bookpower Chapter 295: The Straw-Hat Assassin
Chapter 295: The Straw-Hat Assassin
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“hehe! for immortal xu to ignore the ‘wan hua merchant association’ and demand a third-rank spirit vein before entering this manor alone—his cultivation is likely more than just fake dan.”
elder duan, with his higher cultivation realm, swept his spiritual sense over lan chang'an, seeing through his true strength. a cryptic smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
naturally, elder duan didn’t realize that this was his grandfather letting him off the hook and not going all out in concealment.
even though this was the fourth life's grandson and he knew his roots, lan chang'an maintained a trace of wariness.
revealing greater strength was a deliberate move to ensure the other party harbored no ulterior motives.
of course, the likelihood of such betrayal was slim.
lan chang'an had recently become a hot topic in the river source oasis. in the oasis spanning hundreds of li, every location he visited left visible traces of his presence.
“elder duan’s profound cultivation and vast magical power leave my minor concealment techniques laughable.”
lan chang'an’s expression shifted slightly, feigning calm while appearing faintly apprehensive toward this unfathomable core formation stage master.
“immortal xu, there’s no need to feel uneasy. it's better that you have a true dan cultivation. your cultivation coupled with a third-rank formation, is more than sufficient to guard the mountain-water manor.”
elder duan’s warm smile exuded a sense of control over the entire situation.
apart from himself, there was also granny yun secretly overseeing matters—more than enough to keep immortal xu in check.
the spiritual vein on this island had already been notarized, ensuring that the other party wouldn’t dare claim it without due process.
in the past, when elder duan was away attending to two other branch locations, granny yun, a third-rank formation master, was responsible for managing and nurturing the third-rank spirit vein here.
however, granny yun’s potential was limited due to injuries from a past escape. betrayed by a sect traitor, her foundational damage left her cultivation at an impassable bottleneck.
elder duan was in a similar predicament.
the two of them focused solely on maintaining their existing cultivation from regressing, without relying on the third-rank spirit vein.
half an hour later...
lan chang'an and elder duan finalized numerous details and signed a third-rank spirit contract.
the contract terms were fairly loose.
every year, lan chang'an would be tasked with refining a certain amount of alchemical pills as commissioned and assisting in the maintenance of the mountain-water manor.
additionally, three alchemy apprentice slots would be granted every ten years.
the initial term of the spirit contract was thirty years, during which lan chang'an could choose to break the contract, but he would need to compensate double the costs incurred during his stay, based on market prices.
furthermore, there was an additional clause in the contract:
the mountain-water manor might, at times, be rented out to other core formation cultivators for anywhere between ten to twenty years, or even longer. during such periods, lan chang'an was expected to cooperate.
lan chang'an had no objections to this.
having experienced the simulated fourth life, he predicted that the spirit vein and cultivation field here would eventually become one of the potential family grounds for the descendants of master lihuo.
concerned about attracting attention, the descendants from the fourth life avoided putting all their eggs in one basket, ensuring the continuation of their bloodline by spreading across three branches in fengyuan kingdom, with little communication between them.
among these descendants, young and outstanding figures like the yun siblings were entirely unaware of their own lineage.
as the direct grandson of master lihuo, elder duan served as the coordinator, communicating only with the leaders of the three branches.
in the wake of war and displacement, the descendants of his fourth life faced a challenging transitional period.
there was a shortage of third-rank alchemists, and true dan cultivators were equally scarce.
if a reliable third-rank alchemist could be secured to assist with pill refining, apprentice training, and guarding this backup third-rank spirit vein, it would be an ideal solution for all parties.
...
that same day, elder duan handed over the formation control token for mountain-water manor to lan chang'an.
according to the agreement, the manor’s external formations could not be modified or replaced by lan chang'an.
however, he was free to arrange his own formations within the manor’s public and private areas to ensure his privacy.
lan chang'an didn’t mind. any concealment formations he personally set up would far surpass the external ones.
with the restriction-breaking talismans in his possession, he could easily break through this third-rank formation if needed.
a few days later...
lan chang'an officially moved into mountain-water manor.
the estate already had a ready-made underground chamber beneath the main pavilion. in front of the pavilion, there was a pond and an artificial river.
lan chang'an instructed the earth burrowing rat to deepen the pond and set up a tunnel that could only be accessed through a key formation technique, leading to the underground chamber.
the profound water turtle could freely roam between the pond and the underground chamber, keeping watch over the xuanmu vine gourd that had been reconnected to the earth's qi flow.
