Chapter 342 – Qi Xuanao

After the spoils of war were distributed, the esteemed group of prodigies said nothing else.

Gu Zuo looked at Gongyi Tianheng. Currently, he didn’t know whether they ought to leave or not.

Before these prodigies made any decisions, several highly important-looking martial artists wearing splendid robes and many people with genial and respectful complexions walked over.

After they approached and spoke a few words, Gu Zuo realized that these people were the city lords of several nearby cities.

At first, when an origin flood dragon suddenly started causing havoc on the Black Sand River, they intended to have the Ascendent Realms in their cities eliminate it. Unfortunately, this flood dragon was cunning, and frequently submerged itself in the depths of the great river. It wasn’t known how dangerous it was inside the river. As far as the iron-ranked organizations were concerned, the Ascendant Realm powerhouses wouldn’t have suffered any losses out of the water… Consequently, this matter was passed up to the sect with a request to transfer manpower to get rid of the flood dragon.

Soon, the higher sect passed down a decree. It stated clearly that this flood dragon would be treated as a learning experience for several prodigies, which delighted the various city lords. Therefore, they strived their hardest to protect the nearby citizens so that they weren’t harmed by the flood dragon. Merely, they were powerless when it came to the people who came and went along the great river. Ships either capsized or were swept away by the wind and waves.

Now that these prodigies had eliminated that origin flood dragon, these city lords naturally wanted to express themselves — Not only was it due to the gratitude in their hearts, it was also because they wanted to build a bit of a relationship with these prodigies. In the future, this would certainly be enormously advantageous to themselves.

As for those people who followed and surrounded the city lords, they were members of numerous organizations of various sizes. Under the lead of several city lords, they all came together to send out invitations. They wanted to host a banquet to entertain the prodigies.

After those city lords respectfully stated their purpose in coming, these prodigies, who still hadn’t left, briefly pondered.

Soon after, Qi Xuanao looked at Tianheng, and asked with a smile: “What does Brother Gongyi think?”

Tianheng replied: “I’ll go along with everyone else’s decisions.”

At this moment, the Ice Phoenix Goddess spoke: “Since these city lords are so cordial, and these numerous visitors are so sincere, we might as well go to the city and rest for a bit.”

Even this woman agreed.

And since the Ice Phoenix Goddess answered positively, Fan Meng, who still intended on getting closer to this woman, naturally said: “If Sister Baizhi goes, this Fan will keep her company.”

On the contrary, Bao Hong wasn’t particularly interested in going. However, while he possessed an air of arrogance, he didn’t want to deliberately estrange himself from the others. Since everyone held the same statuses, not giving face would be in poor taste.

Thus, Bao Hong and Qi Xuanao agreed.

Likewise, Tianheng naturally followed suit.

Upon hearing this, those city lords were ecstatic. They promptly said: “We welcome these honorable prodigies! Not more than a few hundred kilometers away is Luoxiao City. This certainly won’t be a waste of your time!”

Although these iron-ranked cities all possessed nearly the same foundations, who allowed that Luoxiao City to be the nearest? The location for hosting the banquet could only be there.

Afterwards, the prodigies got on their own mounts. The numerous battle slaves formed ranks, and closely followed and guarded their charges.

Gu Zuo also diligently stayed with his family’s big brother. He didn’t have the slightest intentions of stealing the spotlight.

The wild beasts that could act as means of transportation for these prodigies were able to travel very quickly. In less than an hour, that gigantic city appeared before everyone’s eyes — Of course, while it couldn’t compare to Shijue City, its city walls were also quite tall. The walls looked like a towering and lofty ferocious beast lying on its side.

However, for the current Gu Zuo, this wasn’t enough to astonish him like in the past.

The city gates opened wide. This iron-ranked city didn’t dare to make these prodigies get down from their own mounts.

However, these prodigies had to be well respected. If they were separated in terms of priority at this time, wouldn’t this refute their own honor? Although the city gates were large, they weren’t big enough to accommodate this group of prodigies and their battle slave troops all at once.

