Translator: Anubis Translations
After running about five or six miles, Gu Feng suddenly stopped, his face showing a struggle. He stood still for a while, then gritted his teeth and sprinted back in the direction he had come from.
Soon, he rushed into the cave where he had previously dumped the bodies, his eyes blazing as he stared at the dozen or so corpses, his gaze flickering incessantly.
The mountain range was vast and densely forested. Even if he ran without stopping, it would take him at least ten days and nights to traverse it.
It had been most of the day since he left the Gu family, and the likelihood that Gu Tianba had not yet noticed the theft of the Spirit Stones was slim.
With such a large amount of Spirit Stones stolen, he was the only suspect. Gu Tianba would undoubtedly be furious and immediately send people to hunt him down.
His second and third uncles were his blood brothers. For something this important, Gu Tianba would definitely assign the task to one or both of them.
Both of them were at the Qi Refinement stage. At this level, they could use the spiritual energy within their bodies to attach to their legs, allowing them to run several times faster than an ordinary person.
If Gu Feng only focused on escaping, he would most likely be caught within three days, and the risk was extraordinarily high.
Of course, the risk of returning to the cave was even greater than directly fleeing. If he encountered them head-on, there was almost no doubt he would be killed.
He couldn't just sit and wait for death. The best method was to find a way to counterattack.
The previous wave of cultivation had once again boosted Gu Feng's strength. According to the standard of the ninth peak of Body Refinement, with a strength of one hundred thousand jin, he was at least at the eighth level of Qi Refinement.
If he calculated carefully and aimed for a weak spot to launch a sudden attack, it wasn't impossible for him to defeat a stronger opponent with a single strike.
After weighing the options, Gu Feng decided to return to the cave, taking a huge risk to eliminate all his worries.
The cave was only the size of a single room, with no corners or hidden spots. One could see through it at a glance.
Such an environment could greatly reduce a person's vigilance and significantly increase the chances of a successful ambush.
He quickly dug a pit in the center of the cave, large enough to accommodate his body, allowing him to crouch inside.
Then, he haphazardly arranged the dozen or so corpses around the pit.
To remove any traces of deliberate arrangement, Gu Feng deliberately threw each corpse from a distance to the side of the pit.
Finally, he carried Gu Xing's corpse, took a running start, and jumped into the pit, concealing himself.
In the darkness, Gu Feng crouched in the pit, his eyes cold, reducing his breathing to a minimum, like a ghost waiting for its prey, ready to strike.
In his hand, he held a cold, glowing dagger with engraved runes that he had obtained from Gu Xing.
The dagger was still within the realm of ordinary weapons, but it was sufficient to break through protective spiritual energy. After all, his second and third uncles were only at the first or second level of Qi Refinement.
Time passed slowly, each moment a torment.
The eastern sky began to brighten, and golden morning light streamed through the cave entrance, warming the interior.
Just as Gu Feng thought he had overthought things and was about to leave, there was movement outside the cave.
From the low murmurs, he could tell it was his second uncle, a strong cultivator at the first level of Qi Refinement.
Thump, thump, thump—
Gu Feng felt his blood flow accelerate, his heartbeat growing more intense. His arm holding the dagger trembled slightly, and his palm was slick with sweat.
As the footsteps drew closer, Gu Feng held his breath, his body trembling more and more violently.
Gu Feng had his own method for dealing with nervousness. He racked his brains, desperately recalling the dozens of gigabytes of instructional material he had watched before his transmigration.
"Yamete..."
TL/N: 😂
Chanting this magical incantation from the island nation in his heart, Gu Feng's mind miraculously calmed down.
The ringing in his ears disappeared, and his body no longer trembled. His concentration reached an unprecedented level. Although he couldn't see, his mind vividly reconstructed the scene in the cave, including the area where his second uncle currently was.
His second uncle seemed shocked by the sight before him, standing there in a daze.
After a few breaths, the footsteps sounded again, but they lacked the previous steadiness, indicating the turmoil in his heart.
