spirit blossom pastries. Oh, do you have the five-colored shredded tofu today? Then I’ll take one of those as well.”
“Got it! Please wait a moment!” the waiter called back.
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And so, Li Yuan settled into the familiar hum of the morning crowd, continuing to weave his schemes behind the scenes—ever mindful that the enemy was lurking right beside him.
Sheng'er rested her chin on the table, peering around with both curiosity and apprehension. She loved the lively atmosphere but also found it frightening, and the older she got, the more aware she became of just how different she was.
She wasn’t like anyone else. Her father had warned her that if people ever discovered her true nature, they would all try to capture her...or kill her. Li Yuan might have exaggerated the threat slightly. The real danger only came from undying husks and high rank martial artists. But he still felt it necessary to scare her a bit, so she would stay vigilant and avoid exposing herself by accident one day.
Yet here she was, pressed close to her father, happily eating breakfast in the midst of a bustling crowd. It was overwhelming, but with her father beside her, she wasn’t afraid.
Li Yuan smiled as he ate, all the while imprinting a routine among the seventh rank experts keeping an eye on him. He wanted them to think that whenever he was in town, he would always show up here for breakfast. And if he was eating breakfast, then everything was normal. So one day, should he send a disguised substitute in his place, they wouldn’t suspect a thing. Ordinary martial artists wouldn’t work, but those bound to him by the human-skin manacles certainly would. When the time was right, he would slip away like a cicada casting off its shell, quietly leaving with his family. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
For now, though, he was still watching and waiting.
Halfway through his meal, a member of the Cui Clan entered and bowed respectfully. “An elder is requesting a spirit artifact from you. He’s waiting at the Cui residence...and the clan patriarch would also like to see you.”
Li Yuan responded with a simple nod. “Understood.”
Forging spirit artifacts had become routine for him by now. Thanks to his consistently high success rate, his fee for crafting a spirit artifact had risen from an initial 1,000 taels of blood gold to 2,000 taels. That price couldn’t go much higher, though. Yes, he never failed at the smithing process, but there was a limit to the final weapon’s maximum potential; he wasn’t producing top-tier items. Despite that, plenty of people favored him for his reliable output.
“Eat a little faster, Sheng'er,” he said. “We shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
The young girl hurriedly gulped down her steamed bun. “Okay, Papa.
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