Daoist Mu

Two uninvited guests arrived at the Hundred Herbs Hall in the south of the city.

The elderly shopkeeper in a brocade robe went up to greet them. "So it is Senior from the Han Household. What important business brings you here?"

The old man felt uneasy.

Han Ziyue was a powerful figure in the Beast-Taming Han Household, a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator. His gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, and the old man felt immense pressure under it.

Once they entered a private room, Han Ziyue produced a token.

The old man's heart jolted. "By the Ancestor above, Senior, you need only give your orders!"

Han Ziyue's voice was cold and hard. "Did someone purchase large batches of pill ingredients tonight?"

The elderly shopkeeper hurriedly said yes.

"Take me to where he was," Han Ziyue ordered.

The old man wondered if that person had offended the Beast-Taming Han Household.

When they reached the private room, Han Ziyue shook a bag. A spirit beast resembling a weasel jumped out and sniffed around the room.

Afterward, Han Ziyue put the spirit beast away and left with the gray-robed man who had not spoken a word behind him.

The elderly shopkeeper sighed inwardly. He reckoned things looked grim for that Alchemist.

"Alas, what a mess!"

The Bai Household had always conducted its business honestly and never killed people for their treasures. It even protected its customers' privacy; after all, selling medicine earned more than killing people.

But the Ancestor had given an order today, and there was nothing he could do.

"Ancestor, I fear the Lineage's century-old foundation may be destroyed in a single day!"

At one of the Han Household's meeting bases.

Candle flames flickered in the dim light.

Han Ziyue set the Spirit-Sniffing Weasel on the table and fed it a beast-feeding pill.

The spirit weasel ate the pill and narrowed its little emerald-green eyes contentedly.

This weasel's sense of smell far surpassed that of ordinary spirit beasts. It could follow lingering fluctuations of spiritual power to track a target.

It was one of the Han Household's best-selling spirit beasts.

Han Ziyue took a fist-sized pearl from his Storage Bag. It was none other than a Thunder Explosion Pearl.

Next, he placed a talisman flickering with lightning on the table.

Han Ziyue's cold, hard voice rang out. "Daoist Mu, are you confident?"

The man whose head was hidden within his robes removed his hood, revealing the kind face of a seventy-year-old man.

He reached out and accepted the two spiritual items.

Unlike his aged face, the skin of his hands was surprisingly youthful, no different from a young man's.

Han Ziyue had found it strange when he first met him. Only later did he learn that Daoist Mu cultivated the Withering and Flourishing Eternal Spring Art and excelled at preserving his health.

Now over seventy, he still entertained delusions of breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

Han Ziyue thought little of it. At seventy, Daoist Mu was older than he was, a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

His Qi and Blood had long since declined. Had he lost his mind?

Outwardly, Han Ziyue maintained an attitude of trying to win him over.

Daoist Mu's Law Power could be considered vast for the Qi Refining Realm. Though he was at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, he had deep foundations and many methods at his disposal.

He had once fought three opponents alone and slain two Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivators. He was not to be underestimated.

Even if Han Ziyue fought him personally, without using a spirit beast, he would likely have trouble defeating him in a short time.

This man was a good blade.

"Are you confident?" he asked.

Daoist Mu scoffed. "A mere Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivator? I could fight ten of them."

"The other party might be an Alchemist. He probably won't lack talismans or Law Artifacts," Han Ziyue cautioned.

"In any case, you must use this Thunder Explosion Pearl. Make absolutely sure to leave traces of the Lei Household."

Daoist Mu nodded. "All right."

Han Ziyue said, "Together with the three Jade Countenance Alchemists you killed earlier, after this is done, I'll ask the Ye Household for a spiritual item to restore your soul."

"As for the main ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill..." He paused. "As far as I know, the Su Household has one. It'll depend on your performance."

This was the chain they used to leash their dog.

Daoist Mu shook his head and gave a somewhat unsightly smile. "You Aristocratic Clans really are interesting."

He beckoned, and the Spirit-Sniffing Weasel jumped onto his shoulder and left with him.

Han Ziyue stood in the secret chamber for a while, then muttered to himself, "The Lei Household, the Jade Countenance Sect, the Su Household. Heh."

After buying the Thunder Plasma Liquid, Zhou Ning slipped out of the Forget-Return Market without a sound.

In an unfamiliar place, he still preferred to develop quietly on Bamboo Creek Island, steadily raising his cultivation and honing his alchemy.

The night sky was black as ink, and a cold moon hung high overhead.

After passing through the market's bluestone gatehouse, Zhou Ning gazed into the valley. Figures moved in the shadows, and cultivators were still arriving.

Zhou Ning brought out the Tassel Boat, boarded it, and immediately flew away.

At the same time, he released his Divine Sense to watch for flying boats and spiritual lights around him.

Flying over a mountain forest, Zhou Ning frowned. Someone really was following him.

It was a grayish-white flying shuttle, moving at tremendous speed.

"He's actually at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer!"

Zhou Ning's expression changed. Judging by his Qi, he was even stronger than Su Yunjin!

