Chapter 557: Treasure Hunt

The more powerful and influential a person, the easier it was for them to take wives and concubines, naturally leading to more descendants.

Their immense strength made it difficult for others to resist.

As time passed, great family clans were born.

These great families were like mountain strongholds, monopolizing various resources to solidify their positions.

Take Taiyuan Prefecture, for example.

The entire Prefecture City, along with its nearby counties and towns, had a combined population of over a million.

Yet, there were only two major families: the Zhou and the Nie.

Anyone who showed the potential to challenge them would be suppressed until they could never recover.

A million people supporting two families—that was the true foundation of their power.

Taiyuan Prefecture was not an isolated case, but the norm. Similar families existed everywhere.

Or,

powerful clans and gangs.

The Black Dragon Gang was entrenched on the southern shore of Ze Lake. It operated two fish markets and over ten docks, with tens of thousands of fishermen working for it.

Their influence might not have seemed as great as that of the Zhou and Nie families, but the reality was different.

Ze Lake was vast, home to Water Demons, Spirit Fish, and rare treasures. Even among the fishermen, there were many Grade-Entering Martial Artists.

Nourished by these abundant resources, the members of the Black Dragon Gang were far stronger than those of the Sanhe Gang in Taiyuan Prefecture.

Much stronger, in fact!

Their Gang Leader, Zhai Yetian, was a renowned Fifth-Grade Expert.

Fifth Grade!

Qi Blood Fusion Power, the ability to fly through the heavens and burrow into the earth, and a lifespan of one hundred and eighty years.

Ze Lake.

Yangliu Shore.

The ten-li long embankment.

The grass grew long as warblers took to the second-month sky; willows lining the embankment were lost in a drunken spring mist.

Below, countless bare-chested fishermen cast their nets and hunted in the lake in a flurry of activity.

Above.

A dozen or so young people strolled along the embankment, admiring the scenery.

Over a hundred attendants followed behind, having prepared fine wine and delicacies for whenever they might be needed.

“I’ve seen my fill of high mountains, flowing rivers, and the moon over Mirror Lake. Watching these fishermen in the water today is a novel sort of amusement.”

The magnificently dressed man at the center of the crowd spoke with a smile:

“Brother Tianyou, every time I visit, you manage to find some surprising new place.”

“Brother Xu, you flatter me,” Han Tianyou said with a cupped-fist salute.

“It is Brother Xu who was born with a discerning eye, able to see the wonder in all things. I dare not take the credit.”

“Haha…” Xu Qin laughed heartily.

“You’re still such a smooth talker.”

“I heard there used to be a strange fog in the waters ahead that hadn’t dispersed for a century. Why has it been gone these past two years?”

“That is indeed true,” Han Tianyou nodded.

“The fog here hadn’t cleared for several hundred years. Experts had gone in to investigate, but they either got trapped inside or returned empty-handed. Over time, no one dared to make any further attempts.”

“Two years ago, a strange stone fell from the sky and landed in Ze Lake, causing the lake’s Earth Veins to shift. The fog then began to slowly dissipate. Because the fishing is good here, it has attracted many fishermen.”

“A strange stone from the sky?” a young woman in the crowd asked curiously.

“Could it be that Nine Radiance Star Stone?”

“Indeed,” Han Tianyou nodded.

“That was the very one.”

“When that treasure fell into Ze Lake, it attracted countless experts who fought to claim it. In the end, it fell into the hands of an Elder from the True Martial Sect. It’s rumored to have been refined into the First-Grade Divine Weapon, Nine Radiance Star Sand, but whether that’s true or not is another story.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone present shifted.

The incident had caused a huge stir back then. The Pai Sect had even lost a Hall Master with a Third-Grade Cultivation over it. As members of the Pai Sect, they naturally didn’t dare ask for more details.

“A Qi Blood Dharma Form, majestic beyond compare, capable of roaming the highest heavens and moving mountains and seas… It truly makes one’s heart yearn.”

Xu Qin’s voice was tinged with emotion:

“It’s just a pity I didn’t have the chance to witness the clash between those senior experts.”

“Young Master,” one of the attendants whispered with a bow.

“Every move made by a Martial Artist of the Upper Three Grades involves a convergence of the principles of heaven and earth. A bystander who even approaches the edge of their Combat risks death. Even a Fifth-Grade Martial Artist… would be no exception.”

“The scion of a great house does not court needless danger. You are to take over the Pai Sect’s Foreign Affairs Hall in the future; you must not rashly put yourself in harm’s way.”

“I know,” Xu Qin said, waving his hand dismissively.

“I was just saying.”

The Pai Sect had eighteen halls. The Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Law Enforcement Halls were known collectively as the Inner Hall.

The status of the three halls of the Inner Hall was far superior to that of the fifteen outer halls.

As the son of the Foreign Affairs Hall Master, Xu Qin’s status within the Pai Sect was easy to imagine.

No wonder.

No wonder he was accompanied by so many people on his leisure trip to Ze Lake.

“Hmm…”

“Who are those few people up ahead?”

Looking in the direction Xu Qin was pointing, they saw four people standing on a dock, gazing at something in the distance.

