Chapter 234: Chapter 169: Encountering the Three Heavenly Pride_2
Chen Ku couldn’t be certain if this third-ranked master in the city had secretly made a breakthrough, so choosing to assassinate Li Yutang was tantamount to seeking death. He only wanted to determine Li Yutang’s location and then specifically target the high-ranking members of the Fish and Dragon Association, other than Li Yutang, for assassination.
Unexpectedly, even though Chen Ku had extended the Hundred Li Tracking Technique to its maximum range, he was still unable to find Li Yutang’s location within the city.
Hmm? How could this be? If Li Yutang isn’t in the city, where has he gone?
A sense of unease settled over Chen Ku. This is not a good sign, he thought.
At a time when the three major guilds were about to annex and undermine each other, Li Yutang’s disappearance from Baojiao County led Chen Ku to suspect that the Fish and Dragon Association was preparing something else. After all, the Fish and Dragon Association was the first to display ambitions to annex the other two, yet until now, no one knew what their hidden ’ultimate weapon’ and trump cards were.
This is very dangerous.
After pondering for a moment, Chen Ku sat in his room and emitted CHIRPING sounds. Before long, a dozen mice and sparrows quietly entered his room and crawled under the bed.
"Dear friends, help me take a look at this location. What kind of people are inside the Fish and Dragon Association now?" he assigned a task to the sparrows and mice.
CHIRP! CHIRP! CHIRP!
RUSTLE! RUSTLE! RUSTLE!
Accompanied by a series of sounds from the birds and mice, Chen Ku waited. But soon, he was left speechless. Most of the mice and sparrows had gotten lost and couldn’t find the Fish and Dragon Association’s headquarters. Fortunately, one or two clever sparrows and mice returned after an hour, apparently having eaten their fill at the Fish and Dragon Association.
Hmm? The Fish and Dragon Association is almost empty, with just a few dozen people? How can this be? Chen Ku found it incredible.
The Fish and Dragon Association was supposed to be the largest organization among the three major guilds, spanning various walks of life and possessing the greatest power. Yet now, only a few dozen people remained inside. Coupled with the fact that Leader Li Yutang was not in the city, Chen Ku wondered, Could it be that the death of Xie Wenyuan scared them, leading the core high-ranking leaders of the guild to flee Baojiao County?
Chen Ku shook his head, dismissing this speculation. With such huge interests in Baojiao County, and the Fish and Dragon Association having operated and built their influence here for over a hundred years, it was impossible for them to just abandon it.
The Fish and Dragon Association must be planning something big! Chen Ku came to this conclusion. The more the other party tried to feign weakness and act mysterious, the more intense his unease became.
At the same time, he was forced to make changes to his original plan due to the Fish and Dragon Association’s headquarters being practically deserted.
If the Fish and Dragon Association secretly moved, then only Peace Path is left. I don’t believe Peace Path has also moved...
Chen Ku transformed into a Flower Fox Mink inside the room and headed towards Snake Fish Town.
According to the bounty order from the Grey Clothes Tower on Peace Path’s members, this cult’s sheer scale was far greater than Medicine King Hall, Firewood Iron Shop, and the Fish and Dragon Association. This was evident from the fact that their average Incense Master, overseeing an Incense Altar, possessed a Fourth Realm Cultivation. And on the Bounty List of the Grey Clothes Tower, above the Incense Master, there were two higher ranks: Helmsman and Leader.
For instance, during the Autumn Assizes last year when Peace Path raided the execution grounds, they deployed at least four or five Incense Masters. This made it utterly difficult to determine Peace Path’s true strength or how many Incense Masters they actually had.
So far, Chen Ku only knew about Yao Wensu, the Incense Master of the branch in Snake Fish Town.
He had once witnessed this person using over five hundred ordinary cult followers as fodder. After deluding them with the cult’s doctrine, he had driven them to inflict heavy casualties on the City Defense Forces of Baojiao County. At the same time, Yao Wensu had also personally issued a Bounty Order for Chen Ku.
