Chương 103: The Amber Awakens

Between the two of them, after decades apart, there were a thousand things to talk about. After some warm words of greeting, Zhang Xue led Wu tangxi away to find Su Xuiqi and catch up on old times. Wu Anhe, meanwhile, stated the purpose of his visit.

"Huaijin, have you heard of Yen Tianyang?" The moment Wu Anhe spoke, the expressions in the room didn't change, but everyone sat up straighter.

"Yen Tianyang is a rogue cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm from Langya County. Why do you ask?" Zhang Lixian answered before Zhang Huaijin could respond.

"Brother, a friend of mine died at his hands. I want to find him," Wu Anhe said, killing intent surging in his eyes like a rising tide. Zhang Huaijin spoke carefully.

"May I ask who this friend was?" Wu Anhe saw no reason to hide it.

"He was also a rogue cultivator. His name was Lu Anlan. Back when I was still in the Qi Refining Realm, he had already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm and he saved my life. We became close friends instantly. Now that he's been cruelly murdered by that bastard, I won't rest until I've avenged him." Wu Anhe's answer stirred something in Zhang Huaijin's heart. It only confirmed his own suspicions. Yen Tianyang definitely had a fragment of a map in his possession. And he had already uncovered its secret.

Back on Blood Lion Mountain, Zhang Huaijin's attempt to stir the snake from its hole had been a test, to see what he might uncover. Any cultivator interested in that map fragment was bound to know something. Yen Tianyang had been fishing. Zhang Huaijin didn't know whether Lu Anlan had possessed that map fragment. But one thing was clear: Lu Anlan had become the bait, swallowed whole by the hunter, Yen Tianyang. At that trade fair, only two people had shown interest in the map fragment, Zhang Huaijin and Lu Anlan.

More than ten years had passed since then. Zhang Huaijin had been in seclusion, and his own cultivation had reached the peak of the fourth level. Back then, Yen Tianyang had already been at the fourth level. Ten years later, if he hadn't broken through to the sixth level, he had to be at the fifth level at minimum.

"Yen Tianyang operates around Langya County, but he's kept a low profile over the past decade. At least, no one's reported seeing him within the county itself." Zhang Lixian had been stationed in Langya County all along, so he knew the movements of its major cultivators like the back of his hand. Zhang Chongwen nodded firmly.

"Since Lu Anlan showed you kindness, this debt must be repaid in blood." Zhang Chongwen had always lived by a simple creed. Wrongs must be avenged, and kindness must be repaid. It was the only reason he had gathered such loyal comrades around him back in the day.

"We'll help you keep watch. If we hear anything about Yen Tianyang, you'll be the first to know," Zhang Huaijin said, offering what comfort he could. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Zhang Liwei echoed the sentiment.

"Thank you. I mean it," Wu Anhe said, his voice thick with gratitude. After all, the Zhang family was now a Foundation Establishment Realm family in Langya County. As time passed, their influence here would only grow. If Yen Tianyang ever showed his face, they would be the first to know. The Wu family stayed at Green Bamboo Mountain for three days. Wu Anhe and Zhang Huaijin were both alchemists. They exchanged insights several times, and each came away with something new.

Wu Anhe also discussed a formal alliance with Zhang Lixian, binding their families closer together. The Wu family traded a variety of Tier 2, low grade pills for the Zhang family's Tier 2 spirit artifacts. The Zhang family's spirit wine also proved highly attractive to the Wu family's cultivators. A mutually beneficial trade was struck. After the Wu family departed, Green Bamboo Mountain returned to its usual quiet rhythm. Zhang Huaijin made his way back to Purple Cloud Peak.

That year, Zhang Huaijin was forty-three years old. There were still seven years until the next beast tide. With four Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators now stationed at the Zhang family, they no longer had to worry about being wiped out in the coming tides. The real danger would come with the century-scale beast tide, where Golden Core Realm and even Purple Mansion Realm cultivators and spirit beasts would fall.

After solidifying his cultivation base, Zhang Liwei spent his days leading the family's spirit beast hunting team deep into the Purple Dusk Mountain Range. He honed his combat skills against early stage Foundation Establishment Realm beasts. He had also switched to a proper Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation manual, which pushed his combat power even higher. The amount of beast meat and materials flowing back to the family grew day by day.

In every possible way, the family's strength was rising, flourishing like bamboo after spring rain. Zhang Huaijin, meanwhile, went into seclusion on Purple Cloud Peak, preparing to break through to the fifth level. But one day, about a month later, Huaijin was startled awake from his meditation. An energy fluctuation was emanating from his storage pouch. He opened it and saw the source: the piece of amber containing a fish, the one he had found some time ago.

After returning to the family, he had examined it many times, eventually determining that the creature inside was called a "Pine Fish." They were common in the island chains of the Southern Sea, but extremely rare in the Eastern Region Great Wilderness. Now, fine cracks, like spiderwebs spreading across porcelain were creeping across the amber's surface. The air around it grew damp. Faint roars echoed at the edge of perception, as if from a great distance.

Zhang Huaijin's brows knit together as he focused his spiritual sense on the amber. Then his eyes flew wide. He could feel it. The pine fish inside… might still be alive. That was absurd. He probed more carefully, his frown deepening.

"This is… the power of time," he murmured. The pine fish hadn't died. It had been sealed, frozen in time. And he could still feel the ripples of that ancient force. How long had it been trapped? Centuries? Millennia? Zhang Huaijin didn't dare be careless. The energy radiating from the thing was unmistakably Tier 2, upper grade. This pine fish was at least at the seventh level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. He moved quickly. The blue bamboo serenity sword shot from his palm.

In ten minutes, he had carved out a pit nearly nine metres wide. He formed hand seals and cast the Cloud Rain Art. Crash! Rainwater poured down, filling the pit in moments. Plop. Zhang Huaijin tossed the pine fish amber into the water. His spiritual sense stretched outward, monitoring every change in the pit. Fifteen minutes passed. The amber around the pine fish had completely shattered or rather, dissolved. And the pine fish itself had come back to life. Its aura was weak, yes, but unmistakably alive.

A genuine Tier 2, upper grade spirit beast, radiating the power of the seventh level. The time energy around it began to dissipate, and the fish greedily drank in the surrounding spiritual energy like a man dying of thirst. The spiritual energy above Purple Cloud Peak swirled downward, forming a small vortex above the pit. The pine fish's weakened aura steadily recovered, growing stronger by the second. Its verdant body shimmered as scales shifted. A pair of cyan eyes slowly turned toward Zhang Huaijin.

In those eyes, for just a moment, he saw something ancient, weariness, confusion, the weight of unknowable ages. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the look vanished. The eyes became crystalline clear, utterly calm and unreadable.