Chapter 279 – Heart-Seducing Spiritual Technique
“What? Qingxin Inn?”
Houzi was surprised.
The Qingxin Inn was the best restaurant one could find in Jianghuang City; not was the cost expensive, only those with respected identities were allowed to enter. Most of the cultivators would boast if they had the chance to dine at the Qingxin Inn.
Even Houzi who had operated his business in Jianghuang City for over ten years never had the chance to step into Qingxin Inn.
“Sure!”
Houzi calmed his thoughts and immediately led Qin Nan to an inn.
The inn was around thirty feet tall, constructed with a type of faint purple-colored ancient wood. Its appearance was nothing extraordinary when observed from the outside.
“Wait for me here.”
Qin Nan called out and entered the inn.
As soon as he stepped inside, a middle-aged white-robed man approached him and said with a gentle voice, “Welcome to the Qingxin Inn, do you have a reservation?”
“A Martial Dominator Realm expert?”
Qin Nan’s heart shuddered violently. It was extremely rare to find a Martial Dominator in the Luohe Kingdom, but in this tiny Qingxin Inn a Martial Dominator was specifically here to serve customers.
“My name is Qin Nan; I have an appointment in room number one.”
Qin Nan wore a calm expression and brought his fists together.
“Room number one?” The middle-aged man looked surprised. As the owner of the Qingxin Inn, he would no doubt know the identity of the person inside room number one. His eyes scanned Qin Nan’s figure as he said with a smile, “Pleased to meet you, Qin Nan. Feel free to head straight to room number one. Turn left at the next corner, and you will see a dragon head hanging on the door.”
Qin Nan nodded his head. He then headed straight toward his destination.
The middle-aged stared at the disappearing figure, and instinctively mumbled to himself, “This is the first time that lady has invited a young man over…”
……
……
Qin Nan arrived at the door to room number one. The entrance was made of a type of huge rock that was as white as snow. In the middle of the door hung a dragon head. It had a ferocious appearance with two curled horns, causing one to feel intimidated.
Qin Nan pushed the door open and stepped inside. His eyes glistened after seeing the interior.
This room number one had a size of around sixty feet square. Its surroundings were decorated with various weirdly shaped stones stacked together, emitting a marvelous glow. In addition, the room was filled with different fascinating flowers, resulting in a pleasant scent.
It was a surprise to him that the interior of the ordinary-looking inn was so intriguing.
“My friend Qin Nan.” A pleasant voice could be heard. At the center of the room were placed two seats, and a tea table made of wood. A masked white-shirted lady currently sat on one of the seats and reached out her pair of fair hands, raising the tea pot, and filled the cup with faint green-colored tea in an elegant manner, producing a pleasant sight.
QIn Nan sat on the vacant seat without showing any expression. He picked up the cup and finished the tea in one go, as if he was drinking normally.
“My friend, you have quite a personality. This cup of Green Spring Tea that you just gulped down has a value of twenty Arcane Realm Stones. If it were somebody else, I believe they would take their time enjoying the tea.” The lady stopped her actions. Although she was wearing a mask, Qin Nan could feel her looking attentively at him.
“Cut the nonsense.”
Qin Nan put down the cup and calmly said, “You’ve marked me with three black lines, and furthermore invited me here for a chat. Lady, may I ask what your true intention is?”
“Please don’t be mad.” The lady giggled, with a voice which was extremely pleasant and soothing, “I once said that if you were to give me the secrets of the Martial Serendipity Pavilion, I’d be willing to give you countless benefits. Otherwise, I said please not to blame me for trying to use some tricks.”
The voice of the white-shirted lady turned incredibly gentle as she said, “Qin Nan, can you please tell me the secrets of the Martial Serendipity Pavilion?”
After the words were spoken, it was as if the surroundings had turned still.
It felt like each word of the sentence had turned into a stream of a green river, flowing deep into Qin Nan’s heart.
Qin Nan’s expression was slightly stunned.
The eyes of the white-shirted lady flickered with joy after seeing his expression. This was a secret technique that she had learned lately, known as the ‘Heart-Seducing Spiritual Technique’. Once executed, the target would unknowingly lose his thoughts and obey her words.
She had even tried using the technique against peak Martial Emperor Realm experts, and it worked every single time. Therefore, she was confident that Qin Nan would obediently tell her the secrets of the Martial Serendipity Pavilion.
