247: The whereabouts of the followers of the Four Elephants Divine Martial Sect

Mirror Moon City, as one of the cities in Star Luo Province,

is subordinate to the Mo Yu Trading Company.

At this moment, in a teahouse in Mirror Moon City, Xiao Shi took a sip of the steaming tea in his cup, feeling emotional.

“This Mo Yu Trading Company is truly not simple…”

It had been three days since he entered Star Luo Province.

In these three days, he gained a deeper understanding of Mirror Moon City and the Mo Yu Trading Company behind it.

He discovered that the Mo Yu Trading Company was not just a conventional trading company that only engaged in buying and selling.

It also encompassed various services such as employment, escort, inquiry, and apprehension.

The Mo Yu Trading Company had many powerful experts and a good reputation.

However, their fees were on the expensive side.

What caught Xiao Shi's attention the most was the intelligence system of the Mo Yu Trading Company.

Although all major forces had their own intelligence systems,

within the entire Star Luo Province,

the Mo Yu Trading Company's intelligence system was definitely one of the best.

It was precisely because of their powerful intelligence system

that the Mo Yu Trading Company's 'inquiry' business was very popular.

If one wanted to inquire about a certain person, a certain force, or some secret information in Star Luo Province, most people would immediately think of approaching the Mo Yu Trading Company.

Of course,

the Mo Yu Trading Company's intelligence system was only relatively powerful in Star Luo Province.

It certainly couldn't compare to Tianji Hall, a terrifying organization that spanned the entire Tianwu Continent.

And even with the Mo Yu Trading Company's powerful intelligence system,

it would surely not know the whereabouts of the Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members hidden in Star Luo Province. Otherwise, the Star Luo Lord would have long since used the Mo Yu Trading Company to capture all the hidden Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members in one fell swoop.

Therefore, Xiao Shi had no intention of asking the Mo Yu Trading Company about the whereabouts of the Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members.

That would only expose himself.

It would not be worth the trouble.

What Xiao Shi was primarily wary of now

was not being discovered by the Mo Yu Trading Company's intelligence system about his true identity and strength.

“The Tianji Hall's intelligence system primarily originates from the omnipresent Eye of Heavenly Secrets. One could say that everything in the world is under the Eye of Heavenly Secrets's scrutiny.”

“And the Mo Yu Trading Company's intelligence system certainly isn't that powerful…”

“Their intelligence system should come from Martial Soul Realm Experts in the Soul Consciousness Stage.”

Xiao Shi analyzed in his mind.

Experts with Soul Consciousness were often terrifying in intelligence gathering.

As long as they covered an area with their Soul Consciousness,

they could know everything that happened within that area.

Of course,

the Soul Consciousness coverage of these Soul Consciousness Experts also had a time limit and could not cover an area for a long time.

Especially if it was detailed enough to control the micro-expressions of every person in that area… then the duration would be even shorter.

In other words,

the larger the area covered by Soul Consciousness, and the more detailed the investigation of affairs within the area, the more astonishing the consumption of Soul Consciousness would be.

Therefore, even these Soul Consciousness Experts in the cities could not completely monitor the entire city.

They could only use Soul Consciousness to scan and investigate when outsiders entered the city.

It was impossible to monitor all movements of the entire city.

But once a battle or some abnormal situation occurred in the city,

their Soul Consciousness would inevitably arrive at the first moment.

This made Xiao Shi realize

that his most likely point of exposure was combat.

The biggest difference between Star Luo Province and Tian Dou Province

was that in Tian Dou Province, he could scheme against people and assassinate them.

But in Star Luo Province, that was definitely not feasible.

As soon as he made a move,

the Soul Consciousness of those Soul Consciousness Experts would immediately sweep over.

“Unless…”

“I also possess Soul Consciousness!”

“And directly perform long-range elimination through Soul Consciousness!”

“This way, I can perfectly evade the Soul Consciousness detection of others.”

Xiao Shi thought to himself.

Especially since he also had the Heavenly Rank Soul Consciousness technique, Dark Eye Spy.

This allowed his own Soul Consciousness to be undetectable by others.

Even those with higher cultivation than himself would find it difficult to detect his Soul Consciousness.

Assassinating with Soul Consciousness

was the most covert assassination method for him!

The only drawback

was that after the assassination, he might not be able to retrieve the dropped items immediately.

However, as long as he didn't pick up the items dropped after the kill,

the items would always remain in a state invisible to others.

When no one was paying attention,

he could then go to the kill site and take the items.

This was the most suitable killing method Xiao Shi had thought of, based on the current situation in Star Luo Province.

