“Enough, Wen Shaoxiu. The three of us are only passing by. We are on our way to do something else, not to cause trouble here. If you want to fight, we can go for a duel when we return to the sect. Right now, however, we still have matters to attend to. We won’t be accompanying you fellows anymore.” After saying that, Wu Huai gave the other two a look and they left.

“Humph! We should have attacked and give those three fellows a lesson,” Situ Nan said with a scoff.

“Even if we do attack them, winning by numbers is not real skill. Besides, we do have other things that we need to do. We cannot waste our strength on them. We’ll settle the matter with them after we return to the sect. After recovering from the battle, my strength has risen somewhat. I’ve been wanting a chance to teach that Wu Huai a lesson,” Wen Shaoxiu said.

Although all of them were at the half-step Human Immortal stage, there were distinctions between them as well. Those like Wen Shaoxiu and Wu Huai were already very close to reaching the Human Immortal stage while Liu Quan and the others were still half a step behind.

“It’s strange, though. Why did they appear here? Does it have something to do with Killer Palace?”

“No need to think too much about it. We have already wiped out the assassin outpost here anyways. Now, it is time we head out.”

Not long after Chen Feng and the others left the place, Wu Huai’s team of three returned. After arriving, they did not say anything. Instead, they instantly released their soul powers to search their surroundings.

After some time, Wu Huai spoke up. “What do you guys think?”

“It’s obvious that Wen Shaoxiu’s group had wiped out the assassin outpost here. Moreover, they even killed off the Human Immortal that was here. Truly, they must have gone all out for this,” Sun Jin said.

“The assassins trained by these assassin organizations are all extraordinary characters. Killing those on a higher level is a simple matter for them. The Human Immortal assassin had even managed to assassinate a mid-level Human Immortal before. Unexpectedly, he would meet his end here.”

“We were too late. If we had come sooner, we might have been able to see their two sides get mutually wounded. However, I wonder why Wen Shaoxiu and the others would attack Killer Palace. Is it because of that Chen Feng fellow?”

“Senior Brother Wu, we had helped with the establishment of this outpost, but now it is destroyed. What should we do now? All our efforts have gone to waste,” Zhao Guang said with a somewhat displeased tone.

“It’s not that simple. By my calculations, Wen Shaoxiu and the others will be attacking the other outposts as well. Let’s follow them and check it out.”

“Wen Shaoxiu’s group is truly audacious. Killer Palace is not to be trifled with. Senior Brother Wu, what should we do next? Are we going to attack Wen Shaoxiu and the others? Although there is a grudge between us, they are still our fellow sect disciples,” Sun Jin said.

“Don’t worry, I will not be attacking them. Truth be told, I am only making use of Killer Palace. However, if the outposts that Killer Palace set up here get wiped out, it will affect my plans. Also, the high-ranking assassin cousin of mine from Killer Palace will not let me go.” Light flashed across Wu Huai’s eyes. There was no way to tell what was on his mind.

“Come, let’s head to Mulberry Scholar City!”

This time, their objective was a medium-small city 5,000 kilometres away from the valley. The city’s name was Mulberry Scholar City. A high number of mulberry and scholar trees grew both within and outside the city. In the beginning, a powerful tree yao had been staying here. After some cultivators managed to kill off the tree yao, the cultivators found a spirit stone mine here. Due to the spiritual energy streams coming out from the spirit stone mine, the place became a suitable place for cultivation. Gradually, the number of cultivators lured over to this place increased. As more and more cultivators gathered there, a city was established.

“It is due to the existence of a spirit stone mine that a powerful scholar tree yao could emerge here. However, the tree yao failed to reach the Yao King stage. If it had, it would not have died to the cultivators here,” Wen Shaoxiu said.

“Although a city has been established here, there is still a good number of tree yaos here. This is all thanks to the thick spiritual energy here. However, the number of tree yaos that can cultivate up to the Great Yao stage is very small, let alone the Yao King stage.”

“Unexpectedly, there is an outpost belonging to Killer Palace at a place like this.” Chen Feng was surprised.

Sensing the thick wood-type spiritual energy coming from up ahead, the longevity-type primary energy inside Chen Feng’s body surged in excitement. This was indeed a good place to practice wood-type cultivation techniques.

“According to the memories of the Human Immortal assassin, there are cultivators from Nine Firmaments Palace here. However, I do not know how many of them there are and what their levels are.” Chen Feng chose to be cautious.

Back when he was still in the Northern Plains, he was able to keep escaping from Nine Firmaments Palace’s pursuit for a few reasons. Firstly, he was very lucky. Secondly, Nine Firmaments Palace did not send out their true experts after him. Thirdly, he possessed many powerful magic treasures on his person. Thus, enemies that were only a few levels stronger than him were simply incapable of taking him down.

If Nine Firmaments Palace had sent out their Human Immortals right from the beginning, Chen Feng would have been in trouble, even with the Longevity Tower in his possession. In fact, they might succeed in capturing him and snatching the Longevity Tower away. At any rate, his cultivation base was still very low back then. Additionally, the Longevity Tower had not managed to recover too much of its power back then.

