Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest-Chapter 968: Struck It Rich Again

A mountain stronghold constructed from colossal stones appeared within Wang Chen’s line of sight.

This stone fortress was ingeniously situated between two towering peaks reaching into the clouds, obscured by a waterfall above and a hidden valley below, with dense forests that blotted out the sky, making it extremely difficult to discover its existence.

The only path leading to the stronghold was a winding trail concealed within thick underbrush, leading deep into the perilous peaks.

Without knowing the situation or being familiar with the terrain, trying to locate it amidst the vast Hundred Thousand Great Mountains was like searching for a needle in the ocean.

This was precisely where the Qingfeng Bandits’ lair was located!

Wang Chen had, of course, never been here before, but he had brought a guide.

"Great, Great Sir,"

The guide stammered, "Ahead is Qingfeng Stronghold, you, you…"

Wang Chen, of course, knew what the guide wanted to say, and smiled, "Don’t worry, I keep my word, when I say I won’t kill you, I definitely won’t."

In the previous battle, the Qingfeng Bandits’ main force had been completely annihilated by Wang Chen, who also killed two fifth-tier Martial Ancestor leaders.

The guide in front of him was an ordinary bandit specifically spared by Wang Chen.

These Qingfeng Bandits had roamed the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains for over a decade, often plundering merchants traveling the Heavenly Road, amassing an unknown wealth.

Now that the majority had been exterminated, Wang Chen, of course, wanted to reap his spoils of war.

Otherwise, wouldn’t his efforts have been wasted?

The bandit guide felt as though he had been granted amnesty, his gratitude pouring forth, "Thank you, thank you, Great Sir!"

The next moment, he felt excruciating pain in both shoulders and legs almost simultaneously, with the sound of bones shattering overlapping, causing him to instantly lose his balance and collapse to the ground.

Wang Chen had unexpectedly struck, shattering the guide’s shoulder and leg bones.

"Ah!"

The bandit screamed a blood-curdling howl, "You, you broke your word!"

It was truly like the cuckoo’s blood-stained tears, each word laden with agony, pain enough to make one not want to live.

Wang Chen indifferently responded, "I said I wouldn’t kill you, have I killed you now?"

The bandit had already fainted from the pain.

Although his injuries were far from fatal, without the ability to move, lying in the wilderness of the mountains with no one to help him meant he only had one path left—death.

But Wang Chen had not broken his promise.

And he didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he did, for these bandits all deserved to die; a thousand cuts would be too merciful!

Hoisting his Soul Severing Spear, Wang Chen dashed toward the stone stronghold ahead.

The stronghold’s position was extremely treacherous, and there were dedicated checkpoints on the mountain roads, manned by bandits for defense.

Such defenses might deter ordinary martial artists but posed no challenge to a sixth-tier powerhouse like Wang Chen, who was not even a stumbling block.

He charged straight through, sweeping his spear and sending the heads of three bandits flying.

Wang Chen, having breached the checkpoint without halting, continued up the steep trail until he reached the front of the stronghold.

At that time, Wang Chen noticed thick smoke rising from within the fortress and sounds of shouting and combat, the stronghold’s gate was flung wide open and unguarded, allowing him to charge straight in.

Inside the stronghold, several stone houses were built, with one particularly large house backed against the mountain in the center, conspicuously standing out. Its grand entrance was topped with a signboard bearing the words "Hall of Righteous Unity."

Ten or so bandits were embroiled in a melee before the doors, with the thick smoke billowing from within the house, the entire scene a chaotic mess.

Wang Chen pondered briefly, guessing that the bandits who had escaped earlier returned to their lair and then clashed with the ones left behind, most likely wanting to seize the treasure and flee.

He didn’t concern himself with the details, simply cutting through the crowd, killing every bandit he encountered with a single thrust of his spear.

"The God of Slaughter is upon us!"

The bandits caught sight of Wang Chen and immediately descended into panic, screaming as though the apocalypse had arrived.

Some of the more ferocious, unaware of the full story, charged at Wang Chen wielding a variety of weapons, but the outcome goes without saying.

Wang Chen did not immediately storm into the Hall of Righteous Unity, but instead took a lap around the periphery, killing every resister one by one.

The Qingfeng Stronghold also housed many women and children, relatives of the bandits. As long as they did not resist, Wang Chen simply dispersed them instead of taking their lives mercilessly.

Then, Wang Chen went into the Hall of Righteous Unity and killed another round of people inside and out.

Afterward, in one of the rooms, Wang Chen dragged out a middle-aged man dressed in a scholar’s robe.

The reason why Wang Chen didn’t simply skewer the man with his spear was that he was just a commoner, without any martial arts skills to speak of – to say he couldn’t even truss a chicken would not be an exaggeration.

When caught, the man trembled violently and pleaded for mercy, which sparked a flicker of investigative interest in Wang Chen.

"What is your name?"

He threw the man into the outer hall and spoke with a commanding tone, "Answer my questions honestly, and I may spare your life."

The middle-aged man prostrated on the ground, not daring to lift his head to look at Wang Chen: "M-my humble name is Liang Shicheng, a resident of Ding State City in the Three Rivers region. Five years ago, I was taken hostage by the Qingfeng Bandits while traveling with a merchant caravan on the Heavenly Road..."

This man originally hailed from a scholarly Noble Clan of Ding State, and had the misfortune of falling into thieving hands while traveling to the Imperial Capital to pursue his studies.

The reason the Qingfeng Bandits didn’t kill Liang Shicheng was that he was well-educated and also skilled in accounting.

Since the Qingfeng Bandits needed these skills, Liang Shicheng was fortunate to have been spared.

Over the years, the diligent Liang Shicheng had earned the bandits’ trust and had effectively become their Master Clerk and account manager.

To save his own life, he confessed to Wang Chen: "Sir, I know where their treasures are hidden. I will take you there right now, I only ask you spare my life and the lives of my family!"

Wang Chen was curious: "You have family here?"

Liang Shicheng gave a wry smile.

Initially, he had traveled to the Imperial Capital alone, without any family or attendants by his side.

After being forced into the bandits’ nest, the Qingfeng Bandits found Liang Shicheng obedient and useful, so they gave him a captured woman to be his wife, and two years ago, they had a child.

Although he came from a respected background, Liang Shicheng had always enjoyed studying and remained unmarried even past thirty.

And thus, he ended up sealing his marital vows within the den of thieves!

"Alright."

To be honest, Wang Chen felt this man was somewhat unlucky, so he readily agreed.

All the Qingfeng Bandits’ loot was stored in the Treasure Cave behind the Hall of Righteous Unity—a man-made cave, sealed with a stone door weighing thousands of catties, watched over extremely closely at all times.

The bandits who had fled back earlier had tried to open the stone door, only to end up in conflict with those left behind.

Now, Wang Chen had killed all of them, putting an end to their strife!

Though the stone door was locked with a special mechanism that could not be opened without the right method.

But for Wang Chen, a sixth-tier Martial Ancestor, such security measures were laughable.

He simply smashed it open with brute force, easily breaking into the Treasure Cave.

Inside the cave, there was a mountainous pile of gold, silver, valuables, and goods, along with weapons and food supplies—all of which now became Wang Chen’s spoils of war, and he stashed the high-value items into his storage space.

Fortunately, his storage space kept expanding with his growing strength, otherwise, he really wouldn’t have been able to carry away so much loot.

Indeed, one doesn’t get rich without some windfall—Wang Chen struck it rich once again!

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The second release is here; I ask for your baseline monthly ticket support this month, thank you all.