Chapter 144: Shadows of the Enemy

"Dexun, a world-renowned top sorcerer of Thailand, managed to slip into Huaxia without a sound and precisely pinpoint the Madam's location. If there isn't a traitor helping him from inside Lincheng or the country, I'll be damned," Fan Jun, acting as the strategist, said while rubbing his chin and shaking his head.

"I've thought of that too," Dao Mo nodded. "Which faction do you think it could be? The Qi family? Or the Li family? In any case, it couldn't be any of the Yu Sect factions."

"Those who joined the Yu Sect have long since merged with us; the probability of betrayal is near zero. Even the Qi family or the Li family is quite unlikely. After the battle at Great Solitary Reef, the major factions in Lincheng have been as docile as grandchildren. They know that provoking us spells absolute annihilation. Therefore, I boldly speculate that it shouldn't be the work of local Lincheng factions. Of course, we must still investigate them thoroughly," Fan Jun said slowly.

"That's all we can do for now. Send Cheng Yang back first, tighten our manpower in the coming days, concentrate our forces, and contact the National Guardian Pavilion to prevent the enemy from harboring lingering obsessions and launching another sneak attack."

"Understood."

...

In a small cave thirty miles away from the Gu family villa, Dexun walked in expressionlessly.

The cave received very little light; it was dim and damp, with only a vague figure dimly visible at the back, standing with its back to the entrance. Upon hearing footsteps, the figure spoke in a voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation:

"What is it, Master Dexun? Did you fail?"

"Hmph, the opponent has superior numbers; this old man merely withdrew temporarily. That's still much better than you sneaking around and not daring to show your face," Dexun replied with an unhappy expression.

"Ha-ha-ha," the figure emitted a stiff laugh. "I don't mean to look down on the Master, I merely feel a bit regretful. After all, such a good opportunity is hard to come by."

"Hard to come by my ass!" Dexun spat, putting up a bold front. "You dare not face that kid Jiang face to face, but this old man is not afraid. Hmph, as long as this old man exerts eighty percent of my true capability, I can take him down. Unlike now, where we just startled the snake in the grass and achieved fuck all!"

"So the Master possesses such great ability! Then why hasn't your son's finger force been neutralized for so long? According to the intelligence we gathered, the young master of the Shen family also suffered that bizarre finger force from Jiang An, and he is still doing fine, except that his cultivation has been completely廢 (废) destroyed."

"I..." Dexun was instantly at a loss for words, but after a long while, he squeezed out: "My situation here is different. When my son was young, this old man soaked his physical body with an exclusive secret technique. Who would have known that it would trigger some reaction with that ghostly finger force, entangling together and assimilating his flesh? Otherwise, mere finger force is something this old man could resolve with a flip of the hand."

"Master, do not be angry. I naturally have absolute faith in Master's abilities. Let's talk about serious matters instead. What should we do now?"

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Originally, our plan was to abduct his wife and daughter, then lure him to Master's home turf. Now that we've failed, our cover is blown. The longer we delay, the harder it is to remain hidden. Therefore, our strategy remains unchanged, but we shall do the exact opposite! They expect us to go into hiding, so we will strike once more amidst the chaos!"

"Difficult, very difficult. This is not my home turf; many high-powered sorcery arts cannot be used, and when fighting them, I still have to hold back thirty percent of my strength to guard against unexpected events. Besides, they are already prepared and will definitely notify the National Guardian Pavilion. If we go now, aren't we just walking right into a trap?"

"Heh heh, Master misunderstood my meaning. We are going to strike again, but our target must change."

"Change the target? To be honest, if it's not Jiang's close kin, it will probably be very hard to lure him over, even if it's his subordinates," Dexun said skeptically.

"No, no, there is one person whose existence is very special. By the way, does the Master have any spell or curse that is extremely powerful, and one that absolutely no one else can undo?"

"Naturally I do, but why do you ask this?"

"Here is the plan: we find this special person—not to abduct them, but for the Master to cast a curse upon them, not the kind that kills instantly. Firstly, it will allow that Jiang An to taste the torment of watching his beloved suffer; secondly, it will let him know that the only way to undo the curse is to go to Thailand. Doesn't that achieve our goal? Of course, the crux of the matter is that this curse must not be easily undone by others."

