Chapter 375: Undercurrents Surging

Zhang Nuo left his Cave Abode. The reason he did not execute Wu Junyan and instead spared her life was entirely to teach the Heaven Sword Sect a lesson! The shocking scene of dozens of cultivators dying at his hands was something he believed Wu Junyan would recount in full detail to the people in her sect!

In this way, a sense of fear would take root in the hearts of those cultivators who had never met Zhang Nuo, and they might even come to dread the Giant Spirit Pavilion! Even if the day came when the Heaven Sword Sect cultivators attacked Yulong Immortal Mountain, they would be timid and hesitant!

As for a mere Wu Junyan, whether she lived or died was not particularly important! All Zhang Nuo wanted was the effect of the words spoken from her mouth!

While traveling in his light of escape, Zhang Nuo kept observing the movements around him. Along the way, whenever he encountered suspicious-looking cultivators, he would step forward to ask a few questions; if he learned that the other party had ties to Taixu Palace, he would immediately strike them down!

By the time he returned to Yulong Immortal Mountain, he had killed more than ten Golden Core stage cultivators in total!

"Kid Zhang, the Evil Qi on you is too heavy! You cannot keep killing like this!"

Throughout this journey, Chunyangzi had seen Zhang Nuo show no mercy in every strike, and he could not help but feel some worry! Zhang Nuo's own destiny was the 'Seven Killings' from the 'Seven Killings, Breaking Army, and Greedy Wolf' stars! If he did not take care to restrain himself, one day he would be completely controlled by the Evil Qi and eventually degenerate into a machine that only knew how to kill!

Although this Evil Qi was, to a certain extent, helpful to a cultivator, nothing is absolute; no matter what it is, having too much of it is never a good thing!

Just as Zhang Nuo's feet touched Yulong Immortal Mountain, he heard Chunyangzi's words and nodded slightly. He was naturally more aware of his own body than Chunyangzi was, but the urge to slaughter in his heart was something he simply could not suppress! Especially when encountering things that did not go his way, his murderous intent would erupt!

He lowered his head and pondered for a moment; perhaps this was related to the knot in his heart that had yet to be untied. As his cultivation level rose, the dead knot involving Nanxuan Laozu had an increasingly greater impact on his state of mind! If it were not for the root of disaster planted at the very beginning, there would not be such a large flaw in Zhang Nuo's state of mind.

"Senior! I understand what you are saying! That is why I must find Nanxuan as soon as possible; otherwise, it will be difficult for my state of mind to return to tranquility!"

"Sigh! There is a saying among mortals: as one's official rank rises, so does one's temper! The higher your cultivation, the harder it is to control your state of mind! It seems you need to practice some techniques used by Zen cultivators. That will be of great help to your state of mind!"

With a long sigh, Chunyangzi had also been where Zhang Nuo was now, so he did not say much more, only offering an appropriate reminder.

"Zen cultivation techniques? Heh! I think it would be faster to just kill that old dog Nanxuan!"

Walking on the Immortal Mountain, a cold sneer appeared on Zhang Nuo's face! The murderous intent in his eyes leaked out inadvertently! Several Giant Spirit Pavilion disciples who were relatively far away could not help but shiver uncontrollably when Zhang Nuo passed by them!

These disciples cast their gazes toward Zhang Nuo one after another. In the past, this Fourth Master always wore a smile, but recently, there was an aura about him that made them want to keep their distance! It felt as if being near him meant there was a danger to their lives!

When Zhang Nuo returned to Yulong Hall, he saw Zhou Huizheng, Yang Huzi, and Liu Qingshan all in the hall. The three of them had extremely ugly expressions, and each of them was shaking their heads incessantly!

"Fourth, you're back!"

Seeing Zhang Nuo walk in, Yang Huzi lifted his eyelids, the look of distress on his face not diminishing in the slightest.

"What happened?"

Sensing that the atmosphere in the hall was wrong, Zhang Nuo hurried a few steps to stand before Zhou Huizheng and asked.

"Old Third just came back and said that the old ghost Wei of Taixu Palace has gathered many small factions to join Taixu Palace, making the once-hollow Taixu Palace strong once again. Moreover, they have allied with the Heaven Sword Sect and the Tiangui Sect, wanting to take Yulong Immortal Mountain in one fell swoop to avenge the grudge of that day! And..."

Having said this much, Zhou Huizheng's face turned pale, and his gaze turned toward Zhang Nuo!

"And, they insist on tearing me into ten thousand pieces, right?"

Zhang Nuo spoke the words that followed; hearing this, Zhou Huizheng was somewhat surprised!

"How did you know!"

"I had already thought of this. Back then, I killed Wei Juren; even if Wei Shang could forgive anyone else, he would absolutely never forgive me!"

With a contemptuous smile, Zhang Nuo acted as if he had not taken this matter to heart at all!

"Fourth, I think it would be best if you left the Immortal Mountain less often recently. Even if Taixu Palace is strong, I am afraid they won't be able to break in for a while!"

Zhang Nuo's eyebrows twitched slightly. Listening to Zhou Huizheng's words, the surface meaning was that it was for his own good, but in secret, he was afraid that Zhang Nuo would leave Yulong Immortal Mountain! If Zhang Nuo were to leave without a word, Wei Shang's bellyful of anger would surely be vented entirely on the Giant Spirit Pavilion!

Zhang Nuo was incredibly clever; how could he not understand the subtext? His face remained expressionless, but in his heart, he cursed Zhou Huizheng a thousand times over!

