Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Chapter 160 Black Flag

The fourth letter: "I'm leaving."

"Before we leave, write down everything you can find: 'The Black Flag Faction, currently confirmed, has at least three Inner Strength Realm members among its core fighting force. The leader has never appeared in public, but his subordinates call him "Sea Lord."' 'It's strange; the title "Sea Lord" doesn't match the silver-blue mountain peak on their flag.'"

"Black Flag and Indigo Sparrow Hall are currently maintaining a delicate tacit understanding. Black Flag is not expanding westward, and Indigo Sparrow Hall is not waging war eastward."

The two sides engaged in small-scale trade in the gray area between them, mainly the exchange of salt and medicinal herbs.

"But this balance won't last. Once the Medicine Falcon has established itself in Yongzhou, it will eventually devour this enclave. And if the Black Flag is indeed a force from Shengzhou, their ambition to establish themselves on the mainland won't stop at the 180-mile coastline."

"Finally, let me tell you something you might be interested in."

"The miasma in the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest has been receding over the past year. It's been receding slowly, but hunters and herbalists on the outskirts have noticed it. Areas they dared not enter before, they can now venture twenty miles into."

"The Indigo Sparrow Hall has already set up four collection points on the edge of the forest and has begun to infiltrate deeper. The Medicinal Falcon is very interested in the Myriad Poison Forest; he has sent at least three scouting teams deep into its heart. The first two teams didn't return, but the third team returned with seven people, all of them insane, claiming they saw 'golden light' inside."

"The falcon didn't make a fuss, but they increased the number of people watching the entrance to the forest."

"He's waiting for you, Lao Xu."

"Or rather, he's waiting for the secret in the woods to come to light on its own."

"If you are still alive, after reading this letter, don't rush back to Yongzhou. Get yourself fat first."

"I've gone to Ningzhou."

"I'll remember Lao Duan's grudge."

"Ji Sanjin. Stay."

I read all four letters.

Xu Hao put the bamboo tube and the letter into the bowl and lit them with a tinderbox.

The paper and bamboo curled and turned black in the flames, burning out a faint wisp of smoke.

The lame man silently handed over a bowl of cold water to extinguish the ashes, then got up and flushed the ashes into the ditch behind the braising pot.

"Shopkeeper," Xu Hao said.

The lame man turned around.

"Did Ji Sanjin describe the physical characteristics of the Indigo Sparrow Hall's falcon before he left?"

The lame man thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Old Ji has never seen it. No one in Yongzhou has seen it. That medicine falcon only stays in the main hall of the Indigo Sparrow Hall, and he always wears a mask when he comes in and out."

Iron, eagle-beak shaped.

Eagle beak mask.

Xu Hao tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

"Have the people with the black flag ever come to Bitterwater Town to buy anything?"

The lame man's one eye darted around: "I've never been to town. But there's a fishing village over at Aobei Reef, and a new general store has opened there. The owner is mute and only accepts sea salt, not money. I went there once; there's a small flag hanging on the back wall of the store."

"What color?"

"Black background, silver-blue mountain peaks." The lame man grinned, revealing a row of broken teeth. "Those men who watch the shop have calluses on their hands. Not from working, but from holding knives. Their gait is also wrong; the distance between their left and right feet is exactly the same. They've received proper training."

Xu Hao stood up and tossed a piece of broken silver onto the table.

"I've never been here."

The lame man lowered his head and continued picking at the bones.

"I didn't even eat two ounces of braised pork, so of course I've never been here."

Xu Hao turned and walked out of Kushui Town.

The night was thick, and in the distance, lights could be faintly seen in the direction of Yongzhou City, like a small patch of embers of a campfire stranded on the horizon.

The coastline further east was pitch black, and the lights of the watchtowers were nowhere to be seen, but Xu Hao knew there were people there.

There is a black flag.

He stood on the earthen slope outside the town, sorting through the messages at hand.

Indigo Sparrow Hall, Medicinal Falcon.

With the Heart-Shattering Silk broken, even though he has returned to the capital, he will not let the matter rest.

Mu Yunchuan has taken root in the Indigo Sparrow Hall; he may still be obedient, or he may have already turned against him.

Ji Sanjin went to Ningzhou.

The Myriad Poisons Forest is his territory, a blessed land at level 3, and he possesses the Ancient Weapon Tomb.

But the falcon is penetrating deeper and deeper, and sooner or later it will encounter something it shouldn't.

And this black flag.

Silver-blue mountain peaks.

