NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 73: Embers and Fire Seeds
Chapter 73: Embers and Fire Seeds
Bang!
Chen Zhixing slightly tilted his head as a sharp, pale hand with black nails slashed past his cheek.
Immediately after, Chen Zhixing flicked his finger, and the pale hand shattered into countless wisps of white mist, dissipating into the air.
“People from the Spider Web? Looks like they’ve taken notice of me after all.”
A flicker of uncertainty crossed Chen Zhixing’s eyes as he looked at the spider-masked figure shrouded in mist.
“In that case…”
Bang!!!
“Then… I'll just kill them all!!”
A fierce gleam erupted in Chen Zhixing's eyes. With a heavy stomp, he launched himself like a cannonball toward the spider-masked figure.
“Heh, you’ve got some skill, avoiding my fog hand, hmm?”
The spider-masked figure had been standing with his hands behind his back, speaking nonchalantly. But when he saw Chen Zhixing raise his fist, causing the very void to silently collapse, his expression changed drastically, and the calmness in his eyes turned into sheer terror.
“What the hell!? Wasn’t Chen Zhixing supposed to be weak?”
With a startled scream, the spider-masked man turned and fled.
Boom!!
A loud crash followed, and then everything fell silent.
Amidst the thick mist, Chen Zhixing held the limp body of the spider-masked man, his brows furrowed.
“With such weak power, you came to ambush me.”
“Are you trying to amuse me?”
Chen Zhixing’s face darkened as he slowly lifted the spider-masked man.
Initially, seeing the man’s mysterious demeanor, he thought he was dealing with a powerful opponent, which had made him somewhat tense.
But to his surprise, this person was just pretending.
If Chen Zhixing hadn’t held back at the last moment, restraining most of his strength, this man would have been reduced to pulp with a single punch.
The mask on the man’s face had shattered, revealing a long, narrow face with sharp features, making him look like a weasel. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, his cultivation level no higher than the peak of the Luminescence Realm. Now trembling with fear, he stared at Chen Zhixing with wide, terrified eyes.
A trickle of liquid was dripping from his pants.
Slap!
Chen Zhixing slapped the weasel-faced man across the face.
“Next, I ask, you answer. Got it?” Chen Zhixing said flatly, losing interest.
“I… If you promise to let me go after I answer, I’ll talk,” the man stammered, shrinking back and rolling his eyes, trying to gauge his situation.
Chen Zhixing frowned, impatience flashing across his face. He was about to dismiss the man’s attempt at negotiation but then seemed to remember something. Nodding, he said, “Fine, I promise you. I, Chen Zhixing, always keep my word.”
Hearing this, the weasel-faced man breathed a sigh of relief and grinned. “Ask away.”
“Who are you? Where did you get these clothes? Who sent you to ambush me?” Chen Zhixing asked, thinking carefully. “Be detailed.”
This man wasn’t part of the black-robed group that ambushed the Ziwei Chen family in southern Jiang. Though the outfits were similar, the methods and aura were entirely different.
That group had been strange and mysterious, ruthless in action, and their lowest cultivator was at the peak of the Spiritual Wandering Realm.
Most notably, they had a peculiar relationship with death—far from fearing it, they seemed to embrace it with a strong sense of belonging.
Moreover, every one of those individuals had distinctive stitching on their faces, like a broken ceramic doll that had been pieced back together.
This man, however, exhibited none of those traits.
Something didn’t add up.
“My name is Han Zong. I was originally a rogue cultivator in Youzhou. Last year, the Spider Web recruited me into their outer circle. They didn’t require much from me, just asked that I stay in Youzhou and follow their orders when called upon.”
“In return, they promised me a Yuan Spirit Pill.”
“Of course, I jumped at the offer, thinking it was too good to pass up.”
“For an entire year, they never contacted me. Until today, they suddenly appeared, gave me this outfit, and told me to ambush you on this road.”
“If successful, they’d help me break through to the Spiritual Wandering Realm.”
Han Zong rattled off his story rapidly.
“That’s all?” Chen Zhixing frowned.
Han Zong flinched at the question and quickly added, “That’s really all! But, sir, I do have some of my own suspicions, though I’m not sure if they’re correct.”
“Suspicions? Speak,” Chen Zhixing said, nodding.
Taking a deep breath, Han Zong hesitated before continuing, “Actually, I’ve encountered members of the Spider Web before. I suspect that the people who recruited me last year weren’t part of the original Spider Web at all! I overheard some of their conversations—they referred to their organization as… ‘Embers!’ Yes, Embers!”
“But I didn’t care much at the time. After all, the Yuan Spirit Pill they gave me was a real treasure, so I didn’t pay too much attention.”
Chen Zhixing’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.
Of course!
If the group that attacked the Ziwei Chen family in southern Jiang wasn’t actually from the Web, everything made sense!
He distinctly remembered from the game Great Cultivation in his previous life that the Web was nothing more than an ordinary assassin organization.
“So, the Web may have already been wiped out by these mysterious black-robed individuals, existing now in name only, while these people use its reputation to move in the cultivation world?”
Chen Zhixing pondered silently.
Embers?
That name seemed connected to the "fire seeds" those people often mentioned.
A moment later.
“Anything else?” Chen Zhixing asked calmly, his thoughts collected.
“This… Wait, sir, why are you raising your hand? Yes, yes, there’s more!”
Seeing Chen Zhixing lift his hand, Han Zong panicked and nodded furiously like a pecking chicken.
“I have a friend who was also recruited into this outer circle of the Web. He told me that I wasn’t the only one tasked with ambushing you today. Others were also given the same mission but were stationed on different roads.”
At this point, Han Zong, fearful of more questioning, added with a bitter expression, “That’s really all, sir! There’s nothing more! Please, don’t ask any more.”
“Good.” Chen Zhixing nodded, feeling a sense of relief.
According to this, the mysterious black-robed individuals didn’t yet have the ability to monitor his movements at all times.
The worst-case scenario he had feared hadn’t come to pass.
“They must have seen Elder You return to the Chen family with Ruan Nanzhu by airship, assuming I’d still be in Youzhou. So, they spread a wide net, hoping to catch me on one of the roads?”
Chen Zhixing speculated silently.
“Regardless, one thing is certain: that organization called Embers has set its sights on me.”
A shadow crossed Chen Zhixing’s face.
He carried too many secrets. If even one were to be exposed, it could spell disaster for both him and the Ziwei Chen family.
At this moment, an unprecedented sense of danger and urgency gripped his heart like an invisible hand.
“Sir, can I leave now?” Han Zong asked cautiously.
“Of course. I always keep my word.”
Chen Zhixing smiled warmly at Han Zong, making the latter feel oddly reassured.
Just as Han Zong was about to bow and leave.
“Ah! What’s happening? My hands aren’t listening to me!”
Bang!!!
Watching as Han Zong was reduced to a cloud of blood, Chen Zhixing muttered apologetically, “Sorry, my mind wanted to let you go, but my hands had other plans.”
Chen Zhixing then took a deep breath and looked toward Tianchuan Mountain.
No matter what.
In this world, the only way to protect oneself is to grow stronger! Stronger and stronger still! When one becomes powerful enough, all schemes and threats will crumble on their own!
“I must quickly condense the second Dao Seed!”
A flash of determination crossed Chen Zhixing’s eyes as he pulled a white cross-shaped mask from his chest and placed it on his face.
In the next moment.
Chen Zhixing took a step forward.
Then, each step faster than the last, each step quicker and more urgent!
Boom!!
Three breaths later, Chen Zhixing had turned into a streak of thunder across the sky!
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