Chapter 152: Struck It Rich

Two deafening explosions brought everyone back to reality. They watched in horror as the middle-aged man's body and primordial spirit were blown into dust, and then watched as Lei Xiang slowly pushed two black crystal bullets into the chambers of his weapon. Some of the onlookers had witnessed the terrifying power of the Ninety-Nine Immortal-Shooting Gun before, while others had not, but everyone was utterly shocked by the gun's incredible speed and explosive might.

Lei Xiang's expression appeared extremely calm, yet he felt a deep sense of triumph inside. This latest modification of the Ninety-Nine Immortal-Shooting Gun had been a resounding success, and its power was vastly superior to before. If not for the limitations of the barrel material's structural integrity, he could have easily multiplied its destructive force several times over.

"Tian Rui, go inside and fetch your treasure. I'll stand guard out here for you," Lei Xiang said, breaking the silence. Hearing his voice, the remaining dozens of guards snapped out of their daze. They scattered in all directions like panicked birds and beasts, vanishing into thin air within the blink of an eye. They knew all too well that this little fellow's Immortal-Shooting Gun was something they could never hope to resist, and staying here would simply mean throwing their lives away for nothing.

As he watched Tian Rui walk toward the stone structure, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Lei Xiang's lips. His true objective was not treasure hunting, but the "granaries" of this region—namely, the massive, piled-up reserves of spirit stones. The four rollers of his Wind-Fire Boots snapped out from beneath his feet, and he glided several yards across the ground to reach the nearest spirit stone granary. It was a little over a zhang in diameter and stood five to six zhang tall, clearly holding at least several hundred thousand spirit stones.

Lei Xiang raised a hand and pointed at the Nine-Treasure Lotus Rod. The pitch-black staff smashed down out of thin air, shattering the exterior defensive barrier with a single blow. Piles of dazzling, pure white spirit stones were revealed, their brilliant glow dazzling to the eyes. Behind him, Yang Jian's narrow eyes flashed with overwhelming greed, but he did not dare to reach for them. Without Lei Xiang's command, he dared not do a single thing. When one-fifth of your primordial spirit and a drop of your vital blood were under another person's control, blind obedience was your only option.

Lei Xiang himself felt an extraordinary surge of joy. It was not as though he had never seen spirit stones before, but such a vast quantity of stones of this exceptional quality still made his heart pound. A rough estimation revealed that this single pile contained a good fifty to sixty thousand middle-grade spirit stones. If he could secure another ten or so piles like this, his cultivation breakthrough and advancement would be all but guaranteed. He flipped his wrist and tossed out two storage bags to vacuum up the entire pile.

When he shattered the second spirit stone granary, Lei Xiang was truly dumbfounded. This pile unexpectedly consisted of over twenty thousand top-grade spirit stones! Unable to completely conceal his mounting excitement, he pried open the third spirit stone pile. Just like the first, it held fifty thousand middle-grade spirit stones. Without any trace of disappointment, he methodically tossed out another storage bag to harvest them. However, when he had barely collected a third of the pile, Lei Xiang's expression shifted sharply; he hurriedly executed a hand seal to recall the storage bag, and a Nine-Nine Immortal-Shooting Gun materialized in his grip in an instant.

The moment he finished, the northern sky churned violently. A dense mass of black clouds had already pressed down directly above Lei Xiang's head, bringing with it an overwhelming, suffocating pressure that made even Lei Xiang, a cultivator at the late core formation stage, feel as though he could barely draw breath. Behind him, Yang Jian collapsed directly to the ground. It was only after Lei Xiang deployed the enlarged Blue Lotus Flower Disc that Yang Jian managed to struggle into a sitting position, staring up at the black clouds in utter bewilderment.

A violent discharge of static electricity crackled within the black clouds, which then parted to the left and right to reveal a massive head. This bi-colored, triangular giant head was the size of a small house, and a pair of triangular eyes set upon it radiated a bloodthirsty light. A blood-filled maw opened wide, unexpectedly speaking with a human voice, "Heh, I was wondering who it was. Turns out it's that little punk who wreaked havoc on the Poro Sect. You actually have some tricks up your sleeve to blow up Qianqian's physical body, but don't even think about slipping away today."

A fine layer of cold sweat beaded on Lei Xiang's forehead. He never expected to run into Cavity Tooth here. This fellow, who had been soundly defeated by the Poro Sect's matriarch, possessed a cultivation base a full tier higher than Lei Xiang's. Even though he was still recovering from old injuries, his strength clearly surpassed Lei Xiang's. Why was he here? Could it be... could this place also belong to the Cavity Tooth Organization? With such massive reserves of spirit stones, could this location actually be the headquarters of Cavity Tooth—the Suspended Island? Had he accidentally stumbled blind into the unreachable Suspended Island?

While Lei Xiang's mind raced with chaotic thoughts, his hands did not idle. He released the Crystal-Jade Puppet, forming a triangular defensive formation alongside himself and Yang Jian, while the ten-plus-zhang-wide Blue Lotus Flower Disc remained positioned firmly in front. No sooner had he finished these preparations than Cavity Tooth's gaping maw opened once more. This time, instead of speaking, he spewed a torrent of black fog. Faint red flashes flickered within the darkness, and before Lei Xiang and his companions could figure out what was happening, the black fog slammed heavily into the Blue Lotus Flower Disc.

