Chapter 162: Tracking and Hunting down Enemies
In the courtyard, the sunlight shines through the green leaves and dapples onto the exquisite stone table.

The three of them sat around the stone table, and Ji Chang personally brewed a cup of spiritual tea for them. The lingering tea fragrance drifted in the spring breeze.

Wang Changsheng picked up the teacup, took a sip, and felt the fragrance of tea filling his mouth.

He put down the teacup, took a deep breath, and prepared to tell about his experiences during this period.

There was a hint of solemnity in his eyes.

"This is what happened," Wang Changsheng said slowly.

"Just before the Huangquan test, I was suddenly chased by an unidentified cultivator."

"I tried my best to escape. Although I saved my life in the end, I missed the opportunity to take the Yellow Springs test."

There was a hint of helplessness in Wang Changsheng's tone.

After hearing this, Hu Qingsong stroked his beard gently and said with an open-minded smile: "Friend Wang, this may be your blessing."

"You know, the Yellow Springs test a few days ago was a bloody storm. I heard that many monks who participated in the test died in it, and their lives and deaths are uncertain. If you participate, the result may be unpredictable."

Ji Chang nodded in agreement: "Indeed, the Huangquan test is so cruel, it is a good thing that Brother Wang was able to escape."

After hearing this, Wang Changsheng's eyes flashed with emotion.

He sighed and said, "Yeah, now that I think about it, even though I missed the chance to take the Huangquan test, at least I saved my life, which is a blessing in disguise."

After the three of them sighed for a few words, Wang Changsheng straightened his expression and looked at Ji Chang and Hu Qingsong.

"My two Taoist friends," Wang Changsheng said, "I came here to ask for a favor."

Hu Qingsong and Ji Chang looked at each other and saw the determination and resoluteness in Wang Changsheng's eyes.

"Friend Wang, please feel free to tell me what you have to say." Hu Qingsong said.

Wang Changsheng took a deep breath and said, "I would like to ask you two to help me get revenge."

Ji Chang and Hu Qingsong were both stunned. They didn't expect Wang Changsheng to make such a request.

"Although the pursuit of those monks made me miss the Huangquan test, in a sense, it also saved my life."

Wang Changsheng continued: "However, this does not mean that I should be grateful to them. They want to kill me, so I naturally cannot let them go."

A hint of coldness flashed in Wang Changsheng's eyes. "Besides, if I don't seek revenge, I won't be able to live in peace knowing that there are some cultivators secretly trying to kill me."

"The most important thing is that since we already have a mortal enemy, the other party will also be worried about my revenge, and they will not let me go."

Hu Qingsong and Ji Chang remained silent after hearing this. They knew that Wang Changsheng's thoughts were normal.

"Friend Wang," Hu Qingsong spoke first, "We understand your idea, but you should also be clear about the interests involved."

"If we help you, it would be equivalent to making a mortal enemy with those monks."

Wang Changsheng nodded, "I understand, so I won't force you two."

"But if the two of you are willing to lend a hand, I, Wang Changsheng, will definitely remember it in my heart. If there is a need in the future, I will do my best to repay you."

Ji Chang and Hu Qingsong looked at each other, and could read some considerations in each other's eyes.

Ji Chang thought to himself that although he and Wang Changsheng had known each other for several years and had some friendship, Wang Changsheng had been stationed at the front line for many years, so the friendship between them was not actually very deep.

He helped Wang Changsheng to make the elixir, and Wang Changsheng owed him a favor.

If Hu Qingsong encountered such a crisis, I would probably take action.

However, it seemed unreasonable that Wang Changsheng expected them to take risks and not give up even a little bit of benefit based on just a few requests.

Hu Qingsong's considerations are more complicated.

Although his relationship with Wang Changsheng is closer, as a cultivator from a foundation-building family, he must consider the interests of the family.

If the Hu family made enemies by avenging Wang Changsheng, it would undoubtedly be a huge risk.

"Friend Wang," Ji Chang considered his words carefully, "we need to discuss this matter carefully. After all, this is not a trivial matter. We also need to consider our own safety."

Hu Qingsong also nodded in agreement: "Fellow Daoist Han is right. We are naturally willing to help you within our ability, but if this causes our family to make enemies, you will inevitably be punished."

After hearing this, Wang Changsheng felt something in his heart.

