Chapter 462: The Deal Is Done

In his mind’s eye, everything outside the shop came into view without omission. Lin Dong’s face remained expressionless, but inwardly he felt a sense of relief.
The most critical part of the plan he and Yun Lan had devised—also the one with the highest chance of failure—had been successfully overcome.
To his surprise, no one brought up the fact that the storage ring could be swallowed. Nor did anyone suggest ways to get out, though Lin Dong was only 70-80% confident. Fortunately, things were progressing in that direction. For those forces who had guessed this possibility, suggesting ways to exit would only lead others to consider it as well, and it might also alert those in possession of the Snow Red Grass, adding extra complications. In the eyes of warriors, seizing the Snow Red Grass relied entirely on luck. If everyone knew about it, apart from the two issues mentioned earlier, checking whether there was a storage ring inside someone’s stomach would surely be monopolized by those with stronger forces. No matter how lucky they were, it would be hard for them to get the Snow Red Grass without reason.
Of course, there might also be warriors who were less powerful but clever. They might think of this and, merely wanting to watch the chaos, deliberately expose it to prevent it from ending too soon.
Before long, a burly warrior represented everyone in the shop to meet with the elder of the Spirit Materials Shop. There were no surprises. The Spirit Materials Shop was constantly surrounded by people; even the clerks didn’t dare go outside. The longer it dragged on, the more their reputation suffered. Why not let them go?
The burly warrior clearly enjoyed the attention. He was the first to follow the agreement with the Spirit Materials Shop by listing his possessions and displaying them publicly. After the notarization, he put the items into the storage ring and, without hesitation, began undressing.
In just a moment, aside from his pants, which had been torn significantly, his head was also shaved smooth.
Instead of putting down the large sword borrowed from the Spirit Materials Shop, the burly warrior spun his wrist, performed a graceful sword move, and then asked, “Is there anyone else who wants their head shaved?”
Whether they were medicine merchants or warriors, shaving their own heads in front of everyone would be somewhat awkward. Having someone do it for them was of course ideal. And since the burly warrior had already gotten all the attention and avoided being the first to go out and test whether others would keep their word, he became even more enthusiastic about continuing.

Seeing that everyone except Lin Dong and the other two, along with the people from the herbal shop, had become bald, Ling Chenyue had no choice but to approach the burly warrior. First, he registered the items on his VIP card, then submitted his head. With a few swipes, Ling Chenyue’s plump head turned into a soft, flesh-colored ball. “Let’s go!” the burly warrior handed his sword back to the shop’s employee and gave a commanding wave, issuing orders with great authority. No one objected, and they all followed the burly warrior out. Then they gathered at the entrance to have their identities verified. Although this situation was embarrassing for all the herbal merchants and warriors, they were fortunate to have many companions, so they weren’t completely humiliated. When the people from the herbal shop began to take out their items one by one, Lin Dong and the others went to the entrance. This situation made many people nervous. Undoubtedly, the most critical moment was approaching. Checking the items undoubtedly took a long time. Some large items had to be opened repeatedly for inspection, while items suitable for hiding Snow Red Grass and storage spirit rings could only stay in the herbal shop, to be retrieved by their owners after everything was done. It took over half an hour before all the items that could be taken were inspected. The burly warrior stepped forward again to retrieve his own items and quickly put on his clothes. Once everyone had sorted out their clothes, the burly warrior turned to glance at those surrounding them and asked, “Can we leave now?” “Come out, all of you, come out quickly.” Those who knew how to swallow storage spirit rings urged impatiently. The burly warrior waved his hand: “Disperse!” Everyone scattered and merged into the crowd. Soon, slight commotion arose among the crowd as well. Lin Dong’s mind remained fixed on Ling Chenyue. As they moved into the crowd, Ling Chenyue kept pushing outward. After just a dozen steps, he felt pain at the back of his neck and collapsed. A powerful warrior at the second stage of the Heart Reversal Phase supported Ling Chenyue with one hand while pressing on his waist with the other. Spiritual energy flowed from his palm into Ling Chenyue’s body, quickly reaching his stomach. After sensing something, he immediately withdrew the energy back to his dantian, released his hand, used an air barrier to push aside those in the way, and rushed toward another target. As soon as he left, several others rushed at Ling Chenyue, who was still unconscious on the ground.

Before those people could get closer, Lin Dong’s gaze sharpened, and his spiritual energy surged forth. In an instant, those people faced an impenetrable barrier, unable to move even a single step forward. They thought it was because the energy shield blocking their path was too strong, so they tried to change direction, but soon they were blocked again.

At the Air Control realm, a moderate force was pressed toward Ling Chenyue’s nose. Before long, Ling Chenyue slowly regained consciousness.