Soon after, Tianheng warmly said: “Let’s enter first, and have the battle slaves go in after us.”

The other prodigies didn’t object. They urged their mounts forward, and passed through the gates side by side.

Reaching this point, they regarded Tianheng somewhat more favorably.

After entering the city, they went to the city lord’s mansion.

The city lord’s mansion was the most magnificent building in the city. It featured a main hall that could fit several thousand people.

Right now, the members of numerous organizations who came to watch the prodigies eliminate the flood dragon definitely numbered more than several thousand. However, not everyone could enter the city lord’s mansion. This required layers upon layers of selections, and each guest could only bring along a few people into the building.

The Luoxiao City Lord had made preparations long ago. Once Tianheng and the others came to the city and entered the main hall, they were guided to the seats of honor.

That’s right. All of the prodigies would be placed at the seats of honor. There was a row of five chairs for the group of prodigies to choose for themselves.

Intentionally or otherwise, the other prodigies gave the center-most seat to Tianheng. As for everyone else, Fan Meng took the initiative to sit on Tianheng’s left side. Then, he invited the Ice Phoenix Goddess to sit next to him. Meanwhile, Qi Xuanao immediately sat on Tianheng’s right side. Bao Hong simply took the seat on Qi Xuanao’s other side.

There weren’t any disputes over the seating.

The chairs of the five prodigies were arranged in a semicircle so that there was no division between first and last. This also made it convenient for them to see each other’s faces. From where the prodigies were seated at the head of the table, the city lords and other members of relatively important organizations also took their seats. They were separated based on their identity, position, and influence.

Gu Zuo quietly sat slightly behind Tianheng at the same table. He felt slightly exasperated.

The people of Luoxiao City had made such arrangements. They truly put in a lot of effort&#k2026; It probably wasn’t easy to serve prodigies.

The preparations of the various city lords were in place. It didn’t take long for several hundred young girls in bright, fluttering dresses to come in. They presented fine wines and delicious foods one after another. In particular, every single dish served to the prodigies was meticulous and precious. It certainly must’ve been extremely expensive to purchase.

Concerning this group of prodigies, just how prideful and standoffish were they? While they wouldn’t exchange conventional greetings and social niceties with others at this banquet, because these prodigies had experienced slaying the flood dragon together, this was considered a connecting point for friendly relations. Thus, they chatted among each other.

As for the city lords and the organization members, occasionally gaining eye contact was already regarded as a bit of honor as the hosts of this banquet. Of course, if anyone from strong organizations took the initiative to offer congratulatory gifts, these prodigies wouldn’t completely ignore them.

However, as this feast progressed, a type of feeling arose within the hearts of numerous organization members — Not only was the strength of this new all-star prodigy a cut above the rest, it seemed that his temperament was also much better than that of the other prodigies.

Immediately following this, some organizations, which were originally rushing to met this all-star prodigy, started to calculate a bit.

In the back, Gu Zuo observed the expressions of these people who approached with apprehension and departed with satisfaction. His mood was a little strange.

This time around, it looked like his big brother…was going to return from a rewarding journey.

Regardless of whether there were offers of servitude or solicitation, the people at this banquet were all talented in the art of speech. It wasn’t the best time to handle matters. As a result, one would only look at familiar faces. Besides those who had plans in mind, Tianheng also kept an eye on a few others. He understood the intentions of these organizations.

Following this, he would check things afterwards.

Finally, the city lords concluded the reception. It was now evening.

Originally, the city lords intended to invite the prodigies to stay at the city lord’s mansion. However, the courtyards within the mansion were of various sizes, and their positions weren’t the same. This wasn’t a good arrangement, and it would leave the prodigies dissatisfied — Moreover, if they stayed here, it wouldn’t be convenient if they wanted to take care of any business-related matters.

Thus, under the eager guidance of the Luoxiao City Lord, the prodigies selected the largest tavern in the city and checked in.

Tianheng’s battle slave commanders took the lead in securing arrangements. After the feast, he brought along his little pharmacist, and the group confidently and calmly entered that tavern.

— Naturally, his tracks had already been observed by those who wanted to see him.

Once they checked into the most comfortable room, Gu Zuo sat across from Tianheng, and let out a sigh: “Big brother, social interactions in the outside world are really time-consuming and troublesome.”

Tianheng couldn’t help smiling: “Could it be that this has made Ah Zuo tired?”

Gu Zuo nodded his head, and joked: “My heart and mind are tired. If I was in big brother’s position, my mental state and patience wouldn’t be as good.”

Tianheng’s smile deepened. He extended a hand to ruffle Gu Zuo’s hair: “I’ve mostly been looking around. The rest of the time, I’ve been receiving the fawning of others. There’s no need to socialize with these people, so I wouldn’t say that I’m tired.”

Gu Zuo understood. Currently, his big brother didn’t have to be cautious at all times like when they had just entered Qingyun Sect. On the contrary, there were sycophants wherever they went… To be honest, Gu Zuo wasn’t adept at this type of matter. It was a bit unnatural for him.

If no one truly came to find his big brother, then that would be detrimental to them! Conversely, the more organizations that came, the more successfully it would demonstrate Tianheng’s actions during the slaying of the flood dragon!

After the two spoke a few more words, each of them went to take a bath — Although they hadn’t received any wounds during the elimination process, and qi energy could be used to wash off any blood splatters, one had fought fiercely above the great river and the other had busily dismantled the flood dragon corpse for a long time. If they rested just like this, it would be somewhat uncomfortable.

Soon after, Gu Zuo hesitated a bit.

In the room, there was only one bed… Should he leave and find another room to stay? If Gu Zuo didn’t leave, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

However, Gu Zuo quickly discovered that he had been overthinking things.

Tianheng immediately sat cross-legged on one side of the bed, and waved at him: “Ah Zuo, come here.”

Gu Zuo promptly went over.

Tianheng smiled: “Your elder brother used up some energy during the day. Right now is the perfect time to sit in meditation and recover my strength. Fortunately, this bed is rather large. Ah Zuo can do whatever he wants.”

Gu Zuo’s little thoughts just then caused him to blush with shame.

After that, he simply said: “Today, I also consumed a lot of psychic power. I’ll sit in meditation, too. But big brother, will I be bothering you over here?”

Tianheng shook his head, and laughed: “No matter who I’m wary of, I’ll never keep my guard up against Ah Zuo.” His voice softened, “Ah Zuo doesn’t need to worry.”

Just then, the little tangle of emotions surrounding Gu Zuo’s mood immediately dispersed. His eyes and heart were filled with happiness.

— His big brother was clearly saying that he trusted him…

Following this, the two sat cross-legged, and operated their cultivation methods. They took out some top grade Qi Infusing Pills, which were suitable for replenishing profound qi, and all of these pills were swallowed without exception.

In a split second, an extremely pure power swept through their bodies. In a brief period of time, it filled their incomplete qi oceans. As they continuously operated their cultivation methods, they rapidly replenished themselves…

Gu Zuo soon entered a state of high concentration.

Previously, he didn’t know that pharmacists could also take certain medicinal pills. Now that he knew, he didn’t hesitate any longer. In any case, his foundations were superb. There really wasn’t any need to spend all of his time on absorbing ambient qi and transforming it into profound qi. His time ought to be used advancing his medicine refining techniques.

Unwittingly, a night passed by.

Over the course of the next day, the number of people who came to the courtyard to pay Tianheng a visit slowly grew. The majority of them were representatives sent by small and medium-sized organizations. With the ostensible purpose of paying their respects and giving gifts, they also came to further inquire about Tianheng’s temperament and style of work.

However, because time was short, the opportunities they had to seize were only within these brief couple of days. Thus, it didn’t take long for a succession of many organizations to pass along their true intentions.

It was just that Tianheng wouldn’t give his approval for every organization that sought refuge.

During the early stages of accumulation, if he assembled organizations that were unreliable, not only wouldn’t this help him, it would be harmful instead. Consequently, he needed to choose carefully and consider things from all sides.

The battle slaves were immediately busy. They divided into several batches, and used stealth and concealment to discreetly gather information. After verifying those organizations’ styles, everything they knew about was reported to Tianheng.

In the end, it was up to Tianheng to make the decision.

Gu Zuo was watching Tianheng who sat in front of a desk and was in the middle of writing something. He walked over in curiosity: “Big brother, what’s this?”

Tianheng unfolded the paper in his hands, and spread it out on the table: “Ah Zuo, come look.”

Gu Zuo moved closer to read it.

Written on this enormous sheet of white paper were numerous, densely-packed names of organizations from the nonconventional to the iron rank. All of their strengths and weaknesses were laid bare.

At this moment, among those many names, five had already been circled in red with Tianheng’s writing brush. There were also a few others that were circled in black. The calligraphy of those brush strokes seemed somewhat hesitant.

Gu Zuo asked: “Big brother, the ones circled in red have already been chosen, and the ones circled in black are still being considered?”

Tianheng had a smile on his face, and nodded his head: “That’s right. The ones circled in vermilion red have already been investigated. Although I wouldn’t go so far as to comment on how powerful they are, the heads of these households are ambitious, but they’ll listen to orders. Within the clans themselves, they’re friendly and polite, and they’re even proficient in particular fields… As such, they may be trained. As for the ones circled in carbon black, they’re slightly mediocre, or somewhat unsatisfactory, or they’re too far away and are still under investigation. Thus, I can’t make any decisions yet.”

Gu Zuo understood: “In short, it would be better to go without than to scrape the bottom of the barrel.”

Tianheng smiled: “Ah Zuo’s words fit my thoughts quite nicely.”

Hence, Tianheng continued to pick and choose as he compared things from all sides. Indeed, he wasn’t willing to be the slightest bit careless.

Gradually, another few days passed.

Gu Zuo simply stayed in the room and refined pills while Tianheng handled official business. Unexpectedly, a battle slave arrived to report that a prodigy came to visit.

In a split second, Gu Zuo was astonished: “Which prodigy?”

That battle slave replied in a respectful voice: “Prodigy Qi Xuanao.”

At this moment, Tianheng put down his brush, and wore a pensive look: “It’s him?”

Gu Zuo hurriedly asked: “What’s the matter?”

Tianheng instructed the battle slave first: “Invite him into the courtyard.” Then, he spoke to Gu Zuo, “Among the few prodigies, this person seems different. There’s more than meets the eye.”

Gu Zuo thought about this prodigy, but didn’t feel that there was much of an impression… If anything, the only impression was probably that his temperament seemed a bit more normal than that of the other prodigies. It also appeared that Qi Xuanao had acknowledged his big brother the earliest? Soon after, his heart thumped.

It appeared that this prodigy was a bit of a schemer?

Just as he was considering this, Tianheng was already lifting him up: “Ah Zuo, don’t think about it too much. Come with me so we can receive this visitor.”

Gu Zuo heard his big brother’s words. He shook his head to get rid of his scattered thoughts, and diligently followed behind.

The actions of the battle slaves were very fast. Apparently, Qi Xuanao was quite sincere when he paid them a visit. He brought along some battle slave troops, but those troops were stationed outside of the tavern. As for himself, he only took two Ascendant Realm powerhouses who remained on his left and right. They went straight to the reception area that Tianheng designated.

In that courtyard, the flowers and leafs drifted lightly in the wind.

When Tianheng arrived, he immediately came face to face with the other. He lightly brushed a sleeve: “Brother Qi, please sit.”

Qi Xuanao nodded out of courtesy, and arranged his robes as he sat down just like Tianheng. They sat on opposite sides of the stone table.

Tianheng asked with a smile: “The battle has already ended. Brother Qi, this visit is—”

Qi Xuanao plainly said: “I won’t beat around the bush, Brother Gongyi. This Qi came here to invite Brother Gongyi to accompany me on a journey.”

Tianheng’s heart was slightly startled, but his face remained calm and composed: “Oh?”

Qi Xuanao said: “Although we prodigies possess high and weighty positions, we also must have a lot of experience. Many days ago, this Qi discovered an unexplored area. I want to solicit a helper to investigate it together.” As he spoke, he gave Tianheng a deep look, “Because this matter is hard to come by, the helper also can’t be decided lightly. Therefore…I ask that Brother Gongyi considers it carefully.”

Gu Zuo secretly thought: An unexplored area? I don’t know what kind of place it is, but it actually caused this prodigy to personally invite my big brother?

Tianheng looked as if he suddenly became somewhat interested. He proceeded to inquire: “Would Brother Qi divulge a bit more information?”

Qi Xuanao naturally understood. If he didn’t explain some things, perhaps it wouldn’t be possible for Tianheng to make a decision. Hence, after pondering for a moment, he spoke about the matter in detail: “When this Qi once went out adventuring, I came across a cave abode. Considering the depths of its concealment, it should’ve been left behind by a predecessor. Its age is ancient, and its scale is rather large. Presumably, there are many things inside. Originally, this Qi wanted to open up this place alone. However, I discovered afterwards that, to enter this place, one must be accompanied by someone whose foundations are extremely profound. Naturally, I asked my bloodline for a generous favor, and invited someone with extremely high aptitudes to accompany me inside. Yet, although that cave abode had a reaction, my companion was kicked out, and this Qi also wasn’t able to enter…”

He continued: “Thus, this Qi believes that non-prodigies aren’t allowed to enter that area.”

Once Gu Zuo finished listening, he wanted to click his tongue in wonder.

Unexpectedly, there was a place that possessed such identification capabilities, and it would only allow prodigies to go inside? However, this was merely Qi Xuanao’s conjecture. Who knew what was really going on in the end?

Tianheng smiled, but said nothing. Qi Xuanao realized what he was thinking about, and knew that he wasn’t moved by the triflingly few words spoken just now.

After pondering for a short while, Qi Xuanao resolutely said: “I won’t hide this from Brother Gongyi. Back then, while this Qi couldn’t go inside, I managed to see some amazing marvels. After going out, I careful researched and distinguished them. Then, I found that those were some extremely rare things…”

Tianheng smiled: “I would like to hear the details.”

Qi Xuanao’s expression was heavy: “Not to discuss the rare and wondrous treasures, but among them seemed to be the existence of a spiritual source.”

Tianheng didn’t care much before, but at this moment, he couldn’t help pausing: “Spiritual source?”

Qi Xuanao was grim and unflinching: “That’s right. That spiritual source’s qi emissions were mysterious and profound. This Qi had a fortuitous but fleeting glimpse of such an item in the past, so I wouldn’t recognize it incorrectly. That thing is always rarely seen. More often than not, only powerhouses whose realms are extremely high can utilize it. However, although our realms are relatively low, we should always plan ahead for rainy days. The earlier we come into contact with that thing, the more advantageous it will be for our aptitudes. If Brother Gongyi is willing to journey with this Qi, I’m willing to evenly split everything we obtain. What do you think?”

This looked as if Qi Xuanao was suffering a loss, but in actuality, this really wasn’t the case. Qi Xuanao provided the information, but the strength that Tianheng displayed was superior to that of Qi Xuanao. As such, this was also considered fair.

However, Qi Xuanao didn’t seize the opportunity to make more demands. Naturally, this made it easier to develop a good impression.

Tianheng’s gaze faintly moved. Shortly thereafter, he finally murmured: “Allow me to consider this matter. If Brother Qi isn’t in a hurry, how about I give Brother Qi an answer in two days?”

Qi Xuanao knew that it would’ve been impossible for him to immediately agree. One would always have to deliberate before making a decision.

Hence, Qi Xuanao simply stood up with a smile: “Since it’s like that, this Qi looks forward to Brother Gongyi’s answer. I’ll be taking my leave.”

Tianheng didn’t preoccupy his guest, and said: “Until then.”

As Qi Xuanao walked away, Tianheng remained seated at the stone table. It seemed that he was still deep in thought.

Gu Zuo went over to sit down: “Big brother, what do you think? Do you know what that spiritual source is?”

It wasn’t that Gu Zuo wasn’t knowledgable. On the contrary, he knew many things that he currently needed to learn. Among those item books that he was continuously digesting, none of them included the concept of a spiritual source. Of course, he also didn’t have the time to find out about things that were outside of these item books.

As a result, when his big brother’s interest was piqued the moment Qi Xuanao brought up spiritual sources, he didn’t understand the cause at all.

Tianheng said: “So-called spiritual sources are a type of extremely special power. For the most part, they’re the same as Wondrous Fires. They’re produced from ley lines, and they all have different attributes. There are some rare ones such as the Wind Thunder Spiritual Source, the Five Elements Spiritual Source, and the Profound Ice Spiritual Source. With regards to the constitutions of martial artists, each of them have incredibly magical effects. However, these spiritual sources are extremely precious, and it would be difficult for ordinary people to even catch a glimpse of them. While they certainly exist within Ten Ultimates Sect, this item is a necessity that’s normally cultivated by powerhouses at the Cosmic Realm and above. As far as your elder brother is concerned, I currently can’t use it.”

Gu Zuo didn’t expect that it was this kind of thing. He suddenly startled, but quickly puzzled over something: “Since you can’t use it, does big brother still want to go? If that place has such a precious item, wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

Tianheng had a smile on his face as he explained: “It’s precisely because treasured items are hard to come by that we absolutely can’t let it slip away. While this elder brother can’t use it now, I won’t necessarily be unable to use it in the future. Even if that spiritual source’s attribute is unusual, it can also be handed over to the sect in exchange for endless benefits. As for danger, there will definitely be danger. Merely, since that Qi Xuanao dares to invite this elder brother, there are probably other restrictions — For example, our realms… Otherwise, he would’ve asked his sect to send someone to fetch it instead, and he wouldn’t have invited this elder brother to accompany him.”

Gu Zuo finally understood the reasoning within, and said: “Has big brother already decided to go?”

Tianheng smiled and nodded: “That’s right. This elder brother decided on the spot. It’s just that I can’t make that Qi Xuanao think that this elder brother is impulsive. I only said that I would consider it for one or two days. Tomorrow, I’ll give him the news that I’ve agreed to this matter.”

Gu Zuo heard this, and didn’t have much to say: “Then, I’ll just listen to big brother’s arrangements.”

Regardless of what happened, he would go wherever his big brother went.”

But since it was already decided that they would be taking a detour halfway and wouldn’t be returning directly to the sect, some matters that required handling would have to be settled first. For instance, those organizations and the spoils of war.

The matter of those organizations was relatively easy to manage. For those couple of forces circled in red, Tianheng sent several Atomic Realm battle slaves with outstanding strength to negotiate with them. Once the talks were completed, an appointment would be made, and he would tell them to go to Shijue City. For those circled in black, the investigations would continue. If they were found to be seriously unsuitable, then they would be ruled out. There wasn’t any need to overthink it.

As for the spoils of war…

The vast majority of the things that Tianheng obtained needed to be arranged properly to avoid any mistakes during the handling process.

Gu Zuo sat next to Tianheng, and watched him take out a lengthy list. According to those numbers, Tianheng instructed Ao Min: “The power of an origin beast’s meat essence is tremendous and fierce. Unfortunately, ordinary martial artists and pharmacists cannot enjoy it. Ao Min, take fifty thousand kilograms of the flood dragon flesh, and divide it between my subordinate martial artists at the Atomic Realm and above so that they may sample it. Then, take several buckets of the flood dragon blood, and give two buckets to each tribe of the hound races. How the blood is utilized will be determined by each tribe.”

Ao Min heard what was said, and his eyes flashed with a trace of delight: “Many thanks, young master!”

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