Chapter 160: What is Xuanhuang?

Yan Wen was dead!

He had been beaten to death, blow by blow, right by his own hands!

Even so, Qin Feng could not quench the hatred in his heart.

The disciples of the Earth Corpse Sect who had been tortured to death by Yan Wen and the other two—some even having their intestines pulled out to spell out three bloody characters representing slaughter—filled Qin Feng with unbearable fury. Therefore, letting Yan Wen die so easily felt far too merciful.

After taking Yan Wen's storage bag, Qin Feng tossed out a ball of flame to reduce the corpse to ashes, destroying all evidence.

Although the other two men were not yet dead, they were entirely incapable of resistance, and Qin Feng naturally would not spare them. The Nine Palaces Gate was, after all, a top-tier sect within the Eastern Region; killing their young sect master was by no means a trivial matter. He had to ensure everything was airtight and left no loose ends.

He tossed out two more balls of flame to burn the remaining two men to death, but he did not let the tri-headed black flood dragon devour them. First, given the current stage of the flood dragon's evolution, it disdained the cultivation levels of these two insignificant figures. Second, future devourings needed to be selective; blind and continuous consumption would cause too much malevolent energy to accumulate within his own body, which in turn would hinder the progress of his cultivation.

Consequently, Qin Feng chose the most direct method: burning the corpses to ashes.

Every single one of these three scumbags had their hands stained with the blood of the innocent. Although Qin Feng was no saint, given his character, he would still have exterminated these three for the sake of the Earth Corpse Sect disciples who had died unjustly.

At the very least, it would ensure that those who died in vain exacted a price in blood!

Once all this was done, the surrounding scenery began to blur and distort. Clearly, with Yan Wen's control gone, the restrictions of the Eighty-One Palaces Heavenly Net Chess Formation could no longer be sustained.

Qin Feng frowned, recalled Zhan Bai, and then pulled out Xing Bing's large coffin, climbing inside.

Within the formation, exposing his identity did not matter, because everyone who knew was now dead. Outside the formation, however, Qin Feng could not guarantee whether anyone was secretly spying on him.

Therefore, necessary caution and vigilance were still required.

Shortly after Qin Feng lay inside the coffin, the Eighty-One Palaces Heavenly Net Chess Formation finally flickered alternately a few times before collapsing entirely. The scene shifted, and the Bald Cypress Forest instantly reappeared before Qin Feng. At the same time, a huge black and white ancient scroll emerged from the void, fully unfurled and suspended in mid-air.

Qin Feng glanced at it, controlled Xing Bing to step forward, rolled up the massive black and white ancient scroll, and stowed it inside Xing Bing's storage bag.

This item might prove useful later.

After finishing this, Qin Feng did not leave immediately. Instead, lying within the coffin, he narrowed his eyes while his purple vision flickered incessantly.

For his powerful spiritual sense had sensed a faint, illusory presence locking onto him. Although it was merely a suspicion, it was still better to be cautious.

Yet, upon closer inspection, Qin Feng's expression immediately darkened.

He controlled Xing Bing to fix his gaze upon a towering tree, then spoke in a cold and unfriendly tone, "Since Fellow Daoist has been tailing me all this way, why not show yourself?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the trunk of the tree trembled bizarrely, and then it spontaneously burst into flames. The fire was a ghostly, terrifying green. To Qin Feng's astonishment, a head pushed its way out from within the flames.

It possessed the bizarre appearance of a demonic monk, with green hair resembling moss that was exceptionally eye-catching, causing Qin Feng to instantly narrow his eyes.

Indeed, this person was none other than Gu Lang.

It was the very same demonic monk he had encountered at the Heavenly Knowledge auction, the one who had once locked gazes with his Purple Heavenly Eyes.

Qin Feng could guess that Gu Lang had been tracking him all along, but the other party's concealment techniques were extremely special. Qin Feng had merely sensed a trace of suspicion and tried a bluff, never expecting to actually flush him out.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, what is your intention in tailing me while constantly hiding your head and tail?"

The Xing Bing controlled by Qin Feng wore an icy expression. Who would be happy to find themselves being stalked?

Under normal circumstances, such behavior was solely for the purpose of killing and seizing treasures!

That was why Qin Feng's tone was so hostile!

However, the burly monk before him gave Qin Feng a profound sense of danger. The man's strength was unfathomable, vastly superior to a second-rate figure like Yan Wen.

"Haha!"

With a hearty laugh, the demonic monk pulled his robust and muscular body out from the flames. The fire gradually receded, and the tree trunk instantly returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened at all.

Qin Feng's pupils contracted sharply.

What a formidable divine ability! Such a feat alone was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

"I didn't expect you to discover my presence. It seems I haven't chosen the wrong person." After appearing, the demonic monk cast a meaningful glance at the coffin Qin Feng lay within, smiled bizarrely, and replied.

That single look took Qin Feng somewhat by surprise. Could this fellow already be suspicious of him?

"What do you mean?" Qin Feng furrowed his brow in incomprehension, controlling Xing Bing to ask.

"Hahaha, there is no need for you to panic. I, Gu Lang, have come with no malice. Fellow Daoist need not be so tense." Gu Lang's tone was laden with a bizarre and mysterious aura, leaving Qin Feng utterly baffled.

"You've come for the Yellow Springs Token, haven't you? But ownership of this item has already passed to me. Even if you kill me, you will not obtain it. Aside from that, what else could you possibly want?"

"No! I have come to ask Fellow Daoist for a favor!"

Gu Lang's tone was grave, as if he were speaking of a matter of utmost importance to himself.

"Oh?" Qin Feng raised an eyebrow, sensing that the situation was far from simple.

