213: Chapter 212 Another Plot

Chen Zilong sighed and lowered his voice, his face showing a mixture of lingering fear and anger.

"To be honest, Miss Su, some lowlife did indeed sneak in last night, but I scared them off. However, this matter is suspicious; I suspect... they weren't ordinary thieves."

He paused and looked directly at Su Wan. "Miss Su, you mentioned yesterday that you saw someone suspected to be from the Xuan Yin Sect. Do you... remember the specific appearances or characteristics of those two? I must get to the bottom of this!"

This performance of his was seven parts truth and three parts falsehood.

The attack last night was real, and his suspicion of the Xuan Yin Sect was real, but the 'investigative' intent and slightly lowered guard he displayed now were intentionally shown for Su Wan's benefit.

He wanted to see how she would respond.

A flicker of something extremely hard to detect flashed in Su Wan's eyes, so fast it seemed like an illusion.

She furrowed her elegant brows, putting on an act of trying to remember.

"There were many people then, and I only caught a glimpse... Both were wearing grey short tunics, looking like ordinary rogue cultivators. But their aura... one was leaning towards Yin-cold, and the other's footsteps were floaty yet contained a certain rhythm, very much like the foundation of the Xuan Yin Sect's 'Nine Nether Steps'. Oh right, one of them seemed to have a small piece of his left earlobe missing."

Her description was quite specific, even providing details.

Chen Zilong's internal sneer grew even stronger.

The more specific the description, the more suspicious it became.

Could a mere glimpse allow someone to remember cultivation technique characteristics and earlobe details?

On the surface, however, he showed a look of gratitude and seriousness.

"A missing earlobe... Thank you, Miss Su! This clue is very important."

He hesitated for a moment, as if making a firm decision, and lowered his voice even further. "Miss Su, to be honest, I have some old grievances with the Xuan Yin Sect. This trip to Pill City is also to seek a way to resolve them. Now it seems they don't intend to let me arrive safely. You have warned me repeatedly, and This humble Chen is deeply grateful. I wonder... are you familiar with Pill City? Could you offer some guidance? Once in Pill City, where can I find reliable protection or... a master who can complete a pill formula?"

He was further leading the conversation, throwing out the 'pill formula' as bait to see if she would bite.

Hearing this, Su Wan showed a look of sympathy and understanding. She pondered for a moment and said:

"I do go to Pill City often and have some connections. If you trust me, Fellow Daoist, once we reach Pill City, I can introduce you to an alchemist named Wu at the Hundred Herbs Pavilion. He has an eccentric temperament but superb skills, especially in studying obscure ancient formulas. Perhaps he can help. As for protection... private fighting is strictly forbidden within Pill City, with Tiangong Pavilion and the Pill Pagoda jointly maintaining order. As long as you enter the city, they shouldn't dare to act out in public. But in private... one still needs to be extremely careful."

Hundred Herbs Pavilion?

An alchemist named Wu?

Chen Zilong noted the name; whether true or false, it was a lead.

He cupped his hands and said:

"In that case, I thank Miss Su in advance. I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you once we reach Pill City."

"You're too kind, Fellow Daoist. We're just looking out for each other."

Su Wan smiled gently and picked up her teacup, masking the deeper look in her eyes.

This seemingly ordinary tea room conversation was actually filled with undercurrents.

Chen Zilong was testing her, and was Su Wan not also responding and counter-testing?

Both wore masks, walking carefully on the blade of words.

The next two days of the voyage were calm on the surface.

There were no more night attacks by assassins, and the deacons' patrols gradually returned to normal.

But Chen Zilong could feel that the sensation of being watched had not disappeared; it had only become more hidden, intermittent, as if concealed within the chaotic auras of the many passengers, making it elusive.

He knew that the silence before the storm was often the most oppressive.

Su Wan would occasionally 'chance upon' him, chatting about Pill City's scenery and cultivation experiences. She no longer mentioned the Xuan Yin Sect, as if that night's warning and the tea room conversation had never happened.

Chen Zilong was happy to cooperate, playing the role of an injured cultivator who was gradually lowering his guard and was anxious to find a solution.

Only one day of the voyage remained before reaching Pill City.

At dusk, the cloud boat broadcasted an announcement that they would arrive at Pill City's skyport tomorrow at the hour of Chen, reminding passengers to be prepared.

