Chapter 229 Red Kite Seeks Jade (Part 3)

With Jiang Gu by his side, Wei Feng finally relaxed, but he didn't dare linger for too long.

He missed Jiang Gu terribly. Looking at Jiang Gu, who was now just a shell of a body, only intensified his longing, making it uncontrollable. He was afraid that he would go mad again and do something irreversible.

He would not allow anyone to desecrate Jiang Gu, not even himself, even if he was just an empty shell.

The Purple Palace returned to silence once more.

The person lying on the bed was still breathing steadily, but at the moment the dantian closed, their eyelashes fluttered slightly.

——

Although the Mirror Flower Scroll was already damaged, Wei Feng had been collecting divine power to repair it. Moreover, over the years he had collected many magical treasures that could teleport and transform, like the Black Void Token. Although he could not open a passage to Chen Yao, it was better than nothing. He refined these magical treasures into the Mirror Flower Scroll.

He looked at the city below. When Jiang Yinzhong sealed the passage, he was only at the Great Luo Realm, which was not much different from his current cultivation level. However, Wei Feng had tried many methods to sneak in, but none of them worked. He had worked hard to cultivate, but later he finally realized that what stood between him and Jiang Yinzhong was not the difference in cultivation level, but the difference in experience over thousands of years. But he could not wait for thousands of years. If possible, he wanted to find Jiang Gu now.

Wei Feng stroked the patterns on the scroll, obsessively recalling every detail of his past with Jiang Gu. Amidst the pain, a self-destructive pleasure arose. Compared to the torment he endured while waiting for Jiang Gu in Wangyue, this uncertain search was far more agonizing—a meticulous, persistent, and inescapable torment that had entwined itself in his very being for years, relentlessly eroding his hope and pushing him to the brink of despair and collapse. Yet, he had to maintain his composure—if he truly went mad, who in the world would still search for Jiang Gu like this? What if he were trapped somewhere, unable to escape? What if he died? Would no one come to his rescue…?

A flash of crimson crossed Wei Feng's eyes, a sign of impending demonic possession. He gripped the Crimson Snow Sword tightly, staring greedily and cautiously at what Jiang Gu had left behind. Pain spread through his empty chest, and the golden pendant on his forehead emitted a soft, clean light, slowly enveloping him and cleansing away the filthy, crimson demonic energy.

After calming down, Wei Feng was stunned for a long time. He carefully touched the golden pendant between his eyebrows. He didn't know what this little thing Jiang Gu had given him was, but countless times when he was about to go into qi deviation, it was this inconspicuous little pendant that protected his primordial spirit.

Perhaps because he was recalling the past and almost went mad, Wei Feng's memory was momentarily hazy. His empty gaze fell on the patterns on the edge of the Mirror Flower Scroll. The flowers carved on the vines were so lifelike that they felt somewhat familiar to him—Wei Feng's gaze suddenly sharpened.

He straightened up, picked up the scroll and carefully examined the patterns on it, frowning.

He must have seen these vines and flowers somewhere before.

Long-forgotten memories quietly returned, and Wei Feng seemed to be drowned out by the noisy crowd, as the scroll of memories quietly unfolded before his eyes.

*

Twenty-five years ago, on the Pingze Continent, in Jiaolong City.

Sixteen-year-old Wei Feng walked through the bustling crowd, unaware that the Divine Shark bloodline within him was awakening. A fine, itchy pain emanated from his bones, and he felt both fear and sorrow, believing that his life was nearing its end. Yet, the young man also possessed a blind confidence, believing that he could find a way to save his life, even though all he could do for now was to cover his body with densely packed talismans in an attempt to alleviate his pain.

Wei Feng tapped the jade pendant behind his ear and spoke with a relaxed smile: "Xuan Zhiyan, I've come to Jiaolong City!"

"Ancestors! My dear ancestors!" Xuan Zhiyan's voice of collapse came from the jade pendant, "You've wrecked the library like this! My master almost broke my legs! What were you doing in Jiaolong City? That place is a complete mess!"

"I heard that Jiaolong City has the best information network, so I'm here to gather information." Wei Feng tried his best to ignore the pain in his body, squinted at the brothel in the distance, and whispered, "I heard that the brothel in the city has the best information network."