The forces coming from the sea possess the military strength of the inner region, have militarized management, and have long-range supply lines.

Shengzhou.

Xu Hao recalled that a year ago, Shengzhou was composed of numerous islands, with three alliances standing side by side and twelve bandits running rampant.

A gathering place for conscripted and lawless warriors.

Of the three alliances in Shengzhou, which one's flag is associated with the silver-blue mountain peak?

Zhenhai Alliance? Xiaoyao Alliance? Xuehai Alliance?

The Twelve Bandits.

Or is it newly established?

Xu Hao thought about the fragmented information in his mind about the Twelve Bandits of Shengzhou.

Silver-blue mountain peaks —

There is not enough information.

It would be great if I could ask Chen Yuanzhi about it, but it's too far away.

Why don't he see it for himself?

Xu Hao turned around and walked eastward.

One hundred and twenty li from Aobei Reef.

With the speed of someone in the early stages of the Divine Transformation Realm, it wouldn't take more than two hours.

He's not in a hurry.

I haven't walked among humans for a year.

Let's see what this changed Yongzhou looks like now.

Aobei Reef.

Xu Hao had glanced at this place at the edge of the Blessed Land Scroll; it was a group of reefs that had been eroded by the waves for thousands of years, extending nearly half a mile outward from the coastline, forming a natural breakwater.

The bay inside the reef has calm waters and is a natural haven.

He arrived in the middle of the night.

The moonlight was thin, and sea fog seeped from the crevices of the reefs onto the shore.

The fishing village is small, with about thirty households scattered on the gentle slope on the north side of the bay.

At this hour, most of the lights in the shacks were off, except for the slightly larger stone house at the end of the village, which still had a yellowish-brown light on.

A general store.

Xu Hao did not go directly into the village.

He crouched atop a small hill in the southeast of the village, his martial will silently unfolding.

The dark golden spiritual power spread out like an invisible film of water towards the fishing village.

It doesn't need to be too broad; just listen to it.

The perception precision of the Divine Transformation Realm far surpasses that of the Opening Aperture Realm. Within three miles, he can distinguish the crunching sound of a mouse's bones as it turns over.

There were fluctuations of vital energy in the fishing village from the thirty-seven living people, thirty-one of whom were ordinary people with weak vital energy, fast asleep.

The remaining six are not ordinary.

Two people were squatting behind a low wall at the village entrance, their qi and blood fluctuations stable and restrained, indicating they were in the late stage of the Skin Polishing Realm.

Mingzhao.

The two were on the second floor of the grocery store, one sitting and the other lying down.

The one sitting there has strong qi and blood, is in the mid-stage of the Bone Forging Realm, and is probably on night duty.

The one lying down had heavier qi and blood, and was in the late stage of the Bone Forging Realm, but his breathing rate was too even, so he was pretending to be asleep.

The fifth one sat cross-legged on a rock at the southern end of the village, facing the sea.

Its Qi and blood are deep and abundant, its fascia is extremely elastic, and its internal energy flows continuously and for a long time through its meridians.

The Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Realm) is at its peak.

It's only a thin layer of paper away from becoming a truly magnificent place.

The sixth person is the most interesting.

In the yard behind the grocery store, below ground level.

It's not a cellar, it's a hidden room that was dug out.

The fluctuations in his qi and blood were suppressed by some means, but Xu Hao's martial will penetrated the three-foot layer of soil and captured the breathing rhythm of the person below.

Inner strong state, early stage.

Moreover, this person's blood circulation is a bit strange, unlike the orthodox martial arts circulation, it has a yin-like approach, as if he is practicing some kind of special skill.

The group consisted of six people: one at the peak of the Yi Jin realm, one at the early stage of the Nei Zhuang realm, and four from the Duan Gu to Mo Pi realms.

This is the standard configuration for an outpost.

Just the right amount, enough to deal with the harassment of small groups of bandits without attracting the attention of the Indigo Sparrow Hall on a large scale.

The real main force is definitely not here.

The lame man is right; these guys have received proper training.

Xu Hao's gaze fell on the wall in the backyard of the grocery store. Under the moonlight, a small flag, about the size of a palm, was nailed to the top of the wall. It had a black background and silver-blue mountain peaks.

The flag was new, made of fine fabric with even dyeing; it wasn't something that could be made in a fishing village.

He then looked at the two sentry posts behind the low wall at the village entrance. They were positioned on opposite sides, their views complementing each other, effectively blocking the only passage into the village from the official road.

