Chapter 169 : Jia Xu’s Shock and the Divine Healer Zhang Zhongjing!
Chapter 169: Jia Xu’s Shock and the Divine Healer Zhang Zhongjing!
Wen Pin’s defense could indeed be described as impenetrable.
After all, Hang Yu’s attack, though it appeared to be an ordinary strike, was actually bolstered by The Martial Saint’s Three Strikes and Majestic King’s Might, combined with overwhelming attribute suppression—that was the only reason it ended so easily.
As for why Hang Yu used a normal attack (平A)?
It really wasn’t just for show.
Wen Pin’s defensive barrier clearly had the ability to absorb skills.
And that included not only various energy-based attacks, but also Blade Qi and Sword Qi.
In such a scenario, a normal attack was actually more effective—provided that the attack was strong enough to shatter the defense in one blow.
Wen Pin willingly accepted defeat.
He chose to surrender on the spot.
This Lord’s strength was terrifying!
……
A quarter of an hour later.
In the Dark Dungeon beneath Luoshui Main City—
A new batch of sealed prisoners had arrived.
Wen Pin had been locked into a pitch-black sealed prison cell.
His armor had been removed, revealing his true appearance.
He was an old general, full head of white hair, a square face, and a rugged, resolute expression.
Wen Pin could clearly feel that the moment he was brought in, all the strength in his body had vanished. He had fallen into a state of extreme weakness, and his mana had been completely drained—he couldn’t use any skills at all.
“So this is the extraordinary building created by the Starsea Lords?”
Wen Pin suspected that this Dark Dungeon was maintained by many profound and complex formations. With the layers of suppression and weakening caused by these formations, there was no way he could escape with his current strength.
“To think that I, Wen Pin, would end up as a prisoner!”
This was an outcome Wen Pin could never have imagined. He was filled with regret and frustration, already beginning to ponder ways to break free.
Just then, a hoarse, weak voice—so faint it was barely more than a breath—came from a corner of the cell:
“Eh? Isn’t this General Wen? What brings you here as well?”
Only then did Wen Pin realize he wasn’t alone in this cell.
When he looked toward the voice—
He was shocked.
This person could no longer be called “human.” His hair and body hair had completely fallen out, and there wasn’t a drop of moisture in his flesh or skin. Not only had his blood completely dried up, but even his internal organs had ceased functioning. He was practically a corpse.
Yet this utterly “dead” corpse—
Had eyes glowing with an eerie light and was watching him with curious interest.
Wen Pin felt a trace of familiarity from this aura. “Who are you? Have we met before?”
“Hehehe, with this ghostly appearance, it’s no wonder Old General Wen can’t recognize me.”
“Wait, could it be…”
Sensing the extreme Yin aura emanating from the man, Wen Pin’s eyes widened in disbelief and even horror:
“Master Jia?!”
The Founder of Extreme Yin—Jia Xu?
Why would he be in the Starsea Lord’s dungeon?
Could even a figure like Master Jia have been captured by the Lord?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Jia Xu was the most unfathomable powerhouse in Wan City. He even had ways of fending off Dian Wei—how could he possibly be captured so easily?
“It is I indeed.”
Jia Xu directly admitted it.
This statement hit Wen Pin like a thunderclap.
Jia Xu, however, found amusement in watching Wen Pin’s series of facial expressions. Then, he burst out in laughter:
“No need for such shock, Old General Wen. This is merely a puppet body I temporarily refined.”
So it wasn’t his true body?
Wen Pin finally let out a breath of relief.
“Still, what brings you here, General Wen? Could it be you also fell into the Lord’s trap and got overwhelmed by his legion?”
Over the past twenty years—
Jia Xu had kept to himself, rarely appearing—
Yet he knew everything happening in Wan City.
Wen Pin’s strength ranked just below Zhang Xiu, far above this puppet Jia Xu was controlling. Moreover, Wen Pin was known for being calm and cautious—it made no sense for him to be captured, unless he’d fallen into a massive ambush or the Lord had personally acted.