After a brief moment of confusion, Ling Chenyue immediately tried to push his way toward the edge of the crowd. Behind him, there was no sign of being targeted by stronger opponents. With Lin Dong using his skills to keep clearing obstacles, they quickly made their way out of the crowd. Then they headed straight for the third-to-last shop on the east side of the street.

After watching Ling Chenyue enter the shop, Lin Dong immediately raised his arms and made several rapid gestures in the air that even he didn’t understand.

Apart from those who knew about using the storage spirit ring to escape, everyone’s attention focused on the suspicious Lin Dong and his two companions. Seeing those gestures, they were stunned, unable to comprehend Lin Dong’s actions.

Lin Dong didn’t move again. After waiting for a while, a loud noise suddenly erupted at the end of the street.

“Go! The person who swallowed the storage spirit ring has been caught!”

With a loud shout, Lin Dong swung his arm abruptly, and the three of them shot forward, rushing toward the end of the street.

Swallowed the storage spirit ring?

Most of the attackers seemed to understand something from Lin Dong’s earlier gestures, as well as the recent loud noise and his shout. Seeing Lin Dong and his companions flying over, they had to put their thoughts aside for now and waved their weapons, trying to stop them.

However, those stronger opponents who were faster and hadn’t considered using the storage spirit ring to escape immediately understood the situation. Lin Dong’s earlier gestures were undoubtedly a way to signal his companions outside to intercept the specific herbal merchant or warrior he had in mind. That loud noise was likely a message sent by his companions, who were too weak to fend off other forces outside, asking them to come and provide support.

Instantly, the lone strong opponents rushed toward the source of the noise, while those with backing also ordered their subordinates to follow closely.

As for those warriors and factions who had already thought of using the storage spirit ring to take the Snow Red Grass out, they hesitated not at all and headed straight for the source of the noise.

Without any strong opponents to block them, Lin Dong and his two companions had no support at all. Under the power of “Yuwujing,” those who tried to stop them were utterly defeated; not only could no one halt their advance even for a second, but many people’s heads and shoulders became stepping stones for them, allowing them to rush forward.

The distance of over 200 meters took almost no time for the three of them to cover, as there was no one to intercept them. As they moved at full speed, they indeed appeared at the entrance of the third shop at the end of the street in the blink of an eye.

Nearby, almost all the strong fighters who had been lurking outside the spirit material shop gathered there, desperately using their mental powers to search for the bald man. It wasn’t until they realized that Lin Dong and his companions weren’t using such methods but instead mysteriously disappeared into Wan Dan Gui Zong that they began to sense something was wrong.

“Everyone, you can go back now. I declare that the Snow Red Grass now belongs to Wan Dan Gui Zong. Whoever dares to attack our people is considered our enemy,” said a clerk from the shop adorned with the blue-background gold-lettered sign of Wan Dan Gui Zong, his voice as thunderous as rolling thunder, leaving everyone dizzy.

After repeating this three times, the clerk turned around proudly and went back into the shop.

By taking Snow Lan Cheng with them, although it would earn them the hostility of many who returned empty-handed, it would also boost Wan Dan Gui Zong’s reputation. After all, with numerous major sects’ shops lining Tianfeng Street, only Wan Dan Gui Zong had obtained the Snow Red Grass—a significant achievement. As for threats, they were nothing more than hostility. Those who tried to steal the Snow Red Grass were mostly rogue fighters stationed in the capital, either registered at the Martial Arts Assessment Institute or somewhat famous, making them easy to track. Unless they were desperate, they wouldn’t dare attack Wan Dan Gui Zong’s clerks.

Not to mention that Yun Lan was the future leader of the Tianjian Sect, and her words essentially represented the sect. Even if they didn’t know her, the clerks of Wan Dan Gui Zong might still step in for her reputation, knowing it was impossible to steal the Snow Red Grass.

No matter how unwilling, the massive group of attackers had to retreat slowly. The Snow Red Grass was beyond their reach.

After staying at Wan Dan Gui Zong for a few days, when it became unlikely that anyone would be lurking outside, Ling Chenyue stayed behind as a hostage. Zi Han took the Snow Red Grass and left first, then gathered silver coins and a seventh-tier spiritual weapon. After hiding the Snow Red Grass, she returned to rescue him.

The deal was struck. Lin Dong was curious about why Ling Chenyue would spend such a huge amount of effort to train Zi Han, and why he pretended to be foolish and acted like a spendthrift in front of others. Meanwhile, Ling Chenyue was equally curious about how a mere inn owner like Lin Dong could possess such astonishing strength. Both of them understood that the other must have some incredible secret, and that trying to extract information through conversation would be futile. Being smart, they chose to remain silent. Without saying a word outside Wan Dan Gui Zong, they simply bowed to each other and went their separate ways. After obtaining the Snow Red Grass seeds, Lin Dong and Yun Lan did not return to the inn but rushed out of the west city gate at full speed.