novelraw Chapter 353 - 328 Key, Part 2
Chapter 353 - 328 Key, Part 2
"Let’s go, board the ship first." Zhang Rongfang said in a deep voice.
The three were shocked, as if awakening from a dream, swiftly turned and swam towards a nearby small boat.
Zhang Rongfang leapt and stepped on the water, jumping out of the sea and landed steadily on a small boat approaching.
He looked up at Zuo Han.
Old Zuo looked bewildered, clearly he had also seen the floating Kongwu, not knowing what happened.
The two were clearly still alive, but Kongwu was motionless, unresponsive, seemingly in trouble.
In contrast, Zhang Rongfang was completely normal, seemingly not intending to pay attention to Kongwu.
He also couldn’t figure out what was happening.
The two small boats quickly approached.
"Uncle Zuo, handle that one." Zhang Rongfang pointed at the second sea vessel.
"Crown Prince... is your body alright?" Zuo Han saw the bloodstains on Zhang Rongfang’s clothes, frowned, worriedly asked.
"No trouble, Kongwu wanted to finish quickly, erupted with the final technique from the start. I kept evading, exhausting his energy; at the last moment, I managed a sneak attack and severely injured him.
Now he is unconscious, not a threat. We can now deal with the two on the second sea vessel."
Zhang Rongfang casually explained.
But despite his casual tone, Zuo Han couldn’t truly believe it.
Not to mention, the Sea Dragon King’s skill with water was undoubtedly superior.
Being forced into the final move under such conditions and yet losing.
Zuo Han had thought he already highly valued the Crown Prince.
But now.....
even a god-worshipping grandmaster like the Sea Dragon King Kongwu, using the final technique, was defeated by the Crown Prince....
And the Crown Prince hadn’t even worshiped a god....
This is simply....!!??
Inside Zuo Han’s heart, waves of shock surged.
He knew well, the simple words of the Crown Prince contained far more than ordinary people’s imagination.
At this moment, he couldn’t completely understand the true strength hidden by the Crown Prince.
The one thing he was sure of was the deeper capability the Crown Prince concealed during their previous practice.
He now understood why Zhang Rongfang, knowing it was a trap, still took action to intercept and kill.
"Congratulations to the Crown Prince for the initial victory, let me handle this second battle...." He suppressed his inner shock, choosing to believe the Crown Prince’s direction.
"Last time, Kongding only lost an arm, this time, I will sever his neck!"
Zhang Rongfang shook his head.
No longer mentioning the grandmaster behind Kongding.
At this stage, both sides were seeing red. Regarding accountability by the grandmaster later, it could only be considered if they lived to that point.....
Having killed so many masters from the Western Sect, even without suspicion, he could not continue staying in Citong.
The enraged Western Sect would certainly purge all suspects in Citong.
By then, they would not have the strength to withstand it.
"Can you see who is coming to support from the ship?" he asked.
"Wanghai Temple Kongding, and Western Sect Jin Yuan. Both are grandmasters, hard to deal with. However, Jin Yuan seems to still be recovering from injuries." Zuo Han answered gravely.
Just then, the No. 2 sea vessel in the distance suddenly turned, making a curve, and headed back the way it came.
They ran away!???
Zhang Rongfang and Zuo Han were both stunned.
Neither expected such an outcome.
They ran away like this? Then what did they come here for?
To spectate? Or fire a few shots for entertainment??
*
*
*
On the deck of the No. 2 sea vessel.
Kongding glared at Jin Yuan, his finger pointing at him, shaking all over.
"What exactly do you intend!?"
"I don’t want to fight. It’s just that simple." Jin Yuan said loudly. "I want to go home!"
"Didn’t we agree before we came? To support Kongwu together? What does changing your mind in the middle mean!?"
"Don’t talk to me about changing mind or not, that’s Daoist talk. When Buddha gets a whim, today doesn’t feel like a good day to fight!" Jin Yuan argued righteously.
"What? Do I need your permission to decide whether to take action or not?" he mocked.
"You’re deliberately disregarding our junior Kongwu!!" Kongding said furiously.
"Kongwu’s been beaten till he’s floating. If we go up there, what can we do?? You’re not afraid of dying, you have a grandmaster protecting you, but I’m afraid!" Jin Yuan raised his voice even higher.
He pointed to everyone around on the ship.
"Look at this, everyone here, if we charge up there, do you believe at least half of us will die?!"
He sneered, "Kongding, your master might protect you, but what about us? Have you considered us!? We don’t have such powerful masters to shield us!! We’re human, we are afraid of death!"
Kongding was so pointed at that he couldn’t speak momentarily.
He knew well that what the other said was true.
He wanted to declare he wasn’t afraid of death, that he wanted to go up and kill those two.
But no one would believe him!
"Helm to reverse, turn around we return!"
At this time, Jin Yuan shouted decisively to the sailors controlling the ship.
The helmsman on the deck said nothing, quickly shifted direction, cooperating to turn around, heading back to where they came.
Clearly, Jin Yuan was right.
At this point, Kongwu’s battle was already decided.
To charge up there at this point would be to add ingredients to the fight, essentially a death sentence.
Whether they win or lose, it would certainly be a devastating victory.
No one wants to die, and neither do they.
"See!? This is public sentiment!! I, Jin Yuan, represent the true intention of everyone!" Jin Yuan smirked coldly.
"Today’s situation is not an escape, but a temporary retreat! We are not deserters; we are temporarily pulling back to avoid significant losses and prepare for a stronger attack next time!"
He shouted loudly on the deck, sounding grand and righteous.
Kongding was trembling with anger.
