Chapter Sixty-Two: Deception

Chen Xiang paid no heed to whether the Rainbow Armored Eel was willing to admit defeat; he simply wanted to vent his anger. The Rainbow Armored Eel was never good at hiding its emotions, so it was entirely possible that it truly didn't know it had a "King" character emblazoned on its forehead. Chen Xiang surmised that the mark might have been inherited from its mother, but as for that mysterious force, he had no idea.

He played what was essentially volleyball for nearly half an hour before finally stopping. He could feel the surrounding cultivators' gazes fixed on him, but he couldn't be bothered. Instead, he summoned the Vermilion Bird's phantom to seize the Rainbow Armored Eel and, with a sudden burst of Three Thousand Thunderclaps, rapidly departed the area.

After making a roundabout journey, he found a place where he felt certain no one was watching, dismissed the divine beast phantom, and tossed the "colorful sphere" onto the ground.

This was already the third time he’d beaten up the Rainbow Armored Eel, and it had only been a few days. The first time had been when the creature had shown off in front of him; the second, when it had spied on his array formation, forcing him to change it and catching him in a particularly foul mood; the third was just now, when trying to remove its imprint, he’d encountered a powerful and mysterious force, only for the eel to accuse him of extortion—instantly setting him off. Clearly, the creature was asking for a beating!

As soon as it hit the ground, the Rainbow Armored Eel scattered, darting several hundred meters away in an instant. From afar, it shouted resentfully, “Just you wait, boy! You’re finished! My divine beast clan will not let you off!”

Chen Xiang glanced at it coolly and lifted his Xuan-grade spiritual weapon. His aura burst forth, and the phantoms of three divine beasts appeared behind him!

“Wait! Stop!” The Rainbow Armored Eel’s head tingled with fear. It wasn’t that it dared not face off against Chen Xiang, but the presence of those three divine beast phantoms unnerved it. Divine beasts and humans were not the same; there was a special resonance between them!

“So, am I extorting you?” Chen Xiang asked.

The Rainbow Armored Eel immediately shook its head so vigorously it looked like a rattle drum.

Seeing this, Chen Xiang lowered his sword, and the divine beast phantoms behind him dissipated as well. After all, beating the eel was exhausting—if the eel wasn’t tired, he certainly was.

“Hmph. Now, about that mysterious force on your head that nearly scattered my spirit sense—how do you propose to compensate me?” Chen Xiang crossed his arms, unwilling to let the matter go.

And this just happened to be a great opportunity—he certainly wouldn’t let it slip by!

“Hey, kid, what mysterious force are you talking about? How come I can’t sense it? Are you sure you didn’t imagine things?” The Rainbow Armored Eel was disgruntled, and though it almost accused him of extortion, the sharp look in Chen Xiang’s eyes made it swallow its words and rephrase.

“Hmph, what do I gain by lying to you? If you don’t want to compensate me, fine—I won’t take you out of here! This is dangerous business; you’d better find some other unlucky soul. I’m not interested,” Chen Xiang said coolly, his reluctance plain to see.

The Rainbow Armored Eel, seeing his expression, almost believed him. Yet it truly hadn’t sensed any mysterious force within itself; could it have been left by its father, mother, or perhaps someone else entirely?

But now was not the time to investigate—he couldn’t let Chen Xiang back out. Who knew how long it would take to find another Earth Array Master?

“Young man, let’s talk this over! What compensation do you want? Nothing too valuable, mind; I’m not a treasure vault. I can’t produce whatever you want,” the Rainbow Armored Eel said, gritting its teeth.

Chen Xiang’s heart leapt with delight—now they were talking!

“All right, just give me another Earth-grade spiritual weapon, nothing more. I don’t need anything else,” Chen Xiang replied, suppressing his excitement.

The Rainbow Armored Eel nearly coughed up blood. “What the hell! Why don’t you just rob me? Another Earth-grade spiritual weapon, and you say ‘just give’? You think I run a wholesale market for spiritual weapons?”

Chen Xiang replied with utter nonchalance, “Oh? Is that so? You know, I already have plenty of Xuan-grade spiritual weapons, and I don’t lack pills or talismans, either. So really, only spiritual weapons are of any use to me. You decide.”

The Rainbow Armored Eel was speechless; indeed, this brat was not only an Earth Array Master but also a sixth-grade alchemist! He lacked for nothing—talismans and pills were useless to him. Only spiritual weapons mattered. But giving up another Earth-grade weapon was a tough call; they weren’t common, and he only had a few, all of excellent quality—the Jade Bamboo Sword was the worst among them!

As the Rainbow Armored Eel pondered whether to hand over another Earth-grade spiritual weapon, Chen Xiang spoke again, “How about this: give me the Jade Bamboo Sword first, then you can write an IOU for the other one, and in the meantime, pawn a few Xuan-grade spiritual weapons as collateral. That should be just about fair, right?”

The Rainbow Armored Eel was taken aback, then asked suspiciously, “Really?”

Chen Xiang nodded casually. “Really.”

The Rainbow Armored Eel thought it over—a few Xuan-grade weapons for an Earth-grade one didn’t seem a loss. Once it got out, the world would be wide open; it certainly wouldn’t seek out this brat again, and if they crossed paths, it could just avoid him. Of course, if its strength increased, things would be different.

Still, something about the whole deal felt off, though it couldn’t put its finger on what.

After a moment, unable to spot the catch, the Rainbow Armored Eel agreed, “Fine, it’s a deal!”

With that, it opened its mouth, and the Jade Bamboo Sword shot out, drifting toward Chen Xiang. It made no move to intercept it.

But as soon as it saw the Jade Bamboo Sword, a flash of realization struck it. It suddenly bellowed, “Damn it! Kid, you tricked me out of my Jade Bamboo Sword!”

It lunged forward to reclaim the sword, but how could it match Chen Xiang’s speed? The moment the sword left its mouth, Chen Xiang had been ready; seeing the eel unmoving, he snatched the sword up immediately.

As soon as the Jade Bamboo Sword was in his hand, Chen Xiang felt the smoothness of the bamboo nodes and couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly, What a fine sword!

“Ha! Rainbow Armored Eel, how can you go back on your word?” Chen Xiang called out, easily sidestepping the eel’s charge.

In a flash, Chen Xiang was dozens of meters away. With a flick of his wrist, one of the bamboo segments transformed into a hilt, which he drew out, causing the sword to hum and vibrate in the air.

The blade of the Jade Bamboo Sword was snow-white, slender—just an inch wide and two feet seven inches long. The whole sword exuded an awe-inspiring aura, and the spiritual energy it radiated was utterly pure!

The moment he drew the sword, Chen Xiang felt a powerful resonance—his connection with the Jade Bamboo Sword became markedly stronger!

“Damn you! Boy, give me back my Jade Bamboo Sword!” the Rainbow Armored Eel roared, charging at him.

Chen Xiang beamed at the eel. “Heh, there’s no way I’m giving it back. This is my compensation, after all.”

“But don’t worry,” Chen Xiang’s tone shifted, his voice solemn, “Although the mysterious force inside you nearly harmed me, I’ll keep my word and help you remove the imprint. A deal’s a deal.”

The Rainbow Armored Eel stopped in its tracks, disbelief written all over its face. “Are you telling the truth?”

“Believe it or not, that’s up to you,” Chen Xiang replied coolly.

To be continued...