<h4>Chapter 44.1</h4>


    <b>Face-pping the White Lotus Merman (4.1)</b>


    Editor: ghost


    “Because that weapon is not yours.” Zhou Xu coldly said.


    Zhao Shuxuan red at Zhou Xu, “Who are you? Why do you say that this weapon is not mine?”


    Zhou Xu nced at the Spirit Shark. The Spirit Shark stepped forward and stretched both hands. The canine tooth in Zhao Shuxuan’s hands unexpectedly flew to the Spirit Shark’s hands, like being drawn by a ma.


    No matter how much strength Zhao Shuxuan exerted, the tooth still flew to the Spirit Shark.


    “You are robbers.”


    “Then ask the person beside you if we are truly robbing you.”


    Zhao Xu brought the Spirit Shark with him to leave. Zhao Shuxuan could only look at their figures in the distance, unable to remain calm.


    “Shuxuan, you...” An Si worriedly asked. However, Zhao Shuxuan was currently only distressed. He yearned for the feeling of controlling spiritual power, the feeling as if he was a living deity.


    But this feeling came and went too quickly. A moment ago he was a deity, but in an instant he had returned to being a simplemoner – lowly and insignificant.


    His yearning was too intense, to the point where his body started trembling. If he had never experienced it, it would have been still manageable. But since he had, he did not want to fall back to being ordinary.


    Zhao Shuxuan began to feel woeful; his life wasmentable.


    In truth, he was born to a well-to-do family, but because his parents had low status, he suffered all kinds of oppression since youth. Afterwards, his father fell sick. To steal away the inheritance his brother murdered him with his own hands. In addition, his mother had already hanged herself a few years back because she could not bear the ill-treatment of the family.


    He never expected that he would have a chance toe back to life. He felt fortunate thinking that he met the world’s most beautiful person, An Si.


    Afterwards, he met Ke Yuanlin and the two organised troops to revolt. Their troops were thergest in numbers and the most well-received by the people amongst all the rebellion groups.


    But everything was lost after a heavy rain; Ke Yuanlin left and the troops were reduced to half. He wanted to continue leading them, but had no choice but to be a fugitive when he was chased to be killed.


    In the process of fleeing, he heard the news that his troops had alreadypletely dissolved.


    Finally, An Si had arrived and given him immense hope. He held the weapon in his hands, thinking he could have the world, but what happened?


    A tear fell. Zhao Shuxuan felt that he could not continue on this way; he wanted to be stronger regardless of the method used.


    An Si was still worrying about him. An Si did not know that the present Zhao Shuxuan was already different from his previous self. Time after time of disappointment and despair had changed him.


    “An Si, I’m sorry that I worried you.” Zhao Shuxuan snapped out of his thinking and warmly looked at An Si as he spoke. For some reason, An Si’s back began to numb and he suddenly shivered.


    An Si looked at Zhao Shuxuan in shock, but was only met with his cultured and refined smiling face.


    “Mermen, my medicinal ingredient. I’ve finally found one, ha ha ha.... It turns out that the Buddhist Heart relic is also here. I have finally found two ingredients, ha ha ha...”


    Smoke billowed out of the room, making the room’s situation unclear to the eyes. However, from within this cloud of smoke, a handsome man walked out.


    The man slightly smiled. His previous wrinkled appearance was nowhere to be seen; even his smile no longer had traces of his previous frightful one and it now looked amiable.


    The man flew away. In the room, the smoke did not disperse for a long time.


    An Si and Zhao Shuxuan escaped together. After they made sure that no killers were following them, the two stopped by an inn and ordered some in porridge and vegetables. They ate some of it before finally feeling at ease.


    When they had calmed down, An Si let Zhao Shuxuan rest for a while. An Si then headed to town to buy some clothes and other necessities.


    Zhao Shuxuan sat cross-legged. He thought about what he could do to be strong. Currently, he was willing to do anything to achieve that.


    Why was he always ordered about by others? After dying once, he at first thought he would be fine treasuring his life more, but he realised that no matter how much he treasured life, others could squish him to death like an ant.


    Why?


    The origin of evil intentions was always this question, just like the current Zhao Shuxuan.


    He knew that cultivators were much more capable than mortals but allegedly, one must have a Xian Gen to cultivate. Zhao Shuxuan did not know what that was, but he knew that even without it, there were many people that became strong because they obtained a certain spiritual weapon, like the canine tooth An Si gave him.


    However, how could he obtain a spiritual weapon? Zhao Shuxuan thought deeply with his eyebrows scrunched up.


    In the midst of his thinking, a figure appeared. He had handsome features and an outstanding bearing.


    “Who are you?” Zhao Shuxuan asked.


    “Netherworld Ghost King Luo Cang.”


    “Netherworld Ghost King?”


    “Indeed.”


    “What matters do you have with me?”


    “I want to make a request to you. If you can obtain the item I’m looking for, I will grant your wish.”


    Zhao Shuxuan looked at Luo Cang in distrust. He did not believe that a person was able to grant someone else’s wish.


    “What if I say that my desire is obtaining this country?”