At that instant, the stunned expression on Qin Nan’s face vanished, as he said in a cold tone, “Please don’t use such an unworthy skill on me. Otherwise, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”
“You… How are you not affected?”
The white-shirted lady was slightly shocked.
Even peak Martial Emperor Realm experts could not resist her skill, but how could Qin Nan resist it with a mere half-Martial Emperor Realm cultivation?
“This guy was able to level up from the first-layer Xiantian Realm to the half-Martial Emperor Realm in just a few months’ time. Furthermore, he was able to resist my Heart-Seducing Spiritual Technique today. It must be related to the secrets of the Martial Serendipity Pavilion. I must get my hands on the secrets of the Martial Serendipity Pavilion today.”
The white-shirted lady, although being shocked, was able to recover swiftly and processed her thoughts, before she smilingly said, “Your cultivation is truly impressive, that was me misbehaving. If you don’t like wasting time on nonsense, I’ll get straight to the main topic then. I am really interested in the secrets of the Martial Serendipity Pavilion. If you were willing to give them to me, we can cooperate. I’ve got some information here that would be extremely important for you.”
“Haha.”
As soon as she finished her sentence, Qin Nan let out a smirk and said without hesitation, “Cooperate? I’m not interested at all.”
The white-shirted lady showed no sign of giving up as she advised, “Qin Nan, with your current strength, there is no way you could single-handedly keep the secrets of the Martial Serendipity Pavilion to yourself. Cooperating with me is the best choice for now. As for the other stuff, don’t you worry. The Trading Alliance has always been trustworthy.”
“Trustworthy?”
Qin Nan rose from the seat and said without mercy, “Your Trading Alliance has been using dirty tricks in order to obtain the stuff you want from me, and you still dare to say you’re trustworthy? I’ve got no time to waste with you anymore!”
After saying this, Qin Nan turned around and started walking.
“Hold it!”
The white-shirted lady’s face turned cold as she took a deep breath, “Qin Nan, I believe you’re here in Jianghuang City to become a disciple of the Sacred Areas, right? Let me tell you; now that you are marked with three black lines, the two Sacred Areas will never let you pass the trial.
“Besides…”
The white-shirted lady hesitated and said, “Although I don’t have a strong power that would allow me to ignore the rules and use violence on you, I can still easily make you stumble in your steps here at Jianghuang City! I’d hope that you could control your temper and stop being reckless, and spend some time considering my suggestion.
“Are you threatening me?”
Qin Nan raised his eyebrows.
The white-shirted lady shook her head and said, “I’m not threatening you, I’m just helping you to learn the truth…”
Before she could finish her words, Qin Nan interrupted by waving his hand and said, “Remember my words; it’s better for you to…stay as far as possible from me!”
He immediately left the place after finishing his sentence.
Translator: XephiZ
Editor: DOCuinn
Chapter 280 – The Man with Five Black Lines
After Qin Nan left, the entirety of room number one was enclosed within an icy atmosphere, as if a glacier had suddenly appeared.
Shoosh! Shoosh!
Two piercing sound could be heard, as two powerful figures landed, who turned out to be two Martial Ancestor Realm experts.
“Young Mistress!”
One of the experts grumbled, “That guy is too disrespectful. Should we activate the Ancient Slaughtering Formation and extract his soul, and then interrogate his soul?”
The white-shirted lady waved her hand, as the icy aura emitted from her body was gradually withdrawn, “There is no need for that for the time being. How was it, any news from the Luohe Kingdom?”
“Not yet.” The other expert said in a dull tone, “For some reason, we’ve tried various ways to enter the Luohe Kingdom, but the experts of the Qinglong Sacred Area and the Feilong Sacred Area kept on intercepting us, and attacked straight away, causing us to lose twelve shadows.”
Apparently, the term ‘shadow’ was referring to those who were in charge of gathering information within the Trading Alliance.
Each shadow was a unique talent that the Trading Alliance had discovered among the public. Their presences were extremely rare, and it took lots of resources in order to train a shadow.
Losing twelve of them was no doubt an incredible loss.
The eyes of the white-shirted lady glistened, who was then immersed in lengthy thought, before she slowly said, “Let the remaining shadows fall back. We’ll leave the Luohe Kingdom aside for now. You two, go and follow Qin Nan, and take note of his whereabouts. We can’t allow him to escape our grasp again.”
