My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 62: Chapter 61: Don’t Ask, It Was the Blood Slaughter Sect

Behind the Gold Tooth Gang’s gambling den was a muddy, stinking alley. The moment the door opened, a foul stench rushed in.

But compared to the pungent smell of blood, the severed limbs and remains, and the purgatory-like scene inside, the stench in the alley outside seemed as sweet as candied fruit, luring everyone out.

As Wu Chen exited through the back door, the crowd of gamblers didn’t dare linger. They scrambled through the doorway into the alley, scattering in all directions.

They gasped for breath, never having realized this foul stench could feel so refreshing.

Wu Chen’s figure weaved through the alley. Rounding a corner, he saw a person squatting in wait in a dark corner.

It was one of Jiang Fang’s men, who had already been waiting for some time.

Tossing the man the bundle containing the Martial Arts manual, Wu Chen then executed ’Spirit Swallow Steps · Potential’. His figure shot through the alleys at extreme speed, sweeping toward the nearest gang hideout.

But a man’s stamina is ultimately limited. Even without the heart-gouging procedure, Wu Chen was racing against time. By the time he stormed the sixth gang’s headquarters...

...it was just as he had expected: the gang’s underlings were long gone, and the place was empty.

However, this was something he had already anticipated.

He walked into an alley, where another person had been waiting for some time.

Wu Chen said flatly, ”Lead the way.”

Jiang Fang’s man led Wu Chen through the tangled web of alleys, storming the residences of the gang members.

The moon drifted across the night sky,

and the sun began to rise in the east.

Only then did Wu Chen call it a night. He flicked the gore from his ink-black blade and headed back toward the inn.

GROOOAN~

As the first light of dawn broke, the ten-foot-high city gates, which had been sealed all night, slowly swung open.

An old soldier and a young one stood guard at the gate, just like any other day.

Although both were curious why the gates had been uncharacteristically sealed all night, they knew it wasn’t their place to worry about such things.

So they lapsed into boredom, leaning on their white wax wood spears and half-dozing.

Soon, an overwhelmingly thick stench of blood startled the drowsy pair awake.

”What’s going on?”

The young soldier, alarmed, sniffed the air to find the source of the smell. His gaze finally locked onto the wide street inside the city.

There, a long line of horse-drawn flatbed carts was making its way toward the city gate.

Dark red blood dripped steadily from the gaps in the carts’ floorboards, leaving a trail of blood behind them.

The young soldier glanced curiously at the carts, assuming some butcher was transporting slaughtered livestock. He was just about to scoff at how sloppy the job was, seeing as they hadn’t even drained the blood properly.

But then he got a clear look.

BLEGH!

Bile rose from his stomach, and he instinctively bent over and threw up.

Bodies. They were all bodies. Ten whole carts filled with bodies!

Missing hands and heads, severed limbs and shattered arms!

Even more terrifying than the heartless corpses from the past few days!

Fortunately, the sight of cartloads of heartless corpses being hauled out a few days prior had raised his tolerance. He barely managed to control himself and keep from losing his composure completely.

But as he looked at the corpses on the carts again, his pupils still contracted violently.

The leader of the Gold Tooth Gang!

That burly frame, those thick arms developed from wielding a Golden-Ring Greatsaber—there was no mistaking him.

This man was a notorious figure in the city; his word often carried more weight than the local officials’.

And a man like that had died last night, just like that, without a sound?!

He looked at the dozen or so carts, at the two or three hundred bodies piled together...

’So this is why the city gates were sealed last night? To do... this?’

’Are the tides turning in Black Stone City?’

Looking at the massive wound on the Gold Tooth Gang leader’s chest, the young soldier felt a cold sweat trickle down his back.

He looked to the old soldier beside him and asked fearfully,

”Old-timer, who do you think did this?”

The old soldier kept his eyes closed, not even glancing at the carts. He clearly wanted no part of this mess, but since the young soldier insisted on asking, he could only give an extremely noncommittal answer.

”Don’t ask. If you have to ask, the answer is the Blood Slaughter Sect.”

The young soldier was speechless.

He knew he wouldn’t get a real answer out of him, but then he heard the old soldier mutter again,

”Whoever comes out from inside the city first... that’s who did it.”

”Whoever comes out?”

The young soldier was confused, but he did as the old soldier said, looking toward the now-empty streets of Black Stone City after the carts had exited.

Just a moment later, figures appeared on the street.

It was a group of about twenty people dressed as waiters.

Some carried tables and chairs, others held pots and bowls; they carried firewood and bore sacks of rice and flour on their backs. They all surged to the city gate, coming to a stop before the assembled refugees.

”Please, everyone, remain calm! Today, our Jiang Clan Commerce Association will be providing congee for you...”

As he spoke, fires were lit and cooking smoke began to rise.

Before long, the aroma of cooking food drifted through the air.

The young soldier’s eyes widened in realization. ”So it was the Jiang Clan Commerce Association’s doing. Well, that’s not surprising at all.”

...

「The Inn, Second Floor.」

On the square table in the room sat several simple side dishes. Jiang Fang had cooked them himself, and they were perfect in color, aroma, and taste. His culinary skills were truly impressive.

Wu Chen ate slowly, chewing thoroughly while watching the activity outside the window.

So many people had died overnight, yet there were even more pedestrians on the streets.

It seemed the effects of removing the cancerous sore were beginning to show, allowing the city to truly come back to life.

”Young Master Wu, you don’t want the money, and you don’t want the fame. What is it that you’re actually after?”

Jiang Fang leaned over to fill Wu Chen’s wine cup, his expression a mixture of admiration and apprehension.

