Chapter 1 Looting the Brothel

As one of the top three pleasure quarters in the imperial capital, Yi Cui Lou catered to high-end clientele. The number of guests wasn't large, but their spending power was generally extremely high.

A total of over a hundred guests were being personally searched by Tu Ling and the other fifty.

"Everyone, take out all the gold, silver, jewelry, and silver notes you have on you," Xu Jingming announced, standing there and controlling the situation. His face, hidden beneath the human skin mask, appeared stiff and cold. "If anyone is found hiding treasures, they will be killed without exception!"

Immediately, there was a rustling sound!

The guests, terrified, immediately took out the brocade pouches from their bosoms and the valuable treasures they carried, holding them up in their hands.

"Esteemed beauties of Yi Cui Lou, you must also remove the jewelry and ornaments you wear! Anyone who dares to hide treasures will also be killed," Xu Jingming's gaze swept across the famous courtesans and beautiful concubines. The women of Yi Cui Lou were also ranked, numbering about three hundred.

Some of the top courtesans wore very precious jewelry.

Under Xu Jingming's threat, the famous courtesans of Yi Cui Lou all took off their jewelry, not daring to resist.

"This bandit leader speaks of killing without exception! He doesn't show the slightest pity for the beauties of Yi Cui Lou." The Second Master of the Shen Gong family was quite displeased. What status did he hold? Within the Shen Gong family, his position was among the top three. Now, he could only obediently hand over everything of value he possessed.

"The Shen Gong family is truly wealthy," Xu Jingming praised, seeing the gold and other items taken out by the Second Master of the Shen Gong family. "Master Shen Gong, rest assured, as long as you obediently hand over your money, you won't be harmed in the slightest."

The Second Master of the Shen Gong family didn't say a word.

The sect leader of the Yu Clan on the side took out a stack of gold leaves and several silver notes without a textual cipher from his bosom, worth about three thousand taels of silver.

In places like brothels, silver notes had to be 'without a textual cipher'! Those with textual ciphers were difficult for the brothel to verify, as were the guests' claims about the cipher's authenticity. Therefore, they only accepted cash, silver, and silver notes without a textual cipher.

"Sect Leader Yu, please bear with us for a moment," Xu Jingming said politely.

"You're too kind," Sect Leader Yu nodded, his attitude quite friendly.

Xu Jingming had naturally learned about the top-notch figures of the imperial capital, and he knew this Sect Leader Yu.

The wealthy figures of the imperial capital naturally had considerable fortunes, but there was no need to bring too much gold and silver when visiting a brothel! Bringing two or three thousand taels was already considered a lot.

Most of the guests at Yi Cui Lou carried only a few hundred taels of silver!

There were also a very few who were tight on funds, having only twenty or thirty taels of silver.

"Here, here, and here!" Two eighth-order experts were leading a group of second-rate experts, searching for gold, silver, and other treasures within Yi Cui Lou. Under the cover of their mind power, they quickly searched out the locations of the treasures.

Yi Cui Lou's daily earnings were also carefully stored! Not many within Yi Cui Lou knew the locations of the storage.

But Xu Jingming and his group were too efficient in their search.

…

Outside Yi Cui Lou, however, the atmosphere was tense and fraught with alarm!

The guards and the servants of many guests were all nervously watching Yi Cui Lou. Further away, many passersby were also watching.

"Something big has happened!"

"A group of fierce people have stormed into Yi Cui Lou. Many of Yi Cui Lou's guards are dead, and the remaining guards don't dare to go in at all." The passersby watched from afar, chatting excitedly. Occupying and looting Yi Cui Lou was a rare event in the imperial capital.

"The guests inside Yi Cui Lou are all big shots! This matter has blown up; look, the Blood Rain Guards are also rushing over."

The passersby discussed.

One Blood Rain Guard expert after another rushed over from all directions, arriving outside Yi Cui Lou.

"What's going on inside?" the leader of a Blood Rain Guard squad shouted.

"Squad Leader Wan," the leader of Yi Cui Lou's guards came out, anxiously saying, "There's a group of fierce people inside who have occupied the entire Yi Cui Lou. Nearly two hundred of our guards are dead, but none of those fierce people have died. There are about a hundred of them in total, and from the fighting, they are all first-rate experts."

The arriving Blood Rain Guards all listened in disbelief.

Squad Leader Wan pressed further, asking, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? They're all first-rate experts?"

"Yes," the leader of Yi Cui Lou's guards nodded in confirmation. "I can confirm that they are all first-rate experts. So many of us died, but not a single one of them died."

The first batch of Blood Rain Guards to arrive were shocked.