“Roger!”
The two experts disappeared with a flicker.
The white-shirted lady mumbled to herself, “Qin Nan, you will never escape from my palm!”
……
……
After leaving the Qingxin Hotel, Qin Nan met up with Houzi and proceeded back to the residence.
In the midst of their journey, Qin Nan’s movements came to a stop as he said, “Houzi, you should leave first. I’ll be right behind.”
Houzi was utterly respectful toward Qin Nan now, as he obeyed the words and left the place.
“Trying to stalk me?”
Qin Nan’s eyes covertly glanced behind him.
If he were to be somewhere else, it would be extremely difficult for him to realize that he was being followed by two Martial Ancestor Realm experts. However, it was quite different in Jianghuang City, as every cultivator was not allowed to unleash their auras or their cultivation. Otherwise, they would be punished by the authorities of Jianghuang City. The same rule was applied to Martial Ancestor Realm or Martial Dominator Realm experts.
Therefore, these two Martial Ancestor Realm experts were trying to follow Qin Nan’s trail merely with their tricks and experience.
Qin Nan immediately raised his speed as his figure became immersed in a crowd, switching his position occasionally, and causing his figure to turn blurry.
The two Martial Ancestor Realm experts were shocked after seeing this.
“Did he find out that we were stalking him?”
Even without using their cultivation, their techniques alone should preventing their target from discovering their presences. Even peak Martial Emperor Realm experts would have a hard time discovering their presences, let alone Qin Nan.
“Even if you know we are following you, there’s no way you can escape our pursuit!”
The two Martial Ancestor Realm experts uttered hollow laughs as they increased their speed. Their movements were now exactly the same as Qin Nan’s, occasionally switching between left and right suddenly. Even each step was exactly the same.
It was a type of ancient technique of the Trading Alliance, known as the ‘Soul-Attaching Steps’. After prolonged practice, when executing the skill, one would imagine themselves to be the target, causing the body and the actions to synchronize with the target.
“Oh?”
Qin Nan who was leading the way became aware of this, as he slightly raised his eyebrow and immediately unleashed the Eyes of the Divine Battle Spirit.
At that instant, everything within three miles was visible in his eyes, as if he were gazing down from above.
This ability of the Eyes of the Divine Battle Spirit had in fact been awakened a long time ago, but it was not as practical, hence QIn Nan had never used it before—but now was the perfect time to do so.
Qin Nan inspected the landscape within three miles of him, and discovered a small alley. With a flicker, his figure vanished into it. The two Martial Ancestor Realm experts followed closely behind, but they were shocked when they arrived at the alley.
The alley itself was a dead end, as the path was blocked by a wall.
The two Martial Ancestor Realm experts immediately went forward and hurdled over the wall. With a glance, as expected, Qin Nan’s figure had long disappeared from the alley.
“Gasp, how did he know there was an alley here? And to create such a huge distance in just an instant, there is no doubt that he had been planning for this for quite a while. Otherwise, there is no way he could escape from us without using his cultivation…”
The two Martial Ancestor Realm experts felt incredibly unpleasant at that instant.
It was their first time losing sight of their target, not to mention that he was only a mere half-Martial Emperor Realm cultivator.
……
……
“This Jianghuang City is indeed disturbed.”
Qin Nan walked on one of the main streets. When he walked past the stalls, the merchants shuddered and stared at him with icy glances.
“I have to find a way to get rid of this mark!”
Qin Nan took a deep breath. These three black lines were actually very annoying for him, as disturbing as what the white-shirted lady had mentioned.
Even though, with the Eyes of the Divine Battle Spirit, Qin Nan was able to discover extraordinary treasures being sold at low prices, he had no chance of buying them as the merchants would not be willing to trade with him.
At that instant, a sudden yell was heard, ‘Buddy, hey buddy, wait up!”
Qin Nan stopped in his tracks and glanced at the stranger.
There is someone calling out to me despite my three black lines?
He could only see a skinny young man with a yellow skin tone and a pair of triangular-shaped eyes standing in front of a stall, showing his teeth as he smiled with quite a perverted expression, “Buddy, I assume that you are feeling down judging by your dull expression. Come over here, I’ve got authentic Emperor Weapons here being sold at a cheap price. If you were to buy some of them, and experience their power, I believe you will be enlightened!”
