novelslam Chapter 578 - 543 Investigation 1
Chapter 578 - 543 Investigation 1
In the abandoned town.
Among the houses and residences, the decaying streets were covered in dust.
A circular red area was particularly striking at this moment.
"What’s that?" Fan Heng took a drag on his pipe, sensing something strange over there.
"Don’t know, why don’t you go take a look?" Lie Hu stood quietly by the ruins of the tavern, looking down at something, lost in thought.
"It seems like the presence of the Earth Mother Goddess..." Emperor Jiang was the most perceptive of the three.
In fact, he had single-handedly annihilated several small sects, and was most familiar with the presence of Spirit General Descent, deity and divine auras.
"Additionally, there’s a very peculiar aura... like the Bloodline... as if many Bloodlines are gathered together..." He frowned slightly.
A moment ago, a Confucian Grandmaster and a Spirit General were too feeble in resistance.
Especially the Spirit General named Qianxiang, whose ultimate form seemed to be regressing... obviously, his own will had been shattered by fear.
"I intend to go take a look. Will you come?"
"Don’t go. Sometimes, in life, it’s better to remain oblivious." Fan Heng said while smoking.
At such a close distance, the three of them were here.
As the strongest among the Extreme Realm, the three of them, along with the president of Reverse Time Association, represented ninety percent of the current power of Reverse Time Association.
Wherever they were, the headquarters of Reverse Time Association was effectively there.
With such strength, as long as Zhang Rongfang called out, the three could rush over quickly.
Currently, there was no movement over there, Zhang Rongfang’s aura was becoming more potent, coupled with that remarkably large blood pool, which was quite conspicuous.
The three understood immediately that it was a tactic Zhang Rongfang used to counter threats and dangers.
The Human Immortal Temple was very mysterious.
Just like Zhang Rongfang himself. And in life, one shouldn’t always dig too deep, leaving some room is best.
The three fell silent, not speaking further. They simply waited quietly.
Emperor Jiang put away his magic weapon; in reality, when he sensed the Earth Mother Goddess’s aura, he was prepared to step forward and save them, but now, it seemed unnecessary.....
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The mist slowly dispersed.
In the middle of the green mist, all fine lines crumbled like illusions, leaving only a dark green spiritual line, twisting and struggling like a worm.
But soon, it was covered by a large amount of red blood, submerged, emitting a corroding hiss.
Zhang Rongfang stood in the blood pool; at this moment, the surrounding environment returned to the appearance of reality.
His blood pool naturally extended to the surroundings in reality.
The ground, the walls of surrounding houses, the blood crawled like a living thing, spreading everywhere, thoroughly dyeing the surroundings with the same color as itself.
Zhang Rongfang looked around; within thirty meters, everything, the entire street block, had already turned the color of blood.
Only himself.
His clothes remained as they were, and only he, in this area, had extra color.
Soon, a bulge appeared at the position of the Earth Mother Divine Spiritual Line. Following a light pop, a plume of green smoke broke through the blood blockage, rising up, and slowly dissipated into the surrounding air.
At this, the aura of the Earth Mother Goddess completely vanished.
"She’s... gone!?" Bai Lin still couldn’t believe it.
Gone!? Just like that!?
This kind of pure attack targeting consciousness, and at the level of the Earth Mother Goddess, was gone so simply!?
And the responder Zhang Rongfang, at this moment, looked unscathed.
’Are you thinking that I seem very relaxed?’ Zhang Rongfang retorted, as though he read her thoughts.
"Isn’t it!?" Bai Lin was now unsure how to regard Zhang Rongfang.
This person.... initially, she considered him merely a talented Martial Artist who created an enigmatic martial art to enhance his unique Bloodline talent. Nothing more.
But now..... this talent named Bloodline, or rather called the Human Immortal Path, actually repels the core spiritual line of the Earth Mother Goddess!?
This.... had already exceeded her expectations.
Even a purely mental consciousness attack, was terrifying.
Withstanding a consciousness attack of the Earth Mother Goddess level meant that all experts below her could no longer affect him with their spiritual aura attacks.
Possibly not even suppress him.
In the moment he unfolded the Blood River move, he solidified his unyielding position in the battle of will and consciousness!!
For the first time....
Bai Lin, for the first time, wanted to truly observe.
Witnessing where this man who established the Human Immortal Path would eventually reach!
"Is it over now?" Bai Lin asked.
"Yes, it’s over. Time to return." Zhang Rongfang felt a stir in his heart.
Immediately, countless blood beneath his feet began to re-enter his skin, absorbing into his body.
The blood began to compress, thicken, and flood back into his body, like molten iron filling a mold.
In just a dozen seconds, the entire thirty-meter diameter blood pool returned to Zhang Rongfang’s body, vanished completely, without a trace.
After the wounds on his body re-healed, everything seemed as though nothing had ever happened.
After finishing this, Zhang Rongfang surveyed his surroundings and finally noticed Ding Yu, collapsed on the ground.
This guy was kneeling, his back covered with various types of green tumors, resembling a cluster of mushrooms sprouting from the soil.
The person had already fallen unconscious, but he was completely covered by Zhang Rongfang’s blood just now, so it’s uncertain what changes it might bring.