"Looking for the Green Pavilion?" Xuan Zhiyan asked疑惑地, "What place?"

“A brothel,” Wei Feng said calmly.

"Pfft—" Xuan Zhiyan spat out a mouthful of tea. He had recently taken a liking to tea art and had obtained a set of thousand-year-old purple clay teapots from Qi Fengyuan, which he carried around like a treasure every day. Wei Feng imagined him spitting out tea all over the place and laughed with schadenfreude.

"Are you crazy! The Yanghua Sect rules forbid visiting prostitutes and brothels!" Xuan Zhiyan's angry roar came from the earpiece. "It's one thing for you to go to see the sea of ​​clouds with those senior and junior sisters every day, but if the elders of the Punishment Hall find out, they'll skin you alive!"

Wei Feng tilted his head, his arms crossed, and looked at the beautiful women soliciting customers in the Xunlu Pavilion. The doorposts were carved with intertwined vines and the flowers on them were so lifelike that he couldn't help but take a second look.

“There’s a lot of evil energy in this brothel.” Wei Feng made up his mind. “I’ll go in, buy some information, and come out right away.”

Xuan Zhiyan said worriedly, "I'm afraid you won't be able to get out."

Wei Feng laughed fearlessly, weighed the spirit stone in his hand, and snorted, "Money can make the devil turn the millstone."

He brushed past the flowers on the vines, spending a lot of spirit stones, before finally getting the news that the Divine Kite Shark Scale would appear at the auction in three days.

He went to great lengths and spent a lot of spirit stones to get into the auction house, only to wait all night without seeing a single sign of the Divine Kite Shark Scale. He finally realized belatedly that he had been tricked.

The young man was hot-tempered and couldn't swallow his anger. He decided to go to the Green Pavilion to demand an explanation, but he was targeted as soon as he left the auction house. However, the other party was of mediocre cultivation, and he used some tricks to get rid of the person. The pain in his bones made him even more irritable. He suppressed his anger and went into the Green Pavilion, throwing money at them to see their boss.

At that time, Wei Feng was extremely reckless. He had a good plan: to give this heartless boss a good scolding and preferably a beating to vent his anger. Anyone who dared to mess with him was simply asking for trouble.

But the moment the other person entered, Wei Feng knew he was making a huge mistake. He was the one who was tired of living—the other person's cultivation was higher than his, and his body was filled with demonic energy, as if he could devour eight of him in one go.

Wei Feng broke out in a cold sweat.

"Young master, please have a drink." Xunlu picked up the wine cup and held it to his lips.

Wei Feng forced a stiff smile, picked up the wine glass but didn't dare to drink. He caught a glimpse of the vines and flowers on Xun Lü's sleeve and guessed that it must be a flower spirit. Seeing that the other party was not friendly, he swallowed hard, gripped the wine glass tightly and drank it all in one gulp. In the instant the other party approached, he took out several of the most expensive talismans from his storage bag and hid them in his sleeve.

The wine was tainted with demonic energy. When he collapsed onto the couch, his vision went black and green in waves, and his brain felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Fortunately, the pain and itching in his bones were everywhere, which allowed him to barely stay sober and pretend to be friendly with the other party, for fear that he would lose his life if he said the wrong thing.

As Xun Lü tried to touch his dantian, Wei Feng's alarm bells went off instantly. He grabbed a fan to block her hand, gritted his teeth, and held her wrist back, forcing a smile as he said, "My future Daoist partner calls me 'my husband,' are you?"

He saw a flash of murderous intent in Xunlu's eyes.

When Xunlu questioned him about the whereabouts of the Divine Kite Shark Scale, Wei Feng finally realized that he had made a foolish decision—Xunlu Tower was simply using him as bait, making him bid on the Divine Kite Shark Scale and then seizing it at the next opportunity!

He thought he had guessed the truth, cursed himself for being an idiot, and hurriedly fled for his life. Fortunately, the talisman worked well, and his 10,000 high-grade spirit stones were not wasted, as they actually allowed him to escape.

A flower on a vine flashed past his eyes, and he jumped into the teleportation array.