"Heavens, over a hundred first-rate experts?"

"Not to mention our squad, even if our thousand-man battalion of Blood Rain Guards came, we wouldn't be confident. If we added a few thousand auxiliary guards, we might be able to win! But even if we won, the casualties would be terrible."

"It would have to be experts from the Eastern Prefecture headquarters who come. Our battalion isn't really suited for the main attack."

These Blood Rain Guards didn't dare to go in at all.

The enemy was too terrifying. Going in was suicide!

Yi Cui Lou wasn't worth risking their lives for.

"Release twelve signal arrows," Squad Leader Wan immediately ordered. Immediately, one Blood Rain Guard after another took out signal arrows.

"Whoosh—"

"Whoosh—"

"Whoosh—"

One signal arrow after another rose! In an instant, twelve signal arrows were released continuously! For a moment, patterns of blood rain appeared in the night sky. The twelve blood rain patterns were extremely conspicuous, representing the seriousness of the matter.

Many Blood Rain Guards who saw this from afar changed their expressions.

"The enemy is terrifying; we need experts from the Eastern Prefecture headquarters to support us."

"We need experts from headquarters."

The Blood Rain Guards from various directions were rushing over, and at the same time, the Eastern Prefecture headquarters saw the signal arrows and were mobilizing experts to come.

The Blood Rain Guards' signal arrows also had strict rules! Twelve arrows represented a level of danger beyond the scope of what a 'battalion' could handle. Experts from a prefecture headquarters had to provide support.

"Let's just wait slowly; going in is suicide." The Blood Rain Guards who arrived one after another were justified in watching from the outside. Knowing that there were over a hundred 'first-rate experts' inside, no one was willing to go in.

…

The Blood Rain Guards' signal arrows also attracted the attention of many forces in the imperial capital! They all knew that something big had happened in the direction of Yi Cui Lou.

"The heavens are guiding me; I should go there!"

A withered old monk wearing ragged clothes walked barefoot in a dilapidated alley. His feet were filthy.

The withered old monk looked up and could see the dazzling and towering Yi Cui Lou from afar. At this moment, he walked step by step, his figure seemed illusory, getting closer and closer to Yi Cui Lou. At the same time, an invisible mind power had spread over.

His mind power, like a dark tide, spread over two or three miles, completely enveloping Yi Cui Lou.

Within Yi Cui Lou, there were also three terrifying mind powers; they were the three eighth-order cosmic lifeforms Xu Jingming had invited.

Mind powers collided with each other!

The three mind powers resisted together, but after only a moment, they were completely defeated by the power of this dark tide.

"These three fellow cultivators have extraordinary minds. They should be brought into my Red Lotus lineage to strengthen my Red Lotus lineage." The withered old monk revealed a smile, walking step by step, already less than a mile away from Yi Cui Lou.

*******

Inside Yi Cui Lou.

The two eighth-order lifeforms responsible for leading the search of Yi Cui Lou returned to Xu Jingming's side.

"An expert is coming," the three eighth-order lifeforms said solemnly.

"This mind power…"

Xu Jingming could also feel the terrifying mind power surging like a black tide, easily submerging him! He couldn't resist at all; everything he was under the cover of this mind power.

"His mind power is stronger than all three of us," one of them said.

"But there's no need to worry; strong mind power doesn't mean that his actual combat strength is stronger than ours. The three of us working together! Even if he’s at the limit of the same rank, we can fight him."

"After all, he's still at the same rank as us; he hasn't truly broken through."

The three eighth-order cosmic lifeforms all spoke.

Xu Jingming sensed the confidence of the three eighth-order lifeforms beside him. The collision of mind powers allowed them to quickly determine that the opponent was not a 'ninth-order Source lifeform'! In that case, the three eighth-order cosmic lifeforms dared to fight him.

"Follow the plan; don't pay attention to him," Xu Jingming said.

This was also within Pang Ze's expectations.

Pang Ze had once told Xu Jingming, "The core of the Blood Rain World is gold and silver! Whether you become a high-ranking official or a wealthy merchant, the more gold and silver you have, the stronger the world's targeted response will be. The Blood Rain World will never let us easily plunder too much gold and silver."

Pang Ze knew this and had set a plan to deal with it.

At this moment, Xu Jingming sensed the terrifying mind power like a dark tide. "It must be because we looted too much gold and silver in Yi Cui Lou that the Blood Rain World brought a terrifying existence."

"If I wanted to seize some of the large treasures of the imperial capital, I might even attract Dean Ming to interfere."

"There are still quite a few monsters among the native experts of the Blood Rain World."

