Chapter 749: Fatal Danger
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97
"Byzantium Helios Beast?" The young lady frowned. "Do you mean the tamed beast of the old princ.i.p.al?"
"That"s the case." Mu s.h.i.+ nodded. "I am an old friend of the old princ.i.p.al, so I am familiar with his tamed beast as well. Even though the aura is extremely weak, I am certain that it is him!"
As a close friend of the missing old princ.i.p.al, he was acquainted with Byzantium Helios Beast as well.
It was just this afternoon that he heard that the other party had been kidnapped by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, so how could he remain calm when he sensed his aura at this very moment?
Knowing what Mu s.h.i.+ was thinking, the young lady said, "Go and take a look then."
"Yes!" Mu s.h.i.+ nodded in grat.i.tude before rus.h.i.+ng in the direction of where the aura was coming from.
Watching Mu s.h.i.+"s departing back, Luo Ruoxin sighed deeply.
"Since it"s so easy for him to find what he seeks, why can"t it be the same for me? If only I"d known earlier, I"d have brought that with me. Now that I can only sense the rough region where it is, who knows how long it"ll take before I can find it…" Rubbing her glabella, she shook her head before turning her gaze back to the night sky.
Just like that, the young lady stared deeply into the depths of the night sky, creating a transient painting of tranquility.
…
"Hah, you sure are loyal to your master!" Seeing the Byzantium Helios Beast declaring his fealty to his master, Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Who knew what kind of magic potion the Otherworldly Demons fed this fellow for it to obstinately hold onto their secrets despite the beatings it had taken?
"Are you really not afraid of death?" Zhang Xuan asked coldly.
"What is there to fear from death? If I can be with my master after death, why should I be afraid?" the Byzantium Helios Beast roared.
"This fellow…" Zhang Xuan shook his head.
The other party was extremely adamant on his view, unwilling to budge in the least.
What in the world was this?
The spirit beasts whom he had met before would usually be settled with just a kick or two, but not only did this fellow refuse to submit after all that beating, it still remained obstinately loyal to its previous master.
Honestly speaking, even Zhang Xuan was feeling a little impressed by now.
Its willpower was indeed commendable.
"This place isn"t wide enough…"
Seeing that the other party was unwilling to submit, Zhang Xuan was just about to give it another beating when he looked at the cramped room he was in and frowned.
The residence which Sun Qiang had gotten them was simply too small. If he were to summon the puppets here to pummel the Byzantium Helios Beast, the entire residence might just be torn down by them.
If even this residence were to be destroyed, where else would his students stay?
He had already used up his money on this residence, so it was impossible to purchase another one at this point.
"Forget it, I"ll head outside the city then!" Zhang Xuan muttered.
As long as he traveled a fitting distance away from the city walls, he should be able to do as he pleased without alarming anyone.
With such a thought in mind, he flicked his wrist and placed that fellow back into the Myriad Anthive Nest.
After which, he walked out of his room, activated the Red Dust Heaven Ascending Steps, and headed to the skies.
As the residence was located in a rural part of the city, there were almost no guards or sentries stationed nearby, so there was no need for him to restrict himself. Furthermore, as unlikely as it was, it would still be better to have the Great Violetwing Beast guard the residence in case the Spirit Emporium sent another wave of a.s.sa.s.sins for them.
When it came to the safety of his students and butler, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Right after Zhang Xuan left the residence, another figure soaring through the night sky came to an abrupt halt.
"Hmm? His aura disappeared?" A white-bearded elder looked around him in confusion and frowned—Mu s.h.i.+.
As soon as he sensed the Byzantium Helios Beast"s aura, he immediately rushed over. But just as he was about to zero in on the source of the aura, it abruptly vanished, as if it had never been there in the first place.
"Was he captured once more?" Mu s.h.i.+ frowned.
Even though he had declared that anyone who found the Byzantium Helios Beast would be declared as the next princ.i.p.al, this didn"t mean that he should remain idle when an opportunity to save the latter appeared before him.
The Byzantium Helios Beast was the tamed beast of his old pal, and he had slain many Otherworldly Demons in his time, saving countless humans from harm.
