Chapter 403

241—How did he manage it?

"Ahem!"

Dugu Qiubai was caught between tears and laughter; he too had no idea how Dugu Jian had "misunderstood" the Grand Dragon Leader.

"Actually, what the Sixth Dragon Leader meant was the Grand Dragon Leader's ability to foresee the future."

"Foresee the future? Divination? Like that Clay Bodhisattva?"

Dugu Jian asked curiously, then thought it over and suddenly saw the light.

Indeed!

The moment Yunzhou returned, Dugu Qiubai had come knocking, insisting that he join the Qinglong Society.

One must understand that even within the Yunzhou Wu Lin, probably not many people knew he was still alive.

But how had Ximen Wudi found out?

Coupled with this trip to Shuiyue Dongtian, it was clearly yet another case of foresight.

"Compared with our Grand Dragon Leader, that Clay Bodhisattva falls far short."

"People like them have to cast divinations and consult the I Ching—it's all just putting on a show."

"The Grand Dragon Leader's foresight is like an instinct."

"Whatever he says always hits the mark."

Zhang Daoling's face was full of longing—clearly he had experienced quite a bit of Ximen Wudi's foresight firsthand.

"That amazing? Then…"

Dugu Jian's heart stirred, just as a thought was forming.

Yin Tianxue turned her head back and spoke up,

"Elder seniors, I'm not interrupting you."

"Do you know about the Tong clan within Shuiyue Dongtian, and the treasure they guard—the Spirit Mirror?"

"What about it?"

Before coming, the special Wu Gong of the one who had transformed into a dragon, and the shattering-grade treasure the Spirit Mirror—Ximen Wudi had mentioned them all in passing.

Only the so-called Tong clan had never been brought up.

Dugu Jian had already seen Yin Zhong escape by transforming into a dragon, and now hearing Yin Tianxue mention the Spirit Mirror—

In an instant, he was utterly won over by Ximen Wudi, admiration flooding his very bones.

Indeed!

The Grand Dragon Leader truly could foresee the future!

What Clay Bodhisattva, Yuan Shoucheng, Lord Donghuang Taiyi, and the rest—

Probably not even fit to carry the Grand Dragon Leader's shoes, right?

After all, ask them to divine a shattering-grade Spirit Mirror—go on, try!

Whether they could divine it at all was one thing; they might even invite a backlash!

"The Spirit Mirror can foresee the future!"

Yin Tianxue had never seen the Spirit Mirror herself, but within Shuiyue Dongtian, every faction knew of its strange properties.

"Foresee the future?"

Had this been before, Dugu Jian really would have been astonished.

But having just confirmed the Grand Dragon Leader's omniscience and foresight—

If even the Spirit Mirror he knew about, then what was the Spirit Mirror's foresight worth?

"Oh! All right, lead the way then!"

This entry into Shuiyue Dongtian—though Ximen Wudi had not said so outright.

The core aim was clearly to obtain the Spirit Mirror, and this Shuiyue Dongtian itself!

After all, across the Nine Provinces there were only thirty-six Dongtian and seventy-two Blessed Lands.

With Shuiyue Dongtian's scale so vast, it was clearly one of the thirty-six Dongtian.

This Dongtian rightly belonged under the Qinglong Society's stewardship.

The so-called Tong clan most likely held the very heart of this Dongtian.

Seeing that the three were not shocked, Yin Tianxue could only lead them onward.

Yet within Shuiyue Dongtian, the Tong clan was the most reclusive of all.

Every faction had only heard legends of them, never laid eyes on them.

Yin Tianxue did know a few people of the Tong clan, but right now what she wanted most was to go home.

So she led the three to her home—Yujian Shanzhuang.

When they reached the Shanzhuang, they found that what had once been Shuiyue Dongtian's foremost Wulinmen Sect now resembled a ghostly haunt.

The Iron Guards were sprawled every which way, dead on the ground.

The dead had all been drained of their essence, looking like dried corpses.

"Ah… Father…"

At the sight, Yin Tianxue's heart trembled, and without a care for anything else she rushed into the Shanzhuang.

Zhang Daoling, uneasy, immediately followed along.

This trip into Shuiyue Dongtian—clearly Yin Tianxue was one of the keys.

"What kind of art could drain a person's essence outright?"

Dugu Jian had always pursued the Way of the Sword; beyond the sword, he knew little.

"I observed that Yin Zhong, who earlier transformed into a dragon and fled, was bearing heavy wounds."

"Vitality and energy are constantly being eroded."

"Yin Tianxue also said Yin Zhong was slaughtering her family, so most likely these people were killed by Yin Zhong's hand."

"Combined with his injuries, it's clear that draining these people's essence was to resist his wounds."

Dugu Qiubai's brief analysis was, in fact, eight or nine parts accurate.

"What the Third Dragon Head says is exactly right…"

"Hey, you two, stop standing out there, come in and take a look."

Zhang Daoling's voice suddenly carried a note of surprise.

The two Dugu brothers immediately moved and rushed into Shanzhuang.

"What a huge snake… what kind of snake is this?"

Arriving at Zhang Daoling's side, they found a collapsed underground palace here.

A blood-colored giant python had been blasted into several segments, floating above a pool of mercury.

The giant python's length was at least over ten zhang, and its thickness was nearly on the level of a towering ancient tree.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is a Blood Python."

Zhang Daoling pointed at this Blood Python and the mercury pool,

"Snakes are inherently one of the Five Poisons, and pythons are even more extraordinary among snakes."

"Some pythons are non-venomous, while others are incomparably venomous."

"The Blood Python is among the hardest to refine of all pythons."

"I previously only heard from the Great Dragon Head that Blood Pythons are born from the filth of heaven and earth."

"Refined by soaking in all manner of poisonous creatures and poisons under heaven."

"A single Blood Python requires at least a hundred years to refine."

"And this Blood Python, I observe, is at least over three hundred years old — one could almost say it has become a spirit."

Zhang Daoling examined the Blood Python's corpse as he slowly spoke.

"Three hundred years?"

The two Dugu brothers exchanged glances; although for those who practiced martial arts, starting from the Land Immortal realm, lifespan increased dramatically,

they truly had never seen anyone refine a venomous snake and then let that venomous snake live past three hundred years.

Moreover, judging by the current situation, if not for the accident, this venomous snake could have lived even longer.

"Why is that?"

"Let Tianxue go…"

Just at this moment, a young man dressed in strange clothes rushed in.

Without even taking in the situation, he threw a punch straight at Zhang Daoling, who was closest to Yin Tianxue.