"This matter involves too much; I cannot reveal too much. There are only two words...!" At this point, Gu Lang switched to sound-transmission, and two words echoed directly within Qin Feng's mind.

"Xuanhuang!"

"What is Xuanhuang?" Qin Feng was momentarily stunned, completely at a loss. However, he asked this question silently within his mind. Qin Feng was not foolish; since Gu Lang was being so cautious, there was an eight-tenths chance that others were still lurking nearby.

Yet, to his surprise, the question he had posed purely within his thoughts actually received an answer echoing inside his head: "I do not know what Xuanhuang is either, but this item is truly important to me. It is located within the Yellow Springs."

Upon hearing these words, Qin Feng was utterly shaken!

A cold sweat instantly broke out across his back.

Clearly, this Gu Lang had already seen through his identity. What a mysterious fellow! Even a strength at the Heavenly Passage realm could not penetrate his large black cloth, yet how had Gu Lang managed it?

"Could it be that this person's origins are truly mysterious?"

Qin Feng had a profound and esoteric intuition that Gu Lang was far from as simple as he appeared on the surface. Moreover, if this man truly wanted his life, he would have had nowhere to run today.

"Help me find Xuanhuang! I shall help you neutralize a certain fatal calamity in your future!"

Having said that, without waiting for Qin Feng to agree, Gu Lang cast a meaningful glance toward a certain spot in the void. Then, with a soft *poof*, the tree that had previously concealed him began to burn with ghostly green flames once more. Gu Lang withdrew directly into the flames and vanished. The tree resumed its original appearance once again, as though nothing had ever happened.

Gu Lang was gone, leaving Qin Feng standing frozen in place.

In particular, Gu Lang's final sentence provided Qin Feng with a wealth of information, yet deepened his incomprehension.

What on earth was Xuanhuang? What was Gu Lang's true identity? A future fatal calamity? How could Gu Lang possibly know about it? All of this surrounded Qin Feng like a massive web of riddles, leaving him utterly bewildered and unable to find a single clue!

Yet it was clear that Gu Lang was not joking with him.

Would a mysterious fellow travel all the way here just to play such a cryptic joke with him?

Was this a comedy? Unless the man had a screw loose!

Excluding those possibilities, Gu Lang undoubtedly knew something!

"Could it be related to that mysterious entity within my soul?"

Thinking of this, Qin Feng suddenly felt even more lost in a fog of confusion.

Silence—an eerie silence descended upon the scene!

Qin Feng remained lying within the coffin, while Xing Bing stood motionless beside it, standing guard for the better part of a day!

Throughout those many hours, Qin Feng kept thinking.

Yet the dense fog in his mind refused to dissipate. This feeling was deeply frustrating, making Qin Feng feel as though a heavy boulder was pressing upon his chest. Just as he finally caught a hint of a lead, he found himself unable to grasp anything substantial!

That fellow Gu Lang—when the opportunity arose, he truly needed to question him properly!

However, Qin Feng knew that he likely had no chance of finding Gu Lang again, unless—

He found Xuanhuang!

Having finally managed to sort out a vague thread of logic, Qin Feng locked his gaze upon the patch of woodland where Gu Lang had glanced earlier—a very secluded corner. He said in a chilling voice, "I shall certainly fulfill the four-year pact. But if you let me catch you tailing me again, I will kill you!"

With that, the large black coffin rose and hovered once more above Xing Bing's head. Guided by Qin Feng's mental will, Xing Bing departed in the direction of the Earth Corpse Sect.

Not long after Qin Feng left, a huge green plant abruptly and rapidly sprouted from the ground in that secluded corner. At the very top of the plant, covered in sharp thorns, was a flower. Once the blossom fully opened, it revealed a human face belonging to a woman. She stared at the receding figure of Qin Feng, reached out a leaf to cup her floral face in a thoughtful gesture, and murmured softly, "What formidable fellows! That mysterious Gu Lang actually took the initiative to approach Qin Feng? What on earth is his background? The higher-ups actually issued strict orders prohibiting anyone from tracking or investigating any information regarding Gu Lang. Could it be that even the upper echelons cannot afford to offend this person? It's simply itching my curiosity...!"

"Oh? Someone else is coming!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the botanical woman rapidly withered until she vanished entirely.

Having shaken off Heavenly Knowledge's surveillance, Qin Feng was eager to return.

Having delayed quite a significant amount of time here, he had no idea how the excavation work at Corpse Mining Area No. 444 was proceeding, and he was anxious to find out the result.

Consequently, Qin Feng quickened his pace.

At that exact moment, two streaks of light came flying toward this direction. Because Qin Feng was in a rush to leave, he chose an alternate route, intentionally bypassing the two incoming figures.

Qin Feng's goal was to avoid stirring up unnecessary trouble and wasting time.

Shortly after Qin Feng departed, those two streaks of light halted right where he had vanished, revealing an old woman leading a very short little girl with two ox-horn braids tied in her hair.

"Eh? That person's aura is so bizarre!"

The little girl tilted her head, blinking her large, watery eyes in confusion.

The old woman beside her lovingly glanced down at the little girl and said, "Little miss, that person should be a member of the Earth Corpse Sect. Furthermore, this place looks utterly wrecked; a battle must have taken place here. Very well, let us not meddle in other people's affairs. According to Heavenly Knowledge's intelligence, your older brother should be hiding near Mount Tianhuan. Let us continue searching for him; with a bit of luck, we might find him before the people of the Sword Mountain of Shu do, allowing us to take him away from this place of trouble all the sooner."

Upon hearing the word "brother," the little girl immediately brightened up and nodded repeatedly. "Okay, Granny, let's hurry!"

The old woman smiled, affectionately patted the little girl's head, and murmured, "Silly child!"