Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time

From the carvings of shelves, several runes flared a red light, casting eerie shadows across the corridor. The polished stone under their feet rippled like liquid, then hardened again, trapping Wu Shuan up to his ankle.

"Shit—!"

Before he could wrench himself free, several shadowy shapes emerged from the walls. They looked like twisted formation puppet mannequins, their limbs long and thin, their torsos marked with rune scripts.

Their eyes glowed with ember light as they hissed, lunging straight for Wu Shuan.

The Core Condensation seniors reacted instantly.

SHUA

Senior Brother Duan's spear cleaved one puppet in half, the fragments clattering to the ground in a shower of sparks.

KACHA

But to everyone's shock, the broken fragments reformed almost immediately, the rune scripts pulling themselves together like iron filings under a magnet.

"They repair themselves!" shouted Xuan Qing. "Don't use brute force—find the cores!"

Han Yu's gaze darted around quickly.

The puppets weren't random constructs; each had a glowing node in its chest, lines feeding into it like meridians.

Without hesitation, he shouted, "Strike the chest inscriptions! That's their keystone!"

Senior Brother Duan didn't question it, he thrust his spear right through the chest of the next puppet, exploding the glowing core inside. This time, the fragments fell lifeless, no sign of reformation.

"Good eye," Xuan Qing said sharply, though she didn't turn toward Han Yu. Instead, she barked orders: "Focus on the cores. Don't waste qi destroying the rest!"

The group fought hard in the narrow corridor.

Puppets poured from the walls, some wielding long bronze halberds, others clawing with sharpened hands. The Qi Refining disciples stuck together in the center, striking when safe, while the six seniors formed a perimeter.

Still, the trap was merciless.

One of Xuan Qing's juniors took a heavy halberd strike to the shoulder, coughing blood as he staggered back. Wu Shuan finally freed his leg, but the floor rippled again, threatening to seize him once more.

Han Yu frowned. 'So the arrays don't just attack—they restrict movement and test cooperation. If you panic or scatter, you're dead.'

Chitterfang stirred in his robes from the disturbance, squeaking softly, but Han Yu patted him down. 'Not yet. It's not safe.'

He turned instead to Fatty Kui. "Fatty Kui! Throw your sealing talisman on the floor!"

"What? But that's a defensive—"

"Do it!"

Fatty Kui obeyed, tossing the talisman. It struck the polished stone with a burst of blue light. Instantly, the rippling effect of the floor paused, the array suppressed for a moment.

The Core Condensation seniors seized the chance.

With their movement no longer hindered, they struck in a coordinated wave, shattering several puppets at once. The remaining constructs faltered, retreating back into the murals as the red glow dimmed.

The corridor fell silent, the only sound the heavy breathing of the disciples.

Everyone was shaken, but they had survived.

"This is just the entrance," muttered Senior Brother Duan grimly, wiping his spear blade clean. "If the defenses here are this vicious, the inner chambers will be ten times worse."

One of Xuan Qing's juniors scowled. "We could still backtrack and try another complex."

"No," Xuan Qing said flatly.

Her voice was cold, but her eyes gleamed faintly with excitement. "The very fact the defenses are so fierce proves this is worth it. Knowledge or treasure, whatever is hidden here must be valuable."

Han Yu lowered his gaze to hide his smile. 'Exactly. The more dangerous, the more rewarding. And the more rewarding… the more it belongs to me.'

He stepped closer to the murals as the group reorganized, eyes lingering on the painted shelves and jars.

The murals weren't merely decorative, they were guides, he was sure of it. Already he could see faint outlines of hidden inscriptions, maps etched into the paint itself just like Meng Jueyan had described.

But he said nothing.

For now, the group needed to go deeper. And the deeper they went, the closer Han Yu would be to seizing what he wanted.

After a few minutes of walking, the narrow corridor opened at last into a vast chamber, the ceiling high and arched, supported by rows of pillars carved with twisting dragons. The air here was dry and faintly acrid, as if centuries of alchemical fumes still lingered.

All around, shelves lined the walls, each stacked with gleaming cauldrons of different shapes and sizes.

Bronze tripods with lion handles, jade cauldrons etched with phoenix wings, iron furnaces heavy with rust and age. Some were squat and wide, others tall and slender like urns. In the middle of the hall, dozens more sat on raised pedestals, positioned like silent sentinels waiting for new masters.

Fatty Kui's jaw dropped. "By the heavens… we've struck gold!"

Even the usually composed Senior Sister Xuan Qing's eyes flickered with awe. "These cauldrons… some are clearly ancient treasures. A few might even predate the sects we know today. If they're intact, their value alone is immense."

One of her juniors, unable to restrain his excitement, moved closer. His hand hovered above a bronze cauldron etched with snake patterns. The metal shimmered faintly as if it still breathed qi.

But as everyone admired the sight, Han Yu's expression grew grim.

His eyes swept across the chamber, studying the arrangement carefully. At first glance, it looked like a treasure hoard carelessly arranged. Yet the longer he stared, the more something gnawed at him.

'This isn't right.'

Back on the Alchemy Peak, before he was a disciples he had been given errands as a servant.

He had swept the outer halls, arranged instruments, dusted shelves. He had watched how cauldrons were stored, preserved, and nourished.

More so over after having become a member of the Alchemy Peak and taking lessons there, Han Yu knew even more about the maintainance of Cauldrons.

They were never placed randomly.

Cauldrons had delicate temperaments. Jade needed to be constantly infused with spiritual warmth, bronze required occasional fire tempering, iron had to be bathed in subtle qi to prevent corrosion.

And above all, they were kept in harmony, ordered by tier and function.

But here?

The placements were all wrong.