Chapter 545: 632 Three Old Monsters Gather

"Do you think Prince Zhen Nan might have already discovered our tracks?" the Poison King frowned and said, "Miaoshou Hua Jun had a fall in Jianghe County, and it’s said that Prince Zhen Nan personally took action."

Upon hearing this, the people in the building all had a grim expression on their faces. The legend of Prince Zhen Nan had spread too far, and naturally, they were also influenced by these rumors. In matters of such great consequence, it’s better to be safe than sorry, and relaxing their vigilance could cost them their lives.

The Crippled Elder thought for a while, then said, "Probably not. If he had found us, with Prince Zhen Nan’s strength, he would have acted long ago. There’s no need to play cat and mouse with us..."

The Crippled Elder looked at Chang Wuming: "Perhaps it’s just as you guessed, he’s looking for someone in the city?"

"Who?" Several people leaned in to listen closely.

The Crippled Elder shook his head: "It might be related to the Nan Zhou Treasure or something very important to Prince Zhen Nan."

The group felt a bit speechless; it was as if nothing had been said.

Chang Wuming asked, "What do we do next? Keep following?"

"Yes." The Crippled Elder instinctively glanced down, eyes firm.

...

A blackbird swooped down from high in the sky, diving into the clouds. Below was an expanse of mountain ranges. As it descended, in the depths of the mountains lay a continuous stretch of peach trees. It was the season when peach blossoms were in full bloom, clustered densely together and covering the branches, emitting a faint fragrance. From afar, it looked like a vast patch of morning clouds had fallen from the sky.

The blackbird flew through the peach grove, where there was a small courtyard with a wooden hut inside. A woman’s wailing cries echoed from the hut.

The blackbird landed on the window of the hut, its blue eyes fixated on the two individuals on the bed.

On top was a man clothed in a kasaya, with a ring mark on his head indicating he was likely a monk. His sunken brown eyes were deeply embedded in the sockets, his forehead lined with deep wrinkles. Yet his face remained unscathed, giving him a peculiar appearance.

Beneath his graying eyebrows, his small eyes glittered with lustful light. His hands pressed down firmly on the beautiful woman underneath him, who struggled and wailed in vain, while a look of enjoyment crossed his face.

Not long after, as the monk mumbled chants, the woman’s long black hair turned gray, her taut skin loosened, the color drained from her body, and her legs kicked wildly as she pleaded and wailed.

Yet the monk ignored her and chanted even more fervently. If one paid close attention, they’d notice the wrinkles on the monk’s forehead gradually disappearing. The once-elderly man seemed to be rejuvenating, his aura growing stronger as well.

Not long after, the woman’s legs stiffened, her eyes widened, and she ceased to breathe, dying in an incredibly terrifying manner, her body reduced to a mere husk.

Even the blackbird at the window shrieked in fright, attempting to flee at once.

But a sudden force from inside the house pulled it back, and the next moment, the blackbird was grasped by the monk on the bed.

He adjusted his waistband, dismounted from the bed, retrieved something from the bird’s leg, and released it.

It was a secret message, its content very brief.

"Prince Zhen Nan has arrived in Hang City and retrieved something from the Nan Zhou royal relics at the Ancestral Temple. Hurry over."

"Prince Zhen Nan." The monk gazed at the peach blossoms by the window, his voice low. Besides the husk on the bed, there were four more female corpses in the corner.

...

On a deserted wasteland lay a small tavern shrouded in yellow sand, its sign with the tavern’s name flapping noisily in the fierce wind.

After some time, the wind subsided, revealing the words "Celestial Secret Tower" on the sign.

The Celestial Secret Tower, an established force in Jianghu, had existed since the time of the Thirteen Kingdoms, enduring from the previous dynasty to the present, spanning nearly a thousand years.

At its peak, it claimed to know and understand all things under the heavens.

But with the suppression of Jianghu forces by two consecutive dynasties, the Celestial Secret Tower gradually declined, and by now, few apart from some old monsters in Jianghu knew of it.

Fan Yanglou, holding a long wooden staff and donning a conical hat, braved the sandstorm as he stepped into the small tavern.

Inside, an azure lamp burned, and two old men in sackcloth had been waiting for some time. Seeing Fan Yanglou enter, one of the elders laughed, "Old Fan, I knew you weren’t dead yet." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Fan Yanglou, the third sect leader of the Hengshan Sword Sect a hundred years ago, a First Grade Martial Artist, disappeared into Jianghu after the sect’s downfall. Everyone assumed he perished on the day of the Hengshan Sword Sect’s destruction.

"Ouyangzi, sixty years ago, I said you’d go before me." Fan Yanglou removed his conical hat, sat down, and looked at his old friend on the right, Ouyangzi, the spear master who reigned over Jianghu more than a hundred years ago, and said, "Is the information reliable?"

"Old Fan, even though my Celestial Secret Tower has seen better days, my information has never been wrong." The tower master Zhengtian Mountain, looking dissatisfied, said to Fan Yanglou, who showed some skepticism.

Upon hearing this, Fan Yanglou did not argue, for what Zhengtian Mountain said was indeed true. He then remarked, "Prince Zhen Nan, a nineteen-year-old First Grade Martial Artist, disciple of State Preceptor Lin Su Ya, personally tutored by her, the War God of Great Song, renowned, is not an easy young one to deal with. How confident are you?"

Zhengtian Mountain poured a glass of wine for Fan Yanglou, then downed one himself, and said loudly, "We’ll only know once we fight. I sense I don’t have many good years left, and I must obtain the things inside.

I’ve spread the news across Jianghu; the Nan Zhou Treasure will soon surface."

"After hundreds of years, even if there are Foundation Establishment Pills inside, would the effects still remain?" Fan Yanglou raised his doubts once again.

Zhengtian Mountain chuckled, "Do we have any other options?"

"Once we succeed, how do we split it?" Ouyangzi suddenly spoke up.

The three exchanged glances, and then Fan Yanglou said, "The old way: match our skills and see whose bones are sturdier."

Hearing this, Ouyangzi and Zhengtian Mountain nodded.

The three clinked glasses and drank, chatting about events over the years. As the wine jar met its bottom, Zhengtian Mountain stood up, "Old friends, it’s time to move. According to the latest information, there are four people around Prince Zhen Nan: Wu Xin’Er, the Wu Family’s direct daughter, the tearful He Pingzhou whom Ouyangzi once guided, and the current sect leader of the Su Nv Sect, alongside Nan Zhou’s last surviving royal bloodline, Hu Mei’Er."

"And their strength?" Fan Yanglou asked.

"The little Wu girl is Fourth Grade, He Pingzhou is First Grade, Jiang Ruoqing is Second Grade, Hu Mei’Er is Fourth Grade," Zhengtian Mountain said.