"You really are sinister! But this method is good. It will also make that kid Jiang anxious and force him to jump right into this old man's trap. As for the curse, this old man indeed possesses a forbidden art—one that outsiders absolutely cannot unravel, several times more formidable than that kid Jiang's bizarre finger force! It's certainly not comparable to any bloody evil curses. That kid Jiang's finger force assimilates flesh, but my forbidden art pollutes the soul!"

"Then that's settled, let's set off immediately!"

"You finally deign to take action personally. Very well, let's go. I hope your plan is correct."

...

"Ancestor, what is going on? The celestial phenomenon from a few days ago was terrifying enough, and today colorful auspicious clouds have appeared again. The aura is growing stronger by the second, faintly showing the momentum of a volcanic eruption. What kind of cultivation technique and divine ability is Mr. Jiang practicing?"

On a certain peak of Divine Medicine Mountain, Zhuge Qian and an old man gazed far into the distance at the massive cluster of five-colored clouds above the treasure vault mountain, their expressions grave.

"I have consulted ancient texts, and this suffocating pressure is known as spiritual pressure. The phenomenon of the heaven and earth spiritual Qi reversing a few days ago made me think he had advanced to the Grandmaster realm, and I was planning to address him as a senior once he came out of seclusion. Now, judging by the fact that even from this distance the spiritual pressure can make this old man deeply uncomfortable, this title of senior is well-deserved. On the path of cultivation, those who achieve mastery first are the masters. However, absolutely no one can achieve consecutive breakthroughs in such a short span of time, so by my estimation, he must be practicing some high-powered divine ability," the old man said with a bitter smile.

"Then once he comes out of seclusion, wouldn't he be invincible under heaven?" Zhuge Qian was left speechless as well.

"Invincible under heaven is out of the question. Don't you know there are mountains beyond mountains and heavens beyond heavens? At the very least, he cannot defeat Venerable Xiang of the National Guardian Pavilion. That being said, though, crushing the Zhuge family to death wouldn't take much effort for him," the old man shook his head and sighed, then abruptly changed the subject: "By the way, the closer it gets to the critical moment, the more careful we must be. Starting tomorrow, double the number of patrol guards. Let's not capsize in a drainage ditch. As the saying goes, 'send the Buddha all the way to the western paradise'; once he emerges, he will naturally see our sincerity in protecting him. Understood?"

"Your grandson naturally understands and shares the same thought. Ancestor, please rest assured. Besides, the mountain-protecting grand array of Divine Medicine Mountain is extremely formidable; ordinary people can never step a foot inside. It's just that the daily consumption of spirit stones is simply too massive; our family's stock is basically exhausted, and we must find another way to acquire spirit stones."

Zhuge Qian was in a difficult spot, truly having a love-hate relationship with the Cold Ridge Flaming Dragon Grand Array.

"Spirit stones are hard to find in the mortal world, and our demand is still relatively high. It seems we can only exchange for them at a heavy cost with other prominent clans or aristocratic families. But that is only a temporary measure. Alas, with the Divine Dao Assembly at the end of the year, does it mean this old man will have to take the risk and make a trip to the Primordial Energy Space?"

The old man sighed deeply.

Zhuge Qian was speechless. He could only cup his fists, bow his head, and say: "We, your descendants, are ashamed. In all these years, not a single genius capable of ranking on the Heavenly Billboard has emerged, leaving you, Ancestor, at nearly a hundred years of age to worry so much. Please punish us, Ancestor!"

"How else can this old man punish you? The formula Mr. Jiang gave you is indeed quite good. I only hope the Zhuge family fares better and better. Very well, you may withdraw first. This old man wishes to cultivate a bit by borrowing this wave of spiritual pressure."

"Then your grandson takes his leave!"

Soon, Zhuge Qian departed, leaving the old man alone. Suddenly, he rubbed his temples and muttered to himself: "Strange, my mind has been unsettled these past few days, harboring a vague sense of impending doom. Is something wrong with my cultivation, or is my time truly running out?"

(To be continued)