Chapter 385: Journey Afar
When Zhang Yuan emerged from the secret passage and returned to the surface, the first ray of dawn happened to fall on the Xia Ruins.
This enormous city of ruins was waking up.
The reason Zhang Yuan was delayed for such a long time was entirely because he was wandering around in the vast underground maze. It took him great effort to find the path back to the surface.
During that time, he also slew a squad of Yan Family samurai stationed underground.
"Who goes there?"
The guard outside the secret passage had just noticed Zhang Yuan’s appearance, only having time to utter a question before being knocked unconscious on the spot, instantly losing consciousness.
Zhang Yuan looked around, confirmed no one else was nearby, and calmly left the alley.
Soon, he disappeared into the bustling crowd on the main street.
It was only a short time later that a fully armed squad of elite martial artists appeared in the alley.
The Tier Four expert leading them twitched his eye at the sight of the unconscious guard on the ground: "Damn it!"
Before long, the entire ruins city was thrown into chaos.
Squad after squad of samurai patrolled back and forth through the streets and alleys, questioning anyone who looked suspicious.
A large number of family martial artists entered the secret passages from different tunnels, conducting a nearly frenzied search beneath the city.
This situation lasted for a full three days, turning Xia Ruins into a scene of great commotion, leaving countless people unsettled!
But Zhang Yuan, the one who caused all this, had long since left this place of trouble.
He silently arrived at the Great Dream Marsh.
This was Zhang Yuan’s third time entering this vast and boundless expanse of waters.
But this time, his purpose was not for a mission.
Zhang Yuan came to make money!
Last time, Zhang Yuan stayed at the Great Dream Marsh for a few months. During that period, he frequently explored the waterways often traveled by merchant ships and discovered over a hundred large and small sunken ships.
Many of the sunken ships had been buried in silt at the bottom of the water for years, and the gold and silver treasures they carried had never seen the light of day.
Zhang Yuan once salvaged a few chests of silver, handing them over to Wang Wu as funds.
But he only used a very small part of what he found.
Due to the inconvenience of carrying large amounts of gold and silver, Zhang Yuan did not touch them again when he returned to Xia Ruins last time.
Unexpectedly, he captured the sixth host, the Silken Rat, in the city’s underground, thereby acquiring a storage space.
Thus, Zhang Yuan decisively returned to the Great Dream Marsh and packed up all the wealth from those sunken ships to take with him!
He came quietly, left quietly, and with a wave of his sleeve, he took away hundreds of thousands of taels of genuine gold and silver.
Then, he traveled northward, embarking on a long journey.
When passing by Xia Ruins, Zhang Yuan did not enter the city, only looking at it from afar.
This was his true farewell.
Though he had lived in this city for quite a long time, even buying a large mansion there.
Yet he felt no sense of belonging to Xia Ruins.
It was merely a stopover on Zhang Yuan’s life journey.
The only thing that might still concern him was Hui Zhi.
In Zhang Yuan’s heart, he had long regarded him as his mentor!
However, there is no feast that does not end.
Zhang Yuan withdrew his gaze, ready to continue on his way.
At that moment, he suddenly felt a sense, dropping the oar in his hand without thinking.
He stood up and looked again at the white tower located in the center of the ruins city.
That was where the Celestial King Hall was located!
Dong~
The next moment, the deep chime of a bell reached Zhang Yuan’s ears from afar.
Once, twice, thrice...
A total of twelve chimes!
Zhang Yuan’s spirit shook, and a trace of sadness appeared in his eyes.
Hui Zhi had transcended.
When they last met, the Grand Mage of the Celestial King Hall was already at the point of exhaustion.
Although Zhang Yuan had been mentally prepared for his passing, when this moment truly arrived, he still couldn’t suppress the grief and heaviness in his heart.
Celestial Being!
Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but clench his fists.
At that moment, he truly felt a strong urge to draw his sword and rush into the ruins city to annihilate the Duanmu Clan’s Celestial Being.
But Zhang Yuan knew very well that with his current strength, he did not yet have the qualification to confront a Celestial Being.
The Celestial Being he had seen was merely the tip of the iceberg of their power in this world.
An Undying Body with hundreds of years of accumulation, Zhang Yuan couldn’t even imagine how immense their power was.
A mere flick of a finger from them could easily crush him to dust!
Therefore, impulsivity would solve nothing and would only put him in great danger.
Zhang Yuan opened his fingers, flipped his palm over, and a faint Divine Nest Badge appeared on the back of his left hand.
Though the wound inflicted by the Silken Rat had not fully healed, it in no way hindered the brilliance emitted by the Divine Nest.
And it was the ultimate weapon to confront the Celestial Being!
Zhang Yuan took a long, deep breath, looked at Xia Ruins in the distance one last time.
His eyes were deep as an abyss!
...
A month later.
Amidst the vast mountains, a large caravan was struggling forward along the rugged, winding mountain path.
Over a hundred carts and carriages stretched the convoy long, with escort flags boasting red backgrounds and white characters fluttering in the wind.
Most of the carts were filled with travelers, men and women, young and old, huddled together with their heads down, tightly wrapped in clothes to fend off the mountain breeze’s chill.
It was already late autumn; though there was no snow yet, the mountain cold was enough to make people shiver.
Of course, for Zhang Yuan, this bit of chill didn’t count for much.
Unlike the unfortunate travelers, his carriage was much more spacious, comfortable, and warm.
Thick curtains hung outside the carriage, the floor covered with wool rugs, and there was a charcoal heater providing warmth, allowing those inside to fully experience the joy of wealth.
Zhang Yuan had joined this caravan five days ago.
Their destination was Xishuo City.
And the Upper Scenic Celestial Zhang Yuan was heading to was in the mountains a hundred miles away from Xishuo City.
Upon reaching Xishuo City, finding Upper Scenic Celestial would be easy.
Over the past month, Zhang Yuan had traveled the longest journey of his life, alternating between carriages and boats. Although he hadn’t encountered any danger, the hardships were indescribable in a few words.
But this journey was also a rare opportunity for him to reflect and settle.
Additionally, Zhang Yuan upgraded the sixth host, the Silken Rat, to Level 3.
[Host: Zhang Yuan]
[Realm: Tier Five (True Essence)]
[Divine Nest: Level 5 (1%)]
[Host: Level 5 Black Giant Ant (1%)/32x Strength]
[Host: Level 5 Jade Mantis (1%)/Intermediate Sword Technique Profound Communication]
[Host: Level 5 Golden Grasshopper (1%)/32x agility]
[Host: Level 5 White Dragon Loach (1%)/Intermediate Water Profound Communication]
[Host: Level 5 Red-eyed Crow (1%)/Intermediate Profound Spirit]
[Host: Level 3 Silken Rat (36%)/27-space Storage Space]
[Qi Blood: 1230/1239]
[Source Material: 0]
[Luck: 9+1]
Before capturing the Silken Rat, Zhang Yuan had accumulated over twenty-two thousand points of Source Material.
He thought that with so much Source Material, he could evolve the Silken Rat to Level 5 or even higher.
But reality proved him wrong!