CHAPTER 249: CHAPTER 189 CITY_2

But in the end, although it was delayed by a day, the task was still accepted over there.

To show sincerity.

The new vice president of the Four Seas Guild soon visited Small Knife, stating that the new president was too far away to come over immediately and requested understanding, showing a very humble attitude.

As expected of a major guild, the trading team was soon ready.

Though unassuming, the carriage was very ordinary, but as soon as Small Knife sat inside, he was stunned by the luxurious opulence inside.

Then this inconspicuous trading team set off.

With the Golden Bell automatically protecting the body, wearing the Ten Spirits Robe, and a Hundred Spirits Banner inside the carriage, Small Knife was quite confident in his own strength.

Additionally, by having Mountain Grass issue a secret task to monitor the personnel movements of the two major forces, there was basically no need to worry about being besieged.

He sat in the carriage, watching the scenery for a while; could there really be such leisure time?

Unfortunately, after a long time, it became quite boring, so he simply started researching inside the carriage.

In the Witch Residence, the Hundred-Level Human-Head Willow had already grown new fruits, but to restore it back to Hundred-Level, it needed a large amount of prey to be devoured by the symbiotic Bloodthirsty Vine.

For now, resources were insufficient.

However, upon research, these fist-sized, under Level 10 Cannibal Heads were enough.

Small Knife even cut one open to look inside, and it seemed like the structure was similar to a real human head, yet it was woodified.

The trading team slowly left the range of the Celestial Net, moving at a speed that seemed like an ordinary trading team.

However, to show sincerity, the route map had long been sent to Small Knife.

They were trading along the predetermined route.

The banner of the Four Seas Commerce Association fluttered in the wind.

At the Mortal Level, the Four Seas Commerce Association still had a certain reputation.

It was most famous for being fearless of death; nowadays, whether mountain bandits or other natives, very few would rob the trading teams of the Four Seas Commerce Association.

The reason was simple, the trading teams might not be strong, but each member was fearless of death; they wouldn’t stop unless entirely annihilated, and even if successful, the losses were severe, not worth it.

It was better to choose other targets.

And the Four Seas Trading Team was also helpless; after all, it was outside the coverage of the Celestial Net, and if confronted with robbery, they dared not flee recklessly. If they ran too far and died, even the Soul Fragments would be lost, which would be a big problem.

Only on the predetermined route, even if they died in battle, Four Seas Guild players would quickly arrive to retrieve the Soul Fragments.

Thus, an invisible fearless style was formed; they would rather die than be captured.

By now, this trading route was well-established. Small Knife checked the route map, noting where they stayed over each night, the approximate times, and the conditions of the native forces, all clearly marked.

A day passed quickly, and the trading team arrived at a village, which was one of the locations for overnight stays.

The Four Seas Commerce Association had its own courtyard in this small village, with players stationed there.

Outside the range of the Celestial Net, Small Knife naturally couldn’t log off. Unable to sleep, he studied for a while, coming up with some ideas but the risks were too great, and he hesitated whether to try them.

He casually took out a Totem Pole and was stunned after looking at it.

Damn!

Snake Spirit Totem Pole (Level 100): Top-grade Special Witch Artifact. Mastered, upper limit increased: Level 160.

Ability: Soul Collection Skill. (New)

Others, omitted!

Soul Crystal: 46.

Tip: After breaking through the Hundred-Level bottleneck, gained a new ability; if NPCs die within the domain, their souls will form crystals and be retrieved. These crystals, when brought into a tribe with a Level 200 Totem Pole, can resurrect or rebirth NPCs, with the option to preserve memories.

Tip 2: Other life forms dying within the domain can also have some soul power absorbed. When the Totem Pole reaches Level 200, it can even condense into Soul Crystals, autonomously recruiting NPCs.

This made Small Knife delighted, thrilled, as many of his NPC subordinates had died, making him unhappy. Being able to resurrect them was truly a good thing.

Given this, some experiments could be boldly attempted.

Small Knife released the Witch Residence and went inside.

Soon, an NPC witch was called over.

