Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss

Chapter 541 - 560

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Chapter 541:- Chan Lin Town (4)

Not only the youths dressed in the Zephyr Academy's uniform were frightened into running away, but even the other guests in the inn had stared in wide eyed horror and disbelief at the slowly dissipating yellow light from Jun Wu Xie's hand.

A fourteen year old yellow spirit.....

Once news of this spread, it was sure to leave many people shocked!

If they had not seen it for themselves, they would never believe it no matter how many people told them about it.

Having gotten rid of the pesky flies, Jun Wu Xie returned back into the inn and threw out an ingot of silver to the innkeeper.

The flustered innkeeper hurried forward to catch the ingot, his forehead covered in a sheen of sweat.

"Compensation." Jun Wu Xie said simply.

The innkeeper nodded eagerly and did not say another word.

Towards a youth who was so prodigiously gifted, the innkeeper would never dare to say a single word against him. Moreover, the youth was extremely generous and the compensation given was enough for him to purchase five of those marble pillars.

"Little Xie, your methods are a little vicious." Qiao Chu slunk up to come beside Jun Wu Xie. The other group of people involved in the confrontation with the Zephyr Academy's disciples had been him, Hua Yao, and company.

"Why should I waste my breath?" Jun Wu Xie asked, an eyebrow raised.

Qiao Chu grinned like a fool.

"Little Xie, these are your companions?" A slender figure stepped out from the crowd, carrying the little black cat and Lord Meh Meh in his arms, a wide smile beaming on his face. His gentle and friendly gaze swept over the group of youths standing beside Jun Xie.

Jun Wu Xie nodded.

"And this is?" Hua Yao asked, a quizzical look on his face.

Fan Zhuo said with a laugh: "My name is Fan Zhuo, and I came here with Little Xie."

Hua Yao was surprised and Qiao Chu and the rest had a queer expression on their faces. They had heard Fan Jin mention about his own little brother before and now that Qiao Chu was seeing the person in the flesh, Qiao Chu's face could not help but take on a look of sympathy.

Fan Zhuo was looking rather puzzled, not knowing why Qiao Chu and the others were looking at him so weirdly.

It made him feel that Qiao Chu was pitying him.

"So you are Fan Zhuo, you're so pitiful my brother." Qiao Chu exclaimed with a sigh and patted Fan Zhuo on the shoulder, as if he couldn't be anymore obvious.

So, this is the poor guy who is the fiance of that black widow of a woman. What a poor guy!

Fan Zhuo didn't know how to react to Qiao Chu's melancholy greeting, thinking that Qiao Chu was pitying him for his weak body and could only manage a weak smile as he said: "I'm feeling much better now, all thanks to Little Xie."

But the pitiful look on Qiao Chu's face did not diminish in the slightest.

Fan Zhuo was even more puzzled.

Fan Jin had arranged for a room for each of them and after the six of them have gathered, they separated and each went to check out their own rooms before congregating once again back together in Jun Wu Xie's room.

Fortunately, the room was big enough or they would have a hard time squeezing so many people in.

"Come come come, hand over your spirit stones." Qiao Chu sat down at the table and threw out all the spirit stones he had, scattering them on the table. The pile of spirit stones grew, a myriad of colours, as Fan Zhuo stared at them with his mouth agape.

Within the pile of spirit stones, there were quite a few of them that belonged to high grade Spirit Beasts and those were so precious that no amount of money could buy them.

But Qiao Chu had so nonchalantly thrown so many of them onto the table and that had shocked Fan Zhuo quite a bit.

But Fan Zhuo was in for quite a bit more of a shock as following Qiao Chu's lead, Hua Yao, Fei Yan and Rong Ruo followed suit and took out their share of spirit stones as well. Even Jun Xie took out a bunch, and they all heaped upon the table.

As he watched the pile getting higher, Fan Zhuo's eyes grew wider.

"These..... are all from the Spirit Hunt in the Battle Spirits Forest?" Fan Zhuo asked in amazement, looking at Qiao Chu and the others.

"Just a small part. Most of it was contributed by Lord Meh Meh." Qiao Chu replied with an easy laugh, not forgetting to flatter Lord Meh Meh lying flat with its hooves splayed out by Jun Wu Xie's feet, throwing the sheep a look of adulation.

Lord Meh Meh immediately stuck its chin up arrogantly, its little wooly ball of a tail wagging in approval.

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Chapter 542:- Chan Lin Town (5)

Lord Meh Meh? Fan Zhuo was getting more and more confused.

"Wait." Jun Wu Xie said suddenly, after she took out her share of the spirit stones. Under the eyes of Qiao Chu and the others, she reached out and picks out several high grade spirit stones.

"These, I want."

High grade spirit stones were rare and Jun Wu Xie did not intend to go exchange them for money. The spirit stones would be better used if they were used to forge new rings for their ring spirits, or even brought back to be given to the Rui Lin Army.

Not a single one among the group in the room protested Jun Wu Xie's actions in the slightest. They allowed Jun Wu Xie to slowly pick from the pile and even helped to pick out a few to place them before Jun Wu Xie.

None of them even bothered to ask Jun Wu Xie what she intended to use those precious spirit stones for.

Jun Wu Xie selected a few out from the high grade spirit stones they had picked out from the pile and handed the rest to Qiao Chu and the others.

Qiao Chu blinked in confusion at Jun Wu Xie's queer actions and asked confused: "Little Xie, what are you doing?"

Didn't she just pick them out? Why was she returning them back to him?

"Rings." Jun Wu Xie said, looking at the ring on Qiao Chu's finger, linking him to his ring spirit.

It finally dawned on Qiao Chu. Although the spirit rings they wore on their fingers were formed from the ring spirits themselves, there existed a special method where one could enhance them. And the most critical part of the process was to set a spirit stone onto their spirit rings whereby it would increase the ring spirit's powers, this method was handed down through the ages.

To reforge a spirit ring, besides picking out a suitable spirit stone, a highly skilled craftsman was needed to carry out the forging process to fully amplify the ring spirit's power from the spirit stone's enhancements.

Forging a spirit ring was commonly carried out by ordinary jewelers and even though they did not possess the highest skills, the effects were nevertheless already outstanding.

It wasn't that Qiao Chu and his gang had not thought of doing that before but they had lived being embarrassingly short on money and before they met Miss Moneybags Jun Wu Xie, they could not even afford to buy clothes for themselves, not to mention even thinking of forging spirit rings. They might be able to find a way to hunt for the spirit stones but the cost of setting them in spirit rings were impossibly high and beyond their means. Hence, when they got their hands on these spirit stones, the first thought that entered their minds was to sell them all for money and did not for a moment think of using it on themselves.

Their line of thought had become habitual and they had neglected to consider their own needs.

But the idea had not escaped Jun Wu Xie.

Needless to say, with their current depleted financial situation, the money needed for the forging of the rings would have to be paid by Jun Wu Xie once again.

"Erm..... Should we use this period of time to find someone to forge the rings for us?" Qiao Chu was deeply grateful but seeing how close they all have gotten, he was feeling slightly too awkward afraid that he would seem a little soft to outright express his gratitude.

Jun Wu Xie nodded.

The strength that the high grade spirit stones would provide was extremely high and there was never enough of a supply in the market. But not being able to find a Guardian grade spirit stone was Jun Wu Xie's main regret.

The power a Guardian grade spirit stone would give them, would make the enhancements a high grade spirit stone gave absolutely insignificant.

"If you need someone to forge spirit rings, maybe I can help." Fan Zhuo who had been silent all this while suddenly spoke up, a wide smile beaming on his face.

"Huh? Little Zhuo, you know of a way?" Qiao Chu said, looking at Fan Zhuo with eager anticipation.

Fan Zhuo smiled gently at him and nodded.

"If all of can trust me, I can forge the spirit rings for all of you. What do you say?"

Once Fan Zhuo finished with his statement, Qiao Chu and the others suddenly stared at him in wide eyed wonder.

Did he just say he will forge our spirit rings himself and did not mean that he would be getting someone else to do it?

"Little Zhuo! You know how to forge spirit rings!?" Qiao Chu asked with a loud gulp, as he surveyed Fan Zhuo's slender and thin frame.

That skinny arm and stick thin legs are capable of lifting a hammer?

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Chapter 543:- Chan Lin Town (6)

Fan Zhuo replied, beaming brightly: "I know a little."

"Then we'll leave it all to you." Without another word, Qiao Chu handed the spirit stone allocated to him to Fan Zhuo.

Fan Zhuo was surprised. He had thought that Qiao Chu and the others would ask him a more on it before they would be properly assured to leave the forging to him as forging a spirit ring was no small matter and if the ringsmith had any ulterior motives and employed a little trickery in the forging process, it would cause great harm to their ring spirits. But Qiao Chu and his gang had simply asked whether he knew how to do it and had fully entrusted the highly important task to him. That had been beyond Fan Zhuo's expectations.

Following right after, Hua Yao and the others handed their spirit stones over to Fan Zhuo as well, without a moment's hesitation.

"I trust Little Xie's judgement of people." Qiao Chu told him with a laugh.

Their little companion was extremely sharp and astute and if she did not trust this person, she would not have brought him along on the trip.

Fan Zhuo laughed, the laughter shining in his eyes.

"I will not disappoint you guys. But to forge your spirit rings, I will need a few more things. I'll see if they have anything suitable at the auction." Fan Zhuo didn't want to explain too much, he felt that the best reward for their unhesitant trust was to do a good job of it for them.

After the plans were firmed up, the companions starting chatting merrily. With the addition of Fan Zhuo, Qiao Chu played the jester once again and laughter roared within the room.