What you're stepping on isn't mud, it's gravel. Someone deliberately laid a layer of it in that area, and it makes a sound when you step on it.

Xu Hao withdrew his martial will and understood the situation.

He didn't intend to force his way in.

An outpost isn't worth exposing one's Divine Transformation Realm strength; what he needs is information, not corpses.

But he didn't plan to go through the front door and knock to greet people.

He wanted to see what kind of people these were.

Xu Hao silently slid down the hill and circled along the coastline to the rocky outcrops at the southern end of the fishing village.

The peak of the Yi Jin Jing, sitting cross-legged facing the sea, is on a flat-topped reef thirty feet ahead.

The sea breeze blew in from the east, carrying the man's scent to Xu Hao's nose.

It has a salty taste, a fishy smell, and a faint rusty smell, which is unique to people who have been handling weapons for a long time.

The man was wearing a dark brown short-sleeved shirt, and he was barefoot; the calluses on the soles of his feet were rougher than rocks.

His hair was tied back with a hemp rope, and he had broad shoulders and a thick back, a physique developed from long-term physical labor on a ship.

Born as a pirate.

Such people are extremely vigilant; they can be instantly awakened by a wave while sleeping on a boat.

But that applies to people at the same level.

Under the influence of his martial will at the Divine Transformation Realm, Xu Hao even assimilated the surrounding airflow.

He walked across the slippery rocks without a sound, without a breath, even the outline of the rocks that blocked the sea breeze was smoothed out.

After crossing the rocky outcrops, he reached the side and rear of the grocery store.

The courtyard wall is not high, only six feet.

There was no protection such as broken glass or barbed wire on the top of the wall, but a layer of very fine sand was spread on the muddy ground at the base of the wall, the same kind of gravel as in front of the low wall at the village entrance, and it would leave a mark when you stepped on it.

Xu Hao didn't step on it.

With a powerful leap, he flipped over without even the hem of his clothes touching the wall.

Landing.

Several large vats of pickled fish were piled up in the yard, and the air was filled with the smell of salted fish.

The ground was compacted soil, and in the corner there was a chicken coop where two speckled chickens were curled up asleep.

The entrance to the dark room was in the center of the courtyard, and a movable stone slab covered the opening below.

Xu Hao didn't rush to lift it.

His martial will had penetrated the stone slab, allowing him to clearly "see" the blood and qi fluctuations of the early-stage Inner Strength Realm cultivator below.

That person's cultivation method was indeed strange. It wasn't the traditional method of strengthening internal organs; it was more like using qi and blood to drive some kind of external substance—a Gu? Poison?

It's poison.

To be precise, it is a special cultivation method that uses qi and blood as a guide and toxins as a carrier.

Xu Hao's brow twitched slightly.

He suddenly remembered someone.

I remembered a book.

The Scripture of a Thousand Poisons and Myriad Gu Influences.

He gave him this scripture.

The moment the thought popped into his head, Xu Hao couldn't help but think, why not just take a look?

He bent down, picked up a pebble from the ground, and weighed it in his hand.

With a flick of a finger.

pat.

A stone hit the stone slab.

The sound was extremely soft, but it seemed particularly abrupt in the quiet backyard.

The late-stage Bone Forging Realm cultivator on the second floor of the general store, who had been pretending to be asleep, suddenly sat up, his hand already on the hilt of the knife on the headboard.

At the same time, the stone slab in the very center of the courtyard was pushed open from the inside by someone's palm.

A figure darted out of the dark room without making a sound, but three thin black needles flicked from his wrist and shot out in a fan shape toward the northwest corner of the courtyard.

The fine needle disappeared silently into the night.

The shot went wide.

Xu Hao is not in the northwest corner.

He stood motionless in the southeast corner, pressed against the shadow of the fish pickling vat.

The figure that darted out of the dark room landed and crouched down, its eyes scanning the night rapidly.

This person was rather thin, moved extremely quickly, and had two spare thin needles between his fingers.

I couldn't see his face clearly, but I could make out that he was wearing a gray, narrow-sleeved short-sleeved shirt. The cuffs and collar were very tight, a way of wearing it to prevent poisonous insects from getting in.

"Who is it?" The window on the second floor was pushed open, and the mid-stage Bone Forging Realm cultivator on night duty poked half of his body out.

The person who emerged from the dark room did not answer, but instead made a gesture, making a fist with his right hand and pointing his thumb down twice.

The people on the second floor understood and retreated back inside the window. A moment later, the lights in the entire grocery store came on.

