Chapter 886: Joining Forces

Han Li, Chen Yang, and Gu Qianxun quickly cleaned up the cave, erasing all signs of the battle that had just taken place before piling the bodies of Du Qingyang and the others together.

After rummaging through Du Qingyang's body briefly, Chen Yang pulled out a black badge that was triangular in shape with two curved bulges on its surface, resembling a strange goat's head.

On one side of the badge was inscribed the words "Green Goat", while the other side read "Profound City". It was unclear what material the badge was crafted from, but there was black light constantly flashing over its surface.

Chen Yang was ecstatic to see the badge, and Han Li knew that it most likely represented the status of the city lord of Green Goat City.

"Take it back and look at it some other time, we don't have any time to waste here," Gu Qianxun said in a cold voice.

"My apologies, fellow daoists," Chen Yang chuckled as he stowed the black badge away, then pulled out a round white rock, which he rubbed briefly with his fingers before throwing it onto the pile of bodies.

The white rock was instantly set alight, erupting into a ball of white flames that enveloped the pile of bodies, causing them to quickly melt away.

Even before the bodies had fully melted away, Chen Yang changed into a set of new clothes, then pulled out two more suits of black armor for Han Li and Gu Qianxun.

Han Li accepted the suit of armor offered to him, but a perplexed look appeared on his face, and he didn't put it on right away.

"The vault is being guarded by a powerful subordinate of Du Qingyang's, and we have to get rid of him. If you're wearing these suits of armor, you'll appear less conspicuous."

Han Li nodded in response, and he was just about to take off his clothes when he stopped what he was doing and took a glance at Gu Qianxun.

His gladiator attire only consisted of a cape and a pair of shorts, so if he were to take that off, then he would be completely nude.

Right at this moment, the sound of rustling clothes rang out nearby as Gu Qianxun stripped off her yellow dress to reveal a set of tight-fitting white underwear.

The underwear was a little small, only just barely containing her breasts, which were slightly compressed out of shape and on the verge of popping out. Her voluptuous breasts were further complemented by her delicate and slender waist, as well as her long, supple, and perfectly proportioned legs.

However, there was almost physical appeal to her body at all as her chest, lower abdomen, and legs were all riddled with scars. In particular, there was a huge scar on her chest that resembled a giant centipede, extending diagonally down from her collarbone, presenting a harrowing sight to behold.

Han Li's pupils contracted slightly upon seeing this. At their cultivation bases, normal injuries wouldn't be able to leave any scars on their bodies. Only certain special weapons or extremely grievous injuries would be able to leave behind scars like these.

Regardless of which of the two was true for Gu Qianxun, it was clear that she had some stories to tell.

Gu Qianxun's expression remained calm and placid, as if she were completely alone, and she quickly put on the suit of black armor.

"Time is of the essence, so hurry up and get changed. Don't get hung up on useless things like gender sensitivities, I'd like to hope that my allies aren't so naive," Gu Qianxun said, then began to make her way out of the cave.

"She really is something, isn't she?" Chen Yang chuckled, and Han Li responded with a wry smile before quickly changing into his suit of armor.

The suit of armor included a visor that concealed most of his face, granting him an extra layer of protection.

After that, the trio left the cave, making their way up along the passageway that led to the cave, while Daoist Xie trailed along behind them.

Right at this moment, a faint voice rang out in Han Li's mind.

"How about we join forces, Fellow Daoist Li?"

The voice belonged to Gu Qianxun, and it was a different method of communication than voice transmission through spiritual sense.

Han Li raised an eyebrow as he took a subtle glance at Gu Qianxun.

"I know you always like to act alone, that much was apparent to me after you refused to join my Myriad Bone Alliance. However, things are different now. Du Qingyang is dead, and my collaboration with Chen Yang has come to an end. Once he establishes himself as the city lord, we won't be of any further use to him, and on top of that, both of us have Black Tribulation Centipedes in our bodies," Gu Qianxun continued.

Han Li remained silent as he took a glance at Chen Yang's wrapped right arm.

Gu Qianxun could see what Han Li was implying, and he said, "Chen Yang possesses far more power than what he displayed just now. He may have detonated the profound acupoints on his right arm, but he's still not to be taken lightly. On top of that, he's a very deceitful and cunning man, so he can't be trusted. The only way we can ensure our safety is to join forces."

A contemplative look appeared in Han Li's eyes, following which he gave an almost imperceptible nod.

A hint of elation flashed through Gu Qianxun's eyes upon seeing this, but it then immediately vanished.

The party of four quickly made its way out of the passageway into a side hall of the city lord's manor, where many people were currently gathered, most of which were guards, administrators, and servants of the city lord's manor.

The members of Chen Yang's hunting party were also present, and they immediately approached him as one of them asked in a low voice, "How did it go, Captain?"

