The Old Trade

Neither of them wanted to expose their cultivation, even though both knew the other was hiding their true strength.

But as long as that thin layer of paper wasn't pierced, neither would be the first to reveal their hand.

Two pairs of large eyes stared at each other, neither planning to make a move.

After a moment of silence, subtle noises suddenly echoed in their surroundings, putting the two on high alert.

"Holy shit! What a massive Blood Lingzhi!"

A gruff voice growled in a low tone, sounding extremely excited. His suppressed voice couldn't hide his thrill. "We've struck it rich this time!"

Four or five figures popped out from the other side. The leading man was a fierce-looking, bald brute wearing an eyepatch over one eye, a true one-eyed rogue.

The other four cultivators acted with extreme caution. Their gazes burned as they stared at the enormous Blood Lingzhi in the distance. Their footsteps were incredibly slow, suppressing their auras to the absolute minimum.

The bald leader was an expert at the mid-stage of the Void Refinement Realm, while the other four were at the early stage of the Void Refinement Realm.

A team of these five could practically sweep through the outer regions of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. It was no wonder they dared to venture so deep in search of treasure.

The bald, one-eyed cultivator licked his lips, a trace of greed igniting in his eyes as he stared fixedly at the two-thousand-year-old Blood Lingzhi.

After so many years of treasure hunting, it was finally his turn to encounter such a heavenly treasure.

He had only ever seen heavenly treasures worth tens of millions in the hands of others in his entire life.

He never expected that he would have such a day himself.

If he could obtain this single Lingzhi, not only could he push for the late stage of the Void Refinement Realm, but he would also make an absolute fortune.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he shifted his gaze to the sleeping giant python wrapped around the ancient tree. It was hundreds of meters long, and its thick waist was almost as wide as the Blood Lingzhi itself.

A demonic beast at the mid-stage of the Void Refinement Realm possessed combat power that was far beyond ordinary.

Obviously, this Blood Lingzhi belonged to this giant python.

To obtain the Blood Lingzhi, they had to deal with this giant python.

If it were merely about killing this giant python, the five of them joining forces might actually stand a chance. However, the commotion from the battle would inevitably attract the attention of other demonic beasts and even other treasure hunters.

They didn't want to end up losing their lives instead of snatching the heavenly treasure.

"Boss, how do we do this?"

One of the cultivators, who had a sharp mouth and monkey-like cheeks, looked at the bald man and asked.

Such a massive Lingzhi, even if the money from selling it was split evenly, each of them would still get at least several million spirit stones.

The gazes of the group all shifted to the bald cultivator.

The bald cultivator stared at the giant Lingzhi, steeled his heart, and said, "I'll go lure it away. You guys hurry up and take the Blood Lingzhi."

After thinking it over, the bald cultivator decided to choose a safer approach, trying his best not to start a full-blown war with the giant python.

The others nodded, agreeing with the bald cultivator's decision.

At the same time, on the other side that they hadn't noticed, Mo Tianxiao and Yun Sangyi were lying behind a massive leaf. They had poked a small hole through it and were carefully watching everything unfold.

Each of them pressed their faces against a small hole to watch the situation opposite them, giving off a strong vibe of being sneaky thieves.

"Young Master Ye, this is just great. Someone else beat us to it."

Yun Sangyi looked at the mouth-watering Blood Lingzhi, a flash of regret passing through her eyes.

If Mo Tianxiao weren't by her side, she definitely wouldn't have let such a heavenly treasure go. Even if it meant exposing her cultivation to snatch it, she wouldn't have cared.

Unfortunately, her goal in coming here wasn't to search for heavenly treasures.

Beside her, Mo Tianxiao had no time to listen to Yun Sangyi's nagging. He directly took out a black hood and pulled it over his head.

Seeing Mo Tianxiao's practiced movements, Yun Sangyi was very confused. "Young Master Ye, what are you doing?"

