Chapter 176: Emergence

"Found Shijie Zhang!"

Shijie Yuan rushed in with great energy, shouting at Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa's spirits instantly lifted, and he hurriedly asked, "How is Shijie Zhang?"

"Nothing serious; she can still converse with those disciples, but she has sealed herself within Lei Chi, and we cannot rescue her."

Zheng Fa nodded slightly; he had actually expected this.

If not for this, even the Zizaimo Sect might have abducted Shijie Zhang.

He thought for a moment and walked toward the door.

"Shidi, where are you going?"

"I'm going to check on Shijie Zhang." He wanted to personally confirm Shijie Zhang's condition.

"I'm going too!"

Shijie Yuan followed him out of the Five Dragons Heavenly Palace.

As soon as they entered the market, the two noticed something was wrong—many people in the market were heading toward Lei Chi.

They moved with hurried haste, their brows and eyes concealing an uncontrollable eagerness, like hounds that had smelled prey.

Yet when others asked them, they remained tightly silent, refusing to speak, and even their eyes held a hint of wariness.

A conjecture suddenly rose in Zheng Fa's heart—

In this location, there was only one thing capable of making these people so excited: the Heavenly Stele!

With the establishment of the Lei Chi market.

News of the Heavenly Stele spread farther and farther.

No one knew what the Heavenly Stele was, but everyone had heard of the two or three things that must be spoken of between Tianhe Zunzhe and the Heavenly Stele.

In many people's hearts, the Heavenly Stele was equivalent to dominating Xuanweiwu.

But Zheng Fa had some doubts in his heart—

The Heavenly Stele is not the only one.

Tianhe Sect has always had one, yet no new Tianhe Zunzhe has appeared.

This was merely his inner suspicion; the true situation, he would only know if he had the chance to see the Heavenly Stele in the future.

Compared to those scattered cultivators running toward Lei Chi, he simply had an extra thread of calmness in his heart.

He was not the only one who was calm.

As he and Shijie Yuan walked toward the market's exit, a greeting suddenly came from a wine house beside the street:

"Daoist Zheng?"

Zheng Fa looked up and saw Yan Wushuang sitting by the railing on the second floor, speaking to him.

"Daoist Yan."

He bowed to Yan Wushuang; the two had become quite familiar over this period—

Yan Wushuang was very attentive to the trade in Demon Blood.

Recently, he had become a major client in the market.

They had met several times during transactions, becoming a third more familiar than before.

Seeing Zheng Fa, Yan Wushuang waved with some excitement and said to him, "Come up and sit!"

Zheng Fa and Shijie Yuan exchanged a glance and walked up to the wine house side by side.

There were not many people on the second floor of the wine house; most cultivators had probably gone to Lei Chi.

Only one table of guests was still drinking leisurely.

To call it a table, there were actually only three people.

Yan Wushuang alone.

And two young people, one male and one female.

"Come, come, come, Daoist Zheng, let me introduce you." Yan Wushuang's tone was very enthusiastic: "This is Chu Tianque, Shixiong, a True Disciple of Hao Rishan; this is Xue Shimei, a True Disciple of Tai Shang Dao."

Zheng Fa could not help but be secretly startled in his heart.

Even Shimei Yuan, usually so carefree, had a rare seriousness in her expression.

For no other reason than that Hao Rishan and Tai Shang Dao, like Tianhe Sect, were two of the famous Xuanweiwu Sect.

The True Disciples of these two sects had come to Lei Chi market, yet they had heard not a single word of news.

"Shixiong Chu, Shimei Xue." Yan Wushuang introduced to the two: "This is the local host, Daoist Zheng Fa, a disciple of Jiushan Sect. This one... I do not know either."

He looked at Shijie Yuan and smiled apologetically.

Those two first glanced at Zheng Fa, as if they had discerned his Qi Refining cultivation, then turned their heads to look at Shijie Yuan beside him.

In Chu Tianque's eyes, five colors flickered faintly, as if he had discovered some clue, and his brows furrowed slightly.

As for Xue Shimei of Tai Shang Dao, her expression showed no change.

