The Eternal Heart - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Honghu’s Three Fiends
Translator: Alsey

Editor: Chrissy

Half treasured weapon?

Chen Yu could not help but recall Le Feng’s broken treasured weapon. Even though it was just a broken treasured sword, the amplification in his combat strength was still astonishing.

“In a secular world, the half treasured weapon is the finest and sharpest weapon amongst divine soldiers. Only a few famous craftsmen can successfully forge it. Its formidable power and quality is extremely close to the level of a treasured weapon, so much so that it isn’t in any way inferior to treasured weapons in some aspects!” the Clan Head explained.

Chen Yu felt a rush of excitement when he heard this.

Having a half treasured weapon was equivalent to having another method of attacking. It would definitely make going out to complete missions much easier in the future.

Even though Chen Yu cultivated punching and kicking techniques, such skills weren’t always applicable under all circumstances.

Other than that, the bounty of a fertile territory had a certain attractiveness to Chen Yu as well.

After he returned to Xiangyang City, he was disappointed and even felt a little bitter due to his clan’s behavior. It had reached a level that he did not hold too much hope towards his clan anymore.

If he could have his own territory, he could establish his own manor with a courtyard so he could have more freedom in his movements and cultivation.

Chen Yu wasn’t the only one whose interest was aroused. Everyone else present was interested as well.

Chen Yu was someone who had established himself in a sect, yet his interest was piqued, so what more of the higher ups in the clan present on the scene?

Even if Chen Yu didn’t care about the ten thousand pieces of gold, it was enough to make many people covet over it.

“Hehe! I always wanted to get myself a treasured weapon. Even though it’s only a half treasured weapon, I should be able to exchange it for some Metastones when I take it back to the sect.”

Chen Ying’er appeared to be pleased as though she had already clinched the bounty.

“Do you think it’s that easy to deal with Honghu’s Three Fiends?”

Clan Head Chen Tianwei bitterly laughed as he shook his head.

Based on the information he got, not only were Honghu’s Three Friends diabolical and deceitful in many ways, they were even proficient in mounting joint attacks together, using the weak to defeat the strong.

“Then again, it’s a bit strange. Why would the Castellan spend such a large amount of money as bounty for the Three Fiends?” asked a Clan elder in an inquisitive manner.

It was reasonable to say that Honghu’s Three Fiends was a villain that the dynasty was offering a bounty on. In actuality, it didn’t concern Xiangyang City that much.

However, Xiangyang City was adding on to the bounty and had given more than the dynasty as well. Furthermore, one only needed to kill the leader of the Three Fiends to enjoy the appended bounty.

It had to be said that this matter was very fishy.

“That’s because—Honghu’s Three Fiends took a walk around the Castellan’s official residence, killing the Castellan’s old mother in the process. Not only that, based on hearsay, they even seized the Castellan’s daughter!” Chen Tianwei said in a cold manner.

Once those words left his mouth, the area sank into deathly stillness for a brief moment. Soon after, everyone sucked in a cold breath of air.

“How can this be?! No less than a dozen martial artists at the Connective Meridian stage keep watch over the Castellan’s official residence.”

“Xiangyang’s Castellan, ‘Chu Fengyun’ is reportedly close to the Visceral Tempering stage. Rumour has it that there are experts at the Visceral Tempering stage keeping watch over his residence. How could he let the Three Fiends easily get away with it?”

Everyone was discussing animatedly with grave expressions on their faces.

If Honghu’s Three Fiends had such a strength, the average person really couldn’t obtain such a bounty.

At the very least, it was very difficult for the higher leveled Clan Elders present to complete a task with this degree of difficulty.

“Maybe that expert at the Visceral Tempering stage in the Castellan’s official residence wasn’t able to make a move in time when the event occurred. Besides, it’s not as though Honghu’s Three Fiends haven’t fought those at the ‘Visceral Tempering stage’ before. Have they ever suffered losses from doing so?” Clan Head Chen Tianwei said in a calm manner.

Everyone nodded their heads slightly in agreement with what Chen Tianwei said, but no one present put themselves forward in participating in the pursuit and killing of Honghu’s Three Fiends.

Even though the bounty was high, one had to exchange their lives in order to enjoy it.

“What cultivation are Honghu’s Three Fiends at?” Chen Yu finally asked.

