Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill

This made sense, of course. Chen Cheng was powerful enough to have a seat at their table and share in the spoils.

They also needed Chen Cheng to share the risk, even if it was highly probable that no such risk existed.

But they couldn’t afford to gamble, because losing the bet meant utter annihilation.

Chen Cheng seemed tempted, but he didn’t move. After a moment of thought, he said:

"I can go in with you two, but I’ll have to go in first. You two can follow after about half a tea’s time."

Hearing this, Jiang Huaijin’s and Qin Hongbin’s eyes lit up.

’This kid Chen Cheng really is trying to bluff us!’

After all, back in the Wang Family’s forbidden grounds, Chen Cheng had been overly cautious, refusing to go first and always staying at the very rear.

His willingness to go first this time must mean he was certain there was no danger to him. This proved that the so-called Corpse Demon probably didn’t exist!

Qin Hongbin said, "Half a tea’s time is too long. In that amount of time, I’m afraid you’ll have scooped up all the treasures inside, young friend. Old Jiang and I won’t even get the scraps!"

Jiang Huaijin chuckled. "Young friend, you go on ahead. Old Qin and I will follow after a twenty-count."

Qin Hongbin nodded. "A twenty-count is plenty of time to grab a lot of goodies."

It had to be said, these two old foxes were incredibly cautious and valued their lives above all else. Even now, they didn’t dare to be the first to enter.

’The older they are, the craftier they get. It’s not easy to trick them into being cannon fodder.’

Chen Cheng sighed to himself and began to haggle. "A twenty-count is too short. It has to be at least a sixty-count."

"Twenty-five!"

"Fifty!"

"Thirty! No more than that. Any longer and this whole trip will have been a waste for us!"

"Fine, thirty it is. But don’t you two try any funny business!"

"We won’t, we won’t!"

Only then did Chen Cheng draw his Long Saber and walk slowly into the cave.

The mouth of the cave was wide, but it gradually narrowed the deeper he went. It grew darker and more foreboding, and he could faintly sense a putrid stench.

After twenty or thirty steps, he came to a stone staircase that sloped downward. The walls bore faint marks of artificial excavation, and the marks looked recent.

This matched the information Shen Mingyuan had obtained from interrogating the Black Lotus Sect’s Incense Master.

There were several secret Black Lotus Sect strongholds near Linji City. When the City Guard Department and the Protectorate Army had previously purged the sect’s forces, nearly all of those strongholds had been abandoned.

A few months ago, when Ghostly Wound arrived in Linji City, he hadn’t reactivated any of the old bases. Instead, he chose this cave at Cui Liu Manor as his new stronghold.

The Incense Master and his men were the ones who had excavated the stone stairs leading to the secret chamber below ground.

Aside from that Black Lotus Sect Incense Master, all the other men had died in the secret chamber, becoming nourishment for the Black Lotuses the sect was cultivating.

There were two secret chambers underground. The outer chamber was where the Black Lotuses were grown. The inner one was extremely well-hidden; even the Black Lotus Sect’s Incense Master had never entered it.

This was because any living person who came within thirty feet of the inner chamber’s door would alert the two Green-haired Corpses standing guard and be attacked.

Opening the door to the inner chamber would disturb the Corpse Demon inside. Once disturbed, it would fly into a rage, and everyone in the manor would suffer the consequences.

As for whether the Black Lotus Sect’s treasury was in the inner chamber, the Incense Master had no idea.

’It seems I’ll need these two old foxes to open the door to the inner chamber and lure away the Corpse Demon.’

After collecting his thoughts, Chen Cheng suddenly pulled out a large sack and plunged down the stone staircase.

The cave was dimly lit, and Chen Cheng’s move to pull out the large sack was discreet, but it was not enough to fool old foxes like Jiang Huaijin and Qin Hongbin.

"Old Qin, the thirty-count is up," Jiang Huaijin said with a loud laugh as he shot into the cave.

"Indeed!" Qin Hongbin moved at almost the same instant, his figure as swift as a phantom.

They reached the staircase at nearly the same moment and charged down the passage one after another. In just a few breaths, they descended over a hundred feet and arrived in the secret chamber below.

The secret chamber was nearly two hundred feet square, with dim oil lamps burning on the walls.

In the center of the room were more than thirty stone coffins, and a Martial Artist lay inside each one.

These Martial Artists were all still alive. Their pupils were wide, and their faces were contorted in agony.

Upon closer inspection, a lotus flower, glowing with a pearlescent white light, could be seen growing from the dantian area on each of their abdomens.

