Chapter 157: Chapter 157: Paying a Visit
"So this is the Divine Mansion Sect?"
Ma Dingjun marveled at the magnificent, imposing mountain gate.
Bai Yuan had brought four people with him from the Huwei Arts Hall.
Xiao Qiaoniang was, of course, one of them. Besides Sister Qiao, there were also Ma Dingjun, Cheng Li, and Li Ting.
These were the people from the Huwei Arts Hall with the most potential to break through to the Strong Organ Pass.
The resources of the Divine Mansion Sect were far beyond what the Huwei Arts Hall could compare to. After coming to the Divine Mansion Sect, their chances of breaking through to the Strong Organ Pass would increase dramatically.
In truth, Chu Yuan was the most talented among them, but he had ultimately given up the opportunity to come to the Divine Mansion Sect.
After all, Old Xue was getting on in years and needed him to hold down the fort at the Martial Arts Hall.
As for Zhang Yang, he felt his natural aptitude and comprehension were average, so going to the Divine Mansion Sect would be of little use. He simply stayed behind at the Martial Arts Hall.
Bai Yuan led Sister Qiao and the others to his small courtyard on Wan Jun Peak.
When Liu Qing and Jiang Fei saw their young master return with several other people in tow, they were stunned for a moment.
"My lady."
Liu Qing was very perceptive and curtsied to Sister Qiao.
However, in addition to Xiao Qiaoniang, she also addressed Cheng Li and Li Ting as "my lady."
This caused the two young women’s faces to flush red with embarrassment.
Bai Yuan couldn’t be bothered to explain.
"Prepare three side rooms."
Sister Qiao would be staying in the same room as him, so he asked for three rooms, not four.
When Cheng Li and the others saw that Liu Qing and Jiang Fei had an extraordinary air about them, clearly not women from ordinary families, they didn’t dare act presumptuously and followed them to the back courtyard.
Back in Qinghe County, women with such looks and bearing were invariably from prominent families.
Bai Yuan’s courtyard was huge. It could easily accommodate a hundred people, let alone ten.
Such were the many benefits of being a True Disciple.
It was rumored that a former True Disciple had once hidden over a hundred beautiful maids in his courtyard, much to the envy of the disciples who came after him.
After giving a few more instructions, Bai Yuan eagerly made his way to Wan Jun Hall.
Old Dong’s Cultivation Techniques were at least on the level of those from the Merak Pavilion. He had been coveting them for a long time.
Wan Jun Hall was massive, spanning over an acre and a half.
Its interior was the height of luxury, comparable to the Imperial Palace.
However, Old Dong was away year-round and didn’t allow the servant disciples to clean, so its splendors were covered in dust.
Bai Yuan walked alone through the vast, empty hall.
He knew exactly where Old Dong kept his collection of Cultivation Techniques.
But without Old Dong’s permission, he wouldn’t dare secretly steal the books, not even if it cost him his life.
Old Dong was also a master of Mechanical Technique; Bai Yuan’s every move was well within his master’s grasp.
Before long, he arrived at a hidden chamber.
This was where Old Dong stored his Cultivation Techniques.
The hidden chamber wasn’t large, only about ten feet across, with scrolls scattered haphazardly on wooden shelves.
Any Cultivation Technique collected by Old Dong was no ordinary item, so naturally, there weren’t many. Besides, Old Dong had learned many of his techniques through oral transmission from others, so there were no written manuals to speak of.
This was also why Old Dong didn’t mind Bai Yuan taking Zhou Siming as a master.
Otherwise, if one were to be strict about it, Old Dong would have been guilty of betraying his masters and ancestors over a hundred times.
Shrinking Yang Divine Technique
Thousand Faces Technique
A Compendium of Witchcraft Curses
...
Not all of these Cultivation Techniques were from Huanglong Prefecture; some were even from outside Ling Province.
Take A Compendium of Witchcraft Curses, for example.
It was clearly the Witchcraft and Gu Technique practiced by the Miao People of the Profound Sun Southern Border. It was just unknown whether Old Dong had ever been to the Southern Border.
Old Dong’s private collection of techniques was eclectic, mostly consisting of clever and unorthodox tricks. Orthodox Martial Arts Techniques were in the minority; for instance, there wasn’t a single common sword or saber manual.
Dong Wanjun truly did cultivate all kinds of methods, fearing none that came his way.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t picky. On the contrary, Old Dong’s standards for Cultivation Techniques were extremely strict. Ordinary techniques couldn’t even catch his eye.
Furthermore, he would almost never cultivate a second technique of the same type.
That’s why his private collection didn’t contain any of the common fare one could find in the Instructor Hall.