“My cousin?”

Han Tianyou hesitated for a moment before replying:

“That seems to be my distant cousin, who arrived the day before yesterday. I suppose she’s also out for a stroll today.”

「Two days ago.」

Guests from Taiyuan Prefecture had come to his family’s residence. He knew about it because they were younger relatives from his mother’s clan.

However, he had been busy entertaining honored guests for the past two days, so they had only met once.

“Oh!” Xu Qin said with a smile.

“In that case, we should go and make their acquaintance.”

*

*

*

“I never would have thought that a stone falling from the sky could destroy the Array here, causing the fog to dissipate.”

A bitter expression crossed Ming Nianwei’s face.

“I hope no one has discovered the treasure’s location.”

After traveling all this way with such difficulty, the disappointment would be immense if the treasure had already been taken.

Certain items in that hiding place were crucial for her future accomplishments.

“Don’t be hasty.”

Zhu Ju said slowly,

“According to what you said, the Array set by Li Chengxia was not only connected to the Earth Veins and water Qi, but also had other profound secrets. Without a master of Arrays carefully investigating it, a mere shift in the Earth Veins might not have been enough to reveal it.”

“In any case, let’s take a look before we draw any conclusions.”

“Yes.”

Ming Nianwei sighed softly.

“I found it,” Zhou Ruxuan said, her voice rising slightly.

“According to the local fishermen, after the fog here dissipated, several deserted islands were revealed.”

“Two of them are next to each other, surrounded by reefs. It should be the place Master Ming spoke of…”

“Huh?”

“Who are they?”

She stopped mid-sentence, looking toward the group of people approaching them.

“Cousin.”

From within the crowd,

Han Tianyou raised a hand in greeting.

“What a coincidence. You’re also out enjoying the sights.”

“Cousin.” Zhou Ruxuan’s lovely eyes flickered.

“What a coincidence, indeed.”

“These people are…”

“Allow me to make the introductions,” Han Tianyou said with a gesture.

“This is Xu Qin. His father is the current Hall Master of the Pai Sect’s Foreign Affairs Hall, and he is a dear friend of mine.”

“Brother Xu, this is my cousin, Zhou Ruxuan, from Taiyuan Prefecture. And these three are her friends.”

“From Taiyuan Prefecture, with the surname Zhou?” Xu Qin’s eyes flickered.

“Miss, do you happen to know Zhou Jingren?”

“That’s my eldest brother,” Zhou Ruxuan replied with a cupped-fist salute.

“Does Young Master know my brother?”

“Haha…” Xu Qin laughed brightly.

“Your older brother and I were acquainted when he was with the Pai Sect. I never expected to meet the sister of an old acquaintance here.”

“Miss Zhou, you’re already at the Sixth Grade at such a young age, and with such an extraordinary Gang Force. You’re much stronger than your older brother ever was.”

“You’re too kind, Young Master Xu.”

“I’m speaking the truth.”

Xu Qin’s gaze swept over the group, his voice filled with admiration:

“Taiyuan Prefecture seems to be just a small place, but to think it can produce Flood Dragons. All of you are quite extraordinary.”

He seemed to have mastered some Secret Technique that allowed him to perceive others’ Cultivation, for he saw through their depths with a single glance.

Zhou Ruxuan went without saying.

A Sixth-Grade Martial Artist at twenty-four or twenty-five would be considered a top talent, even in the Pai Sect.

Ming Nianwei was a Mage in her thirties at the Seventh-Grade Peak, which was equally impressive.

Even Zhu Ju, the weakest among them in terms of Cultivation, was at the lower Seventh Grade and possessed abundant Qi Blood.

However, they were still a fair bit weaker than the group before them.

In Zhu Ju’s perception, among the dozen or so people before them, almost none were Martial Artists below the Sixth Grade.

There were even three at the Fifth Grade.

Although their average age was a full twelve-year cycle older than their own, such strength was still impressive.

Not only that, but a Spiritual Light glinted off each of them. Expensive Seventh-Grade and Sixth-Grade Qi Blood Divine Weapons hung from them like mere ornaments, a dazzling and enviable display that further spoke to the deep foundations of the powers backing them.

‘The Pai Sect…’

‘Worthy of being the largest Martial World Sect on the edge of the East Sea.’

“In two days, I will be hosting a banquet in the city for the younger generation. You all must be sure to come.”

“We will, we will.”

“In that case, we’ll take our leave.”

“Take care!”

After seeing the group off, Zhou Ruxuan remarked with a sigh:

“The Pai Sect truly lives up to its name, with talent emerging from every generation. No wonder my brother went back home. Compared to people like these, he would only feel discouraged.”

“In Taiyuan Prefecture, he is second to one and above ten thousand, but in the Pai Sect, I’m afraid he would be a nobody.”

“There was something wrong with that Xu Qin,” Ming Nianwei said suddenly.

“Someone has placed a curse on him. It’s a very special kind of Curse Technique, one that takes root in a person’s deepest obsessions.”

“Oh?” Zhu Ju’s eyes flickered, but he then shook his head gently.

“It has nothing to do with us. Let’s find the treasure first.”

The two women exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.