309: Jiang Donghua, who shocked the Northern Region?

Traveling within a spatial wormhole was far from the instantaneous thousand-mile journey one might imagine.

Although the spatial ship's speed was already extremely fast, Central State was simply too vast, and the Northern Region of Central State was even more boundless.

For the next month or so, nearly two months, Host: Jiang Donghua spent almost all his time in this monotonous and dull spatial transit.

Days seemed to stretch infinitely, yet also to fly by rapidly in repetition.

The itinerary became a fixed pattern: emerge from a city with a spatial wormhole, breathe a few gulps of fresh air on solid ground, and then immediately begin inquiring about the Hong Family's information.

However, the complexity of the Northern Region of Central State far exceeded his imagination.

Sects were numerous here, and large and small family powers were even more countless, intricately intertwined.

Merely knowing of a Hong Family, with a Dou Zong ancestor presiding over it, such a condition in the Northern Region of Central State was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

In this Northern Region of Central State, a place teeming with hidden masters, families and sects possessing Dou Zong, while considered a local power, were by no means rare.

Almost every time he arrived at a slightly larger city, he would hear of several powers with Dou Zong, but he never received any definite information about the Hong Family.

Time and again, he inquired with hope, and time and again, he received negative answers or vague clues.

Sometimes he heard that a certain Hong Family was not weak, and he would rush there excitedly, only to find that either the name sounded similar but was spelled differently, or the family's strength and characteristics were completely inconsistent with what Host: Jiang Donghua knew.

This kind of futile running around was the most draining on one's spirit.

And more often, time was spent within the oppressive and tedious wormhole space.

Around him was an eternal, profound darkness that seemed capable of devouring one's Soul Power, with only the faint silver light emitted by the spatial ship's runes illuminating a small area around the hull.

Occasionally, a tiny silver spatial rift would flash by in the distance like lightning, bringing a momentary burst of light, only to plunge back into deeper gloom.

Other than that, there was nothing else.

No sound, no wind, no alternation of day and night, only the continuous low hum of the spatial ship as it tore through space.

This extreme silence and monotony were enough to drive the faint-hearted mad.

Host: Jiang Donghua spent most of his time sitting cross-legged inside the ship, eyes closed in concentration, but not in deep cultivation, as he needed to split his attention to control the spatial ship.

He could only continuously pour the vast, ocean-like Dou Qi within his body, as if it were worthless, into the core runes of the spatial ship, urging it to fly in the predetermined direction at maximum speed.

The abundant Dou Qi within Host: Jiang Donghua's body became the sole power supporting this long journey. Only when he felt the Dou Qi flowing out like surging rivers could he faintly perceive that time was not completely still.

“At this rate, when will this end…”

Sometimes, Host: Jiang Donghua would also open his eyes, looking at the seemingly endless dark passage ahead, a trace of helplessness rising in his heart.

On this day, the spatial ship slowly emerged from the wormhole, arriving at an ancient city named Wanggu City.

This city was grand in scale, far surpassing most of the cities he had passed through before; its city walls were mottled, exuding a weighty sense of historical accumulation, clearly indicating it was an important transportation hub and information distribution center.

After days of continuous travel in the silent wormhole, Host: Jiang Donghua also felt somewhat stifled, so he decided to rest here briefly and inquire about information.

He strolled into a popular-looking restaurant in the city called Thunder Pavilion, sat in a corner by the window, ordered a few small dishes and a pot of clear wine. He appeared to be drinking by himself, but in reality, his powerful Soul Power had already quietly spread out, capturing the various noisy discussions in the hall.

Initially, most of it was ordinary information about secret realm explorations, sectarian conflicts, and pill auctions, which did not attract his attention.

He was just about to withdraw his consciousness and focus on the food in front of him when the loud discussions of several men at the next table, clearly dressed as mercenaries or rogue cultivators, exploded in his ears like thunder!