However—
Wen Pin shook his head:
“Shameful as it is to admit, while I was surrounded by a large force, the Lord did not rely on numbers. He personally fought and defeated me. I was utterly convinced by the result!”
“Hm? That seems unlikely.”
The puppet Jia Xu sounded surprised:
“I’ve encountered this Starsea Lord before. Even if he could threaten you, he definitely couldn’t defeat you outright and capture you alive.”
Wen Pin replied,
“Master Jia, I fear you may have underestimated this Lord’s strength. With just a single strike, he shattered my defenses. Before him, I was no more than a paper tiger—utterly helpless!”
What?
Could that really be true?
Now it was Jia Xu’s turn to be stunned.
He quickly said,
“General Wen, please recount everything in detail—leave nothing out.”
Wen Pin nodded. Over the next several dozen minutes, he described in full detail how he had triggered the event in Wan City, quickly passed through the Dead Wasteland, entered the Starsea Territory, and how the battle had unfolded.
By the end, Jia Xu’s scalp was tingling.
“So this Lord’s strength has grown this much… or could it be that he had been deliberately hiding his power all along?”
No—
That wasn’t all.
Even if the Lord’s power had suddenly increased—
According to Wen Pin’s account—
His Zhou Cang and the eight elite personal guards had all experienced dramatic transformations.
Now, even they had Tier-Three strength, which could only mean they had very recently undergone massive power-ups!
Only now did Jia Xu realize:
All this time, this Lord’s foundation and strength had far surpassed his expectations. He’d been completely in the dark, having severely misjudged the Lord’s true capabilities.
“Hahaha… interesting. Very interesting indeed!”
Wen Pin looked confused:
“Master Jia, how can you still laugh at a time like this? With the Abyssal Forces pressing from one side and the Starsea Lord on the other, Wan City must be on the brink of destruction!”
Jia Xu laughed for a moment, then stopped.
He said,
“Don’t worry. The reason this Lord imprisoned you was likely just to temper your sharpness. I suspect it won’t be long before he interrogates you personally and tries to open negotiations.”
Wen Pin’s heart stirred:
“What should I do, then? I ask Master Jia for guidance!”
Jia Xu replied,
“You likely don’t fully understand the relationship between the Abyss and the Starsea. To the Abyss, we native powers are like wolves and sheep. Wolves need to eat sheep to grow and reproduce.”
“Sometimes, wolves seem ferocious, but won’t eat all the sheep—because if they did, they’d have nothing left to breed from.”
“This is also one of the reasons Wan City has survived all these years. Otherwise, if Dian Wei had gone completely mad, not even the Six-Directional Fate Array could stop him.”
Wen Pin was stunned.
This was the first time he had heard such a perspective.
But thinking it through—it did make sense. While Abyssal Creatures were undying and indestructible, they didn’t reproduce naturally. The vast majority of them were corrupted from normal lifeforms.
The process of human reproduction—
Was also a way for the Abyss to gain more living fuel.
The more humans and normal creatures there were, the broader the potential for corruption.
If all humans were wiped out in one go, the Abyssal faction’s power would stop growing—so what Jia Xu described as the wolf-sheep relationship did hold water.
Jia Xu continued:
“But the relationship between the Abyss and the Starsea is like ice and fire—there is no room for coexistence!”
“Thus, to the Starsea Lords, Abyssal Corruption is the number one threat. And to people like Dian Wei, the Starsea Lords are the number one enemy… Do you understand the meaning behind this?”
Wen Pin nodded.
"Mr. Jia, I generally understand what you're saying. But Wan City happens to lie right between the Starsea Territory and the Abyssal Forces. Whether the Starsea intends to crusade against the Abyss, or the Abyss wants to attack the Starsea, Wan City will inevitably be caught in the crossfire."
Jia Xu replied,
"Since it's impossible to remain a bystander, then make the most of this opportunity. I suggest you show some sincerity—use it as leverage in the upcoming negotiations. The Starsea Lords need Wan City's strength to resist the Abyss, and Wan City can, in turn, rely on the Starsea’s power to once and for all eliminate the threat!"
