chsdbacks Chapter 138: Exhausted
Chapter 138: Exhausted
"This map is so detailed!"
Mo Tianhe stroked his chin, discerning some clues from the map.
During this time, he fought on the front lines against demons and communicated with many high-ranking officials of the Demon Extermination Bureau. Some of them knew about the Heaven and Earth Seal of the former Wei and Zhao territory.
Those people, more or less, harbored the idea of escaping this place and heading out to the vast world. As Dao Yuanzi's personal disciple, he was forcibly dragged to identify many maps.
However, I have never seen such a detailed map record before.
Mo Tianhe was referring to details not in the overall map drawing, but in the exploration of the border regions. The map marked routes that the Demon Extermination Bureau had never explored before, yet it also marked many iconic landmarks.
He looked thoughtful. "This map looks like it was half-explored by predecessors, and it's more advanced than any route we're currently on. Who produced it?"
Dao Yuanzi spoke up, "Have you heard of Zhang Ping? This map should have come from him."
Zhang Ping's appearance had already been recorded in the files of the Demon Extermination Bureau, and Dao Yuanzi was also very concerned about this suddenly emerging peerless genius.
"Zhang Ping?"
Mo Tianhe and Chu Hanwei spoke at the same time, their expressions different.
Mo Tianhe's tone was filled with admiration: "I always heard Master say that one should not underestimate the heroes of the world, but I didn't believe it then. Now, this Zhang Ping has made me believe it!"
A martial artist in his early twenties at the Marrow Transformation Realm, whose blood and qi also possess fire-attribute characteristics. In the Demon Extermination Bureau's files, he has been classified as a genius who has received the inheritance of an outsider.
As for Chu Hanwei standing to the side, her expression was somewhat complicated.
A few days ago, when she came out of quarantine and accidentally learned about Zhang Ping, she could hardly believe her eyes.
After the battle at Lingchuan, Chu Hanwei had always suspected that the figure who cleaved through the demon realm was Zhang Ping. However, although she had suspicions at the time, she lacked evidence and kept them to herself.
Later, after receiving the inheritance of the Yangming Divine Sword, he put the matter aside for the time being. In Chu Hanwei's opinion, Zhang Ping might have been hiding his strength, but at most he was at the Bone Forging Realm, and it couldn't be higher.
Unexpectedly, the opponent was actually at the Marrow Marrow Realm!
"Perhaps, at that time, his cultivation had already reached this level. But..." Chu Hanwei's mind was in turmoil, sometimes thinking about Zhang Ping's cultivation, and sometimes recalling the background of Zhang Ping that she had learned when she investigated the Wuxiang Soul.
And then there was that probe in Songping County.
Reason told her that Zhang Ping might have leaped from an ordinary person with no cultivation to a master of the Marrow Infusion Realm in just over a year; but based on her knowledge of cultivation, she found it somewhat unbelievable.
He himself gained the recognition of the Yangming Divine Sword and accepted its power; but what about Zhang Ping? What extraordinary encounters did he have?
Beside him, Mo Tianhe was already studying the map intently. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Chu Hanwei still lost in thought and called out:
"Junior Sister Chu, why don't we take a look at the map together?"
Chu Hanwei snapped out of her reverie and shook her head in refusal: "No, I'm not familiar with geography."
Upon hearing this, a hint of disappointment flashed in Mo Tianhe's eyes.
Although they had different teachers, they both came from the same lineage as Wang Tian. Therefore, they addressed each other as senior and junior brothers and sisters.
......
Inside the city of Chu,
High walls and large courtyards, the flowers and plants in the secluded courtyards have not yet fully bloomed.
Lu Wanrou brought over a plate of tea and snacks and sat down next to Fu Huiying.
"Sister Fu, please have some tea and snacks."
"Okay." Fu Huiying put down the map in her hand and rubbed her tired temples.