As night fell, Chen Zilong had no desire to sleep.

He had a strong premonition that this final night would definitely not be peaceful.

If the Xuan Yin Sect was going to act on the ship, this was their last chance.

And the power behind Su Wan might also make a move.

He checked all the equipment on his person:

The overlord cauldron, the five thunders armor, the Vajra Puppet talisman, as well as several insidious Dharma treasures and talismans.

He then pressed the jade slip containing the incomplete 'spirit purifying soul calming powder' formula to his forehead, carefully pondering the vague descriptions within once more.

"soul source... the place where extreme Yin and extreme Yang converge, gathering and dispersing without constancy, appearing both illusory and real..." he muttered to himself. Suddenly, it was as if a bolt of lightning flashed through his mind!

Gathering and dispersing without constancy, appearing both illusory and real...

After his nascent soul was damaged, his perception of his own soul and external soul power had become exceptionally keen.

Chewing over this sentence repeatedly now, combined with that special detection fluctuation he had sensed several times before...

Didn't that fluctuation possess a kind of 'illusory yet real' quality, as if it could penetrate Restrictions and mark a soul?

A bold conjecture that made his heart race emerged:

Could the Xuan Yin Sect's means of tracking him, or even that 'soul source' object, be related to some special 'soul power marking' or 'soul path technique'?

Their ability to find him so precisely might not rely entirely on human eyes and ears, but rather on some secret technique involving the soul level that he didn't understand!

If that were truly the case...

And 'spirit purifying soul calming powder' required a 'soul source' as a catalyst, did it mean the refinement principle of this pill itself involved profound soul path restoration, or perhaps even...

Shared the same origin as the Xuan Yin Sect's tracking technique, or acted as its counter?

This thought filled him with both alarm and fear, but also gave rise to a faint glimmer of hope.

Perhaps the key to completing the pill formula was nowhere else but with the Xuan Yin Sect itself?

Just as his emotions were surging, a sudden change occurred!

It didn't come from outside the door, nor from the hallway.

But from—overhead!

"BOOM!!!"

A muffled, thunderous roar accompanied by a violent vibration came from the upper deck of the cloud boat!

The entire hull jolted and tilted to one side, and unfastened items in the cabin crashed to the floor!

Piercing alarms instantly resounded throughout the ship, red lights flashing frantically!

"Enemy attack! There's an enemy attack! All passengers stay in your cabins, do not go out!"

The urgent roar of a deacon came through the amplification formation, but his voice carried a hint of ill-concealed panic.

Chen Zilong steadied himself the moment the ship tilted, his expression changing drastically.

This wasn't an internal assassination; this was an attack from the outside!

Who would dare to attack Tiangong Pavilion's giant cloud boat at such a high altitude?!

He lunged to the porthole and looked out through the glass.

In the dark night sky, three small but ferocious-looking, pitch-black shuttle-shaped flying vessels had appeared at some point, surrounding the 'soaring heavens' in a triangular formation!

The thunderous roar from just now was the aftershock of a massive dark-red light beam fired from the bow of one of the black vessels, slamming hard against the 'soaring heavens's' defensive barrier!

The defensive barrier rippled violently, flickering unstable, clearly under immense pressure.

There were no markings on the hulls of those three black vessels, but the sinister, overbearing, and predatory spiritual power fluctuations could be clearly felt even from this distance.

"Are they... air pirates?! No, that's not right!"

Chen Zilong immediately dismissed the thought.

How could ordinary air pirates have the guts or the heavy firepower to attack a Tiangong Pavilion cloud boat?

Moreover, the timing of this attack was perfectly set on the last day of the voyage, neither too far from nor too close to Pill City...

Was it for him?

Or...

Was there another scheme?

He instantly thought of Su Wan, the small door where she had her late-night meeting, and that obscure, cold aura in the front of the middle deck...

A more terrifying thought emerged:

Could the Xuan Yin Sect, in order to kill him or for something on his person, have gone so far as to collude with or masquerade as bandits to directly attack the cloud boat and create chaos?!

"Crazy... these lunatics!" Chen Zilong gritted his teeth.

If that were the case, then the enemy was determined to drag everyone on the ship down with them just to kill or abduct him in the chaos!