novelraw Chapter 321: A Series of Unexpected Events
Chapter 321: A Series of Unexpected Events
"I really only took two Earth Spirit Fruits! What do I have to say to make you believe me?"
Shui Juanyun was anxious and distressed. This was no place to linger. The longer he stayed, the greater the risk of being discovered. He sincerely did not want to prolong this stalemate.
"Still trying to argue? Are you determined to let us brothers die?"
The elder leading the group clenched his fists, his face twisted in fury. "I'll ask you one last time! Are you handing it over or not?"
Shui Juanyun felt like coughing up blood from frustration.
At this moment, Long Xuan stood silently to the side, watching the drama unfold.
His plan was running smoothly. Earlier, he had deliberately avoided mentioning how many Earth Spirit Fruits were on the tree, letting these people mistakenly believe Shui Juanyun had taken all 35 of them.
This way, once conflict erupted, everyone would attack Shui Juanyun, leaving him alone.
In the ensuing chaos, Shui Juanyun would bear the brunt of the attacks, allowing Long Xuan to escape unscathed.
The elders, driven by fury, likely wouldn't pay attention to him, and at most, one or two might come after him—but that wouldn't pose a real threat. "I swear on my inner demon! I only took two Earth Spirit Fruits. If I took even one more, may I die a horrible death and never enter reincarnation! Is this enough for you now?"
Shui Juanyun, pushed to the brink, had no choice but to make an oath.
Swearing on one’s inner demon carried real consequences. Breaking such an oath would trigger the inner demon, severely hindering future breakthroughs in cultivation.
However, this method had its limitations. It wasn’t universally effective; those steeped in demonic practices often dismissed the effects of breaking such oaths.
But Long Xuan wasn’t about to let him off the hook so easily.
If the group found out there were only three Earth Spirit Fruits, the insufficient number would lead to a chaotic free-for-all, and Long Xuan would inevitably become a target.
Without hesitation, he took out his most menacing 'Gu insect', placed it on his shoulder, and said helplessly,
"Brother Shui, let’s just admit it. You should know by now that without handing over 30 Earth Spirit Fruits, it’s impossible to leave here alive. Sometimes, you have to learn to let go."
"Contentment brings happiness. After all, I’m satisfied with just one Earth Spirit Fruit."
With those words, Long Xuan turned and swaggered off, ignoring Shui Juanyun’s stunned expression behind him.
He knew this would expose his identity—Shui Juanyun wasn’t foolish and would definitely realize he was Long Xuan.
But so what? His Transformation Gu could change his appearance at will. Worst-case scenario, he’d simply switch identities. Next time Shui Juanyun saw him, he wouldn’t recognize him.
"You bastard! You really think we’re fools to be toyed with?"
"You miser! Sharing a few Earth Spirit Fruits won’t kill you! Don’t be so selfish!"
"If you don’t care about us old men’s lives, don’t blame us for being ruthless!"
"Everyone, attack! We’ll take them from his corpse!"
The elder leading the group roared in rage. Seeing Shui Juanyun’s stubborn refusal, he finally lost all patience and charged forward with murderous intent.
The other elders, equally incensed, bypassed Long Xuan entirely and lunged at Shui Juanyun with vicious expressions.
Just as Long Xuan had anticipated, Shui Juanyun became the sole target of their wrath, and no one attacked him.
With a smile, Long Xuan calmly left the chamber, leaving the chaos behind.
"Fuck your ancestor Long Xuan! You will not die a good death!"
Shui Juanyun’s furious roar echoed from behind.
He had once again fallen victim to that cursed Integrity Gu.
At this point, how could he not realize that the man who had been calling him "brother" all along was none other than the Long Xuan he had sworn to kill?
He had been thoroughly fooled.
The thought of teaming up with Long Xuan to kill him now felt like a sick joke. Furious and humiliated, Shui Juanyun felt like coughing up blood.
Never in his life had he been played so thoroughly.
But he had no time to chase down his mortal enemy, who had already fled. At present, he was facing a siege by thirty Marrow Cleansing Peak Gu cultivators.
