Chapter 177: Chapter 36 Lady Yu
Time rewound to half an hour earlier, Feng Zhaoting’s breath became erratic as he looked at the message that had arrived, and a mouthful of fresh blood spewed out, his face ashen.
“Yizhou…”
His body trembled, shouting out loud.
His parents had died when he was young, and he had depended on his younger brother ever since. They had formed a deep emotional bond, and for that reason, even though he knew that his brother had done many wrong things, he had always been there to take care of things from behind, resolving issues without any complaints.
He had thought that this time, as long as he secured the position of the Vice Hall Master, there would be no more safety issues for his brother, but he never dreamed that before that day came, his brother would be killed!
“Master Feng had an argument with Ling Buyang because he was helping the old master search for the Red Leaf Herb…”
The elder in charge of delivering the message said, bowing with his fist cupped.
“Ling Buyang…”
Feng Zhaoting clenched his fists.
Theoretically, when competing for the position of Vice Hall Master, one should not harm family members. Yet, this man had the audacity to kill his brother, and to do it in public too… utterly audacious!
“Take out thirty million, contact the Wanxiang Sect, and use it to increase the bounty on Ling Buyang!”
Feng Zhaoting ordered.
The elder was taken aback and frowned, “Won’t you take him down yourself? Killing Master Feng in public is a direct challenge to you…”
Feng Zhaoting shook his head, “I’ve just obtained the Purple Bamboo Spirit Pill that can help me break through. Once I forge it, without accidents, I should be able to break through to the third dan of the Dharma Form Realm, by which I’ll become immensely powerful, and the position of Vice Hall Master will naturally follow. There’s no certainty of victory if I go to kill him now.”
Despite his sorrow, he wouldn’t act rashly.
If Ling Buyang dared to kill his brother in front of others, he must have something to rely on. Running over to seek revenge now might just play right into his hands.
Therefore, it was better to raise the bounty first and observe the reactions from various parties. Once someone took the stage, he could ascertain what Ling Buyang’s reliance was and make preemptive decisions.
“The old master is wise…”
The elder understood.
“However, just because I don’t act doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate this. Have Yunshan Hall take action and cause some trouble for Unnecessary Hall. It would be best if they suffered a great loss. In addition… prepare a horse immediately, I need to see the Hall Master!”
Feng Zhaoting said.
First, file a complaint against the other party, and also see the Hall Master’s reaction. If the Hall Master doesn’t say anything, then he could take action; if the Hall Master showed favoritism, then further considerations were needed.
…
Not knowing the reactions of all parties, or even if he did know, he wouldn’t care. At this moment, Zhang Xuan was looking at the Hunting List in his palm, feeling very tempted.
Should he just kill Ling Buyang now and claim the nearly sixty million bounty?
“After I apply for the reward, Feng Yizhou’s name will disappear… Although Ling Buyang was killed by Sun Qiang, no one knew of his death since no reward was claimed, and his name remained…”
Even though the list was updated in real-time, it had its limitations—it couldn’t detect the life and death of those listed in real-time, nor could it reveal the names and accomplishments of hidden experts.
For example, although it was he who killed Feng Yizhou, because he used Ling Buyang’s identity, the kill was credited to Ling Buyang.
“Forget it, I’ll use Ling Buyang’s identity to kill a few more scum and wait for the reward to increase more!”
He abandoned the plan to kill himself.
Killing Feng Yizhou had doubled the bounty, killing a few more could potentially raise it to over a billion. It would clearly be better to bring out Ling Buyang’s corpse for the reward then.
Killing people to earn money, accumulating money by being killed… profiting from both ends!
He glanced around, confirmed his location, and Zhang Xuan then tossed the Hunting List into the New World and jumped off the horseback.
“You should head back first!”
He patted Dao Li on the behind and let it leave. Only then did Zhang Xuan shift his spirit, transforming from Ling Buyang into Lian Huo’s appearance.
The tragedies of Yu Fei and Xiaozhuo, among others, were partly Feng Yizhou’s doing, but Unnecessary Hall, run by Ling Buyang, also played a significant role! If those connected with the likes of Lian Huo were similarly amenable, he would not hesitate to obliterate them.
Of course, he also intended to learn what Mo Dao Destiny was… It would be good to figure out what exactly it was.
After parting with Dao Li and walking along the street for a while, indeed a large compound appeared in his view with no name or title displayed outside, yet guarded by two cultivators at the Physique Realm.
Zhang Xuan remembered Lian Huo’s way of walking and speaking and strode up to them with confidence.
Coming as Ling Buyang would make it difficult to find out anything, and as a commoner, he wouldn’t get in touch with the core affairs. After deliberation, Lian Huo seemed the best option.
The man had already been killed by him and wouldn’t be exposed, definitely holding some level of leadership and thus more likely to unearth the truth.
“Who goes there?”
The guards blocked his way, but upon seeing the newcomer’s appearance, they were immediately taken aback.
“Lian Huo, you… aren’t dead?”
“You’re the one who’s dead!”
Zhang Xuan waved his hand, visibly impatient, “I have matters to report to the Hall Master, and I’ve come seeking an audience…”
“An audience with the Hall Master? What kind of fantasy is that?”
The left guard scoffed, “The Hall Master never comes here; you know that as an old timer in our ranks. When have you ever met him in person?”
“I truly have urgent matters to report…” Zhang Xuan insisted.
No wonder when he was rescuing Yu Fei and the others, Lian Huo had clearly seen himself disguised as Ling Buyang, but failed to recognize him. After all the commotion, it turned out this guy seldom visited, so many subordinates had not seen him.
