Yan Zhaoge slowly nodded.
There was also the possibility of this being a case of mistaken identity on Zhuang Chaohui’s part.
If it were really one of those similar looking but wholly unrelated people like Mu Jun had said, it might just be a coincidence that Meng Wan looked similar to Liu Xianting.
After taking his leave of Mu Jun, Yan Zhaoge saw Feng Yunsheng and the rest whereupon he related this to them.
“This is just one clue,” Yan Zhaoge said at the end, “The situation regarding Meng Wan is actually still not all that clear.”
He spread his hands apart, “For example, if Meng Wan’s mother really is Liu Xianting, who might her father be?”
Feng Yunsheng pinched her forehead, “I only hope she will be treated well where they took her.”
Yan Zhaoge said, “If Mu Jun did not imaginarily construct this Wutong Slope disciple Liu Xianting based on Meng Wan’s looks, this should not be much of a problem at all.”
“Even if Meng Wan is unrelated to Liu Xianting and it is a case of mistaken identity, Meng Wan will likely not be in any danger. At most, she will just be questioned regarding our clan, the Extreme Yin Crown and the Eight Extremities World.”
Feng Yunsheng nodded.
Yan Zhaoge looked at Yan Di, “Based on Xiao Ai’s words, mother seems to be avoiding her enemies. Since we do not know who these people looking for trouble with her are, in order to keep the news from leaking, I did not try to ask about her from those of Golden Court Mountain.”
Yan Di said, “Yes, that was the right decision.”
He surveyed the local environment of Golden Court Mountain, saying, “We have already gained the answer we wanted from our trip to Golden Court Mountain this time.”
“After this, I will be returning to the Royal Reed Sea. As for you, act freely and decide on your route for yourself.”
Hearing this, Yan Zhaoge said, “Relax, I basically know when the black hole at the bottom of the sea in the Clear Scenic Region will vanish with Kang Ping and the rest hence freeing themselves from it.”
After Yan Di’s departure, Yan Zhaoge spent two more days on Golden Court Mountain, getting more familiar with the people there.
In his free time, he would casually check on where Heavenly Flame Trees grew in the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory.
Yan Di aside, Golden Court Mountain indeed dispatched many additional experts westward to the Royal Reed Sea.
The frontlines between the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory and the southern Blazing Heaven Territory were located there. Both sides were currently still in a conflict over the phoenix bone as Zhuang Chaozhou’s group would definitely not give up on it so easily.
A few days later, Yan Zhaoge’s party took their leave of the Southeastern Exalt, leaving Golden Court Mountain.
Yan Zhaoge smiled, “Xiao Ai, next up is for you to navigate just as ‘An old horse knows its way’.”
Xiao Ai said very earnestly, “Young Master, it is a young horse.”
According to Xiao Ai’s words, Xue Chuqing had travelled to many different places before.
Not just the places that she had visited alone, even the places that she had travelled to with Xiao Ai by her side were many indeed.
Rather than just the World beyond Worlds and some foreign dimensions, Xiao Ai had even accompanied her in descending to lower worlds before then coming back up.
The Dim Radiant Mausoleum was one such place, and there were a few others in the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory as well.
One of them was even not so far away from the Royal Reed Sea, being located right to its south.
Yan Zhaoge’s party headed off from Golden Court Mountain, searching from the nearer to the further locations.
Sadly, there weren’t many clues left behind in these places.
Yan Zhaoge was actually most interested in Kunlun Mountain of the Jun Heaven Territory.
His intuition told him that his mother most likely hailed from there, that the most valuable clues were to be found there.
Still, firstly, it was too far away, and secondly, things seemed complex there. Xue Chuqing could be being pursued right now. Sending himself up to their doorstep might be playing right into the hands of her enemies.
After thinking about it, Yan Zhaoge still decided against this very enticing notion in the end.
“Young Master, a while later and we should be arriving in the vicinity of the Setting Sun Archipelago?” Ah Hu shielded his eyes with his hand, gazing into the distance.
