Chapter 18: Exotic Treasure

Wuchen struck like a sudden gale, his movements as graceful as a startled swan and as swift as lightning, fully displaying the prestige of a third-rank expert.

In contrast, Su Chen appeared dull and vacant, like a wooden puppet or a fool, standing frozen in place as if paralyzed by fear.

"Heh!"

"It seems I overthought it."

"Lord Black-Clad Envoy must have fallen into the hands of other palace experts. You are only seventeen or eighteen; what strength could you possibly have? Even if you had been cultivating since the womb, you would at most be at the peak of the fifth rank..."

A trace of mockery flashed through Wuchen's eyes.

However.

In the next instant.

Boom!

Beneath Su Chen's black robes, golden light suddenly flashed. His muscles tightened, revealing the intricate patterns of steel-like bones and iron-like sinews. A terrifying blood-flame erupted from Su Chen's body, transforming into a single, lunging punch.

"The 'Sixteen-Foot Golden Body Art'?"

"And you've even reached the peak of the fourth rank?"

Wuchen's eyes widened, filled with utter disbelief.

This was a first-rank cultivation technique. Its difficulty was incomparable to the "Savage Bull True Qi" used by the Martial Bureau. Without a century's worth of precious medicinal herbs, it would be difficult for someone of Su Chen's age even to enter the basics.

Yet, Su Chen had not only mastered it, but had reached the peak of the fourth rank...

In other words.

If he had only begun practicing this "Sixteen-Foot Golden Body Art" after seizing it from the Black-Clad Envoy, to achieve such results in less than half a year... his talent could not be described merely as extraordinary; he was a literal monster ravaging the world!

Bang!

The two figures collided.

The blood-flame vanished instantly.

Su Chen was sent flying like a torn sack, crashing heavily into the loft on the first floor of the Library.

The gap between a peak third-rank and a peak fourth-rank was simply too vast.

"A useless person in the Library?"

"If someone like you is considered useless, then what are we—those who only reach the peak of the fourth rank in our thirties, or reach the end of the third rank in our fifties or sixties?"

"Regardless, this is where you end."

"With such talent, yet you chose to defect from the Holy Sect. If I do not kill you, I shall never know peace."

Wuchen approached with a cold sneer.

He was certain that Su Chen was dead after that strike.

A peak fourth-rank was as weak as an ant before an ordinary third-rank, let alone a peak third-rank like himself.

"A mantis trying to stop a chariot. Utterly foolish."

Wuchen gave a contemptuous smile, scanning the Library for traces.

Next.

He would thoroughly search this Library; the corpse was bound to be hidden here.

Every eunuch in the Imperial Palace knew that this Eunuch Su rarely stepped out of the Library even once a year. Given its remote location, where else could he hide?

"In the medicinal garden!"

Wuchen's eyes lit up. He noticed at a glance that the medicinal garden was slightly higher than the floor tiles.

Dig!

He used his whisk as a shovel.

His astral qi danced wildly as he dug incessantly.

A skeleton was unearthed.

"Huang Yi? Or the Black-Clad Envoy?"

No!

Keep digging!

Another skeleton!

Still not it!

As he dug, Wuchen's heart raced. Within this small Library, dozens of skeletons were actually hidden. This Eunuch Su, despite his youth, was so ruthless that he killed without even glancing at his victims?

Before long.

In the courtyard, the remains had piled up like a small mountain, emitting a wave of foul stench.

Wuchen felt a slight dizziness, but he brushed it off.

"Found it!"

After the last two skeletons were unearthed.

Wuchen was ecstatic.

One skeleton was as black as ink. Even after half a year, it still emitted a corrosive, foul stench. The moment Wuchen's hand touched it, he felt a sharp sting; there were still residual toxins left on the bones.

How was this possible!

Such intense toxicity was something even a third-rank poison could not achieve.

Wuchen grew increasingly unsettled.

Calculating the time, he felt an increasing sense of urgency.

At this moment.

Emperor Jianwu had likely finished his conversation with Zhang Gui, the Director of the Eastern Depot. Given the intimacy between Zhang Gui and Su Chen, the Director would likely head straight to the Library once he left the Golden Throne Hall.

