Chapter 80 - 78: Jailbreak
The Blood God Skill contained no method for breaking through to the Innate Martial Artist realm. It barely even mentioned Cultivation at the level of an Inner Breath Grandmaster.
Jiang Zuo suspected the Bu Family had hidden this part to entice people into willingly seeking them out for the subsequent Cultivation Technique.
Aside from the Blood God Skill, Jiang Zuo hadn’t encountered any other high-level Cultivation Techniques, so his understanding of Innate Martial Artists was extremely limited.
The only thing he knew came from what Subai had told him long ago: when breaking through to become an Innate Martial Artist, a mortal’s body had a chance to undergo Purifying the Body, which could potentially give rise to a Spirit Root.
But as his Inner Breath Cultivation neared Perfection, and especially after his attributes reached the mortal limit, Jiang Zuo was beginning to vaguely understand how an Inner Breath Grandmaster could break through to become an Innate Martial Artist.
To put it simply, it was about a qualitative change in one’s attributes.
Jiang Zuo believed that for a Grandmaster to break through to the Innate Martial Artist realm, the orthodox path was to train one’s attributes to the limit of 999, then continue cultivating to make each point even more powerful.
Only after each point of an attribute had become sufficiently powerful could a breakthrough to the Innate Martial Artist realm transform the Inner Breath within one’s body into True Qi.
Among these, Strength and Physique were likely the two most important attributes.
Only with sufficient strength could Inner Breath transform into True Qi.
And only with a high enough Physique could the body withstand the True Qi and avoid a failed breakthrough.
In this respect, Jiang Zuo had already met the conditions to break through to the Innate Martial Artist realm.
In fact, Jiang Zuo had a feeling that if he tried to break through now, there was a faint chance he would succeed.
However, Jiang Zuo was in no rush. This was a crucial step for forming a Spirit Root. Until he understood how to do it, he would not choose to break through to the Innate Martial Artist realm, no matter how high his attributes were or how confident he felt.
Without forming a Spirit Root, becoming an Innate Martial Artist would just mean becoming a bit stronger—a rather meaningless improvement.
’It’s not like Xiaoqing hasn’t grown at all these past years!’
Jiang Zuo was very satisfied with his own attributes, but Xiaoqing’s left much to be desired.
In the more than twenty years since Xiaoqing’s birth, its Strength and Physique had only increased by 5 points, while its agility had gone up by 6.
Jiang Zuo could only console himself. ’I should just be glad Xiaoqing’s attributes haven’t dropped!’
...
It took Jiang Zuo a day to find a small mortal town.
After nearly twenty years in seclusion, the spare clothes Jiang Zuo had with him were tattered and torn from his martial arts practice.
Moreover, his body had grown more muscular after the massive increase in his attributes.
The combination of his tattered clothes and his powerfully built frame drew too much attention on the road.
So Jiang Zuo simply used the Red Fox Bracelet to take on the appearance of a frail old man.
’Nearly half of its hundred-year limit is gone. It’d be a waste not to use it.’
Disguised as a little old man, Jiang Zuo walked casually through the town gate without drawing any attention.
In front of the town gate stood a notice board, plastered with official announcements from the Government Office and wanted posters.
Jiang Zuo walked over.
He could figure out his current location by carefully reading the official documents on the board.
A crowd of townspeople had gathered in front of the notice board, pointing and chattering about its contents.
Jiang Zuo didn’t find the information he was looking for. Instead, his gaze was immediately drawn to a wanted poster.
"WANTED: Zhao Li, who, in collusion with Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying, stole an ancestral Peace Pendant belonging to the Wei family. Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying have been apprehended. Due to the immense value of the Jade Stone, if the fugitive Zhao Li does not surrender himself promptly, the criminals Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying will be publicly beheaded in the coming days. A reward of one hundred taels of silver will be given for verified information regarding Zhao Li’s whereabouts. A reward of one thousand taels of silver will be given to anyone who captures him and delivers him to Pulan Town!"
Below the notice were three crude portraits.
Jiang Zuo glanced at it; the wanted poster had been issued half a year ago.
Although the three portraits were blurry, Jiang Zuo recognized them at a glance: himself, Wen Shulin, and Zhuang Ruying.
’The Peace Pendant... They’re after the Life Essence Returning Skill?’
’It can’t be Wei Jiemie himself, but it must be related to him. If I calculate the time, Wei Jiemie’s term of service should be almost up. It’s not impossible for him to be out two or three years early.’
’Could it be the Daze Dynasty?’
’But how did they find this place? How did they know I’d be here? I didn’t even know where I was. What kind of method is this?’
Jiang Zuo frowned in thought.
Seeing a wanted poster like this right after emerging from the deep mountains, he couldn’t help but let his mind race.
Jiang Zuo didn’t know Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying had eloped. From his perspective, it looked like someone had pinpointed his location to this region, captured the pair, and brought them here to threaten him into surrendering the Life Essence Returning Skill.
’Pulan Town? Half a year has already passed. No need to rush over. I’ll check out the surrounding towns first.’
The wanted poster was half a year old. If Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying were still alive, their enemies wouldn’t harm them now.
Jiang Zuo thought it was highly likely the two were still alive. After all, the perpetrators were after the Life Essence Returning Skill. Killing Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying would do them no good; in fact, it would completely dash their hopes of getting it.
Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying had been dragged into this because of him. And since Jiang Zuo was no longer the man he once was, he wouldn’t just hide at the first sign of trouble.