There was no earth-shattering explosion; the black fog simply wrapped around the edges of the Blue Lotus Flower Disc, and with a soft *pop*, black-and-red flames surged upward. Three-foot-high tongues of fire began devouring the Blue Lotus Flower Disc. Linked to Lei Xiang by telepathic bond, the artifact was shaken violently and seemed on the verge of collapse under the assault of these unknown dark flames. A sharp sense of crisis rose in the back of Lei Xiang's mind as he suddenly noticed that the dozens of guards had returned, now closing in to surround Yang Jian and the others.

He had to end this battle swiftly; otherwise, once the enemy's reinforcements arrived, Lei Xiang and his group wouldn't even have a chance to run.

With that thought, Lei Xiang raised his left hand, lifted the Ninety-Nine Immortal-Shooting Gun with his right, rested the front end of the barrel against his left wrist, took aim at Cavity Tooth's triangular head, and ruthlessly pulled the trigger.

*Clack, clack.* Two crisp sounds rang out as a pair of black crystal bullets shot toward Cavity Tooth. Who would have thought that Cavity Tooth seemed entirely prepared? The black fog swirling around his body rolled, and a massive tail—thick as a house—rose and swept outward. For all its massive girth, the tail was far from clumsy; with miraculous agility, it batted the two black crystal bullets away. The crystal bullets detonated mid-air, yet failed to singe even a single scale on Cavity Tooth.

It was simply unbelievable! His head was as thick as his body, indicating that Cavity Tooth's true form was a giant python. For such a massive python to move with such agility and precision, casually neutralizing Lei Xiang's greatest reliance and greatest pride—the Immortal-Shooting Gun—was a devastating blow. This Immortal-Shooting Gun, unique in the entire immortal cultivation world and boasting an almost hundred-percent hit rate, had failed. Yet, rather than despair, this setback only fueled Lei Xiang's determination to further upgrade his weapon.

"Let's see what else you've got. Bring it on," Cavity Tooth sneered, triumphantly swaying his giant tail as he looked down at Lei Xiang with utter contempt.

Suddenly, a streak of fire struck from the northwest, landing squarely upon the raised giant tail. With a sizzling sound, the hide and fur on the tail were scorched black, filling the air with a pungent, burnt stench. The pain caused Cavity Tooth to howl wildly, his mouth spewing frantic gusts of black fog. Amidst the black fog in the northwest corner, a few brilliant red flashes of light flared, and Tian Rui flew out clad entirely in red garments. Glancing toward the stone structure, Lei Xiang immediately understood what had happened: the stone building had been protected by a powerful defensive grand array. Tian Rui had failed to breach it after all this time, making it impossible for her to enter and retrieve what she wanted, so she had returned to help Lei Xiang and the others, planning to finish this fight first before joining forces to assault the stone structure.

Lei Xiang swept his gaze across the surroundings with blue light shining in his eyes, then shook his head helplessly. He recalled the Blue Lotus Flower Disc, reloaded the black crystal bullets into the Ninety-Nine Immortal-Shooting Gun, and transmitted his voice to Tian Rui: "The enemy's reinforcements have arrived. I can sense at least one presence on par with Wisdom Tooth, and who knows what other experts are on the way. We need to fall back now. Since we know where that item is, coming back for it later won't be too late."

Tian Rui trusted Lei Xiang's judgment implicitly, but she truly could not bear to give up now. That item was simply too crucial to her. Yet, this Wisdom Tooth before them was indeed stubbornly troublesome; in a one-on-one fight, Tian Rui wasn't confident of winning, let alone bypassing the defensive array outside the stone building. Just as she was hesitating, a surge of multicolored clouds rolled across the eastern sky, and several powerful divine senses swept over them. Realizing the enemy reinforcements were here, Lei Xiang raised his gun, fired another shot at Cavity Tooth, and anxiously sent a mental message to the other two: "The enemy's heavy reinforcements are arriving instantly. If we don't leave now, we won't make it!" With that, he turned to flee.

Before he could move, Tian Rui stopped him. "Hold on! I have a way to make a quick escape. Since matters have come to this, our only option is to retreat and plan our next move." With that, she fished out a bead from somewhere. The bead was the size of a green jujube and utterly unremarkable—earth-yellow in color with a slightly pitted, uneven surface. What special use could a bead that looked like a lump of dirt possibly have? Before Lei Xiang and the others could figure it out, the bead began to orbit the three of them, radiating a turbid yellow light that completely enveloped their figures. When the earthy-yellow bead completed its third rotation, the three of them vanished completely into thin air.

Just as Cavity Tooth was stamping with rage, several rays of light descended from the eastern sky, revealing a few figures. Among them, a middle-aged man of medium build shook his head and sighed, "It's this Lei Xiang again. How does he possess such brilliant escape techniques? Even my divine sense lock couldn't hold him. It seems this person must be eliminated, or my Cavity Tooth will never know a moment of peace."