Chapter 129

In the tavern, several disciples of the Zhan Martial Ancestor were chatting. No one noticed the dark-skinned youth in the corner. Even if they did, they wouldn't care.

Zi Chen sat on the edge of the bed, looking out of the window. He seemed to be very relaxed, but he heard every word of the whispers.

He was shocked. He thought that Zhang Shui's Abdomen being crippled was just an accident. He didn't expect that it was Ling Yun who did it.

After being isolated for half a year, he dared to openly plot against his fellow disciples. Now it seemed that Ling Yun had a strong backer in the Zhan Martial Ancestor. He wasn't afraid of being exposed.

"Senior brother, what happened to Zi Chen? Even the Nimbus Martial Ancestor was destroyed. Is he still alive?" A disciple asked.

The destruction of the Nimbus Martial Ancestor happened almost a year ago. At that time, it caused a huge uproar. The Zhan Martial Ancestor and the Xuan Martial Ancestor both sent experts to investigate. However, after they returned, these experts didn't say a word. They didn't reveal any important information.

However, some people found out that the Nimbus Martial Ancestor was destroyed. From the Grand Elders to the servant disciples, everyone died. No one survived.

"Of course he's dead." The senior brother said coldly.

"If he's dead, then what's the situation?" A disciple whispered.

"You don't know shit."

The senior brother retorted, "Zi Chen did die, but he didn't die when the sect was destroyed. He died in the Silent Jungle."

"The Silent Jungle is that dangerous place. It's said to be very scary. Why did Zi Chen go there?" Obviously, there were some knowledgeable disciples who knew about the Silent Jungle.

"Hmph, he escaped all the way there. This news has spread in Cangli City. It's just that you guys don't know."

The senior brother lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Let me tell you, that Zi Chen is really amazing. It's said that not only did he cause the Martial Ancestor to suffer a great loss, but also Yunxia City and the Heavenly Slaughter Pavilion."

"What, how is that possible? Isn't Zi Chen a disciple of the Nimbus Martial Ancestor? How can he be related to the three great powers?" A disciple didn't understand.

The senior brother looked around and didn't find anyone suspicious. He whispered, "The Nimbus Martial Ancestor was destroyed by the Martial Ancestor. It's said that Zi Chen had a treasure, so he chased after him. Later, the Heavenly Slaughter Pavilion and Yunxia City people found out about it..... Zi Chen had no choice but to enter the Silent Jungle.. it's said that there are a lot of powerful beasts... and hundreds of strong beasts..... and strong..... Zi Chen...... of hundreds hundreds hundreds of warriors who went in.... entered............. and and.. and they...... be..................

"Hiss!"

The sound of people sucking in a breath of cold air could be heard. Each and every one of them widened their eyes in disbelief.

"This is a secret. You'd better keep your mouths shut."

The senior brother warned, "Zi Chen died in the Silent Jungle. His body was not found, but it's confirmed that he's dead. It's said that the Zephyr Realm masters went there, but they couldn't find him. He was probably swallowed by the beasts. What a pity. A treasure that the three great powers coveted fell into the Silent Jungle."

"Sigh, what a pity. If I had that treasure, I'd definitely take it out and give it to the Martial Ancestor." A disciple sighed.

After that, there was some meaningless chatter. Zi Chen paid the bill and left.

"It seems that this trick of a cicada shedding its carapace really worked. The three great powers all think that I'm dead. If I hide for a while, I can go to Cangli City." Zi Chen thought.

Now that he had deliberately disguised himself, even Zhang Shui couldn't recognize him. Therefore, Zi Chen didn't have to worry about being recognized. As long as he didn't make a move, he wouldn't give himself away.

On the way back, Zi Chen deliberately slowed down. When the sun was setting, Zi Chen returned to Da Ling Village, dragging a long shadow behind him.

Usually, at this time of the day, it was the time when the villagers returned to the village, and many people could be seen. However, today, the village was completely empty. At the same time, Zi Chen felt that the village was lacking in joy, and instead, it was filled with a bleak and desolate atmosphere.

"What's going on?" Zi Chen frowned. Feeling that something was wrong, he sped up his pace.

There was still no one in the village. The children who were supposed to be playing here were also gone. Zi Chen sped up again. Just as he was about to reach Old Zhang's door, he heard a commotion.

The noise was very chaotic, as if many people were talking. Zi Chen couldn't hear them clearly.

"Could it be that Zhang Shui took things too hard? Is it true?" Zi Chen didn't dare to think further.

In the past, when Abdomen was crippled, he also felt so much pain that he wanted to die. He knew how it felt to be turned from a cultivator to a mortal.

"Chen Zi, Chen Zi is back!"

"Chen Zi, you're finally back. Something happened, something big happened."

When the villagers saw Zi Chen return, they all came forward. Their eyes were filled with hope, as if they had seen hope.

Zi Chen walked into Old Zhang's courtyard and found that there were bloodstains on the ground. Zhang Shui was indeed nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?" Zi Chen asked.

"It's the people who fought the Martial Ancestor. They came again and asked for a piece of low grade primordial stone. How could we take out so many primordial stones? Zhang Shui came out to reason with them, but they beat him up and almost killed him," a villager said.

"The people who fought the Martial Ancestor!" Zi Chen frowned.

Zhang Shui used to be the disciple of the Martial Ancestor. However, after his cultivation was crippled, he was expelled from the sect.

"Chen Zi, you have to think of a way. The people who fought the Martial Ancestor said that they will come back in a few days. If we don't have a piece of low grade primordial stone, they will slaughter the whole village."

"They beat Zhang Shui and took away the primordial stone fragments that we gathered. They said that they will come back in a few days!"

