Chapter 982: Thousand Faces

"Who?" The bushy-browed Taoist spun around, looking in the direction of the voice.

A figure slowly emerged. Seeing that he was quite young, the bushy-browed Taoist couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had thought a master had discovered him, but at this age, how high could his cultivation be?

Zu An stared at the "333" written on the ground. "A clumsy frame-up," he said indifferently.

A thought flashed through the bushy-browed Taoist's mind: "You're Number 333?" No wonder he had felt a strange familiarity with the other person's voice and build moments ago. So it was him.

"That's right," Zu An said, seeing no need to hide it now. "You're committing crimes in my name, so shouldn't you share some of the spoils with me?"

"In your name?" The bushy-browed Taoist laughed. "What's your name worth? No one would bother to impersonate you; you're just a scapegoat for me." As he spoke, he launched a palm strike toward the other's vital points. Since he had been seen, he certainly needed to silence the witness.

He had witnessed the other person bidding at the Carefree Pavilion just moments ago. He had bid nearly three million taels but hadn't succeeded in buying, which indicated he likely had around three million taels on him. Clearly, he was from a wealthy family. The Taoist never expected providence to deliver such a rich target today. These two batches of resources he had just acquired would probably be enough for him to break through to the Grandmaster realm.

To his surprise, his vision blurred, and the other person's figure reappeared in a different location.

"You truly are ruthless, resorting to killing at the slightest disagreement," Zu An said, frowning deeply. Anyone else would likely have fallen victim to his deadly hands just now.

The bushy-browed Taoist was somewhat taken aback, clearly not expecting the other to evade him. "No wonder you dared to challenge the Sun family earlier. So you rely on such peculiar movement techniques. What a shame; there are no shortcuts in cultivation. Mere movement techniques without actual cultivation are ultimately just castles in the air."

Having said that, his speed suddenly surged, and he instantly appeared before Zu An. Simultaneously, dark energy emerged from his palms, spreading around his opponent. He was certain that he had made the surrounding air as viscous as water, rendering the opponent's exquisite movement techniques useless.

To his surprise, the other person showed no sign of the expected panic, standing there without dodging. "Who gave you the confidence that I would dodge?" With that, he directly raised his palm to meet him.

The bushy-browed Taoist frowned. Years of experience in the martial world subtly told him something was amiss, yet by all appearances, the other person couldn't possibly be his match. And he even dared to meet his palm strike head-on? Even masters of the same cultivation level wouldn't dare to clash palms with him, as they could easily have their cultivation drained. This fellow was practically courting death.

A sneer flashed across his face. He swung his palm directly towards the other, intent on instantly draining him dry! Their palms met, and the dark energy emanating from his hand enveloped the opponent.

"Drain!"

"Huh?"

The bushy-browed Taoist's smile quickly froze, for he found that no matter how he urged his power, he couldn't absorb even a trace of the other's cultivation. He didn't understand what was happening, but he finally realized something was terribly wrong and hurriedly jumped back, attempting to create distance from his opponent.

Alas, it was too late. His hand felt as if it were glued, unable to move even an inch.

At that moment, the young man opposite him revealed a simple smile. "Is this what you meant by 'drain'?" No sooner had he spoken than a black hole-like object appeared in his palm. The bushy-browed Taoist immediately felt his entire cultivation surge out like a bursting dam. He had never drained anyone so quickly before!

He was terrified and struggled desperately, but he couldn't move an inch. At first, he cursed, but then only pleas for mercy remained, and soon even those faded. Even at his death, he couldn't comprehend why the other person, so young, possessed a higher cultivation than him, and why his cultivation method was clearly far more profound and superior—no, perhaps it was a world of difference—leaving him with no ability to resist whatsoever.

Flinging aside the withered bushy-browed Taoist, Zu An's brows furrowed. He felt a surging tide of cultivation within him. Previously, he was around the eighth rank of the ninth stage; now, having absorbed the bushy-browed Taoist's cultivation, he was astonishingly at the peak of the ninth stage, just a step away from the Grandmaster realm.

However, he now felt a violent, bloodthirsty aura filling his body. He understood that this was a result of the bushy-browed Taoist's years of ruthless killing and plundering of other cultivators. No wonder Empress Sister had warned him not to use the Gluttonous Sky Swallowing Art to boost his cultivation before reaching the Grandmaster realm. Cultivation absorbed this way was indeed impure and required significant effort to refine. Crucially, some of the victims' resentment and killing intent, accumulated over years by the Taoist, had also entered his body. This was truly harmful and useless for the refinement of his spirit.

