CH 301

“Shang Clan Spear Art?” Elder Guo’s expression changed and he asked, “Are we sure of that?” 

“I fought Shang Bo twice and lost. I understand the Shang Clan Spear Art pretty well. From my deductions, that person is definitely using the Shang Clan Spear Art.” The green robed lady muttered.

Elder Guo frowned. “It’s not that I don’t believe the Fourth Lady. However, I heard that the Shang Clan’s inheritance is called the Providence Spear. Practically every practitioner of the Shang Clan Spear Art comprehended different moves. How can you be sure that it’s the Shang Clan Spear Art?!”

Chuckling softly, she replied, “I have my ways.”

Elder Guo nodded silently and decided not to continue his line of questioning. He turned to the other man and asked, “Brother Zhang, since she’s sure of it, shouldn't we start guessing if the person who killed Chen Sanyang is Shang Bo’s grandson? Is he the person who saw Kou Chongxue last?” 

The man hesitated for a second before nodding slowly. “It’s definitely possible. However, he covered his appearance when he made his move earlier. None of us can be sure.”

“What do you think we should do now? Should we focus on flushing him out to question him about Kou Chongxue’s whereabouts?” Elder Guo asked.

Brother Zhang and the green robed lady stared at each other before the green robed lady spoke. “The issue regarding the Tongyou City is of utmost importance. We cannot waste our resources looking for a mere junior. Even if we find him, he might not know where Kou Chongxue went.” 

Brother Zhang added, “The Tongyou Institution has always done things their own way. Our task is to fight for benefits for our respective families. Who cares if we find Kou Chongxue? Even if we find him, we’ll have to give that information to the others for them to deal with him. We might as well do something more worth our time.” 

Seeing the understanding the two of them had reached, Elder Guo knew that they already reached a conclusion before he arrived. He said, “The two of you make sense. Our three great families of the Ji Continent will advance and retreat together. Without the members of the Azure Spiritual World, we won’t have to worry about many other things. I guess this can be considered a sort of advantage!” 

The three of them represented the three great families, but it seemed as though the relationship between them was pretty interesting.

On the surface, the three of them were of similar status. However, Elder Guo was the strongest and most experienced out of the three. Even though the other two couldn’t match up to him in those aspects, they seemed to possess some sort of tacit understanding with each other.

Brother Zhang continued, “So… Should we continue our journey to the Changfeng City then?” 

Elder Guo glanced at him casually before looking in the direction of the Changfeng City. “No! The Changfeng City has already thrown in their lot with the White Deer Paradise. If we go there, we won’t be able to gain any benefits! We’ll skirt past the Changfeng City and head directly towards the Tongyou City!” 

Exchanging another glance, Brother Zhang and the lady seemed to agree with Elder Guo’s suggestion.

…

Shang Xia only returned to the Changfeng City the next day.

After one night of seclusion in the mountains, his injuries were a lot better. 

At the very least, no one could tell that he was injured after he wore a new set of clothes.

He didn’t know what Hai Min and Yuanyuan would think after he spent a night outside the city. 

Even though Shang Xia stayed with the two of them in order to maintain his disguise as an ordinary hunter, he had to admit that it was a different type of life he really enjoyed. 

It seemed as though he would have to break the promise he made to Yuanyuan the day before. In order not to get himself flagged for suspicious behavior, he remained outside until noon time before returning to the city.

Strolling around the city, he used his divine sense to observe everything around him. Discovering nothing out of the ordinary, he finally relaxed.

On the way back to his courtyard, he made a special detour to Wu Ji’s forge. 

He planned to take a casual look even though they had already planned to take action three days since they last met. Surprisingly, he heard the clear ringing of a bell when he passed the forge. He glanced up only to see a small bronze bell hanging below the shop sign.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he strolled into the forge casually. Since he bought arrows often, it made sense for him to be there. Entering the forge, he yelled, “Attendant, are there any better arrows around? The arrows I bought the other day were too light!” 

The curtain parted slightly and Wu Ji poked his head out. Glancing at him and taking a look around the forge to ensure there was no one present, he growled, “Follow me!” 

Entering the back room where the furnace was running at full power, he passed a row of wooden houses that housed the attendants and apprentices. Eventually, they arrived at a small but exquisite courtyard.

The old blacksmith pointed at the only room in the courtyard and muttered, “He’s waiting for you.”

When he was done, he left immediately.

Shang Xia pushed the doors of the room open and saw a middle aged man standing with his back facing the entrance. He was admiring a piece of art on the wall and he turned around when he heard the creaking of the doors. Shang Xia immediately recognized Mister Bu.

“You killed Chen Sanyang yesterday? Your identity is exposed. Everyone knows that Shang Bo’s grandson appeared in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and might reside in the Changfeng City!” Mister Bu spoke the moment he saw Shang Xia, and he sounded extremely serious.

