Chapter 1493: Hiring an Assassin

The skinny old man counted the yuan shi, then turned and entered the inner hall. "Daoist friend, please wait here."

Ye Chen had nothing to do, so he wandered around the miscellaneous goods shop, hoping to find some treasures.

This Tianwang branch was truly focused only on selling information, paying no attention to the shop's business. The items on the shelves were all covered in dust, likely having sat there since the shop first opened.

In a corner of the shelf, he spotted an item that caught his eye: an ancient seal. The seal itself was ordinary, but what made it special was the inscription on it—Dunjia Tianzi.

Instinctively, he raised his hand and drew the ancient seal over, holding it to examine it. The ancient characters etched on it were indeed Dunjia Tianzi, and they occasionally flickered with light.

"If you like it, Daoist friend, I'll give it to you." The skinny old man returned, holding a storage bag in his hand, speaking generously. "These are all worthless items; feel free to take them."

"In that case, I thank you." Ye Chen didn't hesitate, put away the ancient seal, and took the storage bag the skinny old man handed him. He glanced inside it before tucking it away, then looked back at the skinny old man. "I wonder if Tianwang has any information on Dongshen Yaochi."

"Dongshen Yaochi?" The skinny old man's eyebrows raised in surprise. This customer was truly odd—first buying information on the Jinwu Clan, and now asking about Dongshen Yaochi. The two seemed unrelated, one in the Southern Domain and the other in the Eastern Wasteland, far apart.

After a moment of surprise, he gave a dry laugh. "Information on the Eastern Wasteland is beyond Tianwang's reach. Besides, Dongshen Yaochi seems to have vanished after the ancient ruins."

"Then do you know about the descent of Wulei City in the Western Desert of Xuanhuang?" Ye Chen asked casually.

"Of course I know." The skinny old man smiled. "I've heard about it a month ago."

"In Wulei City, a person came out, but do you know her identity or appearance?"

"I don't." The skinny old man shook his head. "They say the woman is very mysterious, and no one has seen her true face."

"In that case, farewell." Ye Chen turned and left immediately, acting swiftly and decisively.

"Another eccentric." The skinny old man stroked his small beard, unfazed. In the intelligence business, he'd seen all kinds; the real face is often hidden behind disguises.

Ye Chen left and crushed a jade slip, imprinting every piece of information inside into his divine sea.

It had to be said, Tianwang's information was indeed vast. This batch was even more detailed than he imagined, clearly listing the cultivation levels, positions in the Jinwu Clan, and current locations of every Jinwu Clan disciple and elder who was out.

The only downside was that there was no information on the Jinwu Prince; he was inside the clan and wouldn't be coming out anytime soon. Since he was in the clan, Ye Chen wouldn't take the risk—the real show was just beginning.

He closed his eyes slightly and activated his primordial spirit mark to sense the positions of the Yinming Dead Generals. About three or five of them had already reached their designated spots, waiting for the attack order.

He didn't give the order yet, because the other Yinming Dead Generals were still en route and hadn't arrived. Issuing it now would alert the enemy, which wasn't what he wanted.

He needed all the Yinming Dead Generals in position before launching a simultaneous assault, delivering a thunderous strike that would leave the Jinwu Clan no time to react or call for help.

So, for the next three days, he wouldn't be idle; he had to keep himself busy. The Jinwu Clan's disciples and elders who were out in the field would be his targets, capturing them one by one for ransom.

With that in mind, he left the city and headed straight southeast. Ten thousand li in that direction, there was a valley where Jinwu Clan members were training—an elder and a disciple.

Most importantly, that disciple was no ordinary person; he was a prince of the Jinwu Clan, born of a concubine.

When he arrived, the Jinwu elder and the Jinwu Prince were sitting cross-legged deep in the valley, in an ancient secret realm. Their cultivations weren't low—the elder was a Sheng Wang, and the prince was a Zhun Sheng.

"Who's there?" The Jinwu elder had sharp senses and detected Ye Chen's arrival immediately.

"Underestimated you." Ye Chen stepped out slowly, looking at the Jinwu elder with interest. His voice was aged, his aura thick and powerful, with killing intent and murderous energy swirling together, making the heavens tremble.

"I am an elder of the Jinwu Clan, but I don't know why you, sir, have come to this valley in the dead of night." The Jinwu elder was clever, announcing his affiliation in hopes of using the Jinwu Clan's prestige to deter Ye Chen.

"No need to scare me with the Jinwu Clan." Ye Chen chuckled lightly, already manifesting the Fenji Jian in his hand. "I'm here specifically for Jinwu Clan members. Since you've announced yourself, you've saved me the trouble of asking."

"Who exactly are you?" The Jinwu elder shouted coldly, his Sheng Wang-level aura erupting instantly. The Jinwu Prince, however, turned pale with fear—simply because Ye Chen's aura was overwhelmingly strong.

"You don't need to know." Ye Chen stepped forward, shattering the ground, and slashed down with a sword that pierced the sky.

The Jinwu elder's expression changed. He waved his hand to summon a ghost-headed blade, gripping it with both hands to block.

A metallic clash rang out immediately as the Jinwu elder's ghost-headed blade shattered, unable to withstand the Fenji Jian's power—especially with the boost from Ye Chen's Da Sheng-level physical body. In one strike, his defense was broken.

Blood splattered as the Jinwu elder's blade fragmented and one arm was severed by Ye Chen. Before he could even rise, Ye Chen pressed down with a palm, crushing the elder's physical body.

