Hidden Stories, Summary

"Roar~"

When Elder Li was captured, the three ferocious beasts gradually lost control.

Holding the flying sword, Zhang Feng beheaded three ferocious beasts in succession amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd.

With the three ferocious beasts no longer in control, the Fire Scale Beast herd gradually dispersed, and the sky fell into darkness, with only the torches on the city walls retaining a faint glow.

"The herd has retreated; are we saved?"

The surviving mortals on the city wall found it hard to believe.

Huang Tiangu, lying on the ground, had his eyes wide open.

The instant kill of two elders could be explained simply by speed.

The ability to instantly decapitate three ferocious beasts is not solely due to speed.

Something has to be done, otherwise...

Countless thoughts raced through Huang Tiangu's mind. After a moment of silence and contemplation, he forced himself to remain calm and pleaded with Zhang Feng below the city:

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, please come to the ancestral hall for a chat at midnight!"

Zhang Feng smiled slightly. This old ghost must have been shocked to see his true strength, but he was still able to remain calm and composed, which showed that he had cultivated his mind well.

"Fellow Daoist Huang, please wait a moment. I also have a question."

Zhang Feng used his sword to break open the ferocious beast's head and found three Yinming Beast Crystals.

It is unknown how many cultivators' corpses Elder Li fed to the three ferocious beasts, but it actually caused each of them to produce beast crystals.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you should go to sleep first. We'll settle our score later."

"Ci'er, go and organize the remaining population in the village and repair the damaged houses."

"Qing'er, go and investigate the remaining cultivators in the village. My spies must have been imprisoned by the three elders, otherwise there would have been news of their attack on the city."

"Tianhe, what is your connection with Fellow Daoist Zhang? Tell your grandfather in detail at once!"

While Zhang Feng was searching for the beast crystal, Huang Tiangu knocked out Elder Li, who had dislocated both arms and was seeing stars, with a single punch. Then, he methodically made arrangements for the aftermath of the disaster.

"Grandpa, it's me and Brother Zhang..."

Huang Tianhe softly recounted his daily interactions with Zhang Feng.

……

It's another midnight in the shrine.

This time, however, it was Huang Tiangu who waited anxiously for Zhang Feng to arrive.

Squeak!

After hiding his spoils, Zhang Feng walked to the entrance of the ancestral hall and pushed the door open to enter.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang is too kind. I have already realized my mistake. I beg you to forgive me, considering that I am Grandpa Tianhe!"

Huang Tiangu, leaning on his cane, stepped forward and bowed with his hands clasped and his back bent in greeting.

Zhang Feng's gaze turned suspicious:

"What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist Huang? And what's wrong with it?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Tiangu lowered his back even further:

"I have made three mistakes. First, when we first met here at midnight, I was not honest with him."

Secondly, the Netherworld Body Refining Technique I provided is incomplete, and forcibly practicing it carries the risk of qi deviation and demonic possession.

Thirdly, I did not explicitly state the struggles within the village; if it weren't for your robust physique, you would have been in grave danger.

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Huang, there's no need for that. If it weren't for the cultivation method you provided, I, Zhang, wouldn't be where I am today."

Zhang Feng helped Huang Tiangu up, and that was indeed the case.

Without the cultivation technique and the first beast crystal provided by Huang Tiangu, he would probably have been trapped in the enormous predicament of having such a great opportunity as the experience panel, but being unable to use it due to the sealing of spiritual energy.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, there's no need to be so modest. I know the cultivation method I've provided inside and out."

Fellow Daoist Zhang's achievements are all the result of his own hard work.

"This old man is willing to offer the complete cultivation technique as an apology; please accept it, Fellow Daoist Zhang."

Realizing that Zhang Feng showed no resentment or anger, Huang Tiangu felt relieved and took out two secret manuals from his robes, handing them to Zhang Feng.

"The first book is called 'The Underworld King's Technique', also known as 'The Immovable King of the Bright Mountain Technique'. It was originally a profound body-refining technique in the Buddhist sect of the Great Jin Dynasty, but it was obtained and transformed into 'The Underworld King's Technique' by a powerful figure from the demonic sect."