“Hey! Have you heard? Just a few days ago, something earth-shattering happened over in the Black Wind Mountain Range!”

A scar-faced man gulped down a mouthful of wine, lowering his voice slightly but unable to hide his excitement.

“Nonsense! Who in the entire Northern Region of Central State isn't talking about this now? You're talking about that madman named Jiang Donghua, right?”

Another lanky man interjected, his eyes full of astonishment and disbelief.

“Right! It's him! My goodness, with the strength of a Three-star Dou Zong, he actually dared to ambush the Xuanming Sect's team! That's the Xuanming Sect!”

The scar-faced man slapped his thigh.

“More than just dared! You haven't heard the detailed battle report! The Xuanming Sect's leader this time was their Second Elder, Chen Ming, an old monster at Peak Dou Zong!”

“The team also included Fifth Elder Black Serpent, with the strength of a Six-Star Dou Zong! It's said they even intentionally used the Twelfth Elder, who had just advanced to Dou Zong not long ago, as bait, hoping to catch a big fish, plus two other elders who hadn't revealed themselves yet.”

The lanky man clicked his tongue in wonder.

“And guess what? This Jiang Donghua is truly a ruthless man! He actually, right under the nose of old ghost Chen Ming, with the power of a Three-star Dou Zong, forcibly killed the Six-Star Dou Zong Black Serpent!”

“As for the Twelfth Elder who was used as bait, not even a speck of him was left! This battle was simply heaven-defying!”

A dark-faced man who had been silent all this time couldn't help but interject, his tone filled with awe.

“Yes, it's too terrifying. Challenging those of a higher rank is not uncommon, but to be able to forcibly kill a Six-Star Dou Zong in front of a Peak Dou Zong, even those highly praised prodigies from other first-rate families might not be able to achieve this step, right?”

“The name Jiang Donghua has now completely resounded throughout the entire Northern Region of Central State!”

The scar-faced man nodded, then lowered his voice again, with a hint of schadenfreude and regret.

“His reputation has been established, but he has also completely offended the Xuanming Sect to death.”

“I heard that although he successfully killed his target, he himself suffered extremely severe injuries and finally barely escaped by using some secret technique.”

“The Xuanming Sect has already issued a kill order, mobilizing all its forces to track him down.”

“Alas, it's a pity for such a monstrous talent; he'll probably be caught sooner or later, and once he falls into the Xuanming Sect's hands, he'll definitely die a horrible death!”

The few men sighed for a while, and the topic then shifted to how the Xuanming Sect would retaliate.

In the corner, Host: Jiang Donghua's hand, holding the wine cup, hung in mid-air. His expression seemed calm, but his pupils slightly contracted, and his heart had already surged with tumultuous waves!

Jiang Donghua?

Three-star Dou Zong?

Ambushing the Xuanming Sect? Killing a Six-Star Dou Zong? Severely injured and escaping?

Every piece of information was like a heavy hammer, fiercely striking his mind!

He was very certain that for the past month or so, he had been constantly on the road, traveling through spatial wormholes and inquiring about information; there was absolutely no way he could have gone to the Black Wind Mountain Range to do any ambushing!

[Host: Jiang Donghua]

[Realm: Three-star Dou Zong (2400/3000)]

[Main Cultivation Art: Purple Fire Illusory Spirit Art (Earth Rank High Tier)]

[Idle Income]

Clone 1: 3 points/hour

Clone 2: 3 points/hour

Clone 3: 3 points/hour

Clone 4: 3 points/hour

Clone 5: 3 points/hour

Clone 6: 3 points/hour

Clone 7: 3 points/hour

Clone 8: 3 points/hour

[Current Total Income: 24 points/hour]

So, who exactly was this Jiang Donghua, who was causing such a stir in the Northern Region of Central State, possessed formidable strength, and had a name identical to his own?

Was it a coincidence? Was it a namesake?

Or was someone deliberately impersonating him?

And his strength was exactly the same as his own at this time?