Chapter 296: Chapter 260: 28 Pattern Techniques

"A Weapon Shop."

Marquis’s Mansion.

Within the great hall.

Cangba Dao looked down from his high throne, gazing at the Shadow Guard kneeling on the floor. Beside him, a stunningly beautiful woman leaned against him.

Around them,

generals and subordinates stood in attendance.

"Yes."

The Shadow Guard reported to Cangba Dao, "Nearly all the Peak Refiners in Cangzhou Prefecture have mysteriously vanished. The only one left is the owner of A Weapon Shop."

"This is all you’ve found?"

Cangba Dao’s expression darkened. "Are you Shadow Guards all a bunch of useless freeloaders? I told you to investigate who killed Li Shang, but you still haven’t produced a single piece of valuable intelligence."

"And now, this is all you have to report again."

"Truly a pack of fools."

"..."

The Shadow Guard kept his head bowed, not daring to speak.

"Prince."

Just then,

a handsome, dashing young gentleman stepped forward. "I happen to know of this ’A Weapon Shop’. It is indeed a bit unusual."

"Oh?"

Cangba Dao looked at the dashing young man and said, "Since Young Master Wen Shu says so, this Marquis will go see for himself tomorrow."

「Late at night.」

WHOOSH!

Wang Miao arrived in person. He had finished transcribing all the Pattern Techniques he knew onto special Law Text Jade Scrolls and came to see Xu Qing.

"Master."

Wang Miao took out a Storage Ring and presented it respectfully to Xu Qing. "I have spent the last seven days transcribing all the Pattern Techniques. They are all inside this Storage Ring."

"Please, have a look."

"Good."

Xu Qing nodded and accepted the Storage Ring. With a thought, he inspected its contents and found twenty-eight Jade Scrolls.

This meant that,

Wang Miao knew twenty-eight different Pattern Techniques.

"I accept them."

Xu Qing asked, "How are your own affairs coming along?"

"Reporting to Master."

Wang Miao replied, "My master, the Dark Demon King, has fallen into a deep slumber, and one of the Peak Refiners died by your Divine Techniques."

"Fortunately,"

"you have already Refined the ninth Child Box for me, Master."

"Now,"

"I only need to find two more Peak Refiners and have them practice the corresponding special Pattern Techniques. Then I can activate the Mother-Child Nine Spirit Box again."

"However,"

"I can no longer find suitable Peak Refiners here in Cangzhou Prefecture, so I must temporarily leave for Qingzhou Prefecture."

"You’re going to Qing Province?"

Xu Qing frowned. "A war just ended in Qing Province. Are you sure you want to go?"

"Yes."

Wang Miao nodded. "Because my master, the Dark Demon King, left a treasure in Qing Province. Besides, with the war having just ended, it’s the perfect opportunity to make a name for myself."

"Aren’t you going to get your revenge?"

Xu Qing asked, "Your enemies are mostly in Cangzhou Prefecture, aren’t they?"

"I don’t have the strength to exact my revenge yet."

Wang Miao shook his head. "The Marquis of Cangzhou, Cangba Dao, and the leaders of the major top-tier influences have all basically reached the level of ’Venerable Ultimate’. As for whether they’ve stepped into the ’Fourth Realm,’ I am not sure."

"So,"

"if I want to get my revenge, I must step into the ’Fourth Realm’. Only then can I be absolutely certain of success."

"During this trip to Qing Province, I will definitely break into the ’Fourth Realm’."

"Hmm."

After listening, Xu Qing thought for a moment, then nodded. "Then you should go."

"Master,"

Wang Miao said, "Yue Yun was one of the Marquis of Cangzhou, Cangba Dao’s, favorite Consorts. She died at your hands, Master. Cangba Dao will surely try to investigate the cause of her death and find her killer."

"Although it’s impossible for Cangba Dao to trace this back to me, it wouldn’t be hard for him to investigate the fact that Yue Yun was looking for numerous Peak Refiners to forge a special item."

"I have already taken the seven living Peak Refiners with me. Including the one who died, a total of eight Peak Refiners have all mysteriously disappeared, leaving only you, Master."

"That Prince will definitely come looking for you."

"Then let him come."

Xu Qing’s expression was calm.

"Please be careful, Master."

Wang Miao said.

"Mm."

Xu Qing nodded.

Afterward,

Xu Qing spoke with Wang Miao for a while longer, asking a few more questions.

WHOOSH!

Wang Miao was gone.

Next,

Wang Miao would leave Cang Province and head for Qing Province.

After that,

Xu Qing also returned to his courtyard residence.

「In his bedroom.」

WHOOSH!

Xu Qing sat cross-legged. With a thought, he took out the Storage Ring Wang Miao had given him and retrieved the Law Jade Scrolls one by one.

There were twenty-eight in total.

’Indeed.’

Xu Qing examined them one by one, a pleased look on his face. ’There really are twenty-eight different Pattern Techniques, and none of them are the same. Excellent, excellent.’

This way,

with these Pattern Techniques, Xu Qing could practice them peacefully in his residence, accumulate Experience Points, and slowly level them up to raise his Cultivation and Realm.

"Record!"

