Chapter 20, Mu Clan’s Compensation and Return to the Clan

Translator: Raznick

 

The story split into two threads.

 

As the middle-aged man chose to pursue Zhou Chun, Mu Ziying was safe.

 

She knew the situation was urgent. While her heart remained concerned for the Mu Clan cultivators and Zhou Chun’s safety, she spurred her mount forward at full gallop, heading straight for the Green Cloud Mountains.

 

After changing horses and galloping for nearly two hours, she finally returned to the Mu Clan.

 

Then, without waiting for the cultivators guarding the Mu Clan base to inquire about the situation, she hastened to inform them of both the Mu Clan cultivators and Zhou Chun’s peril.

 

Learning that several Mu Clan members were in serious danger, and that Zhou Chun, an esteemed guest invited by the clan, was also in peril, the Mu Clan cultivators guarding the base immediately realized the severity of the situation. They urgently rang the alarm to awaken several Mu Clan Foundation Establishmente cultivators still in meditation.

 

“Hurry, Ziying! You and I will go together to rescue Fellow Daoist Zhou. Senior, please proceed first to Wolf Ridge to assess the situation. We’ll make a decision once I join you!”

 

After learning about the sequence of events from Mu Ziying, Clan Leader Mu Xuanfeng of the Mu Clan turned pale but immediately made the decision to rescue them.

 

Then he and Mu Jianghe, the High Elder of the Mu Clan, split up and quickly from the Green Cloud Mountains using their flying artifacts.

 

Compared to cultivators in the Qi Refining, those at the Foundation Establishment stage could fly on their artifacts with speeds that were far superior. A distance of a hundred miles would take no more than an hour for them to cover.

 

Therefore, following Mu Ziying’s guidance and taking advantage of the elevated vantage point, Mu Xuanfeng quickly spotted the charred remains of the Black Scaled Steed and the bloodstains left by the middle-aged man in yellow on the ground.

 

“The bloodstains are still fresh, and there’s no sign of cremation ashes on the ground. It seems that Fellow Daoist Zhou has fled.”

 

Mu Xuanfeng looked at the bloodstains on the ground and then glanced at the traces left by Zhou Chun as he departed, quickly making his judgment.

 

Then he raised his hand and released a burst of spiritual power, retrieving a small clump of blood-stained soil from the ground into his palm. He then formed hand seals and recited incantations, using the bloody aura on the soil as a medium to cast a tracking art.

 

This type of secret art, which tracked residual aura on things like hair or clothing, it could also be seen as a measure of whether a cultivating clan or sect possesses resources.

 

Those clans and sects that master this secret art whose members died outside, as long as there were cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage to promptly arrive at the scene, they could track down the murderer based on the traces left behind, especially if the killer hadn’t gotten far.

 

Of course, this was under the premise that the murderer did not possess any relevant counter-techniques.

 

Once the secret technique was unleashed, Mu Xuanfeng quickly pinpointed the assassin’s retreat through its divine sense.

 

“Over there!”

 

He quickly shifted his gaze in the direction where the murderer had departed, and immediately took off after him with Mu Ziying.

 

After pursuing them like this for over thirty miles, Mu Xuanfeng coldly fixed his gaze on a particular mountain peak below.

 

“Humph, do you think hiding in this desolate mountainous area will be enough to escape? How naive!”

 

With a cold snort, Mu Xuanyun directly took Mu Ziying to a secluded cave on top of the mountain and strode right in.

 

It didn’t take long before the middle-aged man in yellow, whose clothes were stained with blood and who had fallen unconscious, was carried out of the cave by Mu Xuanfeng.

 

Since they exited the cave, Mu Xuanfeng shifted his gaze to Mu Ziying following behind and said, “Ziying, you just heard it too—Fellow Daoist Zhou should be fine now. You’ll have to put in some effort next; search for him by calling out in the mountains. I’ll head to Wolf Ridge to meet up with High Elder first.”

 

“Yes, Ziying obeys.”

 

Mu Ziying replied. Then, Mu Xuanfeng lifted the middle-aged man in the yellow robe and took off into the air, quickly leaving their line of sight.

 

After watching Mu Xuanfeng depart, she thought of his instructions and immediately began walking through the surrounding mountains, calling out Zhou Chun’s name at the top of her lungs as she went.

 

According to the man’s confession, after bandaging his wound, he chased Zhou Chun for a while but lost sight of him in these mountains.

 

Then, because he himself was injured and also worried about encountering any remaining cultivators from the Mu Clan who might have come to assist, he chose to hide within these mountains.

 

That Zhou Chun was being treated with such high regard by the Mu Clan was completely unexpected. It turned out that none other than Mu Xuanfeng, the Clan Leader himself, had come personally to rescue Zhou Chun.

 

As a result, he, hiding inside the cave, became an easy target, with no place to run.

 

Upon learning this, Mu Xuanfeng deduced that Zhou Chun must have used some method to hide his presence and was concealing himself in the nearby mountains.

 

Therefore, he had Mu Ziying currently wandering the mountains and valleys, shouting and searching for him.

 

Although this method was a bit clumsy and somewhat exhausting, it was indeed very effective.

 

Beneath a pile of earth and rocks created by a mountain collapse, Zhou Chun heard Mu Ziying’s familiar voice and quickly instructed the Rock Turtle covering him to shift a bit, allowing him to crawl out of the soil.

 

It turned out he had been hiding inside this pit all along, using the innate ability of Rock Turtle to suppress his aura to conceal himself, evading the search of the middle-aged man.

 

The Divine Sense of Qi Refining cultivators had a limited range when extended outward, and its effectiveness was significantly reduced in the presence of obstacles such as earth and rocks.