However, he would have to wait until he broke through to the Martial Soul Realm and advanced to the Soul Consciousness Stage before he could implement it.

Before that,

he needed to lie low for a while.

“Now, I'm just waiting for news from Wu Muzhen…”

Xiao Shi picked up his teacup, drank all the tea, and then left the teahouse… Two days later.

In Heavenly Secret City.

“Hall Master, I've found it!”

Wu Muzhen said respectfully.

These days, in order to accumulate enough energy to investigate the whereabouts of the Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members, he had gathered a lot of intelligence.

Through the energy converted from this intelligence,

he finally saw the whereabouts of the Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members with the Eye of Heavenly Secrets.

“Speak!”

Xiao Shi's heart was burning with eagerness.

Yet, his words were calm,

preventing Wu Muzhen from sensing his true emotions.

“According to my investigation, the Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members currently in Star Luo Province are led by a person named Xiang Zizhen.”

“Of course, Xiang Zizhen is his real name; his name outside is Chu Zheng.”

“This person's background is not simple.”

“Behind him is a Paladin who was left outside and fortunately escaped the purge back then, but this Paladin is not currently in Star Luo Province.”

“As his disciple, this Xiang Zizhen is equivalent to the Paladin of this generation.”

Xiao Shi's eyes narrowed slightly at this.

He knew very well what a Paladin signified.

Although the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect was primarily based on the four symbols of 'Evil Ghost,' 'Crimson Tiger,' 'Mountain God,' and 'Dream Witch,'

above the four symbols, there was also the Paladin!

There were a total of five Paladins in the Paladin.

They were the five major disciples of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Leader.

It could be said that apart from the Sect Leader of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect,

the five Paladins were the most powerful.

All four symbols were under their jurisdiction.

As the Paladin of this generation, Xiang Zizhen naturally had the qualifications to lead the current Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members.

“This Xiang Zizhen has good abilities. Under his leadership, these Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members in Star Luo Province are well hidden and have never been exposed.”

“At the same time, he is also one of the commanders of the Star Luo Army!”

Wu Muzhen said.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Shi's heart trembled.

Good heavens!

Under normal circumstances, the Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members would want to stay far away from the Star Luo Lord to avoid having their identities discovered by him.

This fellow, however, had become part of the Star Luo Army.

He was right under the Star Luo Lord's nose.

Without a certain amount of courage and confidence in his disguise abilities, he would certainly not dare to do this.

“Besides Xiang Zizhen, there are currently a total of Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members in Star Luo Province.”

“Among them, three are from the Mountain God Branch, two are from the Dream Witch Lineage, one is from the Crimson Tiger Lineage, and one is from the Evil Ghost Branch.”

“These Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members are hidden among various forces in Star Luo Province.”

“They normally do not meet in Star Luo Province, having no interaction with each other. Their method of contact is through the dreams of the Dream Witch Lineage, meeting in dreams.”

Wu Muzhen told Xiao Shi all the information he had discovered.

Meeting in dreams?

Xiao Shi was somewhat surprised.

This was an ability he had never encountered before.

No wonder they were so well hidden in Star Luo Province.

“What about their cultivation levels?”

Xiao Shi asked.

“Xiang Zizhen has just reached the Martial Demon Realm, and the other Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members are still in the Martial Soul Realm.”

Wu Muzhen said,

and provided Xiao Shi with all the detailed information about these Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members, including their names, identities, and the forces they currently belonged to.

It must be said

that the information Wu Muzhen had uncovered was far more extensive than Xiao Shi had imagined.

It was no wonder that the investigation required such an enormous amount of energy.

“In other words…”

“Currently, there are a total of eight Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members in Star Luo Province.”

“The strongest is in the Martial Demon Realm, and the weakest is in the Martial Soul Realm, specifically the Soul Consciousness Stage of the Martial Soul Realm…”

This number was actually fewer than Xiao Shi had anticipated before arriving.

However, upon closer thought,

the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members who dared to stay in Star Luo Province must all be quite capable.

Others from the Red Tiger Sect, for example, would certainly not be able to come to Star Luo Province.

Coming would be a pure act of self-sacrifice.

The fact that these eight Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members could safely hide in Star Luo Province without any flaws clearly indicated that they were not simple.

After gaining some understanding of these eight individuals' information,

Xiao Shi began to ponder how he should approach them… He knew

that to obtain the subsequent cultivation methods of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect and to learn more information related to the Great Wu Dynasty,

he would definitely have to join them.

And from the current intelligence, it seemed

that if he wanted to join them, he would certainly need Xiang Zizhen, as the leader, to agree.