The peak-stage Yi Jin Jing cultivator sitting cross-legged on the reef also moved, and footsteps rapidly approached from the south.

Within thirty breaths, all of them were in position and surrounded the entire courtyard.

It's very efficient and the response time isn't slow.

"Search," the person who emerged from the dark room said in a low voice.

His voice was hoarse, with a rough quality characteristic of someone who had been inhaling toxic fumes for a long time.

The four people split up; two checked the walls, and the other two checked the chicken coop and the fish pickling vat.

The person who inspected the pickled fish tank opened the lid, glanced inside, and saw it was empty.

He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave.

Then a hand gripped the back of his neck.

The force was extremely light, as light as a friend's arm around the shoulder, but the power contained in that hand made him freeze from head to toe, even his blood and qi stopped for a moment.

He had only experienced this feeling when facing the "Lord of the Sea".

An absolute, overwhelming power gap.

Xu Hao, with one hand gripping the back of the neck of the Bone Forging Realm martial artist, like carrying a quail with its tendons pulled out, walked out of the shadows of the pickled fish jar.

The martial artist's face turned purplish-blue, his feet dragging on the ground, unable to muster even the strength to resist.

His vital energy was suppressed by an extremely tyrannical force, and even his cries for help were stuck in his throat.

Xu Hao casually pushed him forward.

The martial artist staggered a few steps, then knelt down with a thud, greedily inhaling the fishy-smelling air.

"Call your sea lord over," Xu Hao said calmly, brushing the dust off his hands.

The powerful man at the peak of the Yi Jin Jing realm, who had come from the southern reef, stepped into the courtyard and sneered upon seeing the scene.

With a flick of his wrist, a thick-backed cleaver appeared across his chest. He deliberately stomped on the pebbles on the ground, assuming a fighting stance ready to erupt at any moment.

"Release him, and leave him with a whole corpse." The burly man pointed his knife directly at Xu Hao, his eyes fierce. "Dare to cause trouble on Aobei Reef? Who do you think you are, daring to 'shut up!'"

A sharp shout came from the side, abruptly cutting off the burly man's harsh words.

The one who spoke was the thin figure that emerged from the dark room.

He suddenly stood up straight, even abandoning his defensive posture.

The burly man stood frozen in place, his sword still raised in mid-air, turning his head in utter astonishment: "Lord of the Sea?"

He had followed the Sea Lord through the bloodshed of Shengzhou for more than half a year, and knew his boss's temperament best.

He never wastes words when faced with a problem, and he would rather poison than draw his sword.

What's gotten into me today? My hideout has been discovered, and I'm telling my men to shut up?

The gaunt figure, referred to as "Sea Lord," completely ignored his subordinates' reactions.

His eyes were fixed on the figure wearing a straw hat on the street.

In the dim moonlight, the straw hat was pulled low, obscuring the face, but the posture, the relaxed air of ignoring the people around him, was all too familiar.

It was so familiar that even the blood and qi in his bones trembled.

His breathing became rapid, and his chest heaved violently.

This wasn't fear, but a mixture of disbelief and fervor that nearly overwhelmed his reason.

"Your poison needles are quite good," Xu Hao said casually, as if he were commenting on the taste of a dish. "When were they made? Is the activation method the Blood-Drawing Gu from the Thousand Poisons and Myriad Gu Scripture? Did you figure it out yourself, or is it written in the scripture?"

The courtyard was deathly silent.

Even the sea breeze seemed to be choked by someone.

The gaunt figure, called "Sea Lord," suddenly took two steps forward.

The moonlight illuminated his face.

Thin, with sunken eyes and prominent cheekbones.

Dry, cracked, and purplish lips are a long-standing hidden danger left by prolonged exposure to toxins.

But those eyes haven't changed.

It gleamed with light, spun rapidly, and seemed to be constantly calculating something.

It was a completely unfamiliar face, but Xu Hao recognized the eyes.

"Was this face also sculpted by Luo Ying?" Xu Hao's gaze fell on his purplish lips, his tone casual. "His skills have improved. Did he deliberately change his face to come to Yongzhou to sell salted fish?"

"Take off your straw hat." The thin figure's voice trembled, though he himself probably didn't realize it.

Xu Hao raised his hand and took off his straw hat.

Moonlight fell on his face.

He's a shade darker than he was a year ago, his features are more defined, and his jawline looks like it was sculpted with a knife.

Those eyes haven't changed.

