Chapter 86: Witness
Suddenly, seemingly also sensing the spiritual nature of the spring, Abbess Qinghe exclaimed, "This is a spiritual spring, my lord! Regularly drinking its water can bolster the bodies of ordinary people, and for cultivators, it could increase the speed of their cultivation!" Abbess Qinghe’s eyes were filled with astonishment; how strange that was! In such a place scarce with spiritual energy such as Grand Xia, where cultivators were as rare as hen’s teeth, not only had she found a cultivator—Fang Chen—but she had also stumbled upon a spiritual spring!
Spiritual springs, spiritual mountains, and spiritual trees; those were the foundations upon which sects were established. If a cultivator passed through this place and discovered this spiritual spring, they would either establish a sect here or at the very least build a cave dwelling for themselves.
"Qinghe, what is a spiritual spring? Can this spring water nourish and beautify the skin?" Fairy Yu inquired out of curiosity.
“It very well can help ordinary people maintain a more youthful appearance for longer. There are even some benefits for martial artists.” Abbess He nodded, but she decided to leave out an important detail: ordinary people and martial artists did not possess immortal veins, so they couldn’t benefit from the effects of the spring water to the fullest extent.
"Have you seen other spiritual springs before?" Fang Chen asked Abbess Qinghe.
Abbess Qinghe nodded faintly. "My master's cave dwelling is located near a small spiritual spring. However, that spring is tiny, just enough for my master. This spiritual spring, on the other hand, can support at least a hundred Qi Refining Realm cultivators..."
"This is indeed some good stuff," Fang Chen said as he gazed at the spring water with interest. Spirit stones were somewhat similar to spiritual springs, but ordinary people couldn't absorb the spiritual energy from spirit stones. However, the same wasn't true for spiritual springs; even ordinary people could drink from them and absorb a bit of spiritual energy.
"If we could move this spiritual spring to the Fang Manor..." Fang Chen muttered to himself.
"That's almost impossible, my lord. This is a natural creation. Even if you were a Foundation Building Realm cultivator, or even a legendary Golden Core expert, it's probably not something that can be achieved without damaging its foundation," Abbess Qinghe whispered to him.
Fairy Yu was immensely curious. She had already learned that Abbess Qing He and Fang Chen were walking down the same path.
Fang Chen smiled. "I guess this is fate."
"However, if we had storage rings, we could take away some of its water without depleting their spiritual energy. Unfortunately, such treasures are not common in the world," Abbess Qing He lamented.
Fang Chen was initially planning to leave, but when he heard that, he immediately crouched down beside the spring, reached into the water, and swirled his finger a few times in it. He then stood up and signaled for them that it was time to leave.
In that short moment, he had filled his storage ring with spring water. The water coexisted peacefully with the spirit stones, golden bowl, Dragon Truncheon, and Qingmu Puppet. They seemed to be separated by some special barrier.
A cubic meter of spring water should be sufficient, Fang Chen thought faintly with a smile. He silently allocated portions for his Father, Mother, second uncle, and Fang Zhixue. If they were sick, it would be used to treat their illness; if they were healthy, it would bolster their bodies.
When they finally returned and convened with their companions, Yuan Zhuang stepped forward immediately to report what had happened with Chen Da.
Fang Chen looked at Chen Da and said with a faint smile. "What do you have to report?"
Chen Da's eyes flashed with excitement as he knelt halfway again, "I pay my respects to you, esteemed Divine General Fang."
Seeing him all bound, Fang Chen gestured. "Untie him."
Yuan Zhuang untied Chen Da immediately. Despite being released, Chen Da remained half-kneeling on the ground as he spoke softly, "Divine General Fang, I witnessed something when passing by the Heavenly Sword Villa some time ago..."
The expressions of Huangfu Jie and the others changed slightly. Chen Da had claimed that he had something important to report, and now that he mentioned the Heavenly Sword Villa, could it be that what he had to report was related to the perpetrator responsible for the massacre at the Heavenly Sword Villa?
"Continue," Fang Chen instructed.
Chen Da clenched his teeth. "When I saw what I saw, I instantly knew that I had witnessed something I shouldn’t have. I had originally intended to flee and hide in the northern region. However, now that you’ve personally come down to investigate, I’m no longer as afraid.
“That day, when I passed by Heavenly Sword Villa, I personally witnessed someone killing their disciples. With just a single palm, that person drained their opponent’s essence, causing his opponent to turn into a shriveled, dried corpse.” It was then that Chen Da began trembling uncontrollably. He had clearly never witnessed such bizarre things before as a martial artist.
"Did you remember the appearance of the murderer clearly?" Fang Chen asked.
Everyone stared at Chen Da intently. Chen Da’s next words might very well uncover vital information that would aid in their investigation. It might even directly lead them to the perpetrator.
"I... I couldn't see his face clearly. I was too far away, hiding. I was only able to see that he was dressed in white, and he was seemingly quite young. If you were to see him, it would never cross your mind that that person could ever cause such a genocide,” Chen Da stammered.
"You couldn’t see him clearly..."
Everyone felt somewhat disappointed.
"How about this: You can follow us temporarily if you’re willing. You won’t have to be on the run when you’re with us, and you can even rest at ease when the culprit is apprehended,” Fang Chen suggested with a smile.
Chen Da hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I’m willing!"
"Let's go to the Heavenly Sword Villa first then and see if Commander Jue has any clues." Fang Chen smiled.
With that, the group then swiftly made their way toward the Heavenly Sword Villa. Fang Chen had originally planned to go to the Profound Blade Sect first, but now that he encountered Commander Jue, he decided to head to the scene of the incident first.
Since the Heavenly Sword Villa was the first to be annihilated, he would have the highest likelihood of finding any clues left by the perpetrator there.
Two hours later.
A mountain covered in greenery appeared not far away in their view. The Qian Family of the Heavenly Sword Villa were situated there, and they were the largest clan within a hundred miles. There were many small towns around which were closely related to the Qian Family. In fact, roughly eighty percent of the population here had the family name ‘Qian’.
As the group passed through a small town, the residents looked at them with guarded eyes. The recent annihilation of the Heavenly Sword Villa had greatly impacted them.
With the backbone of the family collapsing, troubles arose; enemies who had been waiting for an opportunity to strike finally came knocking. And because they couldn't find the Qian Family's main branch, they found trouble with the common populace.
Fortunately, the townspeople were not entirely helpless either. They managed to unite and forcefully drive away many opportunistic troublemakers.
"Eighth Brother Qian, back when the Heavenly Sword Villa was still around, you relied on their support and refused to pay back the three thousand taels of silver you owe me. Now that they’re gone, who are you going to rely on?”
"Pay up the three thousand tales of silver immediately, or I'll burn your house down today and leave your family homeless!"
A group of people stood menacingly in front of a large manor. The surroundings were filled with onlookers, and in front of the mansion, a group of people of all ages had gathered.
The leader looked to be in his forties. Hearing their aggressive threats, he angrily retorted, "Back then, I only borrowed three hundred taels of silver from you and repaid a full six hundred taels. When did I borrow three thousand taels of silver from you? Don't be too arrogant, Ghost Tiger Gang!"
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