Chapter 183: Chapter 42: Unless You Pay More
“Hall Master…”
Seeing the look in his eyes, the man in black grew tense.
“Feng Zhaoting said, “Ah Zhu, you’ve been with me for 20 years, haven’t you!”
The man in black, Ah Zhu, nodded, “Twenty-one years ago, I was fortunate to be chosen by the Hall Master to learn the Thousand Threads Destiny, when I was only 17!”
Feng Zhaoting said, “For such a long time, you’ve been loyally serving me, and I have provided you with cultivation techniques and opportunities, allowing you to gain the strength you have now. Now it’s time to repay me!”
Ah Zhu clasped his fist, “As long as the Hall Master commands, your subordinate will not shirk any responsibility…”
Before his words were finished, three slender needles shot straight out from Ah Zhu’s sleeves, their cold light threatening, aiming straight for Feng Zhaoting’s brow, chest, and heart—three vital spots.
At the same moment, Ah Zhu turned and fled outside.
The two were very close, and the speed of the needles was fast and accurate. Logically speaking, even if the opponent was a cultivator at the level of the Dharma Form Realm, it would be difficult to defend, but Feng Zhaoting seemed to have been prepared all along, and with a slight smile, he pinched his fingers.
Whirl!
He pulled out a thin thread that had been inside the other person, gave it a light flick, and Ah Zhu’s strength burst like a punctured balloon, plummeting, and his face suddenly turned deathly pale.
Without the support of strength, the needles that had reached him were easily blocked by the Divine Soul. Feng Zhaoting flicked his finger again, and Ah Zhu, attempting to escape, collapsed to the ground, his face filled with fear as he looked over, “You, you… left Thousand Threads inside me?”
Feng Zhaoting smiled slightly, “Learning my Life Path cultivation means naturally being under my control. If you try to kill me, it will backlash… I told you this from the very beginning when I started teaching you martial arts, didn’t I?”
As the words ended, Feng Zhaoting flicked his fingers in the air, and dozens of Thousand Threads entered the other’s body. Ah Zhu tried to resist, but after a moment, his gaze became dull, like a walking corpse: “Master!”
Being controlled by the Thousand Threads, he would gradually lose his own consciousness.
“Hmm!”
Feng Zhaoting nodded, feeling an influx of countless streams of Heavenly Mandate Vitality spontaneously forming, swiftly surging into his body.
The more cultivators controlled by the Thousand Threads Destiny, and the stronger they were, the greater his progress. This Ah Zhu had already reached the Divine Soul Realm, making him the strongest one he controlled.
After swallowing half of a Purple Bamboo Spirit Pill, the power of the medicine merged with the strength of destiny. Half a short hour later, countless forces converged in the room, and Feng Zhaoting’s soul leaped violently as a Dharma Form, three meters high, spread out from behind him.
The third stage of the Dharma Form Realm, the Ninefold Source Pool!
With this kind of strength, one could truly stand at the pinnacle of the Source Pool Realm.
“It really worked… Ling Buyang, what do you have to fight against me now?” Feng Zhaoting’s eyes shimmered.
Although it was only a minor realm, the gap between breaking through and not, was indeed huge.
A Divine Soul journeying could harm the soul at most, but the Dharma Form now possessed physical attack capabilities, and his strength had successfully broken through to 500 horses!
Such a strong soul attacking could tear a body into pieces!
Whew!
As the soul returned to the body, Feng Zhaoting’s gaze flickered, “Ling Buyang, you killed my brother and then assassinated your own disciples, framing me, so don’t blame me for not being polite…”
Previously he had been worried about completely tearing apart his relationship and how Master Han would react, but since the other party had escalated things, there was no need for him to pretend to be the good guy anymore!
Thus, assassination was the way to go.
However, he needed to find the right opportunity because being discovered as the perpetrator would be troublesome to explain, and more importantly, the other party had a sect backing him. Offending them meant that even strength a tenfold greater than Dharma Form Realm wouldn’t be enough to contend.
…
A small boat leisurely entered a huge cave, with Zhang Xuan sitting in it, observing the surrounding scenery.
After saying goodbye to Han Xiao, and knowing that he had become the target of many, Zhang Xuan didn’t stay long. Instead, he quietly returned to the place that Sun Qiang had found, where he guided the others in their practice and studied the Mo Blade Water Flow that had appeared in the Library of Heaven’s Path.
This water flow didn’t seem to have “developed” completely yet, still needing a large amount of Heavenly Mandate Vitality. After infusing hundreds of streams and seeing that it was far from enough, Zhang Xuan stopped.
He himself was not rich, so he might as well wait until he was wealthier to continue.
However, though the infusion of Heavenly Mandate Vitality was not great, ever since the Mo Blade Water Flow was obtained, every time he used his saber art, a kind of enlightenment emerged, causing the barriers to his Divine Soul Realm to gradually loosen.
Following this trend, even without a cultivation technique of the Dharma Form Realm level, as long as he frequently practiced Mo Dao, he would definitely be able to break through!
Having confirmed this, Zhang Xuan finally understood that, like what Yu Qingyu had said, he had comprehended the Mo Dao Destiny!
After practicing for a while, and with more insights into Mo Dao and attempts to draw Heavenly Mandate Vitality from the Phantasm Space to strengthen himself, the moment the power arrived, it also attracted the oppression of the world.
Clearly, this Mo Dao Destiny was a replica formed by the Library of Heaven’s Path, and although it was identical to the one from the Source World, he couldn’t blatantly steal Heavenly Mandate Vitality.
