Chapter 2541 — The Fury of Patriarch Xuanchen

"Boss, I couldn't win him over. The man was the strategist at headquarters to begin with—being sent down here was already beneath him. He looks down on everyone, struts around full of himself, and doesn't treat me like the head of the family at all. Every big decision is his to make..." Dafeng Ge said miserably. "And he's a heaven-tier expert. How am I supposed to get rid of him? No ordinary man could take him down..."

"..." Wei Zhao was stunned. He hadn't expected this strategist to be so formidable—a heaven-tier expert, no less. That was truly beyond his expectations. After thinking it over, Wei Zhao said, "All right then. For now, endure it and preserve your strength. Just make sure he doesn't get rid of you. I'll think of something."

"Understood, boss. I'll be careful," Dafeng Ge said hurriedly.

Wei Zhao hung up and shook his head. It seemed things were not going as smoothly as he had imagined. Dafeng Ge had not gained control of the forces within the Red Conch, and on the contrary seemed to be doing worse than when he had been the boss of a bar branch. He was the head of the family in name, but the real power had been stripped away by the strategist!

Still, it was hardly surprising. The strategist had been sent down from headquarters, and he had already been a figure of strategist rank up there. On top of that, he was a heaven-tier expert—why would he ever give a damn about Dafeng Ge, an early earth-tier expert?

It seemed the search for the Pangolin would require long and careful planning. If it came down to it, Wei Zhao would simply have to find an opportunity to kill that strategist! He wondered what level of heaven-tier strength the man had. But whatever his strength, anyone at heaven tier would not be weak. If he was heaven-tier, then unless Wei Zhao launched a surprise attack or used a true-qi bomb, a head-on clash would leave Wei Zhao with little confidence of victory.

So Wei Zhao was not especially anxious. The Pangolin had to be found, but he must plan before acting. Acting rashly would make him a fool, and even if Ying Ziyu learned the truth, she would blame Wei Zhao for taking the risk.

By the time Wei Zhao finished brewing the medicine, Wang Xinyan had just finished her bath. Her body gave off a faint scent of girlish skin mingled with the fragrance of shower gel. Wei Zhao could not resist drawing a deep breath. He could never get enough of that scent—every time he breathed it in, he felt his spirit surge. If he had not known that the scent aided cultivation, he might even have thought it was a drug...

Wang Xinyan was wiping water droplets from her hair when she suddenly noticed Wei Zhao standing beside her, sniffing at her body. She gave a start. "Ah, what are you doing..."

"Uh... I brought you your medicine..." Wei Zhao said, somewhat embarrassed.

"If you want to cultivate, wait until we're in the room. It's not good here..." Wang Xinyan lowered her voice, glancing at Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, who were watching television not far away.

"Heh, all right." Wei Zhao handed her the bowl of medicine.

After drinking it, Wang Xinyan grew a little drowsy. Wei Zhao's medicine actually had a soporific effect as well, so her sleepiness did not strike him as anything unusual. Once Wang Xinyan had gone inside to sleep, Wei Zhao said goodnight to Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu and went in as well.

Originally Wei Zhao had wanted to study that black iron rod, but for now cultivation took priority. Until he reached heaven tier, studying weapons was pointless. Even if the black iron rod could break a cultivator's true-qi protective barrier, it only worked on low-tier cultivators. Against someone like You Panhu or Zhao Qibing, who had little real combat experience, it might do; but against seasoned cultivators, the moment they saw the thing could pierce true-qi defenses, would they not dodge it or try to snatch it away?

So for now the thing was of little use to Wei Zhao. Against cultivators below heaven tier, he had no need of any weapon at all; against those above heaven tier, taking this thing into battle would be pure self-destruction—a single true-qi-charged weapon from such an opponent would send Wei Zhao flying. There was simply no place for it to be used.

Wei Zhao climbed into bed and gently embraced Wang Xinyan, then began circulating the second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, preparing to endure another night of pain and pleasure...

The pain, because the beauty in his arms could be held but not touched; the pleasure, because his strength was advancing by leaps and bounds...

In that place, Patriarch Xuanchen looked at Tagan Long on the sickbed, his heart filled with boundless fury. Even with Patriarch Xuanzhen out of seclusion, there was nothing to be done. Tagan Long's injuries were simply too severe—to say his life hung by a thread would not be an exaggeration. He did not know what sort of person could be so vicious as to reduce a piece on his important chessboard to such a state!

Even though, besides Tagan Long, this visible piece, that place had also prepared a hidden piece—after all, this plan had been decades in the making and absolutely could not be allowed to fail—even so, with the visible piece crippled, the plan had suffered an impact that could not be ignored!

There was a hidden piece, yes, but the hidden piece had grave flaws. Quite apart from its constitution, there were serious problems in how it could interact and coordinate with the other inheritors. That was why Patriarch Xuanchen was so furious!

"Second Brother, is there really no way for Tagan Long?" Patriarch Xuanchen asked, unwilling to accept it.

"There's no way..." Patriarch Xuanzhen shook his head. "At least not for now. I am also consulting some ancient texts, but on the whole, there is still hope."

"Alas!" Patriarch Xuanchen sighed. "That day draws nearer and nearer. If Tagan Long cannot awaken before then, we will have no choice but to send in the hidden piece..."

"Third Brother, you need not blame yourself so much. I will do my best," Patriarch Xuanzhen said. "If only Eldest Brother..."

Patriarch Xuanchen's expression changed at once, turning somewhat awkward.

"Enough, Third Brother. I don't blame you. That accident back then was simply an accident, and you need not reproach yourself. Although Eldest Brother has not been in contact with us these years, he has not forgotten the ancestral teachings Master left behind, and he too is making preparations for our sect to return to that level," Patriarch Xuanzhen said. "Eldest Brother is also working hard to find a wood-element inheritor..."

"I'm fine..." Patriarch Xuanchen smiled somewhat unnaturally. "It's all right. If it comes to it, we'll use the hidden piece... Let us hope that this time, the hidden piece does not disappoint us!"

"The hidden piece should be all right. It should not disappoint us," Patriarch Xuanzhen said.

As the two were speaking, a disciple called from outside the door: "Master, Martial Uncle, your disciple has an important matter to report!"

"Xiao Yi, come in," Patriarch Xuanzhen said upon hearing the voice outside.

"Yes, Martial Uncle!" The one who entered was Patriarch Xuanchen's eldest disciple.

"Xiao Yi, you're here. Is there something you need? That matter I asked you to investigate, concerning Zhang Naipao—how is the investigation going? Have you found anything?" Patriarch Xuanchen asked.