Chapter 2439 Empty Hidden World, Assassin Crane

While Granny Xue watched Wen Shaoheng standing by the railing in silence, she couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.

After his previous disastrous defeat, Wen Shaoheng seemed like a completely different person, becoming silent and taciturn. No one could tell what he was thinking about.

It seemed to Granny Xue that the defeat had not only dealt a heavy blow to him, but also become a source of torment.

If not removed, his dao heart would be affected!

A guard hurried over, stopping some distance away as he bowed his head and clasped his hands in respect, "My Lord, there’s news from the city gate that Ling Xuanzi has entered the city."

Granny Xue abruptly turned her head, her eyes flashing like lightning as she waved her hand and said, "You’re dismissed."

The guard turned around and left.

Granny Xue then took out a jade booklet that shimmered with a mysterious aura and gently flipped it open. After a brief probe, she immediately realized that Mi Wuya’s and Yan Yurou’s life soul auras were present within a certain area of the city!

Her expression brightened. Inwardly trembling with excitement, she turned to Wen Shaoheng and said, "Young Master, that little devil has indeed entered the city!"

To Granny Xue's astonishment, however, Wen Shaoheng didn’t react in the slightest. His expression remained calm and indifferent while he continued to gaze into the distance.

She couldn't help but call out, "Young Master?"

"I know."

Wen Shaoheng finally spoke. He turned to face Granny Xue, revealing eyes filled with deep-seated hatred and endless iciness. "I have already contacted Empty Hidden World and they will send an assassin to deal with him. This is the empty hidden warrant."

As he spoke, he casually tossed out a blood-red, palm-sized token. A pair of eerie silver vertical pupils were visible on its surface.

Shocked, Granny Xue asked, "Young Master, you’ve agreed to Empty Hidden World’s conditions?"

Wen Shaoheng expressionlessly answered, "As you know, an ordinary Ninth Realm Ancestor is no match for Ling Xuanzi. The only ones who can assassinate him in Origin City without being noticed are the assassins from Empty Hidden World."

"But...the cost is too high. That’s three million first-grade cosmic origin crystals!" Granny Xue’s emotions churned wildly, unable to calm down.

Three million first-grade cosmic origin crystals! In the Eternal True Realm, even an Ancestor of a Path would not be able to remain composed at such a sum! This was why Granny Xue felt it wasteful to use so much money to kill a mere Ling Xuanzi.

"It’s worth it as long as we can kill Ling Xuanzi." Wen Shaoheng said each word with slight pause, his eyes chillingly cold, "That old man, Heng Tianshuo, has already agreed to turn a blind eye to this matter. I’d love to see how Ling Xuanzi will make it out of Origin City alive!"

Heng Tianshuo!

He was a bigwig from the Immortal Imperial Heng Clan and an Ancestor of a Path. At present, he was overseeing Origin City on behalf of the Heng Clan and held the authority of the city lord.

Granny Xue took a deep breath, knowing that she could no longer dissuade him, and nodded in agreement. Her spirit sense entered the empty hidden warrant and information about an assassin immediately appeared.

Crane.

Ranked sixth among the Emperor-level assassins of Empty Hidden World.

Has succeeded in all missions to date.

Over the past thousand years, he completed eighteen Emperor-level ninth realm missions and killed eighteen Ninth Realm Ancestors!

...the detailed records of Crane’s accomplishments were very impressive, astonishing even Granny Xue.

"Ranked sixth among the Emperor-level...no wonder the fee is so expensive..." Granny Xue inwardly mused to herself. Even in the Eternal True Realm, Empty Hidden World was a mysterious assassin force that even Immortal Imperial Clans were wary of!

......

In a simple, serene courtyard of the city lord’s mansion, Heng Tianshuo was examining a bone-patterned jade scroll.

Dressed in a simple robe, his face was as flawless as a gem. The silvery white on his temples added a sense of worldliness to his appearance as he casually sat there, exuding an air of scholarly elegance. From his appearance alone, it was hard to tell that he was an ancient Ancestor expert who had lived for tens of thousands of years, and a true-blue Ancestor of a Path.

After a long silence, Heng Tianshuo softly murmured to himself, "In three months, the Secret Realm of Trial will open. I wonder how many Emperors will survive this time."

The rustling sound of footsteps echoed from afar. Heng Tianshuo immediately collected himself and asked, "What brings you here?"

A boy with delicate features softly reported, "My Lord, news has just arrived that Wen Shaoheng’s target has entered the city."

Heng Tianshuo asked, "That Ling Xuanzi?"

"Yes."

Heng Tianshuo chuckled. He waved his hand and said, "No need to pay attention to this matter. Oh right, remember to suppress any disturbances and do not allow it to disrupt order in the city."

"Understood."

The boy received the order and left.

"To have forced one of the Wen Clan’s Five Absolute Emperors, Wen Shaoheng, into such a desperate situation that he has even resorted to employing an Empty Hidden World assassin, Ling Xuanzi is indeed no ordinary expert..."

Heng Tianshuo pondered for a while before he shook his head, "Forget it, since a grudge has been formed with the Wen Clan, I’ll let Wen Shaoheng resolve this matter himself."

