As early as the moment Du Shan died, Du Xiang, the Clan Patriarch of the Eastern Nether Great Tribe, had sensed it. In a towering rage, he had sent men to the Dharma Lotus Pavilion to investigate the cause.
Barely a moment later, Du Jiang had died as well. Du Xiang's fury became uncontrollable. "Surround the Dharma Lotus Pavilion! They must give me an explanation! Kill anyone who flees!"
Five third-level soul cultivators accepted the order and led dozens of the tribe's cultivators to surround the Dharma Lotus Pavilion at once. Weapons and Soul Weapons rang together, filling the air with the sense of imminent slaughter.
The cultivators browsing the tribal market were startled and hurried away, though some busybodies stopped a short distance away to watch.
Inside the Dharma Lotus Pavilion, the shopkeeper had long since lost his air of an ethereal sage and lay prostrate at the feet of two trading company elders. Both elders of the Dharma Lotus Trading Company were third-level soul cultivators, already a considerable force. Yet, doing business beneath the Eastern Nether Great Tribe's eaves, they had no choice but to bow their heads. They could only steel themselves, open the doors, and greet the arrivals with clasped fists.
"Fellow cultivators of the great tribe, the fault in this matter lies with our Dharma Lotus Pavilion, but it was merely that fool coveting a little profit. There was absolutely no other intent!"
The Eastern Nether Great Tribe's cultivators had come in a menacing fury. How could they listen to his explanation? Their leader was named Du Yin, a peak third-level soul cultivator who stood above ten thousand others even within the Eastern Nether Great Tribe.
"Either hand over three hundred thousand second-level beast cores, or we'll wipe out your entire pavilion! You have five breaths to consider!"
"Our Dharma Lotus Trading Company also has a mighty fourth-level Xiu Zun presiding over it. Fellow cultivator Du Yin, if you insist on having your way, you had best consider the fury of our trading company's retaliation!"
Hearing Du Yin's arrogant threat to destroy the pavilion, the Dharma Lotus Trading Company's elder could not help growing angry as well.
Fourth-level cultivators were called Xiu Zun, signifying that they had reached the pinnacle of cultivating human strength alone. The next step was to forge an inner world within the body, with the emphasis on cultivating the Dao. Thus, they were called Dao Zun, marking the beginning of Dao cultivation. After that came the three great realms of Yuan Zun, Dao Ling, and Perfection. As for the realm of Great Perfection, just as the rumors said, none had been heard of for tens of thousands of years.
The Eastern Nether Great Tribe's Clan Patriarch and Chief of Fangs were both mighty mid-fourth-level Xiu Zun. As a renowned merchant alliance, the Dharma Lotus Trading Company naturally needed Xiu Zun supporting and presiding over it before it could do business with great tribes.
"We established a branch in your tribal market and pay tribute on time, yet you intend to commit such an unjust act! Fellow cultivators in the market, I ask you: who among you would still dare come here to trade in the future?"
The Dharma Lotus Trading Company's elder turned and addressed the onlookers in the market in a ringing voice, his words striking the ground with force.
Hearing this, the watching cultivators broke into discussion, many showing agreement. Du Yin, too, had to consider the consequences of angering the Dharma Lotus Trading Company. One careless move would not only damage the tribe's reputation; if it brought war upon them, that would not be so easy to withstand either.
The Dharma Lotus Trading Company's elder was no ordinary man. With just a few words, he had dampened Du Yin and his companions' arrogance.
"Ten thousand beast cores, and find clues to the villain's whereabouts. Then this matter can rest!"
"Lai Wang, present Lord Du Yin with twenty thousand beast cores!"
Hearing this, the Dharma Lotus Pavilion's shopkeeper bowed with utmost deference and presented twenty thousand beast cores, then prostrated himself at Du Yin's feet again.
"Our company is even more proficient at gathering information. Please rest assured, Lord Du Yin!"
At this, Du Yin swept up the beast cores with his broad sleeve, gave a cold snort, and led the tribe's cultivators away.
