“Time to go!”
In order to perfectly fuse the Fire Dragon Sword, Wind Shadow Sword, and the Earth Fire, it would surely require experimenting and practice before he could execute it flawlessly. Jiang Yi didn’t have the luxury of time now as he held back the excitement in his heart. He found a concealed corner and dug an underground cave before he summoned Big Huang to head straight underneath Mt. Fire Cloud.
The closer they got to the volcano, the hotter the temperature underground, causing Big Huang to be restless. Jiang Yi forcefully controlled Big Huang for another few more kilometers before withdrawing him and using the Black Scale Sword to excavate a tunnel towards the volcano.
One hour later, the mud became reddish black, and the temperature was shockingly high. When the digging speed of the Black Scale Sword decreased, Jiang Yi had no choice but to take out the Fire Dragon Sword. He didn’t have to pour in much of the black essence force and just relied on the razor-sharp blade of the Fire Dragon Sword to quickly extend the tunnel.
“Swish!”
Soon enough, Jiang Yi broke through the walls of the volcano. He then stuck his head out of the hole and held his breath as he checked the area. After making sure no one was inside the volcano, he just jumped down without even using any rope.
“Bang!”
When Jiang Yi splashed into the boiling lava, he began to quickly swim in it and absorb the Earth Fire. It was much safer compared to the previous time, allowing him to absorb more Earth Fire—at least two folds more. Within the Fire Spirit Pearl—apart from the miscellaneous items tucked away in the corner, the rest of the space was filled with Earth Fire.
“Time to go!”
Jiang Yi quickly leaped back up but didn’t exit through the vent of the volcano; he used the tunnel that he dug earlier to go back instead. After sprinting for several miles, he summoned Big Huang and quickly rushed towards the royal capital of the Great Xia Kingdom.
One day had passed quickly; Xia Wuhui should have definitely arrived at one of the cities in the Great Xia Kingdom. Jiang Yi had to obtain more information before he could find another location for an interception.
Riding on Big Huang and making haste for the entire night, Jiang Yi found a city at dawn; but he didn’t dare to enter the city. It was filled with soldiers—at least a few hundred, checking every single individual that entered the city.
“Hmph!”
Jiang Yi observed from afar and walked away from the city. Since he couldn’t enter from the city gates, he had to dig a tunnel directly into the city. He had Big Huang, making it faster for him to travel underground anyway.
After measuring the direction, Jiang Yi rode Big Huang and dashed under the city before keeping Big Huang, using the Black Scale Sword to personally dig the tunnel instead. Big Huang was a tier-three demonic beast, and its aura presence was too prominent. Before it could even approach the surface, martial artists would surely sense it from above.
He cautiously dug the tunnel, making use of his insane hearing ability to determine where the people and where there wasn’t. Soon enough, he emerged from an inhabited courtyard while he swiftly changed out from the stealthy night suit, replacing his mask with a regular one and changing into an embroidered robe. He then walked out in huge strides out of the courtyard and into the main streets.
Spending a few pieces of gold leaves, Jiang Yi casually found an inn and obtained the information he required from the waiter. Xia Wuhui had entered a city, but he wasn’t in this small city; he went to Summer Wind City instead.
The Great General Lord Su Diguo personally led 30,000 troops to fetch Xia Wuhui to Summer Wind City. The news of the bridal escort army being attacked had been spread across the entire the Great Xia Kingdom, which was why there were so many soldiers outside and also within the city. It was also the most discussed topic in the entire city.
“Summer Wind City?”
Jiang Yi’s expression turned grave; the Summer Wind City was the first main city in the north of Great Xia Kingdom. It contained an army that had hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and if Xia Wuhui was inside this city, the success rate of killing him was extremely low.
He mumbled to himself for a moment before he walked out of the inn and wandered around the city before finally entering the largest merchant hall in the city, Dragon Origin Merchant Hall.
The merchant hall was huge, and it had many stores just like the Pearl Gathering Pavilion in Skyplume City. There were various kinds of items, and if one had enough purple gold, they could even buy a heaven artifact.
What Jiang Yi needed was a detailed map of the Great Xia Kingdom, a few human skin masks, and a few tablets that could disguise his identity—all could only be found in such large scale merchant halls.