Realizing that comprehending destiny didn’t allow access to more Heavenly Mandate Vitality, Zhang Xuan lost interest. Just then, the three days arranged by Fu Yingying arrived, and he disguised himself as Ling Buyang once again, entering the black market.
The tea master now knew his identity, so he wasn’t blindfolded anymore.
The rock walls were dark, and the bizarrely shaped rocks hung upside down, looking ferocious and terrifying. The boat turned around a corner, and abruptly, the brilliant lights illuminating the surroundings revealed the black market he had seen before.
Walking along the corridor for a while, he arrived at the previous house again.
“Elder Ling is indeed decisive…”
“`
Seeing him arrive, Fu Yingying smiled slightly.
“`
When she first heard the news, she was equally shocked for a long time. She had thought that with such a hefty reward, this person would be quickly killed by someone. Yet, it had been three days, and there was no movement at all. Not only that, he even dared to blatantly come here.
Such audacity!
“Are the books I requested ready?” Zhang Xuan didn’t respond to her previous statement, but instead asked this question.
“They’ve been collected a long time ago…”
Fu Yingying waved her hand, and immediately, several subordinates carrying books came over, with thick stacks piling up the entire table.
“A total of more than three hundred books! This is all I can gather here…”
Zhang Xuan nodded, approached, and as his fingers swept over them, he gently touched them.
Within the Library of Heaven’s Path, copies of the books were immediately made.
With these three hundred plus the ones previously collected, it still wasn’t enough, but the gap wasn’t far off either.
“That will be 3.14 million, just give me three million…”
Seeing him finish with a single stroke like the last time, Fu Yingying was curious but did not ask any further.
Zhang Xuan paid the money and looked over again: “Do you have elixirs or medicinal materials here that can enhance one’s cultivation, sell some to me!”
“We have quite a lot, depends on what grade you’re looking for. The higher the grade, the higher the price…”
Fu Yingying introduced.
Two hours later, Zhang Xuan looked at the large pile of medicinal materials in his hand, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Without any accidents, with these things, Zhao Ya and the others’ strength could be increased again by a large margin.
The cultivation methods he taught progressed extremely quickly, but to solely absorb Origin qi was still too slow. With the strengthening from these medicines, breaking through to the Jade Bone Realm or even the Divine Soul Realm in a short time wouldn’t be much of a problem.
After hesitating for a moment, he also bought some herbs that could help Dao Li advance, and only then did Zhang Xuan stop.
After careful calculation, he had spent another over ten million.
The reward for slaying Feng Yizhou, as well as the money swindled from Han Xiao, was now nearly all used up.
“Elder Ling, our black market has uncovered the whereabouts and information of Li Yue’an, are you interested in hunting with us? If we succeed… the reward will be split fifty-fifty!”
“Li Yue’an? Are you talking about the Fate Master ranked 41 on the Hunting List, who has comprehended the Betrayal Destiny?” asked Zhang Xuan.
“Exactly!”
Fu Yingying nodded.
Zhang Xuan was puzzled: “Isn’t he well hidden? How did you find him?”
He had read the summary. This guy betrayed his benefactor, his companions, his mentor… despised by everyone, similar to that dreamer picking flowers, had long lost his tracks. How had he suddenly been discovered?
Fu Yingying smiled slightly: “It’s just good luck. He has indeed been hiding all these years, but he wasn’t idle and took on a disciple! And this disciple, having received his true teachings… betrayed him, and secretly contacted the black market, planning to eliminate his own mentor…”
“This…”
Zhang Xuan’s eyelids twitched.
Forever hunting geese, finally pecked in the eye by one.
He betrayed his own mentor, only to be betrayed by his disciple in turn; it was a deserved outcome.
“Actually, we can’t blame his disciple. Even if he didn’t betray him, the mentor would have betrayed him nonetheless. Such is the nature of the destiny they cultivate, unchangeable; it’s just a matter of who makes the first move!”
Thinking he was feeling sentimental, Fu Yingying explained.
“Alright, I agree, we can join forces!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
Since he is scum, killing him and getting paid for it—why not?
Seeing him agree, Fu Yingying breathed a sigh of relief: “Good, I should mention in advance that the Hunting List recorded his strength as the Detachment Realm, but that was news from seven years ago. We don’t know what realm he has reached now, nor his current strength, so there is still some danger in this mission…”
“Hmm!” Zhang Xuan nodded.
Seven years ago, he was already in the Detachment Realm; by now, he likely advanced to Travel or even the Primordial Spirit.
Of course, cultivating the Betrayal Destiny, without high-value targets to betray, he probably hadn’t made significant progress.
Fu Yingying smiled: “Since you’ve agreed, let’s set off now!”
Zhang Xuan was puzzled: “Are you going too? If I’m not mistaken, your strength is only at the Divine Soul Realm, right? Isn’t it dangerous to go after someone who was at the Detachment Realm seven years ago with such strength?”
Fu Yingying ran her fingers through her hair and chuckled, her smile revealing a heartbeat-accelerating curve: “Why, is Elder Ling worried about me? If you fancy me, you might as well say it directly. I’ve always liked those with strong abilities, and you’re not so bad yourself…”
“You’re thinking too much. What I mean is that if you run into danger, I won’t save you,” said Zhang Xuan after a brief hesitation. “Unless…”
Seeing his indifference, Fu Yingying looked disinterested, but still curiously looked at him: “Unless what?”
Zhang Xuan nodded: “Unless you pay extra!”