After both sides bowed to each other, the room fell silent for a moment.

Zheng Fa could see that these three had probably been chatting well in the wine house before; otherwise Yan Wushuang would not have had a look of joy on his face—only that with the arrival of him and Shijie Yuan, those two had nothing more to say.

This was quite normal.

On one hand, he and Shijie Yuan were strangers to those two.

Three people were talking well when two strangers suddenly burst in.

An awkward silence was truly ordinary.

On the other hand, it was still the gap between sects and cultivation levels.

In terms of sects, even the Baixian Alliance could not compare to Hao Rishan and Tai Shang Dao.

Moreover, it was only the Jiushan Sect, which is merely a part of the Baixian Alliance.

And Zheng Fa nowadays was just a Qi Cultivation disciple.

Even if he held the title of Young Sect Master within the Jiushan Sect, out here—who cared about that?

You are not the Young Sect Master of their Haorishan Mountain.

Senior Sister Yuan indeed possessed sufficient cultivation, but that Chu Tianque seemed somewhat bothered by her demonic beast identity.

Not everyone has such peculiar hobbies as Yan Wushuang.

He did not feel angry in his heart, but neither did he wish to offer a warm face only to meet a cold backside, so he simply cupped his fists and said to the three: "This junior brother still has some matters to attend to at the Lei Chi..."

"Perfect! We are also heading to the Lei Chi!" Unexpectedly, Yan Wushuang interrupted him and stated directly: "Might as well go together."

Zheng Fa glanced at those two.

Regardless of what the pair thought in their hearts, on their faces they were both nodding.

As the five traveled together, Yan Wushuang seemed to notice the awkward atmosphere and opened his mouth to speak:

"Who could have expected this Heavenly Stele to be so close to the Zizaimo Sect? What a coincidence... If not for that bounty issued by the Jiushan Sect, that entire area would be swarming with people; who would know where this thing was hidden?"

Yan Wushuang's words made Zheng Fa realize his guess was correct—the Heavenly Stele had indeed emerged.

And it even had some connection to him...

"Originally, there were already many people in that area; once the Heavenly Stele was discovered, everyone in the entire market town rushed over," Yan Wushuang continued speaking: "In that whole region, one couldn't even find a single thief from the Zizaimo Sect anymore."

There was actually a hint of regret in his tone.

"What use is it for those people to go?" Chu Tianque interjected: "How could the Heavenly Stele be something they dare to covet? They are all fools blinded by profit."

These words... carried quite a bit of arrogance, and also showed little optimism regarding that group of cultivators rushing forward blindly.

Zheng Fa could not help but feel a bit curious about the behavior of these three.

With the Heavenly Stele emerging, these three were still leisurely in the wine tower, seeming not the least bit anxious.

As if he had seen through his confusion, Yan Wushuang explained: "Junior Brother Zheng, you may not be aware, but the surroundings of the Heavenly Stele are often extremely dangerous... even if we were to rush over rashly, we would suffer a great loss."

Given that the Tianhe Sect possessed a Heavenly Stele.

Coupled with the behavior of these individuals—Zheng Fa believed these words held considerable credibility.

Even this matter was probably no secret among the Xuanweiwu Sect; otherwise, Yan Wushuang would not have spoken so carelessly in front of everyone.

Thinking about those scattered cultivators who understood nothing of the situation.

This piece of news, which held almost no value for these three, would likely cause many low-level cultivators to lose their lives.

It was even possible that these three intended to use that crowd as cannon fodder to scout the path.

"Those people have shallow knowledge and limited vision, but Brother Zheng, your attainment in Lightning Arts is quite profound; with the emergence of this Heavenly Stele, you may also find some opportunity," Yan Wushuang said with a smile, his tone showing a degree of special regard.

Hearing these words, those two could not help but glance at him with slight surprise and suspicion.

It seemed they greatly trusted Yan Wushuang's judgment regarding Lightning Arts, and consequently looked upon Zheng Fa with higher esteem as well.

