Zhao Zhen sensed Hua Daozang's aura and slowly turned around, looking at this man—his mother's second elder brother.
Hua Daozang looked at Zhao Zhen and could not help but feel momentarily dazed. It was as if he were seeing Zhao Lan again—a Zhao Lan no longer tormented by illness.
Back then, marrying his younger sister to Crown Prince Zhao Lan had been, in his view, the most brilliant thing he had ever done in his life. Unfortunately, good times did not last. Before Zhao Lan could ascend the throne, he was executed by Zhao Zhi.
"I didn't expect you to have grown this much already," Hua Daozang said with emotion.
When Zhao Zhen was born, he had traveled all the way to Zhongtian Prefecture to visit the mother and child. The splendor and liveliness of that day had made him believe their family was about to rise and flourish.
After Zhao Lan's death, he brought his sister back to Tianxuan Mountain. As for Zhao Zhen, who remained in Qingxiao Sect, he never dared to send anyone to retrieve him. Because of this, his sister often reproached him.
Zhao Zhen looked at him and asked, "My mother was staying peacefully at Tianxuan Mountain. How did she end up being captured by the Xuanji Sect?"
Hua Daozang's expression instantly turned ugly. Gritting his teeth, he said, "The Xuanji Sect sent people to Tianxuan Mountain to steal our supreme techniques, and in the process, they abducted your mother. Without the sect master, Tianxuan Mountain couldn't stop Xuanji Sect's experts from leaving."
When he said this, his tone carried a hint of grievance, as though he were blaming Qingxiao Sect for taking Yan Daozong away.
Zhao Zhen continued, "Then how can you be sure whether my mother is alive or dead?"
"I can't be certain," Hua Daozang replied. "But they left word, telling me to go to Cangzhou to ransom her. I've already brought Tianxuan Mountain's supreme techniques with me." As he spoke, he took several manuals out from his robes.
Zhao Zhen looked at him deeply and said, "In that case, lead the way."
Hua Daozang nodded and turned to head into the forest.
Ku Yi and Ku Er followed, positioning themselves between Zhao Zhen and Hua Daozang.
On the other side.
In the forest on the neighboring mountain, the spell-casting disciple opened his eyes and said, "Senior Brother Zhao Zhen's mother was taken by the Xuanji Sect. They're preparing to head to Cangzhou."
"Hua Daozang is lying. There were no Xuanji Sect experts infiltrating Tianxuan Mountain at all. He's scheming against Senior Brother Zhao Zhen!"
Hearing this, the other two disciples frowned. Although they had never interacted much with Zhao Zhen, they had seen him before. Who didn't know that Zhao Zhen was the sect master's treasured disciple and the sect's number one genius?
One of the female disciples asked softly, "Should we warn Senior Brother Zhao Zhen?"
The spell-casting disciple thought for a moment and said, "Third Junior Brother, you return to Qingxiao Sect and report this to the sect master. Second Junior Sister, you go make contact with Senior Brother Zhao Zhen and use transmission to tell him the truth—don't let Hua Daozang hear. If Senior Brother Zhao Zhen is deliberately playing along with the scheme, we must not ruin his plan. I'll stay hidden and follow them. If Senior Brother Zhao Zhen tells you to leave, you don't need to look for me. Head to Black Wind Town and wait for me there, and also wait for Third Junior Brother to bring reinforcements."
The two disciples raised no objections and immediately got up to act, without the slightest hesitation.
After they left, the spell-casting disciple took three paper effigies out from his robes and muttered, "If I'd known this would happen, I should've bought more eavesdropping talismans."
His name was Qiao Dingbei, a disciple of the Spirit Taming Hall, with cultivation at the third layer of the Nurturing Essence realm.
The three of them were informants cultivated by Zhang Yuchun. Normally, their presence in the Spirit Taming Hall was not very noticeable. In the current Qingxiao Sect, the third layer of the Nurturing Essence realm was no longer considered particularly high cultivation.
Qiao Dingbei took a deep breath. His intuition told him that he had stumbled into something big.
The reason he chose to remain hidden was that he anticipated Zhao Zhen would drive Second Junior Sister away. When that happened, only he would be able to follow along.
