Chapter 97: Chapter 5: 1000-Year Kongqing

Old Turtle Wucheng carefully raised the Jade Bottle and poured a few drops of the Spiritual Spring onto his tongue. He controlled the Water Pearls, rolling them back and forth across his tongue to savor the taste.

“That’s it! This is the taste!”

He was ecstatic, his aged body trembling so violently one might have suspected he was about to faint at any second.

The Iron Armor General was similarly overcome with emotion. He paced back and forth in the cave, accidentally smashing the stone table to pieces, yet he still wore a look of delight. Even he hadn’t expected to find a clue to the whereabouts of the Sovereign of Qi’s son, whom the Demon Country had been pursuing for over sixty years.

“Gou Santong, can you use the urine in this Spiritual Spring to track the source?”

Seeing the Iron Armor General’s expectant look, Gou Santong hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.

“General, the urine is mixed into the Spiritual Spring and has been diluted more than ten thousandfold. I can only guarantee that I can track it within a range of ten zhang.”

The Iron Armor General snorted in dissatisfaction. ’The Earth Array the Huang Family set up outside the Spiritual Spring covers an area a hundred zhang in radius. What damn good is ten zhang? These Mingyi Dogs are getting more useless as they age. A bunch of worthless gluttons.’

Wucheng said decisively,

“In my opinion, there’s a ninety percent chance the target is in the Spiritual Spring the Huang Family discovered. Why else would they value a mere Spiritual Spring so highly? The message from Wang Tong mentioned that the Wu Family was secretly training Array Masters to investigate the underground rivers beneath Huangyuan Marketplace. And today, these Dark Rooms discovered a Spiritual Spring mixed with Flood Dragon urine. How could there be such a coincidence in the world?”

“The Huang Family must have already captured the young Flood Dragon! They set up a Grand Array outside the Spiritual Spring just to cover up the commotion of their actions.”

Wucheng’s eyes were bloodshot with anxiety. Sixty years ago, he had let a great achievement slip through his fingers. ’Am I doomed to repeat the same mistake sixty years later?’

“We can’t be rash. The more critical the moment, the calmer we must be. So what if the Huang Family has the young Flood Dragon? It would be one thing if they could keep it a secret, but we already know. Can a minor Foundation Establishment Clan like them possibly keep it out of the Demon Country’s hands?”

The Iron Armor General forced himself to calm down from his excitement.

“With our current strength, we should focus on investigating. We need to find out all the details about the Huang Family. Once the reinforcements from the Demon Country arrive, we’ll make our move.”

Although the Turtle Demon Wucheng’s face was filled with unwillingness, the White Apes and other Demons only listened to the Iron Armor General. He couldn’t command them at all. He truly had the will but not the power.

“Bring Wang Tong here! He’s a local fixture in Huangyuan Marketplace. He managed to dig up so much information on the Wu Family, who have already been wiped out. I’m sure finding out about the Huang Family will be no trouble for him.”

After working with him for some time, the Iron Armor General had come to trust Wang Tong completely.

Before long, Yang Jing arrived on his Flying Spiritual Artifact, looking travel-worn.

“General, you summoned me so urgently that I didn’t even have time to prepare a gift.”

He said with a guilty look as soon as he put away his Flying Spiritual Artifact.

“Business comes first. Little Brother Wang, you’re overthinking things.”

The Iron Armor General actually felt a sense of relief. ’If Wang Tong had managed to prepare a gift despite being summoned so urgently, I would have suspected he was prepared for this all along.’

“Little Brother Wang, how much do you know about the Huang Family?”

“The Huang Family? If it were any other Foundation Establishment Clan, I wouldn’t dare to boast. But the Huang Family, although they originated from the Taixu Sword Sect, switched to practicing a Fire Element Technique and then transitioned into the business of Artifact Refining. Because the Magical Artifacts they refine are sold through the Celestial Treasure Tower, I have frequent dealings with their Elder, Huang Dengchong.”