However, Bai Yuan, who had unlocked the Sword Ghost class, loved it.
’More skills mean more options; learning more could never be a bad thing.’
Old Dong had told him in a secret letter that he could study these techniques in the hidden chamber but could not take them out. So, Bai Yuan decided to go into seclusion right there in the chamber.
...
"Brother Yuan, heading out again?"
Xiao Qiaoniang asked with concern, watching Bai Yuan who left early and returned late every day.
Bai Yuan nodded.
Even though he had a cheat system, he still had to at least flip through the books once.
Each of Old Dong’s technique manuals had over a thousand pages, which was enough to keep him occupied for a long time.
Bai Yuan even felt like he was back in school writing his graduation thesis, though reading cultivation manuals was far more enjoyable than reading academic papers.
He glanced at his status panel.
[Name: Bai Yuan]
[Class: Demon Hunter, Sword Ghost, Boxer, Spirit Cooker]
[Skills: Thousand Faces Technique (Uninitiated), Sunflower Acupoint-Striking (Uninitiated), Zhang’s Tuina (Uninitiated)...]
[Enhancement Points: 0]
The panel was crowded with all sorts of bizarre-sounding entries.
’The strange knowledge is really piling up.’
...
「In the deepest part of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.」
An old man in gray robes was strolling leisurely through the mountain forest, holding an unidentifiable mushroom in his hand.
Any mountaineer would know that you shouldn’t eat unfamiliar mushrooms, even if you’re starving to death.
But the gray-robed elder didn’t seem to care at all. He tore off a piece of the mushroom, popped it into his mouth, and ate it happily.
Just then, a figure appeared before him.
"Old Dong, aren’t you afraid of being poisoned to death?"
It was Zhou Siming, who was supposed to have left Ling Province long ago. He appeared in the jungle, staring at Dong Wanjun with his deathly white eyes.
But then he chuckled.
"I’m overthinking it. There really aren’t many things in this world that could poison you."
Dong Wanjun had many methods, which of course included the use of poison. His skill was virtually unrivaled in Ling Province. A small mushroom couldn’t possibly kill an old poison master like him.
"The Demon Hunters’ ancestral shrine wouldn’t take you back?"
A playful smirk touched the corners of Dong Wanjun’s mouth.
He had been the one to take Zhou Siming’s Demon Hunter status, and in a way, he had also been the one to return it, albeit through Bai Yuan’s hands. Thus, he knew everything about Zhou Siming’s situation.
"Bullshit! I was the one who found that place too boring."
Zhou Siming cursed, but he looked a little guilty no matter how you looked at it.
It was true. He had indeed returned to the Demon Hunters’ ancestral shrine, but things were no longer the same.
He didn’t get along with the Demon Hunter currently in charge of the shrine, so he gave up the idea of going back and secretly returned to Huanglong Prefecture.
But just as he stepped into the territory of Huanglong Prefecture, he received a secret message from Dong Wanjun.
Zhou Siming suspected that Dong Wanjun’s spies had probably been watching him even before he set foot in Huanglong Prefecture.
"Do you really have the flesh of a Tier Seven Monster?"
Zhou Siming asked. The reason he was here was, of course, that Dong Wanjun had made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
A Tier Seven Demon was a great demon comparable to a Knowledge and Sensation Martial Master. Even Murong Tian wouldn’t dare claim a certain victory against one. A Demon Hunter who could kill a Tier Seven Demon could be called a Grandmaster.
In any case, Zhou Siming knew that if he faced a Tier Seven Demon, his only option would be to flee, which was why he was so interested in the Tier Seven Monster Flesh.
Dong Wanjun didn’t waste words. He pulled a bundle from his robes and tossed it to Zhou Siming.
With a flick of his arm, Zhou Siming made the bundle open on its own.
The paw of some unknown beast appeared within the bundle.
Zhou Siming’s eyes narrowed. "A Unicorn?!" he said in disbelief.
This Unicorn wasn’t the same as the unicorn from Bai Yuan’s past life, but a rare, otherworldly beast that resembled both a horse and a deer, yet was neither.
He never expected Dong Wanjun to actually have Tier Seven Monster Flesh, and from an otherworldly beast at that!
Zhou Siming chuckled, stuffing the bundle into his robes, nearly drooling.
Demon Hunters had practically no resistance to high-tier monster flesh.
He didn’t press Dong Wanjun about how he had obtained this piece of Tier Seven Monster Flesh, because even if he asked, Dong Wanjun would never tell him.
Dong Wanjun spoke slowly, "Don’t disappoint me."