This was the might of a Da Sheng-level body; Ye Chen was relying on that strength. Otherwise, based on his true abilities, it might have been a bloody battle, and taking down the Jinwu elder wouldn't be guaranteed.

The Jinwu elder knelt, suppressed and sealed. The Jinwu Prince tried to flee but was grabbed by Ye Chen. If a Sheng Wang could be suppressed, what chance did a Zhun Sheng have to escape?

"Who the hell are you?" The Jinwu elder roared furiously. "The Jinwu Clan won't let you get away with this."

Ye Chen ignored him completely, sealing both in a spirit talisman before turning and vanishing.

From then on, he was constantly on the move, appearing and disappearing like a ghost. Wherever he went, Jinwu Clan members were captured alive. With his Da Sheng-level body, Sheng Wangs were no match, and the younger Jinwu members couldn't escape his suppression.

For three days, he did exactly that—capturing them without killing, as they were all valuable hostages. And the ones he caught were all of significant status, so the ransom wouldn't be low.

During this time, there were a couple of unexpected bonuses. He hadn't planned on it, but he encountered a few Kunpeng Clan members and naturally didn't let them go.

After dealing with the Jinwu Clan, the Kunpeng Clan would be next. He'd collect them for future use.

On the third night, he finally stopped, because the dispatched Yinming Dead Generals had all reached their positions, awaiting his order to attack the Jinwu Clan branches simultaneously.

He didn't give the order yet; he had one more step in his plan, a grand gift for the Jinwu Clan.

It was another deep night when he entered a pavilion in an ancient city. It was still a miscellaneous goods shop, but not a Tianwang branch—this was a Tianmie branch. He was here to hire assassins.

In the shop, a black-clothed middle-aged man lay on a chair, his cultivation not low—he was a Sheng Ren. He covered his face with a hood, exuding a thick aura of killing intent, like a professional assassin.

"Time, location, target." The black-clothed man spoke flatly. "And enough yuan shi."

"Your level is too low; get your master." Ye Chen's words were equally flat, but carried an authoritative tone—the aura of a Da Sheng, making the black-clothed man involuntarily remove his hood. His eagle-like eyes scanned Ye Chen warily; the person before him was incredibly powerful.

"Daoist friend, please come inside." The voice that spoke wasn't the black-clothed man's; it came from the backyard, old and hoarse, eerily cold, sending chills through anyone who heard it.

Ye Chen said nothing and stepped into the backyard. It was overgrown with weeds, with one or two collapsed thatched houses. Beyond that was a stone table, stone chairs, and an old tree.

Under the old tree leaned a black-clothed elder, also hooded, hiding his face. His cultivation was low but genuine—a real Sheng Wang—though his aura was deeply concealed.

Ye Chen tossed over a piece of white paper, covered in names—all Jinwu Clan members, including elders and disciples, and all currently outside the clan.

The black-clothed elder caught it with a wave of his hand and scanned it, his brows furrowing. Through the gaps in his hood, he glanced at Ye Chen, his old eyes flickering with deeper meaning. The paper was full of Jinwu Clan people, and in large numbers. Clearly, the one hiring them was an enemy of the Jinwu Clan.

"Will you take the job?" Ye Chen said leisurely, knowing the elder was scrutinizing him but ignoring it. With the Zhou Tian evolution masking his aura, he was confident the elder couldn't see through his true appearance.

"The Jinwu Clan is a major power; the commission will be high." The black-clothed elder's expression returned to normal, his voice still eerily cold. "Based on the people you've listed, it will require ninety million yuan shi."

"The price is fair." Ye Chen threw out a storage bag. Over the past three days of capturing people, he'd gathered plenty of yuan shi; he didn't care about the cost, as long as it severely damaged the Jinwu Clan.

"Time and location." The black-clothed elder put away the storage bag and looked at Ye Chen again.

"Tonight, leave none alive." Ye Chen said, tossing another storage bag. Inside were many jade slips, each corresponding to a person, detailing their cultivation levels and locations. This was directly copied from the information he'd bought from Tianwang.

"This deal is done." The black-clothed elder stood up, pulling his hood lower.

"I want a piece of white cloth like this hung on every killed Jinwu Clan member." Ye Chen turned to leave, tossing a strip of white cloth to the black-clothed elder as he went.

The black-clothed elder caught it. On the white cloth were a few bloody characters: Blame it on your prince.

The black-clothed elder's eyes narrowed slightly. The "prince" on the cloth was undoubtedly the Jinwu Prince. From those seven characters alone, he could guess what was happening—the Jinwu Prince must have made an enemy, leading to this hired assassination that dragged in the entire Jinwu Clan.

After putting away the cloth, the black-clothed elder called the black-clothed middle-aged man outside and handed him the storage bag and the assassination list. "This job is big; our branch alone can't handle it. Send messages to the other branches for help. We can't ruin Tianmie's reputation."

"The Jinwu Clan." The black-clothed middle-aged man frowned at the list. "So many targets."

Meanwhile, Ye Chen had found a teahouse on the street and ordered a pot of ancient tea. He waited for Tianmie to strike, at which point he would order the Yinming Dead Generals to attack. This was a two-pronged approach, a long-brewing thunderous strike that would give the Jinwu Clan no time to react or seek rescue.

The show had begun; even better acts were coming. He wanted the entire Jinwu Clan to feel his overwhelming fury, and that Jinwu Prince would ultimately pay the price in blood.