However, Xiang Zizhen's identity as a Star Luo Army commander made him extremely difficult to approach,

and the risk was immense.

Xiao Shi felt it would be best to first approach the other Seven Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect Members, and then, through them, gain Xiang Zizhen's recognition to join them.

“I don't need to approach all seven of them simultaneously; I only need to choose one of them.”

Xiao Shi's primary inclination was naturally to approach the Crimson Tiger Lineage member among the seven.

As a member of the Crimson Tiger Lineage, this person had successfully cultivated to the Martial Soul Realm. As long as he gained the other party's approval, he would presumably be able to immediately obtain the subsequent cultivation methods from them.

According to the information provided by Wu Muzhen,

Xiao Shi learned that this person's name was Qin Mo, and he did not use a false name, but presented himself with his true name.

He was currently an Elder in Thousand Weapons Mountain.

If he were to approach this person, Xiao Shi mused that he would have to travel to Thousand Weapons Mountain.

It would be best if he could join Thousand Weapons Mountain.

Then, he would only need to find an opportunity to reveal his Crimson Tiger Blood Source in front of the other party, and the other party would surely know that he was from the Crimson Tiger Lineage.

Thinking of this,

Xiao Shi immediately began to gather information about Thousand Weapons Mountain.

Thousand Weapons Mountain, like the Mo Yu Trading Company, was a powerful third-tier force in Star Luo Province.

Typically, such third-tier forces had Martial Demon Realm Experts overseeing them.

Furthermore, their forces were not lacking in numerous Martial Soul Realm Experts.

According to the information Xiao Shi had gathered,

Thousand Weapons Mountain specialized in weapons.

They not only possessed the ability to forge divine weapons but also had the powerful ability to activate the power of divine weapons and unleash their full potential.

This was a force with formidable combat power, not to be underestimated.

“Although my current disguised identity is an elderly Blood Martial Realm Expert, it shouldn't be difficult to join Thousand Weapons Mountain…”

“It's just that they won't consider me a disciple with potential, but rather treat me as an ordinary disciple.”

If this were Tian Dou Province,

a Blood Martial Realm Expert like him, even if he was old, would definitely be vied for by various forces.

He would immediately attain a high position upon joining.

But in Star Luo Province,

Blood Martial Realm Experts could only be considered middle to lower-tier within these forces.

After making his decision,

Xiao Shi arrived at the Mirror Moon City's airship port that day, preparing to take an airship to Thousand Weapons Mountain.

Thousand Weapons Mountain was located in the northern part of Star Luo Province.

It was quite a distance from Mirror Moon City.

Even by airship, it would take three days.

Thus,

when Xiao Shi arrived at Thousand Weapons Mountain by airship, it was already evening three days later.

Under the dim twilight sky,

an immensely vast mountain peak appeared in Xiao Shi's sight.

This mountain peak was so enormous that, compared to it, Xiao Shi was like a grain of sand. Even ordinary people without cultivation would be unable to see the entire peak if they looked up.

It stood on the earth, its summit touching the sky.

Though a mountain peak, it was shaped like an inverted weapon.

The peak was the hilt of the weapon.

The downward-sloping part was the blade.

It looked like a sword, but upon closer inspection, it seemed like a saber. And if one looked longer, they would find it becoming a spear, then transforming into a battle-axe… It seemed its form constantly changed with observation.

This mountain peak alone already demonstrated Thousand Weapons Mountain's extraordinary skill in weaponry.

At this time, besides Xiao Shi, there were also a few other people who intended to join Thousand Weapons Mountain.

However, their cultivation levels were all in the Qi Martial Realm and Entering Martial Realm.

Only Xiao Shi was in the Blood Martial Realm.

When they arrived outside the Thousand Weapons Mountain gate,

a glowing blue longsword appeared out of thin air, hovering before them.

A slender young man stood on the sword, looking down at them from above.

“Very impressive…”

Xiao Shi looked at the young man in front of him.

Although this person was only in the Qi Martial Realm,

his aura showed no signs of weakening in the slightest due to the arrival of a Blood Martial Realm Expert like him.

The young man looked down at Xiao Shi and the others, first at those in the Entering Martial Realm.

He said indifferently,

“If you wish to join our Thousand Weapons Mountain, you must undergo a talent assessment. Only if your talent is deemed qualified can you become a part of our Thousand Weapons Mountain.”

“As for you…”

He looked at Xiao Shi and the other Qi Martial Realm Experts.

“Since you did not lay your foundations with our Thousand Weapons Mountain's cultivation methods, if you wish to join us, you must master a weapon technique. After assessment, if you are qualified, you may join our Thousand Weapons Mountain.”