Mortal: Fairy Song Yu has issued you a task.

Chapter 74 Starfall Jade, Black Wind Clan

Lin Jingchu raised his eyes and his gaze fell on an elderly man with white hair wearing an ebony mask in the back row. After a moment's thought, he raised his hand, and a jade box flew out of his storage bag, landing steadily on the small table in front of the man.

The old man calmly opened the jade box, and the next moment, his eyes revealed undisguised surprise.

Inside the jade box were twelve slender flying needles, each about three inches long, crystal clear, and gleaming with a cold light.

Lin Jingchu transmitted his voice, saying, "This set of flying needles is a combination of magical artifacts. In addition, due to the special materials used, the requirements for controlling the divine sense are much lower than those for a normal set of flying needles."

The old man extended his index finger, the tip of which glowed with spiritual light. He probed into the box and carefully sensed it. After a moment, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Fellow Daoist, this set of flying needle magic tools is of exceptional quality, even surpassing the value of my Starfall Jade. I never expected that you would be willing to part with such a fine piece." The aged voice transmission sounded again.

Lin Jingchu, standing on the stage, calmly replied telepathically, "It's just a matter of each getting what they need."

He thought the transaction would go smoothly, but then the old man's voice came again: "Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment. I am a rogue cultivator from Qingping Market. I do not have the Starfall Jade on me. I will send my disciples to fetch it from my residence. It will be delivered in a quarter of an hour."

Lin Jingchu frowned slightly beneath his mask, but still replied, "Okay."

After saying that, he put away the "Tidal Sound Jade Conch" and the jade box containing the flying needles, returned to his seat, closed his eyes to rest, and stopped paying attention to the subsequent free trade on the stage.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, a young Qi Refining cultivator, accompanied by a maid, hurriedly entered and handed the old man a heavy wooden box about a foot square.

The old man took the wooden box, but without opening it, he used his spiritual power to support it, along with a small brocade pouch, and presented it to Lin Jingchu. "The box contains the Starfall Jade. These five mid-grade spirit stones are compensation for the difference," a voice transmission simultaneously announced.

Lin Jingchu reached out and took the wooden box and spirit stone bag. After checking that everything was in order, he handed over the jade box containing twelve flying needles.

After the transaction was completed, Lin Jingchu got up and left before the free trading session was over.

It was in a private room on the top floor of this attic.

Two cultivators, dressed in fine robes and both at the late Foundation Establishment stage, were talking.

The long-faced, short-bearded cultivator sitting at the round table, sipping tea, asked, "Third brother, have you emphasized the person the clan instructed us to find to your subordinates recently?"

Another pale-faced, beardless cultivator standing by the window, gazing at the scenery, replied, "Don't worry, brother. I gave you instructions three days ago, and I repeated them this morning. But who exactly is this person that the clan is so concerned?"

"I can tell you, but don't spread it around. It was the Demon Flame Sect that ordered the capture of this person, saying that he offended the young sect leader, Lian Feihua, and defected. But it is rumored that he was originally a steward of the Heavenly Star Sect, and may have clues to a secret treasure vault."

"Is this for real? Weren't the treasures of the Three Yuanwu Sects already divided up by the Demon Flame Sect, the Spirit Control Sect, and six other families?"

"Who knows? Anyway, as long as we catch him, that's fine. He originally wanted to escape to the Righteous Alliance, but he was blocked by the Fu family in the west. Fortunately, he didn't fall into their hands. Now he can only head north to escape to the Heavenly Alliance, and he'll probably pass through our area."

"Wouldn't it be a great achievement if we caught them before those bastards from the Fu family?"

"That's why I told you to be careful. But that great achievement isn't so easy to come by. Now, a 'small achievement' has been delivered to our door, and we can't let it go. We just happened to bring out that Starfall Jade from Kuli to test it out, and it turned out to be a 'big fish.' I bet this person is an exceptionally skilled weapon refiner, and we can't let him get away easily."

"Of course, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered with even a top-tier flying needle magic weapon." The pale-faced cultivator said, then suddenly exclaimed, "That kid's out."

The long-faced cultivator's eyes flashed, and he quickly ordered, "I've already secretly leaked the information to the 'Black Wind Clan.' Take a few men and follow him from a distance. When the time is right, make your move to 'rescue' that kid. Even if he doesn't want to, he'll have to join our Qin family."

After leaving Qingping Market, Lin Jingchu took out the wooden box, put the heavy "Starfall Jade" into his storage bag, and casually threw the empty box and empty brocade pouch into the weeds by the roadside.

After doing all this, he boarded the Azure Wing Boat, randomly chose a direction, and took off into the air.

With his cultivation reaching the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and his own mana being pure and profound, Lin Jingchu, with his full power, made the speed of the Azure Wing Boat unmatched even by those in the late-Foundation Establishment stage.

But at this moment, he was only maintaining a flight speed slightly faster than that of a normal mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. After flying seventy or eighty miles, he slowed down his flight again.