Wen Pin fell into deep thought.
He asked again,
"If the threat from the Abyss is completely eradicated, how should we then deal with the Starsea Lords?"
Jia Xu smiled meaningfully.
"That’s not something convenient to discuss here."
Wen Pin nodded.
Why did the Lord capture him?
And why was he thrown into a dungeon?
It was both to suppress him a little and take the edge off his pride, and also to send certain signals to Jia Xu. At the same time, it allowed Jia Xu to, through his words, help him better understand the current situation, so he could make the right choices in the negotiations to come.
"I understand now! Thank you for your guidance, Mister!"
Jia Xu didn’t mind. On the contrary, he found himself growing more and more interested in this Lord. This man’s way of handling people and situations seemed quite to his liking, and he possessed abilities yet unknown to others. Perhaps he truly could pull off something surprising in the days ahead.
——
Within the Lord’s Fortress.
Hang Yu had been watching the dungeon prisoners through his Lord’s Vision all along. Not a single word they uttered in the dungeon could escape his notice, and in the process, he had gathered quite a bit of information.
Jia Xu and Wen Pin were still crafty old foxes.
They, too, seemed aware of this fact.
In their conversation, they didn’t reveal any sensitive information.
But that was fine—Hang Yu’s intended signals had already been clearly conveyed.
He used Wen Pin to show Jia Xu the development and strength of his territory, and in turn used Jia Xu to push Wen Pin to show some sincerity in the coming negotiations. After keeping them waiting another day or two, he could begin formal talks with New Wan City.
Just then, Xiao Ba suddenly reminded him:
"Master, a party of players has approached the area where Zhang Zhongjing is located."
Hang Yu:
"Players already managed to explore this far? Their efficiency is truly always beyond expectations!"
——
Abyssal Wan City.
Northern region of the map.
A small team was cautiously exploring the mountain forest.
Leading the group was Uncle Tree, with five members in total. Their levels weren’t high—just Level 9—but that just met the minimum requirement to enter the Wan City map. They had come in from White Tiger Mountain not to grind monsters, but purely for adventure and exploration.
A few days ago, the territory had issued a “Map Exploration” quest.
The Scourge Army was instantly swept up in a frenzy of map discovery.
This quest settled daily. As long as players ventured into unexplored regions of the territory, uncovering fog-covered areas of the map, they would receive rewards upon that day’s end.
The higher the level of the map and the greater the strategic value of the region explored, the greater the reward.
This task had greatly ignited the players’ thirst for adventure!
You had to understand—not to mention the newly opened Wan City map—even areas like Wo Niu Mountain, White Tiger Mountain, or even the Luoshui Main City still had zones shrouded in the black mist.
No player had ever reached those places.
No one knew what kind of monsters or resources might be hidden within.
Now, with quest rewards serving as incentive, players were aggressively exploring all sorts of unknown regions. Among them, Wan City was clearly the most lucrative and valuable.
First off, Wan City was enormous!
Over 95% of the map was unexplored!
High-level players could grind mobs while uncovering the map, earning battle rewards from monster hunting and quest rewards from exploration at the same time.
And often, exploration brought unknown surprises.
For instance, rare herbs or harvestable resources might be discovered.
Some of these items were extremely valuable—far more profitable than grinding monsters.
Others might stumble upon magnificent, breathtaking scenery or encounter all sorts of bizarre, exotic flora and fauna. The visual thrill and immersive experience were akin to otherworldly tourism, while the joy of uncovering uncharted worlds elevated the gameplay to addictive heights.
Of course…
The player death rate had also skyrocketed!
Bringing with it a four- to fivefold increase in the territory’s Essence income!
At that moment, Uncle Tree’s team had just survived a life-or-death chase. For two hours, they were hunted by a horde of monsters, ultimately forced to leap into a raging river, which swept them dozens of miles downstream into the deep mountain wilderness.
Now, Uncle Tree had no idea where they were.
