Chapter 330: Chapter 330: Black Stone City
After a moment, a deacon in charge of searching the sect for the aura of the Nether Heart Seed hurried in.
"Well?"
In the conference hall, all eyes fell on him.
"Reporting to the Sect Master and the Supreme Elder." The deacon knelt on one knee and said respectfully, "Based on our search, the last known location of Elder Gale’s Nether Heart Seed aura was Wukong Ridge."
"What? Wukong Ridge?"
"Wasn’t it the Thirteen Nations Alliance?"
"What in the world is going on?"
A wave of discussion immediately erupted in the hall.
"Are you certain that the aura of Elder Gale’s Nether Heart Seed appeared in Wukong Ridge?" Sect Master Tang Zhao asked, his voice low.
"I am certain."
Tang Zhao’s brow furrowed slightly.
Below, the discussions among the various elders did not cease.
"Just as I said. With the Thirteen Nations Alliance’s strength, how could they possibly have killed Elder Gale? So he fell in Wukong Ridge."
"It’s only been a few hours since Elder Gale’s Soul Power Token shattered. It’s unlikely that someone from the Thirteen Nations Alliance could be responsible."
"Those factions in Wukong Ridge have some nerve, daring to lay a hand on an elder of our Profound Mystery Sect."
The elders all chattered amongst themselves, their voices filled with anger.
"Those bastards from Wukong Ridge... I’ll kill every last one of them!" Crazy Battle roared, his gaze icy.
"Something about this isn’t right," Tang Zhao murmured, frowning.
Wukong Ridge, while chaotic and overrun with bandits, is still part of the Dream Realm Plain. First, with Elder Gale’s strength, very few people there could have killed him.
Second, the people of Wukong Ridge are purely motivated by profit; they won’t act without a clear reward. To get them to attack an expert of Elder Gale’s caliber would require an incredible incentive.
Third, if Elder Gale was in danger, he would certainly have announced his identity. There are very few factions in the Dream Realm Plain who would dare to attack an elder of the Profound Mystery Sect.
As Tang Zhao laid out these three points, everyone nodded in agreement.
"Then there are only two possibilities."
"First, Elder Gale obtained some treasure from the Thirteen Nations Alliance and accidentally revealed it in Wukong Ridge, drawing the attention of its various factions who then ambushed him."
"Second, one of our Profound Mystery Sect’s rivals in the Dream Realm Plain discovered Elder Gale’s whereabouts in Wukong Ridge and ambushed him."
Regardless of which possibility it was, a trip to Wukong Ridge should make the investigation simple enough.
"Right, has the portrait of Elder Gale’s murderer been produced?" Tang Zhao asked.
The Nether Heart Seed can not only track a killer’s aura but also generate a portrait of the Martial Artist involved.
The deacon immediately replied respectfully, "Sect Master, it’s ready."
He then produced a canvas half the height of a man. On it was a faint silhouette. It was clearly a man, but his features were indistinct and blurry.
The portraits transmitted back by the Nether Heart Seed were often not very clear.
"He looks like a young man."
"Yes, his features aren’t clear, but based on his build, he looks like he’s only in his twenties, right?"
"He seems even younger than his twenties."
"How is that possible? Elder Gale was a Tier Six Martial Venerable. How could a young man kill him? Even those heaven-defying disciples from Gale Light Academy couldn’t do that, could they?"
"Could it be that the young man isn’t the killer, but the mastermind, and that’s why Elder Gale released the Nether Heart Seed on him?"
The large group of elders broke into another round of discussion. Judging by his appearance, the person on the canvas was in his twenties at most, not yet thirty.
"The portraits transmitted back by the Nether Heart Seed’s aura often have discrepancies. Send the image to Wukong Ridge and see if we get any news. The most important thing is still the location from the Nether-Seeking Stone."
"Sect Master, leave this matter to me. I will find out exactly who murdered my son."
Crazy Battle now wished he could fly to Wukong Ridge and tear his son’s killer limb from limb.
"I’ll send men with the Nether-Seeking Stone to accompany you. As long as the target is within the stone’s range, it will sound an alarm."
Tang Zhao gave a wry smile. He understood Crazy Battle’s feelings and couldn’t very well refuse.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!
A short time later, a powerful team departed from the Profound Mystery Sect, heading toward the distant Wukong Ridge.
「In a cave outside Black Stone City in Wukong Ridge.」
Ye Xuan was carefully examining the Restrictions on Jin Lin’s body.
If he hadn’t previously broken the Restrictions on the Endless Molten Flame and the teleportation platform in the Forbidden Land, Ye Xuan’s head would have spun the first time he saw the Restrictions on Jin Lin.
Even so, after seeing the Restrictions on Jin Lin, Ye Xuan was still amazed by their structure and felt he had no idea where to begin.
There were simply too many Restrictions on Jin Lin’s body, densely packed and sealing every part of him, from his bloodline to his Divine Abilities, and from his Divine Abilities to his Soul Thought. Compared to the simple Restrictions sealing the Endless Molten Flame, the ones on Jin Lin were at least a hundred times more complex.
