After returning to the Canglang Sect, Mo Hua lay on the soft and luxurious bed, his mind unable to calm for a long time.
It was a while before he could temporarily push aside the dayâs sights and start thinking about matters of the Canglang Sect.
First, there was Elder Ji from earlier today.
This Elder Ji was surely the Canglang Sectâs professional procuress, skilled at using sweet talk to entice and corrupt people.
But what Mo Hua cared about was something else.
There was a deep scar on Elder Jiâs chest.
Initially, Mo Hua didnât pay it much mind.
Itâs normal for a cultivator to have scars, especially in a sect like Canglang Sect, where such conduct is "improper" and conflicts are inevitable.
But later, Mo Hua realized something was off.
He actually detected a hint of familiar energy from that wound.
Taking advantage of the mixed energies at the Golden Gambling House, where peopleâs desires were stirred, Mo Hua did a bit of extrapolation.
In that instant, Big Black Mountain flashed in his mind.
Some black-and-white, broken, intermittent images appeared one after another.
It seemed like a cultivator was hunting a monster beast.
The monster beast roared, tearing open a cultivatorâs chest.
Then, the sound of anger erupted, and a more intense battle ensued...
Mo Hua showed no reaction at the time, but as he recalled it now, his heart was slightly startled.
"Was the scar on Elder Jiâs chest left by my Big Tiger?"
"Did the Canglang Sect... capture my Big Tiger?"
"Why?"
Mo Hua frowned, sensing something was amiss.
And... the timing doesnât match up either...
The Canglang Sect Leaderâs invitation for him to join the Canglang Sect in Tongxian City happened one or two months ago.
But the capture of the Big Tiger occurred a year prior.
If it truly was Elder Ji of the Canglang Sect who captured or hunted the Big Tiger.
That would mean that a year ago, the Canglang Sect had already set their claws on Tongxian City.
Perhaps even sooner.
Precisely because the Canglang Sect had their eyes and ears in Tongxian City for some time.
Thus, when he returned to Tongxian City after completing his studies at the Taixu Gate, and just as his reputation began spreading, the Canglang Sect, which was previously "isolated" by Big Black Mountain, came knocking.
Mo Hua suddenly understood.
This explains everything.
"But why would the Canglang Sect want to involve itself in Tongxian City?"
"Because Tongxian City is prosperous and lucrative?"
In Canglang State, the Canglang Sect is a "big fish", dominating on its own, having devoured almost all the surrounding small fish and shrimp now.
To continue growing, naturally, it needs to expand towards farther, wealthier places like Tongxian City.
Siphon Tongxian Cityâs resources.
In this way, the Canglang Sect can further strengthen itself.
Mo Hua pondered deeply. .
The "wolfâs" nature is to eat meat; this explanation is reasonable, yet he vaguely felt there were even deeper plots within the Canglang Sect.
And thereâs also something else Mo Hua found curious.
That was the death of Elder Sun and that young man in a wolf robe.
One was a senior elder of a Third Grade Sect, the other was even the Sect Leaderâs own nephew, logically, if they died, or even disappeared, it would cause an uproar within the Canglang Sect.
Yet now, two days have passed since their death, why is there no news at all within the Canglang Sect?
Itâs as if this incident never occurred?
Are these two impostors, not actual elders of the Canglang Sect?
Or is it perhaps that the Canglang Sect is so vast that the death of two elders is insignificant, and no one cares at all?
"That canât be..."
Mo Huaâs gaze deepened, finding the situation quite peculiar.
The whereabouts of Big Tiger...
The wolf howls within the Canglang Sect...
And the deaths of these two elders...
"This Canglang Sect truly has many strange things going on..."
Mo Hua murmured softly.
...
In the Canglang Sect, in some luxurious secret room, wolf heads hung everywhere.
A massive Canglang pelt covered the central seat.
The Canglang Sect Leader sat atop the wolf pelt.
Opposite him, Elder Ji reported honestly:
"This kid is indeed a âfreakâ; he doesnât like women, whether pure, alluring, mature, naive, plump, or slim, none interest him..."
"Those eyes of his, ethereal and profound, look at these graceful women as if looking at a pile of bones, without a ripple."
"He doesnât like men either."
"He doesnât like gambling either; when he won, he wasnât happy, and when he lost, he became angry."
"He finds other entertainments boring too, he seems affectionate but is indifferent, seems desirous but is unambitious..."
Elder Ji appeared perplexed, "Could the rumors in Tongxian City be true, that he is an immortal child reincarnated?"
The Canglang Sect Leader sneered, "Ignorant loose cultivators in small places, narrow-minded, believe any hearsay, and whenever a genius appears, they praise him, thinking he is some reincarnation of an immortal?"
"They fail to realize that in the vast Nine State, geniuses are as numerous as fish crossing the river. A genius from a small place, when placed in the Great Province Boundary, might be merely average."
"If this Mo kid is a âreincarnated immortal childâ, then wouldnât all the prodigies in the Fifth Grade State be immortal beings descended? How could there be so many immortals in the world?"
Elder Ji pondered, "Thatâs true enough..."
He glanced again at the Canglang Sect Leader, curiously asking: "So is this kid all appearance?"
The Canglang Sect Leader shook his head, "Iâve said before, even if heâs struggled elsewhere and had to return to this tiny place in Li State disgraced, heâs still someone who has been outside and seen the world."
"Even a little bit of inheritance from a Fifth-grade Major Sect would be enough to benefit our Canglang Sect immensely."
"Furthermore, this kid may be famed more in name than in reality, but that doesnât mean he has no ability at all."