“this small third-rank cultivation field in mountain-water manor is more than sufficient for me and the profound water turtle to cultivate. there’s no need for additional spirit stone investments.”
after settling in, lan chang'an felt quite satisfied.
the profound water turtle’s dependence on spiritual energy was only equivalent to that of a fake dan cultivator. it also absorbed some of lan chang'an’s evergreen golden dan energy, drawing on the qi of ages emitted during his cultivation.
the magical powers and abilities of beasts largely stemmed from their bloodline.
as such, normal beasts relied on spiritual energy slightly less than human cultivators.
the profound water turtle’s reliance was even lower than that of typical beasts.
as for the earth burrowing rat?
a mid-third-rank demon beast, it would undoubtedly strain the small spirit vein here if it stayed.
lan chang'an decided to release it into the wild and make it self-sufficient.
the boundless desert, rich in earth qi and filled with minerals and spiritual resources, was the perfect environment for the earth burrowing rat.
in this vast domain, it could hunt sand beasts, explore resources, and enjoy the freedom of its existence.
lan chang'an’s expectations were modest: he only requested two or three-tenths of any precious spiritual resources or spoils of war the earth burrowing rat discovered, including any loot from eliminating desert bandits.
the beast-taming inheritance left by the huang lang immortal contained such wild-raising techniques, which emphasized allowing spirit beasts to cultivate their wild instincts. beasts raised this way were often fiercer and far stronger in combat.
this method also came with minimal expenses.
however, the drawbacks were obvious: the beasts faced high risks of premature death in the wild, and the chances of betrayal increased.
risk, however, wasn’t a concern for lan chang'an.
he had analyzed the region: the river source oasis lacked high-grade third-rank spirit veins, meaning no late-stage core formation masters were permanently stationed here.
this ensured that the earth burrowing rat could reign supreme across the surrounding area, freely borrowing spirit veins for cultivation.
the various sandworms, venomous creatures, and exotic beasts in the desert would all be its prey.
as long as it maintained a low profile and avoided harming the interests of the major factions in the oasis, there would be no significant risks.
...
in the months that followed, lan chang'an quietly resided in mountain-water manor and celebrated his 215th birthday.
during this time, the earth burrowing rat was rarely seen around the estate—it seemed to be fully indulging in its newfound freedom. it had returned home twice, bringing lan chang'an a modest tribute of mined spiritual materials.
despite the absence of a fixed third-rank spirit vein, the earth burrowing rat’s cultivation progress showed no signs of slowing down; in fact, it seemed to have accelerated slightly.
lan chang'an surmised the creature must have been sneaking some extra food from the surroundings but chose to turn a blind eye.
as for the profound water turtle, lan chang'an couldn’t let it grow too lazy and complacent.
“water jet turtle! if you mess around again, ling’er won’t speak to you anymore!”
a silvery, bell-like voice floated across the waters of mountain-water manor’s pond.
the massive water jet turtle, about ten feet wide, sprayed a jet of water toward the blue-dressed girl with starlit eyes and pearly teeth.
the girl, yun ling, wrinkled her delicate nose in feigned anger. her rosy cheeks puffed slightly, her damp hair clung to her skin, and her soaked long dress outlined her graceful, curvy figure.
blub, blub!
the water jet turtle swam up to yun ling’s feet, blowing bubbles as if to apologize.
“hmph!” yun ling snorted softly, her dainty foot—white as jade—lightly kicking the turtle.
the turtle, with its tough, leathery skin, wasn’t hurt at all. instead, it affectionately rubbed its head against her foot in a placating gesture.
“that tickles! stop it! do it gently... hey, not there!”
yun ling broke into peals of laughter, her eyes sparkling as she tried to suppress her giggles. she held up her damp skirt and collapsed onto the turtle’s sturdy shell, her laughter ringing like silver bells.
“ling’er, stop fooling around. as a young lady, you should know etiquette and propriety,” a helpless voice called out from the waterside pavilion.
standing there was yun hao, yun ling’s elder brother, who had recently advanced to the foundation establishment stage. scratching his nose, he smiled wryly at the scene.
he couldn’t help but mutter inwardly, it’s just a mid-grade bloodline water jet turtle. sure, it’s a bit rare in the desert, but what’s the big deal?
for some reason, yun ling had been smitten with the turtle from the moment she first laid eyes on it, treating it with maternal affection.
likewise, the turtle seemed to have an inexplicable fondness for yun ling.
their initial visit to mountain-water manor had been for the purpose of acquiring alchemical pills to stock rare treasures and herbs for their family shop.
but after that first encounter, yun ling began finding excuses to return—ostensibly to “run errands” for immortal xu but really to see the turtle.
the "water jet turtle" at the moment was naturally the profound water turtle, having taken on a new form through a transformation technique it had cultivated a year ago, it was similar to the human's disguise technique.
driven by its desire to meet yun ling, the normally lazy profound water turtle had turned over a new leaf, putting in the effort to master this skill.
the transformation technique allowed it to take on the appearance of different turtle species but not other creatures.
the water jet turtle was a common water-element spirit turtle, sharing about 70% of its traits with the profound water turtle in appearance and water-based techniques.
“brother niu, do you know when immortal xu will finish his seclusion?” yun hao turned to the alchemy apprentices, specifically addressing niu jie, the most skilled among them.
niu jie, his face dark and plain, cupped his hands respectfully. “back to senior yun, the immortal has only been refining pills for a few days. at the earliest, he’ll be out in a few more days; at the latest, ten.”
yun hao sighed, glancing at his sister, whose cheeks were flushed with happiness as she played with the turtle.
