248: Chapter 248 There are a few clueless people

The two locked eyes, a mocking smile played across Zheng Lingfeng's face, and instead of offering his usual provocative remarks, he simply gave a slight nod and turned to walk toward the Cangyan Valley caravan.

Sun Mingcheng frowned slightly; Zheng Lingfeng's behavior today was far too abnormal. Whenever this fellow saw him in the past, he would always sneer and mock him, yet today he was so calm, so calm that it sent a faint ripple of unease through him.

"Brother Tianchen, don't you think Zheng Lingfeng is acting a bit strange today?" Sun Mingcheng asked in a lowered voice.

Zhou Tianchen nodded. He had noticed it as well; although Zheng Lingfeng's expression appeared normal, that calmness was not born of indifference, but rather a calm assurance of absolute control, as if he had already foreseen the outcome.

He couldn't help casting another glance in the direction Zheng Lingfeng was walking toward the Cangyan Valley caravan. Zheng Lingfeng stopped in front of the inn, the middle-aged man in dark red robes glanced sideways slightly, and the two exchanged an extremely brief look, then quickly averted their gazes, so fast that one might almost think it was an illusion.

But Zhou Tianchen caught that exact moment. Zheng Lingfeng had some sort of connection with the people from Cangyan Valley; although it was extremely subtle, it was not entirely without trace.

"Let's go, no need to pay attention to them." Lu Jinghan stood up.

Sun Mingcheng snapped back to his senses and hurriedly followed, and the four of them continued along the street opposite Laifu Inn deeper into the marketplace.

At this moment, Yun Tianxiang was standing by the second-floor window of a Medicinal Pill shop diagonally across from Laifu Inn, taking in the entire scene that had just unfolded through the half-open lattice window.

After leaving Yuelan Dojo last night, he had tracked Zheng Lingfeng all the way, and only found an inn nearby to stay at after confirming that the other party had returned to the Zheng family residence.

Before dawn this morning, he got up and kept watch outside the Zheng residence, following Zheng Lingfeng all the way to the east side of the city.

He saw Zheng Lingfeng exchange a look with the middle-aged man in dark red robes in front of Laifu Inn, saw several Zheng family attendants wandering intentionally or unintentionally around Sun Mingcheng, and also saw the faint murderous aura radiating from the Mahayana Stage powerhouses of Cangyan Valley.

Everything was clearly perceived by him.

Five Mahayana Stage powerhouses, along with the hidden sentries of the Zheng family, Yun Tianxiang's gaze lingered for a split second on the Valley Master of Cangyan Valley, and then fell on Zheng Lingfeng's face, which failed to suppress its excitement. In his heart, he had already formed a judgment.

Zheng Lingfeng was going to make a move today, and Cangyan Valley was the knife he had borrowed.

Although he still didn't know the exact relationship between the Zheng family and Cangyan Valley, judging from the eye contact between Zheng Lingfeng and the dark-red-robed man, Cangyan Valley's appearance here was by no means accidental.

He didn't know whether Zhou Tianchen and the others knew the inside story, nor was he certain whether Lu Jinghan and the others had already taken precautions.

He only knew that among the people Zheng Lingfeng wanted to deal with were several of his Senior Brothers from Kunlun. He had to keep a close eye on this place and make a move at the critical moment.

Meanwhile, inside the Immortal Cave outside Huaiyang City, tea fragrance curled upwards.

Venerable Hantian was sitting in front of the stone table, holding a freshly cut stone gall in his hands, examining the internal patterns against the morning light spilling from the cave ceiling.

Jiang Changge sat opposite him, holding that coarse pottery teacup. His gaze fell seemingly casually on the emerald-green tea soup in the cup, but his right hand had unknowingly been raised, index and middle fingers pressed together, gently pinching a few times in the Void Realm.

The Creation Sutra circulated quietly within his body, and a trace of extremely subtle heavenly secret power flowed along his fingertips, turning into formless ripples that silently penetrated the rock walls of the Immortal Cave, crossed the city wall of Huaiyang City, and fell upon those Karma lines slowly flowing along the main street in the east of the city.

