Immortal Path Space

Chapter 340: Unfinished Victory

After Qian Huanzi agreed, Fang Xuan took out a Jade Scroll containing an image of Wang Hong and handed it to Qian Huanzi for reference.

"Fellow Daoist, do you have any information about the people around him?" Qian Huanzi inquired. Without this information, their plan might be easily exposed.

"Of course, I've prepared for that too! These two Jade Scrolls contain records of Wang Hong and the habits of those around him," Fang Xuan replied, handing over two more Jade Scrolls to Qian Huanzi.

Zhan Shulong and Miao Rui, seeing Fang Xuan's thorough preparations, became alert. They guessed that Fang Xuan must have been planning for a long time, and they had not noticed any clues. Who knew what other schemes he might have hidden?

Although they had an agreement among the three faction' leaders, they didn't want to risk being outmaneuvered by Fang Xuan when it came to dividing the spoils in the future.

They exchanged a discreet glance, conveying some information that only they understood.

"Please allow me some time to prepare, my fellow Daoists. I will need up to three days," Qian Huanzi said after briefly scanning through the Jade Scrolls. He couldn't absorb all this information in one go; he needed some time.

Several days later, the marketplace outside Hua Xue Valley was bustling with activity. Due to the increased number of cultivators in the area and the recruitment of Treasure Hunters, prosperity had returned temporarily.

The daily income in this marketplace was now nearly equivalent to what a trading caravan would make on a journey. Moreover, all the shops in this marketplace were owned by Wang Hong himself, and the goods sold were all refined by his subordinates, eliminating many intermediaries and greatly increasing profits.

The substantial increase in income had led to the four warehouses in the valley becoming insufficient to store everything. Recently, Yin Ze had organized the construction of two large warehouses to accommodate the new supplies.

At this moment, Hu Jian was on the second floor of a tavern in the marketplace, sipping wine leisurely while observing the bustling crowd below.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted as he spotted Wang Hong in the crowd below.

He swiftly leaped from the window and arrived in front of Wang Hong in just a few steps.

"East Master! Why have you returned so early?" Hu Jian asked. They were aware of the purpose of Wang Hong's recent trip, so it seemed odd for him to return so soon.

Wang Hong had gone with forty others, and they hadn't seen anyone else, so it felt unusual for him to be walking with these three.

"Hu Jian, how has the situation in the marketplace been recently?" "Wang Hong" didn't answer directly but inquired about the marketplace's status.

"Business has been booming recently. If we convert the daily earnings into Spirit Stones, it's roughly in the millions. However, following your instructions, most of it has been converted into stockpiled resources."

Hearing Hu Jian's report, the imposter Wang Hong shivered and almost passed out. He had risked his life to impersonate Wang Hong, and the promised reward from Fang Xuan was about the same amount.

At first, he thought it was a huge deal, and he was quite pleased with himself. Now, he realized it was only equivalent to Wang Hong's daily income. At the same time, he began to hatch a scheme to make a fortune from this opportunity.

Zhan Shulong and the other two were equally shocked by this figure. In the past, Wang Hong had always kept them away from such matters, and they had never imagined the profits could be so substantial.

"East Master! Is there something wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Hu Jian asked with concern as he noticed Wang Hong's shivering.

"I'm fine; it's just some matters within the sect. I returned early, while the others are still at the original location. Well, I'll head into the valley now. Please take care of the marketplace," Wang Hong instructed Hu Jian before leaving. He had narrowly avoided revealing himself just now.

Hu Jian watched Wang Hong's departing figure with a hint of suspicion. He had followed Wang Hong for decades and hadn't noticed anything amiss, but his intuition told him something was strange.

This time, Wang Hong had not brought Little Peng with him. Little Peng was a second-tier high-quality Spirit Beast with fast flight abilities, making it convenient for communication if needed. Wang Hong had left it with plenty of its favorite snacks, including some rare Spiritual Objects that other Foundation Building cultivators could only dream of.

Little Peng had enjoyed its freedom for the first few days when Wang Hong was away, but after a while, it couldn't help but feel a deep longing for him.

Today, it lay in a patch of grass, wings and legs stretched out lazily, looking like a lifeless bird.

"East Master is back!" Suddenly, it heard many voices from the valley, all calling out to East Master. In this entire Mountain Valley, only Wang Hong was addressed as East Master by everyone.

Instantly, its spirits soared, as if it had a spring inside, propelling it upward. Standing tall, Little Peng spotted several people approaching from a distance, with Wang Hong leading the way.

Like a bird that had just drunk a jug of Spirit Wine, Little Peng rushed excitedly toward Wang Hong.

The imposter Wang Hong had carefully studied the provided information, and he knew about the relationship between Wang Hong and this Spirit Beast. He had been worried all along since the bond between a Spirit Beast and its master could easily reveal his true identity.

Now, seeing Little Peng approaching him with excitement, he felt a sense of accomplishment. After all, an animal was just an animal, easily fooled.

With a smile on his face, he stood still, watching as Little Peng charged towards him. Passing this test would make it even more challenging for others to discover his true identity. From now on, he would have full authority in this Mountain Valley.

Little Peng, with great force, crashed into the imposter Wang Hong.

There was a loud "bang" as Little Peng collided with him.

Unfortunately, Qian Huanzi, a genius in his own right, didn't even have time to scream before being turned into a pulp by the force of Little Peng's collision.

As he faced imminent death, he cursed the cunningness of the beast that had deceived him.

Little Peng, now in a state of confusion, looked at the human-shaped object it had collided with.

It was extremely agitated and felt as if it had accidentally killed Wang Hong.

It remembered Wang Hong had cautioned it repeatedly to be careful and remain composed. It was feeling very sorry for itself now.

The commotion naturally drew the attention of others, and suddenly, everyone in the valley rushed over.

They had seen Little Peng often collide with Wang Hong at high speed, so they couldn't understand why this had happened today.

Now, the people in the valley were also feeling somewhat perplexed.

[Read at /shanefreak, and heartfelt thankyou for your support!]