..
neither niu jie nor the yun siblings noticed the faint, shadowy figure stealthily infiltrating mountain-water manor.
the third-rank formations protecting the manor were utterly useless against this intruder.
the shadow slipped past barriers with an uncanny ease, eventually concealing itself behind a thousand-year-old ancient tree.
its cold, indifferent gaze swept over the scene not far away, where yun ling was playing with the "water jet turtle."
it was a man clad in a gray-white robe and a black cloak, his face obscured by a conical straw hat.
underneath the sleeves of the mysterious figure, two throwing blades clung to his arms as if magnetized.
swish!
like a phantom, the mysterious man in the straw hat bypassed the waterside pavilion, avoiding all senses, formations, and restrictions as he silently approached lan chang'an’s alchemy chamber.
the blurred shadow flashed once more and slipped through the narrow gap of the alchemy chamber’s door.
inside, the temperature was high, and the blue-red glow of firelight cast flickering shadows.
standing before the alchemy furnace was a refined middle-aged man in a green robe—lan chang'an. his hands deftly formed incantation seals as he meticulously controlled the greenish-gold flames with a calm and focused expression.
it seemed that he did not notice the uninvited guest behind him.
the straw-hatted man raised his sleeve, revealing a concealed sleeve arrow inside. the weapon gleamed coldly as it aimed directly at lan chang'an’s back.
“greetings to evergreen immortal,” the intruder said, his voice cold and stiff as he cupped his hands in mock respect.
without turning his head, lan chang'an responded indifferently, “what have you found?”
“reporting to the immortal,” the straw-hatted man replied, his tone mechanical and detached.
“after infiltrating their operations, it has been confirmed that the wan hua merchant association has cultivated the key herb required for the third-rank life extension pill. furthermore, they possess not just one, but several longevity fruits.”
“in addition, the merchant guild has a third-rank alchemist. they plan to refine the life extension pills in the future to enhance their influence in the region.”
“well done,” lan chang'an praised.
in fact, this was nothing more than a pre-arranged script, part of lan chang'an’s efforts to train his assassin puppet in mimicking real life interactions.
...
two months earlier, lan chang'an’s puppetry skills had advanced to the third-rank mid-grade. leveraging this breakthrough, he successfully refined a third-rank mid-grade puppet.
lan chang'an used the unseen gate's “xing peng” as a template to create the form of a human assassin for this third-rank mid-grade puppet.
using the flesh-sculpting technique he had learned from ada wan, lan chang'an gave the puppet a lifelike appearance, disguising it as the straw-hatted man.
however, the assassin puppet had notable limitations. its frame was fragile, with defensive capabilities inferior to even a third-rank low-grade turtle puppet.
what it lacked in durability, however, it made up for in agility, speed, and assassination prowess.
lan chang’an equipped it with custom-tailored components and magical treasures, such as a cloak that enhances stealth, and assassination tools such as throwing blades and sleeve darts—small magical treasures coated in mid-third rank poison.
additionally, it was outfitted with specialized poisonous smoke bombs that could obscure spiritual senses, weaken opponents, and assist in escape or creating chaos.
initially, lan chang'an had attempted to infuse the puppet with the soul shadow of his first life. unfortunately, the soul’s qi-refining-level power proved insufficient to operate the puppet effectively.
afterward, he replaced it with the soul shadow of his second life, which had achieved peak core formation. this adjustment allowed the puppet to exhibit combat prowess superior to most cultivators of the same rank.
however, the consumption of the spiritual sense and puppet crystals was quite high.
its lack of independent consciousness required lan chang'an to micromanage its actions through remote control. the effective range of remote control reached several thousand li. if not engaging in combat but merely traveling or scouting, it could function adequately within a range of ten thousand li.
at such distances, it achieved a fraction of the capabilities of an avatar.
however, while the puppet’s lifelike disguise could fool qi-refining and foundation establishment cultivators, prolonged close interactions risked exposing its artificial nature.
against core formation cultivators, the puppet’s facade would be even easier to see through.
“rumor has it that the wan hua merchant association is pressuring the nearly bankrupt star moon merchant association, intending to annex them. how long do you think star moon can hold out?” lan chang'an asked as he stabilized the flames of the alchemy furnace.
“although xing yue lacks core formation cultivators, they’ve experienced a resurgence in recent years,” the puppet responded mechanically.
“the guild’s leaders—a man and woman at the fake dan stage—have cultivated a long-lost dual-combat technique.”
“this technique harnesses the power of the stars and moon, allowing them to perform attacks that surpass their cultivation level. several months ago, they defeated and severely injured true dan assassins hired by wan hua during a nighttime confrontation, forcing them to flee.”
lan chang'an’s eyes glinted with interest.
from his nascent soul-stage insight, he could tell that the star moon merchant association’s dual-combat technique was extraordinary.
had it not been for yun yan’s introduction, xing yue would have been one of the factions he’d considered affiliating with when he first arrived.
“and do you know what to do next?” lan chang'an asked.
“subordinate understands!” the puppet replied.
the assassin puppet opened its chest armor, revealing several puppet crystals, which it inserted into its core. then, with a flash of blurred motion, it vanished from the alchemy chamber.