Chapter 348: Exchanging Intel with Zhou Yu (2/2)
”You knew them?”
”Yes. Actually, they are dangerous individuals. Those men can't be trusted and can't be tamed. Since they showed up near your city, it seems that the Yuan Clan is serious about taking over the source of elixir water in Siren City.”
Zhou Gongjin believed in Miaomiao since the Yuan Clan always moved by their self-interest. With the priceless magical spring water on the line, it was not strange for Yuan Shaoqing to mobilize his army.
”I've told you everything I know. Now, your turn, please.”
Miaomiao stopped disclosing sensitive information on his part. Now, he forced Zhou Gongjin to reveal his secrets while he prevented the latter from requesting more intel.
”Oh, sure. First off, do you know how many dangerous individuals on Mount Hua Sect?”
”No.”
”There are three people that we have to pay attention to. The first one is the 3rd elder of Mount Hua Sect, Ling Cao. He is a nascent soul cultivator who is rumored to be on par with Ma Ping during his prime.”
Miaomiao took a mental note while he recorded the conversation with his phone, just in case he forgot.
Zhou Gongjin continued, ”The second person was Mount Hua's sect master, Xie Chengzhi. He is from one of the Seven Great Families from the Holy Land Continent, the Xie Clan. We don't know about his true cultivation base or his strength since he never fought or accepted a challenge from other cultivators, but my men discovered that he was an 8th-stage cultivator.”
”Huh!?”
This was the first time that he heard that another 8th-stage cultivator had been lurking nearby.
Moreover, his surname was Xie!?
Miaomiao raised his hand, ”Before you continue, do you know a man by the name Xie Tian?”
”Oh? You know him? I'm surprised that you're also Xie Tian's acquaintance.”
Miaomiao squinted his eyes. Zhou Gongjin's words hinted that the latter knew something about Xie Tian even though that dead protagonist's fame shouldn't have reached here. After all, Xie Tian didn't complete his story arc and died prematurely.
”Not really. I just heard about the bounty when I was in Red Sun City. Say, what's his relationship with Xie Chengzhi?”
Zhou Gongzhi paused and gave Miaomiao a meaningful look. He closed his eyes and sighed, ”Right. Xie Tian is already dead. What a pity. Well, Xie Chengzhi is Xie Tian's real uncle.”
”…”
Now, Miaomiao stumbled upon a clue of Xie Tian's origin. However, it was no longer useful for the dead protagonist.
Seeing the subtle changes in Miaomiao's expression, Zhou Gongjin pretended to not notice it, but he had already taken a mental note. He stopped talking about Xie Chengzhi and carried on revealing the Mount Hua Sect's secrets, which he had learned in his previous life.
”The most troublesome individual is not Ling Cao or Xie Chengzhi. It's Ling Tianlong, the legacy disciple of Ling Cao.”
Miaomiao's pupils expanded as he was interested in the topic, ”Ling Tianlong?”
”That man has somehow inherited a rare earth dragon bloodline. He can transform into an earth dragonewt, and he is immune to all physical attacks. Only 8th-stage or 9th-stage cultivators could harm him because of his absurd physique. Moreover, his sword techniques don't belong in the mortal world since most of them are either immortal-grade or divine-grade. I need you to pay attention to this man and avoid fighting him without a backup.”
The information was shocking, but the most astonishing part was how Zhou Gongjin acquired this intelligence.
Yet, Zhou Gongjin continued to stun Miaomiao with new pieces of information.
”The most dangerous technique of his is Death Fortress Sword Techniques that can defend and counter any type of attacks from his opponents. Even 8th-stage cultivators can find it troublesome whenever he used the technique.”
At this point, Miaomiao was expressionless. The skill name coincided with his system technique, which he had fused from a system skill and his self-learned skill.
Death Fortress Sword
Indeed, it was a sword style and sword technique that focused on defense, and nobody should have it other than Miaomiao. Yet, Zhou Gongjin said that Ling Tianlong could use it, too!?
Then, there was this earth dragonewt transformation!
Miaomiao instinctively gulped as he compared his current self with another protagonist with a similar skillset as his.
This protagonist hunt might be more dangerous than the previous quests. Xie Tian and Liu Bian seemed like babies comparing to Ling Tianlong.
”That is not all,” Zhou Gongjin continued.
”There's more!?” Miaomiao couldn't remain calm anymore.
”Err, yes, senior. By now, Ling Tianlong should already have achieved the dao of the sword. He should be able to cut through any array or domain power of any 7th-stage cultivator now. The only way to stop him is to bring a few 8th-stage cultivators or immortals to besiege him.”
”…”
Miaomiao stopped thinking and rubbed his temples gently with his fingers. After relieving his headache, he gazed into Zhou Gongjin's eyes, ”How did you know? I mean, how did your men discover all of these?”
Zhou Gongjin snickered, ”That's a secret. I'm sorry, senior. I can't reveal this information.”
”Yeah, right,” Miaomiao rolled his eyes. ”Anything else I need to be worried about?”
”Yes. That's the only information about the Mount Hua Sect. Next, it's about the Yuan Clan's strength and their mercenaries.”
Zhou Gongjin continued to unravel the secrets of the Yuan Clan, which he had learned from the other timeline. But in his mind, he had been scheming.
'This Cao Mao seems gullible. Should I manipulate him into fight both Yuan Shaoqing and Ling Tianlong, so we can steal his city? Nah, that's too hasty. I should at least eliminate either Yuan Shaoqing or Ling Tianlong first before I start thinking of double-crossing Siren City… Whoops, I almost forgot. Does he know anything about Ding Bu?'
Zhou Gongjin stopped talking about Wen Chou and Yan Liang, who had been backing the Yuan Family. He asked Miaomiao, ”Senior, I just remembered something that I forgot to ask you earlier. By chance, do you know an expert by the name of Ding Bu?”
Miaomiao blinked a few times, staring at the shady strategist. He feigned ignorance, ”Who?”
”Ding Bu, the son of Ding Yuan. Have you seen him anywhere in Red Sun City?”
”… Not that I remember. I didn't stay at that place long enough nor did I visit the Ding Family.”
”Ah, a pity…”
”What about Ding Bu? Why are you looking for him?”
”Haiz,” Zhou Gongjin sighed and avoided the subject. ”Actually, I have been searching for that person for a long time. I wish to recruit him to our sect or join our clan. Well, never mind. I'll continue explaining about Wen Chou and Yan Liang's strength.”
”…”