Chapter 522: 476 Emerging

March 1st, afternoon.

Tang Zhao's ritual for entering the water was extremely brief. This matter was highly confidential, and from the start, no fanfare had been arranged. Even when Dong Xingyu wanted to hold a ceremony to offer a sacrifice to Dongjun, Tang Zhao refused, saying, "Do not let people see the true purpose."

In the end, it was really just everyone going to the riverside to see Tang Zhao off. After all, this departure could be a final farewell, so it was necessary for everyone to see each other one last time.

After the ritual, most of the group that had come to see Tang Zhao off left, but they did not disperse; instead, they remained on standby in a camp several hundred zhang away, ready to strike at any moment. By the river, there was only a small tent, with a young man standing outside, and inside sat an old man, a white fox, and a sunflower.

The white fox was naturally Ling Baoyu, and the sunflower was the Xiangyangzi Sword Deity who had come from afar. The white-bearded old man was the current Mountain Chief of the Jiandisi Xunying, Commander Nan.

The young man outside was a Sword Guest transferred from another region, surnamed Fang, Fang Weiran.

Although the operation was confidential, a certain amount of force had to be left here to facilitate support. It was best for the group to be small and elite; if Tang Zhao encountered danger, they could help him block the first wave of potential trouble and buy time for the main force on standby in the camp to mobilize.

Commander Nan was an experienced old Sword Hero who had once stirred up the winds and clouds; he only held the post of Mountain Chief after retiring to enjoy his later years. He looked old, but his strength had not declined; he was one of the top-tier Sword Heroes in Yunzhou, and his presence here to hold the line was as steady as Mount Tai.

The white fox and Xiangyangzi went without saying; not only were they Tang Zhao's friends, but their abilities were also unique, and their appearances were not eye-catching. Two experts of this level remaining here would not give people the feeling of "strength in numbers."

The Fang Weiran outside had decent strength for a Sword Guest, but he was only a Sword Guest and originally could not be a main force in such a major event. However, his ability was extremely special, involving space; he could temporarily create a nearly invincible protective shield that blocked attacks, which might be useful for support, so he was left behind to keep watch outside the tent.

As for Commander Nan, he sat by the small table in the tent, brewed a pot of tea, rolled walnuts in his hands, and leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed to rest his mind.

The white fox, however, paced back and forth inside and outside the tent, looking very anxious.

Xiangyangzi leaned against the doorway, catching the sunlight just right. One eye flipped out from the flower disk, and he said, "What are you anxious about? You're not that young anymore, how can you be so unable to keep your composure? How long has it even been? He's only been in the water for half a day; he might not have even found the Jinwu yet. At the very least, you should wait until tomorrow to be anxious."

Ling Baoyu shook his head and said somewhat urgently, "Can't you feel it? At noon, the earth shook. Could it be that Tang Zhao encountered trouble underground?"

Xiangyangzi said, "There were one or two slight tremors, but didn't it stop quickly? You've probably been away from the ground for too long and forgotten that the earth might shake at any moment. If you get all worked up over every little movement, you'll never have any peace. Tang Zhao has only been down for half a day; even if he caused the shaking, it's at most just opening a passage or something."

Ling Baoyu said, "You don't know either, so how can you be so certain? Do you think the Jinwu might have been observing the ground all along? Could it already know about Tang Zhao entering the water? Perhaps... it has been bought off by the Turtle Bandits and is already on the side of the villains. Tang Zhao might have been killed the moment he entered the water, so no matter how long we wait, nothing will happen..."

Having gotten to know each other well these days, Xiangyangzi said bluntly, "Your paranoia is acting up again, isn't it? You should find something to occupy your mind. How would the Turtle Bandits have the ability to find the Jinwu first? Tang Zhao is carrying a monitoring Art Tool; if he died, we would know here. Even if we take a step back and say the Art Tool failed, I can sense the Sun Power in the earth here. The Sun Power fluctuated at noon, but it didn't erupt at all and calmed down quickly; it was completely within the range of normal fluctuations. It's impossible for anything major to have happened. Just set your heart at ease."