    “I can help you.”


    “Why do I have to trust you?”


    Luo Cang faintlyughed. His two hands slowly raised and red light suddenly appeared in his palms. The sunny weather outside unexpectedly turned gloomy in an instant; thunder rumbled and rain poured.


    “How is it?”


    Zhao Shuxuan looked at the rain in a daze before stiffly turning his head, “What is the thing that you want?”


    “A merman’s spiritual dan.”


    Shaking his head, Zhao Shuxuan said, “I don’t have such an item.”


    “Of course you don’t have it. However, your lover does.”


    “An Si? No, I will not harm him.” Zhao Shuxuan shook his head, rejecting Luo Cang.


    However, Luo Cang was not one bit anxious. He took an item out and it seemed to be nothing more than a simple dagger.


    “Do you know what this is? I believe you will feel happy.”


    “What is it?”


    “An ancient godly weapon, the Heaven Piercing Dagger. Just as the name implies, this dagger can pierce the heavens and fracture the earth. It can break any restrictions or seals and can help you strengthen your cultivation; within three years, you can obtain fifty years’ worth of cultivation. How about it?”


    “How does this daggerpare to the shark’s canine tooth?”


    “Ke ke, the Heaven Piercing Dagger’s power is several billions higher than that of the tooth.”


    Zhao Shuxuan went silent. Luo Cang waited, still neither anxious nor impatient.


    After two hours, Zhao Shuxuan finally answered, “I apologise.”


    An Si was his bottom line. He did not want to harm him.


    Luo Cang slightlyughed as he replied, “It’s fine. You can continue to ponder over it. This is a life talisman linked to me; as long as you extinguish it, I will immediately rush over no matter the time.”


    Luo Cang gave a few pieces of pale yellow paper slips to Zhao Shuxuan, then instantly disappeared without a trace.


    Zhao Shuxuan rubbed the slips of paper. He did not move for a long time.


    He did not know what kind of feelings he had towards An Si; he really wavered when Luo Cang asked him. He thought that the only thing he would not waver about was his feelings towards An Si. This was hisst bottom line, but unexpectedly this bottom line could shake.


    Shaking his head, Zhao Shuxuan stopped himself from thinking such messy questions. He needed to get a good rest.


    But Luo Cang imed that the Heaven Piercing Dagger was better than the shark tooth by a billion times and that it was an ancient godly weapon. The dagger was so small, was it really that powerful?


    Zhao Shuxuan’s train of thought wandered. When he suddenly snapped back to reality, he realised that he was still thinking about the Heaven Piercing Dagger.


    An Si returned. Zhao Shuxuan asked, seemingly ignorant, “An Si, do you know about the Heaven Piercing Dagger?”


    An Si raised his head and thought for a bit before saying, “I’ve heard of it. It seems to be an ancient godly weapon.”


    “Is it very powerful?”


    “En, very powerful. I’ve heard that these kinds of ancient weapons all have weapon spirits. In other words, if it recognises a master, it can kill enemies by itself. Even if the master is merely a child, this child could make it cleave the heavens and the earth.”


    “Really?”


    “I don’t know. Most of it should just be rumors. How could there be such an amazing weapon? If this is the case, wouldn’t the world be destroyed by now? Right, why would you ask about this?”


    “Oh, I heard the waiter mention it just now and found it weird, so I asked you about it. It’s nothing much.”


    “En, I see.”


    *****


    Ming Chi knew when the Netherworld Ghost King left his room. Ming Chi had ced a spell to track the smoke that the Ghost King could not detect.


    The moment the Netherworld Ghost King left, Ming Chi entered his room. After examining the room, Ming Chi realised that Luo Cang was making something extremely dangerous. If it waspleted, the entire world would be destroyed, much less the human realm.


    Ming Chi hesitated for a moment before taking a wisp of smoke. He left to find the Fire Phoenix Hong Yan.


    *****


    Zhou Xu realised something was unusual too. Xu Yuan had mysteriously disappeared and no one could find him anywhere. Xu Yuan was a living person, how could he vanish into thin air? Moreover, Xu Yuan had said two days ago that he wanted to negotiate with the imperial court. If the court could do something and stop oppressing themon people, Xu Yuan was willing to assimte into imperial troops.


    Xu Yuan would not have changed his mind and secretly left within two days.


    In addition, Xu Yuan was definitely not an irresponsible person. This was why Zhou Xu found it strange. He was always in the barracks and if someone wanted to capture Xu Yuan, he would have definitely detected it. However, why did he not detect anything?


    There was another possibility: the person who captured Xu Yuan was not a mortal.


    Zhou Xu’s conjecture was quickly proven; Ming Chi returned.


    In the time when Ming Chi was away, Zhou Xu had his doubts. However no matter what, Zhou Xu would not suspect him. He was unable to understand this mysterious trust he had in Ming Chi. ording to logic, the person who he would suspect the most after Xu Yuan’s disappearance should be Ming Chi.


    After all, up till now, the only person who had a higher cultivation than Zhou Xu and knew Xu Yuan was Ming Chi.