Chapter 197: Chapter 156: Fame Shakes the Four Directions

"Pfft..."

On a tattered, yellowish-brown beast hide speeding through the air, Yu Chengbo suddenly coughed up a large mouthful of blood with a "WAH," his once-mighty aura deflating like a punctured ball.

Mao Wuwei and the others were startled. They rushed to support him, channeling Spiritual Qi into his body as they asked anxiously, "Senior Brother Yu, what happened?"

Yu Chengbo’s pale face was filled with disbelief. A moment later, he ground out through clenched teeth, "Someone destroyed my Heaven-Encompassing Net! Who? Who was it!"

"What?" Mao Wuwei’s face fell. ’The Heaven-Encompassing Net was destroyed?’

"How is that possible? That’s a High-Grade Spiritual Artifact! Could a Purple Mansion Cultivator have intervened?" Their first thought was that a Purple Mansion Cultivator must have been responsible; after all, only a Purple Mansion Cultivator could destroy a High-Grade Spiritual Artifact.

But a new question immediately arose: where would a Purple Mansion Cultivator have come from?

The Song Clan certainly didn’t have a Purple Mansion Cultivator; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been suppressed by them all these years. So, which Purple Mansion Cultivator had helped Song Changsheng?

Yu Chengbo fell into deep thought, but it was a question destined to have no answer. There was no Purple Mansion Cultivator. He could rack his brains forever and never guess that Song Changsheng had done it all by himself.

"Senior Brother, with the Heaven-Encompassing Net destroyed, Yunfeng and the others are most likely dead. Should we continue the pursuit?" Mao Wuwei looked at Yu Chengbo, his face etched with hesitation.

Yu Chengbo understood his hesitation. They were in an awkward position. The culprit who destroyed the Heaven-Encompassing Net was like a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, leaving them caught between a rock and a hard place.

If they continued the chase, they might very well follow in Liu Yunfeng’s footsteps. But if he chose to give up, he couldn’t stomach the thought.

The Sect had prepared so thoroughly for this operation and paid such a heavy price, only to come away with nothing. How could he possibly explain this to the Sect Leader? 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

After a long moment, he clenched his fists and squeezed out a few words through his teeth: "Investigate! Find out who did this!"

This was a tacit admission that they would not continue the pursuit. Mao Wuwei and Hex Beishui exchanged a look, both choosing to remain silent.

After Yu Chengbo took some time to regulate his breathing, they changed direction and headed for Luoxia City at top speed. No matter what, they could not miss the Great City Lord’s birthday banquet.

——————

Song Changsheng never expected that Yu Chengbo and his men would have such a misunderstanding. After cleaning up the battlefield as quickly as possible, he continued toward Luoxia City without a moment’s rest.

At this point, he was less than two days’ journey from Luoxia City. Coincidentally, the Great City Lord’s birthday banquet was set to officially begin the day after tomorrow. He had to get back before the banquet started, which meant he couldn’t afford any delays on the road.

But Song Changsheng wasn’t worried about that. When he killed Liu Yunfeng and the others, there had been plenty of witnesses, including not only spies from the Lieyang Sect but also some Loose Cultivators who had been drawn by the commotion.

Though they had only watched from a great distance, the scene of rolling Celestial Thunder, like an apocalypse, had still scared them witless. That was not the kind of power a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator could possess.

In this world, news traveled with surprising speed. In less than a day, Song Changsheng’s name swept through all of Bian Province for the second time.

The Lieyang Sect’s warrant had been the first time the cultivators of Bian Province heard of Song Changsheng, and it had also turned his head into a tempting prize.

Now, at the cost of the lives of numerous Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Song Changsheng’s name once again shook Bian Province. This time, however, he had earned a fearsome reputation, rendering the Lieyang Sect’s bounty a mere piece of paper. No one dared to covet his head any longer!

Sometimes, being a little high-profile wasn’t a bad thing. At least now, no one would be coming to cause trouble for Song Changsheng over some bounty money...

On Celestial Sound Mountain, Zhuang Yuechan seemed restless, pacing back and forth in her room.

The scholarly man sitting in the seat of honor could not watch any longer. He shook his head and said, "Yuechan, if you keep this up, you’re going to make your master dizzy."

Zhuang Yuechan wanted to sit down and be quiet, but she found that she couldn’t. Ever since the Lieyang Sect had put out a warrant for Song Changsheng, her heart had not known a moment of peace.

Hearing Muu Guibai’s words, she asked worriedly, "Master, do you think Song Changsheng can escape this ordeal?"

Muu Guibai glanced at his youngest disciple, sighed, and said in a solemn tone, "I know you have a connection with that boy, but Luoxia City has its own principles and mission. The Lieyang Sect is nothing to us, but we cannot get involved in the conflict between them—at least, not openly.

"Don’t worry too much. I’ve already sent Old Xu down the mountain to find him. If he can locate the boy, he will help him from the shadows. After all, this whole affair started because of us."

Muu Guibai had never expected things to develop to this point. He had sought out the Green Sky White Jade Pill to help both Zhan Tianxia and himself atone for a past mistake.

He just hadn’t expected Zhan Tianxia to act on his own authority and send the situation spiraling out of control. If they had just found a chance to give the pill to Song Changsheng in secret, how could things have ever gotten to this stage?

Therefore, no matter what, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. The moment he learned that the Lieyang Sect had issued a warrant for Song Changsheng, he had dispatched his most trusted Shadow Guard to find him.

Hearing this, the heart that had been stuck in Zhuang Yuechan’s throat finally settled a little.

Only those closest to Muu Guibai knew of the Shadow Guard’s existence. They were few in number, but every one of them was at least a Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. They were the shadows lurking in the darkness, a hidden trump card for Luoxia City.