Chapter 36 : Chapter 36
Chapter 36: Never-Extinguishing Soulfire
Looking at Chen Hong kneeling on the ground with his head lowered, Lu Zhan did not feel much interest in him.
“Speak. Where are your valuables?”
He went straight to the point and demanded to know where Blackwater Hall’s money was.
Chen Hong was terrified. Whether he was supposed to say it or not, he poured everything out in one breath.
“Wang Botao, go with him and bring back anything valuable.”
After they left, Lu Zhan began searching for the place where Fei Lingyu had hidden her treasures.
There was no way too many people would know where she had stashed her things. At the very least, this puppet chairman definitely would not know.
But Lu Zhan naturally had a way to find the hiding place.
Toxin Tracking, activate!
Before long, Lu Zhan smiled faintly. “Found it. So it was hidden in the basement. Then again, that makes sense. If it had not been concealed well enough, someone would have discovered it long ago.”
“Come with me.”
Then he turned to Tao Xiao’an and said, “Tao Xiao’an, stay here and keep watch over them.”
Guided by the poisonous aura, Lu Zhan discovered a hidden trapdoor beneath the floorboards of a secluded warehouse.
When he pushed open the heavy iron door, a vast underground space opened up below, one that had clearly been modified.
Inside stood a huge iron cage forged from steel.
There were even gnaw marks on it.
“This looks a bit like a laboratory.”
Still, Zhou Hong felt that the bite marks on the iron cage looked strangely familiar.
“It should have been that Gold-Devouring Rat from Anxi Residential Complex. If I’m not mistaken, this was the original breeding site.”
Only then did Zhou Hong remember.
“No wonder.”
Just then, Shangguan Ling’s voice came from ahead.
“Brother Lu, come look at this!”
In one corner of the laboratory, a table stood silently.
On it lay a logbook, recording a number of experimental notes, including methods for using special drugs and flesh to hasten the maturation of Gold-Devouring Rats and bring them under control.
The contents were brutal and bloody.
“So it really was like this.”
Lu Zhan tossed the logbook back.
“Let’s go. We’ll check the front.”
Yet the farther Zhou Hong walked, the more alarmed he became.
Live experimentation, drug smuggling, human trafficking...
One atrocity after another.
Each one was enough to leave them shaken.
Most horrifying of all were several special “manifests.”
They contained veiled records showing that Blackwater Hall had used the hidden compartments of cargo ships and shipping containers to transport large numbers of young women and children with cultivation aptitude overseas for sale.
They even found an undestroyed handover record among them, and Zhang Chi’s name was listed prominently on it.
As the “local coordinator,” he had accepted an enormous sum in kickbacks.
At the sight of this, both Zhou Hong and Shangguan Ling were stunned by his audacity.
How had Zhang Chi even dared to do this? How many heads did he think he had to lose for such corruption and lawlessness? The Demon Extermination Bureau had never treated them poorly, yet they still were not satisfied.
In secret, he had colluded with outside forces and turned his hand against the ordinary people of his own jurisdiction.
“Profit moves the heart. Some people are just like that. Even with a blade hanging over their heads, as long as it does not fall on them, they will never repent.”
Lu Zhan was not surprised by this.
After all, becoming a Martial Artist had never depended on who was the most upright or accomplished.
So the jurisdiction heads of the Demon Extermination Bureau naturally varied widely in character.
Even so, a nameless fire stirred in Lu Zhan’s chest, and he found himself regretting not killing Zhang Chi with a single strike back then.
Before long, Lu Zhan finally found the source of the poisonous aura.
Inside was a small hidden compartment containing a copy of the Five Poisons Secret Canon, along with a dazzling assortment of heavenly materials and earthly treasures infused with deadly poison.
After putting everything away, Lu Zhan came back out of the basement.
By then, people from the Demon Extermination Bureau had finally arrived.
And it was even someone he knew.
“Captain Li! You’re the one leading the team this time?”
Li Buran nodded.
He had already heard of the deeds of the man before him while on the way here.