Yan Zhaoge ate a meat skewer on Pan-Pan’s back while saying nonchalantly, “Strictly speaking, we are already in the domain of the Setting Sun Archipelago.”
They had already been travelling like this for more than half a year.
They had not wasted their time as they had also been cultivating amidst this.
Pan-Pan had already awoken from his slumber, having successfully refined the Taotie’s demonic heart and demonic blood.
The Setting Sun Archipelago was located at the southwestern corner of the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory. To the north and a bit to the west was the Royal Reed Sea which it neighboured.
This was also a part of the mainland of the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory in its western region of sea. While it was called an archipelago, it actually encompassed a huge area as it could literally be viewed as several mini-continents all squeezed together in one place.
The Setting Sun Archipelago’s domain was composed of more continent than ocean.
According to Xiao Ai, Xue Chuqing had once secretly resided on one of the isles here for some time.
Heading southeast from here, one would arrive at the official mainland where there was the Jade Sun Mountain Range in which Heavenly Flame Trees grew.
Yan Zhaoge intended to find his mother’s old residence before heading to the Jade Sun Mountain Range, checking up on the matter of the Heavenly Flame Trees and the Encompassing Abundance Golden Pill.
“Young Mistress, how skilled!” At this moment, Xiao Ai was seated beside Yan Zhaoge, her hands each holding a wooden skewer as she happily ate her fill.
Holding a skewer herself, Feng Yunsheng smiled as she ate, “Good that you like it.”
A large pot hovered in the air in front of her, blazing flames ignited in the air below as an enticing fragrance emanated from the soup boiling within.
Over ten long skewers that held food were by the side of the pot. Feng Yunsheng casually picked up one of them, throwing it forward.
The skewer fell in an arc. Down below, Pan-Pan directly spun his head and swallowed it in a single gup, his eyes instantly blinking happily in delight.
Holding a skewer as well, Ah Hu was chuckling as he ate, “In this domain that neighbours the Royal Reed Sea, news from there has already spread here. Young Master, you can already be considered famous now.”
Yan Zhaoge asked with mounting interest, “Oh? What do they say?”
History's Strongest Senior Brother Chapter 801: Treasured collection
HSSB801: Treasured collection
“Basically, they are all words that praise Young Master,” Ah Hu chuckled, “Young and accomplished, supremely talented, already having Transcended Mortality and entered Sainthood at a young age. Also possessing great strength, slaying numerous experts of the same cultivation level and even surpassing levels to kill experts with higher cultivation bases.”
“Orchestrating heaven shaking, earth-overturning changes in the Royal Reed Sea, with even the Grand Xuan Dynasty that has numerous Immortal Bridge Martial Saints totally unable to do a thing to you, Young Master, as they were instead pathetically owned by you with their faces all sooty.”
“Not having reached the Seeing Divinity stage, yet already possessing a high-grade Sacred Artifact, even already being able to wield this high-grade Sacred Artifact.”
“Moreover, being deeply admired and thought highly of by the Southeastern Exalt, being on great terms with the Shadow Mountain Sword King Lin Hanhua as well.”
Ah Hu counted down on his fingers, “There are also many speculations regarding your background. Some say that you come untrained from the lower worlds while some say that you are actually the descendant of the Exalted Solar Luminary of the legendary Nine Luminaries, therefore bearing the supreme Extreme Yang Seal.”
“There are even those who say that you were actually a disciple of the Southeastern Exalt in the first place, only just having finally revealed yourself to the world.”
“Anyway, there are truly rumours abound, each claiming theirs to be the right one as no one is able to convince the other.”
Ah Hu smiled, “No matter what they say, Young Master, your fame now is already no longer limited to just the Royal Reed Sea alone.”
Yan Zhaoge was deeply entertained by this as he smilingly stroked his lower chin, “Hmm, not bad, not bad.”
He turned and said to Feng Yunsheng, “Yunsheng, at such a time, we should really have a little something from your treasured collection to celebrate.”
Seeing him all full of himself, Feng Yunsheng could not help but smile, “Just like a big kid.”
