Chapter 508 - Spirits of the Deceased
Mo Wu felt rather anxious. According to the plan, the Xiahou brothers should have returned that day, but there was still no trace of them so far.
Mo Wu was in charge of receiving the brothers. He was An Chouchou’s trusted aide. Boss had given him such an important mission, displaying that he was highly regarded. He was also trying hard to maximize his contribution and merit. Among Boss’s subordinates, there were quite a few rivals, so Mo Wu needed to be dauntless and active at all times.
Success or failure?
Regardless, he wanted to at least see them.
Not seeing them was Mo Wu’s biggest fear.
Could it be that the brothers became greedy after obtaining the Snow Lava? Or were they spies? Or were they thinking about starting a bidding war?
Or perhaps they came into conflict with others and got injured?
Mo Wu thought it possible that the brothers were injured, but highly unlikely that they were both killed. Their individual abilities were considered decent among Masters, but when they fought together, their telepathic connection increased their power significantly. At least three or four Masters had to join hands in order to take the two of them down.
Mo Wu was of the opinion that no competitor would send three or four Masters out at this time.
Even Skyheart City was unable to do so since it was preparing for the appearance of Dai Gang.
After some thought, Mo Wu decided that betrayal was the most probable result, which made him fidgety.
He waited yet another day, but the brothers did not show up. Unable to wait any longer, Mo Wu decided to go investigate for himself.
He bumped into a few passersby who looked to be in a hurry. They sized one another up before lowering their heads and continuing on their journeys. Mo Wu remained expressionless, but was inwardly shocked. He was very familiar with the aura of these people. They were all in the same line of work.
Could it be that these people were like him…
This conjecture made him shiver. He dared not overthink. Instead, he hastened on with his journey with his head lowered.
After two consecutive days of traveling, he finally arrived at Lemon Camping Ground. He’d been here before disguised as a merchant, so he was very familiar with this place.
Lemon Camping Ground was empty. The houses were in ruins and there were no survivors.
Mo Wu kept a straight face. People in this trade were all trained to have a heart of stone. When he was discussing strategy with the Xiahou brothers, he’d suggested not sparing any lives. This matter was simply too sensitive and a storm would be generated if outsiders found out. Silencing everyone would reduce the risk of information being leaked.
He walked inside and a shadow suddenly dashed in front of him. It was a passerby from before.
His face was full of fear and panic as he practically staggered his way into the camping ground.
Mo Wu crinkled his brows. Did the Xiahou brothers turn this place into a bloody mess? They were hot-tempered and murderous, unable to stop once initiated.
He walked to the center of the camping ground, wondering if he should bury the corpses.
Reaching the center, he was stunned.
It was completely empty, save for a tall wooden board about the height of a man that was stuck into the ground. On it was a row of words written in blood.
"Masters and elementalists, 20 dead. Here, in Lemon Camping Ground, lie the spirits of the deceased gentlemen!
The big bloody words were written recklessly and brashly. It was a sight that shocked the eyes and pierced the heart.
Before the board was a pile of offerings, which included some remnant clothing, melted chunks of weapons, broken limbs, and so on.
A chill ran down his spine, and his limbs were ice-cold, as if he’d entered an icehouse.
He suppressed his fear, bent down, and started rummaging through the offerings. He caught sight of a broken cloth that was of a unique quality. On it was an embroidered wolf and the words "Black Fog Wolf, Cheng Ningfeng."
There was also a broken section of a blade with a transparent crystal hilt that had a fine ribbing pattern.
Mo Wu was astonished. He recognized this blade.
It was… [Thousand Shadow Blade], Yue Chongyang’s shadow blade!
Mo Wu was more than familiar about all news regarding reputable Masters, so he was certain he had not misidentified this object.
Yue Chongyang was a real Master.
Mo Wu, who continued sifting through the items, was dumbfounded. He saw two halves of a command token, which were the Xiahou brothers’ keepsakes.
Mo Wu kept them, his face pale as sheet as he turned around and staggered away.
Exactly how many Masters died here?
Who did it?
The storm that blew over Lemon Camping Ground quickly swept across the whole of Beyond Avalon.
Initially, Mo Wu verified three Masters, but after some inquiries from all parties, the count went up to five. The other seven were reputable experts like the Black Fog Wolf Cheng Ningfeng, who was a pseudo Master.
One could well imagine the intense aftermath this triggered.
Everyone felt it most likely that Le Buleng had decided to wipe them out with a sudden attack. They believed that no one else could possibly take down five Masters and seven pseudo Masters with no survivors.
Indeed, none were spared.
It had to be said that if a Master wanted to escape, he wouldn’t be easily killed unless his abilities were far inferior to his enemy. This was especially the case for a Master like the Thousand Shadow Blade Yue Chongyang, whose split body technique was his life saving skill.
But he, too, had perished.
The Central Pine Valley had become unfathomable overnight.
Everyone sent out huge groups of investigators in hopes of getting to the bottom of things, but gained little.
An Chouchou asked with a grave face, "Any results?"
Mo Wu brought the two pieces of the command token. Their melted surface served as a decent clue.