A few months ago, Chen Ku had seethed with hatred for Yao Wensu. He desperately wanted to eradicate the Peace Path branch in Snake Fish Town. However, he feared Yao Wensu’s formidable strength and the peculiar, mysterious Sorcery of Peace Path. Despite knowing they were stationed around Snake Fish Town, he had dared not provoke them.
Now, with his newly acquired strength and various special abilities, it was time for Chen Ku to pluck the tiger’s whiskers of Peace Path.
And while I’m at it, I can test how strong I’ve become.
At Chen Ku’s current speed, after using the Earth Escape technique to leave the city and transforming into a Flower Fox Mink, enhanced with various abilities and Martial Arts, it took him less than the time it takes to drink two cups of tea to reach the vicinity of Snake Fish Town.
WHOOSH!
Chen Ku, transformed into a Flower Fox Mink and carrying a small shoulder bag, stopped on the small earthen mound where Yao Wensu and a group of high-ranking officials of the Peace Path branch had once stood. He sniffed around on the spot.
"Hundred Li Tracking Technique!"
Once he activated the Hundred Li Tracking Technique, it immediately began searching for the Peace Path members hidden within the mountain forests around Snake Fish Town, covering a radius of a Hundred Li centered on his position.
Before long, the feedback from his sense of smell returned. From Chen Ku’s unique perspective, numerous scent trails guided his sense of smell. They led him all the way to a location eighty li away, somewhat close to the cave black market he had visited years ago.
But, just as Chen Ku detected the hiding place of the Peace Path demon people, his nostrils also immediately picked up the strong scent of blood.
Huh? Is that the smell of blood? Human blood?
Chen Ku immediately became fully alert. What’s going on? The Divine Machine Camp dispatched by the Imperial Court is supposedly arriving in Baojiao County in a few days. Who would be targeting the Peace Path demon people at this time?
With this thought, he flew in that direction, intending to investigate.
BOOM!!
In the mountains eighty li away, rocks shot out like cannonballs. The ground and forests shook violently, as if trampled by giant elephants or charged by a thousand-strong army, the momentum utterly immense!
WHOOSH!
Dust and dirt filled the air, swirling wildly.
WHOOSH!
A Peach Wood Sword slashed down from the sky. It stirred the airflow within a range of a dozen zhangs, causing it to churn like a fiery sea as it swept towards its target.
CLANG!
The sword slashed down but was blocked in mid-air by a pair of Copper Gold Maces.
Beneath the Copper Maces stood a disheveled teenager, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with spiky hair resembling chicken feathers. His legs bent slightly under the pressure of the sword, yet he remained completely unflustered. Instead, he grinned, revealing his white teeth.
"Peace Demon Technique? Is this all?"
The teenager took a deep breath. Suddenly, his skin took on a purple-gold hue, and a sound like clashing metal emanated from between his skin and bones. He stomped his foot. The ground beneath him caved in as if struck by a meteor, forming a large crater and kicking up a cloud of yellow dust.
The teenager, holding the Copper Maces in both hands, gave them a sudden shake. This dispelled the Peach Wood Talisman Sword and unleashed a terrifying wave of Force Power from between the sword and maces, like a colossal wave surging forth!
Then, his body shot forward like a cannonball. He raised one mace high, preparing to smash it down on the owner of the Peach Wood Sword!
"What?"
The Man in Black Robe, who wore a square scarf and wielded the Peach Wood Sword, was repelled by the terrifying power from the two Golden Bronze Maces. His hand, the one gripping the sword, tingled numbly. Stunned, he exclaimed, "The Arrogant Dragon Mace! Who from the Di Family are you?!"
Before he could finish, the air current from the swinging mace slammed into him like a Big Hammer, crushing his words so that his voice could not even carry. He subconsciously fumbled for several Talisman Papers. Astonished, he quickly stuck them onto his Peach Wood Sword and himself, then thrust his sword high!
As the mace came crashing down, Di Jianqing declared, "You’ve got good eyes! Remember this! I am Di Jianqing!"