Path of the Sect Leader

Chapter 98: Haul in Hand

Summer heat crept in close. Time neared for sowing fragrant-reed pig-fish seedlings, but Zhao Liangde's departure slammed doors shut. Beast Taming Sect cut off supplies—no more fry, no buys. Pens fell to weeds and neglect. Chu Qin hadn't tended them in ages. Even the old watchman relocated to Immortal Forest Valley with the migrant wave.

"Still serviceable."

Zhang Shishi slotted spirit stones into the Yellow Sand Illusion Array hub. Mechanism hummed awake, barely veiling the Black River's toxic haze.

Whole crew gathered inside the barrier—resting easy. Array bought from Chu Youmin's stock years back: down to thirty percent potency now. Rip-off. No point hauling it off—left to rust here.

Thanks to Dark Heart Lotuses, mist thinned noticeable from peaks past. Plump pig-fish rollicked in the muck, free from harvest. Beast Taming bailed; Chu Qin skipped the chase. Little critters hit the jackpot—no more platter fate for humans or beasts.

Lotuses blooming, fish splashing—rustic pocket of life amid Black River's grim sprawl.

Wei Minniang still out from Shandu. Brought Yue'er along for the outing. Qin Weiyu snagged a runt pig-fish, grilled crisp outside, tender in. Aroma hooked noses. Prime cuts skewered on bamboo—girl gnawed greasy-fingered, blissed out.

"This bead really that slick?"

He Yu rolled the black pearl under glowstone light. Material elusive—felt like plain jade at a glance. No wonder Wang Qing disguised it as a button: bold spot, zero suspicion.

"If my intel holds, it's a Black River Bead. Mouth-held, glide free through these swamps—even lurk submerged, no breath needed. Wang family fluke find. Wang Qing hunkered under our pens twenty days plus. Qi Cloud Golden Cores sniffed nothing. Left him breathing? Hideout leaks—we're branded harborers. No defense. Disaster staring us down."

Qi Xiu doled details selective—pulled from the man's dying thoughts via gift, masked as hearsay.

"Makes sense..." Bai Muhong clicked quick. "Digging treasure—you mean he stashed gear down there?"

Nod approving. "Spot on. Who's diving?"

"Me."

Zhang Shishi popped the bead in cheek. He Yu tied sturdy rope waist-deep safeguard.

Eyes tracked as he plunged the reeking marsh. Line paid out endless—bottom reached, true.

Yu Denou marveled. "Bead's a gem. Wangs hoarding wonders like this—us clueless all along."

Qi Xiu's expression tangled. "Wang Juan grinded centuries for scraps like these. Owed him big. Ended up ending his heir... snatching the family century hoard."

"No beating yourself up..." Yu Denou soothed.

"Not guilt." Pause heavy. "Just... melancholy. Worlds turn cruel." Muttered low: "Fates twist, gains slip through fingers. Forebears' fields reaped by strangers. Rise and ruin through ages—distills to this knot in the chest..."

Crew fell quiet, resonance thick.

Bottom rummage dragged fruitless awhile. Qi Xiu paced into the array, pulled Chu Duo's gifted feng shui compass artifact. Pored deep.

Fortune Steering and Calamity Dodging Art (Chu Huixin's revision)—sequel to Illuminate Heart and See Nature Art. Pre-sixth layer Qi Condensation: Linglong Pagoda plus the first art unlocked Illuminate Self-Heart and See Human Nature—god-tier natals. Paired with innate Beyond Reckoning, three of Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart's orifices cracked open.

Sixth to perfection? This art, plus the first-tier compass in hand. Gadget packed one minor defense spell—otherwise, mortal daoist tool for geomancy, nothing more. Chu Duo nameless; Qi Xiu dubbed it Nameless Compass.

Trials these days: synced with Nameless Compass, cycling the art, visualizing natal Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart—Spiritual Qi crept upward steady. Depth promised: remaining four orifices? Achievable.

Roadblock cleared. Foundation Establishment odds? Real now. Genuine uplift.

Second wind hit timely. Zhang Shishi groped marsh floor hours—hauled oil-paper wrapped small chest. Cracked open: ten hefty storage bags neat-rowed. Wang century stash, locked inside.

"Herbs wall-to-wall!"

"Pills, stones this one!"

"Low-tier artifacts! Array kits! Manuals!"

Zhan Yuan's whoops per bag. Bulging full: sect essentials galore. Three, four herb-heavy—tied to Wang main trade.

"Sect Leader—check!"

Zhan Yuan thrust papers eager: Black River Market shop deeds. One: old store Chu Qin gifted Wang Juan early days. Other: tournament win reclaimed.

"Senior Wang barely cold... everything changed hands..."

Sigh deep, memories stirred.

"Deeds—what now?"

Zhan Yuan's gaze hopeful—clear: reclaim, operate.

"Our gift? Keep. Tournament one..." Qi Xiu plucked it. "Deliver to Zhen Yang Liu Clan. Frame as my apology for wounding Liu Yi. Bury hatchet. Low posture—whatever pleases them. Face? Irrelevant."

"Prime shop—overkill compensation? Zhen Lin Sect lost a Foundation Establishment, got zilch. Big gesture there? Fast friends."

Reluctance plain—Zhan Yuan eyed better market spots; old Wang store? Meh.

"Short-sighted. Zhen Lin's kill—profits all Liu's. Who tops their hate? Kan senior first. Liu clan second. Liu bloated sudden, guilty conscience—wary of Zhen Lin. Gift them? Liu blocks hard. Ride the wave—snuggle the strong. Play eager lapdogs. Keeps us low-key. Focus shifting Immortal Forest Valley anyway. Black River? Hold steady."

Lecture flushed Zhan Yuan crimson. Bai Muhong backed Qi Xiu—pride stung deeper. "Liu it is." Deed pocketed, sulked off workshop-bound.

Stash unearthed—chapter closed. Qi Xiu rose.

"Windfall scored. Lips sealed—all. Wang Qing kill? Might leak. Hoard in our pockets? Word out—jealous knives sharpen. Pack up. Black River Peak folks home. Immortal Forest same. Back to grind."

Crew dispersed quiet, haul's weight settling.