Long Xuan, that conniving schemer, had escaped effortlessly, while Shui Juanyun found himself in serious trouble.
After leaving the secret passage, Long Xuan smirked, changed into the attire of a Teng Clan Gu cultivator, and used his Transformation Gu to take on the appearance of a Spiritual Sea-stage cultivator from the Teng Clan before leaving in high spirits.
The plan had gone flawlessly, saving him the use of a precious Hundred-Mile Talisman.
Meanwhile, inside the chamber, Shui Juanyun was struggling under the relentless assault of the thirty Marrow Cleansing Peak cultivators.
It was worth noting that after dying once, Shui Juanyun had lost many of his best Gu insects, severely weakening his combat strength. He was no longer the formidable force he once was.
At his peak, he wouldn’t have spared these thirty people a second thought.
But now, he was barely holding on against the combined attacks of thirty Marrow Cleansing Peak Gu cultivators.
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"Kid! This is your last chance! Hand over the Earth Spirit Fruits!" The leader of the group shouted angrily, his eyes red with fury.
"I don't have them!" Shui Juanyun retorted, his tone desperate and exasperated.
"Still daring to lie? Do you expect me to trust you or the Integrity Gu?"
"If you care more about wealth than your life, then leave your life here!"
"I want to see just how stubborn that mouth of yours can be!"
The leader’s expression turned grim as he intensified his assault on Shui Juanyun.
Under the frenzied attacks, Shui Juanyun found himself in extreme danger, barely holding on.
His heart raced with urgency—he knew there was no way to clear up this misunderstanding.
The fierce battle here could very likely attract the attention of the people above. If this dragged on any longer, even if these attackers didn’t kill him, the Teng family’s Gu cultivators outside would surely finish him off.
In the end, with a hardened gaze and gritted teeth, Shui Juanyun made a desperate decision: he threw out the two Earth Spirit Fruits he had just obtained.
As expected, the appearance of the two Earth Spirit Fruits immediately plunged the group into chaos.
The sudden sight of the fruits made most people instinctively lunge toward them, diverting their attention from besieging Shui Juanyun.
The encirclement surrounding him instantly opened up. Seizing the rare opportunity, Shui Juanyun escaped from the ring of attackers in a flash.
He abandoned the two Earth Spirit Fruits he had just acquired, solely to flee this dangerous predicament. It was a desperate gamble.
However, misfortune struck again. Even after giving up his wealth to save his life, he couldn’t escape danger.
The one who snatched the Earth Spirit Fruits was an old man in a black robe, renowned for his incredible speed. To everyone’s shock, he managed to seize both fruits and even killed one of his own allies in the process.
"Hahaha… The medicinal power of the Earth Spirit Fruits is immense. Two of them are enough for me to break through!"
"You all enjoy yourselves here. I’ll be leaving first."
With that, the black-robed elder tore a talisman apart. Following a wave of spatial energy, his figure vanished into thin air.
But just as he disappeared, he tossed a small metallic orb toward the Earth Spirit Tree.
The orb hit the ground and instantly detonated. The deafening explosion shook the entire chamber, with sand and stone from above raining down continuously.
At the heart of the explosion, the Earth Spirit Tree was engulfed in flames and completely incinerated—there wasn’t even a twig left behind.
“Damn it!”
Seeing the scene behind him, Shui Juanyun’s face turned pale.
The commotion was so massive that anyone above ground with functional ears would have heard it. Trouble loomed over everyone still in the underground chamber.
That man had already obtained the Earth Spirit Fruits and escaped. Yet, he deliberately destroyed the Earth Spirit Tree for no apparent reason.
What was he after? What benefit did he gain from this? Was it just for his own twisted amusement?
He wasted a valuable Heaven-Shaking Thunder Bomb just to satisfy his perverse desires?
Not only did he destroy the Teng family’s roots, but he also left everyone in the chamber to fend for themselves. Such a malicious and self-serving person truly deserved to die!
Shui Juanyun clenched his fists, nearly driven mad with rage.