But he had been focusing on his own cultivation for years, far less adept at mobilizing others than Jin Yuan.
And without Jin Yuan, charging forward alone would only mean certain death.
’Junior Brother Kongwu... it’s my fault...’ he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, anger and helplessness intertwined in his heart, surging continuously.
"This place is too dangerous. This time when we return, I, Buddha, will immediately take everyone away from Cituogang," Jin Yuan was still indoctrinating everyone beside him.
"Great Spirit is not the only port in Cituogang, we who have skills can thrive in any other place! Rest assured, follow me, Buddha, to another place to rebuild the temple, and life will be much more comfortable than here!!"
Jin Yuan no longer wanted to complete any ethnic mission at this point.
This series of setbacks made him realize.
The so-called ethnic secret cache is a pit, a massive pit!
It involves the Sensing Sect, Great Dao Teaching, and other unknown forces.
For someone like Kongding, who has a background, there might be no fear, but for a grandmaster like him who had to fight hard on his own to grow, the risk was too immense.
So he chickened out.
*
*
*
Cituogang Port, Agarwood Mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, pilgrims came and went, occasionally with affluent families in carriages, visiting for leisure and sightseeing.
The once obscure small hill of Agarwood Mountain was gradually transforming into a quite famous scenic spot in Cituogang.
While ordinary people couldn’t freely enter and exit the Agarwood Palace on the mountain, the scenic beauty around it still enamored visitors.
Especially after Zhang Rongfang, following the example of the Celestial Treasure Palace, transplanted many diverse flowering trees from various places.
At this time of year, the mountain was a sea of flowers, attracting not only Great Spirit couplets but also Westerners to admire the scenery.
Thus, many related businesses sprang up at the mountain’s base.
"How much for a bundle of this top-grade incense?" inquired a stall selling incense.
A tall and slender man, wearing a black silver-edged cloak with a hood, his face rigid, picked up a bundle of incense specifically for the Agarwood Palace and asked in a low voice.
"Twenty wen per bundle, pick what you like." The stall pointed to the bundles of finished incense.
Each bundle had small inscriptions.
Some were about health, others about marriage, longevity, peace, learning, beauty, and so on.
The man selected three bundles of health incense, paid, and like other pilgrims, quickly climbed the steps towards the mountain.
He seemingly appeared to be a newcomer to the pilgrimage.
However, he was actually the master of the Golden Wing Pavilion, Cheng Hui, who had just returned from the sea.
Upon arriving at the port, he promptly followed and captured a Daoist of the Agarwood Palace to find out that Daoist Zhang Ying was not in the palace.
Because of this, he silently wandered around the vicinity.
Avoiding everyone’s sight, he searched the forest for loopholes to enter the Agarwood Palace.
Since Daoist Zhang Ying wasn’t there, he speculated.
If Zhang Ying were truly the ethnic secret cache, then he must have gone to intercept Kongwu. Thus, sneaking into the Agarwood Palace would face far fewer masters.
And if Zhang Ying were not the ethnic secret cache, then the Agarwood Palace wouldn’t have significant strength or power.
Based on previous investigations, the series of murder cases in Cituogang were all related to the ethnic secret cache.
Therefore, since the Agarwood Palace wasn’t the main suspect, sneaking in wouldn’t pose much threat either.
No matter what, the danger was not significant.
Then...
Cheng Hui looked up and climbed the steps, eyeing the increasingly close Dao Palace.
He pinched the incense, forcing a natural smile, blending in with the stream of pilgrims, and entered the Dao Palace’s main entrance.
’This time, let him thoroughly investigate whether this Agarwood Palace Daoist is problematic. Once evidence is found, his mission concerning the ethnic secret cache will be completely accomplished. By then, he will certainly receive an enormous reward.’
Cheng Hui entered the Dao Palace shrine.
Ahead stood a magnificent, majestic statue of Celestial Venerable Yujing.
The statue, over eight meters tall, was cloaked in dazzling radiance with luxurious and intricate Dao attire, exquisitely sculpted, as if truly wearing a radiant Dao robe.
The shrine was filled with an incense fragrance, aside from the worshippers offering incense kneeling on the mats, there were robust Daoists guarding the sides.
Cheng Hui’s eyes discreetly scanned the surroundings.
Like the others, he cautiously lit the incense, inserted it into the burner, and knelt to bow earnestly as if making a wish.
However, in reality, he was assessing the guards he would need to deal with around him.
After offering the incense,
he exited the shrine.
"Excuse me, Daoist, where is the restroom here? May I use it?"
He casually asked a Daoist in a low voice.
"The layperson walks straight along the right corridor, turns right at the second corner, and goes straight to see it," the Daoist kindly directed.
"Thank you, Daoist." Cheng Hui nodded and quickly proceeded down the corridor.
Soon, midway through the corridor, he checked the surroundings, and when unnoticed, he flipped his body from the corridor, skimming across the garden like a light bird, approaching the depths of the Dao Palace.
As a master of the Golden Roc Secret Record at the Peak of Perfection in body technique,
Cheng Hui stopped revealing his cultivation in front of others long ago.
No one knew precisely how strong he was.
Inner methods, or Three Emptiness, or even Grandmaster?
No one knew his current level.
Now in full exertion, Cheng Hui’s form appeared like a phantom, able to traverse long distances the moment the patrol Daoist shifted their gaze.
And his target was none other than the Palace Master’s residential area where Zhang Rongfang usually rested and cultivated.
That area not only housed personal belongings and identity documents of the Palace Master but also contained all the refined elixir products.
Even the second layer elixirs of the Golden Toad Skill, just refined by Zhang Rongfang, were stored there.