Bringing up Ding Yu, Zhang Rongfang looked again towards the direction of the three from the Reverse Time Association.
Next, he needed to take care of the remaining ambushers around and rescue the surviving masters of the Human Immortal Temple.
With a light step, he leapt, approaching Emperor Jiang.
Among the three, he was most familiar with Emperor Jiang. The two were both mentor and friend, long-time acquaintances.
The Reverse Time Association had given such face, so naturally, he would reciprocate in kind.
But as soon as he approached, all three Extreme Realm experts, including Emperor Jiang, instantly focused their gaze on him.
"The matter is settled, we cannot always guard you here," Lie Hu said, scrutinizing Zhang Rongfang, breaking the silence first.
"I understand, seniors." Zhang Rongfang nodded. "I will remember your help."
Lie Hu said no more and turned to leave.
Among the three, aside from Emperor Jiang, the other two were actually here due to the orders of the Reverse Time Association’s leader.
Essentially, those in the Extreme Realm were often self-serving, and getting Fan Heng and Lie Hu to help repeatedly like this was quite rare.
Fan Heng took a deep drag from his dry pipe.
"Young friend seems to be one of us, unfortunately unaware of the divine." After saying this, he also turned and disappeared into a side alley in an instant.
Emperor Jiang was left standing alone.
"Senior," Zhang Rongfang immediately felt much more at ease. After all, dealing with three lunatics was not the same as dealing with one.
Moreover, he couldn’t just ignore them; these three had come to help him, and they were top figures.
Now that two had left, he relaxed significantly.
"Long time no see. You’ve grown stronger... very good," Emperor Jiang nodded. His routine allowed him some normalcy each day.
Apparently, now was one of those times.
"Senior, can you state clearly, what decision has the Reverse Time Association made now?" Zhang Rongfang asked.
"The leader is still hesitating; quite a few are suitable, but they are unwilling," Emperor Jiang shook his head.
Suitable for transformation into Bloodline, but unwilling to be controlled, hence the internal struggle.
Zhang Rongfang instantly understood.
"The Human Immortal Temple is always open to you here," he replied earnestly.
"Good," Emperor Jiang nodded.
He paused.
"By the way, those who ambushed you this time came from the academy, great nobility, royal family, and divine generals. Just keep it to yourself."
"Understood."
Noting these three forces carefully in his mind, Zhang Rongfang wasted no time, heading towards the direction pointed by the bloodline to rescue the captured Human Immortal Temple masters.
Meanwhile, during the rescue, he could hear from a distance the Reverse Time Association’s masters slaughtering the remaining individuals nearby.
This was his specific request.
To minimize pressure on Yue Shi’s side, he naturally couldn’t act himself. So it was the Righteous Alliance’s Reverse Time Association that did.
Similarly, to cover up any traces of his appearance, all living beings around had to be dealt with.
So it appeared that only three heavyweights from the Reverse Time Association were mobilized. But in fact... they immediately summoned most of the top experts around, completely locking down the area.
The sky gradually darkened, light rain falling, with wind driving the slanted rain.
Over the next two days, Zhang Rongfang returned to Wish Girl Gorge with Ding Yu to recuperate.
The injuries corroded by the Earth Mother Divine Spiritual Line manifested not on the body, but seemingly on Ding Yu’s mind.
It took two full days for Ding Yu to somewhat recover, but he still appeared weak, occasionally showing signs of stupidity. His reactions were a beat slower than before.
Feeling helpless, Zhang Rongfang could not identify the problem, and could only let him go back to continue recovering, waiting for time to heal.
Next, he also had to investigate the situation involving his nephew.
His nephew’s connection to the Confucian sect meant Dongfang Mu was the only link he had.
After dealing with Ding Yu’s matters, he immediately headed to visit the Eastern Castle.
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"His actions seem off?"
Inside the Eastern Castle.
Dongfang Mu sat properly on his knees before Zhang Rongfang, his expression somewhat surprised.
After carefully listening to Zhang Rongfang’s description of his nephew, his brows furrowed.
"Are you certain it has nothing to do with the teachers?"
"Fairly certain. I personally went to observe; both teachers seemed very normal, and all teaching processes were open to the public. Moreover..." Zhang Rongfang frowned. "Moreover, they seemed a bit tense."
He had initially planned to capture someone for questioning, but given the uncertain relationship with the Confucian sect, and they were his sister’s backup support, acting rashly wasn’t ideal.
"Tense?" Dongfang Mu pondered. "Could it be tension towards Xiaohuanqing himself? Rather than anything else?"
"Exactly," Zhang Rongfang’s heart skipped a beat, realizing Dongfang Mu might have thought of something.
After a period of thought, Dongfang Mu stood up and searched through a side bookshelf, retrieving a small booklet.
The booklet’s cover was full of scars, and its pages yellowed; he was very cautious as he opened it.
After reviewing it for a while, he slowly began to speak.
"I don’t know much about the Seven Veins. Although we are called one with the Confucian sect, in reality, the Confucian path is very fragmented.
Much like various sects and schools within the martial world, there are even private grudges among different sects and schools. It’s the same for our Confucian path, as past disagreements between great scholars can lead to branches not being unified."