"Lai Wang, the task of gathering information on this man falls to you. If you still have no news in half a month, bring me your head!"
Meanwhile, Hai Ya was still lying prone on the war falcon's back, flying north. For a full day and night, they had not stopped at all, flying over dense forests and lakes, crossing mountains and rivers.
The war falcon's strength had long since failed. Only under Hai Ya's mental control did it laboriously beat its leaden wings, having long lost its initial vigor and agility.
After a day and night of recuperation, Hai Ya had recovered nearly half his mental and physical strength, but the centipede venom in his body had already spread throughout his right arm.
The Clan Patriarch gritted his teeth and shaped his left hand into a blade, intending to sever his right arm in the hope of returning to his tribe alive. Yet doing so would leave a grave hidden danger. If people from neighboring tribes leaked word of his severed arm, someone would inevitably follow the vine to the melon and connect it with the various traces left by this journey.
After repeated consideration, Hai Ya once again sealed all the meridians in his right arm and controlled the war falcon as it continued flying north. Only after nearly another half day of arduous flight did the war falcon's wings grow heavier than lead, no longer able to beat. With a mournful cry, it plunged straight toward the ground.
Hai Ya leaped off the war falcon and came to a stop with his back against a massive tree. Only then did he steady himself.
"I mustn't linger here. There are bound to be pursuers behind me!"
With no time to think further, Hai Ya put the war falcon's corpse into his Soul Bag, turned, and ran east, swiftly leaving stretch after stretch of mountain forest behind him.
Only after another day did Hai Ya stop to rest. By then, his entire body had turned a bloody purple, his chest heaving as he struggled to draw breath. Only the trace of persistence in his eyes remained resolute.
He had already consumed all the various medicinal pills he had found on Du Jiang's and the others' bodies. The journey back to his tribe was bound to be fraught with danger, so Hai Ya had no choice but to recuperate briefly here before planning his return.
As early as a day before, Lai Wang, the Dharma Lotus Pavilion's shopkeeper, and his companions had reached the dense forest. First, they had found Hou Yaolin with his head severed from his body. This was also the last location Hou Yaolin had transmitted through a Jade Slip before his death.
Before long, Du Yin of the Eastern Nether Great Tribe arrived with his party as well and likewise saw the state of Hou Yaolin's corpse.
"What a Dharma Lotus Pavilion! What a Dharma Lotus Trading Company! You sold me information at a high price, yet behind my back you engaged in treachery, hoping to get there first!"
Du Yin saw through the Dharma Lotus Pavilion's trick at a glance, and his anger could not help surging.
"This old servant deserves ten thousand deaths! This old servant deserves ten thousand deaths..."
Lai Wang dropped to his knees at Du Yin's feet with a thud. Smack, smack, smack! He slapped his own face with alternating hands, putting on a pitiful act and begging for mercy.
"Lord Du Yin, please quell your anger for now. Let us find the villain first. It won't be too late to settle this afterward!"
Lai Wang's tail-wagging pleas for mercy left the Dharma Lotus Trading Company's elder deeply embarrassed as well. He could only offer a few words in his defense.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Du Yin led his tribesmen onto their war falcons and continued north. The Dharma Lotus Pavilion's people could only steel themselves and follow close behind.
After another day or so, Du Yin and his companions found Du Jiang's and Du Shan's bodies in the forest. Du Jiang's in particular had a shattered skull, with red and white matter blossoming across the ground.
"Du Jiang, your big brother will avenge you! I will tear that villain into ten thousand pieces and wipe out his entire tribe!"
Du Yin burned with rage and punched a massive tree beside him. With a bang, the great tree shattered into powder.
"He must have fled north all the way. Keep pursuing him!"
Convinced that Hai Ya had fled north, the group disregarded their war falcons' exhaustion and sped north in pursuit.
This was precisely why Hai Ya had insisted on traveling north all along: to leave the enemy with a false impression that would lead them to misjudge.
His steps swift as flight, Hai Ya crossed a high mountain and stopped beneath a cliff. After a brief rest, he turned and ran southeast.