Chapter 399: Absorbing Yin to Supplement Yang?

Zhang Xiaohua’s guess was indeed correct. Martial arts were improved upon from the Immortal Dao; many techniques and mystical abilities were borrowed from the Immortal Path. Divine sense was a unique ability of the Immortal Path—martial artists could not draw qi into their bodies and thus could not acquire divine sense from the world’s Yuan Qi—but they were aware of its subtle uses. Over the millennia, many exceptionally gifted individuals, following the records in ancient texts, had cultivated their inner strength to its peak, achieving the wondrous effect of sensing disturbances within a radius of several zhang as if they were felt in their hearts.

Within this manor, the Deputy Order Master, though wearing a bronze mask to conceal his true identity, was a famous figure in the martial world. Of course, even if he did not wear the mask, Zhang Xiaohua would not have recognized him. This man’s internal strength had also reached a certain pinnacle, which was why he could sense slight anomalies in his surroundings. Naturally, this was only a faint stirring in his heart; if it were truly as Zhang Xiaohua imagined, able to sense someone probing with divine sense, then this Deputy Order Master would still need to cultivate for more than a dozen years.

However, this abnormal action of his made things difficult for Zhang Xiaohua.

His original plan was to use his spiritual sense to locate the imprisoned girls within the manor, then wait for an opportunity to rescue them. If Little Orange were in this manor, that would be ideal; if not, he would still need to find someone alive to interrogate thoroughly.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaohua looked up at the manor faintly visible beyond the pine forest, a trace of excitement rising in his heart: “This elder with the bronze mask is clearly the leader of the manor. Since he can sense my spiritual sense, he must be a martial expert of great skill. Ever since I returned from the deserted island, none of my opponents have been able to withstand even a single move from me. I truly don’t know how my martial skills measure up now. If I could exchange a few blows with this man, it would be a real test for me.”

“Since ancient times, heroes have emerged from the martial world. Who would have thought that a country boy like me would have the chance to compete with a master today? There is no greater joy in life than this!”

Thinking this, Zhang Xiaohua almost felt an impulse to charge into the manor and challenge the elder with the bronze mask.

But immediately, Zhang Xiaohua let out a wry laugh. It seemed his temperament still lacked enough tempering. The most urgent matter now was to find Little Orange and rescue the girls imprisoned in this manor. As for sparring with the bronze-masked elder, couldn’t that wait for another time?

Zhang Xiaohua patted the head of the Sibu Xiang, took down the longsword from Huanhuan’s back, but after a moment’s thought, put it back. Right now, he only had two weapons: one was the longsword, the other a small sword. The small sword could be kept in his bosom, but the longsword could not. In the future, as he roamed the martial world, he would certainly need a visible weapon. The small sword could be controlled by his Immortal arts—it was his secret and could not be revealed. Otherwise, he would instantly become the target of everyone in the martial world. Thus, the longsword was his only choice.

For today’s trip to the manor, the enemy was numerous while he was alone—truly a case of knowingly walking into the tiger’s den. If he relied solely on his longsword, he might not be able to accomplish everything; he would inevitably have to depend on Immortal techniques, or even escape arts, to succeed. In that case, he might as well just use the small sword directly.

Zhang Xiaohua put the longsword away, tidied the handkerchief on his face, and thought to himself: “That fellow’s bronze mask is quite something. When I get the chance, I’ll take it for myself—how impressive it would be to wear it.”

Taking a deep breath, as if to encourage himself, his figure shot off at an angle, flying straight into the nearby pine forest.

When he returned to the tree where he had previously been hiding, Zhang Xiaohua pondered for a moment, then dropped down from the tree. Forming a hand seal, his figure slipped into the earth, moving toward the manor.

Before long, Zhang Xiaohua’s head emerged beside a small house. Just as he revealed himself, he heard a string of “coo coo” sounds, followed by a burst of fluttering wings. From the house beside him, a flock of gray pigeons flew out, startling Zhang Xiaohua. His stance unsteady, he quickly formed another hand seal and escaped elsewhere.

Once he was far from that room, he saw two men in sturdy clothes rush out from a house. They looked up at the pigeons circling above, then carefully examined the area nearby. One of the men shouted: “Old Seven, did you see anything?”

Old Seven replied: “No, nothing at all. Not even a footprint. That’s strange—why did the pigeons suddenly take flight for no reason?”

“Oh, maybe it was a mouse in the house. Didn’t Master Xu’s cat scare this flock of pigeons last year?”

“Maybe. As long as there’s no one around, it’s fine.”

“People? If someone had come, the brothers in the front yard would have discovered them long ago. How could they have let someone slip in here?”

“Brother Zhang, if you’d said that last year, I’d have agreed. But now, all the brothers have gone out to help the Order Master search for people. How could the defenses be as tight as before?”

