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Chapter 348: Chu Liuxiang

If I were a fifth or sixth-realm diabolical cultivator, I might get tempted by this.

After all, diabolical sects were different from righteous sects. They wouldn\'t only send their best members out to fight. It was a free for all; even old monstrous cultivators wouldn\'t hold back.

Moreover, this wasn\'t limited to Donghuai City. Every major city in the nine provinces would have underground gathering places like this. The diabolical cultivators would definitely share information on these bounties with each other.

Won\'t I have to be careful wherever I go from now on?

Given his financial strain, Chu Liang might even consider faking his death to claim the reward. Nonetheless, the strict requirements to verify the target\'s death prevented that possibility.

Yun Chaoxian muttered, "Why is my bounty only twenty thousand while yours is fifty thousand?"

"What\'s wrong?" Chu Liang asked. "Have you also been targeted by the criminal world?"

"Which notable person in the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten hasn\'t been targeted before? Well, unless you\'re a nobody," Yun Chaoxian said with a smirk.

Well, then. Seems like you\'re pretty proud of it, Chu Liang remarked inwardly.

However, he thought about it some more and realized that any standout talents in the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten would have inevitably crossed paths with diabolical sects or the criminal world. So, it wasn\'t surprising that the criminal world would have bounties out for them.

Nevertheless, the bounty for Chu Liang\'s head was clearly above market price. The person who put it out probably had a deep grudge against him. If that was the case, then it was obvious who put out the bounty.

Inferno Devil Valley?

Chu Liang was eighty percent sure it was them.

After all, their young master came looking for trouble with me and then died. My teacher even went to bother them after that.

But... what does that have to do with me?

Your young master was stomped to death by a Mammothdagon, and your outer halls were wiped out by my teacher.

"Why didn\'t you put a bounty on my teacher instead?" Chu Liang muttered.

"Your teacher is Di Nufeng, right?" Yun Chaoxian said. "Her bounty listing\'s over there."

This guy sure has good eyesight.

Chu Liang glanced over and saw another black jade board. It seemed to be filled with old, unfulfilled bounties.

The first row had a name that shone out to him.

The Mount Shu Sect\'s Di Nufeng. Bounty of 1.2 million Vermillion-Bird coins.

"Huh?" Chu Liang uttered in shock.

My teacher is worth more than the Demon-Subduing Pestle...?

Isn\'t this amount a bit excessive?

Even among the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten, there wouldn\'t be anyone who would use this much money to order an assassination, right?

On further thought, Chu Liang figured it out... It wasn\'t just one person who wanted to kill Di Nufeng! She had made countless enemies in her life. There might have been dozens or even hundreds of people who had come here to put a bounty on her, and that\'s why her bounty accumulated to such a huge amount.

This couldn\'t even be called a reward anymore; it should be called a jackpot! If this bounty continued to accumulate, it would be a much more astonishing number in the future.

Damn. If the Mount Shu Sect ever hits rock bottom, just killing Di Nufeng would be enough to support the entire sect for years, Chu Liang thought. Then he suddenly realized, Now it makes sense why Mount Shu\'s higher-ups are always indulging my teacher. Could they be playing the long game?

Nonetheless, there was no need to worry about his teacher. Even if the whole world put a bounty on her, she would definitely live better than anyone else. As long as the bounty wasn\'t high enough to tempt an eighth-realm Eminent One, there was no need to worry about her.

The person I should be worrying about is me.

So, Chu Liang said to Yun Chaoxian, "To be safe, don\'t call me by my name while we\'re still in Donghuai."

"Then what should I call you?" Yun Chaoxian asked.

"Just call me by my childhood nickname... Chu Liuxiang[1]."

...

This black market seemed to sell practically everything. There was a greater variety of items than there had been at the Pavilion of Celestial Fate’s auction.

Many of the items, including enchanted tools, medicinal pills, and spirit plants, had not been acquired by legitimate means. They were stolen goods that could only be sold at black markets, as selling them in normal markets would likely draw the attention of the items\' owners and land the thieves in trouble. That\'s why the prices in the black market were usually lower than those of normal markets.