A member of the Five Poisons Sect had entered Lu Zhan’s territory and attempted to assassinate him. The attempt had failed, and in the end Lu Zhan had chased him for more than ten li and beheaded him. After that, he had stormed the enemy’s headquarters and wiped out the entire nest in one sweep.
No matter how one listened to it, the whole story sounded rather absurd.
“Good. Since Captain Li is here, I can rest easy.”
Li Buran had left a good impression on him. After handing over the relevant matters in his possession, Lu Zhan drove back to Peach Blossom Alley.
He first took a bath, then began counting the gains from this operation.
The first was ten million in cash.
There was not much to say about that. Lu Zhan planned to buy a villa tomorrow.
Besides that, there were all kinds of rare materials, including venom sacs, inner cores, and bones from various highly poisonous Demon Beasts, as well as rare spiritual plants and spirit ores used for poison-making.
Lu Zhan intended to take all of them to the Demon Extermination Bureau and exchange them for Contribution Points. Even after dividing the proceeds, it would still amount to a considerable profit.
Of course, what concerned him most was still his Slaughter Points.
“System, open my personal panel.”
Name: Lu Zhan
Identity: Apprentice Demon Exterminator
Realm: Third Layer of the Aperture Opening Realm
Spirit Root: Mortal Spirit Root
Title: First Showing of One’s Edge (Equipped)
Cultivation Method: Seven Killings Scripture (Upper Spirit Rank)
Martial Arts: Iron-Slaying Saber Art, Entering the Divine (Upper Mortal Rank); Cloud-Crushing Fist, Perfection (Middle Mortal Rank); Glimmering Light Shadow Escape, Entering the Divine (Upper Mortal Rank)
Slaughter Points: 15300
Weapon: Longevity Saber (Middle Spirit Rank)
Fixed Talents: Rare: Driving God, Gluttony, Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers, Windshadow Step
Elite: Absolute Poison Spirit Body
Talent Fragments: 8
Aside from that, he also currently had eight Aperture Opening Pills, one Four Symbols Mountain-Guarding Array, and the limited-time talent Never-Extinguishing Soulfire.
“Another limited-time talent.”
Lu Zhan opened it and took a look.
Limited-Time Talent: Never-Extinguishing Soulfire
Background Description: A forbidden flame born from ancient soul-spirit sacrificial rites. Once activated, it flickers like a candle flame yet will never be extinguished until the host’s spirit body disperses.
Fusion Compatibility: 50% (Can be Fixed)
Status: Not Activated (Note: Once activated, it cannot be saved)
Effect 1: Soulfire Protection
Whenever the host suffers a soul attack, [Soulfire Protection] will trigger, forming a soul shield. During the shield’s duration, soul damage is reduced by 70%.
Effect 2: When soul power falls below 70%, [Soulfire Impact] will trigger once, releasing a stream of soul flame to attack the target.
Lu Zhan did not hesitate.
“System, fix Never-Extinguishing Soulfire.”
In the next instant, the system’s voice rang out.
[ Consume 6000 Slaughter Points to fix the talent — Never-Extinguishing Soulfire? ]
“Yes!”
[ Fixing limited-time talent... ]
[ Fixation successful ]
Talent: Never-Extinguishing Soulfire
Talent Grade: Rare
Growth Potential: ★★★★☆
Duration: Permanent
Status: Fixed
Lu Zhan could feel that his mind had become exceptionally clear at that moment. Even the fatigue from the day’s fighting had been swept away.
After finishing all this, Lu Zhan looked at the 9300 Slaughter Points he had left.
Then his gaze settled on the two talents [Gluttony] and [Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers].
In truth, he had long wanted to fuse those two talents together. It was just that earlier today, he had spent five Talent Fragments upgrading the Veteran Driver talent.
So his Talent Fragments were definitely not enough.
He did not want to wait any longer. In any case, he still had enough Slaughter Points.
[ Detected that the two Innate Talents, Gluttony and Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers, have a Fusion Compatibility of 80%. Spend 3000 Slaughter Points or 10 Blank Talent Fragments to fuse them? ]
“Yes. Spend 3000 Slaughter Points to fuse them!”
[ Fusing talents... ]