"There is someone there!" Scanning the area, Mu s.h.i.+ suddenly spotted a silhouette on the horizon.
Even though he couldn"t determine the extent of the other party"s cultivation, he should still be a Saint at the very minimum, considering that he was capable of flight.
"To be traveling in the middle of the night, there"s something amiss here…" Mu s.h.i.+ frowned. "I should go over and take a look!"
With such a thought in mind, he rushed toward the silhouette.
Every single Saint realm expert in Hongyuan City wielded immense prestige, and very few of them would choose to travel in the night. On top of that, the other party appeared as soon as the Byzantium Helios Beast"s aura vanished. This made the situation even more suspicious.
"Hmm? Someone is following me?" In the midst of his flight, Zhang Xuan suddenly noticed something, and his eyelids started twitching.
His current plan was simple: find a quiet place, teach the Byzantium Helios Beast a lesson, and force it to spew out the whereabouts of the Otherworldly Demons it was serving. Who would have thought that he would be followed as soon as he left his residence?
"To be able to mobilize even Saint realm experts, it seems like the water in the Spirit Emporium runs deeper than I thought!" Considering how his pursuer was flying in midair as well, there was no doubt about it—he was a Saint realm expert!
This fellow appeared right after he had subdued the four masked men, so the chances were that the Spirit Emporium had sent him here as well!
To have such an expert make a move over just that bit of wealth, the Spirit Emporium sure was persistent!
"Could it be that… there are some precious artifacts amongst the items received from the Mystical Treasure Hall that I don"t know of?"
As he had obtained simply far too many objects from the Mystical Treasure Hall, he hadn"t bothered checking them properly.
However, considering that it was from Huanyu Empire, it should be unlikely for it to be worth much in Hongyuan Empire. Yet, the Spirit Emporium actually mobilized a Saint realm expert for his possession!
This was no different from making a mountain out of a molehill!
"I should lure him out of the city and get rid of him!" The more Zhang Xuan thought about it, the more furious he felt.
To send one wave after another, was the Spirit Emporium not tired of such games yet?
"Dispatching four Ethereal Treading experts is already bad enough, but to even mobilize a Saint realm expert for us… Are you really that intent on seeing me rip apart your organization?
"So what if your men have reached Saint realm?
"Not even the Byzantium Helios Beast could subdue me, let more your men!
"If a war is what you want, I don"t mind allowing Vicious and the other Otherworldly Demon puppets to make another appearance!
"Did you think that you could climb over my head just because I am a newcomer in Hongyuan City?
"No, I should still hold myself back. The Byzantium Helios Beast has pledged allegiance to the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, so there is no harm in killing him. However, the enemy this time around is a human, and the Spirit Emporium is aware of this operation as well. If the other party were to be killed and an investigation were to be conducted, I might risk exposing the existence of the Otherworldly Demon puppets!"
While Zhang Xuan wanted to eliminate the conceited fellow pursuing him, he knew that he mustn"t act recklessly.
Saints were the top powers in the city. The death of any single one of them would cause a huge uproar, so it would be best to avoid that altogether. On top of that, given that the Saint realm expert was dispatched to deal with Sun Qiang, the Spirit Emporium would surely know that their group was the culprit.
If the Spirit Emporium were to pull some strings and make a case against them, Zhang Xuan might eventually come under scrutiny as well.
And if the Otherworldly Demon puppets and Vicious were revealed to be in his possession in the midst of the investigation, it would be difficult for him to account for that.
After all, how could a mere 4-star master teacher possess the ability to tame the head of the Otherworldly Demons and make those puppets obey his orders obediently?
There was no way he could absolve himself of blame once this was exposed, so he had to ensure that he wasn"t put into such a situation in the first place.
"But if I don"t get rid of him, that will be a potential threat looming above me… What can I do?"
Considering the vicious deeds that the Spirit Emporium had committed over the years, what if the Saint realm expert were to lay their hands on him, or even worse, his students?
He couldn"t possibly just sit idly and watch it all happen!
"Seems like it"s about time to let Yang s.h.i.+ make an appearance!" After a long moment of hesitation, Zhang Xuan made up his mind.