The lotus had a dense network of blood-red roots that plunged deep into the Martial Artists’ bodies.

Jiang Huaijin and Qin Hongbin were stunned by the sight.

This was clearly not the time for conversation. Both men turned to look at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng had already put away his Long Saber. He was holding a large sack and searching all over the place, now touching the walls, now craning his neck to inspect the stone coffins.

But aside from the coffins, the entire chamber was nothing but bare walls. Where were the treasures?

If there were any treasures to be had, it would be the Black Lotuses cultivated by the Black Lotus Sect.

The Qi Blood Power these Black Lotuses emitted was even richer than that of centuries-old Medicinal Materials.

However, they carried the faint aura of a Demon. An ordinary Martial Artist would have no use for them; only a member of a Demon Sect who cultivated the Black Lotus Sect’s Secret Technique would consider them a treasure.

Jiang Huaijin and Qin Hongbin exchanged a look, disappointment showing on both their faces.

They’d gone to all this trouble to find a Black Lotus Sect stronghold, and it turned out to be completely useless.

Of course, the two of them weren’t foolish enough to search around like Chen Cheng. That was just a waste of time.

"Sigh..." Jiang Huaijin let out a soft sigh. He was about to speak but suddenly swallowed his words, his gaze shifting to a far corner.

Two Green-haired Corpses were slumped against the base of the wall. Just then, they turned their heads and fixed their hollow, green-glowing eyes on Jiang Huaijin.

But the Green-haired Corpses weren’t being controlled, and Jiang Huaijin was over a hundred feet away, so they soon went still again.

"Huh?" Jiang Huaijin let out a soft sound of surprise. He noticed that the Green-haired Corpses’ position seemed to be guarding a hidden door, and his face lit up with delight.

Qin Hongbin also noticed the Green-haired Corpses and the hidden door behind them.

Mere Green-haired Corpses might be enough to scare a Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm Martial Artist, but to an Organ Refining Realm Martial Artist, they were nothing.

The two exchanged a glance and suddenly shot toward the Green-haired Corpses.

Before they even arrived, two fierce and tyrannical blasts of Primordial Gang True Force shot out!

BOOM!

The Green-haired Corpses didn’t have time to react before they were blasted to dust!

Jiang Huaijin and Qin Hongbin had already reached the wall, and each fired another blast of Primordial Gang True Force.

BOOM! Another dull roar!

The hidden door in the wall shattered, revealing a stone room.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Huaijin and Qin Hongbin charged into the stone room.

Seeing the several exquisite wooden chests placed inside, the two were overcome with elation.

"ROAR!"

But just then, a furious roar echoed out!

The massive stone coffin in the corner suddenly exploded, and a nearly ten-foot-tall black figure shot out, roaring as it charged toward them.

It was as fast as lightning. As it swung its sharp, black-furred claws, it stirred up waves of incomparably tyrannical Demonic Qi.

"This is bad!"

The expressions on Jiang Huaijin and Qin Hongbin’s faces changed drastically. They each gathered their Primordial Gang True Force and blasted it at the black figure.

RUMBLE!

The two blasts of Primordial Gang True Force collided head-on with the Demonic Qi, erupting in a violent explosion!

The tyrannical Power shattered the stone room’s walls, causing them to collapse.

The black figure was sent flying, crashing into the stone wall.

Jiang Huaijin and Qin Hongbin were also thrown back over a hundred feet, tumbling to a stop at the entrance of the outer chamber.

Before they could even catch their breath, another furious roar erupted.

The black figure charged toward them again at extreme speed. The Demonic Qi between its claws was so dense it seemed solid, radiating an overwhelming might.

Horrified, Jiang Huaijin and Qin Hongbin frantically activated all their Qi Blood Power, pushed their Primordial Gang True Force to its limits, and fled up the staircase as fast as they could.

A Corpse Demon that could wield Demonic Qi was an enemy they could not defeat!

The black figure followed them like a shadow, in hot pursuit. Everywhere it passed, the hard stone walls and stairs were pulverized by the waves of Demonic Qi bursting from its claws.

RUMBLE!

Even the secret chamber itself trembled violently. Countless huge rocks crashed down from the ceiling, and it was a long while before the cavern fell silent again.

’Whoa! So the Corpse Demon really is this terrifying. The might of its Demonic Qi is already approaching a Realm Power value of three thousand. That’s more than enough to keep those two old foxes busy for a while!’

Glancing at the collapsed staircase, Chen Cheng remained unfazed, simply turning and striding toward the inner stone chamber.