Yesterday, when he perceived Yun Tianxiang's Qi, he had casually performed a divination once, treating it at the time as ordinary interactions between Disciples without probing deeply.

But just now, when he sensed several strange, tyrannical Qis flooding into Huaiyang City again, his heart stirred slightly, and he performed the divination once more.

This time, those originally blurred Karma lines became clear—the Zheng family, Cangyan Valley, five Mahayana Stage powerhouses, Laifu Inn, Sun Mingcheng, Zhou Tianchen, Lu Jinghan.

All the clues fell into place one by one like chess pieces under the divination of the Creation Sutra, piecing together a complete picture.

He put down the teacup, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly to reveal a meaningful smile.

"Fellow Daoist, what are you smiling at again?" Venerable Hantian raised his head, acutely capturing that expression of his.

"Nothing." Jiang Changge stood up, straightened his robes, and said, "A few blind fools want to touch my Kunlun Disciple, I'll go take a look."

Hearing this, Venerable Hantian put down the stone gall in his hand, stood up as well, and leisurely patted the stone chips clinging to his grey robe. "I happen to have nothing to do, I'll tag along with you to watch the excitement."

The first-floor lobby of Laifu Inn was bustling with noise. Over a dozen Disciples from Cangyan Valley were sitting around the two largest square tables, drinking wine and eating meat. Their robes were embroidered with flame patterns, and each of them possessed a fierce and capable Qi, with the lowest cultivation being at the Soul Transformation Stage.

The tavern waiter shuttled between the tables and chairs holding a tray, a thin layer of sweat oozing from his forehead, yet his steps did not dare to slow down by even half a fraction.

Sun Mingcheng's second uncle had not arrived yet, so he ordered a pot of fresh tea at the tea stall opposite the inn, chatting idly here and there with Zhou Tianchen and the other two.

Sun Mingcheng talked about the rare items his second uncle had brought back from the Northern Border this time. Zhou Tianchen responded occasionally, Lu Jinghan just held his teacup and listened quietly, while Duan Xinghe lowered his head and stroked the newly bought silver-threaded sword tassel.

The tea stall owner came over again to refill a pot of water, rambling on about recent amusing anecdotes in the east side of the city—saying that a few days ago, someone unearthed a fist-sized piece of Azure Spirit Jade at Liuli Plaza, and that the Zheng family seemed to be buying up Red Flame Stones everywhere recently, spending money very lavishly.

After exchanging that brief look with Valley Master Qin Cangyan in front of the inn, Zheng Lingfeng led his attendants and turned into a teahouse diagonally across the street, sitting down by the second-floor window.

With his legs crossed, holding that jade-boned folding fan in his hand, he fanned himself idly. His gaze passed through the half-open lattice window and fell upon those figures at the tea stall across the street, a trace of irrepressible triumph hanging at the corners of his mouth.

His right hand was tucked inside his robe all along, his fingertips repeatedly stroking the warm surface of that dark-red jade talisman, as if caressing a rare treasure about to fall into his hands.

Five Mahayana Stage powerhouses, with Valley Master Qin Cangyan personally leading the team. He wanted to see what ability Sun Mingcheng still had to turn the tables today.

Inside a guest room at the innermost part of the inn's second floor, Valley Master Qin Cangyan stood by the window with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping one by one over those figures at the tea stall across the street.

Behind him, four Protectors sat separately in various parts of the room. Some were wiping Magical Artifacts, some were closing their eyes to rest their minds, and others were lowering their heads to read a Jade Slip.

Sound-isolation Restrictions were set up in the four corners of the room, and light cyan runes slowly circulated in the corners, isolating all sounds in the room from the outside world.

"Valley Master, are those the few juniors?" The grey-haired elder sitting by the window wiping his sword asked without raising his head.

He was Li Yanzhou, the First Protector of Cangyan Valley, at the Mahayana Middle Stage. He had followed Valley Master Qin Cangyan for tens of thousands of years, having committed countless acts of murder and pillaging, and long ago lost any redundant curiosity.