Chapter 465: An Unwelcome Request

Star Palace, Wu Quxing Hall.

Chen Mu took out the memory card obtained from Zhu Jian.

Unlock!

Boom—

Countless fragmented images, chaotic emotions, and disjointed mutterings surged into his mind like a dam breaking.

The images gradually sharpened.

Chen Mu "saw" a majestic gate, its lintel inscribed with three ancient seal characters.

Shuangji Sect.

Beyond the gate lay endless halls, training grounds, and disciple quarters, with morning bells and evening drums, incense thick and thriving.

A middle-aged man in dark blue Daoist robes stood before the main hall, his face stern, eyes like lightning, his aura vast as an abyss.

The man turned, clad in Daoist robes, a long sword hanging at his waist, his topknot bound with a jade pin, every gesture exuding the demeanor of a grand master.

The memory images shifted.

The man received disciples' homage in Shuangji Sect's main hall, presiding over sect ceremonies as its leader.

Chen Mu "saw" the man seated equally with the heads of the Six Sword Sects at the Thousand-Year Celebration of Long Hu Sword Sect, chatting and laughing freely.

He "saw" the man on the oath platform of the Holy-Demon War, raising his arm to cry, "Exterminate Evil, Defend the Dao," as thousands of orthodox disciples behind him burned with fervor.

This man's name was Gu Yanzhao!

The images shifted again.

This time, the scene turned abruptly dark.

Gu Yanzhao shed his Daoist robes and donned a dark red robe embroidered with snarling beast heads.

He put on a bronze mask, its carving precisely the one-eyed, fanged visage of Zhu Jian.

The images continued.

Gu Yanzhao arrived at another secluded villa.

Inside stood a woman in a plain white dress, her long hair loosely pinned with a wooden hairpin, her face cold, yet with a faint softness only visible before someone familiar.

"Yanzhao," the woman whispered, "you've come."

Hu Nianjing.

Grand Elder of Xuan Yin Valley, mid-stage Tiangong cultivator, a pivotal figure among the demonic path.

Gu Yanzhao removed his mask, stepped forward, and took the woman's hand—his movements natural, clearly not the first time.

……

Countless memories flashed rapidly.

Moments later, Chen Mu opened his eyes and exhaled a foul breath.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

A leading figure of the orthodox in Hanbei Province, leader of Shuangji Sect, Gu Yanzhao—publicly a famed orthodox powerhouse, secretly a Tiangong member of the "Beast God" organization known as Zhu Jian.

He was still an old lover of Hu Nianjing, Grand Elder of Xuan Yin Valley.

Through Hu Nianjing, he learned of the secret treasure passed down for centuries by Xuan Yin Valley.

Twelve Palace Beads.

These beads grant a cultivator an extremely high probability of Breaking Through to the Tiangong Realm!

Chen Mu looked down at his palm.

He was now at the Ascended Soul Altar of Earth Altar Realm, just one step away from Tiangong.

The chance of finding a Break Through Card is too low.

If I had the Twelve Palace Beads…

Chen Mu stood up, walked to the window of the Star Hall, and gazed at the eternal flowing clouds and floating isles beyond.

He had stayed in Wulong Prefecture for nearly two years.

Over those two years, he had advanced from Earth Altar Realm's Seeing the Divine, Unbreakable stage all the way to the Ascended Soul Altar.

He had slain Tai Sui, slaughtered Fu Hai Qiu, rescued Ju Men, fought the Beast God, allied with Shi Gui, and fought shoulder to shoulder with Po Jun Heavenly Mansion.

He had collected countless cards.

But Hanbei Province—he had never set foot there.

There lay the millennia-old Long Hu Sword Sect, the lurking Xuan Yin Valley, the watchful Dayue Mo Sect branch, the covert Hanbei Branch of Zhen Wu Bureau, the Pei and Xiao families locked in centuries of marriage alliances and feuds…

And Gu Yanzhao was dead.

This news was known to no one but him.

Chen Mu's lips curled slightly.

"It's time to go out and walk."

……

……

Three days later, the Heavenly Mansion Star Lord sent word: Ju Men Star Lord had awakened.

When Chen Mu arrived at Ju Men Star Hall, the great hall was open, and at the entrance stood five Star Lords: Po Jun, Tian Fu, Tian Kui, Di Kong, and Tian Xi.

A slender figure in a white undergarment and a star-patterned robe slowly sat up inside, the signature Ju Men Star mask still covering his face, but his aura far less steady and weighty than before.

Chen Mu stood at the entrance and did not speak immediately.

Ju Men Star Lord seemed to sense something; he tilted his head slightly, and through the mask, his gaze settled on Chen Mu.

He said nothing, merely gazed quietly for a moment, then gave a slight nod.

Chen Mu bowed slightly, returning the salute with the Star God's ritual.

No words were needed.

Some debts are enough to carry in the heart.

The Tianfu Star Lord stepped forward and began recounting to the Julmen Star Lord the events that had occurred since his disappearance.

The ambush during the investigation, being trapped in Blood Fang Cave, the Beast God's ritual, Chen Mu luring the enemy, Tianxi's rescue, the great battle led by Pojun, the slaying of Ming She and Zhu Jian, the severe wounding of Shan Sao, and finally fulfilling his promise to purify the mining district for the Shi Gui clan.

The Julmen Star Lord listened in silence, then turned his gaze once more to Chen Mu.

This time, he finally spoke.

His voice was hoarse, weakened by long-unhealed injuries, yet his tone remained as calm as ever.