He took a deep breath, took out a storage bag from his sleeve, and placed it on the stone table. "These are some spiritual objects, elixirs, and magic tools that I have accumulated over the years. Although they are not many, they are a small token of my appreciation."

Afterwards, Wang Changsheng took out his development order.

"Besides that, I have some great merits in my hands. If you two Taoist friends need anything, I can exchange them for you."

"If the two of you are willing to lend a hand, I, Wang Changsheng, will definitely reward you handsomely."

When Ji Chang heard this, his heart moved slightly.

According to what he knew, as long as a cultivator could make it onto the Tiangang Ranking, the merits he accumulated could be exchanged for at least one third-level spiritual object.

However, it is impossible for most of the cultivators who can be listed on the Tiangang Ranking to accumulate all their merits without consuming any of them.

Therefore, probably only the cultivators ranked in the top 50 of the Tiangang list have enough merits to exchange for third-level spiritual objects.

Moreover, only cultivators who have made it onto the Tiangang Ranking are eligible to exchange for third-level spiritual objects.

Before the Huangquan assessment, Wang Changsheng was indeed ranked on the Tiangang list, but now that the Huangquan assessment is over, his contribution has been reset to zero and he has been squeezed out.

Therefore, even if Wang Changsheng had enough merits, he could not exchange for the third-level spiritual object that Ji Chang needed.

What's more, Ji Chang was not confident in letting others exchange third-level spiritual objects for him.

Because of this, Ji Chang didn't care much about Wang Changsheng's promise.

However, Ji Chang also knew that Wang Changsheng really spent a lot of money this time.

A hint of excitement flashed in Hu Qingsong's eyes, but he pushed the storage bag back on the stone table.

With a look of dissatisfaction on his face, he said, "Friend Wang, why are you doing this? Why should the relationship between us be so alienated?"

"We appreciate your sincerity, but you should take this thing back."

After hearing this, Wang Changsheng was moved, but he still insisted.

"Friend Hu, Friend Han, I know this gift is not enough to express my full gratitude, but it is the greatest sincerity I can offer. Please accept it."

After several people declined several times, Ji Chang and Hu Qingsong saw that Wang Changsheng was so persistent and stopped refusing.

They each took a few spiritual objects from Wang Changsheng's storage bag. Wang Changsheng felt a little relieved when he saw this.

After Hu Qingsong collected the spiritual object, his expression became serious. He looked at Wang Changsheng and asked, "Fellow Daoist Wang, who are those who are chasing you? Do you know their origins?"

After all, if I accept Wang Changsheng's things and don't do anything for him, it would be a bit unreasonable.

Wang Changsheng frowned, thought for a moment, and then shook his head and said, "I don't really know their specific origins. They are ruthless and have learned different skills. They don't look like they are from the same family."

"I suspect they may be a demon hunting team formed by some independent cultivators. In the current Shiwan Mountains, there are often such teams that, in addition to accepting exploration missions, do dirty work for cultivators in need."

After hearing what Wang Changsheng said, Hu Qingsong felt slightly relieved.

If the cultivator who was hunting Wang Changsheng came from a foundation-building family, then he would also have to worry about making enemies for the Hu family.

But now it seems that these cultivators may be independent cultivators, so there is no need to worry too much.

Hu Qingsong nodded and said in a deep voice: "Fellow Daoist Wang, we will try our best to find out the origins of those cultivators during this period of time."

"Since they may be a demon hunting team composed of independent cultivators, we may be able to start from this aspect and try to find out some information."

Although Ji Chang's expression did not change at this time, his heart was moved.

Although Ji Chang now does not know the origins of the group of cultivators who are chasing Wang Changsheng.

However, when Ji Chang was spying on Wang Changsheng, he discovered that among the group of cultivators, there were two people who had been planted with the spy mark by him.

Therefore, for Ji Chang, he only needed to spend a few efforts and rely on the peeping Dao Seed to find out the whereabouts of that group of cultivators.

So Ji Chang also said: "That's right, I have quite a few acquaintances in the Shiwan Mountains. You can write down the spells and magic tools they use, and I will ask them for you in the next few days."

After hearing this, Wang Changsheng was filled with gratitude. "Thank you very much, fellow Taoists. With your help, my hope of revenge is much greater."

Hu Qingsong waved his hand and said, "Fellow Daoist Wang, you are too polite. Since we have accepted your things, we will naturally do our best to serve you. Moreover, we cannot stand those cowards who act secretly."

