Chapter 359: The Disappearing Night Attacker

Xu Xiaoshou's innate cultivation provided him with excellent camouflage at that critical moment.

In the eyes of the top powerhouses, they wouldn't spare a glance at anyone below the Zongshi level. Could anyone imagine that such a powerful explosion was caused by a mere Xiantian? No one would believe it!

From the perspective of those at the bottom of the food chain, a Xiantian was already a significant presence. In Zhang Fu, such people usually managed the servants or served as minor stewards. Small rules held no sway over them at all. For example, the gatekeeper role Xu Xiaoshou was currently playing.

He was a rather disheveled gatekeeper, his face bearing traces of the explosion's injuries and dust, mostly dust... This grime was quite effective at concealing his features. Amidst the chaotic scene where everyone was frantically fighting the fire, no one paid any particular attention to this ordinary little gatekeeper.

"Quick, hurry towards the direction of Dongting Qu, go extinguish the fire—they don't have enough people there!"

Xu Xiaoshou slapped the backside of a servant rushing past and urgently ordered. This was already the sixteenth backside he had slapped. The path ahead, leading to an unknown destination, had fewer and fewer people, but the average strength of the servants was increasing rapidly, from Lianling four or five realms up to eight or nine realms.

"Things up ahead must be serious!"

Xu Xiaoshou thought to himself.

For Zhang Fu, Lianling masters were not exactly common. At the lower levels, there were many in Lianling one or two realms, but those at the peak of Houtian were already considered elites in Zhang Fu.

"Dongting Qu?"

A voice full of surprise rang out. The last person whose backside he slapped wasn't so easily fooled. This was a sturdy man in white robes, wearing fist guards, likely some kind of instructor, with strength estimated at Lianling nine realms.

"Who are you? I don't recognize you?" he asked, not hurrying away but turning back with a question.

Xu Xiaoshou completely ignored him, catching his breath and pointing towards the path ahead. "The main hall?"

The white-robed man frowned. How could someone not even know the location of the main hall? This guy... He hesitated for a moment, seeing how rushed Xu Xiaoshou looked, and didn't want to delay. "Yes, what about it?"

"Nothing!"

Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand, swallowed hard, and took a breath to calm down.

"What I mean is, is the family head in the main hall?"

He scolded, "You slowpoke, taking so long to figure it out? It's an elder's order!"

"Elder?"

The white-robed man jumped in fright, his expression tightening. "Yes, yes, the family head is still in the main hall, but the other elders have all gone out to search..."

"How would I not know where the other elders are?"

Xu Xiaoshou cut him off abruptly, fuming. "I'm coming straight from Dongting Qu!"

That left the white-robed man speechless. Looking at the dirt and grime on Xu Xiaoshou, he figured this guy must have been caught in the initial blast. No wonder...

"Is there some emergency?" he asked with concern.

Xu Xiaoshou was almost amused by the question. "An elder's order for the family head—do you dare to listen in?"

The white-robed man was at a loss for words, his face turning purple as he stammered, "No, no, I wouldn't dare."

Xu Xiaoshou pointed behind him and barked, "If you wouldn't dare, then hurry to Dongting Qu!"

"Do you really think those Lianling one or two realm novices can hold out for long?"

"You're at nine realms, are you? Think you can waste time here?"

"Zhang Fu is in crisis, and you're just strolling around like it's a leisurely walk?"

This barrage of scolding made the white-robed man break out in a cold sweat. He wanted to retort, but seeing the Xiantian aura on Xu Xiaoshou, he shrank back and quickly retreated.

"I'm on my way!"

With that, he dashed off.

Xu Xiaoshou watched him leave and finally let out a sigh of relief.

"There are just too many people around."

Along the way, he had encountered a few who dared to question him, but without exception, he had brushed them off. After all, with his Xiantian cultivation, these people didn't dare to resist. Through this series of vague inquiries, he had roughly mapped out the layout of Zhang Fu. For example, he had just learned that the main hall was ahead, the armory was to the north, and there was a Zangjing Ge to the west...

"Is Zhang Taiying still in the main hall?"

Now, Xu Xiaoshou hesitated to proceed. His original plan was to take the entire main hall of Zhang Fu, while no one was around, and store it all in his Yuanfu. Anything valuable could be kept, and the useless stuff could just be tossed into the chaotic space. The main goal was to damage the Zhang family's prestige by removing the main hall. But if Zhang Taiying was still there, things would get complicated.

"With such a big incident, how can he just sit tight? Doesn't he want to check his own room for the damage?"

"Forget it."

With a helpless sigh, Xu Xiaoshou decided to change his target.

"The Zangjing Ge?"

"But places like that usually have some kind of guardian monk around!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt a bit uneasy. He had no idea where the other treasures were hidden. Besides the Zangjing Ge, which was so obviously marked, there didn't seem to be any better options.

"No, if I'm going to do this, I might as well go big!"

Xu Xiaoshou gazed into the distance, fixed his direction, and set off.

The Zhang family's Zangjing Ge was a twelve-story tower. At the top of the tower, an elder sat cross-legged in midair. Strands of pure spiritual energy from the heavens and earth flowed like serpents or dragons, being drawn directly into the elder's dantian. Zhang Zhongmou was absorbing the spiritual energy of the world, yet his spiritual sense enveloped the entire Zhang Fu.

"How strange."

He murmured, opening his tightly closed eyes with a puzzled look. The explosion had jolted him awake from his semi-trance state, and his spiritual sense had instantly covered all of Zhang Fu. But it was as if the attacker had vanished into thin air. Even when he extended his spiritual sense several li outward, he still couldn't find any trace. Zhang Zhongmou stared at the invisible flames that Zhang Duoyu had barely contained and was now slowly eroding with the power of the Great Dao rules, falling into deep thought. This flame felt vaguely familiar to him.

"Tian Sang Ling Gong, Elder Sang?"

Zhang Zhongmou vaguely recalled that when Tian Sang Ling Gong was first established, its inner court dean seemed to possess such a strange and domineering flame. With it, he had burned away the opposing leaders from dozens of surrounding counties. Zhang family had never clashed with Tian Sang Ling Gong, and Zhang Zhongmou had never fought Elder Sang himself. So, he only knew about this flame through hearsay and had no way to confirm it.

"But if it was Elder Sang, why would he attack Zhang family? There's no grudge between Tian Sang Ling Gong and Zhang Fu at all!"

"Framing someone?"

"Hmm... But that's impossible—this kind of flame isn't something just anyone can cultivate."

Zhang Zhongmou pondered deeply, his spiritual sense expanding layer by layer, now covering ten li, yet still detecting no suspicious traces. Not even a hint of spatial fluctuation. This meant the attacker hadn't used teleportation; they had simply disappeared right under the nose of a Wangzuo like him.

"Impossible!"

"There must be something I've overlooked!"

Zhang Zhongmou felt like he was going in circles. He reviewed Zhang Fu once more and suddenly narrowed his eyes. If his spiritual sense couldn't detect anything outside, did that mean the attacker was still hiding inside the mansion?

"This..."

Zhang Zhongmou was shocked. Who would be bold enough to do that? And who had the ability to cause such an explosion and then hide so perfectly?