“The aptitude of Honghu’s Three Fiends isn’t considered to be high. Even their leader, ‘Reaper’s Hand’, who is the strongest amongst the Three Fiends, hasn’t reached the Visceral Tempering stage either. He is probably at the peak of the Connective Meridian stage. However, the trio has run amuck for dozens of years and has used multiple tricks and schemes. Their strength can’t be examined through conventional reasoning and morals. Innumerable people who are at the same rank as they are have died in their hands. There are even rumors that these Three Fiends once worked together and defeated a martial artist at the Visceral Tempering stage, inflicting serious damage on the individual in the process,” Chen Tianwei said in a solemn manner.

He did not dare to hold back too much regarding the rumors circulating around the Three Fiends’ strength.

“Very good! I have decided to participate in this bounty.” Chen Yu had a smile on his face.

His [Bronze Statue Technique] had ascended to the “Perfect Bronze Skin” not too long ago, so he was itching to find an opponent to wage war against. In addition to that, he was tempted by the bounty the Castellan was giving out.

“I’m participating as well,” Chen Ying’er giggled and said after Chen Yu.

When the clan head heard this, he frowned instead.

That was because he had only intended for Chen Yu to participate in this. After all, the defensive abilities this boy had was not just powerful on an ordinary level.

He felt slightly uneasy if Chen Ying’er participated as well. The main reason was not a problem of strength, but rather, the clan placed the greatest hopes on this girl and paid too great of a price for that.

“Father, relax. With Elder Brother Yu and I working together, do we still need to be afraid of a few small thieves?” Chen Ying’er was filled with confidence.

After a series of discussions, Chen Tianwei agreed with Chen Yu and Chen Ying’er’s request.

Nonetheless, Chen Tianwei had a series of requests.

First of all, Chen Yu and Chen Ying’er couldn’t part and always had to be together!

It could be said that if disciples of two great sects weren’t left alone and acted together, surviving definitely wasn’t a problem even if they didn’t succeed in killing the Three Fiends.

Second of all, the clan would deploy a group of experts to assist the duo, with refusal not being an option.

Third, once they determined that they were no match for their opponent, they definitely could not show off and had to retreat without delay.

Chen Yu and Chen Ying’er agreed to these three points.

…

Chen Yu and Chen Ying’er started arranging themselves in the clan on that night.

“Uncle Fang, Fifth Uncle Chen.”

Chen Yu and Chen Ying’er recognized these two experts at the Connective Meridian stage.

Uncle Fang was the chief of the bodyguards and had an abundance of experience after going through an incessant amount of battles. He also had a very tight relationship with the Clan Head.

Fifth Uncle Chen was a young swordsman, and was one of the several experts in the clan’s old generation. He had once traveled to various parts of the state of Chu as well.

Other than these two, there were eighteen more bodyguards, who were all at the Body Tempering stage, allocated beneath them to be commanded.

“Not bad.”

Chen Yu secretly nodded his head. This lineup was much stronger than when he was attacking the Bear King, whether it was in terms of the number of people, or the quality of powerhouses.

Deep into the night, a party of four great experts at the Connective Meridian stage, plus eighteen Body Tempering bodyguards, quietly left Xiangyang City.

“Based on reliable sources, Honghu’s Three Fiends kidnapped the ‘Castellan’s daughter’ and headed to the suburbs to the north of Xiangyang City.”

Bodyguard Uncle Fang pinched the shield in his hands.

“Hehe! Since they have a hostage, the Three Fiends should be thinking of forcing the Castellan to submit and won’t go that far away from the city. If I’m the Three Fiends, I would definitely occupy a steep highland so I can come and go as I please.”

Fifth Uncle Chen, who was dressed as a young swordsman, spoke frankly with assurance, a smile being seen on his face.

“Fifth Uncle is very experienced. I acknowledge this point as well.” Chen Yu nodded.

Honghu’s Three Fiends must have some objective for kidnapping the Castellan’s daughter. They would definitely not go that far away from Xiangyang City in a short period of time and would most likely hide in some region nearby.

Everyone was on high alert once they left the city and entered the outskirts. The eighteen bodyguards dispersed half a kilometer to one kilometer away in the vicinity in search of various spider threads and horse tracks.

Soon enough, a bodyguard cried out in surprise, “There is a corpse here!”

Everyone rushed over in a hurry and saw the corpse of a man wearing leather armor covered in a heap of underbrush.