Hua Yao and the others all similarly felt, compared to the straight laced and unbending Fan Jin, this smiley Fan Zhuo was a lot more pleasing to the eye.

Chan Lin Town had only one auction house and it was simply called the Chan Lin Auction House. They held an auction every three days and today happened to be the day that an auction would be held. After having their dinner, the six companions stepped out of the inn. Compared to daytime, Chan Lin Town was much busier at night. Fire torches shone, lighting up the streets in the dark of night. Bright merry lanterns were lit, hoisted up high, decorating the bustling streets and little alleys.

Many more interesting things were added Chan Lin Town scene at night. Stages featuring various circus acts and opera performances popped up and more hawkers filled the streets peddling all kinds of wares.

The main street was so crowded it was hard to move through it and disciples of the Zephyr Academy made up for a large part of them. People from the various powers had also come seeking these Zephyr Academy disciples. Although the disciples of the Zephyr Academy still had not stepped out into the world, but due to the highly revered reputation of the Zephyr Academy, their youths were already seen to be the cream of the crop. The different powers intended to win the young youths over while they were still inexperienced and guileless, and after they graduate, they would have gained themselves another formidable strength.

It was due to that reason, that Chan Lin Town became especially crowded at these times.

The six youths, melded into the sea of people and were quickly completely swallowed up.

Due to the tight squeeze, Jun Wu Xie did not bring Lord Meh Meh out with her but had left it back at the inn together with the little black cat, forcing the black cat to act as a little custodian.

Along the way, Fan Zhuo wished he had more eyes to absorb more of the sights that surrounded them. The heavy bustle of the endless sea of people made Fan Zhuo's joy gradually grow. Fortunately for Qiao Chu's tall and strong frame, he was able to shield Fan Zhuo and Jun Wu Xie, and that had prevented his two companions, one frail and weakly and the other small and petite, from being separated from the group, with the endless waves of trudging people.

Even with their efficient human shield, when the group reached a part of the street where it was less crowded, the clothes on Fan Zhuo were nevertheless rather badly creased.

"This place is really bustling with people!" Fan Zhuo exclaimed excitedly, his face smiling widely.

"You like it?" Qiao Chu asked, panting heavily as he looked at Fan Zhuo. They did not know that he had very nearly lost his shoe as he had waded through the sea of people.

"Not exactly, but it's a new experience!" Fan Zhuo piped happily.

"We need to cross two more streets before we get to the auction house. If we rush over now, we should be able to still take part in the second half of the auction." Fan Yan said, referring to the map he held in his hands, comparing the landmarks on the map to the area they were standing at.

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Chapter 544:- Mysterious Black Stone (1)

Due to its proximity to the Zephyr Academy, a large portion of the Chan Lin Auction House's clientele were disciples from the Zephyr Academy. People who could afford to enroll into the Zephyr Academy were from rather established families or significant powers. Common trinkets would not be able to catch their attention. Hence, the Chan Lin Auction House had no lack of uncommon treasures, hordes of merchants came here, bringing with them many rare and precious goods.

The Chan Lin Auction House's auctions starts at dusk. The skies were already fully dark now and the auction was already half done.

When Jun Wu Xie and her companions arrived at the auction house, they were just bringing a new item onto the stage and a fiery bidding war had already started.

They had private rooms in the Chan Lin Auction House and they were situated on the second level. The individual rooms were specially provided for guests who did not like to be disturbed and one can enjoy the use of these private rooms by paying a fixed fee. Jun Wu Xie paid up and the six companions went straight up to the second level.

The room wasn't too big with three surrounding walls. The fourth side facing the stage was closed up with a beautiful wood carved low rail.

Light refreshments were provided and after the six companions were seated, they turned to look at the item displayed on the stage.

Many of the items put up for auction now were mostly spirit stones and medium grade ones were set as the minimum grade and anything lower than that were all rejected by the auction house.

Jun Wu Xie watched the auction proceed on quietly. Nothing brought onto the stage was able to pique her interest. Neither the next few items auctioned off had caught her attention as well.

When it came to spending money, Hua Yao, Qiao Chu and the others had even less of an interest and only Fan Zhuo was the lone person watching the auction excitedly, looking extremely interested in seeing how an auction worked.

Time passed and they had been sitting in the room for more than an hour and just when Jun Wu Xie was getting bored, a cry of alarm broke out from the first level of the auction house.

That cry attracted the attention of all six of the youths in the room!

On the stage, a black rock of stone about half a man's height was being carried up. The black stone seemed to be abnormally heavy and the whole rock was jet black in colour, the ragged edges looking extremely well weathered.

A mysterious rock of unknown origins was being brought out for auction like this and it had puzzled many of the people on the floor. The auctioneer fought to maintain his confident smile, but his insides were turning topsy turvy, struggling to come up with a script for the item.

Bringing a rock out for auction, the people were staring at the item in disbelief.

But the person who had entrusted the item to them had been someone the owner of the Chan Lin Auction House was familiar with. That person had repeatedly assured the owner that the item was rare and precious before the auction house had reluctantly accepted it. Just as expected, the item had just been brought onto the stage and it had created sure a furore.

The people seated on the floor were all craning their necks and peering curiously at the mysterious rock of unknown origins, patiently waiting for the auctioneer to give them an introduction of it.

However, the man said with a frozen expression: "This jet black rock, was discovered in lands beyond Heaven's End Cliff and it contains mysterious power. But the stone is abnormally strong and cannot be cut. If anyone here can solve this dilemma, they can win this item at the asking base price."

Heaven's End Cliff was a bottomless steep cliff. The bottom of the cliff is covered by thick fog and no one had ever climbed down from it. People have attempted to scale down the steep precipice with ropes but hundreds of meters of rope still did not bring them down to the bottom and people had not dared travel there since.

It was rumoured that the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff, many powerful Guardian grade Spirit Beasts resided and anyone who attempted to climb down to the bottom of the cliff would finally disappear, where they were basically believed to have been swallowed by the powerful Guardian grade Spirit Beasts.

A mysterious place, with its terrifying rumours of being the home for hordes of Guardian grade Spirit Beasts quickly discouraged anyone who held the slightest interest in Heaven's End Cliff and no one knew of people who had attempted it.

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Chapter 545:- Mysterious Black Stone (2)

It was a place shrouded in mystery, and rumoured to be filled with Guardian grade Spirit Beasts that roam within. Such a place quickly killed off any intentions a person might have to explore the place below Heaven's End Cliff.

The Heaven's End Cliff had undoubtedly caused many imaginations to roam, but.....

That did not mean that people allowed themselves to be easily fooled by anything that was so carelessly tagged with the infamous reputation of the Heaven's End Cliff.

The people at the auction held scant belief in the auctioneer's words.

With just a piece of broken stone, no matter whether it had really come from beyond the Heaven's End Cliff, the people felt that they would have no use for a piece of rock that they were not even able to cut.

People who had often frequented the Chan Lin Auction House knew the place to be shrewd. They knew everything auctioned off from the place usually cost the bidders a higher price than the market. But this time, the Chan Lin Auction House had candidly declared that the rock can be immediately won at the set base price. This way of auctioning was totally unheard of throughout the history of the Chan Lin Auction House and could be deemed as miraculous.

There could only be two reasons why the establishment would do this. One, the rock was just a piece of ordinary stone and was completely worthless. The auction house might just have tried to carelessly tag a crazy story behind its origins and wanted to be rid of the rock fast. Two, it was just as what the auctioneer had said, the rock was extraordinarily hard and the common person was unable to break it and hence they had not been able to ascertain the rock's real worth.

If even the people in the Chan Lin Auction House were unable to cut into the rock, anyone who purchased the rock would only be able to use it as a footrest back at home!

No one would be dumb enough to do that.

The heated atmosphere within the auction quickly cooled and it became quiet. No one showed an interest towards the piece of stone displayed on the stage. Their eyes were no longer focused on the stage in front, in obvious protest, wanting the auction house to quickly remove the item off the stage, so they can continue to compete for the treasures that would be subsequently brought out for auction.

After the base price for the stone was announced, the silence grew to become deafening.

Three hundred thousand taels.

For something that had originated from beyond the Heaven's End Cliff, the price was not unreasonable.

But the problem was, it was just a piece of rock.

That price would be enough to win the people a high grade spirit stone, and no one was prepared to use that sum of money on a broken piece of rock they could not use.

The auctioneer stood upon the stage, sweat ran down his back. This was the first time the Chan Lin Auction House was met with such a predicament. If not for the unique identity of the client, the owner would have hurriedly gotten his people to remove the piece of rock from the stage.

Backstage, behind the ongoing auction, two middle aged men had their eyes peeled and were staring fixedly at the situation out front.

One of the men, who was lavishly dressed let out a sigh and patted the man beside him on the shoulder before saying: "I did whatever I could to help you. You can see for yourself. No one will buy that piece of stone." The lavishly dressed man was the owner of the Chan Lin Auction House and standing beside him, was the owner of that piece of jet black stone.

The other man's face was fully wrapped up in bandages and traces of blood had seeped through the thick bandages. His eyes stared wide, and became bloodshot. His fists clenched up tight and blood dripped out through the heavy bandages wrapped around his fists from the amount of force exerted.

"Wait a moment more..... Just a moment....." The man's voice was raspy as though spoken through scalding fire. His dry split lips were slightly purple and his eyes did not waver from the auction at the front of the stage. His eyes were full of yearning and under that yearning, was endless fear and dejection.