 

When Rock Turtle entered its Turtle Breathing state, it became as motionless as a boulder on the mountainside, completely concealing any signs of life. Even a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator might overlook it unless they were particularly attentive with their Divine Sense.

 

Therefore, a Qi Refining cultivator could only possibly detect a Rock Turtle in its Turtle Breathing state if they were observing it at close range with their own eyes.

 

But Zhou Chun was hiding beneath a cliff, where weeds and shrubs were growing around.

 

Even if the man wearing yellow clothes who was middle-aged had difficulty walking, or even if he hadn’t been in that condition, he couldn’t have made his way all the way to the edge of the cliff to look at a pile of rocks.

 

After listening for a while from his hiding spot, Zhou Chun promptly responded aloud to Mu Ziying’s call.

 

It wasn’t long before he spotted Mu Ziying, dressed in a purple robe, appearing on the cliffside.

 

“Fellow Daoist Zhou, I’m relieved you’re unharmed. The one pursuing us has been apprehended by the Clan Leader, and it was he who instructed me to seek you out here in these mountains.”

 

On the cliff, after Zhou Chun displayed his Soaring Art to ascend above, Mu Ziying, drenched in fragrant sweat, flashed him a smile and recounted everything that had transpired.

 

After hearing her story, Zhou Chun also relaxed and nodded slightly, saying, “I see. It’s been a bit tough for you, Fellow Daoist Mu.”

 

“This trouble is nothing. If it weren’t for you, leading that man away, I might have turned to ashes long ago. It should be I thanking you, Fellow Daoist Zhou.”

 

She respectfully bowed to Zhou Chūn to express her gratitude.

 

Zhou Chun saw this, too; he couldn’t do anything about it and had to accept her salute.

 

Then both returned together to the Green Cloud Mountains.

 

By the time Zhou Chun and Mu Ziying returned to the Green Cloud Mountains, they could quickly sense the changes in the atmosphere within the Mu Clan.

 

All the Mu Clan cultivators he encountered had serious expressions, as if suppressing something, with even those who would greet him greatly reduced in number.

 

This made him realize that things at Wolf Ridge were probably much more serious than he had imagined.

 

It was very likely that with the Mu Clan’s strength, they were completely unable to resolve this matter.

 

Indeed, upon learning of his return along with Mu Ziying, the Clan Leader of the Mu Clan, Mu Xuanfeng, personally summoned him for an audience.

 

“It was my Mu Clan’s fault for letting Fellow Daoist Zhou face danger outside. We have failed to protect you as we promised Clan Leader Zhou. On behalf of the Mu Clan, I apologize to Fellow Daoist Zhou.”

 

In the Grand Hall of Mu Clan, upon seeing Zhou Chun arrive, Mu Xuanfeng immediately rose from his seat and expressed his apologies with a gesture of clasped hands, without discussing anything else.

 

A middle-level cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage apologized to Zhou Chun, who didn’t dare to accept it as casually as he had with Mu Ziying.

 

He quickly moved aside and waved his hands, saying, “Senior Mu, you’re too kind. I am unworthy to receive your respects.”

 

Mu Xuanfeng saw this and, instead of persisting, merely nodded slightly and said, “The mistake has been made; an apology is now of little use.”

 

After speaking, he wore an expression of relief and looked at Zhou Chun with a sighed. “Thank heavens, Fellow Daoist Zhou, you are so fortunate and skilled that you didn’t allow the Mu Clan to make a grave mistake. This gives me and the Mu Clan an opportunity to apologize and compensate you in person.”

 

This remark struck a chord with Zhou Chun.

 

A verbal apology, which were just empty words, couldn’t compare to real compensation.

 

However, he couldn’t show his true thoughts on his face. Instead, he also showed a frightened expression and said thankfully: “I was indeed fortunate this time. If not for that person’s carelessness, which allowed my spirit beast to injure him in the legs, I might not have survived until senior arrived.”

 

At his words, Mu Xuanfeng’s eyes flickered with a cold gleam as he said in a somber tone, “Daoist Zhou, rest assured. That villain is currently detained in the Mu Clan’s underground prison. Should Daoist Zhou wish to take personal vengeance, the Mu Clan would grant you permission to behead him yourself.”

 

Then, with a wave of his hand, a storage bag flew from some storage rack within the hall straight into his hands. He handed it to Zhou Chun.

 

“Furthermore, this storage bag belongs to him, containing all his worldly possessions. Let it serve as a gift from me and the Mu Clan to Fellow Daoist Zhou for the shock you’ve endured. Please do not hesitate to accept it, Fellow Daoist Zhou.”

 

It was impossible to refuse.

 

After experiencing the previous battle, Zhou Chun deeply felt the gap between his own strength compared to those late Qi Refining cultivators.

 

The several artifacts belonging to the middle-aged man in yellow left a profound impression on him; they were undoubtedly exceptional and rare treasures.

 

Now that all these things belong to him, how could he possibly refuse?

 

He didn’t even have time to be modest. He grabbed the storage bag and deeply bowed to Mu Xuanfeng, saying, “Thank you for your kindness, Senior Mu. I shall humbly accept it.”

 

As for dealing with that middle-aged man, Zhou Chun naturally wouldn’t presume to interfere.

 

He believed that the Mu Clan would never let that rascal escape unscathed.

 

“I’m glad you agree, Fellow Daoist Zhou.”

 

Mu Xuanfeng waved dismissively, his gaze fixed on Zhou Chun as he spoke slowly, “The Mu Clan has recently encountered some issues. If Fellow Daoist Zhou continues to stay here, we may not be able to ensure your safety properly. Therefore, I would like to ask Fellow Daoist Zhou to return to the Zhou Clan for the time being.

 

“Regarding the matter of teaching beast-taming techniques, we can discuss it further in the future.”