Chapter 408: Zhang Xiaohua’s Second Probe into the Heaven’s Way Alliance

“Peh!” Nie Qianyu couldn’t help but spit again, but her usually calm little face was already flushed red.

Zhang Xiaohua walked out of the house, mounted the Sibu Xiang, patted Huanhuan’s bald horn, and was about to set out. But when he looked at the sky, he couldn’t help but frown deeply and jumped down again.

Nie Qianyu happened to walk to the door and couldn’t help but ask: “Big Brother Ren, you… why aren’t you going out?”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “Sigh, I’ve been rushing about all the way and I’m already tired. Seeing that it’s still early, I’d rather get some sleep first. It won’t be too late to go out after I’m rested.”

With that, he went straight back to his small room.

“You!” Nie Qianyu stamped her foot in anger and went back inside, slamming the door with a bang, but she remembered Zhang Xiaohua’s words and didn’t bolt it.

When dusk fell, Zhang Xiaohua finally came out of the house, mounted the Sibu Xiang, and headed straight out of Pingyang City.

After leaving the southern city gate and traveling for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he arrived at the former site of the Piaomiao Sect.

Seeing that he was about to reach Piaomiao Manor, Zhang Xiaohua dismounted from the Sibu Xiang, tossed Huanhuan into a thicket of dead wood by the roadside, and released his divine sense for a quick scan. Then, twisting his body, he used Earth Escape and vanished underground.

Zhang Xiaohua was about to infiltrate the Heaven’s Way Alliance for a second time!

Last time, Zhang Xiaohua had come to Piaomiao Manor only to take a cursory look under the Piaomiao Sect’s archway on a snowy night, mourning and reminiscing. Why had he come again this time?

Could it be that the key to unlocking Little Orange’s acupoints lies within the Heaven’s Way Alliance?

Zhang Xiaohua burrowed close, not daring to proceed carelessly. The Heaven’s Way Alliance was a superpower in the martial world, and although this Piaomiao Sect branch was not as grand as the main Heaven’s Way Peak, it was surely heavily guarded. Of course, Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense already enveloped the entire Piaomiao Manor, but after all, when using Earth Escape, the lack of reference points underground meant that if he happened to emerge beneath the feet of a Heaven’s Way Alliance disciple, wouldn’t that be disastrous?

Therefore, Zhang Xiaohua only emerged from the ground outside Piaomiao Manor. The manor’s current defenses were indeed tight, with both visible and hidden sentries, but under Zhang Xiaohua’s divine sense, everything was clear. He floated up, gliding through the air, leaving behind afterimages as he slipped straight into the manor. His Levitation Technique had improved compared to a few days ago, and the nearby patrolling disciples of the Heaven’s Way Alliance didn’t even notice him.

In the world of martial arts, sects and clans have always been strict on the outside but lax within; the Heaven’s Way Alliance was no exception. Since it was so easy to slip into Piaomiao Manor, the situation inside needed no further mention. Now that night had fallen, although lights shone from within the buildings and many disciples walked about the manor, there were still plenty of dark corners. With Zhang Xiaohua’s current cultivation, as long as it wasn’t broad daylight, how could ordinary disciples of the Heaven’s Way Alliance possibly detect him?

Zhang Xiaohua’s figure moved forward unceasingly—sometimes crouching low, sometimes darting ahead—always managing to cleverly avoid the notice of the Heaven’s Way Alliance disciples. After some time, he arrived before a small building. It was a three-story pavilion, brightly lit but eerily silent. On the plaque above the entrance, the words “Library Pavilion” were inscribed.

Wasn’t this one of the few structures of the Piaomiao Sect that Zhang Xiaohua was familiar with?

Zhang Xiaohua swept the area with his divine sense, a faint smile curling at his lips. Twisting his body, he slipped underground and tunneled into the building. When he emerged inside, he narrowly avoided colliding with a bookshelf. Though the Library Pavilion was empty at the moment, weren’t there still guards outside?

Zhang Xiaohua dared not linger. He released his divine sense and began searching the first floor. Before long, he selected a few books from the shelves, stuffed them into his robe without even glancing at them, and was about to leave when he noticed the staircase leading to the upper floors. Instantly, Zhang Xiaohua recalled the last time he had come here with Zhang Chengyue.

This place was the turning point of his destiny.

For a moment, Zhang Xiaohua was filled with emotion. If he hadn’t inadvertently obtained the “Carefree Heart Sutra” on the third floor of the Library Pavilion, who knew what his fate would be today?

Returning to this place, how could he resist going up for a look?

So, without using his divine sense, Zhang Xiaohua glanced outside and hurried upstairs.

Whether it was due to laziness or a respect for the Piaomiao Sect’s library arrangement, the Heaven’s Way Alliance had also placed some martial arts manuals on the second floor. However, it seemed that the shelves here were rather sparse, clearly indicating that the Heaven’s Way Alliance had not stored all their sect’s techniques here.

Even so, Zhang Xiaohua searched shelf by shelf and still found a few secret manuals on acupoint techniques, which he unhesitatingly pocketed. This was no longer the original Piaomiao Sect—who would know he’d been here? As long as he didn’t burn down all the manuals in the building, he was already contributing to the development of martial arts in the entire jianghu. Did they expect him to copy everything by hand before leaving?