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

Xu Qing’s consciousness connected with the Encyclopedia of All Things. His gaze fell upon the Law Jade Scrolls before him, and they flashed with a purple light.

...

[Recording Successful!]

[Heaven and Earth Law Level 1: 0/1,000,000 (Allows for the comprehension and mastery of the ’Heaven and Earth Law’. Once fully mastered, the ’Heaven and Earth Law’ will be completely under your control.)]

...

[Recording Successful!]

[Yin Yang Law Level 1: 0/1,000,000 (Allows for the comprehension and mastery of the ’Yin-Yang Law’. Once fully mastered, the ’Yin-Yang Law’ will be completely under your control.)]

...

[Recording Successful!]

[Life and Death Law Level 1: 0/1,000,000 (Allows for the comprehension and mastery of the ’Withering and Flourishing Law’. Once fully mastered, the ’Withering and Flourishing Law’ will be completely under your control.)]

...

「Time passed.」

In total,

Xu Qing performed the recording process twenty-eight times, naturally recording a total of twenty-eight Pattern Techniques. At his speed, it would take about a month to raise each Pattern Technique to Level 20.

This meant

that Xu Qing could master one Pattern Technique per month.

Twenty-eight Pattern Techniques.

It would take about twenty-eight months to master them all.

That’s about two and a half years.

Less than three years.

’Hmm.’

Xu Qing nodded slightly. He took out a Top-grade Law Stone, activated his Meditation, and began practicing the Heaven and Earth Law. He could cycle it a million times in six seconds.

...

[Experience +1]

...

[Experience +1]

...

The night passed uneventfully.

In the blink of an eye,

a night had passed.

「The next day.」

「In the morning.」

Xu Qing continued to practice and meditate on the Heaven and Earth Law. His Experience Points for the Heaven and Earth Law were increasing rapidly; in just one night, he had accumulated over a hundred million Experience Points.

「As noon approached.」

BUZZ!

Xu Qing sensed the auras of several powerful experts. He awoke from his Meditation, opened his eyes, and his gaze pierced through all obstacles.

Sure enough,

hovering in the sky above his courtyard,

three figures had appeared.

Among them,

the one in the center was a burly and majestic middle-aged man wearing a python-patterned robe. To his right stood a peerlessly beautiful woman, leaning gently against him.

And to his left stood a dashing young man.

This young man was none other than Young Master Wen Shu.

"This is the place?"

Cangba Dao asked.

"Yes."

Young Master Wen Shu nodded.

"Prince, this weapon shop looks quite lively."

The peerlessly beautiful woman smiled charmingly, looking down from above. "To think so many people are bidding on a single item."

"Hm?"

Cangba Dao looked down and indeed noticed that A Weapon Shop had many customers. There were even many upper-echelon experts from Cangzhou Prefecture bidding here.

"Indeed."

Cangba Dao nodded.

"Moreover..."

Cangba Dao’s eyes gleamed. "The weapon being sold by A Weapon Shop has actually reached the level of a ’Top-Grade Nine-Layered Law Artifact’."

’So he really is a Peak Refiner.’

"Prince,"

Young Master Wen Shu said, "I’m afraid the owner of A Weapon Shop is not that simple. Since the shop opened, he has only ever sold one weapon or item per day."

"But,"

"as time has passed, the grade of the weapons and items sold has gotten higher and higher. It started with Top-Grade Nine-Layered Spirit Pattern Artifacts, but for the past month, he has been selling a ’Top-Grade Nine-Layered Law Artifact’ every day."

"You must understand,"

"even a Peak Refiner cannot forge a Top-Grade Nine-Layered Law Artifact every single day. Forging one requires extremely precious materials."

"Furthermore,"

"not every forging attempt is successful."

"And yet,"

"A Weapon Shop began selling Top-Grade Nine-Layered Law Artifacts a month ago and has done so every day since, without a single interruption."

"That is why,"

"I said that this shop is extraordinary. The owner behind it is likely just as extraordinary."

"This King understands."

Cangba Dao’s eyes flickered.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The next moment,

Cangba Dao descended from the sky and appeared at the entrance of A Weapon Shop. He disguised himself as an ordinary customer and entered.

Originally,

Cangba Dao had intended to use his status to intimidate and directly question Xu Qing, thereby achieving his goal. But after hearing Young Master Wen Shu’s words, he realized the owner behind A Weapon Shop—that is, Ouyazi—was likely no ordinary person.

Therefore,

Cangba Dao decided to be more restrained.

「Inside A Weapon Shop.」

"Twenty thousand."

Cangba Dao directly raised the bid to twenty thousand Top-grade Law Stones, distinguishing himself from the crowd and winning the item for sale today: an ordinary Level 30 great axe.

"Congratulations to this customer."

Kaya smiled. "This ’Giant Divine Axe’ is now yours."

"Thank you."

Cangba Dao accepted it with a raised hand, weighing it a few times with a satisfied smile. He then looked at Kaya and said, "However, I would like to meet your boss. I wonder if you could do me the honor?"

"Well..."

Kaya’s delicate brows knitted slightly.

After all,

over the years,

countless customers had wanted to meet her master, but all had been turned away.

"Since a distinguished guest has graced my door, how could I refuse to see him?"

Just then,

Xu Qing’s voice drifted over.