"It's done," Chen Yang replied with a wide grin, instantly eliciting a chorus of cheers.

Chen Yang raised a hand to make a quieting gesture, then said, "It's time to carry out the next phase of the plan. Everyone, split up from here."

"Yes!" everyone collectively replied before departing to play their roles.

"Let's go as well," Chen Yang said to Han Li and Gu Qianxun, then also made his way out of the side hall toward a secluded little path.

Shortly thereafter, the four of them arrived in front of a spacious stone hall, at the end of which was a stone gate that was several dozen feet tall. The gate was riddled with silver patterns that were glowing with radiant silver light, and on the stone wall above it was engraved the words "Green Goat Vault" in large golden characters.

At the center of the stone hall stood a black stone platform that was several dozen feet tall, atop which sat a gray-robed elderly man with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.

The elderly man was quite ordinary in appearance with the exception of the silver coloration of his cheeks, presenting a rather peculiar sight to behold.

Close to a hundred rays of silver light were radiating from his body in all directions, giving him the appearance of a silver hedgehog.

Upon hearing the footsteps of Chen Yang and the others, the elderly man opened his eyes, and the silver light radiating from his body faded away.

"What brings you here, Captain Chen Yang?" the elderly man asked as a hint of wariness flashed through his eyes.

Chen Yang feigned an urgent expression as he hurriedly replied, "City Lord Du is currently using the Sinha Blood Array, but something's gone wrong, and we're in urgent need of Blood Soul Crystals, so he asked me to fetch some."

"The vault can only be opened by the city lord himself or someone holding a token from the city lord. Do you have a token, Captain Chen Yang?" the elderly man asked.

"I do, here's the city lord's badge," Chen Yang hurriedly replied as he pulled out the black badge that he had taken from Du Qingyang's body.

The wariness on the elderly man's face eased slightly at the sight of the badge, and he pulled out a silver key that was around a foot in length before turning to the stone gate.

Right at this moment, Chen Yang's eyes suddenly widened as if he had seen something incredible, and he pointed at the gate as he exclaimed, "What's that?"

The elderly man hurriedly swung around to inspect the gate upon hearing this, only to find that there was nothing amiss about it.

Right at this moment, three fierce gusts of wind swept toward him from behind.

Eighteen specks of starlight emerged over Han Li's arms, which thickened to around twice their original size while also taking on a golden coloration, resembling a pair of golden pillars that were thrust at the elderly man.

Around twenty to thirty profound acupoints had appeared on Chen Yang's left arm and left hand as well, and he plunged it viciously toward the elderly man's back like a peerlessly sharp white sword.

As for Gu Qianxun, she had pulled out her white bone sword and was slashing it through the air at the elderly man's neck.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

The elderly man could sense the formidable attacks coming at him from behind, and he knew that he didn't have time to turn around, so he began racing forward as a streak of silver light.

Even though he was a split-second slow to react, he was extraordinarily fast, and the attacks from Chen Yang's trio weren't able to catch up to him.

At the same time, bursts of silver light appeared over his body before rapidly connecting together, forming a suit of silver armor that was riddled with sharp spikes.

An urgent look appeared in Chen Yang's eyes, and he was just about to do something when Han Li's speed abruptly doubled, allowing him to catch up to the elderly in the blink of an eye before ramming his fists forcefully into his shoulder.

Radiant golden light erupted out of Han Li's fists as all of the surrounding space within a radius of several dozen feet collapsed violently.

The sound of shattering bone rang out as the elderly man was sent flying forward like a ragdoll before crashing heavily to the ground, and the suit of silver armor that was taking shape on his body faded away as well.

Before he had a chance to get up, a grotesque thud rang out, followed by a loud squelch as Chen Yang plunged his left hand through the elderly man's chest, emerging on the side with a beating heart before crushing it into pulp.

At the same time, Gu Qianxun's bone sword had also pierced through the elderly man's dantian to destroy the nascent soul inside.

The elderly man's body spasmed a few times before the light in his eyes quickly faded away, and the life was drained out of his body.

"Thank heavens Fellow Daoist Li was able to get to him before he fully donned his Star Spike Profound Armor. Otherwise, things could've gone very badly for us," Chen Yang said as he pulled out his arm and turned to Han Li with a smile.

A hint of wariness flashed through Han Li's eyes as he glanced at Chen Yang's left arm, which previously hadn't displayed any profound acupoints, and he offered no response.

Meanwhile, Gu Qianxun withdrew her bone sword, then shook it out into a bone belt before wrapping it around her own waist.

Chen Yang pried the silver key out of the elderly man's hand, then strode over to the gate of the vault.

Near the bottom of the gate was a white keyhole, and Chen Yang put the key inside before turning it a few times.

A string of mechanical clicks rang out, and the silver light on the stone gate faded away before it slowly swung open.