"Wu Quxing, when I first drew you into the Star Gods, it was because I saw your character and potential. Now, I see I was not mistaken."

Chen Mu fell silent for a breath, then replied, "I shall never forget the Julmen Star Lord's life-saving grace or the guidance you offered me."

The Julmen Star Lord shook his head slightly, his voice soft and slow. "Among Star Gods, it is not about repaying favors—it is about transmission. Should you one day encounter a worthy junior worthy of guidance, lend him a hand, and that will repay my debt."

He said no more, slowly closing his eyes.

Seeing this, the others ceased their disturbance and slipped away quietly.

……

……

Half a month later.

Hanbei Dao, Xingzhou's provincial capital.

It was a thousand-year-old ancient city, dominating the heart of Hanbei Dao, its walls rising over thirty feet high, built of blue stone, weathered by wind and rain yet still majestic.

Within its walls lived a hundred thousand households, merchants gathered in abundance, martial academies lined the streets—it was the most prosperous place within a thousand li.

In the northwest corner of the city lay a low, dilapidated district, its alleys narrow, its houses ancient, the air perpetually thick with the mingled stench of cheap liquor, inferior cosmetics, and bloody beast hides.

This was Xingzhou's black market—

Unregulated by the authorities, ignored by the righteous paths, a gathering place for all sects and underworld factions.

Deep within the black market stood a newly opened shop, small in facade, its sign crude—a faded wooden board with four crookedly carved characters: Duan's Miscellaneous Goods.

The shop specialized in acquiring the bones, blood, fur, and fangs of strange beasts…

Anything from a strange beast that could be sold, it accepted without refusal.

The shopkeeper was a man in his thirties, ordinary in appearance, with gentle eyes and brows, dressed in a half-worn blue cotton robe, speaking always slowly and calmly, never seen quarreling with customers.

He called himself Duan, with the single name Lang.

The people of the black market called him "Shopkeeper Duan."

Shopkeeper Duan had one rule in business: never ask origins, never haggle, payment upon delivery, cash and goods exchanged.

This rule was unheard-of in the black market.

Of ten items taken from strange beasts, eight had illicit origins.

Either poached, stripped from corpses, or even stolen from disciples of the Xuan Yin Valley.

Other shops either slashed prices to the bone or interrogated sellers until they revealed their ancestors' names.

Shopkeeper Duan did not.

He looked only at the goods, offered fair prices, and took them without further ado.

Thus, within less than a month, the name "Shopkeeper Duan" spread through the black market.

Independent cultivators who hunted strange beasts, outer-disciples who smuggled materials out of the Xuan Yin Valley, and even occasional distant relatives of the Pei and Xiao families, bringing ancestral heirlooms to exchange for silver, all flocked to Duan's Miscellaneous Goods.

……

One day, in the afternoon.

The shop had few customers; Chen Mu—who was now Shopkeeper Duan—sat behind the counter, carefully examining a newly acquired wolf skull.

The skull had dense bone and sharp fangs—it belonged to an Early Innate Stage Ironback Gray Wolf. Too bad only the skull had been acquired; had the entire corpse been brought, its value would have tripled.

The shop door opened, and a slender figure slipped in.

Chen Mu looked up, his face breaking into his usual gentle smile.

"Brother Cheng is here."

The visitor was Cheng Jian, twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a lean face and sunken eyes, his gray cotton robe washed pale, the cuffs stained with dried blood.

He was a regular customer, coming every three or five days, sometimes with a few beast bones, sometimes a few hides, sometimes just a small vial of strange-beast essence blood.

All were small, scattered items, of uneven quality, but he brought them in quantity.

Cheng Jian placed the cage he carried on the counter.

Inside the cage was a gray-and-white rabbit, larger than an ordinary wild rabbit, its eyes glowing with an eerie dark red.

"Snow Rock Rabbit?"

Chen Mu glanced at it, surprised. "This thing is rare. Where did you get it, Brother Cheng?"

Cheng Jian chuckled, avoiding a direct answer. "How much is it worth, Shopkeeper Duan?"

Chen Mu did not press further.

He opened the cage, lifted the rabbit, weighed it, then flipped back its fur to examine its teeth.

"Good quality, fur intact, bones and blood undamaged. Three thousand taels."

"Three thousand?"

Cheng Jian's eyes lit up. "Shopkeeper Duan, this is a Snow Rock Rabbit! Its fur repels water, its blood can be used in medicine, its bone powder can make spirit talismans… isn't three thousand a bit low?"

Chen Mu smiled and shook his head. "Brother, the Snow Rock Rabbit is indeed rare—but only when alive. This one is dead, its blood drained, bones intact, but its water-repelling ability is halved, its medicinal value diminished. Three thousand is a fair price."

Cheng Jian hesitated, then nodded. "Fine. Three thousand it is."

Chen Mu took a stack of silver notes from beneath the counter, counted out three, and handed them over.

Cheng Jian took it, examined the ticket carefully, then folded it neatly and tucked it into his chest.

The transaction was complete.

But Cheng Jian did not leave.

He stood before the counter, his expression complex; his lips moved, then closed again.

He repeated this several times, yet still could not speak.

Chen Mu did not rush him; he simply took the Snow Rock Rabbit from its cage and placed it on the shelf behind the counter, then began slowly and methodically skinning it.

"That… Shopkeeper Duan."

Cheng Jian finally spoke, his voice dry: "I… I have an awkward request."