"Sister Fu, didn't we already hand the map over to the Demon Extermination Bureau to look for clues? We can't see much more just by looking at this map. Why don't we go and look through those biographical books?" Lu Wanrou suggested, taking a small bite of a long tea snack.
"Hmm, I looked through too many different things before and couldn't find any relevant records. This time, let's start with biographies related to Kitahara." Fu Huiying pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.
After discovering the map's value, the two consulted numerous books and ultimately confirmed that the map was very likely an exploration route to leave the former territory of Wei and Zhao.
However, since it was an ancient map that had been passed down for countless years, its accuracy could not be guaranteed. Therefore, Fu Huiying boldly decided to send a copy to the Demon Extermination Bureau headquarters through the King of Chu Nan.
Send the Demon Extermination Bureau to explore. If the map is valuable enough, the Demon Extermination Bureau will certainly not overlook this possible route.
They also revealed their relationship with Zhang Ping, implying that the map originated from him. This way, even if the Demon Extermination Bureau had designs on the original map, they wouldn't dare to seize it easily.
......
the other side,
Zhang Ping enjoyed himself for five days and five nights in the Western Poison Forest. In the end, even with his extraordinary talent and the power of the beast patterns, he still felt a bit tired.
Lying on the thick branches of the Dragon Spirit Tree, Zhang Ping's hands hung limply at his sides.
He had some dark circles under his eyes: "This is only a little over a thousand. There are tens of thousands of female demons in the entire Dragon Mountain. It seems we can't possibly visit them all."
"These useless donkey whip marks seem like they need to be replaced with something stronger when the opportunity arises..."
The warm breeze from high above brushed against Zhang Ping's cheeks; a rest after a long day is always especially pleasant.
Zhang Ping comfortably squinted his eyes and lay sprawled out.
After a while, I suddenly felt a tickle on the tip of my nose.
I groggily opened my eyes, and a puffed-up little face filled my entire field of vision.
Snapped--
"Ouch—"
Two soft buttocks slammed onto Zhang Ping's stomach with a thud, making him instinctively cry out.
"Mu Xiaoya! What are you doing?" He reached out to pull the mischievous girl off him.
But Mu Xiaoya reached out and slapped his hand away. Then, she grabbed Zhang Ping's cheek with her small hand and said fiercely, "Zhang Ping, you're so mean! You finally came back and didn't even want to play with me!"
"You're still avoiding me!"
"Tell me! What have you and the other female demons been secretly doing these past few days?!"
Mu Xiaoya showed her little tiger teeth, as if she was about to take a bite.
The dappled sunlight cast shadows, making a few strands of hair sticking up on her head sway unsteadily.
Zhang Ping was speechless for a moment, his eyes darting around, unsure of what excuse to come up with.
"I...they..."
"snort!"
Mu Xiaoya was not easily fooled. Zhang Ping had originally planned to leave today, but he was dragged out for another three days.
Three days later,
The flat land atop Longshan Mountain.
Zhang Ping, carrying a cube-shaped wooden box with sides measuring ten meters long, flew away amidst the waving of the female demons.
Inside the wooden box were three kinds of demon materials, along with the matching materials he had collected in the Western Poison Forest for branding beast patterns, and some miscellaneous items that Muya had stuffed in.
The materials are incomplete. To gather them all, we'll have to return to the Great Wei to search for them.
......
Traveling day and night, under the stars and moon.
More than a month later, Zhang Ping finally returned to the Chu King's City.
He flew over the city carrying a huge box, and the warriors below gasped in amazement.
"What a huge box! Flying in the sky!"
"Idiot! That's a powerful expert at the Marrow Transformation Realm supporting it with their qi and blood! Get your dog eyes off it now!"
Inside the Prince's residence, the Prince of Chu Nan sensed a powerful aura approaching. His expression changed, and he immediately leaped onto the roof to investigate. Upon seeing the newcomer, he burst into laughter:
"Haha! So it's my young friend Zhang returning! No wonder the magpies were chirping so incessantly on the branches today!"