Surrounded by peculiar cliffs, soaring waterfalls, and towering peaks, rare herbs and strange animals could be seen everywhere. Any random screenshot here could serve as desktop wallpaper.
They had just dug up dozens of precious herbs.
Totally worth the trip!
“Uncle Tree!”
At that moment, a ranger named "Windchaser" returned from stealth.
He said excitedly,
"I just found an incredibly hidden path up ahead. I scouted it briefly—there are tons of high-level monsters inside. I think it's a top-tier hidden grind zone!"
"For real?"
"Such a lucky break?"
"If that’s true, the value of this area is insane—we can’t miss this!"
"Yeah, even if we can’t fight them, just being the ones to discover this map should get us a hefty reward!"
Uncle Tree waved his hand grandly.
"Let’s go have a look. Everyone drink a Breath Concealing Potion first. We can’t afford to die before even exploring the area!"
The five of them took out and drank the potion.
Then began a grueling trek—
Avoiding all kinds of monsters and lurking dangers.
Traversing sheer cliffs, hidden caves, and narrow paths.
After several hours, they finally reached the area Windchaser had spoken of.
It was a secluded valley nestled within steep mountains and endless mists. The terrain inside was flat, interlaced with streams, blanketed with grasslands bursting with colorful blooms. Scattered groves dotted the area, each unique in shape and hue. The entire scene gave off a mystical, dreamlike aura.
"Whoa!"
"This place is gorgeous!"
"Totally crushes any scenic spot in the real world!"
"Only in a game can such landscapes exist!"
"It really is something special. If not for that random accident, we’d have never found this place. But let’s stay alert—don’t provoke any monsters!"
“……”
The five weaklings treaded with utmost caution.
After all, any single monster here could probably one-shot them.
As they ventured deeper into the hidden valley, they soon discovered a type of creature living there.
It appeared to be a kind of wild horse, though each one was several times larger than an ordinary adult horse. Their bodies were covered in black scales, and their tails resembled those of serpents or fish, similarly covered in scales—like the tails of dragons from legend.
Their heads looked more like lions, with thick manes around their necks. A single massive horn rose from their foreheads. Their hooves and bodies were wreathed in flame, giving off a majestic and awe-inspiring aura.
Rather than horses…
They more closely resembled the mythical Qilin.
【Black-Scaled Dragon Horse】
Level: ???
Description: ???
Uncle Tree and his team’s levels were far too low to see any stats or information. But just based on the aura alone, these Black-Scaled Dragon Horses were clearly no ordinary monsters.
None of the players dared get close. If even one of those beasts were provoked, they’d be wiped out in an instant with their sub-Tier-Two strength.
“What’s that?”
“Looks like a herb field!”
“Could someone actually be living here?!”
Just as they were exploring along the outer edge of the valley, they were suddenly shocked to discover that deep within this hidden valley, there appeared to be several patches of artificially cultivated farmland—each planted with a variety of precious medicinal herbs.
Strange.
How could there be signs of human life in a place like this?
A notification rang in their minds.
【Ding!】
【Rare Encounter Quest Triggered!】
【Quest Name: Seek Out Zhang Zhongjing!】
【Quest Description: While exploring, you and your party stumbled upon a hidden valley. It may very well be the secluded residence of the legendary divine physician Zhang Zhongjing. Please search thoroughly for relevant clues.】
【Quest Objective: Find Zhang Zhongjing or important clues related to him!】
【Quest Rewards: 100,000 Essence, 150,000 Contribution Points, to be distributed among the participating team!】
【Quest Time Limit: 2 days!】
———
When the quest notification appeared,
Uncle Tree and the other players were completely stunned.
They never dreamed something like this would happen to them.
This mysterious valley… could actually be the secluded residence of the legendary Zhang Zhongjing!
Lately, there had indeed been talk of Zhang Zhongjing on the forums, with several groups of players claiming to be looking for him.
But Uncle Tree’s party had never paid much attention to it. They didn’t believe, not for a second, that with so many big shots in all the major Legions, such good fortune could ever fall into the laps of low-profile nobodies like them.