He paid no further attention to the matter and continued to toy with the bone-patterned jade scroll while thinking about the Secret Realm of Trial.

......

Under the ink-black night sky, Lin Xun strolled out of the inn and headed towards the bustling, brightly lit streets with his hands behind his back.

"Buying star frost nine-petal flowers, will take everything you have!"

"Hot golden scale meat buns, juicy with thin skin, a true delicacy."

"Customer, would you like to buy some divine materials? These are unique treasures found only in the Great Thousand Battle Domain and are almost impossible to find elsewhere."

Various shouts and cries from the vendors rang out one after another.

It was quite an eye-opening experience for Lin Xun. Unlike other places, the treasures sold in Origin City were diverse and rare wonders which would seldom appear in the outside world. Only, the prices were absurdly high! Soon after, Lin Xun stepped into a rather large shop and a server immediately came forward to greet him.

Lin Xun said, "I want to purchase some Yellow Spring Beads."

The server was taken aback. He replied, "Elder, that’s an extremely rare treasure. Even if someone does manage to collect it, they would rarely sell it off."

Lin Xun directly inquired, "Do you have any Yellow Spring Beads in stock?"

"We do."

The one who answered was a thin man. He smiled and clasped his hands together, "I am Heng Yuntong, the store manager."

The surname Heng!

Lin Xun immediately knew that the person before him was a member of the Immortal Imperial Heng Clan.

Heng Yuntong smilingly asked, "How many Yellow Spring Beads does the dao friend need?"

"As many as you have," Lin Xun answered without hesitation.

Heng Yuntong raised an eyebrow and said, "Does dao friend know how much a Yellow Spring Bead is worth?"

He extended four fingers. "Four hundred thousand first-grade cosmic origin crystals."

Astounded, Lin Xun asked, "It should only be worth three hundred thousand in the Eternal True Realm, right?"

Heng Yuntong chuckled and said, "This isn’t the Eternal True Realm, so the price of a Yellow Spring Bead is naturally different."

Lin Xun contemplated for a moment before he inquired, "How many Yellow Spring Beads does dao friend have?"

Heng Yuntong answered, "Three."

After some deliberation, Lin Xun said, "Can I barter with other items?"

Heng Yuntong grinned, "Of course."

He quickly led Lin Xun into a room isolated from the outside.

A quarter of an hour later, when Lin Xun walked out of the room, all of his cosmic origin crystals were completely cleaned out along with almost all the battle spoils he had collected on the way to the city. In exchange, he obtained a meagre three Yellow Spring Beads. The beads were simply far too expensive.

Of note, he had only managed to accumulate nine thousand first-grade cosmic origin crystals after selling all kinds of treasures in Ferry City. If not for the tremendous amount of battle spoils Lin Xun had collected in the Great Thousand Battle Domain, he wouldn't even be able to afford a single Yellow Spring Bead...

Heng Yuntong was all smiles as he sent off his VIP customer, Lin Xun. When Lin Xun’s figure finally faded from sight, Heng Yuntong withdrew his gaze as a different smile emerged on his lips. It was indeed Ling Xuanzi who had made Wen Shaoheng suffer a disastrous defeat!

While checking and exchanging Lin Xun’s treasures, Heng Yuntong discovered that most of them once belonged to Emperors accompanying Wen Shaoheng, and many of the treasures had the unique mark of the Wen Clan. This was how Heng Yuntong realized Lin Xun's identity.

"When you die, I might help collect your corpse. Your treasures...shall be the reward for collecting your body..."

Heng Yuntong’s imagination began to run wild.

......

After returning to the inn, Lin Xun casually set up an array and summoned the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron.

"Including the ones I bought today, I now have fifteen Yellow Spring Beads. I wonder if it’ll be enough to make another netherworld rune transform..."

As Lin Xun pondered, he took out a Yellow Spring Bead and suddenly crushed it. Immediately, wisps of dusky light dropped into the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron like nectar.

Visible to the naked eye, the dusky light was greedily absorbed by one of the netherworld runes and refined into netherworld power. Meanwhile, several minute changes began to occur in the netherworld rune.

According to green sparrow, Yellow Spring Beads were incredibly effective in refining treasures. Hence why they were so exorbitantly expensive in the Eternal True Realm. After some testing, Lin Xun discovered that the power within the Yellow Spring Bead was also extremely useful to the nine netherworld runes!

As such, he had purchased more Yellow Spring Beads earlier in the hopes of completing another netherworld rune in one fell swoop. Lin Xun had a feeling that there was far more to these nine netherworld runes, and it was not merely as simple as each being imprinted with a single dao.

He believed that when he completed the nine dao runes, another transformation would likely occur! In the middle of the night, Lin Xun crushed one Yellow Spring Bead after another and the power inside them was absorbed by the netherworld runes within the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron...

The night grew deeper and deeper.

Suddenly, a tremor arose in Lin Xun's heart without any warning, and his well-honed battle instincts made him instinctively dodge to the side. A crack soundlessly opened beneath his feet as something sharp and dark flashed out.

The array power covering the room was easily torn apart as if it was a mere decoration, scattering into a shower of light. The chair Lin Xun had been sitting on also suddenly turned into dust.