Chapter 263: The Two Great Magical Beast Clans!
Inside the room, the Great Elder was sitting on the side, enjoying his tea. Seeing the tired expression on Xiao Ze's face, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Now you know how eager everyone is to get close to you. Trying to deal with so many people wanting to ingratiate themselves with you will leave you exhausted."
Xiao Ze shook his head, smiling slightly. "Weren't you the one who suggested I talk to them?"
"I didn't tell you to be so kind to all of them. You need to show some of an alchemist's pride so they know it's not easy to deal with you," said the Great Elder, somewhat resigned.
"Well, let's not talk about this anymore. If you can handle it, keep doing it your way. If not, do as I do, show an inaccessible attitude and speak as little as possible."
Xiao Ze nodded. "Speaking of which, the Four Pavilions Conference is about to begin, right?"
"Tomorrow morning..."
Before the Great Elder could finish, someone knocked on the door again. Just as he thought it was another visitor for Xiao Ze, an elderly voice was heard from outside.
"The master of the Huang Quan Pavilion, Venerable Huang Quan, requests to see the two alchemists from the Pill Tower."
The Great Elder raised an eyebrow, surprised that it was the master of the Huang Quan Pavilion himself.
He stood up, adjusted his clothes, and with a gesture, opened the door.
"Haha! Great Elder, it has been a long time. I have missed you greatly," said Venerable Huang Quan with a hearty laugh, showing a familiar attitude.
"Thank you for remembering me, master of the Huang Quan Pavilion. These years, I have been in the Pill Tower and haven't had the chance to visit you. I hope you don't mind," replied the Great Elder with a smile.
As the host, he would not offend the master of the Huang Quan Pavilion in his own territory. He invited Venerable Huang Quan to enter and, once seated, the latter was the first to speak.
"The Huang Quan Pavilion is honored to receive two alchemists from the Pill Tower at the Four Pavilions Conference."
The elder in black robes also bowed to Xiao Ze.
"The Four Pavilions Conference is an important event in the central continent. Although I am an elder of the Pill Tower, I am not originally from this region, so I came to witness it," Xiao Ze explained.
Venerable Huang Quan didn't put much stock in that excuse. An alchemist from the Pill Tower attending the Four Pavilions Conference just to 'witness it' was not believable. He knew their true goal was the ancient relic.
Venerable Huang Quan didn't come just to greet them but also to gather information.
"To be honest, although I have been in seclusion, I have heard rumors that near the Youming Sea, an ancient ruin has emerged," said Venerable Huang Quan with a tense smile. "I am willing to offer something in exchange for information from both of you."
Xiao Ze and the Grand Elder exchanged glances, surprised by Venerable Huang Quan's straightforwardness.
Although Venerable Huang Quan was known for using unscrupulous methods, he knew who not to mess with. Trying to deceive two alchemists from the Pill Tower could provoke the entire organization's wrath.
"In fact, we also do not know exactly what is in the ancient ruin," began the Grand Elder. "Originally, the Pill Tower planned a secret exploration, but the news got leaked."
"We have tried to gather information during our journey, but we haven't had much success. You probably have better data than we do."
Venerable Huang Quan frowned, unsure if he should believe them.
"Let's exchange information then," proposed Venerable Huang Quan.
"The people who spread these rumors have created a lot of confusion. They have attracted human factions, and there are rumors that the ancient ruin belongs to a powerful magical warrior, attracting several magical beast clans as well."
"From what I know, aside from the main human factions, there are two magical beast clans here: the Jiuyou Serpent Clan and the Tian Yao Phoenix Clan."
"Those two clans are here too?" asked the Grand Elder, surprised. Although the Pill Tower had discovered the ruin first, they were not sure what was inside, and the competition would be fierce if those two magical beast clans were interested.
Venerable Huang Quan nodded, frowning. The Grand Elder seemed genuinely surprised by the presence of those clans, indicating they did not know much more about the ruin.
Throughout the conversation, Xiao Ze remained calm, smiling slightly, which frustrated Venerable Huang Quan, who hoped it would be easier to get information from him due to his youth. After a while longer, Venerable Huang Quan took his leave.
After seeing him off, the Grand Elder spoke seriously.
"This doesn't look good. If those clans are really interested, they would send formidable warriors. Now we can only proceed cautiously, though giving up would also be hard to accept."
Xiao Ze nodded.
...
On the coast of the Youming Sea, a crowd had gathered, even more than at the Four Pavilions Conference. The conference was an event for the younger generation, not of much interest to experienced warriors, who preferred to seize the opportunity to explore the ruin before the major factions arrived. However, they were discouraged to find that the Youming Sea was dangerous, especially due to the dark energy that intimidated even the strongest warriors.
Just then, a new group arrived, emanating a cold atmosphere. The knowledgeable observers were alarmed to recognize the presence of the Jiuyou Serpent Clan.
(End of the chapter)
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