Wang Changsheng nodded, then took out two jade slips and began to carefully recall and record the characteristics of the monks who were chasing him.

He wrote down every detail of the monks' appearance, clothing, spells and magic weapons they used, as well as their fighting methods in the jade slip, hoping to provide more clues for Ji Chang and Hu Qingsong.

After finishing writing, Wang Changsheng handed the two jade slips containing the information to Ji Chang and Hu Qingsong respectively.

"This is all the information I can recall. I hope it helps you."

Ji Chang took the record, glanced at it, nodded and said, "This information is enough."

In the following days, Hu Qingsong began to investigate based on the information provided by Wang Changsheng.

Not only did he mobilize the power of the Hu family, he also relied on some monks he made friends with on the front line to inquire about the origins and whereabouts of those monks.

Ji Chang was not idle either. He was practicing in seclusion while holding several precious spiritual objects he got from Wang Changsheng, as well as the stolen goods he got when he tried to seize the blood jade essence.

He sacrificed and refined the several corpse puppets in his hands, preparing to upgrade them into refined corpses.

On the other side, Ji Chang activated the Peeping Dao Seed and secretly observed two of the cultivators who were chasing Wang Changsheng at that time, and followed the clues to find out their background.

In addition, Ji Chang also openly found some familiar friends and asked them for clues based on the information he had already glimpsed.

In this situation where the answer is already known, how could there be any problem with the clues of the inquiry?

Although the three of them have their own things to do, they will take time out from time to time to meet and exchange information.

As time went on, they gradually got some clues about those monks.

Finally, after a period of time, several people from the group of monks appeared among the suspects identified by Hu Qingsong.

Ji Chang told the two of them the information he had almost found out.

After hearing Ji Chang's report of the information he had found, Hu Qingsong also added to his report based on the information he had found.

"Ye Debao, I have my doubts about this man too. His signature spell is the Spirit Thunder Curse. Among the cultivators who were chasing after Fellow Daoist Wang, one of them used this spell."

"In the world of Zheng State's immortal cultivation, there are not many cultivators who specialize in thunder magic, and even fewer who can skillfully use the Spiritual Thunder Curse."

Wang Changsheng then activated the magical instrument that could record images and carefully observed Ye Debao's image.

Although the person in the image was different from the monk who was chasing him in terms of body shape and appearance, some of his movements and habits made him feel inexplicably familiar.

So he nodded and said affirmatively: "Yes, this person was indeed among the monks who were chasing me at that time."

Hu Qingsong smiled and said, "This way, things become much easier. As far as I know, Ye Debao is a member of a monster hunting team. Maybe he was the one they were hunting down, Fellow Daoist Wang."

Wang Changsheng nodded, took a deep breath and said, "Indeed, we need to check their information carefully and find out what grudges exist between them and me."

Although he said this, Wang Changsheng already had some certainty in his heart.

Those who were chasing him were Ye Debao and other foundation-building cultivators.

A few days later, Hu Qingsong found Wang Changsheng and Ji Chang with more detailed information.

His expression was much more relaxed: "After my investigation, I can now be sure that the group of cultivators including Ye Debao were the ones who chased and killed Fellow Daoist Wang."

Hu Qingsong continued to explain: "In Ye Debao's team, there is a cultivator in the late foundation building stage, named She Fudao."

"Before the Huangquan assessment, his contribution almost reached the threshold of the Tiangang Ranking."

"I guess they are hunting down Fellow Daoist Wang because they want to increase Fellow Daoist She's contribution in this way so that he can get on the Tiangang Ranking."

When Wang Changsheng heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.

He asked hurriedly, "Did She Fudao make it onto the Tiangang Ranking? Did he pass the Huangquan test?"

Wang Changsheng’s worries were obvious. If She Fudao really passed the Huangquan assessment and became a Huangquan disciple.

Not to mention revenge, they will be in big trouble instead.

Hu Qingsong smiled, waved his hand and said, "Fellow Daoist Wang, don't worry. Although She Fudao successfully made it onto the Tiangang Ranking and participated in the Huangquan test, he failed and died during the test."

Hearing the news, Wang Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief.

"In that case, we can proceed with our move."

A cold light flashed in Ji Chang's eyes. During this period of time, he upgraded two of the three corpse puppets in his hands, greatly increasing his strength.

This battle is a good opportunity to test one or two things.

Wang Changsheng also nodded, took a deep breath and said: "It's time to make them pay the price."

(End of this chapter)