Brother Zhang laughed: “Let’s go. We’re just small fry anyway. We’re not even assigned to search for people. I really can’t figure it out—why does our Order Master want so many girls? Even if he wanted a new bride every night, there’s no need to urgently gather seventy-seven girls, right?”

Then, after hesitating for a moment, he lowered his voice and said: “Besides, many of the girls they’ve brought in are just a few years old. What kind of taste does our Order Master have? Although I’ve never seen his true face, from a distance, judging by his build and beard, he seems to be no young man. Can his body even handle it?”

Old Seven glanced around and said mysteriously: “Even if you rack your brains, you’d never guess the real reason.”

“Oh? Old Seven, from your look, it seems you know something?”

“I never said that. Don’t go spreading rumors, Brother Zhang.”

“Heh, Old Seven, don’t I know your temperament? We’ve been brothers for over ten years, weathered storms together from the gang to the Order Master’s side. What’s there you can’t tell me? How about I set a table for you tonight, warm you up with some wine?”

“Tsk tsk, Brother Zhang, you’re being too polite. Well, to tell the truth, last year, when a few Banner Leaders were drinking together, I happened to be serving them and overheard a bit. I’ve never told anyone, but today, I’ll tell you only because of our years of brotherhood. You must keep this secret for me.”

Brother Zhang’s eyes lit up. He patted his chest and said: “Who am I? I’m Zhang Yilang, known for keeping secrets. How could I leak anything? Come on, Old Seven, tell me!”

“Actually, Brother Zhang, it’s nothing special. I just overheard that this is a new internal cultivation method the Order Master has recently acquired. It requires seventy-seven girls, all born on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. By taking their vital yin, it’s possible to cultivate an unparalleled supreme internal skill, rare in the world.”

“Ah??? This… even young girls of a few years must have their vital yin taken? This…”

At this point, Brother Zhang’s words faltered.

Old Seven hurriedly covered Brother Zhang’s mouth, chiding: “Brother Zhang! Didn’t we agree not to act shocked? What does it matter to us if the girls are young? They’re not our relatives, and we didn’t kidnap them—we’re just errand-runners. Even if heaven punishes this, the tall ones will take the blame first.”

Brother Zhang pulled Old Seven’s hand away. “But I’m just baffled—how can the Order Master even extract vital yin from children that young?”

“Heh, since all the brothers are out searching, the Order Master must be in a hurry. I expect this will happen soon. Once he’s done, rumors will spread. We’ll just keep our ears open.”

Nearby, Zhang Xiaohua listened with equal parts fury and relief. Furious that this Order Master was clearly a beast who wouldn’t spare even young girls, relieved that Little Orange was likely among the captives and hadn’t yet been harmed, his arrival wasn’t too late.

Yet the manor was vast, and he dared not use his divine sense to scout. He desperately hoped the two men would divulge Little Orange’s location. Unfortunately, their conversation soon veered into trivial matters. Just as Zhang Xiaohua prepared to leap out and interrogate them, a voice shouted from afar: “Zhang Qing! Bai Qi! What are you doing? Get back here!”

Brother Zhang quickly called back: “Coming, sir! The pigeons were acting up earlier!”

With that, the two hurried off, leaving Zhang Xiaohua behind in frustrated silence.

Leaving Zhang Xiaohua behind, his face filled with frustration.

Looking at the several small houses around him, all nearly identical in appearance, Zhang Xiaohua knew that Little Orange and the others definitely weren’t here. But then, where could they be?

“Could it be in that main hall where the old man with the bronze mask emerged earlier? Hm, judging by how respectfully the Banner Leader greeted him, he must be the Order Master those two were talking about.”

As Zhang Xiaohua pondered, he slipped into the earth and moved in the direction of the main hall.

Since that old man could sense Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense, he might also be able to sense Zhang Xiaohua’s earth escape technique, so Zhang Xiaohua dared not be careless in the slightest.

After a while, the sky began to darken. Lights were lit in some of the small houses. Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua was actually pleased—so few houses were illuminated, which meant there weren’t many people in the manor, and now, as day turned to night and visibility was at its worst, it was the perfect time for Zhang Xiaohua to act.

Zhang Xiaohua flashed out of hiding, but instead of heading straight for the main hall, he circled the manor with the main hall as the center. After confirming that, aside from the slightly larger main hall, all the other buildings were small houses—and that Little Orange and the others couldn’t possibly be outside—he quietly approached the main hall.

To be honest, Zhang Xiaohua had always relied on his divine sense to lead the way, never encountering any obstacles. Now, suddenly unable to use it, he felt constrained and extremely unaccustomed.

Looking at the main hall, which was only a bit larger than the surrounding small houses, Zhang Xiaohua frowned. Seventy-seven people—if they weren’t standing upright inside, it didn’t seem like this main hall could hold them all.

At that moment, a faint light shone from within the main hall.

Zhang Xiaohua steeled himself, his figure silently soaring up, landing atop the roof of the main hall.