Chapter 714: Carrot and Stick
While talking, Bai Xinghe took out something from his pocket and tossed it to Luo Jinhu's. It rolled on the ground crazily.
Li Yao observed through Neltharion and discovered that it was a vintage jade chip as well as five shining silver metal balls.
"Ah Hu," Bai Xinghe said, "I know that you've been training with the Tiger Stripe Divine Fire Art over the past few years, but it is hard to improve when you reached the sixth level.
"This jade chip was excavated by me from the underground arsenals. It is the 'Devilish Tiger Crushing Bones' art that an elite troop of the Star Ocean Imperium trained with ten thousand years ago. It is quite similar to the Tiger Stripe Divine Fire Art that you have been training with, and you should find it very easy to get started. Your combat ability will be significantly improved if you train yourself hard!
"The Cultivation art itself is not very attractive. Right now, there are many similar versions on the Spiritual Nexus. Everybody is free to practice them as long as they do not fear mental derangement.
"However, what was stored with the Devilish Tiger Crushing Bones were nine pills that were made of the cores of dozens tiger-type demon beasts. Even in the elite troop ten thousand years ago, only those who made great contributions had the privilege to take them!
"There were nine pills corresponding to the nine levels of the Devilish Tiger Crushing Bones. Take one after you advance into each level, and you will bring out all the potential of the art and wield the strength of a tiger slayer!
"Here are the arts of the first five levels and five pills. Train with them first. After Fengyu Zhong is down, I will give you the remaining arts and the last four pills!"
Luo Jinhu exclaimed in joy and was so excited that he did not know what to say.
Bai Xinghe patted his shoulder and lowered his body, whispering, "Ah Hu, we are all in the robbing business. Our way of making money is quite dangerous. It is very important that we seize the day. Only your own strength is real; everything else is false.
"Cut off the heads of those who claim that they can live forever and mince their body into pieces! Can they stay alive? Even if you are appointed as the commander of a fleet, other people can blow up your head with a flying sword easily if you are not strong enough. Isn't that right?
"I can neither grant you an eternal life nor appoint you as a fleet commander, but I do have a lot of arts and pills that can improve your Cultivation!"
"Boss Bai!"
Luo Jinhu's eyes were burning with greed. His neck was almost twice as thick while he put the arts and the pills back into his pocket carefully. He then shouted, "I don't have anything to say except that I'm all yours, Boss Bai! Damn it. Let's fight the rabid dog Fengyu Zhong hard! Kill him and let the Temple of Immortals know who the real boss of Spider Den is! Even the Immortal Cultivators must bow and cooperate with Boss Bai!
"When you decide to take action, Boss Bai, just give me a call. The men and the guns of the Tiger Teeth Pirate Gang will fight until there are none left!"
Bai Xinghe smiled. "Alright. I'll see how you fight your battle, then.
"Remember, I can always tell who is fighting for me for real, who is merely cheering for me, and who is colluding with my enemy behind me.
"For those who fight for me for real, no matter how heavy the losses they suffer during the battle are, I will compensate all of them! Other than that, it's also possible that I will bring them to the secret arsenals that I discovered below Spider Den!"
Luo Jinhu's eyes beamed with interest. "Are you serious?"
Bai Xinghe chuckled. He raised his right hand and curled his finger.
A brutal bandit almost three meters tall, who looked like an iron tower in his crystal suit, bowed and handed over... a cup of cold juice respectfully!
Bai Xinghe sipped the juice and sighed in satisfaction.
Luo Jinhu was dumbfounded, not knowing what was going on.
In a moment, two space pirates escorted two prisoners to the bridge and threw them between Bai Xinghe and Luo Jinhu as if they were dead pigs.
Both prisoners were from the Tiger Teeth Pirate Gang. Although they were not tied up, barriers had been imposed upon them. The wrists and ankles were twisted weirdly, and their chins were essentially two balls as their jaw bone had been battered. They could not utter a single syllable now.
The moment they saw Bai Xinghe, they started writhing crazily. The utmost fear beamed out of their eyes.
Bai Xinghe smacked his lips and said casually, "These two are the core members of your gang. One of them is the accountant who manages the entire flow of your capital. However, according to my investigation, they have joined the Temple of Immortals in secret.
"Unlike you, who was simply running errands for the Temple of Immortals for money, they have been brainwashed and become Immortal Cultivators!
"They have been instigating your subordinates to join the Temple of Immortals. There is even a whole set of follow-up plans to gradually steal your power. If they were exposed, or they found that your stance was unsteady, they would immediately take you and lead the Tiger Teeth Pirate Gang to join Fengyu Zhong's Storm Prison!
"All the evidence is in the crystal processor. Read it carefully. Don't say that I've wronged a good guy."
One space pirate pushed a crystal processor to Luo Jinhu.
Luo Jinhu hesitated for a moment. He then turned on five light beams and browsed through the information quickly, his sweat pouring. In a moment, he burst into fury and lunged forward like a lunatic before he kicked the two of them in their groins.
"Bao Xueyi, Gong Laojiu, you two bastards betrayed me?"