But despite the difficulty, with his previous life’s expertise and his understanding of these specific Restrictions, Ye Xuan quickly found a few leads.
An hour later, Ye Xuan finally undid two of the many Restrictions on Jin Lin.
"Alright, these two Restrictions should have been limiting the circulation of your Demonic Essence. That’s all for now. With these two gone, the Demonic Essence in your body should be flowing much more smoothly, right?"
Ye Xuan said, feigning nonchalance.
In truth, just those two Restrictions had consumed a great deal of his energy.
Of course, this didn’t mean he couldn’t continue. He had deliberately offered to remove the Restrictions this time to give Jin Lin some hope, to show him that he possessed the ability to do so. That was enough.
Jin Lin had been following him for the sole purpose of having his Restrictions removed. By revealing a bit of his strength, Ye Xuan could ensure his loyalty.
The intelligence of any Demon King was extraordinary.
Moreover, Jin Lin was no ordinary Demon King, and Ye Xuan couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t see through him someday.
With the temptation of having his Restrictions removed, Ye Xuan thought, ’Even if Jin Lin figures something out in the future, he’ll still follow me obediently.’
He could imagine what it felt like for a powerful member of the Demon Race to be completely sealed from head to toe. He might look majestic, but in reality, it was a fate worse than death.
"That’s it?"
Sure enough, upon hearing Ye Xuan’s words, Jin Lin was stunned.
He had no fewer than several hundred Restrictions on his body. Ye Xuan had only removed two. How long would he have to wait for the rest?
"What, are you not satisfied?"
"No, no, how could I be dissatisfied with Your Highness?"
Seeing Ye Xuan’s displeased expression, Jin Lin looked sheepish and fell silent.
The skill Ye Xuan had just displayed had already shown him that His Highness truly had the ability to undo his Restrictions. For now, that was enough.
"From now on, follow me in your human form."
The Nether Heart Seed was rooted inside his body. Every time Ye Xuan circulated his Profound Power, he risked exposing it further.
Therefore, if he could avoid fighting, he would.
SWISH!
Jin Lin transformed into a golden-haired youth and stood proudly beside Ye Xuan. His ostentatious appearance gave Ye Xuan a headache.
With a rapid series of movements, Ye Xuan formed several Hand Skills, placing a shallow Restriction on Jin Lin.
"This Restriction will help you better conceal the aura of your Demonic Essence and Soul Thought. When it’s active, even a human Tier Seven Martial King might not be able to tell that you’re a transformed Profound Beast."
Jin Lin was initially startled by Ye Xuan’s actions, but a quick inspection revealed that the Profound Beast aura he was emitting had indeed weakened significantly.
’What a brilliant technique.’
What shocked Jin Lin even more was that the technique Ye Xuan used to place the Restriction was remarkably similar to the ones already on his body.
Once again, he was stunned by Ye Xuan’s methods.
In Jin Lin’s mind, Ye Xuan was like a bottomless abyss. Just when you thought you were about to touch the bottom, you would realize that what you saw was merely an illusion.
"Let’s go. We’re heading to Black Stone City."
SWISH! SWISH!
Two figures shot out from the cave, streaking toward Black Stone City in the distance.
Black Stone City was magnificent. From a distance, it resembled a black hill, nothing special. But up close, one could see the entire city was immense, and the mottled marks on its black walls spoke of a long and storied history.
At the gates of Black Stone City, several guards were collecting an entrance fee.
In Wukong Ridge, nowhere was safe except for the nine major cities.
The wilderness, in particular, was not only overrun with Demon Beasts but also rife with bandits. Therefore, every city charged an entrance fee of fifty Profound Coins per person.
After paying one hundred Profound Coins, Ye Xuan and Jin Lin walked into the city.
The world inside the city was completely different from the one outside. The moment they stepped through the gates, a cacophony of voices washed over them. The streets were bustling with countless Martial Artists, creating a lively scene.
"Sweet and fragrant roasted sweet potatoes! One Profound Coin each!"
"Big, sweet candied hawthorns! Your money back if they’re not sweet!"
"Freshly steamed buns! Hot and fresh! Two for one Profound Coin!"
All sorts of vendor cries filled the streets.
Jin Lin looked left and right, his eyes shining. As the fragrant aromas wafted over, he couldn’t help but drool.
His feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, especially when he caught the scent of meat buns.
"Sir, care for a couple of buns? Just one Profound Coin. I guarantee the skin is thin, the filling is plentiful, and they’ll melt in your mouth!"
The bun seller was an old man with a hunched back. Seeing a potential customer stop, he put all his energy into his sales pitch.
"Your Highness..." Jin Lin looked at Ye Xuan with innocent, pleading eyes.
"We’ll take all the buns you have," Ye Xuan said, stepping forward.
"Right away!"
The old man quickly packed up all the buns. "That’ll be twenty-one Profound Coins in total. Just call it twenty."
Ye Xuan directly pulled out a hundred-denomination Profound Ticket and handed it to him.
The Profound Tickets Ye Xuan carried were issued by the four major Profound Banks under the authority of the Profound Domain and were accepted throughout the entire continent.
Black Stone City was, of course, no exception.