But on the other hand, Zheng Fa also faintly sensed a hint of wariness—as if they feared he would compete with them for the opportunity.

Wait, are you disciples of major sects always this cautious?

I, from the Jiushan Sect, am at the Qi Cultivation stage!

What are you being wary of!

"For this trip to the Lei Chi, my senior sister and I are not actually here for the Heavenly Stele," Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then decided to speak the truth.

Upon hearing these words, Yan Wushuang's expression became somewhat stunned.

Chu Tianque glanced at him, his eyes seeming to contain some disdain—probably not believing his words and thinking he was lying.

"Then what are you here for?"

"I have a senior sister who was previously trapped in the Lei Chi; now I have finally managed to find traces of her."

Zheng Fa explained.

Yan Wushuang nodded, saying neither that he believed nor that he disbelieved.

It was just that on the road, the several of them fell into silence once again, as if they had nothing more to say.

Within the Lei Chi, the several of them proceeded together toward the location of the Zizaimo Sect.

The Lei Chi was treacherous, forcing them to each display their divine abilities.

Yan Wushuang's style remained unchanged, treating the Lei Ting as if it were nothing; the more he was struck by lightning, the happier he became.

That Zhao Shimei Xue from the Supreme Dao Sect performed no astonishing feats; she merely moved with light steps, yet the violent Lei Ting seemed to have eyes, winding around her as it passed.

As for Chu Tianque, a transparent precious pearl appeared above his head, absorbing the Lei Ting from the sky; he seemed to be using this Lei Chi to refine his treasure.

Though the three each possessed their own methods, within this Lei Chi that made everyone tremble with fear, they appeared very leisurely.

Upon reaching a certain point, Zheng Fa saw that these people seemed intent on continuing forward, so he opened his mouth and said: "Honored ones, my companion and I fear we must take another path; we shall take our leave here."

Hearing his words, the three were momentarily stunned.

Yan Wushuang could not help but ask: "You are not going to see the Heavenly Stele?"

"I will not go," Zheng Fa said with a smile, cupping his fists: "I would rather go find my senior sister first."

Watching him turn and leave immediately with Senior Sister Yuan.

The three could not help but fall somewhat silent.

"Do you believe that someone who encounters the Heavenly Stele would ignore it completely just to save a senior sister?"

After a long while, Chu Tianque suddenly opened his mouth to ask.

"... Not really," after a long pause, it was still that Zhao Shimei Xue who spoke.

"This Zheng Fa possesses such profound attainment in Lightning Dao body refinement; he is likely a Lightning Dao cultivator, making this Lightning Dao Heavenly Stele an supreme treasure for him," Chu Tianque continued speaking: "In my observation, his refusal to travel with us means he wishes to hide in the shadows and reap the benefits while others fight."

"When it concerns the Heavenly Stele, let alone a senior sister, what do even one's biological parents count for?"

Though this was merely speculation, Yan Wushang opened his mouth as if to refute it.

Yet he did not know how to refute it.

……

When Zheng Fa saw Senior Sister Zhang, she was sitting cross-legged at the bottom of the Lei Chi valley; a treasure mirror the size of a small hill pressed down above her head, also holding back the surging Lei Ting within the Lei Chi.

Zheng Fa walked toward her.

When he reached within three zhang, the treasure mirror emitted a beam of treasure light that fell at his feet, blocking his path.

"Junior Brother Zheng? Zhao Shimei Yuan?"

This treasure light seemed to rouse Senior Sister Zhang; she lifted her eyes to look over.

Seeing Zheng Fa, she seemed to recall something and hurriedly said, "I saw the Heavenly Stele earlier; it was right at…"

"I know, Senior Sister; the Heavenly Stele has emerged."

"Then you…"

"I wanted to come see you, to see if I could rescue you," Zheng Fa said with a smile.

Senior Sister Zhang's gaze was fixed on Zheng Fa, as though she could not see Zhao Shimei Yuan beside her.

Zhao Shimei Yuan glanced at the treasure mirror above her head and thought to herself:

Fortunately, this Xuanguan Mirror is here, blocking this dog couple…