Ling Baoyu felt slightly relieved, then changed his train of thought: "What form do you think the Jinwu Sword Deity exists in? Is it a creature like you, or a natural form like the Wangliang? Could it be human-shaped? I heard that the Jinwu Swords of past generations were all top-tier handsome men, so could the Jinwu Sword Deity also be..."

Xiangyangzi couldn't roll his eyes, but if he could, he would have rolled them to the heavens long ago. Just as he was about to say something, Commander Nan suddenly opened his eyes slightly and said, "He's here?"

Tang Zhao is here?

Ling Baoyu and Xiangyangzi looked outside at the same time, only to see the river flowing quietly without a single splash. Where could he have come from?

Instead, someone outside said, "The teacher is still vigorous in his old age, with ears and eyes as sharp as in his prime."

A tall young man walked in; Ling Baoyu recognized him as Xing Ji from Yunzhou.

Commander Nan said, "I am long since decrepit, but you haven't made any progress either. You couldn't even wait half a day before coming to take a look. I'm afraid I'll be sick of looking at you in these few days."

Xing Ji said with a smile, "Ten years ago, the teacher said he was sick of looking at my face, but haven't I recovered since then? It shows I'm still quite healing."

He looked back at the river and said, "Besides, I didn't come here on my own. The Lord is also concerned about this place. This bend of the river concerns the million commoners of Yunzhou; who could sit still?"

While speaking, Xing Ji sat down.

Commander Nan had long known what this student from many years ago was like. He shook his head and said, "If the Lord is concerned, he would naturally send an envoy to ask; a single soldier would suffice. Why would he let you come? Don't you have proper business? Wasn't it said that the search line has recently advanced to the edge of Lingzhou? As the Sword Hero in the prefecture most familiar with Lingzhou, why aren't you there presiding over it?"

Xing Ji said solemnly, "Nothing can be hidden from the teacher. If not me, who for the affairs of Lingzhou? I will set off today; I came here to take a look and then I will depart. This departure might involve taking on another military order; I might not be able to return this year, or even for a year or two after."

Commander Nan said with a straight face, "You only do these meaningless things. To look—why not just set off? You know full well that coming to take a look won't change anything, yet you ran over here anyway. It's a waste of time, acting like a sentimental child."

Xing Ji rubbed his chin. Acting like a sentimental child, huh? He had used this phrase to lecture others before; he hadn't expected his turn to come.

In truth, how could he not know that it had only been half a day and there would be no result here, and that coming here was a wasted trip? If he were working within Zhongtian Prefecture, only a few steps away, he would have held his ground for a few days without showing any emotion. But the Lord had issued an urgent order, and he had to leave in the afternoon. Not knowing when he would return, he still couldn't set his mind at ease and rushed over to take a look.

If he didn't come to look, perhaps the next time he heard news, it would be tragic.

It could be tragic news about Tang Zhao, or it could be tragic news about himself.

This wasn't him scaring himself. As a soldier who had fought on the front lines and in the Human World for many years, he had seen people around him pass away constantly and had experienced many times that a parting was a final farewell.

Seeing the flowing river, Xing Ji also had a moment of distraction, thinking of how water flowing into the sea is like time that cannot be reversed, that the living are fleeting and the dead are eternal. He remembered many old friends and could not help but reveal a rare touch of sorrow.

Commander Nan knew he had been touched by his own thoughts, so he stopped mentioning the "sentimental child" act and didn't join in the sorrow. He closed his eyes slightly, appearing like a withered, numb old man, falling asleep in the afternoon sun.

After closing his eyes to rest for a moment, he heard Xing Ji say, "What the hell?"

Commander Nan opened his eyes abruptly and saw the river water under the sunlight surging with waves, spray splashing up as if it were churning.

It was truly churning!

At this moment, Fang Weiran at the door had already shouted, "Waves are rising, is someone coming out?"

Ling Baoyu rushed out with a whoosh. Commander Nan and Xing Ji, however, were not joyful; instead, they were on guard at the same time, their expressions tense—

Tang Zhao returning at this time, it was unreasonable!