'Dean Ming,' who was suspected to be a Source lifeform, only dared to say that he was the number one person in the imperial capital, not the number one person in the world!

The ancient Black Lotus Sect and the 'Red Lotus Sect' that split from the Black Lotus Sect both had some terrifying figures.

"The search of Yi Cui Lou is almost complete," Liu Hai said to Xu Jingming, "We must end it quickly and retreat immediately. The Blood Rain Guards have released twelve signal arrows outside!"

"Don't worry; it takes time for the Blood Rain Guards to arrive. Everything is according to the original plan," Xu Jingming said calmly.

He knew the distribution of the Blood Rain Guards very well.

How long it would take for the Blood Rain Guards and auxiliary guards to arrive had been prepared for long ago.

"Are you still hiding treasures?" Tu Ling pointed at a tall, thin youth. The second-rate experts on the side all drew their weapons. As long as Xu Jingming gave an order, they would attack.

The tall, thin youth blocked the jade pendant on his chest and shouted angrily, "I've given you all the gold, silver, and other items I have on me. This jade treasure cannot be given to you."

Xu Jingming looked over.

"Jade treasure?"

Xu Jingming glanced at it and saw that the jade treasure on the tall, thin youth's chest was emitting a thrilling purple halo.

"Third Master," Xu Jingming stepped forward, staring at the jade treasure, "The jade treasure on your chest, is it the Purple Cloud Jade Treasure of the Duke of Ding Country's mansion?"

The Purple Cloud Jade Treasure was also a well-known treasure in the imperial capital.

The tall, thin youth stared at Xu Jingming, proudly saying, "Leader, since you know the Purple Cloud Jade Treasure! You should know… that this is my Duke of Ding Country's mansion's heirloom treasure, bestowed upon me by my grandfather. I've given you the several thousand taels of silver I had on me. But if you dare to snatch this Purple Cloud Jade Treasure, my Duke of Ding Country's mansion will never let it go!"

"Purple Cloud Jade Treasure, a rare treasure, said to have been bought by the founding Old Duke for thirty thousand taels of silver and passed down generation after generation," Xu Jingming smiled slightly, "Third Master, hand it over obediently. Otherwise, my blade will not be merciful."

Xu Jingming picked up a saber and placed it on the tall, thin youth's neck.

At this time, Tu Ling and the others continued to check every guest for hidden treasures. As for the collected gold, silver, and other treasures, they were immediately wrapped in cloth.

"Threatening me?" The tall, thin youth looked at the saber on his neck, coldly staring at Xu Jingming, "I am the Third Master of the Duke of Ding Country's mansion, with a noble title! This is also the Duke of Ding Country's mansion's heirloom jade! Leader, let me give you a piece of advice: Too much greed will kill you."

"Pfft!"

Xu Jingming slashed the saber across the tall, thin youth's neck, and blood splattered!

The tall, thin youth immediately covered his neck, staring at Xu Jingming in disbelief. How dare you? How dare you attack me?

Xu Jingming grabbed the Purple Cloud Jade Treasure, yanked it, and pulled it off the tall, thin youth's neck.

A jade treasure worth tens of thousands of taels!

Not to mention the Third Master of the Duke of Ding Country's mansion, even if it was a prince, he would still attack!

"You really attacked?"

"This group of fierce people, they killed the Third Master of the Duke of Ding Country's mansion without hesitation, and snatched the heirloom jade treasure? They really don't care about the Duke of Ding Country's mansion's revenge?" Many of the guests at Yi Cui Lou were somewhat stunned.

"Still so naive." Sect Leader Yu watched this scene, shaking his head secretly, "We are the fish on the chopping board, our lives are in the hands of others, we should lower our heads when necessary."

Xu Jingming held the Purple Cloud Jade Treasure, looking at the thrilling halo, and was very pleased in his heart.

It's worth at least tens of thousands of taels of silver, which is hundreds of millions of universe coins.

He struck it rich with just this jade treasure!

He made a killing!

Xu Jingming glanced at the corpse of the Third Master of the Duke of Ding Country's mansion that had fallen down. The Third Master was covering his neck as he died, his eyes filled with disbelief! In this life, he was used to running rampant in the imperial capital, and all forces had to give face to the Duke of Ding Country's mansion.

But this time…

He was killed after only a few words.

"Threatening a player?" Xu Jingming muttered to himself.

"Master, everyone has been checked, no one is hiding treasures, and all the treasures have been collected." Tu Ling came to report, Xu Jingming immediately saw the three large packages placed on the floor.

The Purple Cloud Jade Treasure and these three large packages were all the gains from this looting of Yi Cui Lou.