With his current capability, without tapping into the strength of Vicious or the Otherworldly Demon puppets, it was impossible for him to stand against a Saint realm expert. The only way he could get out of this situation was to… hoodwink the other party!
This wasn"t his first time doing something like this anyway.
As long as the other party acknowledged him as his teacher, the Spirit Emporium would be unable to send the other party after him.
With these thoughts in mind, Zhang Xuan began reshaping his appearance to take on Yang Xuan"s form.
As his mastery of Heaven"s Path Golden Body deepened, he became more and more proficient in warping his muscles to alter his physical appearance, making it difficult for even a 6-star pinnacle master teacher to see through the disguise.
Not even Mo Gaoyuan had suspected that he and Yang s.h.i.+ were the same person back then.
Considering that his back was against the other party, it was late at night, and the other party hadn"t seen his appearance yet, he should be able to discreetly alter his appearance without the other party noticing.
After warping his appearance, he drove his Heaven"s Path zhenqi to alter the aura around him to create a fleeting and unfathomable impression.
When all was done, he heaved a sigh of relief before discreetly sending a glance behind.
"Flaws!" Zhang Xuan muttered internally.
In a sense, the flight of a Saint could be considered as the execution of a battle technique as well as it required one to drive their zhenqi, so he was able to compile a book on the other party via the Library of Heaven"s Path.
Weng!
The Library of Heaven"s Path jolted as a book materialized.
As Zhang Xuan"s body continued soaring ahead, his consciousness was already immersed in the Library of Heaven"s Path, reading the book which had just been compiled.
"Mu Yuan, 7-star master teacher from the Qingyuan Conferred Empire Master Teacher Pavilion. Saint realm 3-dan cultivator. Flaws: …"
"7-star master teacher? Saint realm 3-dan cultivator?" Zhang Xuan"s lips twitched as he nearly fell from the sky.
What was with the backing of the Spirit Emporium?!
How could they possibly be able to mobilize a 7-star master teacher as well?
Why would someone of the other party"s standing travel all the way from the Qingyuan Conferred Empire Master Teacher Pavilion just to grab his possessions? Was this for real?
"It"s fortunate that I didn"t bring out the puppets, or else the one who would have been destroyed is me…" While Zhang Xuan felt frustrated inside, he also felt relieved as well.
He could easily deal with Saint 1-dan and 2-dan spirit beasts with his bunch of puppets, but it would be a little iffy when it came to 3-dan.
At Saint 1-dan Void Pursuit realm, Saints would open the Zhukong acupoint, thus gaining the ability of free flight.
At Saint 2-dan Spiritual Perception realm, Saints would open their Incipient Eye, allowing them to extend their psyche over a distance, perceiving everything within their range spiritually.
Saint 3-dan Embryonic Soul realm was, in some ways, similar to Chrysalis realm. In the latter, one would gather the zhenqi stored within the dantian to forge an Embryonic Core, otherwise termed as Golden Core. As for the former, an Embryonic Soul reminiscent of an infant would break out of the Embryonic Core. As a result, this realm was also termed as Origin Soul realm.
Once one"s soul had been tempered into an Origin Soul, it would be able to tap into the power of the world. At this realm, one could be considered to have taken one"s first step into Sainthood, gaining the ability to overturn oceans and move mountains at a thought.
Furthermore, this would be done not through brute force but via zhenqi itself.
Against a Saint 2-dan, Zhang Xuan"s twenty Otherworldly Demon puppets could still overwhelm them with numbers. However, if the enemy was an Embryonic Soul realm expert, such a strategy wouldn"t work.
Even if he were to call upon Vicious" prowess as well, it was impossible to tell if that fellow had any other trump cards up his sleeves.
If he wanted to call upon the Otherworldly Demon puppets and Vicious, he would have to be completely certain that he would be able to kill the other party. Otherwise, it would bring endless trouble upon him.
"Forget it, I should see what kind of flaws he has and use it against him!"
Since neither fight nor flight was an option, he could only rely on his glib tongue to hoodwink the other party into obeying his commands. Success, he would be spared from danger, but failure… he would be squashed on the spot.
Swiftly browsing through the other party"s flaws, Zhang Xuan suddenly saw something that left his mouth widened and eyes bulging.
"This…"