Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 283 - The Mysterious Force That Heavily Injured Blade Demon

The window of room 104 on the third floor of the Flower Season Hotel provided a clear view of the nearby Tulip Antique Exhibition. Sleek cars rolled past the circular plaza and eventually parked neatly in the rectangular lot. The people getting out of the cars were either gentlemen in suits, scholars dressed elegantly, or wealthy merchants in luxurious attire.

Cassius gazed into the distance, his eyes focused on the security personnel patrolling around the antique exhibition hall. Though they wore black suits, their bulging muscles barely fit in their clothes. Their auras were ferocious, and they were clearly not ordinary people.

"Cloud Dog Fist..." he muttered to himself. Cloud Dog Fist, a Covert Martial Arts sect from East Sea County, had organized the Eastern Exchange Tournament more than ten years ago. It formed the Eastern Nine Sects and discreetly became the leader of the group. Its influence continued to grow as East Sea County's economic status rose.

When Cassius first heard about Cloud Dog Fist, it had been emerging as a potential top Covert Martial Arts sect in the Six Eastern Counties. Over time, Cloud Dog Fist had solidified its position and had even created plans to promote an Eastern Alliance with the intention to unite the entire eastern Covert Martial Arts community. There were likely many top experts within their ranks.

"Cassius, take this." Feng Liusi interrupted his thoughts as he handed Cassius a black envelope, sealed with gold trim. .

Cassius opened it to find an invitation written in densely packed white text. The contents were straightforward. It invited the merchant Cassius to visit the Tulip Antique Exhibition and appreciate the antiques. All three present were familiar with Cassius's fake identity as a merchant, so getting a few invitations through the Blood Vulture organization wasn't difficult.

"The antique exhibition officially starts at 8 a.m.. It's about 7:30 a.m. now, so no rush. Let's get dressed and have breakfast first." Feng Liusi glanced at his watch as he spoke. The three of them immediately grabbed the clothing bags that the Blood Vulture organization had sent over.

Feng Liusi wore a black suit with hard shoulders and collar, giving him a somber, serious look. Saint Feinan donned a white suit. He had an elegant aura about him with his braid resting on his shoulder. Cassius wore a casual burgundy suit, with a tie that inexplicably sparkled with tiny diamonds. The tie was a little flamboyant, so he opted to wear just the suit. The fit was perfect, not too loose or oversized.

"In the past, the Tulip Antique Exhibition used to display their items first and then start the auction. The exhibition would last for three days, and on the fourth day, certain antiques would be auctioned together." Feng Liusi recounted the information the Blood Vulture organization had gathered.

"The Tulip Antique Exhibition was held in Kura City a week ago. However, the Blood Spirit Society attempted to break into the hall and steal the antiques, which led to a bloody conflict. Both sides suffered losses, and the exhibition was temporarily halted. Now, the exhibition is resuming and Cloud Dog Fist has secretly deployed a large number of experts to protect the hall. I think they're waiting for the right moment for revenge. There’s no way Cloud Dog Fist would let getting attacked by a mysterious force slide." Feng Liusi continued.

Feng Liusi took a bite of bread and sipped some milk. He read the freshly printed newspaper beside him as he spoke. "According to our intel, Cloud Dog Fist originally planned to hold an Eastern Nine Sects meeting in Kura City. They had invited combat artists and sect leaders from the nine sects. However, for some reason, they postponed it and instead sent invitations to some junior disciples from various sects."

Saint Feinan was not particularly hungry, so he simply leaned against the window, sipping his coffee and gazing at the distant antique exhibition.

Cassius glanced down at the exhibition brochure. The first day's exhibition featured a wide variety of antiques, with thousands of different items on display. However, there were only two or three items related to ancient ruins. More would be exhibited on the following days, with an ancient Spiral-Eye Sword on the second day and the Kupan Demon Box on the third day.

"Can we just take them by force?" Cassius put down the brochure and looked at Feng Liusi.

"Difficult." Feng Liusi replied. He hesitated before continuing: "Cloud Dog Fist has doubled its defense personnel since the last Blood Spirit Society raid, with combat artist experts guarding the place. Plus, with unstable factors like the Blood Spirit Society and the Gate Organization, we'd become targets if we made a move.

