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Chapter 101: Parting Ways
Facing the fiery serpent capable of melting gold and iron, the Lion Puppet did not show any signs of retreat. It directly lunged forward and launched a fierce attack, easily dispersing all the serpents.
Almost at the same time that Meng Zhang took action, Jue Ying also moved.
She disappeared on the spot, turning into a shadow that swiftly traveled along the ground. Seizing the opportunity when the Lion Puppet dispersed the serpents, she appeared behind it and successfully attached three talismans to its body.
These three talismans were not direct offensive ones; they were gravity talismans. After sticking them on, the Lion Puppet seemed to carry a great mountain on its back, causing its massive body to slow down significantly.
Unexpectedly, Jue Ying even possessed such esoteric talismans. What's even more commendable was her combat awareness and control of the battle, both of which were exceptionally skillful.
Although there was no prior communication between Meng Zhang and Jue Ying, she clearly understood that direct attacks on the Lion Puppet would be futile. The key to victory in this battle was to deplete the puppet's spiritual stones as quickly as possible. Once its spiritual stones were depleted, no matter how fierce the Lion Puppet was, it would lose its meaning.
Meng Zhang felt a bit regretful for not bringing any summoning-type talismans this time. If he had summoned cannon fodder, the battle would have been much easier.
He once again infused True Qi into the Fire Seal, summoning nine fire serpents.
Jue Ying carried a variety of talismans. Each talisman released various summoned creatures like earth spirits and tree spirits.
Jue Ying's movements were like lightning, swift as the wind. Taking advantage of the puppet's distraction, she managed to approach the Lion Puppet multiple times and dealt it heavy blows.
Every time the Lion Puppet attacked her, she promptly reacted and disappeared like a shadow.
Although Jue Ying was only in the Mid Refining Qi stage, her combat prowess exceeded that of many cultivators in the Late Refining Qi stage.
With Jue Ying's cooperation, Meng Zhang also demonstrated his true abilities, employing all of his skills. After a bitter battle, the two of them narrowly secured victory in the end.
The Lion Puppet, which had exhausted its spiritual stones, was previously imposing but was now reduced to a lifeless clay puppet.
Meng Zhang and Jue Ying were both exhausted from the intense fight.
Looking at the pile of storage bags in the center of the hall, Meng Zhang suddenly became vigilant.
In the world of cultivation, wealth could tempt the heart. For the sake of obtaining resources for cultivation, not only strangers who cooperated occasionally but even fellow disciples and relatives could turn hostile and resort to killing for treasures.
If this treasure trove was the reason they met Jue Ying in a life-and-death battle, he would feel somewhat regretful.
Jue Ying proved to be a very insightful woman and probably guessed Meng Zhang's thoughts.
She voluntarily retreated to a corner of the hall and said, "I said I would help you for free this time as an apology. All the gains here have nothing to do with me."
Seeing the sincerity in Jue Ying's eyes, Meng Zhang felt that she was not being insincere and was not trying to use this situation to her advantage.
Meng Zhang didn't say much and went to the pile of storage bags to conduct a simple count.
There were a total of thirty-three storage bags, most of them were single spatial storage bags, but there were also four multi-dimensional storage bags.
The contents of the storage bags were mostly full. Besides three thousand low-grade spirit stones, there were various pills, talismans, magic tools, and many spiritual objects.
Meng Zhang found the most valuable to be a large pile of books.
Taiyi Sect had declined for a long time, and its heritage was almost lost. Even though Meng Zhang had gained valuable knowledge from the Trial Ground, it was still far from enough.
Among these books were the accumulated heritage of the Li family over the past three hundred years. Now, all of it belonged to Meng Zhang, and it would undoubtedly greatly enhance Taiyi Sect's foundation.
After calculating Jue Ying's contribution, Meng Zhang distributed two thousand low-grade spirit stones to her and specifically selected a pile of talismans and pills.
Jue Ying was straightforward, and Meng Zhang wasn't stingy either.
Receiving Meng Zhang's gifts, Jue Ying didn't refuse and accepted them openly.
Meng Zhang also collected the Second Rank Puppet on the ground.
He planned to take it back and study it, trying to reset its commands to make it serve him.
After clearing the scene, erasing all traces, and destroying everything, the two of them left the place.
Returning to the passage, they reunited with Li Xuan, who was carrying Zhang Zhanlin, and headed outside.
Meng Zhang, burdened with a large pile of storage bags, resembled a laborer.
Feeling quite inconvenient, he was already considering whether to find a way to obtain a larger spatial magic tool.
"This cooperation was pleasant. I hope we have the chance to continue working together next time," Meng Zhang said to Jue Ying.
Feeling that Meng Zhang was a good employer, Jue Ying took the initiative to leave her contact information.
Without saying much more, the two parted ways, going their separate paths.
Having obtained the secrets of the Li family's treasure trove, Meng Zhang didn't dare to roam outside carelessly. He quickly returned to Taiyi Sect with Li Xuan and Zhang Zhanlin.
In the meantime, Zhao Jiudou of the Zhao Family put in considerable effort and spent many resources to finally learn about Li Shengqi's movements in the Flying Swan Building.
He then contacted the supervisor of that merchant caravan and, in secret, spent a significant amount of spirit stones to find out where Li Shengqi would hand over the storage bag.
When Zhao Jiudou and the Zhao Family disciples arrived at the location, it was already empty.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Zhao Jiudou mobilized the Zhao Family disciples and conducted an extensive search of the surrounding area but found nothing.
Zhao Jiudou finally obtained the box that Li Shengqi handed to Li Nu and invited an expert in deciphering to open it.
As Zhao Jiudou expected, the box was empty.
Zhao Jiudou finally lost his patience and decided to directly deal with Li Shengqi.
After leaving Singing Sand City, Li Shengqi had been wandering nearby.
The one-month period of employment had ended, and the spies, the grey rat, and the black horse who had been secretly following him left to receive their rewards at the black market.
Only the Zhao Family disciples remained, secretly tracking Li Shengqi.
Zhao Jiudou arrived with his men and personally took action, easily killing the guards hired by Li Shengqi and capturing him.
Knowing that he couldn't escape this time, Li Shengqi took poison and killed himself before falling into Zhao Jiudou's hands.
Having spent so much effort and resources and taken so much time, Zhao Jiudou had nothing to show for it in the end, only a lifeless body.
Zhao Jiudou's frustration and anger were beyond words.
The failure of this operation dealt a significant blow to his reputation within the Zhao Family.
Meanwhile, the true beneficiary of this event, Meng Zhang, had already returned to Taiyi Sect with all his gains.
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