Chapter 2824 — Robbed

Mo Ba found the place quickly enough; on the very night of the trial's first day, the two of them regrouped.

"Brother Pao, did you get your hands on any of the trial spirit herbs?" Mo Ba asked.

"No. There aren't any around here, and I didn't go looking. Wait—this spot is obvious. Won't be long before other cultivators come sniffing around, and then we'll just take what we want by force," Zhang Naipao said flatly.

"True enough. With Brother Pao's skill and methods, there's no need for you to go hunting for spirit herbs yourself. Only a fool would do that!" Mo Ba flattered.

"Let's rest a while first," Zhang Naipao said mildly. "The heaven-and-earth spiritual energy here is abundant. I'm going to cultivate for a bit."

"Brother Pao, isn't it said that the aura of the Five Baleful is harmful to cultivators? Why would you—" Mo Ba started in alarm.

"Haha, have you forgotten what cultivation method I practice? My Soul-Devouring Divine Art can absorb any true qi at all. So long as it's true qi, who cares whether it's the Five Baleful aura or heaven-and-earth spiritual energy—I can even absorb poison!" Zhang Naipao laughed, utterly unconcerned. "This place suits me perfectly for cultivation. Good chance to consolidate my rank while I'm at it."

So Zhang Naipao cultivated while Mo Ba stood guard. But their luck was poor: they waited all the way until noon the next day and not a single cultivator came to the place. Mo Ba grew anxious. "Brother Liang, something's off. We've waited this long—how come there's not a single cultivator in sight?"

"It hasn't been that long. Just wait. No rush," Zhang Naipao said, perfectly calm.

And wouldn't you know it—no sooner had the words left his mouth than voices came drifting in from outside the safe zone. Someone was coming!

"Young Hero Yang, we really are lucky. This spot looks decent—we can avoid the attacks of spirit beasts here!" one of the men outside said.

"Indeed. We can take shelter here, rest a moment, and then head for the teleportation array," said the one addressed as Young Hero Yang. He was a formidable expert from Fireflame Mountain, at the peak of the mid Heaven Rank.

The man speaking to him was a mid Earth Rank expert from the Dark Night Palace, and the third, who said nothing, was an early Earth Rank expert also of the Dark Night Palace. Beside Young Hero Yang, the two of them were little more than errand boys. Still, trailing behind an expert at the peak of the mid Heaven Rank greatly reduced the danger—just as, earlier, they had run into a Mystic Rank spirit beast, and Young Hero Yang had driven it off. He hadn't gained much of an advantage, true, but had the two Dark Night Palace Earth Rank experts faced it alone, they would have been lucky to escape with their lives.

Moreover, under Young Hero Yang's protection, they had smoothly gathered trial spirit herbs. True, the two of them had only obtained a single stalk between them, but that was still quite good. Had they acted alone, they might well have lost their lives before ever laying hands on a spirit herb.

"After you, Young Hero Yang..." said Dark Night Palace Disciple A, gesturing for him to go first.

Young Hero Yang nodded and strode in at the head of the group. But the moment he entered, he froze—for he saw that Zhang Naipao and his lackey Mo Ba were here as well.

Still, Young Hero Yang was not overly afraid. In his view, he was, after all, an expert at the peak of the mid Heaven Rank. If each side kept to its own business and he did not provoke them, Zhang Naipao would not do anything to him.

The two Dark Night Palace disciples followed Young Hero Yang inside. Seeing Zhang Naipao, they too visibly started, a flicker of fear crossing their faces—but then they recalled that Zhang Naipao was only early Heaven Rank, that his follower Mo Ba was mid Heaven Rank, and that Young Hero Yang was at the peak of the mid Heaven Rank. So they set their minds at ease.

"You three look pleased with yourselves—a rich haul, I take it?" Mo Ba bared his teeth in a grin and suddenly spoke to the trio.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dark Night Palace Disciple B turned, wary.

"Nothing much. Hand over your trial spirit herbs, and Brother Pao will spare your lives," Mo Ba said flatly.

"Hand them over? On what grounds?" Dark Night Palace Disciple B was startled. He had come on a mission this time—to trade with the Mystic Elixir Sect for a Qi-Gathering Pill, so that the Palace Master could successfully break through from the peak of the late Earth Rank to the early Heaven Rank. This was their last chance. The Qi-Gathering Pill had its drawbacks, yes, but once one successfully comprehended the inheritance, those drawbacks would vanish, and advancement would face no further barrier.

The appointed time was drawing nearer and nearer. If the Dark Night Palace wanted a share of the prize, they had to make haste. The problem was that the Palace Master, Ye Rou'er, had not yet broken through to the Heaven Rank—and the higher one's cultivation, the greater the chance of comprehending the inheritance. With no other recourse, the Dark Night Palace had been forced to resort to this desperate measure.

"On what grounds? On the grounds that Brother Pao decides whether you live or die!" Mo Ba gave a cold snort. "If Brother Pao says you live, you live. If he says you die, you die."

"Isn't that a bit tyrannical?" Dark Night Palace Disciple B could not help saying.

"Tyrannical? From the moment you set foot among cultivators, you should have known what 'the weak are prey to the strong' means. To talk of tyranny now—isn't it a bit late?" Mo Ba said scornfully. "Enough. We're all trial participants here, and I don't want to sour the mood. Brother Pao's principle is simple: hand over your goods and you won't be killed. If you want to live, then be quick about it. If you want to die, I won't stop you."

"You—" Dark Night Palace Disciple B was about to say more when Dark Night Palace Disciple A caught hold of him. He made a gesture to Disciple B, signaling him to see what Young Hero Yang had to say. The strongest person here was Young Hero Yang; the two of them were merely Earth Rank cultivators and had no say in the matter.

"Young Hero Yang, what do you think...?" Dark Night Palace Disciple A looked to Young Hero Yang of Fireflame Mountain and asked.

"Zhang Naipao, don't push people too far. If it really comes to a fight, I'm not afraid of you. I'm an expert at the peak of the mid Heaven Rank—I'm not like that Earth Tyrant, who's only at the peak of the early Heaven Rank." Young Hero Yang was thoroughly annoyed. All along the way, the two Dark Night Palace disciples had flattered him until his head was in the clouds, and now Zhang Naipao was robbing him—naturally he was displeased, especially with his two underlings watching. How could he back down?

Besides, his strength spoke for itself. If he yielded, wouldn't he become a laughingstock? (To be continued.)