"Moreover, what we need most aren't these ancient antiques, but information about the Southern Dipper Covert Martial Inheritance. This information might be hidden within these antiques or might come from the source of these antiques. Once we acquire a couple of items, we can try asking about the source." Feng Liusi finished his milk. "Of course, the exhibition only lasts for four days. After those four days, Cloud Dog Fist won't care anymore. Whether it's stealing or robbing, anyone who wins an ancient relic at the auction on the fourth day will just be out of luck. Haha..."

He chuckled but suddenly seemed to sense something. His entire body froze, still holding the porcelain cup in the same posture. A breeze drifted by, and a faint cracking sound seemed to echo in the air.

Clang!

The white porcelain cup shattered completely, exploding into fragments and dissolving into a cloud of powder.

"The forty-second..." Feng Liusi muttered to himself as the sound of something cutting through the air came from his hand. Death's Fang Force was surging out of control.

Feng Liusi took a deep breath and clenched his fist. The once turbulent Death's Fang Force calmed and flowed smoothly through his meridians, gathering into their respective acupoints. Cassius had transmitted some life vibration energy to Feng Liusi the previous night. This had included one portion of Undying-Rank energy.

Feng Liusi's increase in strength would be a critical factor in their plans. If he could truly reach the fifth stage of Death's Fang Force, he could hold off an expert at the level of Blade Demon Garoro by himself. This would free Cassius and Saint Feinan from having to act as secondary attackers, allowing them to focus on other tasks.

Back in Death Canyon, Feng Liusi had absorbed the life vibration energy of many strange beasts, which had revitalized him. However, that was the first time he had absorbed life vibration energy from dark creatures.

The results of the high-quality Undying-Rank life vibration energy provided by Cassius were extraordinary. Feng Liusi had unintentionally broken through to his 42nd acupoint. If everything went smoothly, he could fully step into the fifth stage of Death's Fang Force within four days.

"Hah..." Feng Liusi released a swirl of warm white breath through his nose. He slowly stood up and put on his wide-brimmed black hat. Glancing at Cassius and Saint Feinan, who had also risen, he said, "Let's go..."

***

A few hundred meters away, a man in his sixties was bathed in sunlight as he sat by the floor-to-ceiling windows in an office at the back of the Tulip Antique Exhibition. His white hair gleamed golden under the light. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady. He sat in a meditative posture, as though he was about to fall asleep.

He wore a pure white training robe, with a snarling, vicious dog symbol emblazoned on his chest. The image seemed exaggerated in an artistic way, as the proportions were wildly off. The dog's head was particularly large, its eyes were spitting fire, and its gaping fangs were more terrifying than those of a crocodile.

In front of the old man, a middle-aged man was reporting the situation. "Teacher, a large-scale serial killing occurred last night in Kura City. There were five locations in total, mainly in the western and southern districts, with over a hundred dead."

The old man's expression didn't change, and his breathing remained steady as the middle-aged man continued, "The Kura City police quickly arrived at the scene and sealed off the area. They brought in specialists overnight; this was no ordinary incident—it's a high-risk supernatural event..."

"Why report this to me? We've had no dealings with the Black Ops Agency lately, and we didn't do this. If there's nothing else, you can go. Don't worry, it won't involve us..." The old man paused briefly before adding, "Trust me, this won't affect us."

"No, Teacher, that's not what I meant. I'm saying that the people killed last night appear to be from the Blood Spirit Society!" The middle-aged man blurted out the key information.

"What?" The old man's eyes snapped open, and a faint white stream of Qi seemed to flash across his brow and through his eyes, only to disappear again.

Two minutes later...

"More than a hundred from the Blood Spirit Society were killed, including many Black Robes. Haha, good riddance. We didn't get a chance to settle our score with them last time..." The old man chuckled coldly as his aura grew heavy. "Any idea which force was behind it?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "No idea. The Black Ops Agency arrived too quickly, and our people didn't have time to investigate the battle’s traces."

