Chapter 22
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Chapter 22: Extortion
"Careful. Staying here means endless waves of spiritual power."
Duan Chenfeng shot him an approving glance. With a sharp yell, his replica Great Sun Boxing Gloves blazed brightly again, deflecting another surge of spiritual power from the opening in a great crash.
"Climb up and carve a new foothold. I’ll call when I can’t hold on," Ye Yun grunted, punching through the next beam of spiritual power. His body shuddered, face drained of color.
"Don’t push yourself." Duan Chenfeng gave him a brief look before darting upward.
Ye Yun let out a cold snort, gripping a middle-grade spirit stone while bracing for the next assault. His labored appearance was an act—the paleness came from forcing his blood flow back with spiritual power. The black and white lights within him astonished him more each moment. They evaded the alchemy pill’s detection, devoured spiritual power, and grew more valuable the longer he studied them.
He had to hide this secret at all costs.
*Boom!*
Above, Duan Chenfeng’s strike landed true, blasting a fresh opening. Ye Yun inhaled deeply, readying himself mid-ascent.
Right as he reached the new opening, spiritual power roared toward him. His eyes narrowed. As he punched, his focus snapped inward to the black and white lights.
This time, he sensed it clearly—the lights behaved like a living maw, swallowing the spiritual power in an instant. Worse, they seemed aware of the alchemy pill’s presence, holding back to avoid notice. He was certain they could absorb far more.
Another surge erupted from the depths, slamming into him.
"Still standing?" Duan Chenfeng called down.
"Shut it!" Ye Yun barked, blocking the attack. His body swayed theatrically while the black and white lights greedily consumed most of the spiritual power, leaving scraps for him.
Duan Chenfeng chuckled and leaped higher.
Below, Qu Yiping watched them with shadowed eyes. After a tense moment, he yanked a black bracelet from his robes. Made of Ink Jade and studded with gray crystals, it glimmered faintly. Spiritual power flooded into it, igniting black flames around his fist.
"A spiritual weapon?!"
The servant disciples gaped as Qu Yiping lunged upward, trailing dark fire.
"Brother Duan! Brother Ye! Wait!"
Ye Yun glanced down, startled.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Black fireballs exploded around Qu Yiping as he rocketed upward, closing the gap in seconds.
“Hmm?”
Ye Yun didn’t understand his intention and remained cautious. He had just blocked a surge of spiritual power when he noticed Qu Yiping, who had rushed to his side, was also pale-faced and breathing unevenly. The earlier attack seemed to have pushed him to his limit.
“Brother Ye, lend me your aid,” Qu Yiping said without pause, hurling a sphere of black fire into the cave ahead while glaring at Ye Yun through clenched teeth.
Ye Yun frowned slightly, beginning to grasp the situation.
“Only the three of us here share similar cultivation levels. The spiritual power scales with one’s cultivation. If you two advance, I’ll have no one left to partner with. So I implore Brother Ye to assist me. If I pass this trial, I’ll remember this debt,” Qu Yiping pressed, deflecting another wave of spiritual power as his breathing grew ragged.
“Clever reasoning and sharp judgment.”
Before Ye Yun could reply, Duan Chenfeng’s voice rang down from above. “But why should we help you when we’re managing fine?”
Qu Yiping launched two more black fireballs with a snarl. “If I chose to hinder you, neither of you would reach the summit!”
Ye Yun’s expression darkened at these words.
He’d always suspected Qu Yiping’s treacherous nature. The veiled threat in his earlier words had been clear. Were it feasible, Ye Yun would have already tried to eliminate him. But the black fire-emitting spiritual weapon in Qu Yiping’s grasp felt alarmingly potent—perhaps even stronger than Duan Chenfeng’s replica Great Sun Boxing Gloves. Confrontation might leave both sides crippled.
“Ye Yun! You’ve accepted my spirit stones,” Duan Chenfeng’s taunting voice cut through. “Cooperate with him, and kiss those two top-grade spirit stones goodbye.”
Ye Yun’s eyes narrowed. The reminder struck home—spirit stones were precisely what his cultivation desperately needed.
“I’ll collaborate with whoever provides spirit stones,” Ye Yun called up to Duan Chenfeng bluntly. “Your threats mean little. Brother Qu might match your offer.”
Duan Chenfeng’s defense faltered briefly, nearly costing him his footing. He chuckled darkly. “Fine! Let it be a bidding war. I’ll add two more top-grade stones.”
Qu Yiping’s face flushed liver-red as he strained against another spiritual surge. Ye Yun noted the mutual animosity between the two men.
“Not necessarily,” Ye Yun said impassively. “Their combined offers might exceed any single bid.”
“So you know how to haggle!” Duan Chenfeng sounded almost impressed. “Very well—thirty middle-grade and four top-grade stones total, counting what I’ve already given.”
Reaching into his storage pouch, he produced a glittering handful. Four stones shone with unblemished purity, their brilliance haloed in ethereal mist—undeniable top-grade specimens.
Gasps rose from the servant disciples below. Most had never seen middle-grade stones, let alone these radiant treasures that seemed to devour one’s very soul.
“Take them now,” Duan Chenfeng declared, looming above. “If he matches this, I won’t interfere. But if his bid pales…” He locked eyes with Ye Yun. “…these stones should suffice to persuade you to eliminate him with me—however troublesome that might be.”
Qu Yiping’s roar shook the chamber. “Duan Chenfeng! You go too far!”
The latter merely laughed. “What will you do about it?”
Ye Yun turned calmly to Qu Yiping. “Senior Brother Duan’s offer is substantial.”
Qu Yiping’s face darkened like stormclouds. As another spiritual wave crashed down, he barely countered it with black fire before snarling and hurling his storage pouch at Ye Yun.