“You wait here for a moment, I’ll go inform Lady Yu, she’s in charge of everything here…” the guard waved his hand.
“Lady Yu?” Zhang Xuan’s heart “thumped!”
This must be the concubine from Heaven Mandate Hall who was looking for him earlier… Unexpectedly, Unnecessary Hall was actually under her control.
The wait wasn’t long before the same guard came out, “Lady Yu invites you in…”
Nodding, Zhang Xuan followed behind him into the hall.
The courtyard of Unnecessary Hall was very spacious. Walking past a training ground, many people were practicing the Mo Dao saber art, with swathes of saber light flickering, demonstrating impressive strength.
After a glance, Zhang Xuan became inwardly vigilant.
Amidst those saber lights, there was actually a power that could harm the soul, although it was very weak, causing minimal harm if it struck the body, but it could not be ignored if accumulated.
Bypassing the training ground, they entered a spacious room. A woman sat with her back to the door in the center of the living room, and around her, it seemed a formation was in motion, channeling pure Origin qi along with a special power into her body.
“Is that… Heavenly Mandate Vitality? There’s actually Heavenly Mandate Vitality here?” Zhang Xuan was slightly surprised.
In this room, Heavenly Mandate Vitality was drifting about, albeit in small quantities—only about a few dozen streams—but it indicated that there was a Destiny Plate nearby. If he found the right opportunity, he might be able to get some.
“Lady Yu, I’ve brought the person…” the guard said with a bowed fist.
“You may leave now!”
A cold voice emerged from that figure, and the guard, responding with a sound of acknowledgment, turned and left. Zhang Xuan was about to look for the location of the Destiny Plate when the lady continued talking, “Lian Huo, do you admit to your crime?”
“This subordinate admits his crime…”
Zhang Xuan hastily cupped his fists.
Since she was in charge of all affairs in Unnecessary Hall, then… sending people to look for the Red Leaf Herb and hunting down Yu Fei was very likely her command.
Thus, she wouldn’t know about Lian Huo’s death, but she would definitely be aware that the mission had not been completed.
The woman slowly stood up and turned around.
She appeared to be twenty-two or twenty-three years old and was indeed the one he had seen earlier in Heaven Mandate Hall, extremely beautiful. Her strength was also formidable, having reached the Jade Bone Realm, Sevenfold of the Source Pool at such a young age!
This level of cultivation and talent might not be considered very strong in Han Yuan City, but it was definitely at the pinnacle in Baiyan City.
“Speak, what exactly happened with the Red Leaf Herb? Why has there been no word these past days?” Lady Yu raised her delicate eyebrows and stared over.
“It’s… Feng Yizhou!”
Zhang Xuan quickly explained, “I was leading men to get the medicine, but his people intervened and all my brothers died. I was lucky to escape with my life, and I only came to my senses today. I rushed here to report to Madam immediately…”
“You mean to say Feng Yizhou’s men took the Red Leaf Herb?”
Lady Yu looked at Lian Huo before her, her delicate eyebrows suddenly raised, and she loudly scolded, “How dare you lie to me, Lian Huo you’ve got some nerve!”
Before her words finished, Lady Yu’s palm swept across starkly, aiming straight for him.
This strike was as fast as lightning, reaching in front of him in the blink of an eye. With the Jade Bone Realm cultivation, her strength was nearly that of 100 horses. If Zhang Xuan did not dodge, he would certainly be injured.
Not expecting to be seen through so quickly, Zhang Xuan thought about slapping the other party to death, but then an idea popped into his head, and he stood completely still.
Whoosh!
Lady Yu’s palm stopped right before Zhang Xuan’s forehead, the airflow created by the strength whistling past both sides of his brow bone, lifting his hair.
“Why did you not dodge?”
Lady Yu asked.
“My life is given by Madam. If Madam wishes to take it, just do it!”
Zhang Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed his gamble was correct.
Lian Huo and the others had been killed too quickly, with no time to pass the message outwards. So, she also wasn’t sure what had actually happened, and most likely was bluffing him.
It seems he was right.
Lady Yu’s eyes showed a satisfied look, and she withdrew her hand, placing it behind her back, “There’s no need to look for the Red Leaf Herb anymore. Feng Yizhou has been killed by the Hall Master, and the counterattack from Yunshan Hall will soon occur, if nothing goes wrong. Train hard and prepare for battle!”
“Yes…”
Zhang Xuan nodded and started to back away. Just as he was about to leave the room, Lady Yu’s voice rang out again, “This is the Mo Dao saber art that I promised you last time. I will only demonstrate it once; how much you can learn depends on your intelligence and fortune!”
Zhang Xuan quickly looked up, and then saw Lady Yu extending her hand, reaching out into empty space and grabbing a long saber that was flying straight toward her palm.
With the saber in hand, her aura changed drastically. If she previously appeared as a pitiable young widow, she now resembled a resolute and decisive general.
Swish!
She swung out her saber, and the Heavenly Mandate Vitality swirled around the blade’s edge, forming a dazzling glint of the saber.
This move not only contained the power to kill the soul but also bore the might to sever fate. If practiced over time, it seemed to have the ability to break the shackles of cultivation, allowing one to charge at higher realms.
Sizzling!
As she executed the saber art, the Heavenly Mandate Vitality around her became denser, and streams of white light surged from all over the room.
Zhang Xuan took a discreet look and saw that several Destiny Plates were indeed placed around the room.