Shang Xia stared at Mister Bu without a trace of fear and he returned Mister Bu’s question with one of his own. “Mister Bu, what about your Painting Finger? Are you a spy of the institution or are you with the Rose Party?” 

The two stared at each other with no intention to back down.

After a short while, Mister Bu finally broke the silence with a soft snort. “I don’t know if you did the right thing. Chen Sanyang died while waiting to regroup with the experts of the three great families of the Ji Continent. Now, they chose to circle around the Changfeng City to head straight for the Tongyou City.”

Shang Xia didn’t understand the logic behind it. “What has his death got to do with their detour? Did the three great families of the Ji Continent reach some sort of agreement with the Changbai Holy Land?” 

Shang Xia thought back to the conversation he overheard in the restaurant when he first came to the Changfeng City. The White Deer Paradise and the three great families were supposed to be on the same side, or at least that was the vibe Shang Xia received from them. Did they run into some sort of disagreement? Why would they skirt past the Changfeng City that was working with the White Deer Paradise at the last moment?

Shang Xia stared at Mister Bu for an explanation but was met with a shake of the head. “I don’t know what’s going on either. All I know is that it might have something to do with a formation master of the White Deer Paradise who arrived yesterday.”

“Formation master?” Shang Xia thought back to Gao Yun and Wei Zhongwen who hailed from the White Deer Paradise. He saw them after he released his fully powered sixth move back in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. They were drawn over by the heaven and earth qi fluctuations, and he hid down below to listen in on their conversation.

Mister Bu clearly didn’t notice the look in Shang Xia’s eyes as he continued, “That’s right! As soon as that person arrived, he was hosted with a massive banquet! In the morning, Yang Hu even invited him over to the spirit cave in the underground water-attributed spiritual vein…”

“Hold up. Did you just say underground water-attributed spiritual vein? Spirit cave?” Shang Xia connected many dots in that instant and he couldn’t help but ask.

Mister Bu thought that Shang Xia was asking due to his limited knowledge of those things and he quickly explained, “There has always been a water-attributed spiritual vein located under the Changfeng City. Yang Hu placed a strong emphasis on it and other than his son and several direct disciples, no one knows the location of the spirit cave. In order to prove his sincerity to work with the White Deer Paradise, he invited their formation master over to lay down protection formations. It could be said that he has already passed all his power over to the White Deer Paradise!” 

Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock. “Are they really willing to give up their control of the Changfeng City so easily?” 

“Naturally, it comes with several conditions.” Mister Bu explained. “One of them was that the White Deer Paradise had to provide them with a complete rank four advancement formula. At this moment, Yang Hu already has the formula.” 

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".

“No wonder…” Shang Xia gasped. He understood the meaning behind their actions too. That was because they were like the Shang Clan. In order to receive a complete rank four advancement formula, Shang Bo put in a lot of hard work for the institution. 

If not for Shang Xia’s luck to obtain the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication, the Shang Clan might still have to depend on the institution’s advancement formula. 

Mister Bu continued, “From what I learned, it’s highly likely they’re nurturing an extermination origin in the spirit cave. In fact, it should already be complete! Yang Hu might have invited the formation master of the White Deer Paradise due to something that happened to the extermination origin.”

Shang Xia nodded slowly as his gaze flickered slightly. Can it really be so coincidental?!

“What are you thinking about?” Mister Bu finally noticed Shang Xia’s abnormal reaction and he asked.

“Oh… Mister Bu, who is the strongest person in the White Deer Paradise? Can they defeat Patriarch Kou?” Shang Xia asked all of a sudden.

“What’s with the sudden question?” Mister Bu thought that Shang Xia was asking purely out of curiosity and he explained patiently, “From what I know, the White Deer Paradise definitely has their own rank five advancement formula. They might even possess more than one ancestor in the Martial Dipper Realm.” 

“Ancestor?” Shang Xia’s expression changed. “Is that how they address experts who reached the Martial Dipper Realm in the White Deer Paradise?” 

Mister Bu replied, “That’s right. In the White Deer Paradise, only experts who have reached the Martial Dipper Realm can receive the title, ‘Ancestor’. There should be at least three ancestors in their ranks.”

“Three?!” Shang Xia gasped. He felt a chill running through his heart. “Wouldn’t that mean that they can flatten our You Continent if they choose to launch a full-scale assault?” 

Chuckling softly, Mister Bu explained, “Relax. It’s not that simple. Those who receive their origin dipper with the assistance of their holy land would be severely restricted. They are unable to leave the territory controlled by their holy lands. In fact, it’s difficult for them to leave their holy land itself.”

Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief, but he heard the meaning behind Mister Bu’s words. “It might be difficult to leave, but there seems to be a way. Do you think the White Deer Paradise will send a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor over to our You Continent?”