This fellow, who was full of benevolence and morality, had acted as if he valued him highly when he needed him, but now that disaster was imminent, he was actually calculating his own little schemes! Perhaps if there really came a day when Taixu Palace breached Yulong Immortal Mountain, he might even hand Zhang Nuo over to exchange for the survival of the Giant Spirit Pavilion!

"Pavilion Master, rest assured! Zhang will definitely stand with the Giant Spirit Pavilion! Even if we fight to the last man, I will not flee!"

This sentence, which seemed to be a declaration of determination, was meant to let Zhou Huizheng know that Zhang Nuo had seen through his intentions! His face looking slightly unnatural, the Pavilion Master of the Giant Spirit Pavilion gave a dry cough and immediately said:

"Fourth! What are you saying! Since you have already joined the Giant Spirit Pavilion, you are our brother! I don't even put that bunch of rabble from Taixu Palace in my eyes!"

When it came to being old, crafty, and cunning, Zhang Nuo was still far from being a match for Zhou Huizheng. No matter how one looked at it, Zhou Huizheng sounded more loyal to the ears of the others.

"The Pavilion Master is right! Those cultivators that Taixu Palace gathered temporarily surely won't be anything special!"

Yang Huzi puffed out his chest and said with soaring heroism; compared to Zhou Huizheng, Yang Huzi's words came from the heart!

With a faint smile on his face, Zhang Nuo suddenly turned his head and asked Liu Qingshan:

"Elder Liu! Is there any news on the matter I asked you to look into a few days ago?"

"Heh! This little matter that Fourth Master entrusted to me, this old man naturally did his best to handle! It has now been verified that Nanxuan Laozu and his party are staying on a small mountain called Zhugu Peak, and it looks like they are stationed there long-term!"

After Liu Qingshan finished relaying the news he had gathered, he looked at Zhang Nuo with great confusion! In previous investigations into Zhang Nuo, he had learned that he came from the Nanxuan Sect, but for some reason, he seemed extremely unwilling to return to the Nanxuan Sect! Even Zhou Huizheng had not figured this point out!

Now, with a great enemy approaching, Zhang Nuo was asking about the Nanxuan Sect; could it be that he wanted to leave himself a way out? But Zhou Huizheng thought again and realized that was wrong! With Zhang Nuo's intelligence, he would not discuss such matters openly, let alone bring it up under the current circumstances!

"Hehe! Finally, there is news of them! Old dog Nanxuan! Your doomsday has arrived!"

At the mention of Nanxuan Laozu, a thick, intense Evil Qi unconsciously radiated from Zhang Nuo's body. Even Yang Huzi, who was closest to him, could not help but retreat a few steps, looking at Zhang Nuo with great astonishment!

"Fourth! Fourth!"

Seeing Zhang Nuo's expression becoming increasingly ferocious, and fearing that something might happen to him, Yang Huzi called out loudly!

Startled back from his trance, Zhang Nuo wiped a hand heavily across his face and then let out a long sigh! Just now, upon receiving news of Nanxuan Laozu, his state of mind had become chaotic to the extreme!

"What exactly happened? Do you have some grudge with Nanxuan Laozu?"

Having never seen Zhang Nuo like this, Zhou Huizheng was also greatly puzzled!

"Things have come to this, so I have nothing left to hide! Back then, I also came from the Nanxuan Sect, and later..."

As if telling a story, Zhang Nuo recounted the matter from beginning to end, especially when he mentioned Nanxuan Laozu framing him, which made Zhang Nuo's eyes almost split with rage!

"That is how it is! Before, my cultivation was insufficient, and it was impossible for me to be a match for Nanxuan Laozu, so I never thought about taking revenge. But now that my cultivation has greatly increased, the faint gap in my state of mind can no longer be mended; the only way is to wipe out Nanxuan!"

Zhang Nuo spoke these last few words with resounding force, his face full of determination, allowing not the slightest hesitation!

"So that's how it is!"

The three people in the hall finally had everything sorted out! With this, the worries in Zhou Huizheng's heart also dissipated quite a bit!

"Pavilion Master! I have a request! Please give me a few days; I will go deal with that old dog Nanxuan, and then return to deal with Taixu Palace together with the disciples of the Pavilion!"

Hearing this, Zhou Huizheng was stunned for a moment, then revealed a look of difficulty! If Taixu Palace were not currently uniting various forces to attack Yulong Immortal Mountain, he might have accompanied Zhang Nuo himself, but the current situation was extremely critical. If Taixu Palace came to attack the mountain while Zhang Nuo was away, what would they do!

He was even more worried that Nanxuan Laozu's cultivation had already reached the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, while Zhang Nuo was only at the Nascent Soul Early Stage. If the two of them fought, it was uncertain who would win! If Zhang Nuo were severely injured, even if he returned to the Giant Spirit Pavilion, he would not be of much use!

He wanted to speak up to stop him, not wanting Zhang Nuo to go seek revenge on Nanxuan Laozu, but seeing Zhang Nuo's current state, he believed that even if he said those words, the other party might not listen!

Matters of a cultivator's state of mind are not something outsiders can understand; regarding this point, Zhou Huizheng knew it clearly! After hesitating for a moment, he remained silent for a long time!

Zhang Nuo, on the other hand, just stood there opposite him, the slightly angry expression on his face seemingly saying: whether you agree or not, I am going to go and destroy Nanxuan Laozu!

For a moment, undercurrents surged within the great hall! Liu Qingshan and Yang Huzi watched the two of them without blinking, guessing who would compromise?