Chapter 1394 - 704: Going Deeper

"The farther you walk in, the faster your heart beats. Within thirty breaths it’s already jumping to two hundred a minute. I checked—though your body’s riddled with a nasty illness, there’s nothing wrong with your heart." Ning Xiaoxian cast him a sideways glance, clear understanding flashing in her bright eyes. "And snake tongue grass is such a precious Spiritual Medicine, yet you actually dared to bring us alone to where it’s planted. Aren’t you afraid we’ll clean out all the other herbs and then kill you?" Seeing the shopkeeper still wanting to argue, she cut him off, "Spit it out. Who’s inside, how many people? I’ll leave your body intact and won’t bring disaster to your family."

The shopkeeper opened his mouth but no sound came out. Under the icy gazes of the Hidden Guards, his lips trembled for a long time before he finally stammered, "Spare me, I was blinded by greed! It’s—it’s the Immortals of the Xuanling Sect, three of them!"

As soon as the words fell, Hei Hao, standing at his side, had already reached out and given a twist, cleanly snapping his neck.

She shrugged. "Xuanling Sect, never heard of it." Just from the shopkeeper’s conduct it was clear he’d already used Spirit Grass more than once or twice to fish Cultivators into the farmstead, so the people of the Xuanling Sect could rob and kill them. Any sect Disciple with even a bit of ambition would never do such a thing; otherwise in the future they’d never be able to pass the trial of their own Heart Demon.

Hei Hao said in a low voice, "Xuanling Sect is a small faction of the Human Clan, usually on good terms with the Washing Sword Pavilion. Among the Cultivators we killed in Taiwei Village, we’ve already confirmed there were people from Xuanling Sect."

"So that means among the Immortal Sects blocking our way ahead, Xuanling Sect is included?"

"Highly likely. But after all, this time they only took joint action; the Disciples of Xuanling Sect aren’t under the Washing Sword Pavilion’s command. No wonder they’d run over here to make dirty money. I suppose these low-level disciples don’t know the movements of the Black Blade Army, otherwise by now they should have fled at the first sign of trouble—how would they still dare to dig pits and set traps here?"

Ning Xiaoxian narrowed her eyes at the farmstead. "On this point the shopkeeper didn’t lie; there really are three people inside, but no particularly tough ones. Let’s take them down first."

Hei Hao jerked his head at the other two Hidden Guards. The three of them spread out and quietly crept forward.

Ning Xiaoxian and Zhai Mo walked forward slowly.

Before long, angry shouts and curses came from within the farmstead, but they only lasted for a few dozen breaths before quieting down again. She waited outside a little longer, and when she heard low groans and pleas for mercy from inside, she finally went in. There was only one living person left in this abandoned farmstead; the other two Cultivators lying in ambush here were already dead, and had died in a very miserable fashion.

This was the Hidden Guards’ usual method of intimidation, enough to scare the remaining one until he shook like a sieve. Sure enough, that surviving Cultivator had also been placed under restriction, the joints of his hands and legs dislocated, and was in the midst of Hei Hao’s interrogation.

This Xuanling Sect Cultivator was only here to scavenge a bit of profit on the side, not even qualified to count as a core Disciple, so naturally he knew very little military intelligence. He couldn’t even say how many people there were in the Alliance Army prepared to block the Black Blade Army. After being worked over by the Hidden Guards until he was half-dead, he could only fabricate a number. Hei Hao didn’t question its authenticity; after putting him through another round of torture and then asking again, how could the man remember what he’d said before? He slipped up on the spot.

Seeing that he couldn’t spit out much useful information and only kept bawling and begging for his life, Zhai Mo laughed. "If everyone blocking our way ahead is this kind of trash, then the Black Blade Army has nothing to worry about."

Ning Xiaoxian shook her head. "The Battle of Taiwei Village proves there are hard bones among the enemy as well." Hearing this, Zhai Mo also withdrew his smile; clearly the Battle of Taiwei Village had left a strong impression on him.

"If we can’t get anything out of him, forget it. We still have to hurry back." Ning Xiaoxian frowned. The man’s pig-slaughter screeching drilling into her ears was unbearably noisy.

The Cultivator was terrified, almost trying to crawl over to her as he blurted, "Little Granny, spare me! We were blind to try robbing your things here!" When he’d fought the Hidden Guards earlier and then struggled for so long, his belt had come a bit loose. Ning Xiaoxian’s sharp eyes noticed that the inner side of that cloth belt seemed to be inlaid with something.

She wasn’t nearly crude enough to personally yank off another man’s belt, so it was a Hidden Guard who pulled it off to examine it, then turned it over to show Ning Xiaoxian. "There’s an Array drawn on the inside."

The lines of this Array were drawn as fluidly as flowing water and weren’t complicated; even she could recognize it at a glance. "A Water Avoidance Array?" she murmured. Turning her head, she saw that the other two dead Cultivators were also wearing the same kind of belt. Before she even spoke, Hei Hao had already yanked off both their belts and flipped them over for a look. "Also inscribed with a Water Avoidance Array."

She murmured, "Is the Xuanling Sect’s headquarters built on the water?" Her gaze swept over, and the Cultivator on the ground hastily said, "If you don’t kill me, I’ll tell you everything!"