Tap, tap, tap. Tang Hao moved quickly, his footsteps echoing as he rushed into the depths of the cave.
"Who is it? Who was here!?" Seeing the empty ground inside, his heart instantly burned with rage, his eyes turning red.
He lifted his gaze and swept across the surroundings. The words carved on the stone wall entered his sight at a glance.
"Spirit Hall… So it was Spirit Hall!" His jaw clenched tightly, his eyes widened in fury, veins bulged on his forehead, and his body's aura erupted uncontrollably, shaking the cave violently. Bits of stone kept falling from above.
The next moment, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down.
On his way here, he had already checked the surrounding mountains,there were no ambushes.
He walked forward, brushed his hand over the carvings on the wall, then moved to the center of the cave. He touched the soil, observing the fresh moss that had begun to grow.
"The time must be over three months. That fits with the time when Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan searched the mountains." He came here every year to clear weeds for Ah Yin, so he was very familiar with the growth rate of the plants inside the cave.
He looked up again at the carvings, his thoughts drifting.
"However, judging from the content of these words, the person already knew of my existence. More importantly, they knew about Ah Yin's sacrifice for me back then. Someone I once injured… It's very likely this was one of the soul masters who followed Qian Xunji during the siege against Ah Yin and me. But how did this person find this place?
"If they knew about me beforehand, the most likely explanation is that they tracked me here. They probably didn't dare come too close, only catching sight of the waterfall and realizing there was something behind it, without knowing the exact mechanism."
"That would explain why they clawed at the stone wall on a wide scale, hoping to trigger the switch."
"To be safe, they must have waited until I left with Xiao San for Soto City before daring to come and check."
"If that's the case, then this person definitely acted before the three major factions searched the mountains."
"As for losing Ah Yin,absolutely impossible. This is just a ploy to anger me, to waste my strength searching in vain. More likely, they hid her remains, using them as leverage against me, to prevent me from exposing this and forcing Spirit Hall into an internal investigation. After all, it's a hundred-thousand-year soul bone. Bibi Dong would never ignore that."
"Of course, there is a small chance it was another of the three major factions. Perhaps during their investigation of Yang Yunhai in Nuoding City, they discovered Xiao San. A Blue Silver Grass with innate full soul power is indeed suspicious. From there, finding out about me would not be difficult."
"As for finding this cave, it may have been due to some special sensing ability granted by a martial soul."
"For example, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. One reason their sect is so wealthy is because the martial soul grants a unique ability to appraise treasures,perhaps also to sense them. They may have come to search for rare treasures, and discovering this cave was just an accident. As for learning what happened back then, with the vast intelligence network built across the continent through their industries, it's not impossible."
"Most importantly, Ning Rongrong is at Shrek Academy. How could Ning Fengzhi not investigate thoroughly when his daughter joined a strange academy? In doing so, discovering Xiao San's and my identities would not be strange. With Ning Fengzhi's wisdom, he could easily connect the dots. After obtaining the soul bone and Ah Yin's remains, he could then deliberately leave these carvings behind to frame Spirit Hall. That possibility is very high."
"Given my hatred toward Spirit Hall, anyone would expect me to assume immediately that they were responsible."
"Still, it's also possible that a soul master from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has a similar sensing ability. In investigating Yang Yunhai, they might have traced things back to Xiao San and then to me. Their clan's intelligence network could also explain how they learned what happened back then."
"So, the greatest suspicion lies with Spirit Hall, then the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and lastly the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
As for Yang Yunhai, Tang Hao never even considered him. A common orphan from a remote city,how could he possibly know the events of the past?
Besides, the transformation after his martial soul evolved didn't match the Blue Silver Emperor. Leaving aside the martial soul and hair color, just the toughness alone wasn't something the Blue Silver Emperor could achieve at the same level. Its greatest characteristic was life force and recovery ability.
Moreover, if Yang Yunhai had really absorbed a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, how could Dugu Bo not have noticed after staying with him for so long?
"But, if not for Yang Yunhai, the three major factions wouldn't have come searching the mountains. This child is also detestable!" Tang Hao's brow furrowed as killing intent flickered in his eyes.
"And that Yu Tianheng,such a fool. Running his mouth carelessly, exposing his teammates' secrets. I don't even have to think to know it was Yu Tianheng who spread the news to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. After they acted, Spirit Hall and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect followed their trail, and then everyone came."
But since things had already come to this… After some thought, Tang Hao slowly stood up. "Let him remain as a whetstone for Xiao San, then."
"They're just juniors. It's not my place to act personally."
With that thought, he strode out of the cave, planning his next steps as he walked.
"If Ning Fengzhi obtained the hundred-thousand-year soul bone, he would either use it himself to break through the bottleneck at level 79 and advance to Contra, or save it for Ning Rongrong. But not during this period. With the Soul Master Tournament about to start, if Ning Rongrong's cultivation suddenly surged, it would definitely raise suspicion. If they use it, it will be after the tournament."
"In that case, I only need to keep an eye on Ning Fengzhi and Ning Rongrong."
"As for Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, I'll need to find other ways to investigate."
"There's also Xiao Wu. This incident serves as a reminder. Ning Rongrong is still Ning Fengzhi's daughter, and by her side are Chen Xin and Gu Rong. Even if they don't already know Xiao San's true identity, his talent alone will ensure Ning Fengzhi meets him through Ning Rongrong. That means Xiao Wu is highly likely to be exposed. I'll need to find a way to conceal her aura."
"Perfect. I'll take a detour to the forest where the Blue Silver King resides."
As the Empress of the Blue Silver Grass Clan, Tang Hao's wife Ah Yin possessed extraordinary affinity with plants. With the Blue Silver Domain, she naturally had a unique ability to identify plants. Because of this, after reaching the hundred-thousand-year level, she was able to control leaves to fly and search outside for opportunities to help survive her tribulation. In one valley, she discovered a rare herb with aura-concealing effects.
After much consideration, she decided to transform into human form and use that herb to enter the human world for cultivation.
Later, she brought back immature seeds of the herb to their territory and carefully nurtured them with her life energy.
When the herb matured, she consumed it and walked out of the forest in human form. The concealment it provided allowed her to safely cultivate in the human world up to the brink of maturity. That herb contributed greatly.
Unfortunately, its medicinal power was consumable, and those who took it could not permanently inherit the concealment trait.
When Tang Hao and his brother met Ah Yin, she was already in her twenties. After so many years, most of the medicinal power had already been used up.
That was despite the fact that Ah Yin had returned to her territory once more to consume the new sprouts of the concealment herb.
If not for that, on their way back to the sect to meet Tang Hao's grandfather, Ah Yin would never have been discovered by Spirit Hall's Title Douluo.
"So many years have passed. With the Blue Silver King's help in cultivation, the new concealment herb should have grown by now. Even if it hasn't fully matured, consuming it should last a year or two,enough to cover the Soul Master Tournament."
Thinking this, he quickened his pace.
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