Yet here they were.
They had successfully triggered the related quest.
The difficulty didn’t seem high, but the rewards were incredibly generous. Each person would get 20,000 Essence—and together with the EXP reward from today’s exploration, it would be enough to push them straight to Tier-Two!
And let’s not forget the massive Contribution Point reward!
It was like manna from heaven!
Uncle Tree, not an ordinary man by any measure, quickly suppressed his excitement and began discussing with the others.
"Though the reward is generous, we only have two days—we must seize this opportunity!"
"Yeah!"
"Honestly, us getting here was mostly dumb luck. Trying again would be nearly impossible—there are too many high-level monsters nearby!"
"We can't mess this up! We must succeed!"
"……"
Once they realized how valuable this quest was,
They began moving slowly and cautiously toward the valley’s depths.
After several hours, the players followed tracks deeper into the hidden valley and eventually spotted a cave from afar.
Around the cave were several herb fields, each fully planted with different medicinal herbs. Tools were scattered nearby—it was clear someone lived here.
"We found it!"
"This has to be Zhang Zhongjing’s secluded residence!"
"Even if he’s not here, we’ll definitely find clues to complete the quest!"
"Hahaha! Can’t believe how easy this was—we’re finally going to get noticed!"
As the five players were quietly elated, a sudden burst of overwhelming aura swept over them. A Black-Scaled Dragon Horse stepped through the air and appeared in front of them—it had clearly discovered the players.
“Holy crap—run!”
Uncle Tree and the others had zero will to fight. At the sight of this powerful monster, they immediately turned and fled. But the Black-Scaled Dragon Horse was clearly not one to be trifled with—its single horn unleashed a blast of black flame.
A scream rang out.
Two players were hit directly.
Instantly reduced to ashes.
Uncle Tree shouted,
"Scatter! Every man for himself!"
The three remaining players split in different directions, but they clearly underestimated the mobility of the Black-Scaled Dragon Horse. It transformed into a streak of flame, instantly appearing before one player and impaling him with its horn—leaving his body hanging like a trophy.
In almost the blink of an eye—
The Black-Scaled Dragon Horse appeared in front of another player. Its flaming hooves trampled straight over him. Each stomp left craters in the ground, and the crushed Scourge soldier was instantly torn apart, dying without a complete corpse left behind.
Only Uncle Tree remained.
Seeing all four of his teammates die one after another—
His heart sank into a pit of despair.
This creature’s speed and strength were beyond reason.
Forget three people fleeing—even if ten scattered in all directions, it could catch each of them in mere seconds.
“Damn it… after finally triggering such a top-tier quest, are we really going to fail at the final moment?”
Though the quest allowed two full days, and even a total party wipe wouldn’t mean total failure, there was no way this little squad could ever return here a second time. At that point, they’d have no choice but to beg for help from the big Legions—owing favors and giving up a share of the benefits.
But—
There was nothing he could do.
Uncle Tree’s strength—
Was nowhere near enough to survive even a single blow from the Black-Scaled Dragon Horse.
Just as the creature charged in, preparing to kill him—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several golden beams of light flashed by!
To Uncle Tree’s surprise, he wasn’t dead. Instead, the majestic dragon horse before him was frozen in place—as if struck by a binding spell—unable to move. Several glowing golden needles had pierced its body.
"Someone intervened!"
Uncle Tree quickly turned toward the direction the golden needles came from.
An old man appeared, carrying a medicine basket on his back, dressed in plain cloth shoes and robe, holding a bamboo staff.
This old man’s hair and beard were completely white, yet there wasn’t a single wrinkle on his face. Though simply dressed, he exuded an aura of serene transcendence—like an immortal hermit dwelling in the mountains.
【Zhang Zhongjing】: ???
It was him!
The Divine Physician, Zhang Zhongjing!
The moment Uncle Tree saw the name pop up,
A system notification rang out at the same time.
【Ding, quest completed. Your team has received +100,000 Essence, +150,000 Contribution Points!】