Gu Zuo remained silent.
Gongyi Tianheng placed his hand on Gu Zuo’s shoulder: “This time, Huo Li acted prestigiously enough at the city gates, but we didn’t give him face and made him retreat. This will definitely be remembered by him. Those who cultivate the path of domination like him are usually self-aggrandizing to an unreasonable degree. As long as he makes a decision, he will go his own way.
“Therefore, we need to be vigilant of him in the future. In particular, we must be even more cautious and prudent while fighting over the qi veins.”
Gu Zuo understood the worries of his family’s big brother, and frustratedly nodded his head: “This is really a disaster without a good cause.”
Tianheng smiled and said: “For those of us who practice martial arts, how can everything be smooth and unhindered when going out on adventures? However, so long as we can become stronger day by day, no matter what kinds of ghosts or evil spirits abound, there’s no need to worry.”
Gu Zuo nodded again: “What big brother says is right. I just have to work even harder.”
Having spoken up to this point, the two had already entered the city.
Just as they walked inside, a bouquet of refreshing fragrances assailed the senses. The clear and serene notes would leave people’s hearts pleased and harmonious. This fragrance came from the Hyssop Heart Flowers. Originally, this type of flowery fragrance would’ve been extremely faint. But in this city, practically every household grew these flowers. Each year, everyone made eager comparisons. They looked to see whose Hyssop Heart Flowers were more beautiful and of higher quality. Hence, there were many of these flowers. The fragrances converged, and created a special blend of emotionally-moving scents.
Gu Zuo couldn’t help saying: “Big brother, when we go back, I’ll stock up on some Hyssop Heart Flowers. This type of medicinal ingredient is very hard to buy elsewhere. Even if they can be bought, it’s difficult to ensure the quality. When refining some medicinal pills, I still want to use the best ingredients possible.”
Tianheng said: “It’s no bother. We can go looking around right now.”
Gu Zuo blanked: “Isn’t it almost time to seize control of the qi veins?”
Tianheng chuckled: “I’m afraid that those prodigies won’t be arriving in such an orderly fashion at this moment.”
Gu Zuo agreed after thinking about it. He changed directions with Tianheng, and walked over to a place nestled between two streets. In that place, one could buy Hyssop Heart Flowers of outstanding quality.
The purchasing process went smoothly, but it seemed somewhat somber and cheerless inside the city itself. There were also very few people. Those shops were open for business, but after seeing Gu Zuo and Tianheng, although the stop owners wore polite and attentive smiles, there were traces of fear in the depths of their eyes.
Gu Zuo didn’t understand at all. What was going on?
Tianheng faintly shook his head: “Right now, numerous prodigies have rushed over, and they all have their own temperaments. If someone accidentally offends one of those prodigies outside, then their entire family could be exterminated.”
Gu Zuo was speechless.
No wonder.
Although this kind of analogy was a little inappropriate… If it was in the modern world, and everyone knew that a group of terrorists were about to arrive, then those people would definitely hide in their homes, too.
Of course, not all prodigies were like that, but there really weren’t any differences between prodigies like Huo Li and actual terrorists. It was to be expected that ordinary people and low-level martial artists were fearful.
Thinking up to here, Gu Zuo didn’t have any intention of staying on the streets and scaring the shopkeepers all the while. Thus, he quickened his selection, and spent a hefty sum of spirit crystals. After acquiring large quantities of Hyssop Heart Flowers of different product grades, he stored them inside the Divine Medicine Palace Hall.
With these flowers, he could take out at least a dozen or so pill prescriptions of various efficacies to conduct his research.
As a pharmacist, a person’s skill level on the path of medicine refinement was still one’s foundation.
Once they finished making purchases, Tianheng and Gu Zuo arrived at a villa, and lodged there for the time being.
Since Ten Ultimates Sect wanted to let prodigies come over to fight for the qi veins, it naturally couldn’t leave the arriving prodigies without places to stay. As a result, this villa had long been prepared. As for the other prodigies, they had similar ways of handling matters.
Within the villa, Tianheng closed his eyes and sat upright, silently pondering his own martial disciplines. He also considered some necessary displays during the competition over the qi veins. It was peaceful and quiet.
Gu Zuo didn’t bother him, and directly researched those prescriptions related to Hyssop Heart Flowers on the side.
Just like this, two days passed. All of a sudden, there came a day when the earth quaked and the mountains shuddered. All of Hyssop Heart City was being shaken.
Gongyi Tianheng abruptly opened his eyes: “The qi veins have emerged!”
After he finished speaking, his body flashed out, and he instantly appeared at the front entrance.
The space between Gu Zuo’s eyebrows heated up, and a wisp of psychic power burst forth to propel his body forward. He swiftly arrived next to Tianheng. After that, they went out together. The numerous subordinates were all ready and waiting. They quickly escorted the two, and everyone advanced towards the epicenter of that shaking.
Hyssop Heart City’s qi vein mine wasn’t actually inside the city itself. Rather, it was within a desolate shore behind Hyssop Heart City. The qi vein mine had already been hidden beneath the surface for a long time. Generally speaking, circumstances made it difficult to find their traces. However, so long as they were discovered, while it might be challenging to collect them like this, it would be easy to disturb the qi veins and expose them to the surface.
Previously, Tianheng didn’t hurry to the location where the qi vein mine would emerge. This was because several large organizations had already dispatched people to stimulate the qi vein mine. It was just that this type of stimulation was to reduce the consumption of the qi veins as much as possible. Consequently, it took a lot of time to develop peacefully before the qi veins could emerge from the ground.
As a result, until now, the qi vein mine had only just gradually come up from the ground.
And at this time, because numerous prodigies felt it was beneath their dignity to wait nearby, they needed to seize this time to rush over immediately.
Tianheng’s speed was extremely fast.
Gu Zuo wasn’t slow either. He used his psychic power to push himself onward, and his figure was as indistinct as fresh vapor and as swift as lightning. Surprisingly, he didn’t lose track of Tianheng from beginning to end.
For the most part, the speed of those subordinates naturally couldn’t compare to that of Tianheng. But contrary to what one might’ve expected, some well-known figures among the shadow cats were able to keep pace with them.
In this way, those who fell behind worked even harder.
Gradually, the turbulent and rolling qi waves spread across the sky and covered the earth. The momentum was overwhelming. Even when one was still quite far away, everything in the vicinity had already been swept away like the debris of a tidal wave. Whether it was an enormous tree, giant boulder, or some other building, all of these things had been totally dashed to pieces!
Tianheng carried Gu Zuo in his arms, and leaped up. The two promptly soared into the sky, and floated in the air.
In a split second, the qi waves passed through. The surroundings seemed to be shrouded within a layer of mist. The faintly black-colored profound qi concealed everything. It was like the entire world had fallen into a dark gloom!
Right at this moment, there were detectable movements and flashes from several other directions.
Gu Zuo turned his head to look over, and saw the true appearances of several prodigies.
T/N: This was a shorter chapter, so it got translated quickly. But the next chapter will be double-length to make up for it.
Thanks for the correction, Charysa.
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