However, he didn't have time to ponder all this now. His animal sentinels, positioned on the periphery, had already detected a group of people rapidly approaching. He grabbed the bushy-browed Taoist's corpse and left the area.

Not long after he departed, a contingent of men on horseback arrived at the scene. The most striking feature of the middle-aged man leading them was his triangular eyes, identical to Sun Ji's, indicating he was undoubtedly Sun Ji's biological father. His eyes gleamed, as if he were constantly plotting something. Seeing the situation from afar, he was greatly alarmed and leaped directly to the spot. "Ji'er!"

A wail and a roar echoed through the entire forest. Soon, his subordinates also arrived one after another. They were shocked by the devastating scene, where everyone had been annihilated. How many years had it been since anyone dared to cross them? Moreover, attacking their young master meant an unending vendetta!

Soon, those investigating the scene came to report: "Prime Minister, Mr. Yang left a clue before he died." This triangular-eyed middle-aged man was naturally Sun Xun, the Prime Minister of the Yan Kingdom. He approached Yang Long, staring at the "333" written beneath his hand, his expression growing grim. "What does this mean?"

"It might be a guest number from the Carefree Pavilion. The young master just came from there," one of his capable subordinates quickly analyzed.

Sun Xun's face was etched with frost. "Let's go to the Carefree Pavilion!" While the location of the Carefree Pavilion was mysterious, that was only true for ordinary guests. For those like them, the true rulers of Yi Commandery, how could they not know where the Carefree Pavilion was? Normally, the Carefree Pavilion kept its higher-ups well-connected and provided generous offerings, so these influential figures would turn a blind eye. But now that his son had been killed, he could no longer tolerate it.

Meanwhile, back in his room, Daji, who had been in a defensive posture under the covers, relaxed her attack stance upon seeing him. Seeing this, Zu An couldn't help but muse, "Do you truly have no soul?" Unfortunately, she remained like a robot, silently watching him without any response.

Helpless, Zu An took out the storage pouch he had found on the bushy-browed Taoist. As for the Taoist's body, he had casually disposed of it along the way. In this era of cultivation, a simple combination of ice and fire could completely obliterate a body, leaving no trace of ashes.

Upon seeing the jade pendant, Zu An finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Purple Frost Divine Milk that Empress Sister needed finally had a lead. He held the jade pendant in his palm, observing it. The markings on it were strange, seemingly an abstract map. But if it was a map, why hadn't the Carefree Pavilion, with all its resources, been able to decipher it? He pondered for a long time without any clue, so he put the jade pendant away and then examined the other items.

"Oh, the Immortal Slaying Flying Dagger!" This was an unexpected bonus. The Immortal Slaying Flying Dagger had previously been acquired by Sun Ji at auction, then snatched by the bushy-browed Taoist, and now, by a twist of fate, it had fallen into his hands. He now had five of them. He wondered if gathering all nine would make them as powerful as the legends claimed.

Next, he searched through the storage pouch for quite a while, but unfortunately, he didn't find what he was looking for. "These two combined don't even have a single tael? What paupers!" Zu An couldn't help but complain. Before, in the capital, the imperial court covered all his expenses, including food, clothing, and cultivation resources, so he hadn't thought much about it. The wealth he had acquired in Brightmoon City had even made him feel subtly wealthy. However, after experiencing the auction, he realized just how poor he was. The expenses on the path of cultivation were simply a bottomless pit.

He now understood that Sun Ji had just spent a fortune to acquire the Immortal Slaying Flying Dagger and the Purple Frost Divine Milk jade pendant from the Carefree Pavilion, so it was natural he wouldn't have any money left. As for rogue cultivators like the bushy-browed Taoist, their usual business was murder and robbery. Any money they acquired would have long been converted into resources and used up. His visit to the Carefree Pavilion this time was likely after spending all his remaining funds, clearly coming to find a rich target.

"How unlucky!" He did find some pills and weapons in the storage pouch, but while these might be considered minor treasures in the martial world, for someone from the imperial palace, they were truly worthless junk.

"Hmm, what's this?" Zu An suddenly discovered a yellowed booklet. One look, and he could feel its age. "The Thousand Faces Scripture?" Seeing those characters on the first page, Zu An immediately knew this item was extraordinary. The material looked like ancient paper that would crumble at a touch, but holding it, he felt it was no ordinary paper, but a special material impervious to water and fire.