Da Xuan Martial Saint

On the cabin floor of the tower ship.

Blood trickled slowly down the stairs, accompanied by a stench of blood, dripping slowly at the edge of the stairs.

The treasury of the Iron Hand Group was located at the bottom of this tower ship. Being one of the rare top existences in the Six Viscera Realm and a master who had comprehended a single domain, it was natural to keep the treasures under one's own eyes for safety.

In this small treasury at the bottom deck compartment, several large chests were placed on the outermost side. Chen Mu casually opened one, and it was filled with stacked gold nuggets, not a small amount, with nearly one hundred thousand taels in each chest.

Of course.

For a master like Zong Ling, the silver coins amassed over ten years would definitely far exceed this amount, estimated to be on par with the centuries' accumulation of the large clans of the He Family and the Xie Family in Yu County. After all, it was thousands of miles along the bank of the Wusha River.

But most of the money was probably used to smooth out relations with the Seven Profound Sect, not knowing which elders or protectors it was given to.

Chen Mu wasn't too interested in gold and silver because at his current level, the items he needed were priceless, such as Viscera Refining-type spiritual objects. Although they had a rough value range, they were rarely traded with gold and silver. They were typically bartered, or another currency substitute known as 'Yuan Stone' was used.

This Yuan Stone was the foundation for constructing various Earth Vein Formations and required a large amount each year for maintenance. It was high-level hard currency, needed by all the sects and forces, far more valuable to higher-level martial artists compared to gold and silver.

After scanning over a few wooden chests, Chen Mu walked to the center of the treasury where there were several very small chests that were intricately constructed, one of which was even carved entirely out of 'Cold Jade'.

Casually opening one, Chen Mu's eyes lit up.

"Not bad. After all, it is the treasury of a top existence in the Six Viscera Realm; there are indeed some things."

Inside the chest were various items of higher value, such as the horns of a Sixth Rank beast, the White-Horned Deer demon, one of the precious medicinal materials. Other miscellaneous items were also collected from beasts, and their quality wasn't below Fifth Rank.

Fifth and Sixth Rank beasts had valuable parts all over their bodies, but they were hard to find outside of demon calamity periods, and even during periods of demon chaos, there was no guarantee of encountering beasts of Fifth or Sixth Rank, making these resources something that needed time to accumulate.

Very soon.

Chen Mu opened another chest and found six portions of Viscera Refining-type spiritual objects!

Clearly, as a high-level master, the Group Leader of the Iron Hand Group, Zong Ling, sent mostly the garnered gold and silver obtained through Wusha River trade to maintain his connections with the Seven Profound Sect, while the more valuable materials for Viscera Refining and spirit weapon refinement were kept privately.

Even if Zong Ling didn't need these Viscera Refining spiritual objects for himself, they were still more valuable than Yuan Stones, and could be used to motivate his subordinates, making the Hall Masters in the Five Viscera Realm and others willing to work on his behalf.

The only regret was that the highest value items were the Viscera Refining-type spiritual objects; there were no nurturing-type spiritual objects.

Firstly, these kinds of items were extremely rare, and secondly, even if any existed, Zong Ling would have used them himself. Although with his age, he had no chances of breaking through to Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster, if he could temper his Six Viscera even a bit more, that would still be an improvement. Even if the increase in strength wasn't significant, in the future when his body began to age, it could delay the decline of his Qi-blood.

"It's no wonder that a character like Zong Ling could dominate in the Wusha River area for many years; he does have his reasons. Grandmasters and elders would not care for such assets, and there aren't many in the Six Viscera Realm who could defeat him. Even if he encountered a high-ranked expert from the Wind Cloud List, he could escape if the opponent was weaker."

Chen Mu organized the contents of the chest and nodded slightly.

It was a pity that after more than a decade of dominance, he finally encountered Chen Mu.

It happened to be a time when Chen Mu was short on resources, and he needed quite a lot, not to mention the Iron Hand Group had been committing evils for many years, so he was even less likely to show mercy. His approach was to eradicate them completely, killing them all. Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire

As for how many years it would take for another 'Iron Hand Group' to arise in the Wusha River area, that was none of his concern. After all, he was neither an Inspector nor an Imperial Governor at this point in time.

All of Zong Ling's treasures, along with a Spirit Weapon of inferior quality related to 'Separating Fire' he possessed, were together worth quite a lot, roughly equivalent to three or four portions of nurturing-type spiritual objects. It would allow him to temper his Six Viscera to about 90%.

But based on previous cultivation practices, the closer to Extreme Tempering, the harder it became, and the demand above 90% would require even more. The properties of Zong Ling alone were far from enough.

"Next."

"Cuiyan Mountain Villa it is."

A faint glimmer flashed in Chen Mu's eyes.@@novelbin@@

Although he intended to act under the guise of a 'Thunder Path Grandmaster,' he still needed to move as quickly as possible. Even if the death of Zong Ling and the destruction of the Iron Hand Group might not provoke a reaction from the Seven Profound Sect, if multiple forces were taken out in a matter of days, it would certainly alert them and bring Grandmasters to investigate.

If he was confronted by a Grandmaster and could not hide his identity, it would be somewhat unseemly and bring trouble. Although he wasn't afraid of much, it was still better to avoid unnecessary complications.

The best course of action would be to act swiftly within these three or four days, like a thunderbolt strike, resolving several forces in succession, gathering resources substantially, and then making a swift exit. Whether it was the Grandmasters of the Seven Profound Sect or the noble families of Yu State, let them investigate, it would always be the acts of the 'Thunder Path Grandmaster' Li Feiyu, and have nothing to do with the Seven Profound Sect's Protector Chen Mu.