"I might not be able to get you the three hundred thousand taels that you needed, but I can give you one hundred thousand taels first. If the item really cannot be sold, you can use that money first. You must have known..... I am not the real owner of this auction house and that is really the best I can do for you." The owner had known the badly injured man for a long time and the lavishly dressed man was sympathetic as he tried to comfort his friend.

But the man shook his head.

"It will not do..... Anything less than three hundred thousand taels..... will not be enough..... Won't be enough....."

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Chapter 546:- Mysterious Black Stone (3)

The lavishly clothed man sighed once more and said: "Less is better than nothing. Just take it for your needs first."

The bandaged man nevertheless shook his head. "One hundred thousand taels will not be enough! This is ten lives we are talking about! They were brothers in arms who had gone through life and death with me! I could never.... How could I..... If I do not raise the money, I will not be able to hand it over to their families. When I see my brothers in the afterlife, how am I going to face them then!?"

As the man spoke, he got so agitated that he started to tremble visibly. The ever existent pain that wrecked at his body constantly reminded him of everything that had happened that fateful day.

Eleven of them had climbed down the Heaven's End Cliff. Eleven men..... And finally only he, alone, was able to return alive. All of his comrades had not been able to escape from that terrible place, and he had not been able to even retrieve their bodies. If he still wasn't able to ensure that their families lived on without worries, then he would be worse than a beast!

This piece of jet black rock, was filled with the blood of all eleven of them, and it was brought back here with ten lives in exchange.

While eleven men had made their way down Heaven's End Cliff, only one had climbed back up alive, with the black stone rock they had earlier hoisted up the cliff right at the onset.

The bandaged man could no longer remember how he had brought the black rock back here with him, he could only remember his journey back had been filled with tears and blood that had constantly impaired his sight.

The lavishly clothed man sighed helplessly once more. He had found the badly injured man all covered in blood just outside Chan Lin Town that day and had thought the man would not survive his injuries. The garish wounds he had seen would have taken the life of any a lesser man but his friend had determinedly fought to stay alive.

"We'll wait a little while more then." Helpless, the lavishly clothed man could do nothing but continue to wait with his friend. But as the person placed in charge of the Chan Lin Auction House, it was very clear to him that no matter what secrets the piece of jet black rock held, they would not be able to sell it off.

To the common man, that was just an ordinary piece of rock.

Within the auction hall, silence hung heavily. No one wanted to give their attention to a piece of rock that was so heavily overpriced.

Meanwhile, up on the second level, Qiao Chu was staring at the piece of jet black rock with undisguised mirth.

"This is a rare sight. I did not know that people can actually bring rocks out for auction, and the asking price is an incredulous three hundred thousand taels!? Is the person mad?" Heaven's End Cliff or wherever it came from, he had no idea what kind of a place that was. But putting a price on a piece of rock that costs as much as the fees for the Zephyr Academy, almost made someone like Qiao Chu who was so used to leading a life of poverty, almost drop his jaw to the ground.

"It does not matter whether he is mad, but no one is playing along with his insanity. Can't you see that everyone is not even bothering to look at the piece of rock?" Fei Yan said with a shrug. He was always meticulous and detailed in his observations of people and he had noticed that the crowd was getting a little impatient with the wait and he expects that the outrageous item put up for auction would be removed from the stage in a very short while.

"I found it really incredible, that anyone would in reality possess the confidence to even bring a piece of rock to the auction house and put it up for auction!" Qiao Chu exclaimed indignantly. They had lived a life where they did not even know when their next meal was and here people were hoping to get a windfall from a piece of rock!

"Somehow, I do not feel that is just a common piece of rock." Fan Zhuo who had not spoken a word all this time suddenly said.

Everyone else turned to look at him.

"Things from beyond Heaven's End Cliff would not be ordinary. If my guess is correct, the jet black rock is Black Jade Stone. You can extract Black Silver from Black Jade Stone and Black Silver can be used to forge spirit rings whereby its effects would be more outstanding than gold, silver or any precious metals. But the Black Jade Stone is extremely hard and very difficult to cut, but I believe it can be achieved by tempering it by fire."

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Chapter 547:- Mysterious Black Stone (4)

Fan Zhuo spoke with a serious tone, his eyes locked onto the Black Jade Stone as a sudden sparkle shone from deep within his clear eyes.

"Black Silver?" Rong Ruo's eyes suddenly narrowed when she heard the term used. She looked at Fan Zhuo, her eyes seemingly seeking for something.

Qiao Chu and the others had a queer look in their eyes as well, but their curious look in their stares suddenly disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

"It is a kind of metal extremely suitable for the forging of spirit rings. It is very rare, that big piece of Black Jade Rock there would only yield an amount of Black Silver roughly the size of a pigeon's egg." Fan Zhuo was absorbed in his explanation and he suddenly hesitated a moment before he turned to Jun Xie.

"Little Xie, that item is really suitable for the forging of everyone's spirits rings, why don't I try to place a bid for it?"

They already had the spirit stones, but they still have not decided on the metal to be used for the forging.

"No need." Jun Wu Xie replied. "I'll buy it."

Fan Zhuo was surprised.

Jun Wu Xie turned to look at Fan Zhuo and said: "You can't afford it."

Fan Zhuo immediately blushed a slight pink.

He had really forgotten all about that! He had rarely come out and was completely unfamiliar with the pricing of things outside. Before he had left, Fan Jin had shoved several thousand taels into his hands and after thinking a little further, he realised that his few thousand taels was hopelessly inadequate when it came to buying a three hundred thousand taels item.....

No way he could afford it!

Fan Zhuo's red face grew into a brighter shade.

Qiao Chu was as insensitive as ever as he roared in laughter, placing a big hand on Fan Zhuo's shoulder.

"Little Zhuo, do not worry! We are all "kept" by Miss Moneybags! Little Xie is fabulously rich!" After saying that, Qiao Chu even shamelessly threw Jun Wu Xie a wink.

Jun Wu Xie did not say a word, and just rolled her eyes.

"Dumb Qiao is really getting more and more shameless." Fei Yan sneered.

Qiao Chu did not bite the bait and said: "Not shameless, you buy it then."

"....." Fei Yan was at a loss for words.

Hua Yao shook his head in helplessness. Being "kept" by Jun Wu Xie, Dumb Qiao integrity had really crumbled to total oblivion.

After the decision was made, Jun Wu Xie rang the bronze bell on the second level.

The bell rang loud and clear, and the muted whispers among the crowd died suddenly. Everyone raised their head to peer up into the second level.

The ringing of the bronze bell was an indication that a guest on the second level had made a bid.

Backstage, the bandaged man who had fallen into dejection and despair suddenly looked up, peering in the direction where the bell had sounded. He looked into a private room high up on the second level and saw a tiny and petite figure. He had delicate features and was a young youth. He stood by the rail, his hand holding the bronze bell.

The youth was speaking to a servant who had hurried over to him and the Chan Lin Auction House servant hollered: "Guest in private room one makes a bid for three hundred thousand taels!"

That shout ignited the hushed crowd in the Chan Lin Auction House into a sudden fervour!

[Someone was actually willing to spend three hundred thousand taels on that broken and useless piece of rock!? Has that person gone mad?]

Everyone clamoured to see, trying to peer into the private room on the second level.

When they all saw that it was a rather young youth, everyone thought the same thing, "the fool and his money soon parts". They felt the young and ignorant whelp must have been so impressed at hearing the words "Heaven's End Cliff" and naively thought that the item held immeasurable value, if not, no one would ever spend such a big amount of money so carelessly.

Besides the many who were shocked, many more were snickering quietly, sneering at Jun Wu Xie's naivety for having been duped by the Chan Lin Auction House.

After the unimaginable ordeal he went through waiting for someone to make a bid, the auctioneer almost cried tears of relief. He did not hesitate in the slightest as he raised his little hammer and struck it down three times in quick succession, mortally afraid that Jun Wu Xie would pull back the offer and he hurried to seal the deal as quickly as he could.

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Chapter 548:- Mysterious Black Stone (5)

Men from the Chan Lin Auction House carried the black piece of rock off the stage smiling. Jun Wu Xie paid up the money and would collect the item only after the auction.

Thereafter, the excited atmosphere came back to the auction house. Precious items big and small were brought up onto the stage one after another and wave after wave of intense bidding wars were carried out.

None of the items that were brought out after the rock interested the six companions. The exciting atmosphere brought about by Jun Wu Xie's swift and decisive splurge had died down. People who were waiting to see "the fool and his money part" once more were left disappointed.

Another hour went by and the auction came to a fulfilling close. Every single item was auctioned off and none remained.

Many people departed satisfied, leaving with their trophies they had won in their arms.

As Jun Wu Xie had won a "big" item, she had to wait till she was the last one before the men from the auction house carried the Black Jade Stone out.

Accompanying the men, another middle aged man dressed in a brocade robe came towards them.

"Good evening everyone, I am the owner of the Chan Lin Auction House, and my name is He Chang Le. I do not find any of our esteemed customers' faces familiar, is this your first time here at the Chan Lin Auction House?" He Chang Le welcomed the companions with laughter and his eyes smiling as he surveyed the group of extremely good looking youths, with an exceptional air surrounding them.

Jun Wu Xie nodded, seemingly not entirely interested in chatting with He Chang Le.

Undaunted, He Chang Le persisted by saying: "Since you are our new customers, and your first bid was so generous, as the owner of the Chan Lin Auction House, I would like to gift to you an emblem we reserve only for our most distinguished guests." As he spoke, Chang Le pulled out a palm sized, gold gilded emblem. Two characters, "Chan Lin" were carved on the emblem.