She smiled, shaking her head as she entered the Myriad Dragon Palace.
In the depths of the palace was a massive cage, a gigantic beast trapped within. Its eyes flickered with a bloodthirsty glow as it possessed a brutal, ferocious aura.
This beast was somewhat like a deer and somewhat like a wolf, and even dragged around the long tail of a python behind it.
It was a rare beast known as the Maoliang that Yan Zhaoge had coincidentally ran into when adventuring elsewhere in the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory.
It was extremely brutal and fed on human flesh, being a demonic beast that terrorised the land.
This Maoliang that was currently being held captive had an extremely powerful fleshly body which was comparable to that of Martial Saint experts.
Still, its aura had diminished and shrivelled now that it was all locked up.
Seeing Feng Yunsheng enter, it shivered slightly.
Feng Yunsheng did not look at it, instead walking to the side of the cage where a large block of ice could be seen.
Inside was sealed some white solids that resembled tiny fragments of shattered bone.
Feng Yunsheng carefully unsealed one of them, retrieving the bone.
Seeing her actions, the tail of the Maoliang unconsciously shrunk back.
Taking the shattered bone fragment, Feng Yunsheng exited the Myriad Dragon Palace and continued breaking it into even smaller fragments before throwing a small portion of it into the pot.
In virtually just an instant, the fragrance of the pot grew denser, causing the others who had actually already been half-full to literally salivate.
The remaining bone fragments were pierced through by Feng Yunsheng on skewers and barbecued atop a new pile of firewood.
There had actually been two Maoliangs that had attacked Yan Zhaoge’s group back then. One of them had been slain by Yan Zhaoge on the spot while the other had instead been captured alive.
Some soft, tiny bones of the joints of this Maoliang being used for cooking was delicious indeed.
Yan Zhaoge took the skewer, biting on some soft, barbecued bone as he clicked his tongue in wonder, “Throughout our journey, this thing still tastes the best at the end of the day.”
Feng Yunsheng smiled, “It’s good enough already that you don’t find the cooking method crude.”
She loved eating and was greedy as well. Still, due to her experiences traipsing around the outside world in the past, she was used to employing the simplest, swiftest methods in doing her cooking.
Yan Zhaoge shook his head, “It’s great that it’s tasty. Who cares about how it’s made.”
Feng Yunsheng smilingly bit down on another with an expression full of satisfaction on her face, “No one dislikes food that’s better made. When things settle down, I should properly concentrate on this and try to learn from some famous masters.”
Yan Zhaoge repeatedly nodded in agreement, “It is great that you have the desire to improve.”
As they happily conversed, a massive isle had already appeared in the distant horizon.
The isle was overly massive as it resembled the coastline of a continent, engulfing one’s field of vision as they gazed over from far away.
The Setting Sun Archipelago was really not all that far away from being composed of several mini-continents.
After Yan Zhaoge’s group had landed ashore, Pan-Pan shrunk before leaping into Feng Yunsheng’s embrace and lazily going to sleep.
“Lady once secretly took up residence here. Still, that is already something from a few years back,” Xiao Ai said as she walked.
Yan Zhaoge asked, “You once mentioned that my mother returns to the places she went to before once in a while?”
Xiao Ai nodded, “This did happen twice. Still, this maid cannot be certain that she will return here.”
Yan Zhaoge strode over decisively, “Let us first take a look at things.”
This isle was known as the Whale Region. By the shore was a grand city known as Whale Fishing City.
The primary power here was a large family habitually known as Whale Fishing City’s Xie Family. Their Head, Xie Liang, was a martial practitioner who had Transcended Mortality and entered Sainthood.
Still, a major reason for the Xie Family being able to reign over Whale Fishing City and the lands surrounding it was the hegemon of the Whale Region, the Whale Breath Sect that supported it.
The Whale Breath Sect was a massive entity in the whole of the Setting Sun Archipelago, its position being comparable to that of North Sea Sword Pavilion and Copper Men Island in the Royal Reed Sea.
