Chapter 701: Extra Chapter 2: There Are No Stupid People Around My Sister

I followed Tang Xun and A Cheng to the Phoenix Clan.

After the three of us sat down, I asked doubtfully, "A Cheng, may I ask why you performed divination on Zhao Zixun?"

A Cheng and Zhao Zixun must have had some prior contact, but that alone wouldn't be enough for A Cheng to pay such special attention to Zhao Zixun, would it?

"Miss Fu, you've misunderstood," A Cheng explained. "I don't have General Zhao's birth data, nor did I ever intend to divine for him. It's just that the Feng Clan has been unsettled lately, so I was divining our clan's recent fortunes and observing the heavens, and I found the anchor point of an unstable factor, which happened to fall on General Zhao."

We immediately contacted Dang Pu's side; my sister said General Zhao had disappeared and wanted to know his situation in detail, so she could only reach out through you, which is why I and my aunt came to find you—we didn't expect to run into you halfway.

"Yeah, it's quite a coincidence," Tang Xun asked. "Fu Wan, where were you originally planning to go? We won't take up too much of your time."

"I was just wandering aimlessly anyway, so it's not really a delay or not," I said, puzzled. "How could the Feng Clan's fortunes become entangled with Zhao Zixun?"

Zhao Zixun and the Feng Clan have nothing to do with each other, right?

"That's a long story," A Cheng explained patiently. "Shan Shan is the new Phoenix Lord; her advent foretells the Feng Clan's revival. First and foremost, the Fire Seed sealed in the Cangwu Dark Seal will gradually return to the Feng Clan with Shan Shan's emergence—that's why the Feng Clan caught fire a few days ago."

I nodded; I already knew all of this.

"The Feng Clan is an extremely ancient clan; its awakening will not only stir these Fire Seeds but also countless other unstable factors that were once sealed, as well as hostile forces lurking in the shadows—all of them will begin to stir."

That's completely normal.

Xiao Jiu once said that even the reforms at Dang Pu have faced various obstructions from scheming individuals in the Nether Realm, let alone the revival of a clan like the Feng Clan.

Even now, Shan Shan is being watched.

Once Shan Shan is gone, the Feng Clan's revival will amount to nothing but empty talk.

Everything will revert to its original state.

Tang Xun added, "Fu Wan, the Feng Clan is not only ancient but also a very special clan. The spirit birds and beasts that have emerged from it are spread throughout the three realms and six paths. After the Ancient Feng Clan's downfall, they have been unrestrained, and some have already gone astray. Once the Feng Clan revives, it will inevitably carry out a great purge among its members, and some of them won't be able to sit still."

I understood: "So Zhao Zixun has been dragged into this turbulent war, and they are after his military leadership ability?"

Zhao Zixun bears the title "Ever-Victorious General."

"That's one reason," Tang Xun said. "Secondly, in my view, General Zhao has been involved in this since a hundred years ago and has never left the center of the vortex of all these events."

My brows knotted tightly: "You mean Zhao Zixun being chosen by Chen Ping back then wasn't a coincidence?"

Tang Xun's lips curled slightly, and I saw admiration in her eyes.

A Cheng was more blunt: "My sister really has no stupid people around her; everyone is sharp and perceptive."

"This is Xiao Jiu's personal magnetism," Tang Xun said. "She naturally attracts capable, intelligent, and virtuous people."

Listening to their praise, I felt a bit embarrassed, but my mind was more preoccupied with Zhao Zixun. I grew anxious: "A Cheng, based on your divination and celestial observations, where is Zhao Zixun now? What's his situation? What should I do?"

"Miss Fu, don't rush—this can't be rushed," A Cheng said. "Chen Ping is extraordinary; he bears half an imperial destiny. In the battle of the Human Skin Puppets, my sister and they inferred that the master who calculated Chen Ping's half-imperial fate might be the hidden manipulator, and indeed they later anchored a suspicious figure in the underground passage and slew him."

That matter is now settled, and my sister's side is indeed very peaceful. If it weren't for Shan Shan's emergence, that deeper-hidden individual would never have shown his hand, and this person is likely a descendant of the Ancient Feng Clan.

My aunt and I stayed up all night reviewing; it's actually not hard to pinpoint the target, since in the Human Skin Puppets battle, the bird that appeared most often was the azure hawk.

Yes.

Those azure hawks that exist in the name of sacrifice also belong to the Feng Clan.

"Chen Ping is dead, the master who told his fortune is dead, and even the entire layout of Wufu Town has been destroyed, yet from beginning to end, General Zhao has survived." Tang Xun analyzed, "General Zhao is brave and skilled in battle, very valiant—it's no surprise he could survive—but there's a conspicuous issue we've overlooked: the Coffin Nail on his forehead."

I understood: "Yes, we overlooked it—the Coffin Nail on Zhao Zixun's forehead carries mana. If the person who nailed it in and controlled Zhao Zixun through the nail had already died, then after all this time the nail's mana should have faded, and Zhao Zixun's rotting corpse wouldn't wait for Shan Shan's emergence to erupt. So the mastermind who provided the Coffin Nail for Chen Ping and the weasel, who devised the scheme, is still around!"

A Cheng nodded repeatedly: "Exactly, he's still around, and he's versed in witchcraft. He hasn't moved General Zhao, keeping him nurtured in Wufu Town while holding many yin soldiers in his hand, just waiting for the right moment to strike us unexpectedly."

Unfortunately, despite all his calculations, he didn't anticipate that the new Phoenix Lord would appear safely so soon, so he had no choice but to control the Coffin Nail to summon General Zhao back—now it's the moment of fish dead and net broken.

Yes, Shan Shan's emergence changed the feng shui of the entire Zhu Pan River.

The yin soldiers in Zhao Zixun's hands that weren't destroyed by Nirvanic Qi were all incorporated into the Seven Halls Yama's forces, which is another major blow to them.

I suddenly realized: "No wonder the Seven Halls Yama is willing to take those yin soldiers but refuses to accept Zhao Zixun under its command, saying his karma is too heavy—it seems the Seven Halls Yama has also discovered something."

Tang Xun said, "The power distribution in the Nether Realm is too complex; the Feng Clan borders it, so there's always a risk of annexation. The Seven Halls Yama is situated there; even if he doesn't know the details, he can keenly sense shifts in the wind. He's someone who treasures talent—how could he not want to recruit General Zhao?"

It's not that he doesn't want to, but that he can't.

The karma on Zhao Zixun's body may be far deeper than we imagine.

As soon as I thought of that, A Cheng confirmed my suspicion.

He said: "If I haven't deduced wrong, General Zhao in his previous life should also have been some mighty great general; what they covet is General Zhao's battle spirit..."