Xu Yang secretly shook his head. ’Most people who join the Blood Lotus Sect don’t do it for ideals or ambition. They haven’t been brainwashed into agreeing with the sect’s doctrines, either. The only reason they join is for Martial Dao resources.’
The person who had approached him before had also used resources as a lure.
’He probably planned to run for it right after killing me.’ Xu Yang searched Guan Du’s body and found over three thousand taels in silver banknotes and three Profound Yuan Qi Transformation Pills. It seemed Guan Du had all his worldly possessions on him.
He also picked up Guan Du’s Half-Spirit Weapon. ’Its quality can’t even compare to Cold Abyss, let alone Red Blood.’
Footsteps sounded from behind!
Xu Yang turned to see Zhou Jiang and the others running out, having noticed that the fighting had stopped.
Everyone was utterly shocked, staring blankly at a battlefield that looked like it had been ravaged by a hurricane. Large craters and intersecting fissures littered the area, making it seem as if the very earth had been overturned.
The massive Tuo Dragon, a mangled mess of flesh and blood, lay lifeless and unmoving in front of a large crater. Even in death, they could still feel its soul-shaking, ferocious presence.
The handsome youth’s robes were tattered, but his eyes shone brightly as he stood beside a half-kneeling corpse, holding two Half-Spirit Weapons.
"The Tuo Dragon is dead!" Zhou Jiang cried out.
This Tuo Dragon had harassed the mining grounds for years. Even a Celestial Essence Strong Person had once lain in wait for it, but to no avail. They never imagined that, just like the Cyan-Scaled Eagle before it, it would end up as a lifeless corpse.
"How is this possible?" Guo Yun’s face was a mask of horror.
’Wasn’t Xu Yang injured? How could he still have killed the Tuo Dragon?’
’He looks to be in high spirits even after slaying the Tuo Dragon. Only his tattered clothes make him look a bit worse for wear, but he’s clearly not injured at all.’
He glanced around frantically, but he couldn’t find any sign of Chen Yong.
’Damn it. That bastard didn’t just take the stuff and run, did he? Did he abandon me?’
A bad premonition surfaced in Guo Yun’s mind. ’Logically, Chen Yong should have hidden the item and returned by now.’
Thinking of the piece of Spirit Iron, which was almost the size of a human head, he became more and more certain of his suspicion.
’He couldn’t even imagine how much money such a large piece of Spirit Iron would fetch. It would be perfectly normal for Chen Yong to abandon him and run off with it.’
"That’s... Senior Brother Guan Du!" someone suddenly exclaimed, recognizing the man kneeling beside Xu Yang.
Everyone ran over and saw that it was indeed Guan Du, who used to be part of the garrison here. They had no idea why he had suddenly reappeared.
"Ah... Chen Yong, it’s Steward Chen’s head."
"What a huge piece of Spirit Iron!"
Then, others spotted Chen Yong’s head and the Spirit Iron, crying out in surprise.
"Why is Steward Chen’s head here?" Guo Yun asked, doing his best to suppress the fear in his heart and feign normality.
"You don’t know?" Xu Yang said with a smile.
Panic seized Guo Yun’s heart. "I... I don’t know."
Xu Yang’s palm suddenly shot out and slammed into Guo Yun’s chest.
"CRACK!"
With the crisp sound of breaking bones, Guo Yun’s chest caved in. He spat out a mouthful of blood as his body was sent flying.
By the time he hit the ground, he was no longer breathing.
In an instant, everyone fell dead silent, terrified. They thought Xu Yang was going to kill them all to keep the Spirit Iron a secret.
Of course, Xu Yang had no such greedy intentions. The Spirit Iron was valuable, but he had his principles. He wouldn’t slaughter innocent people for a treasure.
’Besides, if I were really going to silence witnesses, I couldn’t just kill these few. I’d have to kill everyone here, or the truth would eventually get out.’
’And if I killed everyone, leaving myself as the sole survivor, the higher-ups in the Purple Sun Sect wouldn’t be stupid enough to believe my story.’
"Guo Yun colluded with Chen Yong to embezzle the Spirit Iron. He deserved to die," Xu Yang explained.
Actually, he could have spared Guo Yun.
However, he didn’t know if someone with a more powerful background in the Purple Sun Sect was involved. By killing Guo Yun, he could bring the matter to a definitive end.
This way, even if there was another person or faction behind Guo Yun and Chen Yong, they wouldn’t be exposed.
And if they weren’t exposed, the matter would not escalate.
"Chen Yong used the Tuo Dragon to create chaos so he could smuggle out the Spirit Iron. He was killed by Guan Du. Guan Du was a disciple of the Blood Lotus Sect. He came here to kill me, and I killed him. Zhou Jiang, return to the Sect immediately. Tell them to send a new Steward to take charge, and to send experts to transport the Spirit Iron.
Don’t go looking for anyone else. Go to Li Fire Peak first and find my Senior Brother Gao Lin. Tell him everything."
After giving a brief account of what happened, Xu Yang sent Zhou Jiang to rush back to the Sect with the news.
"Yes!"
Zhou Jiang glanced at the head-sized piece of Spirit Iron, realizing the gravity of the situation. Not daring to delay, he mounted his weapon and departed at once.
Xu Yang turned to the remaining disciples. "You’ve all seen this Spirit Iron. If word of this gets out, we’re all dead. Until the experts from the Sect arrive, I need all of you to stay on high alert. Absolutely no information is to be leaked. If you discover anyone making any suspicious moves, you have my permission to kill them on the spot, or you can report it to me."
"Understood!"
Those with a clear conscience understood the consequences of the news leaking, and their expressions grew grim.
Xu Yang bent down and picked up the Spirit Iron. "Take the Tuo Dragon’s corpse. Let’s get back to work, and keep an eye on the miners."
He hadn’t found anything suspicious about the remaining disciples; the main concern was keeping a close watch on the miners.
The disciples nodded, worked together to lift the Tuo Dragon’s corpse, and followed Xu Yang back to the mining grounds.
Over the next few days, Xu Yang remained extra cautious, keeping his senses spread across the entire mining grounds. Fortunately, nothing happened.
「On the sixth day.」
Zhou Jiang appeared at the mining grounds with Gao Lin and others. Accompanying them were Zhu Yuan and Hong Lei, as well as the newly assigned Outer Sect Steward, Liu Xunjiang.
"Senior Brother Gao, I’ve been waiting for you," Xu Yang said with a smile as he came out to greet them.