"With this emblem, all of you, as our esteemed customers, would be able to gain direct entry to our private rooms when you come back to the Chan Lin Auction House, with no extra charges."

Jun Wu Xie took one glance at He Chang Le and motioned to Qiao Chu with a wave of her hand. Qiao Chu immediately went forward to accept the emblem.

Having spent three hundred thousand at the auction, Qiao Chu's heart was still wincing in pain. At least, with this emblem, they would not have to pay for a private room anymore next time and he was glad to accept it.

Seeing that Jun Wu Xie was willing to accept his gesture of goodwill, He Chang Le smiled as he said: "To be honest, for bidding on the piece of black rock today, our Young Master has greatly helped a friend of mine. If our Young Master does not mind it, that friend of mine would like to meet you, and thank you personally."

Jun Wu Xie raised an eyebrow and before she opened her mouth to reply, Hua Yao took the lead to say: "If it's sincere, let him come."

He Chang Le nodded, and turned to fetch his friend.

Hua Yao took a step back and whispered beside Jun Wu Xie's ear: "Black Silver is not something you can find in the Lower Realm but only in the Middle Realm. That piece of Black Jade Stone should not even be here. If that piece of Black Jade Stone is really from the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff, that place must be holding some secrets."

How did something that could only be found in the Middle Realm come to appear in the Lower Realm?

Jun Wu Xie was able to immediately make a good guess.

Hua Yao and the others must be suspecting that the Black Jade Stone was somehow linked to the Dark Emperor's tomb.

Having thought that, Jun Wu Xie need not say anything more, but.....

Hua Yao said Black Silver did not exist in the Lower Realm, so how did Fan Zhuo know about it?

Jun Wu Xie clearly remembered that Fan Zhuo was the first one to recognise that piece of rock to be Black Jade Stone, and he was also the one who said that Black Silver could be extracted from Black Jade Stone. How was it that Fan Zhuo would be so familiar with Black Jade Stone that existed only in the Middle Realm?

Jun Wu Xie frowned as she pondered on it. She sneaked a glance at Fan Zhuo and saw that he was staring at the Black Jade Stone with great interest, seemingly not to have heard the conversation between Hua Yao and her.

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Chapter 549:- Mysterious Black Stone (6)

After a short while, He Chang Le came back. The other man who was with him made Qiao Chu and the others stare, their eyes widened.

That man was tall and muscular, and his entire body was fully covered with bandages. Although his clothes covered up much of the bandages, it was nevertheless clear that he was fully wrapped up in them. Before he had even gotten close to the companions, the stench of blood could already be smelt in the air. Only his eyes, nose, ears and mouth were exposed while the rest of his head was fully bandaged up and those originally white bandages were tinged with blood and had taken on a slightly red shade.

He walked slowly as he approached, his huge frame bringing a slightly oppressive air. When he came to stand before Jun Wu Xie, he suddenly clasped a hand over his fist and formally bent over in a deep bow.

"My name is Mu Qian Fan! I would like to humbly thank this Young Master's generous offer of help." Mu Qian Fan's deep timbred voice almost made them forget about all the injuries that covered his entire body.

Towards everything that had happened today, Mu Qian Fan was unable to put what he felt into words. If he had not been able to gather the three hundred thousand taels, he would not be able to face his brothers in arms who had passed into the afterlife and the auction today had driven him into utter despair many times over.

But Jun Wu Xie had at his lowest point, dragged him up from the pits of despair.

The three hundred thousand taels to him, were just too important!

"No need." Jun Wu Xie said simply. The stench of blood emanating from the man made her frown slightly. She was silent a moment before she asked: "You've been to the Heaven's End Cliff?"

Mu Qian Fan thought that Jun Wu Xie was doubting that the black rock had really been retrieved from beyond the Heaven's End Cliff and he hurriedly replied: "Yes. I've been there. This black rock was discovered at the bottom of the cliff by my brothers and me."

"Tell me about the Heaven's End Cliff and I'll accept it as your thanks." Jun Wu Xie replied.

Mu Qian Fan was slightly surprised. When he saw that Jun Wu Xie's group was a party of young youths, he had thought that their youthful frivolity had piqued their curiosity on the dark rumours that surrounded the Heaven's End Cliff and he readily agreed.

He Chang Le enquired on the location of the inn they were staying at and instructed his men to sent the item over first. He then furnished Jun Wu Xie and the others with one of the private rooms for them to chat in comfort. The auction house's servants were also thoughtfully instructed to bring them some snacks and tea.

When they were all seated in the room, Mu Qian Fan appeared a little ill at ease. He was a man past thirty and he had been used to drinking and dining with his brothers in arms who were all around his age. Suddenly thrust into a situation where he was sitting with a group of youths half his age for a chat, made him feel rather out of place.

Although Jun Wu Xie and her companions were dressed in plain clothes, the material used was of a high grade. All of them were blessed with kingly features and they carried themselves with an impressive air, looking to be from extraordinary backgrounds, which only fueled his uneasiness further.

"Big Brother Mu? Please help yourself to a little of the tea and snacks first before you can share with us a little more in detail." Fei Yan could see Mu Qian Fan's uneasiness and offered a cup of tea to Mu Qian Fan with a winsome smile.

Mu Qian Fan looked up and saw a charming and pleasant "little lady" smiling sweetly at him, and the hands that were holding the teacup were even trembling ever so slightly.

He hurried to accept the offered tea and gulped it down quickly. The tea helped to calm him a little and he looked at Jun Wu Xie and the others to say: "It was about half a month ago that I went to the Heaven's End Cliff. A band of my brothers were with me. To be honest, my group of brothers and I earn our daily keep by hunting down Spirit Beasts under the commission of people. The arduous Heaven's End Cliff is a place very well hidden. Although there are many rumours being spread about the Heaven's End Cliff, but the exact location of the place is known to only a rare few. All along, we had never thought much about the Heaven's End Cliff but we were offered a commission to make a trip there and that's why we went to the Heaven's End Cliff."

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Chapter 550:- Mysterious Black Stone (7)

As his memory took him back to the period just before they had set off, every single scene that appeared in his mind cut deeply into Mu Qian Fan's heart. The brothers who had been so close, had all left him, for good.

Mu Qian Fan and his brothers in arms had always depended on accepting commissions entrusted to them by people for a living and they would often go hunt Spirit Beasts to gather spirit stones. The band of brothers would also accept assignments as armed escorts for merchant convoys and that was how Mu Qian Fan got acquainted with He Chang Le, when he had escorted the Chan Lin Auction House's merchandise.

Till one day, a man came to them, requesting that they go to the Heaven's End Cliff to survey the grounds at the bottom of the cliff. He had promised then, that if they were able to fully traverse the entire area below the Heaven's End Cliff and produce a complete map, the men would be handsomely rewarded.

The promised reward would be more than enough for all of their families to live their lives free of worries.

Although the Heaven's End Cliff was famed to be an extremely dangerous place since a long time ago, but very few people had actually been there. Many people did not even know where the Heaven's End Cliff was, but everyone had heard many versions of the grave dangers the mysterious place held. But in order to grasp at the opportunity to earn that large sum of money, and to provide their families with a carefree life, Mu Qian Fan and his brothers finally decided to accept the commission entrusted to them.

That man had been rather generous. He had given them two hundred thousand taels as a deposit from the beginning. After accepting the money, Mu Qian Fan and his team were highly motivated and they readied themselves to set off towards the Heaven's End Cliff. That man then gave them a map, that showed in detail the exact location of the Heaven's End Cliff.

Based on the directions shown on the map, the team were on the roads for half a month before they reached the Heaven's End Cliff.

The Heaven's End Cliff was located within a wide circular range of mountainous peaks and the cliff began from high up upon one of the peaks. In order to even reach the cliff, they had to pass through layers upon layers of dense forests. Within those forests, many Spirit Beasts roamed, and Mu Qian Fan and his brothers used their experience to pass through the danger filled forests. And when they finally arrived upon the cliff, they began to understand why the cliff was named the Heaven's End Cliff.

The Heaven's End Cliff's face looked as if it had been cleanly cut by an immense sharp blade. Beyond the cliff was an endless sea of foggy white mist and masses of cloudy fog that stretched further than the eye could see. When looking at it from the high vantage point upon the cliff, the wondrous sight made one feel as if that was where Heaven ended, stopping right at the cliff they stood upon.

When they first laid their eyes on the unbelievable view, Mu Qian Fan and his brothers in arms were all suddenly awestruck but they quickly recovered when they remembered the mission they had been entrusted with to complete. They had prepared hundred metre metal cables and carried upon their backs chains that would extend the length of the cables, showing how meticulous their preparations for the mission had been.

Climbing down the sheer cliff face alone had taken them a few days' time and they rested and ate hanging from the strong cables.

When they reached the bottom of the cliff, every single one of them were already completely exhausted and they all collapsed upon the ground for a long period, unable to move a muscle.

"What was the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff really like?" Qiao Chu was getting more and more excited as the story unfolded and he unknowingly asked the question in a fearful whisper.

Mu Qian Fan's eyes lowered, as he stared at his own two hands placed on the table before him. Bright red blood was spreading bit by bit across the bandages, and watching the white bandages gradually turning a bright red made for an extremely disconcerting sight.

"I don't know....."

"What?" Qiao Chu sat up, greatly surprised.

Mu Qian Fan's voice was filled with despair and fear: "The ground at the bottom of the cliff was completely covered in a thick misty fog and we could not see anything beyond two meters away from us as they would all be enveloped by the thick fog. Under those circumstances, we were completely unable to map out anything about the area. And as we proceeded to walk in a forwardly direction, we discovered that the ground below our feet was marshland that was peppered with bottomless bog....."

