Chapter 728 - 279: What Makes You Think You’re the Only One with a Trump Card?
Chapter 728: Chapter 279: What Makes You Think You’re the Only One with a Trump Card?
He was thus pinned to the ground on the spot, unable to move. They even picked up a nearby rock and stuffed it into his mouth, silencing any further cries.
"Donor Xiao, this humble monk will never forget you saving my life today for as long as I live."
Fazhao Arhat turned to Xiao Chen. "That traitor was spouting nonsense just now. Please, Xiao, don’t take it to heart."
As he spoke, he bowed so deeply his head nearly touched the ground.
"It’s fine. I don’t care about that."
Xiao Chen waved his hand; he couldn’t be bothered to argue with an idiot. "It’s just that he mentioned turmoil in the outside world..."
"Hm?"
As he spoke, he turned his head for a look.
And saw three Cultivators wearing Bronze Masks trying to take the opportunity to escape on the other side.
"Hmph, where do you think you’re going!"
Xiao Chen immediately rushed forward.
"You two, watch the Round Stele! The rest of you, follow Donor Xiao! Don’t let a single Evil Cultivator escape!"
Fazhao Arhat shouted the order and charged forward right behind him.
What followed was less a battle and more a game of cat and mouse.
If taken individually, the remaining Evil Cultivators would have been considered experts capable of dominating an entire region of Loose Cultivators.
But against Xiao Chen, not a single one of them could last a single exchange.
With everyone’s help in pinning them down, it only took a Quarter Hour for all ten Evil Cultivators to have their limbs broken.
Then they were all dragged back by the scruff of their necks.
"Xiao, here are their Storage Rings and Spiritual Artifacts. Please accept them."
After a quick search, one of the Cultivators immediately brought over all the spoils of war.
Xiao Chen shook his head. "Why give them all to me? We should split them evenly."
However, everyone insisted they would be too embarrassed to take any of the loot.
Many Cultivators even proactively took out Spirit Stones or the Tier Three Spirit Fruits and Spirit Pills they carried with them, offering them as thanks for saving their lives.
"Xiao, I only have twenty thousand Spirit Stones on me right now. Please don’t think it’s too little."
A Cultivator patted his chest and promised, "Once I get back, I will definitely present you with a much greater gift."
The other Cultivators immediately chimed in, saying they too would reward him after they returned.
"Ahem, everyone, please listen to me for a moment."
Xiao Chen cleared his throat loudly. "I appreciate everyone’s sentiment, but there’s really no need to give me all these things."
"The reason I slay demons and exorcise evil is not because I covet your rewards."
’He didn’t really need this stuff anymore.’
But despite what Xiao Chen said, he couldn’t stop the crowd from surrounding him and forcibly stuffing things into his arms.
The crucial thing was that these people meant well; he couldn’t just start a fight over it.
The back-and-forth shoving truly demonstrated the meaning of "two fists are no match for four hands."
It even made Xiao Chen feel that this was more exhausting than dealing with the Evil Cultivators.
"Alright, alright! If you all insist on giving them to me, then I thank you for your kindness."
Half an hour later, looking at the huge pile of items in his arms and at his feet, Xiao Chen could no longer tell which items came from which Cultivator.
Even if he wanted to return them one by one, it was now impossible.
’Forget it. No point in refusing anymore. They gave me this stuff willingly; it’s not like I robbed them.’
And what do you know, with over twenty Buddhist Dao and other Cultivators present...
...twenty thousand from one person and fifty thousand from another, they had actually managed to pool together 765,400 Spirit Stones.
Xiao Chen paused while gathering them up, surprised there was even an odd amount.
’I wonder who it was. They must have emptied out every Spirit Stone they had on them.’
As for the various Spirit Fruits and Spirit Pills, their combined value was around another 400,000 Spirit Stones.
In other words, just these gifts alone were worth a total of over a million Spirit Stones.
A true case of "a fortune spent is a fortune returned."
All one could say was that money was a strange thing. When you were weak, you could never seem to save any, no matter how hard you tried.
But when you were strong enough, it would come to you on its own.
"Um, is there anyone here who is particularly good at interrogation?"
Xiao Chen proactively turned to business, pointing at the burly men. "We need to ask them which power they belong to and what’s happening in the outside world."
Now that there were so many Cultivators around, there was no need for him to do this sort of thing himself.
"Xiao, I have often dealt with my sect’s Punishment Hall in the past and know a few methods. You can leave this to me."
A True Disciple from the Cloud Sea Sword Pavilion volunteered.
His master was actually the current Punishment Hall Elder of the Sword Pavilion. Moreover, their lineage had been passed down for several thousand years, making them absolute experts in interrogation.
"Everyone, please take a moment to regulate your breathing. This shouldn’t take too long."
After getting approval, he gave the crowd a friendly smile and a cupped-fist salute.
Then he directly pulled seven different torture instruments out of his Storage Bag.
Without another word, he immediately subjected every Evil Cultivator to a thorough "servicing" from head to toe.
Only after this initial show of force did he formally begin interrogating them one by one, cross-referencing their answers.
After all, there were quite a few Evil Cultivators, so the process was bound to take some time.
Xiao Chen wasn’t particularly interested in the interrogation process or the miserable state of the captives.
So he stepped a short distance away and began the Refinement of the newly acquired Storage Rings right then and there.
He had just captured ten Evil Cultivators, which, added to the previous seven, made for a total of seventeen Storage Rings.
Ten of them, from the burly men, were all of a uniform design with a wave pattern engraved in the center.
The other seven were all different, looking like the rings commonly used by Loose Cultivators.
Among them was even one special Storage Ring. A brief inspection upon picking it up revealed that its Restrictions were layered one upon another and were exceptionally powerful.