"He brought a spirit beast too?"

Did he come to track me?

As far as he knew, he had offended no one on this trip. Was it just because he had shown his wealth?

But who knew how many cultivators in the market had spent more freely than he had?

"Damn it!"

Facing a Late Qi Refining expert who specialized in killing people for their treasures, Zhou Ning thought of his only remaining Shattering Slaughter Talisman and Thick Earth Talisman and weighed their respective strengths.

A First Layer against a Ninth Layer?

If he died in this world, he would really be dead.

He drove the Tassel Boat with all his strength, and its speed surged.

Yet the gray shuttle was faster still, and the distance between them gradually narrowed.

A voice came from behind. "Fellow Daoist, please wait! I only wish to make a deal with you!"

Daoist Mu rode the gray shuttle, his face kindly, as though victory were already in his grasp.

His gray shuttle was a First-Tier Superior-Grade Law Artifact, an exceedingly rare one.

Even when it came to disciples of major sects, he could usually catch up to them and kill them with ease.

"Fuck your deal!"

Zhou Ning circulated his metal-fire Law Power. A molten-gold fireball appeared in his palm, compressed to the size of a pellet, and shot out with a flick of his finger.

Seeing this, Daoist Mu calmly summoned a small cyan shield. Wisps of cold rose from it as it stood firmly before him.

He steered the gray shuttle on a slant. Fire flashed, and the explosion made the shuttle rock slightly.

"Fine technique, Fellow Daoist!"

Even as he spoke, his hands did not stop. He summoned a blue-black chain.

The chain was a companion vine of a second-tier Azure Centipede. As soon as it was released, several illusory images appeared out of thin air, lashing at Zhou Ning like whips.

With his other hand, he took out a white gourd. A stream of pitch-black heavy water sprayed from it with a sizzling sound, pouring down like it would blot out the sky and cover the earth.

Zhou Ning was shaken. So many Law Artifacts?

He immediately abandoned the idea of fighting. Taking out a Spirit Stone, he fitted it into the flying boat.

The vast spiritual power within the Spirit Stone instantly poured into the Flowing Plainness Boat, making the vessel blaze with light as it abruptly accelerated.

Zhou Ning felt as though the scenery on either side had warped as the boat plunged straight ahead.

The cyan chain and heavy water struck empty air.

Daoist Mu stared in astonishment as the white boat shot forward at an unimaginable speed.

"Damn it!"

Daoist Mu grew anxious and hurriedly increased his output of spiritual power.

The gray shuttle sped up considerably as well, but it was still nowhere near as fast as the flying boat.

In the end, he could only watch helplessly as it vanished from sight.

The Spirit-Sniffing Weasel on his shoulder squeaked, looking utterly bewildered.

Daoist Mu's face darkened, and he burst out indignantly, "His boat is faster than mine!"

His quarry had escaped halfway through the chase. How was he supposed to report back?

With no other choice, Daoist Mu put away his Law Artifacts. But when he saw the black scorch mark on the small shield, he froze.

His Holly Shield contained Cold Python scales and could briefly freeze fire-attribute spiritual power, yet a single Fire Bullet Technique had scorched it like this.

"Just what kind of cultivator is he?"

Daoist Mu pondered for a while, but he could not make sense of it no matter how he thought about it.

"Forget it. I'd better take care of the loose ends first."

He flew down to the mountain forest, took out a fist-sized Thunder Explosion Pearl, and hurled it down.

Boom! A flash of lightning erupted. Grass and trees were blasted to ash, leaving traces over a large area.

Daoist Mu shouted, "I, Lei Batian, slew a Jade Countenance Alchemist here!"

The startled flight lights of distant cultivators trembled.

Only then did Daoist Mu grab the spirit weasel, pinch it to death, and return, satisfied.

Zhou Ning fled three hundred li in one breath.

He found another place to hide for half an hour. Only after confirming that the old Daoist had not caught up did he finally relax.

Presumably, the spirit beast's tracking had a limited range too.

Zhou Ning felt the relief of having survived a disaster. The old Daoist's strength was anything but ordinary; he could summon three Law Artifacts with a wave of his hand. If Zhou Ning had fought him head-on, he would have been in danger.

Zhou Ning could not help stroking the Flowing Plainness Boat.

"So the flying boats of the Land of Wei are actually this superior?"

That old Daoist was at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer, yet he could do nothing but eat the dust behind him.

But... Zhou Ning could not understand why the treacherous old Daoist had singled him out for an ambush.

For my wealth? Surely not.

Since the other party had been able to learn where Zhou Ning had gone in the market, that meant he was extremely well-informed.

With connections like that, wouldn't any business be better than killing people for their treasures?

Zhou Ning felt as though he were surrounded by layers of fog, unable to make out what had led to this.

He also felt the frustration of being caught up in a chaotic situation.

"Forget it. I've gathered enough pills and spiritual materials. For now, I'll devote myself to cultivation on Bamboo Creek Island."

"Once I reach the Qi Refining Middle Stage, I'll look for a chance to investigate."