Bog holes shrouded in the thick impenetrable fog within an expanse of soft marshland were easy to miss and overlook. More often than now, people only realise the danger after they had stepped a foot into it.

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Chapter 551:- Mysterious Black Stone (8)

One of the men in Mu Qian Fan's team had been completely swallowed up by one of those bog holes and they could not even retrieve his body after his death.

Besides the invisible bog holes scattered across the swampy marsh, terrible beasts hid within the misty fog. The team consisting of experienced and hardy men had lost half of their men under the attacks by the ferocious Spirit Beasts who hid within the cover of the blinding fog. More terrifying than all these dangers, was the poison within the mist that was everywhere, constantly around them. They had not noticed it in the beginning, it was not until a few of them had escaped out from under the fog and noticed that the wounds on their bodies were continuing to fester and rot after the poison had spread into their internal organs that they realised just how scary a place the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff was.

Within a fog so thick you cannot see your hand before your face, air laced with poison, ground filled with bottomless bog holes, ferocious Spirit Beasts, where any single one of the dangers could easily take your life.

That was when Mu Qian Fan finally understood why the client who knew the exact location of Heaven's End Cliff had offered to pay them such an enormous sum of money just to compile a map of an area. He must have known of the perilous dangers that laid at the bottom of Heaven's End Cliff, and the men were paying it back with their very own lives.

But it was already too late for regrets. With the lone exception of Mu Qian Fan, their team of eleven men had ten dead. Besides the piece of Black Jade Rock that they were unable to cut, they had gotten nothing.

As they had not been able to complete the map, they would not be able to receive the remaining payment from the client. When Mu Qian Fan returned, he had gone to seek out the client. But when the client got to know that Mu Qian Fan and his team had almost been totally annihilated on their expedition, they had lost all desire in continuing with the conversation and had only briefly asked Mu Qian Fan about their encounters at the bottom of Heaven's End Cliff and chased him out quickly thereafter.

With all his brothers dead, he lived his life in fear holding on tightly to a mere piece of broken rock. In order to provide some consolation to the grieving families of his deceased brothers, Mu Qian Fan had no choice but to take the Black Jade Stone and entrust it to He Chang Le and to put it up for auction.

After Mu Qian Fan finished his story, he lowered his head completely. His tightly clenched fists were completely covered in his own blood.

The memory of every moment spent at the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff was deeply entrenched in his mind. The screams of his brothers as they died haunted him horribly in his dreams, like relentless demons.

"It is definitely not a good place and you should just forget all that you just heard and just treat it as a story." Mu Qian Fan was silent for a long while before he raised his head, his eyes filled with despair and indescribable grief.

If only they had not been tempted by that reward money offered, if only they had been more down to earth and only accepted simpler missions, then his brothers would still be alive today and he would not have become just like a dead man walking.

The injuries on his body now had gotten extremely serious. He had been back for quite a period and his wounds had continued to fester and rot. The bandages he had covered himself with were not to protect his wounds but he was afraid that his horrifying looks now would frighten the people that he came into contact with.

His entire body was filled with poison he had contracted from the Heaven's End Cliff and he knew he had not long more to live. He only wished, that before he died, he would be able to help look after the families of his deceased brothers.

Jun Wu Xie patiently listened to Mu Qian Fan till he finished, her face expressionless.

Whereas Qiao Chu and the others were looking extremely solemn.

"Did I scare all of you? Haha..... It's not all that bad, just don't go to that place." Mu Qian Fan thought that the youths had all been frightened by his account of his experiences and he hurriedly changed his tone and tried to make light of his words.

"Will you still remain in Chan Lin Town for a period?" Jun Wu Xie asked suddenly.

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Chapter 552:- Mysterious Black Stone (9)

Mu Qian Fan stared in shock and nodded his head after a moment's hesitation.

"All of us are residents of Chan Lin Town and I will naturally still be here. If you need to locate me in the near future, you can go to the last house at the end of South Street, but....." Mu Qian Fan looked at the bandages all over his body and said with a bitter laugh: "If you still want to hear anything else from me, you will have to hurry, my body might not last much longer."

"Your injuries are grave?" Hearing the implied meaning behind Mu Qian Fan's words, Hua Yao asked, his brow furrowed.

Mu Qian Fan nodded. "It's already a miracle that I am still living." Among the brothers who had gone with him, two of them had breathed their last hours after being afflicted with the poison. The fact that Mu Qian Fan could last till this moment greatly surprised himself.

"Let me see?" Jun Wu Xie said suddenly.

Mu Qian Fan hesitated. He looked at Jun Wu Xie, deeply concerned. "It's rather gory, you really want to see?"

He was afraid that his disgusting wounds would frighten the young youth.

Jun Wu Xie nodded.

Mu Qian Fan sighed, and began to slowly remove the bandage on his left hand.

Flesh stuck to the bandage as it was slowly peeled off, displaying to them a bloody and gory sight as the covered wounds on his hand was once again exposed to the air.

Just one look had made all the others in the room suck in a deep breath.

The whole of Mu Qian Fan's hand looked as if it had been splattered with boiling oil and not a single part of the flesh was whole. The red blistering flesh was filled with yellow pus and looked just like a badly rotted piece of meat. Half the tip of his little finger had already rotted off and the white finger bone was visible under the gory mess.

The overpowering stench of blood and rot suddenly spread within the room.

Qiao Chu and the others suddenly turned pale.

Mu Qian Fan was suddenly very conscious of himself and he was thinking of wrapping his bandages back over his wounds in a hurry when a fair and tiny hand held down the other end of the bandage that had fallen onto the table.

Jun Wu Xie's eyes narrowed as she stared at the cankerous and festering sores on Mu Qian Fan's hand. The condition that the hand was in, showed effects that was rather similar to one of the poisons she had previously concocted but in terms of the speed that the rot, it was relatively shorter and did not seem like new flesh would grow back like hers.

Seemingly completely oblivious to what a revolting sight the rotting hand was, Jun Wu Xie instead stood up and carefully inspected the hand up close.

Mu Qian Fan was shocked by Jun Wu Xie's action. Why was such a young youth not showing any signs of fear at all? He had not only not shrunk back in fear but had instead come up close to inspect his condition carefully. The Heavens know even he himself had been badly disgusted by the rotting flesh all over his body.

But the youth had not batted an eyelid and seemed perfectly calm.

Mu Qian Fan had just wanted to say something when Qiao Chu, who had been sitting directly opposite him suddenly gave him a sign, gesturing him to remain quiet, and even giving him a friendly and knowing smile after.

Mu Qian Fan did not know what Jun Wu Xie wanted from him. But as a man about to die, he was not too concerned about it. If Jun Wu Xie was not afraid, and wanted to take a close look, he had no qualms about showing them his revolting wounds.

After a while, Jun Wu Xie went back to her seat. Her eyes were cold as she looked at Mu Qian Fan and said: "I want to cut out some flesh."

When Jun Wu Xie's words came out of her mouth, not just Mu Qian Fan, but even Qiao Chu and Fei Yan had expressions of utter shock on them.

Cut some flesh?

What flesh?

She really wanted to cut out a piece of flesh from Mu Qian Fan's hand!?

Mu Qian Fan's eyes opened up wide, seriously doubting what he had just heard.

"You..... want my flesh?" Even if he had accepted that his death was imminent, Mu Qian Fan was nevertheless still badly traumatised by Jun Wu Xie's words.

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Chapter 553:- Mysterious Black Stone (10)

However, Jun Wu Xie was completely unaware of how fiendishly demented her request had sounded and just nodded calmly.

"A little bit will do."

Mu Qian Fan froze in place for a while, not understanding how such a tiny sized little youth would be so gutsy. He had not flinched in the slightest from the grotesque wounds on his hand and had now even wanted to cut out a piece of his flesh.....

Didn't he find it disgusting?

"I'll pay you." Jun Wu Xie added.

Mu Qian Fan waved his hands before him quickly, "No need, no need. I will not live long anyway. If you..... really want to....." Mu Qian Fan clenched his jaw and took out a short dagger. He was doomed anyway, and the wounds were giving him so much pain that he had problems eating and sleeping, so cutting out a tiny bit of his flesh would not hurt him any much more than that. Since Jun Wu Xie had bought the black rock from him, he was already a great benefactor to him, and he did not deem it proper to collect anymore money from his benefactor.

As he spoke, Mu Qian Fan was going to cut out a piece of his flesh when Jun Wu Xie raised a hand to stop him.

"I'll do it." Jun Wu Xie said.

Mu Qian Fan was speechless, and he woodenly turned the dagger around and handed it over to Jun Wu Xie.

Jun Wu Xie held the dagger skillfully, having held a scalpel countless times in her previous life.

Staring at Jun Wu Xie's inverted way of holding the dagger, Mu Qian Fan chose to remain silent.

Jun Wu Xie inspected Mu Qian Fan's wounds carefully a moment and just when Mu Qian Fan thought that the youth did not dare to do it, Jun Wu Xie suddenly quickly and skillfully cut into the side of his palm and carved out a thin slice of flesh about the size of his thumbnail.

The dagger was handled with such quick precision that he did not feel the pain till a little while later.

Cutting off sliver of his flesh with a single slice, Jun Wu Xie had not even blinked. She held the dagger horizontally with the sliver of flesh on top. She retrieved an empty bottle from within her robes with her other hand and emptied the piece of flesh into it.

"........" Mu Qian Fan could not find the words to describe the youth before his eyes.