Another leisurely amount of time, like the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, has passed by.

A jet-black whirlwind swept in from behind, instantly overtaking him and transforming into three figures that formed a triangular formation, surrounding him and the Azure Wing Boat.

Lin Jingchu, amidst the Black Wind Clan, had a slight thought but his expression remained unchanged.

Before selling the treasure, he inquired about the market and its surroundings. These three people, relying on their combined escape technique, were as fast as those in the late Foundation Establishment stage and specialized in robbing cultivators.

Although the "Moon Gazing Technique" only incidentally enhances spiritual sense, it still makes Lin Jingchu's spiritual sense strength far exceed that of his peers, comparable to that of an ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

So, as soon as he left the market, Lin Jingchu sensed three mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators following him subtly. He had deliberately slowed down to lure them to this secluded spot.

The burly, dark-faced man at the head of the group sneered, "Kid, you're pretty good at running. If it weren't for our secret flying technique, we really wouldn't have been able to catch you."

On the other side, the gaunt, skinny Jie Xiu shouted fiercely, "That's right, hand over everything you have, and maybe I'll spare your life!"

The last fat man remained silent, clutching several talismans tightly in his hands.

Lin Jingchu then feigned panic: "You...who ordered you to do this? You started targeting me as soon as I left the market?"

"We are the Black Wind Trio, who dares to give orders?" the skinny thief shouted impatiently. "Enough nonsense. You were in such a hurry to leave the auction, you must have bought some good treasures, hand them over now!"

"Okay..." Lin Jingchu replied, but before he could finish speaking—

A pale blue water lily phantom appeared beneath his feet, and his figure vanished from the Azure Wing Boat in an instant, flashing towards the skinny cultivator in the next moment.

Since we can't get any more useful information out of you, there's no need to waste any more breath!

"Watch out!" the fat man, who had been on edge the whole time, shouted sharply, throwing the talisman in his hand without hesitation. However, the wind blades and fireballs generated by the talisman didn't even touch the ground.

Upon hearing the warning, the wisp-like cultivator immediately erected a spiritual light shield, while a black shield-like magical artifact flew out of his storage bag to protect him.

But the next instant, the skinny cultivator suddenly felt a tearing pain in his waist. He watched helplessly as a crescent-shaped blade of light, accompanied by gushing blood, disappeared before his eyes.

The skinny cultivator who had been cut in half at the waist barely managed to turn around, only to see that a "Lin Jingchu" had appeared more than two zhang behind him.

"Third Brother!" The dark-faced cultivator roared in despair, his eyes wide with rage and horror. He slapped the spirit beast pouch at his waist, and dozens of thumb-sized, golden-bodied, ferocious spirit bees buzzed out.

"Die!" The black-faced Jie Xiu was filled with ferocity. While commanding the swarm of bees to attack, he also summoned a thick, earthen-yellow round shield to carefully protect himself.

Faced with the swarm of golden bees rushing towards him, Lin Jingchu raised his hand and the Cold Moon Wheel flew out.

As the blades spun, countless azure ice birds screeched as they rushed toward the golden swarm of bees, and in an instant, blue and gold mingled together.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lin Jingchu used the Water Ripple Step again, instantly closing in on the black-faced cultivator. His Embroidered Spring Blade flashed, its blade gleaming like a storm as it slashed at his opponent.

At the same time, Lin Jingchu's clone had already pounced on the fat man, its fierce attack overwhelming him and leaving him in a precarious situation.

The dark-faced cultivator was extremely anxious, but he was barely able to protect himself. The round shield magic weapon he had bought for a thousand spirit stones was now flickering with spiritual light and teetering on the verge of collapse after being struck by the opponent.

Under the cover of the continuous flashes of sword light, an inconspicuous gray shadow flashed by. The Soul-Chasing Claw silently bypassed the protective shield of the round shield, pierced through the black-faced cultivator's protective aura, and instantly went straight for his back.

Suddenly, the black-faced cultivator felt a sharp pain in his chest. When he looked down, he saw that a gray, claw-like magical artifact had pierced through his chest, and a heart that was still beating slightly was gripped in its claw.

……

Dozens of miles away, a pale-faced cultivator from the Qin family held a jade plate with a faint spiritual light in his hand. The spiritual light on the edge of the plate flickered rapidly for a moment, then dimmed completely.

He looked surprised: "This...this weapon refiner is too useless, isn't he? It's only been a short while, and the battle's spiritual energy fluctuations have already disappeared? Quick, let's get over there. Hopefully, those idiots from the Black Wind Gang will show mercy, otherwise it would be a great pity if they died."

Having said that, he hastily urged his magical artifact and led several of his men to rush in the direction indicated by the jade disc. But when they arrived at the scene, they couldn't find a single person.

Later, the infamous Black Wind Gang in Qingpingfang City completely disappeared. However, soon, new gangs of thieves and cultivators emerged, filling the void they had left behind.

All of this had nothing to do with Lin Jingchu. After destroying the evidence, he headed south.