Taking a closer look, there was a Three-Pronged Dart stuck in that person’s throat.

This kind of Three-Pronged Dart was thin yet long and narrow with three protruding blades.

At this moment, the man’s blood flowed along the bloody groove between the Three-Pronged Dart and dyed the soil red.

“I know this person. He’s the chief of bodyguards for the ‘Mu Clan’, and is one of the several experts at the Connective Meridian stage in Xiangyang City.”

Bodyguard Uncle Fang sucked in a cold breath of air.

After all, his rank and strength was very similar to the one who died before his eyes.

A hint of cautiousness surfaced on Chen Yu’s face as well.

The Mu Clan was the clan “Mu Xueqing” belonged to, and was similarly one of the three influential clans in Xiangyang City.

The three influential clans of Xiangyang City had deployed experts to participate in this bounty, so it was very normal to see people from the Mu or Wang Clan.

“Looking at the wound, this is a fatal dart. The one who attacked should be the Second Fiend, Bloody Poison Dart of Honghu’s Three Fiends. This person walks the path of hidden weapons and has cultivated it to perfection. Their nickname is Crackshot.”

Fifth Uncle Fang took a deep breath and was incredibly vigilant as he looked around in his surroundings.

The Second Fiend, Bloody Poison Dart!

Chen Yu similarly took precautions in his heart. This person could actually use hidden weapons from afar and kill an existence at the Connective Meridian stage in an instant with a single move.

This implied that the Second Fiend probably killed the few people present here in a matter of an instant.

“The Second Fiend, Bloody Poison Dart, applies strange deadly poison on his Three-Pronged Dart. However, he didn’t use the poison to kill the Mu Clan’s bodyguard but rather, it was done through the hidden weapon’s own power,” Bodyguard Uncle Fang added on in his explanation.

The Poison Dart could already kill experts at the Connective Meridian stage without relying on poison.

Even if one were to dodge it from attacking their vital parts by a fluke, the individual might not necessarily be able to avoid that strange and deadly poison.

This Second Fiend really was terrifying!

Everyone was in the midst of taking precautions as they followed a few trails in tracking the Second Fiend down as they moved forwards.

Continuing onwards, they could see one or two corpses every once in a while whenever they passed a certain distance along the way.

The way in which these corpses died was the same as the first corpse. They were all killed with a single dart.

Furthermore, almost more than ninety percent of them didn’t die as a result of the poison, but rather as a result of the hidden weapon’s own penetrative power.

“There’s a Mu Clan corpse here, as well as a Wang Clan’s one, but there are even more from the Castellan’s side…”

Bodyguard Uncle Fang was frightened as he looked at it straight-on.

Looking at the situation, the Castellan deployed the most people, so the ones that died on their end were the most plentiful as well.

In addition to that, the Second Fiend out of the Three Fiends was the only one who made a move so far. The leader of the Three Fiends, Reaper’s Hand, who possessed the most tyrannical strength, did not make a move at all.

“Report. There’s a pile of corpses over there.”

A bodyguard ran over in a panicked state as he was still badly shaken.

Chen Yu and the four other great experts at the Connective Meridian stage rushed over to take a look with far more grave expressions on their faces.

Amidst the dusky night, they could see seven or eight corpses who died en masse in the same place. There was even a bonfire that had gone out in the middle.

Evidently, these people were gathered together as they attempted to target the Second Fiend, Bloody Poison Dart, who was attacking in the dark.

“This is bad! These people did not die under the hands of the Second Fiend.” The expression on Bodyguard Uncle Fang’s face changed drastically.

Not long after, something unexpected occurred.

Bathump! Bathump!

The two bodyguards of the Chen Clan, that were following them, suddenly fainted and fell weakly to the ground.

“This is bad!”

‘This is the Third Fiend, ‘Soul Scattering Fragrance’…”

Bodyguard Uncle Fang and Fifth Uncle Chen were standing unsteadily on their feet as they looked aghast.

An intense feeling of tiredness… directly assaulted their minds!

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Chen Yu and Chen Ying’er also felt a hint of tiredness as their expressions abruptly changed.

“Keke…”

The strange and chilling laughter of a female reverberated near their ears.

Thump! Whoosh!

One could only see a woman who looked just like a specter. She leaped up from the pile of corpses just like a corpse being reanimated!