The Xie Family that occupied Whale Fishing City controlled not just a single city alone.
The vast districts surrounding Whale Fishing City and many cities of varying sizes, though still not as grand as Whale Fishing City, all still fell under the Xie Family’s sphere of influence.
Being close to the sea, with products from the vast ocean in the vicinity and trading with merchant boats, the Xie Family had developed greatly.
As the Lord of Whale Fishing City, Xie Liang’s position was actually equivalent to that of a monarch.
Entering Whale Fishing City, Yan Zhaoge walked around the city with Xiao Ai. Arriving at the place where his mother, Xue Chuqing had once resided, he discovered that that place had already been levelled with something else having been constructed where it once stood.
Looking at that grand, magnificent well-frequented winehouse that stood before him, Yan Zhaoge rubbed his temples lightly, “From the looks of it, even if mother intends to return to Whale Fishing City, she will still have to find another place to stay in.”
Ah Hu blinked, “Young Master, what do we do now?”
Yan Zhaoge said, “Since we are here, we might as well go in to sit. We can also check up on news and see if mother ever did return here.”
Ah Hu asked, “Why not we ask Xie Liang directly?”
“No need for that. Regarding mother’s matter, the fewer people who know the better,” Yan Zhaoge waved his hands, “Even now, I still don’t know who exactly those people are whom she provoked.”
They entered. Business was booming in this nine-storey building, the seats filled with customers.
For those empty seats that occasionally popped up, they too were simply reserved beforehand.
Ah Hu want off to handle this, Yan Zhaoge leaving him to deal with it as he saw fit.
After a while, an attendant respectfully came over and invited them into an elegant room.
The people there did not have very high cultivation bases. Gazing around, Yan Zhaoge even saw some who had yet to successfully cultivate aura-qi and those who had not even become Martial Scholars yet, still being mere Martial Artists.
Travelling throughout the southeastern Yang Heaven Territory over the past half year, Yan Zhaoge had already seen many such ordinary martial practitioners, and even mort
als who did not cultivate in martial arts at all.
Ever since having come to the World beyond Worlds, Yan Zhaoge had immediately been consorting with the likes of Lin Hanhua, Kang Ping and Luo Zhiyuan. Thus, he had vaguely found this somewhat surreal, having had to slowly get used to it afterwards.
With Yan Zhaoge’s current cultivation base, his sense of hearing was such that he would be able to clearly hear all the conversations between the martial practitioners with lower cultivation bases if only he wanted to.
Who knew that just having sat down, the first thing he heard was his own name being mentioned.
History's Strongest Senior Brother Chapter 802: Three Yan Zhaoges
HSSB802: Three Yan Zhaoges
“Who knows what this Yan Zhaoge’s background actually is! He was actually able to stir up such a storm in the Royal Reed Sea that his fame has spread all the way to our Setting Sun Archipelago.”
Suddenly hearing his own name being mentioned, Yan Zhaoge blinked before focusing slightly and listening intently.
Beside him, Feng Yunsheng, Ah Hu and Xiao Ai exchanged looks.
Of the two speakers, one was an outer aura Martial Scholar, the other an inner aura Martial Scholar.
Beside them sat several Martial Artists who were probably their juniors.
That outer aura Martial Scholar said, “While the Solar Luminary Young Lord is young, he is already an actual Martial Saint expert. It would still be best not to utter his name directly.”
“That’s true,” The inner aura Martial Scholar sounded rather guilty, “Isn’t he still only at the Merging Avatar stage now?”
The outer aura Martial Scholar said, “Well, some think that he will only truly be deserving of the title ‘Solar Luminary Young Lord’ after having attained the Immortal Bridge stage, or the Seeing Divinity stage at the very least. Still, this is only for those experts who are around the same level as him.”
“You and I of a minor sect and insufficient cultivation bases had best remain respectful at all times. Who knows that these words you have said today definitely will not spread into his ears?”
The inner aura Martial Scholar beside him nodded slowly, “You’re right. I was careless just now.”
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