After checking the second floor, Zhang Xiaohua proceeded to the third floor. As expected, the long table that once held a box was now empty, and there were only a few books left on the shelves. Zhang Xiaohua first walked over to the long table, gently stroking it with his hand a few times before withdrawing his nostalgic gaze and turning to the bookshelf.

There were only a handful of books on the shelves, likely the most important martial arts of the Heaven’s Way Alliance. Unfortunately, Zhang Xiaohua did not practice martial arts and had no interest in them. He casually flipped through them, but immediately, one book caught his attention.

“Bewildering Soul Finger”—the name of this technique was rather odd. Could a finger really bewilder the soul?

When Zhang Xiaohua took it out and read through it, he realized it was nothing more than a case of false advertising. There was nothing mystical about it; it was simply a manual on acupoint techniques. Flipping through it, he found it bore some resemblance to Little Orange’s situation. Since it was also an acupoint technique, Zhang Xiaohua unceremoniously slipped it into his robe as if it were his own. As for the remaining manuals, with titles boasting of divine skills and secret arts, he let them be.

Having achieved his purpose, Zhang Xiaohua had no intention of lingering. He glanced around at the rather excessively empty space, his divine sense naturally spreading out.

In truth, Zhang Xiaohua thought back to the day when the Piaomiao Sect was destroyed by the joint forces of three sects. It had happened so suddenly, and the Piaomiao Sect had to hastily respond and flee, leaving behind many things. Of course, anything left in the open or hidden in obvious places would have been seized by the Heaven’s Way Alliance—after all, they had occupied this place for three years, and most ordinary secrets would have been exposed. But for a sect capable of possessing the “Carefree Heart Sutra”, protected by arrays outside the manor and with mysterious forbidden grounds within, it was certainly a great Immortal Dao inheritance. How could the Library Pavilion, regarded as the sect’s most important place, not hold a few secrets?

Ordinary secrets didn’t concern Zhang Xiaohua, but he would never let go of any Immortal Dao secrets. Such secrets were always protected by Immortal Dao restrictions, and without divine sense, they were impossible to detect. Even if the Heaven’s Way Alliance spent another hundred years searching, it would be in vain.

Sure enough, fortune favors the persistent. After Zhang Xiaohua meticulously searched with his divine sense, he truly discovered a place where obscure Yuan Qi fluctuations emanated. Strangely, this place was not on the third floor, but rather on the first floor, where ordinary fist and sword manuals were stored.

Zhang Xiaohua slowly descended from the third floor, gently brushing the old wooden stairs with his hand, feeling deeply emotional. He had come to this Library Pavilion and walked these very stairs years ago, but his mood now was completely different.

Once he calmed himself, Zhang Xiaohua arrived at a dim corner on the first floor, where the Yuan Qi fluctuations originated from beneath the ground. Looking at the solid bluestone tiles, Zhang Xiaohua smiled: “Isn’t everything underground my domain?”

Without hesitation, he formed a hand seal and burrowed beneath the Library Pavilion. He hadn’t gone far when he saw a faint blue glow in the earth ahead. Approaching, he found it was a restriction whose Yuan Qi was about to dissipate. Zhang Xiaohua didn’t stand on ceremony—he channeled true qi into his left hand and grabbed at it. The restriction, already on the verge of collapse, was instantly shattered by his grasp. The blue light dispersed, and what remained in Zhang Xiaohua’s hand was an emerald green jade slip.

The texture of the jade was actually quite similar to the coffin lid Zhang Xiaohua had obtained in the underground hall.

However, when Zhang Xiaohua immersed his divine sense into it, he discovered that this small jade slip was protected by yet another layer of restriction. Because the outer layer was shielded by a faint blue restriction, the restriction’s Yuan Qi on the jade slip was still abundant, showing no signs of depletion. If Zhang Xiaohua wanted to see the contents inside, he would have to put in some extra effort.

Still, with just a cursory scan, Zhang Xiaohua already had a bit of an “inkling”. Ever since he had comprehended the array jade slip left by the Fire Dragon True Person, he had gained a solid foundation. In recent days, after further studying the rabbit talisman from the Niwan Palace, he felt his progress in arrays and restrictions had advanced by leaps and bounds. Although the restriction on this jade slip was profound, it was by no means unbreakable. And the stronger the restriction, the more important the contents of the jade slip must be—how could Zhang Xiaohua not be delighted?

With that thought, Zhang Xiaohua carefully tucked the jade slip into his robe, formed a hand seal, and prepared to burrow toward the direction of the archway in his mind. As long as he got out of Piaomiao Manor, it didn’t matter where he emerged, so Zhang Xiaohua didn’t bother with levitation techniques or the like.

But he had barely gone any distance when a surge of Yuan Qi from ahead caught the attention of Treasure Seeker Zhang. Could there be another treasure over there?

Without hesitation, Zhang Xiaohua immediately veered off his original path and tunneled toward the source of the possible treasure.

However, as he drew near, he could only feel helpless.

There, at the spot where the Yuan Qi fluctuation originated, was a pale blue restriction just like the one he’d seen on the jade slip earlier—but this one was several times larger, like a giant sphere tightly enclosing an area. It was just like the pale red barrier he had seen on the remote island overseas, protecting the Fire Dragon True Person’s cave.

Zhang Xiaohua pondered for a moment, then emerged from the ground and stood on the surface. Looking carefully in the darkness, he saw a dense white mist before him. Sweeping the area with his divine sense, he realized he was now inside the Medicine Hall.

Could this be that so-called forbidden area within the Medicine Hall?