Perhaps an enemy had arrived or some other accident had occurred; they had to be prepared to meet the enemy. Almost simultaneously, a golden-red tiger-shaped divine beast descended, and the walnuts in Commander Nan's hands lit up.

Immediately after, a head emerged from the river.

Then, Tang Zhao climbed up from the river, soaking wet.

He was alone; there was no one else, and no carriage.

Looking at it this way, he had fallen on hard times.

Tang Zhao stepped ashore, first spat out a mouthful of water, and when he looked up, he saw he was surrounded by people. And they were all acquaintances.

"Ah, Chief Xing, Miss Ling, Senior Xiang... eh, everyone is here? What a coincidence?"

Xing Ji first looked at the river, seeing that the surface had already returned to calm, not looking like anything else had followed him up. Then he looked at Tang Zhao's state; although he was covered in water and somewhat disheveled, his expression was calm and steady, not like someone was chasing him.

So, is he alright?

No, it looks like he encountered trouble; looking at his disheveled appearance, he might have suffered a great loss!

Fortunately, he was physically unharmed.

He took a few steps forward, standing between Tang Zhao and the river, facing Tang Zhao sideways. His eyes were observing the water surface as he smiled at Tang Zhao: "It's only a coincidence that I am here; they are not coincidences, they have been waiting for you. It's good that you're back." He patted Tang Zhao's soaking wet clothes and said, "Things were never going to be accomplished in one stroke; it doesn't matter if you suffered a setback. Just come back and try again. Whatever anger you have, let's endure it for a moment; we'll pay it back double later."

When Tang Zhao left, he looked at the luxury carriage, brought his underlings, was protected by a halo of light, and didn't get a drop of water on him—how grand was that? Now that he was back, the carriage was gone, the people were gone, and he was soaking wet like a drowned rat; this clearly showed he had suffered a setback.

After all, they were on the same side, and Xing Ji was already happy that he had returned. As for the other person who didn't return... who was that?

Anyway, apart from Tang Zhao, no one present remembered Zheng Yun's name; even Ling Baoyu had already forgotten that there was another person.

Tang Zhao wiped the water from his face and said, "Ah? Setback? I didn't suffer any setback?"

Xing Ji was startled and said somewhat nervously, "Did... did you see the Jinwu?"

Tang Zhao said, "I saw it. Fortunately, I did not fail the mission."

Xiangyangzi interjected from the side, "How is the Jinwu Sword? Is it a Sword Deity? How is it doing?"

Tang Zhao said solemnly, "It is a Sword Deity. Jinwu Dianxia is truly worthy of being the real Jinwu Sword."

Xing Ji said, "It didn't do anything to you, did it? Then why are you soaking wet... and why are the others not here?"

Tang Zhao explained, "Jinwu Dianxia is by no means an enemy; it was very good to me, and we got along quite well. As for me... my Water-Repelling Device burned out."

At the time, he was too close to the Golden Crow; although the Sunlight protected his body and his clothes were made of special materials, all the Art Tools that were not fireproof enough were burned, including the Fu Array for repelling water.

He came out from the side of Fusang and entered the river, and it was only after being drenched in hot water that he realized what had happened. Even the Six Dragon Carriage was burned to the point that it could not be started.

If there was any setback on this trip, it was the significant loss of property.

At the time, Tang Zhao could have teleported out directly, but since he had already fallen into the water, it didn't matter whether he teleported or not; he swam up after all, as this was the agreed-upon way to return, which could put everyone at ease.

As for Zheng Yun...

The Golden Crow kept him behind, saying it had something to Ask.

Tang Zhao guessed that it had discovered some connection between the "Sun-Holding Envoy" and the Jinwu Sword and wanted to ask about this matter privately. He trusted the Golden Crow relatively well, and Zheng Yun had no objections either, so Tang Zhao found it inconvenient to interfere and returned alone first.

Because he had urgent business to attend to.

Thinking of the business, he hurriedly said, "Chief Xing, I still need to see the Lord."

Xing Ji did not ask what exactly happened down there and said directly, "Then come with me."

Tang Zhao said, "No, just like last time."

Xing Ji paused and said, "You want the Lord to come see you again?"