"Gu Tian, Gu Xiao... wake up!"
His second uncle's voice trembled, and the sound of him turning over the corpses came from above.
Suddenly, Gu Feng heard a heavy breath, followed by his second uncle's roar: "Gu Xing, who killed you?"
His second uncle had never married, and Gu Xing was like a son to him. All his ambitions and hopes were pinned on this young master of the Gu family.
The sudden blow was too much for him to bear, and his mournful sobs came in fits and starts.
A sliver of light came through a crack, and through that narrow gap, Gu Feng caught a glimpse of a corner of his second uncle's robe.
The next moment, the light intensified, and the cool morning glow washed over him. He knew the time to act had come.
As his second uncle lifted Gu Xing's body, he also noticed something amiss.
However, Gu Feng's strike was swift, fierce, and precise!
Just as his second uncle's hands were rising, a cold, gleaming dagger plunged into his throat.
"You—"
His second uncle's pupils contracted sharply. He never expected that after killing someone, Gu Feng would dare to wait here, hidden beneath Gu Xing's corpse, launching a lightning strike at the moment of his lowest vigilance.
Who gave him the courage to ambush a first-level Qi Refinement cultivator with his first-level Body Refinement strength?
Gurgle, gurgle—
Bright red blood continuously spilled from his mouth, and his second uncle's pupils began to dilate, his eyes turning crimson.
He who kills must be prepared to be killed. Gu Feng felt no pity, using all his strength to twist the dagger in his wrist.
Boom—
In the moment before his eyes lost their light, his second uncle threw a punch, striking Gu Feng's chest with tremendous force.
Gu Feng felt as if his chest had been hit by a heavy hammer. His body uncontrollably flew backward, crashing into the rock wall behind him. A metallic taste rose in his throat, and he couldn't stop himself from vomiting.
He couldn't help but be shocked. Even at the first level of Qi Refinement, the power a cultivator could unleash was terrifying.
Fortunately, it was a sneak attack, or he would have undoubtedly died.
His second uncle's body lay quietly beside him, one arm still holding Gu Xing's corpse even in death.
Huff, huff—
Gu Feng gasped for breath. That brief moment had felt like an eternity, and the suffocating tension left him shaken.
Struggling to his feet, he walked over to his second uncle's body and bent down to remove the Storage Pouch from his waist.
The pouch was bulging, filled with a large number of Spirit Stones.
"Huh, this looks familiar. Isn't this the ten thousand Spirit Stones I left behind?"
Gu Feng quickly counted them, a strange feeling rising in his heart.
On the road away from the Gu family, he had been lamenting the loss of those ten thousand Spirit Stones.
Who would have thought his second uncle would chase after him to deliver them?
"Heh, as the saying goes, what's mine will always come back to me. The ten thousand Spirit Stones have come full circle and returned to my hands."
Inside the Storage Pouch, besides the ten thousand Spirit Stones, there were also his second uncle's personal belongings.
Pills, weapons, cultivation manuals, and some unfamiliar spiritual herbs.
Gu Feng fastened the Storage Pouch to his waist and headed toward the cave entrance. After a few steps, he turned back to his second uncle's body.
He crouched down and began to strip off his second uncle's robe.
"Second Uncle, you were always so frugal. I'm sure you can understand your nephew's actions.
Who made me short on money, and who made your robe so valuable?"
Given the unique nature of his cultivation method, Gu Feng felt he couldn't stop his money-making efforts. He had to cherish every hard-earned Spirit Stone.
His second uncle's robe was surely worth at least a few dozen Spirit Stones. It would be a shame to waste it. After all, it wasn't damaged during the killing. Once washed, who could tell it had been worn by a dead man?
With a discount, he should be able to sell it.
Just as he was leisurely stripping his second uncle's robe, footsteps sounded again outside the cave.
These footsteps were fast—so fast that Gu Feng had no time to react before they were already at the cave entrance.
(End of the Chapter)
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