He wasn’t the least bit worried that Zhou Siming would take the item and not do the job. If Zhou Siming dared to cross him, he had a thousand ways to make this old Demon Hunter wish he were dead.
Of course, Zhou Siming knew that taking something from Dong Wanjun was never a simple matter.
But since he was here, he was naturally confident.
He closed his eyes and began to sense his surroundings carefully.
Dong Wanjun had used a treasure like Tier Seven Monster Flesh to hire him, obviously for the matter concerning the Soul-Chasing Tower.
Zhou Siming had come to the Hundred Thousand Mountains to help Dong Wanjun find the Soul-Chasing Tower Lord’s hiding place.
Old Dong had many skills, but he lacked talent in the art of Demon Hunting and had always remained on the periphery.
Although he had some tracking methods, they were still far inferior to those of a Demon Hunter.
A Demon Hunter’s Demon-Seeking Secret Technique wasn’t just effective for finding demons; it was also superb at tracking people.
The Hundred Thousand Mountains were too vast. Trying to find someone from the Soul-Chasing Tower was like finding a needle in a haystack, a task even Old Dong couldn’t accomplish.
Left with no other choice, he had asked Zhou Siming to take action.
Zhou Siming’s eyes were shut tight, his ten fingers moving rapidly in a series of gestures. Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought he was a fortune-telling Demi-Immortal.
A full incense stick’s worth of time passed.
Only then did Zhou Siming open his eyes again, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight smile.
’The Tier Seven Monster Flesh is as good as mine.’
...
「Hundred Thousand Mountains, Demon Sect Stronghold.」
The Soul-Chasing Tower Lord, Jia, was not in a good mood.
Xu Kang had been killed, and Hu Ben and Yu Hui had conspired to kill another one of the Soul-Chasing Tower’s Entry-level Powerhouses.
Compared to the northern front, which was held by the Tianxin Sect Leader, his situation here was looking rather pathetic.
"Tower Lord, I have an urgent report."
A Soul-Chasing Tower Assassin dressed in Night Clothes spoke anxiously from outside the door.
Jia spoke slowly in a hoarse, androgynous voice, "What is it?"
"Dong... Dong Wanjun has found this place."
"What?!"
Jia’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t expected Dong Wanjun to find them so quickly.
’In that case, I have no choice but to act ahead of schedule.’
"Do you really think I’m afraid of you, Dong Wanjun?"
Jia snorted coldly.
Dong Wanjun cultivated all kinds of methods, but he, as the Soul-Chasing Tower Lord, had also practiced every killing technique in the world.
He didn’t believe he was any weaker than Dong Wanjun.
Hm?
Jia suddenly sensed that something was wrong.
The Soul-Chasing Tower Assassin at the door who had come to report showed no intention of leaving.
He realized the person before him was an impostor.
SWOOSH!
With a wave of his sleeve, Jia sent hundreds of silver needles shooting from his cuff toward the Soul-Chasing Tower Assassin outside the door.
Every Soul-Chasing Tower Assassin here knew the rule: he didn’t like people lingering in his presence for too long.
The assassin at the door suddenly revealed a strange smile, and then his body abruptly exploded!
In his place stood an old man in gray robes.
It was Dong Wanjun.
Facing the storm of silver needles, Old Dong simply blew a breath of air, and a CLANGING sound of needles falling to the ground followed.
Jia’s killing move was thus easily neutralized.
"Dong Wanjun."
Seeing the gray-robed old man appear, Jia’s voice turned as icy as the Nine Netherworld Hell.
At that moment, another old man appeared outside the main hall.
"A Demon Hunter..."
When Jia saw the blind old man, he understood how Dong Wanjun had found this place.
The Soul-Chasing Tower’s intelligence network was second to none in the world.
He was naturally aware that Zhou Siming had been living in seclusion in a small wooden cabin outside Huanglong Prefecture City.
He just never expected Zhou Siming to team up with Dong Wanjun.
It was utterly silent outside the main hall, and Zhou Siming had arrived late. Clearly, everyone else here had already been killed.
However, Jia showed no sign of panic.
His composure stemmed from his confidence in his own strength.
The world thought he was hiding in these deep mountains out of fear of Dong Wanjun, but they didn’t know that this place was actually a tomb he had prepared for him.
He had transformed this palace into a mechanical cage.
A cage designed specifically for Dong Wanjun.
A series of skin-crawling clicks and whirs echoed from the beams of the main hall as mechanisms activated.
Countless sharp arrows, glinting coldly on powerful crossbows, were already locked onto Old Dong and Zhou Siming.
...
"Dong Wanjun, I trust you’ll enjoy the tomb I’ve prepared for you?"