Yang Jing sat down on a stone stool, accepted a cup of clear water from a White Ape, and took a sip.

“The Huang Family’s patriarch, Huang Dengtao, is a Tier Two Artifact Refiner. His Artifact Refining skill is considered the best in Huangyuan Marketplace. Speaking of which, back in the day, the Wu Family often sought out the Huang Family to refine artifacts for them.”

A sharp glint flashed in the Iron Armor General’s eyes, and he gestured for Yang Jing to continue.

“Among the Huang Family’s disciples, there are some good-for-nothings who specialize in acquiring Magical Artifacts of dubious origin from Tribulation Cultivators. After altering their appearance, they sell them in the Marketplace. Speaking of which, I suspect that the infamous Tribulation Cultivator, Brother Guo, who roams Huangyuan Marketplace, is very likely a disciple of the Huang Family!”

Yang Jing said this to the Iron Armor General as if sharing an interesting tidbit of gossip.

He keenly noticed that the Iron Armor General’s pupils contracted slightly upon hearing this news.

“Little Brother Wang, do you have any proof?”

“I don’t have concrete proof, but I tend to remember the Magical Artifacts that pass through my Celestial Treasure Tower. Brother Guo’s Black Death Seven Tribulations Scripture is very distinctive, and the Cultivators he kills are easily identified by their wounds. Coincidentally, not long after he seizes a Magical Artifact, a Huang Family Cultivator will appear in the Marketplace selling it.”

Yang Jing said. His words were nearly impossible to verify, but the Iron Armor General clearly believed him and was even starting to seem distraught.

He took a small vial of Spirit Liquid from his Storage Bag and handed it to Yang Jing.

“Little Brother Wang, your information is very useful to me. Take this bottle of Thousand Years of Cyan as a reward.”

The Mingyi Dog, Gou Santong, standing nearby, immediately showed a look of envy.

This Thousand Years of Cyan was a Spirit Liquid that could only be produced after gestating inside a strange stone for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. Consolidating one’s foundation and increasing Magical Power were just its secondary effects. Its primary function was to enhance one’s Eye Power. If an ordinary Cultivator consumed it, their eyes would become as if they had cultivated a Dharma Eye, able to see through illusions and perceive some hidden Illusion Arrays. The effect would be even more profound for him, a Mingyi Dog.

Even Yang Jing was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected the Iron Armor General to possess such a treasure. ’This will be of great use to both me and Iron Head!’

He pretended not to see the longing in Gou Santong’s eyes as he placed the bottle of Thousand Years of Cyan into his Storage Bag and then tactfully took his leave.

As soon as Yang Jing left, the Iron Armor General stood up, looking rather anxious.

“To prevent any new problems from arising, we must act as soon as possible!”

His complete one-eighty in attitude left both Wucheng and Gou Santong stunned.

“I should have thought of it sooner. This Brother Guo is one of the Huang Family. Sword Cultivators have extremely high requirements for Talent and tutelage. Besides the Huang Family, who came from the Taixu Sword Sect, which other Foundation Establishment Clan could produce a Sword Cultivator?”

“So what if this Brother Guo is from the Huang Family? Sword Cultivators are powerful, but he’s only at Qi Cultivation Perfection. He’s no threat to us.”

Wucheng asked, confused.

“Fool! According to the information our Demons found, this Brother Guo deliberately lured Wu Yanlu out of Ghost Ruins Market. The Huang Family was able to find the young Flood Dragon’s location so quickly because they probably extracted a lot of useful information from Wu Yanlu. More importantly, the Wu Family’s secret technique is the Nine Yin Blood Evil Scripture! A promising young Flood Dragon is more than enough reason for that old geezer Huang Dengtao to switch to a Demon Skill and refine it into a Blood Flood Dragon!”

The Iron Armor General was restless. If he just stood by and watched the young Flood Dragon be refined into a Blood Flood Dragon, his great achievement would instantly turn into a great failure.

“Seven days. Within seven days, we must break through the Huang Family’s defenses and seize the young Flood Dragon!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep