Chapter 373 – Speculation

Gu Zuo nodded his head. His thoughts were numerous and disorderly.

Jade Flame Valley had been subordinated to Ten Ultimates Sect for many years, and the Mu Clan had deep foundations in the valley. If their ancestors had the cuckoo bloodline, there ought to have been several prodigies over these years. And so long as these prodigies appeared, how could Jade Flame Valley have been only a comparatively weak and small bronze-ranked organization? Even if the organization’s background hadn’t grown stronger due to the limitations of the bloodline, its fame should’ve increased.

However, prior to the Ice Phoenix Goddess, a reputation for extremely powerful prodigies didn’t spread out. It could be seen that talent had withered over the generations.

But if it wasn’t the Mu Clan’s bloodline, and it was due to Mu Baizhi’s mother, then why did Jade Flame Valley repeatedly conceal the truth of Mu Baizhi’s evil deeds? If nothing else, what about that white-clothed young lady? With that special physique, she was certainly a woman blessed by the heavens in her organization. After being imprisoned, drained of blood, and even having her face stolen, wasn’t the Mu Clan afraid of that organization finding out and coming after them? Moreover, this many years had gone by, and Mu Baizhi had used many underhanded methods. Throughout Jade Flame Valley, there were so many elders. Were none of them aware of this? With regards to Mu Baizhi’s physique, were there no misgivings? Anything that he and his big brother were thinking of shouldn’t have escaped Jade Flame Valley’s considerations, right?

These doubts were all hard to explain.

Additionally, there was something that Gu Zuo wasn’t too clear about. Mu Baiyue was aware of all this, so why weren’t there any reactions? Could it be that he was also doubting or concealing something?

Gu Zuo’s mind was a little swollen. He looked at Tianheng with an entreating gaze.

Tianheng couldn’t help chuckling.

Soon after, he ruffled Gu Zuo’s hair, and slowly said: “If Mu Baiyue acted recklessly, he would certainly become a liability that Jade Flame Valley had to erase.”

Tianheng appeared to see that Gu Zuo still wanted to ask something, and took the first steps to explain: “If he took away this information and relied on other organizations, because his innate talent had long been stolen and his qualifications were insufficient, no matter which organization, none would fight against Jade Flame Valley on his behalf. All that he would be able to do is to slowly scheme and prevent others from realizing that he already knows about this matter.”

Gu Zuo was silent.

This seemed to be the case when one thought about it.

If Mu Baiyue was still a prodigy, large organizations would’ve certainly treated him with importance. But in the end, he wasn’t a prodigy. He basically had no way to get in contact with the upper echelons. If he acted blindly without thinking, he would be condemned to a terrible fate in a moment of carelessness.

How could the power of an individual compare to that of an organization? Even if Jade Flame Valley was merely a bronze-ranked organization with shallow foundations, it was the same.

Tianheng carried Gu Zuo on his back. While he was directed towards the next strange phenomenon, he explained the other problems: “This elder brother has considered Jade Flame Valley’s circumstances, and I have some speculation. For the past many years, no powerhouses have appeared in this valley. There’s no way to improve its foundations or upgrade to the silver rank. Naturally, it hasn’t resigned itself to this fate. Those who are born with outstanding talents must be greatly cherished and carefully nurtured for the sake of future plans…

“The Cuckoo Body is a brutal and tyrannical physique. If such personages often appeared within the Mu Clan, Jade Flame Valley would’ve definitely known about it. And such a physique would only be achieved through the robbery of others. Once known to outsiders, it would inevitably cause a massive disturbance. While a single Cuckoo Body would be negligible, if an entire clan was flowing with this bloodline, then only a short-sighted and disloyal organization would offer them shelter. Jade Flame Valley has been passed down for many years, and it wouldn’t have gone this far.”

Gu Zuo stared blankly: “But now, they’re&#k2026;”

The smiling expression at the edge of Tianheng’s lips carried a trace of cold intent: “Originally, if Mu Baiyue’s physique still existed, the entire Jade Flame Valley would’ve certainly and wholeheartedly nurtured him to facilitate his awakening. However, Mu Baiyue’s physique has already been lost. Mu Baizhi took his place, and since the valley has been thirsting for talents, it naturally switched to nurturing her.

“Yet, when all is said and done, Mu Baizhi only seized a type of bloodline, and her innate talent hadn’t been elevated to the level of a prodigy. Initially, it may be assumed that the importance attached to her also hadn’t reached that of a prodigy. And due to her tyrannical physique, Jade Flame Valley ought to have tempered their cherishing with vigilance to keep her under observation first. But later on, Mu Baizhi seized that young lady’s innate talent, and her body transformed into the Ice Phoenix Body. She did enough to conceal the matter, and her potential already reached the level of a prodigy.

“Jade Flame Valley naturally wanted to nurture her so that she could become a future powerhouse who would bend low to do the valley’s bidding. With this blackmail in their possession, how could Mu Baizhi disobey?”

When Gu Zuo heard this, his heart was alarmed and fearful.

Tianheng continued to speak: “As for the stagnation of Mu Baizhi’s realm, she intends on marrying prodigies and stealing their innate talents. According to this elder brother, Mu Baizhi’s physique is already more mature than it was in the beginning. She should be able to control the process of seizing their innate talents when coupling with prodigies by herself…

“Ah Zuo, for all prodigies, if we don’t strive our hardest, we won’t necessarily remain prodigies in every realm. In the future, it’s even possible to degrade and fall into mediocrity. Mu Baizhi stole slowly to consolidate herself, and manifested the Ice Phoenix Body. Who would know that her husband’s affairs were orchestrated by her?”

Gu Zuo swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

H-how vicious!

Tianheng seemed to think that this wasn’t intimidating enough, so he still unhurriedly explained to Gu Zuo: “As for the matter of stealing that white-clothed young lady’s appearance, this elder brother believes that it was a mistake on Mu Baizhi’s part. When she did this, she was only three years old. Even though it depended on instincts and the trust of that young lady to succeed, her physique was immature. When seizing the innate talent, it’s not impossible that she stole more than she meant to. Now, she needs to frequently absorb the white-clothed woman’s blood, and she’s unable to move an inch after reaching the Immortal Realm. These may be the drawbacks of the Cuckoo Body. But…”

Gu Zuo blurted out: “But what?”

Tianheng smiled: “But, this elder brother has heard that, if it’s within an extremely large organization, whenever an outstanding disciple goes adventuring, they’ll leave behind a blood tile to monitor whether they’re still alive or not. If the organization backing the white-clothed woman is small, then there’s no way that she’ll have left behind a blood tile. Considering how vast the Central Continent is, that organization definitely wouldn’t know the white-clothed woman’s whereabouts. If they wanted to make discreet inquiries, the passage of time would’ve long eroded any traces.

“If she’s backed by a large organization that can manufacture blood tiles, she would’ve certainly left one behind. So long as the white-clothed woman is alive, the blood tile won’t fracture. Moreover, since her strength has only been confined and her blood occasionally drained, there wouldn’t be any other reactions on the blood tile. A martial artist’s lifespan is long, but when disciples go adventuring, they’ll sometimes be trapped inside certain secret lands. Not emerging after dozens of years is very common, and wouldn’t cause any large commotions.

“I’m afraid that Jade Flame Valley hasn’t kept the young lady alive just for Mu Baizhi to maintain her looks. If it was only for the sake of her appearance, the number of medicines that can alter one’s features in this world isn’t low. Some are rather precious, but they can be obtained. It’s just that it wouldn’t be as good as absorbing the young lady’s blood.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Zuo let out a long sigh: “Big brother’s conjecture is very reasonable…”

Tianheng simply smiled again: “Conjecture is just conjecture. Although it may seem reasonable, it might not necessarily be the truth. Before we come to any conclusions, this matter still requires investigating. If Jade Flame Valley has deeper intentions, it’s not impossible to deliberately conceal things within Ten Ultimates Sect’s territory.”

Gu Zuo nodded again.

He knew that anything was possible in a world this large.

Tianheng continued: “The mother of Mu Baizhi and Mu Baiyue is rather suspicious. To be allowed into the Mu Clan, the genealogy of any sons and daughters born to the clan would’ve certainly gone through an investigation to confirm that there weren’t any mistakes. If any of those types of people appeared in the past few generations of the mother’s family, Jade Flame Valley should’ve been able to find out… Currently, we can only look to the mother of the Mu Clan siblings. As for where she came from, we can probably make some speculations afterwards.”

Gu Zuo listened to Tianheng’s words, and tried to sort out the questions he had just now.

He felt that hidden within his dear big brother’s hypothesis was a huge secret. And perhaps, this huge secret wasn’t something that they could touch upon at the moment.

No matter how intelligent his big brother was, it already wasn’t easy to make so many conjectures from these known pieces of information. But if they wanted to know even more, then they had to keep investigating.

After reaching this conclusion, Gu Zuo didn’t tire out his own mind. He embraced his arms around Tianheng’s neck, and nestled closer to ask in a soft voice: “Big brother, how are we going to handle the Ice Phoenix Goddess?”

Tianheng supported Gu Zuo, and chuckled as he said: “Although Mu Baizhi’s affairs are detestable, this person is still Jade Flame Valley’s prodigy. If we kill her without a good reason, it’ll seem to outsiders that our Ten Ultimates Sect is overstepping its boundaries. They’ll also say that your elder brother and our master are to blame. Those prodigies who’ve been charmed by Mu Baizhi will also come looking for trouble. Although I’m not afraid, there’s no need to provoke so many reactions for only a single matter that hasn’t been investigated yet.”

Gu Zuo pursed his lips: “But she wants to steal big brother’s…”

Tianheng couldn’t help laughing: “I definitely won’t allow her to become my wife.”

Gu Zuo: “…”

Ah, that’s right.

No matter what Mu Baizhi schemed, his big brother wasn’t going to marry her. What could she still do?

Tianheng spoke unhurriedly: “If Mu Baizhi has the audacity to extend her hands to me, I’ll naturally chop her claws off. But if she just keeps to her turf in Jade Flame Valley, I won’t be bothered to pay any heed. However, supposing that there really are other secrets behind Mu Baizhi, there’s no need for this elder brother to personally take action. There are many organizations that can crush her to death.”

Gu Zuo understood: “In any case, let’s just see what she does next. There are the results of our investigation, too.”

Tianheng smiled: “What Ah Zuo says is right.” Then, he said, “Ah Zuo and I are hunting for treasure, so let’s not place any more thoughts on that Mu Baizhi.”

Gu Zuo’s face heated up: “I was just curious…” After that, he rubbed his nose, “I know, big brother. I’ll keep all of my thoughts focused on treasure hunting.”

Tianheng smiled gently: “You have to keep some of your thoughts on me, too.”

Gu Zuo stared distractedly. His ears were burning hot.

Tianheng muffled his laughter: “It’s so that Ah Zuo doesn’t lose his grip while this elder brother is running fast.”

Gu Zuo: “…”

After tossing aside the matter of Mu Baizhi, Gu Zuo and Gongyi Tianheng continued to search for stone ova throughout the land of the dragon’s head and its numerous, strange phenomena. Because their luck was exceptionally good, their excursions went smoothly almost every time they went looking.

Of course, whenever they caught sight of dangerous areas, Gu Zuo would search through his memories. If the stone ovum produced in that place was a good thing, they would take their chances to obtain it. But if the object that place produced was sinister, they would quickly make a detour and wouldn’t get involved.

Thus, the journey was a daunting experience, but there hadn’t been any mishaps. The harvest was bountiful.

However, the strange phenomenon the two saw at this time was quite baffling.

Gu Zuo blinked his eyes: “Big brother, what’s this…”

T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.

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