However, it wouldn’t hurt to gather as much information as possible before heading to Pulan Town.
Over three days, Jiang Zuo went through all the surrounding towns and county seats. His wanted poster was posted in every single one.
’It seems the pursuers can only determine my general location. I just don’t know what method they’re using.’
With a flash, Jiang Zuo sped toward Pulan Town.
「Half a day later.」
"Oh, you mean that couple, Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying? Who in town doesn’t know about them? To think, they even opened a bookstore here. But they were wolves in sheep’s clothing, stealing someone’s priceless ancestral Jade Stone. The money for the bookstore must have come from selling it!"
Jiang Zuo had spent a bit of money buying drinks for an old man in a tavern.
After a few cups, Jiang Zuo asked a simple question, and the old man began to chatter on endlessly.
Jiang Zuo’s eyes narrowed.
’Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying got married?’
’They settled here about five years ago, and then someone came looking for them?’
’So, it’s not that someone had foreseen that I would appear here, but simply because Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying were here, their captors assumed I would be nearby?’
At this thought, most of Jiang Zuo’s apprehension vanished.
To meet again after more than twenty years, in a strange place and under such circumstances.
This must be fate.
...
「That night.」
Jiang Zuo snuck toward the town’s Government Office.
Wen Shulin and his wife were being held in the jail of the Government Office. He had heard they’d had a child and hoped the boy was unharmed.
Jiang Zuo planned to rescue the three of them first and figure out the rest later.
With his current Cultivation and attributes, infiltrating a small town’s jail was effortless.
A moment later, Jiang Zuo stood before a cell.
Zhuang Ruying and Wen Shulin were asleep, holding a small boy who looked to be just over three years old.
Although they only had straw for cover, the cell’s environment wasn’t too harsh, and there were no signs of torture on their bodies.
The cell door was locked. Jiang Zuo reached out, applied a bit of pressure with his palm, and the lock broke silently.
"Haha, you’ve come after all! My long wait wasn’t in vain!"
"Old Zhu, grab him! Don’t let him escape!"
But the instant Jiang Zuo broke the lock, an ecstatic voice suddenly rang out from the end of the cell block.
To capture Zhao Li, Zhu Laoqi and Zhu Shaoqing had gone to great lengths.
Not only did they set up such a trap, but they also personally moved into the jail, all to prevent Jiang Zuo from escaping!
Hearing Zhu Laoqi’s voice, Jiang Zuo remained unfazed.
He no longer held back. With a flash of movement, he rushed into the cell.
Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying were still asleep as Jiang Zuo scooped up the family of three and charged straight into the cell wall in front of him.
BOOM!
Jiang Zuo smashed a huge hole straight through the half-meter-thick stone wall.
"Such immense strength! There’s no mistake, that must be Zhao Li!"
Seeing Jiang Zuo break through the wall to escape, Zhu Laoqi was not alarmed but overjoyed.
"After him!"
Zhu Shaoqing slapped a Talisman on himself and, just like Jiang Zuo, smashed through the wall and gave chase.
"Thunderbolt Talisman!"
Zhu Laoqi also slapped a Talisman onto himself and chased after Zhu Shaoqing.
Jiang Zuo’s speed was not slow, but he hadn’t run for long before he noticed the pursuers behind him were closing in at an even faster pace.
There was no outrunning them.
Carried by Jiang Zuo, Wen Shulin and Zhuang Ruying had been startled from their sleep.
The couple had endured a lot over the past year or so, but they were still so terrified by the scene before them that they didn’t dare to breathe.
"Keep running. Get as far away as you can."
Jiang Zuo set the two of them and their child on the ground, gave them this instruction, and then walked back the way he came.
"Ruying, let’s go, quickly!"
Wen Shulin didn’t know what was happening, but it was clear the man before them meant them no harm.
He hurriedly fled with his child and Zhuang Ruying.
Jiang Zuo had only taken a few steps back when he ran into the pursuing Zhu Laoqi and Zhu Shaoqing.
"This build... it doesn’t look like Zhao Li. How did he get so thin?"
As Jiang Zuo returned alone, Zhu Laoqi looked at him and couldn’t help but frown.
"No! That is Zhao Li! He’s just using an Illusionary Magical Artifact!"
Zhu Shaoqing, however, had seen through the disguise and barked in a low voice.
They were both at the Perfection of Qi Cultivation, so naturally they didn’t have the ability to see through a Magical Artifact’s illusion at a glance.
It was just like how Jiang Zuo had been able to sense something was off about Subai. Without being controlled by Spiritual Qi, the form created by the Red Fox Bracelet would be very stiff.
Zhu Shaoqing’s Cultivation wasn’t high, but he was extremely experienced. A careful look was all it took for him to spot the flaw.
"A Magical Artifact that can change one’s appearance? Zhao Li, don’t tell me you gave that Cultivation Jade Stone to another Cultivator?"
Hearing this, Zhu Laoqi grew anxious.
Magical Artifacts didn’t just appear out of nowhere in the Mortal Territory. Possessing a Magical Artifact meant that Zhao Li had been in contact with a Cultivator.
Even the usually calm Zhu Shaoqing’s expression turned incredibly grim.
If the Cultivation Jade Stone had fallen into the hands of another Cultivator, they would have no way of getting it back.
These past few years would have been a complete waste of effort!
"No, the Cultivation Jade Stone is still with me."
But to their surprise and delight, Jiang Zuo answered after a brief silence.