Once Jiang Yi entered the merchant hall, he didn’t move around and just observed the place with a prideful expression. As he expected, a shop assistant quickly came over and smiled. “What can we get you, Sir?”
Jiang Yi spoke softly without any emotions. “Do you have superior goods in this place?”
“Yes, Sir, please follow me!”
The shop assistant understood immediately. This way of speaking was taught by Qian Wanguan, and it was a code word, meaning that the things that Jiang Yi was looking for weren’t those over-the-counters but illegal items.
Jiang Yi was brought into an elegant room while the shop assistant dismissed himself. A shopkeeper came while Jiang Yi put some purple gold that he had prepared beforehand on the table and said, “Ten human skin masks, one of the most detailed maps of the Great Xia Kingdom, and three fake identity tablets!”
“En?”
The shopkeeper frowned and quickly smiled apologetically. “Young Master, the human skin masks and identity tablets are easy, but the most detailed map is something I have to seek advice from our chief shopkeeper.”
“Be quick about it!”
Jiang Yi waved his hand while the shopkeeper immediately went out and brought in a young shopkeeper. The moment this young shopkeeper entered, Jiang Yi’s eyes lit up but instantly regained the indifference. He pointed at the shopkeeper and said, “You can go first!”
“Huh…”
Hearing Jiang Yi’s voice, the chief shopkeeper had an instant change in expression; and when the junior shopkeeper was dismissed, he immediately activated the room’s restriction before kneeling on one knee and greeted, “Qian Kun pays his respects to Young Master Yi!”
“Haha!”
Jiang Yi used both his hands to help the chief shopkeeper up. He then tore off the human skin mask and spoke intimately, “Qian Kun, long time no see. It has been half a year since we bade farewell on Mt. Spirit Beast, right? You, this fellow, why did you come here to be a shopkeeper? Why is the Qian Clan owning this merchant hall?”
Qian Kun was a subordinate of Qian Wanguan. Back at the Mt. Spirit Beast when Jiang Yi used the Massacre Intent to hunt demonic beasts, it was Qian Kun who served the two of them. When the Three-Tailed Spirit Fox appeared—which caused Qian Wanguan and Zhan Wushuang to return, Jiang Yi worked together with Qian Kun and his group for a long period of time. Every time Jiang Yi finished hunting the demonic beasts, it was Qian Kun who would knock him out and bring him back; hence, Jiang Yi was very relaxed towards Qian Kun.
“Hehe, it is all because our Young Clan Head thinks highly of me, asking me to venture out and temper myself before going back to take on a more important role. As for this… Dragon Origin Merchant Hall—on the surface, it belongs to a clan in the Great Xia Kingdom; but in fact, it is Qian Clan’s business.”
After Qian Kun explained, he then looked at Jiang Yi with admiration and spoke, “Young Master Yi, I might have been over here during this period of time, but I know all the heroic acts of Young Master Yi. All the brothers had their blood boiling from motivation when they heard it and were filled with admiration. We are all proud of the fact that we knew a hero like Young Master Yi and were reminiscing the days when we hunted together with Young Master Yi.”
“Haha!”
Jiang Yi let out a bitter laugh. “I am now criminal that committed treason. If you guys still acknowledge me as a friend, I would be very grateful.”
“What bullsh*t treason?!”
Qian Kun began to speak with agitation, “The King obviously knew that Young Master Yi needed that Soul-Subduing Herb, but he still gave it to the Crown Prince? This was their wrongdoing! The Young Clan head had already sent out messages for us to notice your whereabouts and to help you during the crucial times. Of course… the Qian Clan is still part of the official clans of the Divine Martial Kingdom, and there are many things we cannot do in public. We hope for Young Master Yi to understand.”
“Hahaha!”
Jiang Yi laughed heartily as he patted on Qian Kun’s shoulder with a great mood. “Help me send a message back to Fatty Qian. Tell him that I am still well alive, and I will continue to survive. If one day came that I am truly strong enough, I will go the Divine Martial Kingdom and slaughter Xia Tingwei; then let Fatty Qian be the King!”