"Chen Zi, you have to think of a way to save us. The mine on the mountain has been mined for decades. There are no primordial stones left. They are trying to kill us."

There was a high mountain outside Daling Village. A hundred years ago, a primordial stone mine was discovered. There were primordial stone fragments and low grade primordial stones. At that time, it caused a big commotion. The three sects fought and many experts died. In the end, the Martial Ancestor heard the news and sent people to mine it. Dozens of years ago, the mine was finished and everyone left.

After that, when the villagers entered the mountain, they would occasionally find some primordial stone fragments. If they were lucky, they could also find some primordial stone fragments in the mine.

A hundred years ago, Daling Village was very prosperous. However, after the mine was finished and the Martial Ancestor's people left, the village was completely ruined.

The villagers could no longer mine primordial stones and turned to work. Some even left Daling Village early.

Zi Chen knew about this. When he first came, he was very curious and went to the mine to take a look. After searching, he only found two primordial stone fragments.

Zi Chen was a cultivator. He stayed there for a day and searched many places. However, he only found two primordial stone fragments. If ordinary people were to look for them, they would not be able to find them.

The people who fought the Martial Ancestor asked for a low grade primordial stone. It was equivalent to asking for a hundred primordial stone fragments. They even threatened to slaughter the village if they did not hand over the primordial stone fragments. It was too much.

Zi Chen could not bear to hear the words "slaughter the village". A ball of anger rose from the bottom of his heart.

In Daling Village, everyone knew that Zi Chen was not ordinary. He was a cultivator. However, no one knew how strong he was.

At this moment, the villagers were scared out of their wits by the people who fought the Martial Ancestor. When they saw Zi Chen, they subconsciously treated him as their pillar of support.

"Don't worry, everyone. I will think of a way." Zi Chen said. He wanted to calm the villagers down first.

With Zi Chen's promise, the villagers were relieved. A cultivator's promise was very useful to the villagers.

"Chen 'zi, you should go and check on Zhang Shui first. He did not say a word. It is very likely that he was beaten silly."

"Yes, Chen 'zi. Zhang Shui is a good person. When he fought the Martial Ancestor, he protected the village. Nothing must happen to him."

A villager said. His eyes were filled with worry.

"Chen 'zi, are you back?" At this moment, Old Zhang walked out shakily with the support of his bamboo stick.

"Uncle, how is Zhang Shui?" Zi Chen went up to support Old Zhang and asked.

"Sigh!"

Old Zhang sighed. His eyes were filled with sadness. "He did not eat, drink, or speak. This is killing me!"

"They are all from the Martial Ancestor. No one has come here to collect vitality stones for many years. They are obviously doing this on purpose."

"I think they are here for Zhang Shui. Zhang Shui must have offended someone in the sect. Unfortunately, he did not say anything."

The villagers spoke one after another.

"I will go in and take a look!"

The villagers opened up a path. Zi Chen walked straight in. Old Zhang did not follow. Both of them were cultivators. He thought that they should have something in common.

In a small room, Zhang Shui was lying on a wooden bed. His face was bruised and swollen. Obviously, he was beaten up by the Martial Ancestor. His eyes were staring blankly at the beam of the ceiling. He did not notice Zi Chen coming in.

Looking at Zhang Shui's expression, Zi Chen was even more certain that those people from the Combat Sect were here for him. All of this was because of the incident in the spiritual herbal garden. It should have been Ling Yun's orders.

"Zhang Shui!" Zi Chen came in and called out in a low voice.

Zhang Shui was startled. He slowly turned his head. Seeing Zi Chen, his eyes were still blank.

"You have to pull yourself together. There is no obstacle that cannot be overcome." Zi Chen went forward and sat by the bed.

At this moment, Zhang Shui was very haggard. His eyes were lifeless. Zi Chen only realized that his face was swollen like Butterball's. Obviously, the other party had hit him hard. It was not certain if he still had teeth in his mouth.

Zhang Shui did not speak. He was in despair.

He used to be a high and mighty Senior Brother. But now, he was slapped by his former Junior Brother. He could not even be considered a cripple.

"Don't despair. Things will be resolved. Even if you don't think for yourself, you have to think for your father. The world of cultivators is cruel. The weak are prey to the strong. Who can guarantee that you will always be in the limelight? If you are not careful, you will die an unnatural death.

"Think of the many strong cultivators who died in the spiritual herbal garden. You still have your life and can live a stable life. This can be considered a blessing in disguise." Zi Chen did not know how to comfort people. He was just expressing his thoughts at this moment.

Zhang Shui was still in a daze. He did not have any reaction. He was already in despair. After hearing Zi Chen's words, there seemed to be a slight fluctuation in his eyes.

"The world of cultivators is the cruelest. It is either you die or I die. You may be high and mighty today, but tomorrow you may become a corpse on the side of the road. There is no one to bury you. If you are not torn to pieces, you will be buried in the belly of a wild beast. You can avoid this and live a stable life. It is a blessing.

"Think of the spiritual herbal garden. So many people died. Human lives are like grass. Every living thing can die in the next moment. Can you not see it?"

Zi Chen said, his voice growing more and more serious.

"You have a good father and a bunch of villagers who care about you. You should cherish them. Why can't you see past it? Why do you have to make your father sad and the villagers worried?"

Zi Chen mentioned the spiritual herbal garden twice. Finally, Zhang Shui's expression changed. He was no longer silent, but he was still in despair.

"This is a calamity, a calamity that cannot be avoided. Their target is me. If I don't die, the villagers will not be able to live a stable life. During this time, I have already seen past it. So what if I am a mortal? The current me does not even have the chance to live a mortal life."