Chapter 534: Zhengyang Sect's Nest

In the pitch-black night, Gu Santong steered the massive black iron sword, carrying Ye Chen as they sped southward.

“I have to say, this sword of yours is pretty impressive!” Ye Chen tapped the iron sword with his fingers more than once. Despite its rust and blemishes, it was strangely remarkable, producing echoes of the Great Dao with every strike.

“That it is.” Gu Santong stroked his beard, looking proud. “This is a fa qi, you know. It might not look like much, but its power is absolutely overwhelming.”

“Fa qi?” At the mention of those two words, Ye Chen's eyes lit up even brighter.

Fa qi were a level above ling qi, weapons that only Tianjing experts could refine. Each one possessed earth-shattering, ghost-weeping power.

“I really underestimated this iron sword of yours.” Ye Chen clicked his tongue in amazement.

“Speaking of weapons, I’ve heard you have an iron whip that specifically targets the soul.” Gu Santong turned his head, his old eyes gleaming slyly as he grinned lecherously. “Come on, show it to me, let Grandpa take a look!”

“Not showing it.” Ye Chen shook his head like a rattle. “What if you steal it from me? Who would I go to then?”

“Hey, you little brat.” Gu Santong rolled up his sleeves and lunged forward.

Ye Chen had anticipated the attack and quickly dodged to the side. He then swung out the Da Shen Whip, landing a solid hit on Gu Santong's iron sword.

Whoa!

It was exhilarating!

Even with Gu Santong's cultivation, he staggered slightly, as the iron sword was linked to his soul, causing a brief sting in his spirit.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After the first strike, Ye Chen followed up with several more swings of the Da Shen Whip against the iron sword.

This time, Gu Santong quieted down immediately. He clutched his head with both hands and crouched on the sword, stars spinning in his eyes.

“Still want to see it?” Ye Chen scratched his ear.

See it? Forget about it.

Gu Santong backed off, cursing under his breath. He was certain that if he pushed further, Ye Chen would beat him into a daze.

“This is on you for not looking properly—don’t blame me.” Ye Chen shrugged helplessly and stowed the Da Shen Whip back in his sleeve.

From then on, the two of them were much quieter.

As they continued, Ye Chen focused on polishing a bright ling pearl, while Gu Santong glared at him with red eyes and a face full of frustration. He’d had the urge to strangle Ye Chen more than once.

Sometime later, they descended from the void.

Ahead, a dark-walled ancient city came into view.

“That ancient city is so strange—why is it black?” Ye Chen stared at it in surprise.

“That’s Hunlong Ancient City.” Gu Santong explained, “Legend has it that a Jiaolong from the sea once fell here, and its black blood dyed the city black.”

“So that’s what it means! And the evil thing you mentioned is inside Hunlong Ancient City?”

“No.” Gu Santong shook his head and led the way toward the city. “We need to use the teleportation array in this ancient city.”

Uh!

Ye Chen shook his head and followed.

Once inside Hunlong Ancient City, Ye Chen noticed its extraordinary nature—faint dragon roars echoed vaguely in the air.

The city was also incredibly chaotic.

As soon as they entered, Ye Chen caught a nauseating scent of blood. The ground was black, and the people around them mostly had bloodshot eyes and fierce expressions, clearly a bunch of ruthless outlaws who lived by the blade.

Bang! Boom!

Amid the chaos, sounds of battles erupted everywhere.

“Don’t cause any trouble here.” As they walked, Gu Santong sent a message to Ye Chen. “This place is messy, but it has its own rules. There are countless hidden experts around.”

“Isn’t that why you’re here?” Ye Chen scratched his ear.

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Gu Santong scolded. “Even I wouldn’t dare act too recklessly here. Remember, there are people beyond people, and Da Chu is full of hidden masters. Plenty could take me down.”

Ye Chen didn’t take Gu Santong’s words to heart at all.

Right now, his eyes were narrowed, fixed on a figure cloaked in black robes. It was a gray-haired elder with a fairly upright appearance, but his face was icily cold, and his eyes gleamed like those of a venomous snake.

“Nangong Cang.” Ye Chen narrowed his eyes again, as if recognizing the man.

“What’s this? An acquaintance?”

“Of course.” Ye Chen’s lips curled into a cold smile. The gray-haired elder in the black robes was from Zhengyang Zong, one of the nine outer peak masters.

Back in Zhengyang Zong, Ye Chen was all too familiar with him—a truly ruthless character.

Seeing someone from Zhengyang Zong here made Ye Chen’s eyes flicker with uncertainty, confirming his suspicion that Zhengyang Zong members were indeed searching for hunling silk jade in Hunling Ancient Land to refine curses and control Yinming dead generals.

“Could I have a bit of time?” Ye Chen glanced sideways at Gu Santong.

“Make it quick.” Gu Santong didn’t ask for details and headed toward the city center, his voice echoing in Ye Chen’s mind. “Remember what I said—don’t go overboard.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing.” Ye Chen nodded and casually turned to follow Nangong Cang.

With his current cultivation and skills from his intelligence background, Ye Chen was adept at tailing people. Nangong Cang never noticed him along the way.

They moved one after the other, with Nangong Cang stopping occasionally, and Ye Chen doing the same.

Eventually, Nangong Cang entered a pavilion, glancing around first to check for suspicious followers before stepping inside.

Ye Chen paused, not rushing in right away. He looked up at the pavilion’s plaque, which bore the bold characters: Canglong Ancient Pavilion.

Lowering his gaze, Ye Chen then walked inside.

Canglong Ancient Pavilion appeared to be a shop selling all sorts of oddities, including ling grasses, ling pills, ling qi, and ling jade. Glancing around, there were even low-level divine arts and secret techniques on display.

But the main point wasn’t that—Ye Chen didn’t see Nangong Cang, though he did spot another familiar face.

“Yang Yan.” Ye Chen subtly glanced at the pavilion’s owner, also from Zhengyang Zong. Though he had used a secret method to disguise his true appearance, Ye Chen recognized him instantly as one of the nine outer peak masters.

“This damn place must be a Zhengyang Zong hideout!” Ye Chen muttered to himself.

“What can I get for you?” As Ye Chen observed, Yang Yan spoke in a flat tone.

This attitude was far from welcoming for a business, and Yang Yan clearly didn’t care about sales. Their real purpose wasn’t profit—the shop was just a front.

“Just browsing.” Ye Chen replied casually and began picking through the items in the shop.

Besides Yang Yan, there was no one else around, and Nangong Cang hadn’t reappeared.

“There must be something hidden here.” Ye Chen pondered inwardly. “Probably a secret spatial world.”

Ye Chen didn’t dig deeper. Instead, he continued looking around before leaving Canglong Ancient Pavilion.

He didn’t make a move right then. Since he’d confirmed it was a Zhengyang Zong hideout, he could deal with them after helping Gu Santong eliminate the evil thing.

Moreover, Ye Chen was certain that Nangong Cang and Yang Yan had hunling silk jade in their possession. In the end, all of it would end up in his storage bag.

“Keep searching! Find as much as you can. Once I’m free, I’ll take it all from you.” Ye Chen sneered and headed toward the city center.