After wiping out the Gold Tooth Gang, they had collected four hundred taels of miscellaneous silver, and Wu Chen had simply tossed half of the loose pieces to him.

Jiang Fang had originally planned to distribute the congee in Wu Chen’s name, but Wu Chen had waved him off.

’In this life, all people strive for is fame and fortune.’

’But Wu Chen wanted neither. For a moment, Jiang Fang truly couldn’t figure him out.’

Wu Chen rubbed his aching brow, concealing his bitterness.

’It wasn’t that he didn’t want the two hundred taels of loose silver. It was just a huge pile of copper plates and silver chunks.’

’Without a storage ring, carrying it all would have been far too inconvenient.’

’So he only kept two silver banknotes with a face value of one hundred taels each.’

Wu Chen didn’t answer Jiang Fang, asking instead,

”What are you planning to do next?”

”I’ve actually given that some thought.”

Seeing that Wu Chen was unwilling to answer, Jiang Fang didn’t press the issue and instead shared his own plans.

”Since no outsiders come to Black Stone City, the inn is just sitting empty. So, I’ll start by letting the refugees from outside the city move in.”

”And since you just gave me two hundred taels, I might as well use it all on them.”

”Over at the Flower and Grass Building, the madam is quite fond of me. If I work at it, I should be able to earn another hundred taels or so from her, no problem.”

”It just means a bit more hard work for me.”

Wu Chen raised an eyebrow, almost giving the man a thumbs-up.

Jiang Fang continued,

”Those old fossils in the main family told me to manage the business in Black Stone City, which means I call the shots here now.”

”If they don’t like what I’m doing, they’ll just recall me, which I’d honestly prefer.”

”But they probably won’t. No one wants to come to this place.”

Wu Chen nodded and asked curiously,

”Does the Jiang Clan Commerce Association just run inns in every city?”

”Only in Black Stone City. It’s not like this in the larger cities.”

Jiang Fang shook his head. ”The Jiang Clan Commerce Association’s biggest business is actually auctioning rare artifacts.”

”Rare artifacts?”

Wu Chen’s interest was piqued. ”What sort of things are we talking about?”

”Precious herbs gathered from deep mountains, hunted rare and Exotic Beasts, high-grade medicinal pills, Divine Weapons and treasured armor, valuable and profound ancestral Martial Arts...”

Jiang Fang went on and on; the list was quite extensive.

Wu Chen listened to the long list, his eyes lighting up when he locked onto one particular item.

’Martial Arts?!’

’Auctioning Martial Arts!’

’He might not have any of those other things, but there was definitely potential in Martial Arts.’

’He possessed two Martial Arts that were a fusion of several different styles, both of which incorporated the concept of ’Potential’.’

’He wouldn’t dare say they were worth ten thousand taels.’

’But selling them off for eighty or a hundred taels each, aiming for small profits but high volume, shouldn’t be a problem.’

”Unfortunately, an auction like that could never be organized in Black Stone City.”

Jiang Fang spread his hands helplessly, dashing Wu Chen’s hopes.

”The kind of rare treasures I’m talking about can only be found in Cangwu City. At the very least, you’d have to go to Mountain Mist City.”

Wu Chen nodded, understanding Jiang Fang’s helplessness.

’He suspected that even if he dared to write out the Martial Arts, Jiang Fang wouldn’t dare to accept it, let alone organize an auction to sell it.’

’If word of a Martial Art incorporating ’Potential’ got out, never mind those in the Meridian Passage Realm; even Jade Bone Realm experts would covet it.’

’And Jiang Fang had no capable men under him, while he himself was... ’

Wu Chen fixed his gaze on his status panel.

[Deep Red Host] Wu Chen

[Martial Arts Realm] Meridian Passage Realm, Four Meridians

(Qi Power: Wild Bull Shakes the Earth)

[Martial Arts & Cultivation Techniques] ’Bone-Eroding Wind Blade · Potential’, ’Spirit Swallow Steps · Potential’, ’Golden-Ring Greatsaber · Perfection’...

After learning the Gold Tooth Gang leader’s Golden-Ring Greatsaber technique, his realm had risen another level, reaching the Four Meridians of the Meridian Passage Realm.

It didn’t seem weak, but in truth, it wasn’t strong at all.

Wu Chen estimated that if he were to face an expert at the Initial Realm of the Jade Bone Realm, his only chance would be in the first strike, by using the ’Potential’ of his Body Technique and infusing the power of ’Wild Bull Shakes the Earth’ into his blade’s momentum.

Only by doing so would he have a twenty percent chance of killing or severely wounding his opponent.

But if that first strike failed, once his opponent reacted, there would be no possibility of him launching a second.

The gap between realms was a vast chasm.

Besides, there was no guarantee his opponent wouldn’t be wielding a Divine Weapon.

So, after some consideration, Wu Chen dismissed the idea of transcribing and auctioning his Martial Arts that incorporated ’Potential’.

’I’ll reconsider when I’ve at least reached the Jade Bone Realm and can protect such a windfall.’

Having made up his mind, Wu Chen knew it was time for him to leave Black Stone City.

The gangs here were more or less cleaned up, and there were no more Martial Arts for him to use for his progression.

Besides, he still had that three-month appointment to keep.

Without reaching the Nine Meridians of the Meridian Passage Realm, or even the Jade Bone Realm, he wouldn’t feel comfortable going to Purple Mist Mountain, wherever that might be.

Thinking of this, Wu Chen looked at Jiang Fang at the other end of the table, figuring this man from the Jiang family ought to know.

He asked,

”Brother Jiang, do you happen to know where this Purple Mist Mountain is?”