Zhao Zhen was a top-ten disciple. His troubles were far beyond what Qiao Dingbei and the other two could truly get involved in.
Still, since he had run into this situation, Qiao Dingbei could not retreat. Doing so would betray the sect's cultivation and trust in them.
Only after Second Junior Sister had left for some time did Qiao Dingbei quietly move closer.
...
Night fell.
A campfire burned in the forest. Hua Daozang sat in meditation beneath a tree, watching from afar as Zhao Zhen sat together with a Qingxiao Sect female disciple. His brows furrowed slightly, unease rising in his heart.
Damn Qingxiao Sect. How was it that no matter where he went, he could run into their disciples?
Even he had to admit that Qingxiao Sect's development was utterly astonishing. How long had it been since Li Qingqiu took over as sect master?
It had gone from nothing to something—only fifteen years…
Hua Daozang had never met Li Qingqiu. In his imagination, Li Qingqiu was a ruthless and domineering tyrant. He very much did not want to encounter him.
He could only pray that this Qingxiao Sect female disciple had merely happened to pass through the area.
Zhao Zhen chatted casually with the female disciple, but in reality, they were communicating through transmission.
After learning that Hua Daozang had deceived him, Zhao Zhen felt no surprise.
"Did you see any woman heading down the mountain?" Zhao Zhen asked.
"There was indeed one," the female disciple replied, "but she was escorted north by Tianxuan Mountain disciples."
"I understand. Many thanks for the warning. When I return to the sect, I'll repay you. After daybreak, you should head back. I'll continue north with him."
"Senior Brother Zhao Zhen, aren't you afraid he'll lead you into a trap?"
Zhao Zhen snorted. "What's there to fear? I'm at the seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm."
The seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm!
Hearing this, the female disciple nearly jumped to her feet. She looked at Zhao Zhen with eyes full of admiration. Fortunately, the night was dark, and Hua Daozang did not notice.
After chatting for a while longer, the two each sat down to cultivate and absorb vital energy, while Ku Yi and Ku Er took turns standing guard.
Hua Daozang was very curious about Qingxiao Sect's cultivation methods, but he did not dare approach rashly.
At dawn the next day, the female disciple bade Zhao Zhen farewell.
Hua Daozang secretly let out a breath of relief. After observing through the night, he had determined that the female disciple had merely been passing through, and Zhao Zhen had not revealed the true purpose of his journey.
This matter had passed with a fright but no danger.
The four of them continued on their way.
Hua Daozang began to play tricks, deliberately choosing increasingly rugged paths, fearful of running into Qingxiao Sect disciples again.
From Zhongtian Prefecture to Cangzhou, even traveling day and night, it still took them twelve days to reach their destination.
Zhao Zhen looked ahead at the rolling mountain plains. Dark clouds churned across the heavens, the trees on the slopes were withered, and crows gathered in clusters.
"Elder Hua, why would the Xuanji Sect be hiding in a place like this?" Ku Yi frowned as he asked.
Hua Daozang put on an air of confusion and said, "I don't know either. Everyone be careful—there may be a trap."
Zhao Zhen glanced at him, inwardly sighing. No wonder his master always said that the human heart was treacherous.
If not for that female disciple, he truly would have believed that Hua Daozang had his mother's interests at heart.
The four continued forward. The mountains were barren— even flowers and grass had withered, with no trace of green in sight. Along the way, they could even see the carcasses of wild beasts.
They pressed on. After advancing roughly five miles, they stopped and looked ahead, only to see an open area between two mountains. Many tents had been erected there, forming what looked like a camp, with numerous people moving about inside.
Some were sparring in martial combat, some were slaughtering goats, and there were even people forging weapons.
Suspicion flashed through Zhao Zhen's eyes. These people were clearly dressed as Northern Barbarian folk. Could this matter truly involve the Xuanji Sect?
Hua Daozang spoke up, "Wait here. I'll go down first and take a look."
With that, he stepped forward and headed down the mountain.
Ku Yi and Ku Er moved to Zhao Zhen's side, watching Hua Daozang descend.
"There's no ambush nearby," Ku Yi said in a low voice.
Zhao Zhen nodded. He was full of curiosity about what would happen next, wondering what tricks Hua Daozang was truly playing.