It's always that cold, all-seeing gaze, like a knife yet to be drawn, lying there quietly, but you know it could cut through anything at any moment.

The thin figure stared fixedly at that face.

Three breaths, five breaths, ten breaths.

Then his legs went weak.

In just a moment, he held on.

"I knew it—"

His voice was so hoarse it almost cracked.

A surge of heat welled up in his eyes. He bit his lower lip hard, tasted the blood, and forced back the bitterness.

"I knew you wouldn't die. But you haven't sent a single message in almost two years?"

The burly man at the Yi Jin Realm standing nearby, holding a cleaver, looked at Xu Hao, then at his own Sea Lord, his mind a little confused.

"Lord of the Sea, this kid—" the burly man tentatively asked.

"Shut up!" Chen Yuanzhi whirled around, his voice cracking as he roared, "Put the knife down! Who told you to point a knife at him? Are you tired of living?"

He turned back to stare at Xu Hao, the redness in his eyes fading, replaced by something deeper and more complex—a sense of relief, a feeling of being relieved, and a heavy weight that had been squeezed out after countless sleepless nights.

But the outermost layer is laughter.

"The boss."

Chen Yuanzhi straightened up, wiped his face haphazardly with his sleeve, straightened his narrow-sleeved shirt that protected him from poisonous insects, clasped his hands together, and bowed deeply.

The movements were practiced, with a deliberate formality.

This was the only way he could find at that moment to avoid losing his composure on the spot.

"Chen Yuanzhi, the second-in-command of the Weizhentian Armed Merchant Guild, and his subordinates from the Yongzhou East Coast branch paused for a moment."

He tugged at the corners of his mouth upwards.

66

We warmly welcome the Boss on his inspection tour.

The expressions on the faces of the surrounding martial artists changed instantly upon hearing the words "Big Boss".

"The Boss?" "Which Boss?" "Megatron's? That one—"

Whispers spread in the darkness.

The burly man at the peak of the Yi Jin Jing realm stared wide-eyed, and the broad-backed cleaver in his hand unconsciously drooped down.

Megatron's top leader.

In Shengzhou, on the eastern coast of Yongzhou, under the entire black flag they belonged to, no one knew better than them what those four words represented.

That was the name that Chen Yuanzhi, the sea lord, repeatedly mentioned.

He's the kind of person who always says, "If the boss were here, what would we do?" whenever a major decision is made.

This is the first rule that all crew members, sailors, and outpost guards are told when they join the group: "The Megatron Merchant Guild belongs to the Boss, and your lives are given by the Boss. This rule will never change."

Live.

That legendary person is standing here alive.

The burly man at the Yi Jin Jing level knelt on one knee, his broad-backed cleaver held horizontally in front of him.

"Don't kneel, subordinate," Xu Hao said calmly.

The burly man's knees had barely touched the ground when those two words forced him back down, leaving him frozen in a half-kneeling position, caught in a dilemma.

Xu Hao no longer looked at him.

He walked up to Chen Yuanzhi and looked him up and down. This young master used to vomit even when touching a corpse.

He's lost weight, gotten darker, his eye sockets are deeper, his finger joints are thicker, and there are indelible dark purple stains under his fingernails, left over from long-term poison production.

The biggest change is in his eyes.

More than a year ago, no matter how much Chen Yuanzhi had changed, there was still a layer of scholarly air about him.

Now that foundation is gone.

It changed to something Xu Hao was very familiar with—the composure that only someone who had licked blood from the edge of a knife, turned over in piles of corpses, and gritted their teeth to make choices every night could possess.

"You've lost weight," Xu Hao said.

Two words.

Chen Yuanzhi paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

When he smiled, all the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes became visible.

"You've gotten quite muscular." Chen Yuanzhi raised his hand and patted Xu Hao's shoulder. The moment his hand touched Xu Hao's shoulder, his expression slightly changed.

It has changed slightly.

hard.

It wasn't the muscles that were hard, but the bones, like hitting a warm iron plate.

Chen Yuanzhi withdrew his hand, his fingertips clenched slightly, his smile remained unchanged, but a layer of inquiry appeared in his eyes.

More than a year ago, Xu Hao was at the Tongqiao Realm.

The texture of this body is no longer that of someone at the Opening Aperture Realm.

"Let's go inside and talk." Chen Yuanzhi turned and walked towards the door of the grocery store.

He paused in his action of pushing the door open, then turned back and added a sentence.

"The shop is small, so the head of the household is being wronged."