"I must hurry!"

Wuchen grabbed Huang Yi's skeleton, shielding his wrist from the blood, and began chanting. He was actually performing some kind of searching secret technique.

A moment later.

Boom!

A crimson flame rose from Huang Yi's skeleton.

"Huang Yi actually succeeded?"

"Dammit!"

"She reclaimed our Holy Sect's secret treasure from the Imperial Treasury, such an unparalleled feat, and yet she perished here..."

Wuchen was filled with indignation.

Just then.

A low, eerie voice sounded from behind him.

"Is this the thing your Black Abyss is looking for?"

"I have you to thank."

"Otherwise, even if I had searched the corpses that night, I never would have found it. Did you hide it inside your internal organs?"

Boom!

Wuchen's scalp went numb, his hair standing on end. A wave of icy chill enveloped his entire body from head to toe.

Su Chen?!

He wasn't dead!

How could this be!

Under that strike, let alone a peak fourth-rank like him, even ten or twenty peak fourth-ranks would have been killed instantly.

How was he still alive?

"Bastard!"

"In that case, this servant shall kill you once more!"

Wuchen roared, surging his astral qi and swinging his whisk, preparing to strike a second time.

However.

As he attempted to mobilize his astral qi, it vanished completely.

Boom!

He collapsed weakly to the ground. A palm pierced directly through his chest, grasping that crimson flame in its hand.

How is this possible?

Poisoned.

Since when!

"The exotic flowers and plants in my courtyard are actually all poisonous. Each has its own unique properties. In my garden, if one stays longer than the time it takes to eat a meal, the poison will immediately strike the heart..."

"That is why I always live alone in the Library and forbid others from staying long."

"But you, being you, came in and destroyed all these plants. The toxicity exploded tenfold."

"What a nuisance!"

"Now I have to replant them all."

"Also, since you dug up all the corpses, I have to bury them again—and now there's one more."

Su Chen withdrew his arm, playing with the crimson flame orb in his hand, which had revealed its true form. It was a round bead the size of an egg, inside of which a small black snake could be seen coiled in slumber.

What on earth was this?

Su Chen was quite curious.

"Give back... the Holy Sect's treasure..."

Wuchen's eyes bulged as he stared at Su Chen. He realized that aside from some blood trickling from the corners of his mouth due to the shock to his internal organs, Su Chen was otherwise completely unharmed.

His face was as fair as jade, his eyes like stars, his flesh firm, and his vitality surging. That strike hadn't even managed to cause a serious injury.

Was this really a peak fourth-rank?

If he claimed to be a peak third-rank of the same level, one might actually believe him.

"Actually, I am heavily injured."

"If you don't believe me, try hitting me again."

As Su Chen spoke.

"Die!" Wuchen struck with a palm full of hatred, squeezing out the last of his life force for this final blow.

Bang!

Su Chen met the strike with a punch, his blood-flame burning, yet he still could not withstand this vengeful third-rank strike.

He was sent flying.

Blood leaked from his nose and mouth, and his aura withered; he looked quite pathetic.

Then.

In the next instant.

Wuchen's eyes widened.

What was he seeing?

He saw something within Su Chen's body—it looked like qi—circulate once. The severe injuries instantly lightened significantly. Then it circulated a second time, turning the wounds into mere minor scratches.

A face like jade, a smiling youth.

It should have been a beautiful sight, but in Wuchen's eyes, it was an extremely terrifying scene.

"Demon!"

"Monster!"

"You... you are not human..."

Wuchen clutched his pierced chest, retreating continuously.

"Oh dear."

"You caught me."

Bang.

With a single punch, Su Chen crushed his head.

Then.

With practiced ease, Su Chen tossed this thoroughly dead "Xuan-rank" second-tier spy into the medicinal garden. Next came the second corpse, then the third. Soon, the medicinal garden was restored to its original state.

"Finally, it's all cleaned up."

Before Su Chen could even wipe away his sweat.

In the courtyard.

A figure dressed in red as bright as fire, with a grass tassel hanging from her waist, walked in.

"Why have you pulled up all your flowers and plants?"

"You're back?"

Su Chen glanced toward her.