Chapter 3327 — Not Human

"Wei Zhao, even if you go to the Haku Namata Desert, you may not be able to obtain the white energy stone!" White Leader shook his head and said, "Because I know this white energy stone very well—there were detailed records of it in the Five Luminaries Sect's logs back then!"

"What do you mean? Are you saying there is no white energy stone there? That this map is a fraud?" Wei Zhao asked, startled.

"The map is no fraud, and there really is a white energy stone mine there!" White Leader paused here, then continued, "But that place is not unclaimed land—it was taken under control long ago, and by a cultivation clan, no less!"

"A cultivation clan?" Wei Zhao felt a chill in his heart. It seemed this matter might not be as easy as he had imagined.

"Indeed. That place is no longer part of Huaxia; it belongs to foreign lands. In the Haku Namata Desert there is a mysterious race called the Paoli. This race can be called human, yet is not human. What they actually are, no one knows, because they have never revealed it. They always appear in human form, yet their features are very different from ordinary people. At first everyone assumed they were foreigners, and that such differences in appearance were normal. But with the development of science and technology and the spread of the internet, when even cultivators began using the internet, people discovered that this race's features match no foreign people at all—they are unique. That is why we suspect they are not a human race!" White Leader explained.

"The Paoli? Not human?" Wei Zhao was somewhat surprised, though not exactly shocked. After all, he had seen the Great Fire Lion clan and the Spider clan, and at his side were cultivated spirit beasts like the Wind-Thunder Violet Lightning Beast. So it was hardly strange that other non-human races could cultivate.

"Yes, though I cannot be certain. Apart from some connection with our Five Luminaries Sect, the Paoli have dealings only with the Cultivators' Commerce Guild; beyond that, they have little contact with anyone, and records are scarce..." White Leader paused here and said, "When they first came to the cultivation world on the Huaxia side, it was to do business. Through our Five Luminaries Sect they contacted the Cultivators' Commerce Guild, and then sold white energy stones in exchange for the cultivation resources they needed!"

"So their white energy stones can be sold?" Wei Zhao's interest was slightly roused. "But these white energy stones seem rather rare nowadays?"

"Yes, but that was in the past. In the last two or three hundred years, the Paoli have stopped coming here. At their final trade, they said the white energy stone mines were growing scarcer and scarcer, and that what remained they would keep for their own use. The cultivation resources they had traded for were enough to last them several lifetimes, so they ceased trading," White Leader said. "Thus, over these two or three hundred years, most cultivators who knew of this white energy stone have passed away—or simply could not be bothered to mention it."

Wei Zhao nodded in sudden understanding. Time can obliterate many things; two or three hundred years is enough to let the white energy stone drown in the tide of history. After all, never mind two or three hundred years—even a hundred would be enough for many people to forget such matters!

But it was hardly surprising that Little Eleven and the others knew of the white energy stone. The Five Luminaries Sect was the first sect to have contact with the Paoli, and there were probably still a few white energy stones in stock within the sect. No wonder Little Eleven had been so dismissive of it!

"So then, this thing belongs to the Paoli. Does that mean that even if I go to the Haku Namata Desert and find the location on this map, it will be useless—I still won't be able to get any white energy stones?" Wei Zhao was thoroughly disappointed. It seemed that Yu Dake's so-called treasure map might not be a treasure map at all, but rather a map of the Paoli's territory. Someone long ago had likely traded with the Paoli for a piece of white energy stone and taken a map along, intending to trade again later. Somehow both items had ended up in Yu Dake's hands, and he had mistaken them for something valuable.

"That is not necessarily so. After all, so many years have passed—perhaps the Paoli have found new energy stone mines. It is only that, having not traded for so long and with enough cultivation resources remaining in hand, they have not come to trade again." White Leader waved a hand and said, "So if you have the inclination, there is no harm in going to take a look."

"I see. In that case, I really should go and try my luck!" Wei Zhao nodded and said.

"Yes. The Paoli are relatively easy to deal with. To them, so long as you offer sufficient price and sincerity, they will return kindness for kindness," White Leader said.

"Then many thanks, Teacher Bai. It is getting late, so I will head back now." Having gotten the answers he wanted, Wei Zhao did not linger—it was already very late.

"Very well, I will not see you out." White Leader paused here and said, "I have heard about the matter of the Dark Night Palace. It should be connected to Xuanchen's side. Be careful."

"I know." Wei Zhao had already suspected Kang Jingming, and now that White Leader had said this, he was all the more certain that the affair had been stirred up by Ancestor Xuanchen and Kang Jingming. Yet even knowing it, Wei Zhao had no way to act for the moment. Wei Zhao knew his own affairs best: he could indeed instantly kill an expert at the peak of the late Heaven rank, but he could not do so consecutively. Moreover, the Five Luminaries Sect had experts at the great perfection of the late Heaven rank, so Wei Zhao could not simply charge in and slaughter them.

Not long after Wei Zhao and Han Jingyi left White Leader's residence, far away within the Five Luminaries Sect, Ancestor Xuanchen's face was exceedingly dark! And beside him, Kang Jingming's face was full of shock, astonishment, and disbelief!

"Father-in-law, is what you say true? Wei Zhao has no intention at all of using the second-grade medicinal cauldron as raw material to produce a second-grade automatic cauldron?" Kang Jingming asked, deeply unwilling to accept it.

"Indeed!" Ancestor Xuanchen drew a deep breath and said, "There is no mistake. This information is very accurate—Wei Zhao said it himself to White Leader! And my source of information could not possibly deceive me!" (To be continued..)