“Emperor Weapons?”
Qin Nan was startled, before he glanced at the stall and saw a saber, a sword, and a spear lying still on it. The aura flowing out from the weapons was no doubt the aura of Emperor Weapons!
How significant were Emperor Weapons?
The sect heirloom treasure of the Mystic Spirit Sect—the Sect Leader’s Hall—was an Emperor Weapon itself!
“Oh? What price are you selling them for?”
Qin Nan was slightly interested.
The perverted-looking young man seemed to be unaffected by the three black lines on him, and still dared to sell him stuff. There must be something fishy here.
“Not expensive, not expensive at all. One hundred Arcane Realm Stones each…” The perverted-looking young man reached out his fingers and stared at Qin Nan with a pair of fiery eyes, causing Qin Nan to instinctively shudder violently.
“One hundred Arcane Realm Stones? That cheap?”
Qin Nan was slightly surprised.
Although one hundred Arcane Realm Stones was quite a fortune, it was nowhere enough to buy an Emperor Weapon. The lowest price of an Emperor Weapon was at least two hundred Arcane Realm Stones.
“Such a low price, and not being scared of my three black lines, something’s definitely not right!”
Qin Nan could not help but think to himself.
To his surprise, the perverted-looking young man seemed to have read his mind, as he let out a chuckle and said, “Buddy, are you feeling confused? Why is the price so cheap? Don’t you worry, don’t be afraid, if you were to use your eye technique and take a peek at these Emperor Weapons, you will find them to be authentic!”
Qin Nan squinted his eyes.
He was aware that some of the merchants would use some kind of secret technique to manipulate Houtian Weapons so that they would emit the auras of Emperor Weapons, to trick the buyers.
“This guy is behaving so strangely. I shall see what he is trying to hide.”
Qin Nan was not too interested with the Emperor Weapons. In fact, he was more interested with the young man, as he gazed at him with his Eyes of the Divine Battle Spirit. Following this, his expression was replaced by utter shock.
Five… Five black lines?
Translator: XephiZ
Editor: DOCuinn
Chapter 281 – Exploiting the Loopholes
Currently, the three black lines on my forehead alone was enough to cause me to be rejected by the entire Jianghuang City.
How much worse would five black lines be?
What kind of serious crime did he commit that the Trading Alliance would mark him with five black lines?
Most importantly, Qin Nan was aware that the black lines were created by the Trading Alliance using unique methods, which were extremely difficult to be erased or concealed. How did this guy manage to hide the mark?
The skinny young man let out a hideous smile after seeing Qin Nan’s shocked expression, “What do you think? These are authentic Emperor Weapons. I, Sima Kong, have traveled across the lower district for more than twenty years, but how am I still not beaten to death yet? It’s because I’m trustworthy!”
“You sure?”
Qin Nan collected his thoughts and transmitted his voice to the person in front of him, “Being marked with five black lines, I’m more curious to see what the Trading Alliance would do to you if they knew you were here?”
“What the f**k?”
Sima Kong’s face turned incredibly pale.
He was able to hide the black lines using an ancient technique. Only Martial Highness Realm experts would be able to see his real appearance.
This young man only has a half-Martial Emperor Realm cultivation, how could he see through my disguise?
Could it be that his eye technique is extremely superior?
Sima Kong’s expression changed tremendously, before he turned distressed and said, “Buddy, please stop trying to smear me…”
“Haha!”
QIn Nan did not answer him, but his left eye flashed with a golden glow.
Sima Kong’s heart was filled with astonishment. It’s definitely his eyes, but how could there be such a terrifying eye technique?
Even the successor of the Godly Eyes would not be able to do that!
“Cough cough.” Sima Kong puffed and said, “Buddy, you also have three black lines on you. In some ways, I could be considered your senior. Why don’t we find a place and have a nice little chat?”
Qin Nan nodded his head.
Sima Kong knew how to hide the black lines. If he was able to learn the technique, he could resolve the situation he was in now.
“Let’s go, buddy, follow me…”
Sima Kong let out a chuckle as he led the way. However, before they had walked over ten steps, Sima Kong immediately raised his speed as his figure vanished into a crowd.
“Oh? What a fascinating disguising technique, allowing him to change his appearance!”
Qin Nan’s eyes glistened.