The youth had cut out a piece of his rotting flesh. But did he really just keep it in a bottle!?

Did he intend to keep it as a souvenir?

After keeping the bottle containing the rotted piece of flesh carefully, Jun Wu Xie dug out another bottle from within her robes. The palm sized bottle placed right before Mu Qian Fan.

"Three times a day, one pill each time. Take with warm water." was Jun Wu Xie's curt and simple instructions.

Mu Qian Fan did not understand what was happening at that moment and only stared blankly at Jun Wu Xie, and turned his eyes to stare at the bottle of medicine before him.

Having gotten used to Jun Wu Xie's abnormal miserliness with spoken words, Qiao Chu consciously cleared his throat and generously explained it for Mu Qian Fan: "The medicine will help you with your injuries. Just do as you are told and it will be fine."

Mu Qian Fan suddenly recovered his senses and shook his head in a hurry: "No need, the medicine will be wasted on my condition anyway. The fact that you purchased the black rock is more than enough and I am deeply grateful for it."

He tried to refuse and wanted to return the medicine to Jun Wu Xie.

However, Jun Wu Xie only gave the medicine bottle a glance and raised the little bronze bell in the room and shook it gently. The attendant outside the room quickly shuffled in.

"Warm water." Jun Wu Xie said.

The attendant was rather quick to realise what Jun Wu Xie was asking for and slipped out of the room quickly and returned with a pot of warm water before he quickly stepped out through the door once again.

"Dumb Qiao."

"Here!"

"Pry his mouth open."

"........"

Mu Qian Fan's face paled in shock. Qiao Chu hesitated just a moment before he jumped onto Mu Qian Fan and immediately pried his mouth open. Fei Yan stood on one side and swiftly removed a single elixir from the bottle, quickly throwing it into Mu Qian Fan's mouth while Rong Ruo followed up by pouring the warm water directly into Mu Qian Fan's mouth!

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Chapter 554:- Heaven's End Cliff (1)

'Glug..... Glug.....'

Mu Qian Fan found himself forced to swallow the unidentified elixir under the coercion of several youths.

Only after the warm water had washed the elixir down his throat did Qiao Chu and the others release Mu Qian Fan.

Mu Qian Fan almost choked to his death from the water forcefully poured down his throat. He stared helplessly at the bunch of brutal youths and was just about to speak out in protest when he suddenly felt a cooling sensation spread throughout his body. The consuming burning pain that had constantly wrecked at his body was gradually being soothed and it slowly dissipated as the cooling sensation took over him, driving the agonizing pain out of him.

His eyes widened in great surprise and he stared at Jun Wu Xie.

"The elixir....."

"Will only provide relieve." Jun Wu Xie said simply. She was still not able to fully ascertain what kind of poison Mu Qian Fan was afflicted with and it would have to wait till she ran a few tests before she would be able to concoct the proper antidote for it.

Mu Qian Fan was feeling deeply shocked. He finally understood why Jun Wu Xie wanted a piece of his flesh. The youth before him was intending to cure him of his poison!

Mu Qian Fan stood up suddenly and bowed deeply before Jun Wu Xie.

"Your benevolence will be deeply remembered! As long as my worthless life remains, it will be the Young Master's to command!"

Jun Wu Xie did not reply, but only glanced briefly at Mu Qian Fan.

Mu Qian Fan was deeply grateful. But Jun Wu Xie and the others just stood up to leave. They had other things they needed to attend to.

The Black Jade Stone had already been sent back to the inn and after Jun Wu Xie and her companions got back there, they immediately enquired with the innkeeper on where they would be able to locate a smithy. After they acquired the location, Fan Zhuo hired a horse carriage and made his way there. He wanted to extract the Black Silver from the Black Jade Stone as soon as possible. In case he would suddenly feel unwell, Rong Ruo went along with him.

At that moment in Jun Wu Xie's room, there was only herself, Qiao Chu, Fei Yan and Hua Yao.

"Regarding what Mu Qian Fan had said, Brother Hua, what are your thoughts?" Fei Yan was sitting at the table, his usual mischievous personality absent as he asked with uncharacteristic sternness.

Hua Yao replied with a slight frown: "I suspect that the Dark Emperor's tomb lies below the Heaven's End Cliff."

"Why do you say that?" Jun Wu Xie asked, her interest piqued.

"We have a map with us, and Little Xie, you know that as well. We managed to lay our hands on it from the Qing Yun Clan and over this period, while we were in the Zephyr Academy's branch division, we had been investigating into the location of the second piece of the map and also studying the map we have. Fei Yan has dug up every map of the different areas we know of and tried to compare it to the human skin map we have but we have not been able to find any match. If we are to look at the map carefully, the terrain is very flat and there are no hills or mountains reflected upon it. Initially, we had thought that it might be somewhere with wide plains but after hearing what Mu Qian Fan said, I suspect that the location that the map is specifying, is actually the terrain at the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff." Hua Yao said, his eyes narrowed.

The Dark Emperor's tomb was in the Lower Realm and that was known to all of them. Before they had gotten the map, they had made made full preparations. Fei Yan had roamed the lands and made use of his abilities to map out all the areas he had been to. They had wanted to prepare themselves for the day that they would complete the collection of the human skin maps and locate the Dark Emperor's tomb in the shortest time possible.

But the first piece of the map they had gotten did not match any of the maps that Fei Yan had compiled. They had thought maybe the map they received was not complete enough or maybe the area that the map specified lay in a place they had never been to before.

But they had never considered that the map they held was a map of the terrain at the bottom of Heaven's End Cliff.

According to Mu Qian Fan's words, the lands below the Heaven's End Cliff were extremely vast and fully covered in impenetrable fog, making it impossible for him to explore. And the only thing he brought back from the bottom of the cliff had been Black Jade Stone that could only be found in the Middle Realm.

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Chapter 555:- Heaven's End Cliff (2)

All the signs were telling them in no uncertain terms that the Dark Emperor's tomb was highly possibly located beyond the Heaven's End Cliff, and all the members of the Twelve Palaces that had been mercilessly murdered and their families rooted out had actually mapped out the terrain at the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff.

Otherwise, with the overwhelming might of the Twelve Palaces, it was impossible that they were still unable to find the Dark Emperor's tomb if it had been anywhere else.

But if the place was completely filled with traps and covered completely in impenetrable fog, a complete and precise map would be needed to locate the place.

"Mu Qian Fan mentioned that some time ago, someone had seeked them out to entrust them with the mission to go investigate the situation below the Heaven's End Cliff. That would mean that those people could possibly hold a portion of the map. Were they from the Twelve Palaces or someone working for them? Or maybe, the person who seeked Mu Qian Fan out was the person in the Zephyr Academy who holds the map?" Fei Yan rubbed at his chin as his brow creased deep in thought.

"It should be one of the powers beholden to the Twelve Palaces here in the Lower Realm." Jun Wu Xie said resolutely, sounding very sure of herself.

"Why?" Fei Yan sat up surprised.

Jun Wu Xie replied: "The Twelve Palaces are still trying all ways and means to complete their collection of the maps, so that naturally means that they strongly suspect that the Dark Emperor's tomb is at the bottom of Heaven's End Cliff, and that they are aware of the vile conditions of the terrain down there, so they would not be so dumb as to get Mu Qian Fan and his band of brothers to go find out the precise location of the place. If my guess is correct, the Twelve Palaces are not entirely sure whether the Dark Emperor's tomb is at the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff and they are only guessing and hence, they have not made any significant and obvious moves towards the place. This recent expedition must have been the work of someone from one of the palaces, who managed to trace the clues to the Heaven's End Cliff and gave orders to their contracted powers here. Meanwhile, the person who received the orders was not willing to carry it out himself and entrusted the task to Mu Qian Fan and his band to scout out the place."

Jun Wu Xie thought a moment before she continued: "According to what Mu Qian Fan said, the person who entrusted him with the mission is made aware of the dangers below the Heaven's End Cliff now and I do not think he will be making any other moves in the near future."

The Heaven's End Cliff, was just a guess by the Twelve Palaces and they were not able to ascertain that fact for sure. Hence, they did not dare to pour all their strength into place filled with untold dangers.

Considering all that, people from the Twelve Palaces must have gone to the Heaven's End Cliff before this but the result might not have been much better than Mu Qian Fan and his brothers. Those rumours about the Heaven's End Cliff must have been spread by the Twelve Palaces themselves in order to draw people who did not know the truth to seek it by setting forth towards the Heaven's End Cliff, to provide them with more clues about the place.

"So, should we go take a look at the Heaven's End Cliff then?" Qiao Chu was feeling a little excited. If the Dark Emperor's tomb was really at the Heaven's End Cliff, even if they had to stay there for a decade, they would do it to find the Dark Emperor's tomb!

Hua Yao admonished gently: "You are looking at it too simply. If the Dark Emperor's tomb can be located so easily at the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff, then the Twelve Palaces would not be so anxious. Mu Qian Fan had said as well, that eleven of them had gone down to the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff and had stayed there for only two days, but had moved only a mere hundred meters into the place. Only one had come out alive from the eleven people and that should give you an idea of how dangerous the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff is. Without a complete map of the area, making your way into that place will only result in certain death."

He was not reluctant to go, but there were many other considerations to make.

If all of them were to die at the Heaven's End Cliff, there would be no one to exact revenge for the cruel injustice done upon their parents.

Qiao Chu quietened down. He knew what Hua Yao was saying was right.