They watched as Hua Daozang spoke with the Northern Barbarian warriors, then was brought into one of the tents.
Not long after, Hua Daozang came back out—looking as though he had been shoved out. Immediately after, they saw several imposing Northern Barbarian warriors emerge from the tent.
The leader was tall and powerfully built like a bear. His armor was inlaid with hooked barbs, making him look even more menacing.
This man was named Tuo Zhenye, a personal disciple of the Xuanji Sect and the master of this camp.
He glanced at Zhao Zhen from afar, then lifted his hand and waved. At once, two Northern Barbarian warriors entered another tent and pushed out a woman whose arms were bound and whose mouth was gagged.
When Zhao Zhen saw the woman, his brows furrowed.
He could no longer remember what his mother looked like, but seeing her disheveled hair and torn clothing, killing intent surged in his heart.
Hua Daozang also frowned, his hands clenching into fists within his sleeves.
Tuo Zhenye noticed his expression and snorted coldly. "Rest assured. Our Xuanji Sect isn't that despicable. It's just that this woman was unruly, so we had to teach her a lesson."
Hua Daozang took a deep breath, walked over to the woman, and removed the filthy cloth from her mouth.
"Is that Zhen'er? How could you really bring him here? Hua Daozang, what exactly are you trying to do?" the woman shouted angrily.
She was Zhao Zhen's biological mother—Yu Mi.
Hua Daozang gritted his teeth and said, "I couldn't ignore you!"
Yu Mi cursed furiously, "Do you really think I'm so stupid as to be beyond saving? At this point, you think I'd still believe you? You said the Zhao clan left wealth in Cangzhou that could help Zhen'er rise—if that were true, why would the Northern Barbarians be here?"
"Your target was Zhen'er all along. No wonder you made me write letter after letter. Hua Daozang, you've lost all conscience—scheming even against your own nephew. You're not human!"
Although Zhao Zhen was far away, he could hear Yu Mi's words. He was not angry—rather, he felt relieved.
His mother did care about him. That meant he had not come in vain.
What he feared most was that he would come all this way only to find that his mother did not care for him at all, or worse, that she had joined forces with Hua Daozang to scheme against him.
Ku Yi and Ku Er were furious. The reason they had helped Hua Daozang persuade Zhao Zhen was because Hua Daozang had promised that Tianxuan Mountain would help Zhao Zhen reclaim the realm. Yet Hua Daozang had even deceived Yu Mi—how could his words be trusted any longer?
Zhao Zhen immediately began walking down toward the camp.
Boom—
The dark clouds overhead released a dull peal of thunder, as though a torrential rain were about to descend.
Seeing Zhao Zhen approach, the Northern Barbarian warriors within the camp gathered around. Tuo Zhenye studied Zhao Zhen with great interest.
Yu Mi looked at Zhao Zhen and stopped shouting. Her expression turned dazed, as if she were seeing Zhao Lan in his youth.
When she first met Zhao Lan, he had been about the same age as Zhao Zhen was now.
Back then, she had been a genius young woman of Tianxuan Mountain, her martial skills already taking shape, while Zhao Lan was the crown prince, visiting Tianxuan Mountain to pay respects to the previous sect master. At their first meeting, she had not known Zhao Lan's identity—she had even bullied the sickly Zhao Lan.
"Since you're all coming for me, you can release my mother. I'll talk with you," Zhao Zhen said as he entered the camp, looking at Tuo Zhenye.
Tuo Zhenye raised his hand, signaling his subordinates to surround Zhao Zhen, then said, "Release her. Let her go."
The two Northern Barbarian warriors standing behind Yu Mi immediately untied her. Yu Mi looked at Zhao Zhen, about to speak, but was pulled away by Hua Daozang.
"We should leave first. If we stay here, we'll only hold him back," Hua Daozang said in a deep voice.
Yu Mi glared at him resentfully. Reason told her that he was right, and she could only allow herself to be dragged away by Hua Daozang.
She looked back at Zhao Zhen, now surrounded, her face filled with worry.
Zhao Zhen glanced at her, and for some reason, a thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"If Master were here, he definitely wouldn't let me fall into an encirclement like this…"