Later, he saw a ball made of mermaid skin, contacted Xuan Zhiyan again, obtained the diagram of the companion ring, and then saw the hand wearing the companion ring in the carriage...

Later, he used that hand to kill Xunlu, and from then on, the vines and flowers disappeared from his memory.

*

Recalling the foolish things he did in his youth, Wei Feng's expression was indescribable.

He couldn't understand his own thoughts back then. For example, he spent so many spirit stones to go to the brothel to gather information, only to be used and deceived. Not only that, he went back to spend spirit stones just to vent his anger. He even thought he was perfectly in the right place, pretending to be a carefree regular customer, but in reality, he was full of loopholes and almost got killed by that flower spirit... He finally understood why Jiang Gu always looked at him with disdain and a complicated expression back then.

At that time, Wei Feng thought he was the smartest person in the world, but now Wei Feng just wants to go back and strangle himself.

He lowered his eyes to look at the patterns on the mirror scroll and frowned.

Jiaolong City is located near the water veins of the Chaolong Secret Realm. The flower demon named Xunlu was unremarkable; he could crush her with half a finger now. However, her vines appeared on the divine artifact Mirror Flower Scroll. If she really had a connection with the Wangyue Continent and was sent by Xiao Dan to hunt him down, why was her cultivation level so low?

With numerous contradictions and doubts, Wei Feng repeatedly recalled the events and finally grasped a glimmer of hope—what if the search for greenery and the gazing at the moon were unrelated?

"The Continent of Shenyao is far more chaotic than the Moonlit Plains and the Peaceful Marshland. Human cultivators are scarce there; demons, monsters, spirits, and rakshasas... any one of them can take a life."

'Wei Feng, that monster, must have come from over there...'

Wei Feng had forgotten when he heard these words, but they were now resurfacing in his mind.

What if Xun Lü is one of Shen Yao's people? Xiao Dan used the Mirror Flower Scroll to connect the water veins of Pingze and Shen Yao. Xun Lü entered Pingze's Flood Dragon City through these water veins to search for the Divine Kite Shark Scale. So, whose orders was she following? If the other party wanted the Divine Kite Shark Scale so much, why did they only send such a mediocre flower spirit? And why were the flower spirit's vines carved on such an important artifact as the Mirror Flower Scroll?

Wei Feng's thoughts were in a state of confusion, but he was also surprisingly excited. Forcing his way through the sealed passage was no longer an option. Since someone with Xun Lü's cultivation level could pass through the Mirror Flower Scroll, it meant there must be another way, but he hadn't thought of it yet.

The scroll of mirrored flowers contained many figures. Wei Feng had already memorized these figures by heart in his search for Jiang Gu. He was certain that Jiang Gu was not among them, but he still subconsciously glanced at them.

With just one glance, I could see the subtle difference.

"Who is it?!" His expression hardened, and mist filled his palm, from which he actually pulled out a weak primordial spirit.

When the opponent tried to escape, Wei Feng released the pressure of the Great Luo Realm, blocking all his escape routes and finally forcing him to reveal his true form.

“Song Shijun?” Wei Feng narrowed his eyes slowly, and in a flash he understood. “So that’s why I’ve been going through qi deviations so often lately. It turns out it was you who was behind this.”

Song Shijun was overwhelmed by Wei Feng's imposing presence and could hardly breathe. He hadn't expected Wei Feng to be so perceptive, even though he had been extremely cautious.

Wei Feng hated him to the core. He spared no effort in mobilizing the spiritual power in his body and the divine power in the Mirror Flower Scroll to firmly bind him inside the Mirror Flower Scroll. He looked down at Song Shijun, a flash of scarlet demonic energy passing through his eyes. He said slowly, "Lord Song, it's been a long time. Let's catch up."

Song Shijun's face turned ashen.

Unbeknownst to either of them, the spiritual and divine power that Wei Feng impulsively injected swept over the vines and flowers on the Mirror Flower Scroll, engulfing the various figures within the scroll, and crashed heavily against the solid barrier in the void, creating a tiny ripple.

The familiar spiritual energy, mixed with turbid air, pitifully rolled around on the barrier, and the person meditating in the void suddenly opened their eyes.