Sima Kong had now transformed into a bulky man, a complete change compared to his previous skinny appearance. The two bore zero resemblance to each other.
“Humph, a mere eye technique, Your Master Sima has time for you…” Sima Kong glanced at Qin Nan from the crowd as a proud grin appeared on his face.
Although he had to admit that this young man possessed quite a terrifying eye technique, the reason why he was still alive despite being marked with five black lines was all thanks to this disguising technique. Once executed, even a Martial Highness Realm expert—or even the bearer of the Godly Eyes—could not see through his trick.
Not to mention that the young man was merely at the half-Martial Emperor Realm.
All of a sudden, Sima Kong’s expression stiffened, as he could see Qin Nan standing not far from the crowd, smiling in his direction.
“How the f**k…”
“Impossible! Did he discover my trick?”
Sima Kong felt himself being struck by ferocious thunder. Despite his experience, his mind had gone blank at that instant.
If he really can see through my trick, how powerful would his eye technique be? That’s completely against god’s will, right?
“Calm down calm down, maybe he didn’t see me. It was only a mere coincidence that he was looking in my direction…”
Sima Kong tried to comfort himself, but when Qin Nan walked up to him, his words were stuck in his throat.
A cold chill exploded within Sima Kong’s spine!
He really could see through my trick!
What kind of eye technique does this guy have?
“Brother Sima, your disguising technique is quite impressive!” Qin Nan calmly said, “But the trick has no effect on me. If you don’t want the Trading Alliance to be hunting you down, we should have a nice talk.”
“RIght right right, let’s talk, let’s talk…”
Sima Kong forced an incredibly ugly smile onto his face.
Do you think I’m stupid, this guy is most likely interested in the secret technique which could conceal the three black lines on him!
Am I, Sima Kong, really being blackmailed by a half-Martial Emperor Realm cultivator?
Sima Kong was more honest this time, as he led Qin Nan to a small residence. Qin Nan did not waste any time as he spoke, “Brother Sima, as you know, the Trading Alliance is trying to cause me trouble. These three black lines are quite disturbing to me. Is it possible for you to teach me the secret technique capable of concealing the black lines?”
Qin Nan’s attitude was utterly sincere, since he was the one asking for a favor.
Sima Kong’s expression stiffened slightly.
Teach him the technique?
His secret technique was extremely valuable. If he were to teach him for free, it would serve as a great loss.
However, it seemed like he had no other choice. If he did not teach Qin Nan the technique, QIn Nan would notify the Trading Alliance of his whereabouts, and in less than ten breaths’ time, the Martial Highness of the Trading Alliance and the City Lord of Jianghuang City would hunt him down.
The thought of being hunted by overwhelming experts, and the eye-technique of Qin Nan that could see through anything, caused him to feel that the world had gone dark at that instant.
Sima Kong took a deep breath and said in a stiffened tone, “My secret technique is from the ancient era—an extremely rare technique. If I were to teach it to you, what can you offer in return?”
Sima Kong had made up his mind. If this person was planning to get the technique for free, he would not hand it over even if it would lead to a showdown between the two.
This was because throughout Sima Kong’s life, he had been using these techniques to stir great chaos everywhere.
“I’ll definitely try my best.” Qin Nan spoke in a serious tone, “Don’t you worry, I can utter an oath that I will never expose your whereabout to the Trading Alliance. Furthermore, I will be honest with you; the conflict between the Trading Alliance and myself is unresolvable. If I have the chance… I will crush them into pieces!”
Sima Kong’s heart shuddered violently.
Crush the Trading Alliance into pieces?
Such high-sounding words!
However, for unknown reasons, Sima Kong could feel himself being convinced hearing his words, as if this Qin Nan would definitely massacre the entire Trading Alliance if he was given the chance!
The feeling caused Sima Kong’s expression to be slightly relieved.
Sima Kong immersed himself in deep thought. He knew that he had no choice but to give away the secret techniques, but he would not give it for free. He must think of a worthy compensation. After pausing for a while, a sudden thought came to him, causing his eyes to glisten and his breathing to intensify, “Buddy Qin Nan, oh no no, Brother Qin Nan, I’ve got a question for you. If you were to be given the chance, would you want to rob a fortune from the Trading Alliance?”
“Oh?” Qin Nan raised his eyebrows.
Translator: XephiZ
Editor: DOCuinn