Mo Wu reported respectfully, "The preliminary report is out. It was some kind of high temperature swordsmanship. We found a concentrated sword aura on the tokens. This swordsmanship is shockingly powerful and the Xiahou brothers might have already been reduced to dust. The tokens were preserved only because of their unique quality."
An Chouchou was rather surprised. "Swordsmanship?"
While swordsmanship had been flourishing over the past few years and there had been rising master swordsmen like Karakorum Polaris, such a powerful sword technique had been unheard of.
Perhaps a new master swordsman had emerged?
He sighed. "Isn’t Ai Hui a powerful swordsman too? I heard he was injured?"
Mo Wu hurriedly replied, "Do you remember the battle between Ai Hui and the Grass Bandits? They poisoned Ai Hui with Night Moth Fruit for revenge."
An Chouchou became excited. "Night Moth Fruit?"
"An accurate piece of news I bought from the guards of the Lu Residence’s caravan." Mo Wu added, "In order to withstand the toxin, Ai Hui flew into the cloud layer and borrowed the force of lightning. Although he managed to suppress the toxicity of the fruit, he sustained severe injuries and almost became a cripple. The sword aura left on the tokens contained no aura of lightning, so it can be concluded that Ai Hui wasn’t involved."
An Chouchou nodded in approval. "So it was someone else."
Mo Wu continued, "Boss is wise. Ai Hui is an expert in the sword, he invented Sword of Lightning, and his swordsmanship isn’t completely without his teacher’s art. We suspect that this mysterious powerful expert might be Ai Hui’s teacher."
An Chouchou nodded. "There has been a lot of news focused on the Central Pine Valley. Do not act blindly."
"Yes!"
Mo Wu departed, and An Chouchou’s expression turned ugly.
He felt the ache of losing the Xiahou brothers. Losing two Masters was a disastrous injury to suffer.
He couldn’t help but sigh.
From the bottom of his heart, he had never wanted to touch the Central Pine Valley. Insead, he was impressed by Ai Hui and his gang. Now that he had power over Newlight City, he faced unimaginably extreme pressure. Newlight City had weak foundations and declining financial resources, leaving him with no choice but to seek other ways of making money.
If not for this desperation, he wouldn’t have wanted to seize the snow lava since it was a heinous crime.
Not only was Newlight City facing fiscal problems, it was also very vulnerable in other aspects. Skyheart City had the three central divisions, Master’s Glory, the Sky Edge and Infantry Divisions, and God-subduing Peaks.
Thus, Newlight City was much weaker in terms of prestige and power. This was an all around weakness. In time, the disparity between the two parties would only increase.
An Chouchou was worried sick.
Madam Ye was an extremely ambitious senior and was still cleaning out the central divisions. The situation would change after she was done. If she was able to obstruct Dai Gang this time, her influence would inevitably and sharply increase.
When that happened, the whole New Citizen Faction might collapse the moment she offered the new citizens slight benefits.
The situation right now seemed calm, but in actual fact, the water was starting to heat up and bubble.
An Chouchou couldn’t contain his anxiety as he sighed once again. He walked into the sunlight and gazed at the faraway Windy Resonant Pagoda, praying inwardly.
Things would only change if Great Elder Yuchi became a Grandmaster.
Skyheart City, the Dread Division’s camp.
Madam Ye looked at Le Buleng and Wan Shenwei from afar. Their friendly match had attracted the attention of the whole camp.
Skyheart City had prepared a luxurious resting place for Le Buleng, but he never stayed over. Instead, he was always hanging out in the Dread Division’s camp, looking for people to swap pointers with.
The three central divisions were very mysterious to him. As someone who was obsessed with training, Le Buleng wasn’t willing to waste any time at all.
All distinguished experts in the division had been challenged by him. He was stronger than them, but it didn’t matter. He would restrict his abilities when fighting.
To him, this kind of challenge was fun and interesting.
Not wanting to destroy Skyheart City, both contenders dared not engage with too much elemental energy. Even so, their unimaginable utilization of elemental energy was still an eye-opener.
The whole clash went on for two hours before Le Buleng felt contented and ended it.
Madam Ye went forward and greeted warmly, "Uncle Le."
Seeing Madam Ye, a complicated look flashed across Le Buleng’s eyes. In regard to Madam Ye’s ways, he felt extremely conflicted. He admired the way she handled certain things, but was also disgusted by some of her actions.
His mixed emotions were made apparent as he spoke somewhat impatiently, "Get straight to the point."
Madam Ye smiled lightly without getting angry. "Does Uncle Le know what just happened in the Central Pine Valley?"
Le Buleng stopped what he was doing and turned around. "Central Pine Valley?"
Madam Ye continued solemnly, "Five Masters and seven powerful experts headed over to the Central Pine Valley a few days back, but none came out alive."
Le Buleng was stunned.
She added, "It’s very shocking that the Central Pine Valley has such a powerful expert. In this matter of life and death, it would be good for Beyond Avalon to have extra force and vitality. I wonder if you’re able to invite this senior over to join in on the plan to resist Dai Gang?"
As if he’d thought of something, Le Buleng’s expression became strange.
Madam Ye was unable to read him, but she continued sincerely, "If this senior has any conditions, please do let me know and I’ll do what I can, even if it means giving up my seat."
Le Buleng could no longer contain himself. Raising his head, he broke into hearty laughter.