"You aren't thinking of robbing them, are you? You only have a Soul Formation cultivation, and I am just a lowly Profound Realm cultivator. The other party has five people, and all of them are experts above the Profound Realm. Please don't do anything foolish."

Yun Sangyi's tone was full of concern, and her expression was worried, as if she were truly worried about Mo Tianxiao.

Mo Tianxiao turned his head. The black hood was completely on, revealing only a pair of shining black eyes staring at her. With a slightly excited tone, he said, "I have another one here, do you want it?"

"I..."

Yun Sangyi's voice choked up, not knowing how to respond to Mo Tianxiao for a moment.

After a moment of silence, she decisively shook her head. "I don't want it."

She would never wear such an ugly hood.

In the very next second, Yun Sangyi took out a white bamboo hat from her spatial ring. A white, translucent fine veil hung from the brim of the hat.

After putting on the bamboo hat, Yun Sangyi's appearance instantly became blurry, making it impossible for anyone to discern her true looks.

Mo Tianxiao's eyes widened, and he immediately gave a thumbs up. "Good stuff, do you have any more?"

One look was enough to tell that this bamboo hat was a good item. Even he couldn't see through the face beneath the hat, which proved that this bamboo hat was absolutely a magical treasure.

A faint scent of ghost orchids wafted from the veil, causing Mo Tianxiao to subconsciously take a deep sniff.

Beneath the veil, Yun Sangyi's watery eyes glared at Mo Tianxiao. Then she shook her head, her tone sounding just a tiny bit angry. "No more."

"Hiss hiss!"

"Little bug, you're courting death!"

Suddenly, a violent noise came from afar. It was the bald cultivator launching an attack on the giant python.

A large broadsword slashed heavily against the giant python's body, cutting a gash into it. Bright red blood instantly spurted out.

The giant python, which had been sleeping soundly, felt the pain from the strike and immediately flew into a rage. Its ferocious gaze locked onto the bald cultivator, and its two sharp fangs snapped forward to bite him.

The bald, one-eyed man didn't clash with the python head-on. He held his broadsword horizontally across his chest to block, pretending to be outmatched, and was sent flying backward by the heavy impact.

A trace of disdain flashed through the python's eyes. Its massive body coiled and then shot out fiercely, intending to finish off this little bug that dared to disturb its rest.

However, as soon as the python's figure disappeared, the bald man's companions immediately revealed themselves and rushed straight toward the thousand-year-old Blood Lingzhi without a hint of hesitation.

"Hahahaha! We're rich!"

The monkey-faced cultivator used a long knife to slice the Blood Lingzhi off at its roots. Hugging it in his arms, his face scrunched up, and his smiling face couldn't help but twitch with joy.

"Despicable little bugs! You dare steal my mushroom!!"

A furious roar came from the distance. Clearly, the giant python had sensed its treasure being stolen and realized it had fallen for a trick. As expected of insidious and cunning humans, they had almost completely fooled it.

"Oh no! Run!"

Hearing the python's berserk commotion, the group immediately sensed that things were going south and planned to flee right away, lest they be discovered by nearby treasure hunters and demonic beasts.

However, in the very next second, two figures appeared not far in front of them, staring straight at them.

One was dressed entirely in black with a black hood over his head, while the other wore a white dress and a white bamboo hat. Just from their posture, it was obvious these two were up to no good.

"Who are you people! We found this first!"

The monkey-faced cultivator immediately spoke up. Unable to sense the cultivation levels of the two, he instantly became vigilant, and the other cultivators around him also glared at Mo Tianxiao and his companion with hostile gazes.

Yun Sangyi was just preparing to swiftly snatch the Lingzhi and run away, to avoid causing a huge scene and attracting more trouble.

However, just as she was about to make her move, Mo Tianxiao acted even faster than her. "This distance is enough!"

The next instant, the massive Blood Lingzhi, along with the spatial rings worn on the fingers of the four men, all appeared in Mo Tianxiao's hands.

"Huh?!"

"Fuck!! Where is my Blood Lingzhi!?"