“Come, let’s investigate them. If the assassins here have received news of us wiping out their outpost, they will surely be prepared,” Wen Shaoxiu said.

They did not recklessly use their soul powers to probe the place. Although Mulberry Scholar City was not too big, the restrictive arrays set up around it were very well made. The restrictive arrays, set up to defend against yao beasts and other monsters, were enhanced by Human Immortals before. Generally speaking, even a Yao King would require some time to break the restrictive arrays.

After entering the city, they did not stroll about or head to an inn. Neither did they rush forward to attack the assassin outpost. Instead, they found a remote place and stopped there.

“Here.”

It was a ruined place, filled with broken bricks and tiles. Wild grasses and vines proliferated there. There were also poisonous bugs and small animals. Clearly, this place used to have some buildings. However, it had long since become an abandoned spot.

“Protect me, I will check it out,” Chen Feng said, bringing out the Blood Mustering Bead.

Chen Feng wanted to use the Blood Mustering Bead’s functions to investigate the Killer Palace’s outpost from afar. He had done this before in the past. By empowering the Blood Mustering Bead, his divine sense could cover a distance of 50 kilometres in an instant. It could even go up to 500 kilometres. Additionally, he could also borrow the Blood Mustering Bead’s power to attack. It was even more useful compared to stealth techniques.

“A Dao artefact!” Wen Shaoxiu and the others cast astonished looks at Chen Feng.

However, they did not inquire too much about it. Instead, they positioned themselves around Chen Feng. Li Shilong and Jian Zhiqiu set up some magic arrays to conceal their presence. Passers-by would never even notice them.

The Blood Mustering Bead hovered above Chen Feng’s head and Chen Feng’s divine sense merged with the Blood Mustering Bead’s aura to envelop the entire Mulberry Scholar City. The power scanned Mulberry Scholar City block by block. Chen Feng was not worried that someone might notice him. He was also not worried that his actions might trigger the restrictive arrays around the city.

The Blood Mustering Bead was a Dao artefact, a magic treasure that only an Earthen Immortal can fully utilize. Forget Sky Human stage cultivators, even Human Immortals would be incapable of noticing Chen Feng’s divine sense.

Borrowing the power of the Blood Mustering Bead, Chen Feng scanned Mulberry Scholar City several times. He was able to clearly sense every building, cultivator and even the underground rooms in the city.

Following the increase in Chen Feng’s strength, the Blood Mustering Bead’s strength had risen as well. At that very moment, the amount of power that the Blood Mustering Bead could display was 100 times stronger than before. In fact, Chen Feng had a feeling that he could even devour those that were within a 50-kilometre radius from him.

“Found them!”

With a thought from Chen Feng, his attention shifted towards a sizable courtyard. This was where he had found the assassins from Killer Palace.

“How unexpected. These fellows are openly staying in a decent courtyard. It’s different from what I had expected. I had assumed that they would find some secret chambers or dig a hole to hide themselves,” Chen Feng said smilingly.

“You found them? How many of them are there?” Wen Shaoxiu quickly asked.

“Let me see.”

Chen Feng observed the assassins. They acted like normal people as they lived inside the courtyard, not a hint of killing energy coming off their bodies. They were going about cultivating themselves, reading books, drinking tea and other beverages, playing chess, fishing and chatting with one another. Any other person would have failed to realize that these fellows were assassins.

The reason Chen Feng could so quickly determine that they were assassins was because of his formidable soul power and the Blood Mustering Bead.

“Heh! Having so many experts gather together in a medium-small city is a strange occurrence in itself. Additionally, even though they managed to perfectly mask their killing intent and blood energy, they cannot conceal it from my Blood Mustering Bead.” Chen Feng laughed.

“This outpost is relatively large. There are more assassins here. There is a total of 18 assassins here, four half-step Human Immortal assassins, eight level 9 Sky Human stage assassins and six level 8 Sky Human stage assassins. Additionally, there are four more people in there. They must be from Nine Firmaments Palace. All four are half-step Human Immortals,” Chen Feng said, his face turning grim as he did.

Hearing Chen Feng, the faces of Wen Shaoxiu and the others grew ugly to behold. Unexpectedly, this outpost was so powerful. If they had blindly charged in, they would be incapable of leaving.

“So many?”

“Looks like there is a problem here. We don’t have enough people on our side.”

“The four cultivators from Nine Firmaments Palace are also very strong. They are in no way weaker compared to the half-step Human Immortal assassins from Killer Palace. They are much stronger compared to the usual half-step Human Immortals from Nine Firmaments Palace. Looks like they must be the secret force of Nine Firmaments Palace.” Chen Feng secretly observed the four cultivators. They were like mountains, as steady as the lands and their auras were as undivided as the ocean. The light hidden within the depths of their eyes flashed without respite. Although their rate of breathing was transient, a volcanic-like power was hidden within their bodies, ready to erupt at any moment.

Even so, despite their strength, not a single one noticed Chen Feng’s probing action. Seeing that, Chen Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

After retracting his divine sense, Chen Feng said, “Fellow brothers, this is quite problematic. However, there is good news.”

1 li = 0.5 km.