Jun Wu Xie squeezed on Lord Meh Meh's little hoof and said with her eyes lowered: "We can go, not absolutely necessary to locate the Dark Emperor's tomb. Seeing for ourselves the actual situation in the bottom of the Heaven's End Cliff beforehand might still be a good idea."

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Chapter 556:- Heaven's End Cliff (3)

"We can do that..... But we don't know where the Heaven's End Cliff is....." Qiao Chu said, scratching his head.

Hua Yao suddenly laughed, and he turned to look at Jun Wu Xie, his eyes showing sudden understanding.

"The reason you wanted to save Mu Qian Fan was for this reason?"

Jun Wu Xie nodded.

Qiao Chu was a little befuddled and luckily Hua Yao was willing to explain it to him. "The fact that Little Xie was willing to save Mu Qian Fan's life was because only Mu Qian Fan knew where the Heaven's End Cliff was. More than that, he had even gone down to the bottom of the cliff and he knows more about the Heaven's End Cliff than anyone else. If we can bring him along with us, then going to the Heaven's End Cliff will not be a difficult task. Just as Little Xie said, we need not rush ourselves to go locate the Dark Emperor's tomb, but to go down for a look, to ascertain if that is a possible target would be good enough."

Qiao Chu was suddenly enlightened and he turned to Jun Wu Xie with a look of utmost admiration.

"Little Xie, aren't you being a bit too smart, you actually thought that far ahead?" He had thought that Jun Wu Xie saw the pitiable state that Mu Qian Fan was in and that had brought out the benevolence in her, and did not expect the little lass to have planned so far ahead.

Jun Wu Xie raised an eyebrow, but did not reply.

"Actually,..... There is one more thing I would like to speak to you guys about." Hua Yao expression suddenly became hesitant.

The smile on Qiao Chu's face faded as well. "What Brother Hua wants to talk about is about Little Zhuo isn't it?"

Hua Yao nodded.

"Why would Fan Zhuo know about the Black Jade Rock and Black Silver? This really puzzles me. I do not mean to be suspicious of him but the fact that he knows about those things seems rather queer." Hua Yao and the others had lived in the Lower Realm for quite a period of time and they are aware of what things the people of the Lower Realm know and what they do not know.

Fan Zhuo's knowledge had definitely crossed the boundaries of what a person from the Lower Realm would know.

Although they had not known each other for long, but Hua Yao and the others had felt that Fan Zhuo was a rather nice and this was the only thing that they did not understand.

"Hmm..... he is the son of the Headmaster of the Zephyr Academy, could it be possible that the person in the Zephyr Academy that the Twelve Palaces are in contact with is the Headmaster himself? Hence, Fan Zhuo had heard a few things about the Middle Realm from those people?" Qiao Chu was really reluctant to think of Fan Zhuo in a bad light as he had found Fan Zhuo to be rather pleasing to his eye. Fan Zhuo was even running all around to help them forge their spirit rings and suspecting him was something he did not want to do.

"That might be possible." Hua Yao nodded his head. If that was the case, it would justify how Fan Zhuo came to know of Black Jade Rock and Black Silver and it would answer all their doubts.

Previously, the person in the Qing Yun Clan that the Palace of Fire Demons was in contact with was Ke Cang Ju and didn't Ke Cang Ju gain possession of the Lone Smoke?

"If it really is with Fan Zhuo's father, we will have to remember to be a bit more polite when we go ask for it in the future." When Qiao Chu was speaking those words, his eyes had inadvertently turned to look at Jun Wu Xie.

He could still remember vividly what kind of atrocities Jun Wu Xie had been capable of in the Qing Yun Clan.

But Jun Wu Xie seems completely unaffected, her face a sea of calm.

"But, before we are sure of the facts, we should not speak a single word of it to Little Zhuo." Qiao Chu said consciously. Fan Zhuo had been a great companion so far and if Fan Zhuo realised that the real reason they all were here at the Zephyr Academy was to steal his father's map, he would definitely be heartbroken.

Hua Yao nodded in agreement and even Fei Yan approved of it.

Obviously, they saw Fan Zhuo as a sickly and weak, naive and innocent little youth.

However.....

Jun Wu Xie secretly bit on her lips.

How naive.....

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Chapter 557:- Heaven's End Cliff (4)

The few companions finalised their plans and made preparations to set aside time for a trip to the Heaven's End Cliff after the forging of their spirit rings.

But before that, they had to heal up Mu Qian Fan's body.

And that important task fell once again upon the shoulders of Jun Wu Xie.

In order to extract the Black Silver such a large piece of Black Jade Rock, it required a quite a long period of time. After Fan Zhuo and Rong Ruo negotiated on the price, they left the Black Jade Rock at the smithy and left.

No one would recognise what that was anyway and they were not worried that anyone would want to steal it.

After they returned to the inn, they all busied about with their own tasks and no one mentioned a word about the Heaven's End Cliff.

Just as it was getting dark, Jun Wu Xie went out and searched everywhere for things she needed to concoct her medicines and elixirs. But as no one cultivated elixirs in the Zephyr Academy, so such items were not too popular in Chan Lin Town, and not many people carried those goods.

After much searching, Jun Wu Xie finally managed to find a small and simple stove for cultivating elixirs in a tiny shop. The stove was only palm sized and made out of pure copper. It was poorly made but would serve its purpose temporarily.

After making another trip to the medicinal shop where she purchased some herbs, Jun Wu Xie went back to the inn and started on her study of the poison in Mu Qian Fan's flesh.

She worked through the night, without rest. When Hua Yao knocked requesting to enter her room in the morning, he found her standing with a few medicinal bottles in her hands when she came to answer the door. She gave him one quick glance and went on with her tasks.

"Qiao Chu wanted me to come ask you when would we be going over to the auction house again." Hua Yao was highly interested in what Jun Wu Xie was busying herself with as he had never seen Jun Wu Xie concocting her medicine. He had always been deeply curious about this young tiny sized youth, who possessed such exemplary medical skills and was even able to cultivate amazing elixirs.

"Today." Jun Wu Xie replied simply.

Upon saying that, she put down all the things in her hands, and retrieved some elixirs and spirit stones out from her cosmos sack before dumping them on the table. She pointed at the elixirs and gave a simple explanation of their effects to Hua Yao, before she wrapped them all up in a bundle and shoved it into Hua Yao's arms.

"Sell all of them." Jun Wu Xie said curtly.

Just selling off the spirit stones might not really be enough to cover her expenses. After Jun Wu Xie returned to the Zephyr Academy, she intended to acquire a complete set of tools for the cultivation of elixirs and since the Chan Lin Town did not have a store specialised in that, she would have to have them custom made and that would cost her another tidy sum.

With the additional cost that the herbs required would bring, the expenditure would come up to be rather significant.

Hua Yao's face was looking rather confused as he stared at the bunch of elixirs that Jun Wu Xie had shoved into his arms. After hearing her introduction of them, he stood rooted to the ground and did not move a single step.

"You..... really want to sell all these?" All these elixirs, if he were to judge, were rather good. Although they could not compare to those Heaven defying ones that Jun Wu Xie had sold before the gates of the Zephyr Academy before, these elixirs nevertheless still had very rare and exemplary effects.

So many elixirs and she was willing to sell them all off without even blinking?

"Mmm. I only have this much now." Jun Wu Xie nodded. Her stock of elixirs were running a bit low and she would not sell the good ones to others anyway. She would much rather leave them for people that she treasured and that would make more sense to her.

In the Zephyr Academy, the expenses were exorbitant and she intended to use the time she was in the academy to casually cultivate some elixirs and sell them off at the Chan Lin Auction House. She intended to run an initial trial run first this time.

If the results were good, she would then carry her plans further.

As she did not have a good grasp on the concept of money in this world, Jun Wu Xie was really easy with it.

Jun Wu Xie was being easy with it, but it was impossible for Hua Yao. If he did not know that all these elixirs clutched within his arms could be reproduced by Jun Wu Xie, he really wouldn't have wanted to part with a single elixir there.

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Chapter 558:- Heaven's End Cliff (5)

"Go alone, and remember to alter your looks." Jun Wu Xie did not forget to give Hua Yao that last reminder.

He Chang Le had known all of them in the Chan Lin Auction House the day before. If they were to appear once again in their real identities, many rumours would definitely begin to spread about them.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Jun Wu Xie had to remind Hua Yao of that at least.

"I will." Hua Yao said, rubbing at his face. He was thinking what kind of a look he should assume that would be suitable for the situation.

After all the preparations were made, Hua Yao transformed himself into a middle aged man and made his way towards the Chan Lin Auction House, where he entrusted all the items to He Chang Le.

By the time he got back, it was already lunchtime and all the companions gathered in Jun Wu Xie's room as if in tacit understanding and waited for lunch.

"Brother Hua, all settled?" Qiao Chu asked upon seeing Hua Yao, walking over to him with a big smile on his face.

Fan Zhuo was greatly surprised though, when he saw the unfamiliar middle aged man and heard Qiao Chu address the man as "Brother Hua".

Hua Yao did not feel he needed to hide before Fan Zhuo and raised his hand to cover his face slightly. The bones beneath his skin immediately started to change and in a blink, he had changed back into the alluringly handsome young youth once again.

Fan Zhuo's eyes widened and his lips trembled, as his eyes looked at Hua Yao queerly.

"Little Zhuo. Calm yourself. Brother Hua's art in altering his looks has always been so easy for him." Fei Yan reassured Fan Zhuo, patting him on the shoulder, with a "this is perfectly normal" expression on his face.

"Bone Shifters' Tribe....." The three words suddenly tumbled out of Fan Zhuo's mouth.