They shook their heads hard. They seemed to have a lot to say, and even their tears were flowing out, and yet they could not open their mouths and explain themselves.
Bai Xinghe narrowed his eyes and enjoyed the juice, as if he did not care about what was happening at all.
Luo Jinhu rolled his eyes. He gritted his teeth and stomped on the ground. Opening his hands, he condensed his spiritual energy on his fingertips into sharp talons before he stabbed them into the two prisoners' chests and crushed their hearts!
The two Immortal Cultivators, who dreamed for an eternal life, were killed immediately.
Luo Jinhu heaved a long sigh of relief. He wiped his cold sweat and said dutifully, "Thank you for digging out the two bastards for me, Boss Bai. From today on, I will only listen to your command. I will do whatever you ask me to and kill whoever you want dead!"
Bai Xinghe finally put on a smile of comfort. He craned his neck and drank all the juice before he smashed the glass cup into pieces against the control panel.
"Remember your words today. I will find you when the time is right. Drag your boat to the Sanpao's dock for maintenance. As for the damage on the starship, just find an excuse to cover them.
"After all, you've slain two Immortal Cultivators. The Temple of Immortals will doubt you however hard you explain yourself. Therefore, you might as well save the trouble."
His sweat pouring, Luo Jinhu was grasped by desperation. In despair, he bowed and said, "Fare well, Boss Bai.
"However, if I can be so bold to ask, how did you know that spies of the Temple of Immortals are in the Tiger Teeth Pirate Gang, Boss Bai?"
Bai Xinghe replied without looking back, "Idiot. You don't know the answer to such a simple question?
"Of course it's because my own spies are in the Tiger Teeth Pirate Gang, too!"
"Haha. Hahahahahaha!"
In the laughter, the Abyss Pirate Gang vanished like an ebbing tide. Soon, all the intruders were gone.
Luo Jinhu, a Core Formation Stage expert, was shuddering in fear, alone in the bridge.
No. Technically speaking, someone else was crouching among the tubes in the rear part of the carrier and shuddering with him.
After making sure that Bai Xinghe had indeed left the carrier, Li Yao took a long breath in relief.
He warmed up limbs that were somewhat numb now and noticed that his mustard-seed suit was soaked in cold sweat.
Although the two of them were merely talking, Li Yao felt that he had witnessed a fierce fight between top experts, and he was completely overwhelmed by Bai Xinghe.
No wonder Fengyu Zhong, as an old cunning fox himself, is so wary of him. Bai Xinghe, the Pirate Potentate, is truly impressive!
The captain of the Tiger Teeth Pirate Gang, Luo Jinhu, is clearly not as innocent as he claimed to be. It's possible that he joined the Temple of Immortals long ago!
When Bai Xinghe dragged the two Immortal Cultivators out, Luo Jinhu's surprise was half faked. He must've known their identities from the start!
Maybe the two Immortal Cultivators were the officers of communication between him and the Temple of Immortals!
Bai Xinghe clearly knew that, too.
But he pretended that he didn't and blamed everything on the two Immortal Cultivators. Moreover, he broke their jaws beforehand and made them unable to talk. They could only serve as scapegoats!
After the two Immortal Cultivators died, whatever deals Luo Jinhu had made with the Temple of Immortals would be no more.
In less than twenty minutes, Bai Xinghe coerced Luo Jinhu into killing two Immortal Cultivators personally with both a carrot and a stick, and he made the guy take his side again. From now on, Luo Jinhu can only work hard for him!
He truly deserves his fame. A man who has dominated Spider Den for decades is definitely not to be underestimated!
'Hellsword' Zhuang Ziyou was also in the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, but he was a pure fighter and far from a charismatic leader such as Bai Xinghe.
However, it was not within Bai Xinghe's expectations that a freak named Li Yao happened to be lurking inside the carrier.
As a result, Li Yao heard a lot of secrets he was not supposed to know.
It appears to me that Bai Xinghe is in a subtle relationship with the Temple of Immortals.
He might not wage a total war on the Temple of Immortals, but if he takes down Fengyu Zhong, he will both stabilize his position as the ruler of Spider Den and have more bargaining chips when he negotiates with the Temple of Immortals. That part should be true.
Bai Xinghe and Fengyu Zhong are going to have a fight. Great shows will begin on Spider Den soon. It will be an opportunity for me!
For a moment, Li Yao even considered whether or not he could sneak to Bai Xinghe's side.
He had one trump card, which was his identity.
As the murderer of Fengyu Zhong's only son, Li Yao was Fengyu Zhong's mortal enemy and would in no way cooperate with him.
Therefore, if his real identity was revealed, Bai Xinghe might not necessarily kill him. It was even possible that he would extend his hand to Li Yao and deal with Fengyu Zhong together.
However, Li Yao disapproved of the plan just a second later.
Bai Xinghe was indeed too scary.
Li Yao could not tell which of his words were true and which were false even at this moment.
Li Yao knew exactly what the outcome would be if he stepped too close to a ruthless tiger. His intuition told him to keep his distance from strong experts such as Bai Xinghe.
I might as well land on Spider Den first before I decide what to do next.