Chapter 413 - 176: "A Little Interesting.

Chapter 413: Chapter 176: "A Little Interesting.

How interesting.

...

On the Guanxi Plain, the strife that had lasted for over a century had finally ceased.

From beginning to end, the Mortal Realm had never once told them to stop fighting.

But...

Even though the Mortal Realm hadn’t said a word, ever since its rise, the various factions had stopped fighting anyway. They had entered a period of peaceful development, realizing there was no point in continuing their conflicts.

Because the conflicts had ended, the various factions lifted their travel restrictions. Trade routes reopened, commerce and exchange became easier, and naturally, everything grew much livelier.

Every day, numerous people from the Guanxi region took the High-speed Rail to the Mortal Realm, while many from the Four Areas Jiangbei took the Mortal Realm High-speed Rail south to the Guanxi Plain. Different cultures and customs were rapidly intermingling.

"Dumplings for departure, noodles for arrival."

"Please!"

The Slaughter Immortal Holy Land Saint Master stood at the foot of his mountain, accompanied by a group of Elders. With a solemn expression, he watched the Mortal Realm High-speed Rail train that had stopped there. In recent days, the Mortal Realm had once again expanded its high-speed rail lines.

Due to insufficient capacity, many of the original single-track lines had a second track added, along with many new stations.

Their Slaughter Immortal Holy Land was also fortunate enough to get its own direct station.

The person stepping off the high-speed rail was none other than Shao Qiu, the Master of the Mortal Realm’s Dark Pavilion.

"Hmph."

As he stepped off the train, Shao Qiu glanced at the bowl of longevity noodles in the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land Saint Master’s hands and snorted. "That’s a Jiangbei custom. Have you forgotten I’m from the Guanxi Plain, too?"

"Enough with the pleasantries."

"I didn’t come here today to prove how amazing I am."

"I came to tell everyone that I’m taking back what I lost."

"Are you ready? Because if you are, I’m starting."

"No problem."

The Slaughter Immortal Holy Land Saint Master glanced solemnly at his subordinates. In an instant, though the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land appeared unchanged, it had clearly gone on high alert.

Seeing this, Shao Qiu took a deep breath and slowly pulled up the hood of his Night Traveling Clothes. Then, in broad daylight, his body dissolved into a wisp of gray mist and vanished.

He had come on this trip with only one purpose.

And that was...

To infiltrate the heart of the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land.

He had failed last time. He would not fail again.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later,

Shao Qiu strolled back through the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land’s defensive lines, carrying their Third Elder in his hand. With a satisfied expression, he looked at the Saint Master and broke into a wide grin.

"Last time, I was only seventeen. It was perfectly normal to fail an infiltration. But what about this time?"

His target when he infiltrated the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land last time had been this same Third Elder. That failure had left him with a lingering complex, and he had come today specifically to resolve it.

"Impressive! Truly, heroes emerge from the young!"

The Slaughter Immortal Holy Land Saint Master, who was waiting at the foot of the mountain, raised both hands in admiration and gave two thumbs up. "Last time, we only caught you by a stroke of luck. It was our Slaughter Immortal Holy Land’s Exotic Beast that discovered you."

"This time, Young Pavilion Master, your stealth techniques have reached a whole new level. Our Slaughter Immortal Holy Land’s Exotic Beast didn’t notice a thing."

"Truly impressive."

...

Shao Qiu stared at the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land Saint Master for a long moment before bursting into laughter and turning to walk up the mountain. "Alright, what’s past is past."

"And stop with the flattery. It sounds so fake."

"Fake?"

The Slaughter Immortal Holy Land’s Saint Master chuckled and followed him.

"A little," Shao Qiu nodded. "Where’s that bowl of noodles? Hand it over. I happen to be a bit hungry."

"Right here."

"No side dishes?"

"We have some! There’s some excellent braised meat simmering in a pot up the mountain, ready to eat anytime."

"I’d rather have something fresh. How about we slaughter and eat that Exotic Beast of yours—the one that discovered me last time?"

"This... uh..."

"I’m kidding."

"Ahem..."

Following behind, the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land’s Grand Elder watched Shao Qiu and the Saint Master walk toward the summit, a look of resignation on his face. He knew the Saint Master hadn’t held back.

The Slaughter Immortal Holy Land had truly entered a state of full alert just now.

But Shao Qiu had still infiltrated it with ease.

Then again, it wasn’t surprising.

When he saw that Shao Qiu was decked out from head to toe in gear made of Earth Gold—even his shoes—he had nothing left to say. If he were equipped like that, he might have been able to sneak in, too.

And that was to say nothing of someone like Shao Qiu, who already had Mastery in the art of stealth.

As for the Third Elder...

He just stood to the side with a resigned look on his face. "Grand Elder, weren’t you the Third Elder ten years ago? Why did he grab me? Shouldn’t he have grabbed you?"

"Ahem..."

The Grand Elder gave an embarrassed cough. "Shao Qiu clearly wanted ’the Third Elder.’ He doesn’t care who’s actually in the position. Now stop talking nonsense and get up the mountain."

He was the Architect of the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land.

Ten years ago, if Shao Qiu’s assassination attempt hadn’t failed, the grass on his grave would be quite tall by now.

’Luckily, it had failed.’

’But for some reason, he sometimes got the feeling from the Saint Master’s tone that the Saint Master was quite regretful that Shao Qiu’s assassination attempt had failed back then.’

’Am I really that annoying?’

...

「The Eternal Night Calendar, Year 381, August 1st.」

The rainy season was not far off.

Chen Fan was taking a casual stroll near the Port, leaning on his Jade Staff. It hadn’t been a busy period. Aside from the group occupied with the New Continent, the rest of the Mortal Realm’s core members had all gone out to enjoy themselves.

After working so hard for so long, it was time to relax.

He hadn’t gone.

Compared to going out, he preferred to wander around his own little patch of land, adding new things here and there from time to time.