At that moment in the room, with the exception of Jun Wu Xie, the expression on all the faces of everyone present changed.

The Bone Shifters' Tribe had been one of the major races of the Middle Realm. They possessed the ability to control the shape and size of the bones within their bodies. And that name was only known to people from the Middle Realm.

When they realised that Fan Zhuo knew about the Black Jade Stone and about Black Silver, they were still able to treat it as if Fan Zhuo had heard about them from the people of the Twelve Palaces who were in contact with his father. But he had even shown that he was able to recognise that Hua Yao was from Bone Shifters' Tribe! Bone Shifters were few in numbers now and not widely seen even in the Middle Realm. Although people from the Twelve Palaces knew about the tribe but they would have no good reason to mention it to others here.

So how did Fan Zhuo know about it?

All their eyes were fixed onto Fan Zhuo. The surprise in Fan Zhuo's eyes slowly faded and he lowered his head slightly. His pale handsome face was shrouded in shadow and they could not see the expression on his face.

However, just when everyone was getting anxious, Fan Zhuo suddenly covered his face with his hands, and a series of delirious laughter erupted from his throat.

"No wonder..... No wonder when I mentioned about the Black Jade Stone and Black Silver, you guys gave such a reaction..... No wonder all of you are so interested in the Heaven's End Cliff..... I should have guessed it earlier....." Fan Zhuo could not stop laughing, his shoulders heaving with his unstoppable bout of laughter.

Suddenly, Fan Zhuo raised his head. There was no trace of the mirth that had just overtaken him. His clear eyes shone, but a chilling malice now filled them. Those eyes swept across Qiao Chu and each and everyone of them, his lips curled at the corners devilishly.

"Which of the Twelve Palaces do you guys belong to?"

Qiao Chu and the others froze in place. Fan Zhuo's words were sending all of them a signal.....

He knows of the Middle Realm, and he knows of the Twelve Palaces!

"Little Zhuo, what is happening here....." Seeing the abrupt change on Fan Zhuo's face, Qiao Chu did not know how to react at that moment.

That softspoken and gentle youth was suddenly able to show such strong malice in his eyes!

Fan Zhuo stared with those eyes at the expressions on Qiao Chu and the others. Suddenly, his expression changed again and reverted back to his usual gentle and amicable smile.

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Chapter 559:- Heaven's End Cliff (6)

Fan Zhuo stared with those eyes at the expressions on Qiao Chu and the others. Suddenly, his expression changed again and reverted back to his usual gentle and amicable smile.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you guys." Fan Zhuo looked at everyone apologetically.

Qiao Chu's expression was rather wooden as he didn't know how to react.

Hua Yao was frowning as he stared at Fan Zhuo. He had not wanted to mention it but Fan Zhuo's reaction had been completely different from what he expected. If he had only heard things about the Middle Realm, then why did he react so strongly? And if he was not mistaken, Fan Zhuo eyes had earlier been filled with pure murder and hatred.

He hated the Twelve Palaces?

Why?

Hua Yao finally said: "You are from the Middle Realm."

Fan Zhuo did not hide the fact and nodded his head. He looked at Hua Yao and the others and said smiling: "As you all are, am I wrong? Brother Hua, Dumb Qiao, Little Yan, Little Ruo..... and Little Xie? No no no..... Little Xie is not, because Little Xie did not react to my words in the slightest."

Fan Zhuo rubbed his chin, his face split into a smile.

"Your guess is correct." Hua Yao nodded and said.

"You hold a grudge against the Twelve Palaces?" Hua Yao asked, feeling a little puzzled. Why had the strong aura of malice earlier suddenly disappeared completely without a trace of it present now? The hatred within those eyes earlier were in no way less than what they all felt. But, why had it faded so fast?

"We cannot coexist." Fan Zhuo's smile grew wider but there was no joy in his eyes.

"Why?" Hua Yao persisted.

"For the same reason as all of you here. Isn't that right?" Fan Zhuo said, laughing.

Hua Yao was surprised.

Fan Zhuo continued: "I had thought that you guys were from the Twelve Palaces, but when I had so obviously displayed such strong enmity earlier, all of you had not reacted strongly to it but had looked shocked instead and did not show any intentions of killing me. In the instant that you all knew that I had strong malicious intentions against the Twelve Palaces, none of you made a move against me, and that ultimately told me that you guys were not from the Twelve Palaces and I do not believe that the Twelve Palaces would have such genuine and sincere people like you among them."

The malicious murder initially had been a test, and the results had made Fan Zhuo heave a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, they were not the enemy.

"You said you are the same as us, what did that mean?" A guess surfaced in Hua Yao's mind and it made him a little anxious and it filled him with anticipation.

Fan Zhuo laughed a little and said: "Long ago, in their quest to locate the Dark Emperor's tomb, the Twelve Palaces had sent out countless highly skilled exponents and among them, only a few of them finally found it. Those few people had come from different palaces and in order to suppress and curtail each other, they had drawn a portion of the map on each others' back and returned to report on their mission. But they had not expected that what finally awaited their return was betrayal from the powers they served respectively. All of them were killed and even their families were not spared....."

Fan Zhuo's smiley eyes were tinged with a slight trace of chill. His eyes swept over Hua Yao, Qiao Chu, Fei Yan and Rong Ruo once again, one after the other. "When the massacre was being carried out, one man secretly infiltrated among them and rescued the young children of those families. One among the children rescued had belonged to the Bone Shifters' Tribe. If I am not wrong, all of you should be those children who were rescued from then?"

Fan Zhuo's line of reasoning greatly shocked Hua Yao and the others. All of them looked at Hua Yao with a queer look, their eyes filled with shock and uncertainty.

"Then..... Who might you be?" He knew the history of the Middle Realm, and he was aware that the Twelve Palaces were searching for the Dark Emperor's tomb. So, what was Fan Zhuo's real identity!?

Fan Zhuo smiled bitterly.

"I am just an orphan abandoned at the Heaven's End Cliff."

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Chapter 560:- Heaven's End Cliff (7)

The Twelve Palaces had sent out hordes of their men in those years and there had been no lack of smart and intelligent people among them. Although they had been loyal to the powers they served, they still retained a trace of rationality in their actions. Fan Zhuo's parents had been such an example. They had reached the Dark Emperor's tomb a step later than the family members of Hua Yao and the others' had but had been forced to partake in their agreement with those who had reached earlier. They all had a portion of the map tattooed on their backs before they all returned to the Middle Realm.

But Fan Zhuo's biological father had felt that something was not right. He did not bring Fan Zhuo and his wife back together with him but had settled them down temporarily nearby the Heaven's End Cliff.

Alas, what awaited him when he returned back to the Middle Realm was a total nightmare.

He did not have the chance to go back and see his wife and child again. His whole family line was massacred together with him and Fan Zhuo's mother had been killed right before his eyes while he had sustained severe injuries from the attack by the people of the Twelve Palaces and his body left in the forests to become feed for the carnivorous beasts.

Fortunately, Fan Qi had made it there in time and rescued the severely injured Fan Zhuo.

Fan Qi had been beholden to Fan Zhuo's parents and Fan Qi had wanted to repay them for the benevolence he had received and decided to raise Fan Zhuo. But the severe injuries inflicted on Fan Zhuo's body had deteriorated daily and in order to protect Fan Zhuo, Fan Qi had portrayed his own biological son to everyone else as his adopted child and claimed Fan Zhuo as his biological child instead, to give him the best care he could.

It was also to prevent anyone from using his status as an adopted child and mistreat him in anyway.

However, Fan Zhuo's injuries from young stayed with him, making his life as he grew up to be one filled with pain and torment. Before he came to meet Jun Wu Xie, he had thought that there was no way he would live for much longer and no matter how much hatred he held in his heart for the Twelve Palaces, he did not possess the strength or power to change his fate.

If he was not even able to retain his own life, there was no way he would be able to fight the Twelve Palaces.

It was not until the appearance of Jun Wu Xie, that he saw that his life was about to take a complete change!

Fan Zhuo told the companions everything about himself. His candid revelation of his past greatly shocked Qiao Chu and the others.

Fan Zhuo had been right. They were all still fortunately alive and it was due to one man. Yan Bu Gui. Yan Bu Gui had hidden them all at the Phoenix Academy and successfully escaped from the persecution of the Twelve Palaces, but Fan Zhuo had been more unfortunate than them.

He had not only witnessed the killing of his mother with his own eyes, but had sustained heavy injuries from their attackers. They had injured him all the way into the core and it had made him live his life, greatly handicapped.

Qiao Chu and his companions were all only too aware of how thickly their hatred for their enemies ran within their hearts and completely understood why Fan Zhuo had tested their allegiance in such a manner earlier.

"But things have greatly changed and is completely different now. I noticed that all of you are intending to go find the Dark Emperor's tomb, why?" Fan Zhuo was calm, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted in a slight smile, looking as if all that he had said had happened to someone else and not himself.

But Qiao Chu and the others could not forget, just a mere moment ago, the terrifying and unbridled hatred that had burned so brightly in Fan Zhuo's eyes.

"We need to become strong, and the Dark Emperor's tomb contains the most powerful magical items that exists in the Middle Realm. And once we find the Dark Emperor's tomb, we would definitely acquire enough strength to exact our revenge against the Twelve Palaces!" Qiao Chu exclaimed after drawing in a deep breath, not intending to hide anything.

Fan Zhuo laughed out loud.

"Not a bad plan, but the Dark Emperor's tomb would not be so easily located."

"However difficult it is, we have to give it a try. This is the only way we can attain enough strength to go against the Twelve Palaces." Hua Yao said resolutely.

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