"No matter. It's good that the Blood Spirit Society has enemies, but we'll handle our own revenge from last time," the old man murmured before waving his hand to dismiss his disciple.

He practiced his breathing technique a few times. It felt as if his whole body was being baked in a furnace, causing the temperature in the room to rise by several degrees. Finally, the old man coughed violently, spitting out blood. Yet, he let out a sigh, and his complexion seemed to improve significantly.

The old man glanced at the bloodstained fabric, stood up, and changed out of his training robe, revealing a lean yet powerful body. There was a deep, blood-red handprint on his chest.

A few days earlier, the old man had been stationed as Cloud Dog Fist's combat artist during the Blood Spirit Society's raid on the Tulip Antique Exhibition. He had initially thought they were all weaklings, but to his surprise, they fought fiercely without fear of death. He had been injured by a powerful opponent during that battle.

That man was likely a high-ranking member of the Blood Spirit Society, as the others referred to him as the vice president. He looked like a handsome, dignified gentleman in a suit, carrying a cane. The old man had been outmatched in their fight and was ultimately suppressed and defeated. When they had retreated, the old man had asked for his name.

"Adam."

"Adam, huh! Just wait. In a few days, I'll personally take my revenge on you," the old man muttered, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.

A figure stood quietly in a dimly lit warehouse not far from the Tulip Antique Exhibition. The air was filled with the smell of rotting wood. His entire presence was hidden in the shadows, ready to vanish at any moment.

Swish.

Another figure appeared, kneeling before the man. "Sir Black Peacock, it seems something serious has happened with the Blood Spirit Society. Our request has gone unanswered. Should we try again at noon today?"

"No response..." An unpleasantly raspy voice came from the shadowy corner. It sounded like a flint striking stone.

"Yes, it's said that a mysterious force attacked several of the Blood Spirit Society's bases last night. At least five bases were destroyed, but we don't know who did it. The Black Ops Agency arrived too quickly and sealed off the sites." The subordinate quickly relayed the information.

"A mysterious force? It might be related to the group in East Sea County. Even Garoro was gravely injured to the point of unconsciousness..." The shadowy figure murmured to himself. He then asked, "Oh right, what about the Blade Demon?"

"Sir Blade Demon is still unconscious," the subordinate replied truthfully.

"Forget it... It doesn't matter if he remains unconscious for now. Even if he wakes up, he'll be of no use with his injuries. Roman, contact the core members of the organization currently on missions in the western part of the Federation..." Black Peacock ordered.

"Sir Black Peacock, the core members are scattered as they’re each searching for fragments. It might be difficult to reach them in a short time." The subordinate responded.

"No matter. Do your best to contact them; whoever we can get will do." Black Peacock answered.

"Understood." Roman nodded and vanished instantly.

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The warehouse fell silent once again. After a moment, a black figure emerged from the shadows, stopping at the boundary between darkness and sunlight. He wore a mask, concealing his features, and only his deep, piercing eyes were visible.

"Even Blade Demon was gravely injured... This time, it won't be so easy to succeed..." His raspy voice carried a hint of apprehension.

"Xiadu..." He whispered the name softly. "Forget it, better not inform that monster about this."

At the same time, black cars continuously drove down the main road toward the Tulip Antique Exhibition. A young man in a light-colored trench coat sat in the rear seat of one of the cars. His eyes were narrowed, as he radiated a cold and sharp aura. His purple hair was tousled, and his face was expressionless. He held a long object wrapped tightly in white bandages in his arms, but it was still clear that it was a sword.

"Lance, don't take your sword into the exhibition hall. This is Cloud Dog Fist territory—you can't act recklessly..." The bald old man in the driver's seat gently reminded him.

"Got it," the young man replied impatiently.

The bald old man nodded and continued, "For some reason, Cloud Dog Fist invited a lot of young talents from the Eastern Nine Sects this time. They’re mostly core disciples from each sect. If you get bored, you can gather and build relationships."

He stepped on the gas, quickly overtaking the car in front of them. The car continued to speed up, heading toward their destination.

The car that had just been overtaken was being driven by a white-haired butler. It contained two doll-like children, a girl and a boy. One was named Haiman, the other You An.