The second book is titled "The Art of Demon Control," a secret technique passed down by the Ten Thousand Demon Valley, one of the three top powers in the Great Jin Dynasty.

You can view the details of both later.

Then Huang Tiangu led Zhang Feng to open a hidden door inside the ancestral hall and enter a secret room:

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, this was originally the reward I promised for escorting Tianci. Now that you have quelled the internal strife in the village, you should be given even more reward."

But I'm penniless; this is all I have.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Feng looked around the dark room and saw a blue needle-shaped weapon and a fist-sized Yinming Beast Crystal.

"Fellow Daoist, please forgive me. Actually, I lied to you about our last midnight meeting."

Huangtu Village was established by an old man, while Hongtu Village was established by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

The current village chief of Hongtu Village and I climbed Baofeng Mountain several times together under the leadership of that predecessor.

But all our attempts ended in failure, and gradually we all gave up.

Only the Nascent Soul cultivator refused to give up, and ultimately died on the way up the mountain.

These two items are what I obtained from the place where the Nascent Soul senior passed away.

One was a magical artifact he used in his lifetime, and the other was a second-tier Yinming Beast Crystal he obtained from hunting a second-tier Yinming Beast.

Huang Tiangu took the magic weapon and the beast crystal and handed them to Zhang Feng.

"I have one last request. Please accept this bead, fellow Daoist. It is something I always carry with me."

However, given your strong physical body, you have a chance to climb Storm Mountain and escape this world.

"I only hope that you, fellow Daoist, can escape this place with this pearl, thus fulfilling my long-cherished wish."

Immediately afterwards, Huang Tiangu took out the bead he always carried around his neck and placed it in Zhang Feng's hand as well.

"Fellow Daoist Huang, what is this...?"

Zhang Feng accepted them one by one, and seeing Huang Tiangu making his final arrangements, he couldn't help but ask a question.

"Alas... I was already nearing the end of my life, and with the forced activation of the Yinming Beast Crystal, my body has reached its limit. I don't have many days left to live."

"My descendants have no chance of escaping this place, which is why I entrusted them to you, fellow Daoist."

"Oh, by the way, if you are interested in the relics of the cultivators here, you may take them yourself. In this desolate land, these relics are no different from the soil and stones."

After Huang Tiangu finished speaking, he walked out of the dark room, leaving Zhang Feng alone.

As he gently touched the "Pluto Technique," Zhang Feng mentally reviewed what he had gained from this trip.

There's not much to say about Huangtian Valley.

Although he didn't offer the cultivation method out of kindness, he was still considered to have done a favor, as he later gifted so many items.

Although there was an intention to bribe, it was not entirely wrong.

After all, Zhang Feng's current strength speaks for itself.

The cultivation technique should be carefully kept, and the magic treasure left behind by the Nascent Soul cultivator should be preserved. The materials of the magic treasure itself are more durable and sharper than the Flying Jade in Zhang Feng's hands.

There's also a second-tier Yinming Beast Crystal. Good things should be kept; it's his guarantee for improving his body tempering strength to climb Storm Mountain.

Zhang Feng also kept the bead that Huang Tiangu always carried with him. As long as it didn't harm him, this little obsession could still satisfy him.

As for the other miscellaneous items in the room, Zhang Feng did not pick them up, since he could not carry much without a storage bag.

Moreover, without the nourishment of spiritual energy, they are probably no different from scrap metal, and cannot compare with the magic weapons of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Another thing he needed to take with him was the cultivation insights left behind by the deceased cultivators, mostly on breaking through to the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stages, which was exactly what Zhang Feng needed.

After finishing the record, I returned to my stone house; dawn was breaking.

This was a very fruitful experience.

The first slaying of the ferocious beast was a rewarding transformation of my faith.

This battle yielded a tremendous material reward.

Zhang Feng was certain that even his master, Zhang Guihe, was not richer than him.