This witch’s level had dropped to Level 80, and his head was extremely unsightly, ugly, and fierce.

Since he was the fortunate Two-headed Witch who survived, his own head was shattered, yet he could still rely on the second Cannibal Head to survive, with intact memories.

All of Small Knife’s experimental ideas came from him.

At Small Knife’s request, this witch complied well, as the head detached from the body and floated up.

At the fracture, a vine-like plant tendril connected the head and body, bizarrely.

Obviously, though alive, it was not normal.

On command, a piece of Demon Beast Meat was taken out from the warehouse, with the nutrients absorbed by the Bloodthirsty Vine fully supplied to the Human-Head Willow.

The newly grown fist-sized Cannibal Head fruits on the Human-Head Willow, barely over Level 10, immediately started dropping in level.

Quickly, one by one, they appeared listless, with eyes closed, motionless.

For this, a head on the Human-Head Willow rapidly grew bigger, with levels skyrocketing, and after a few hours, it finally reached Level 80.

Thus, Small Knife used the Human Head Planting Skill to plant this head back onto the witch’s neck, restoring his two-headed state.

The Two-headed Witch was quite pleased; with only one head left, his level couldn’t break through Level 80, but now the bottleneck was gone, and he had prospects.

In response to Small Knife’s inquiry, this Cannibal Head had a blank memory, with only instincts.

This was also the reason he was boringly trying to speak with the second head.

So, Small Knife found in his experiments that both heads could speak, which was quite interesting.

With this benefit, the Two-headed Witch actively cooperated with the experiments to follow.

They busied themselves until dawn, and Small Knife was still unsatisfied.

Unknowingly, the Human Head Planting Skill had improved to Great Success.

It seemed that such experiments could significantly enhance proficiency.

Soon, the trading team set off again.

The responsible vice president tactfully suggested that it was best not to release the Witch Residence anymore.

The trade team was safe mainly because the goods, in the eyes of those powerful beings, were not of high value.

This was just an unassuming branch among many trading teams.

Small Knife naturally agreed, relieving the vice president.

The trading team moved slowly, but safely—for this was outside the Celestial Net range.

The team traveled in the wild, encountering some Wild Beasts, handled by ordinary Martial Artists.

When night fell, they had reached the predetermined rest area.

In the wilderness, behind an inconspicuous large rock, a dug-out underground room was hidden, even using simple real-world mechanisms, widening Small Knife’s perspective.

After several days of this, they finally arrived at the first city in the East Martial District.

The Four Seas Commerce Association had a considerable base here, with flags flying high.

The business was doing quite well and had a good reputation among the natives.

The vice president again subtly mentioned that on the upcoming journey, there would be local natives accompanying, so to avoid as much as possible extraordinary means and peculiar conduct.

Small Knife nodded but spared no hesitation in exploring the streets once settled.

The vice president could only reluctantly follow as a guide, looking anxious about potential trouble from Small Knife.

This city was steeped in East Martial’s style, and Small Knife thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

The vice president’s introduction was very detailed.

The city’s most powerful was the City Lord’s Mansion, supported by two Immortal Masters safeguarding the city.

This City Lord’s family also had cultivators, though within sects, which allowed them to control the city—the independent Immortal Masters served as mere supporters.

Without backing, even a powerful force like the Four Seas Guild, capable of easily taking over a city, dared not make a move.

"Heh heh!" Gleaning a lot of inside information, Small Knife certainly didn’t believe it was that simple—a city was surely claimed territory by the two major guilds.

Continuing their journey, with the arrangements of the Four Seas Trading Team, though time-consuming, the journey was smooth, without major dangers.

Only a few minor incidents occurred, involving only Fierce Beasts.

As time passed, they finally arrived at a grand city, which was exceptional, being under the control of a Cultivation Sect.

These cultivation sects took no interest in ordinary cities or towns.

If interested, and contending for one, it had nothing to do with city size, but it certainly possessed a Spiritual Acupoint.

The sect base of a Cultivation Sect certainly had Spirit Veins.