There are also many diabolical artifacts and pills that had been produced by diabolical cultivators. It was forbidden to sell such things in the martial world. At Mount Shu, diabolical items would be destroyed upon discovery, yet they could be sold here.

Unsuppressed waves of malevolent qi were leaking out all over the black market.

Regardless, Chu Liang and Yun Chaoxian couldn\'t deal with this issue right now. Once they were done with the matter at hand, they could report this black market to the righteous sects and the imperial court of the Yu Dynasty. The combined forces would then dispatch troops to destroy this place, which should yield considerable results.

Chu Liang and Yun Chaoxian walked through the black market and arrived at a counter.

Chu Liang said, "I want to contact Li Feiyu. I want him to steal a treasure for me."

"Which treasure?" asked the man in black behind the counter.

"The World-Dominating Halberd that belongs to Yun Chaoxian of the Great Astral Sect. He is currently in Donghuai. If Li Feiyu can steal the halberd, we negotiate on the fee."

The man in black gave a slight nod. "We will contact him for you. You can come back in three days. If he accepts the job, we at Qingyun Alley will arrange a meeting for you."

Chu Liang nodded. "Sure."

"Please provide us with some proof of your identity," the man in black said. "We will keep it absolutely confidential."

Chu Liang understood the reason behind that request. As an intermediary, Qingyun Alley had to verify that both parties were capable of making good on their promises. It was Chu Liang\'s first time there, so they would naturally be concerned about his ability to pay.

As for his proof of identity, it certainly wouldn\'t be disclosed.

Chu Liang showed his chamber master\'s token to the man in black. "I am also working for someone higher up."

The man in black immediately replied, "So, you\'re an esteemed senior from the White-Bone Hall. In that case, there will be no problem with this job."

In the underground, the Dark King Sect was like a king.

Chu Liang and Yun Chaoxiaon swiftly wrapped up their affairs and left the black market.

Yun Chaoxian asked worriedly, "Will he take the job?"

"He might, or he might not," Chu Liang replied.

"Huh?" Yun Chaoxian was confused. "If he doesn\'t come find us, won\'t we have wasted our efforts?"

"Regardless of whether he accepts the job, it\'s very likely he will still come find us," Chu Liang said slowly. "Li Feiyu is a very arrogant thief. It\'s obvious from his self-proclaimed title \'Heroic Thief of Jiangnan\' and the fact that he leaves his signature mark after every theft."

Chu Liang continued, "If he doesn\'t suspect we\'re luring him out and takes the job, that\'s the best outcome. But there\'s another possibility. Li Feiyu just stole a treasure from the Ultimate Martial Mountain Manor and surely knows that Li Zhutian is a disciple of the Great Astral Sect. If we send him to steal from another disciple of the Great Astral Sect, he might guess it\'s a trap."

"Then..." Yun Chaoxian looked bewildered. "Will he still come if he guesses that?"

"He will," Chu Liang said with a nod, "because he is a very arrogant thief. Since we\'ve challenged him, he will likely come to steal your World-Dominating Halberd. That way, we\'ll have a chance to capture him."

"But what if he doesn\'t come find us?" Yun Chaoxian asked again.

"Then we\'ll try another method. There\'s no strategy that will result in guaranteed success," Chu Liang answered. "As long as the worst-case scenario—where he steals the halberd and escapes—doesn\'t happen, we\'ll be fine."

Yun Chaoxian pondered for a while and suggested, "Can\'t we have him steal a different treasure?"

"Do you have any other treasures on you?"

The disciples of the Great Astral Sect valued weapons the most and rarely used other enchanted tools.

Yun Chaoxian shook his head. "No..."

"I do have a few treasures, but I don\'t dare risk losing them. Li Feiyu is pretty skilled," Chu Liang remarked seriously. "All of my treasures are still useful."

Yun Chaoxian: "...?"

1. Liuxiang means “lingering fragrance”. Chu Liuxiang is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel series written by Taiwanese writer Gu Long(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_Liuxiang). Chu Liuxiang is basically like the Chinese version of Robin Hood. ☜