Chapter 172 - 32: Altering the Aura

Chapter 172: Chapter 32: Altering the AuraThis story has many simplifications, but it largely explains why Granny Huai could reside in this place. An Jing nodded slightly. Behind Granny Huai, there indeed existed a superior mentor, otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how she, as a young girl, could have used the Earth Vein to prolong her life. Moreover, her Fate Pattern was absolutely special and considerably valuable, not to mention anything else, merely the fact that she could benefit mutually with the Earth Vein made her worth cultivating. "And those people." Granny Huai continued, "They appeared over a month ago and kept loitering around the teahouse. I initially thought they encountered some problems and wanted to ask if I could help, but they outright expressed their desire to buy my shop and asked me to move out." —It was also then that I saved that child. She shook her head, laughing a bit at this point: "I told them, the land of this teahouse isn’t mine, it’s lent to me by Da Chen officialdom, yet they didn’t believe it." "Disbelief was one thing, but they also tried to coerce me into selling, threatening me... These people were later driven away by Wang." The ’Wang’ that Granny Huai mentioned was the Head Constable Wang, who had just recently met An Jing. He possessed Inner Breath like Tide, a remarkable skill that made him quite capable in the entirety of Kanming City of banishing ordinary troublemakers. At this point, Granny Huai nodded slightly: "Wang was also trying to help me and was quite anxious. You, young man, didn’t fight with him then, probably giving him a break, so I offer his apologies on his behalf." "It’s no trouble, it’s part of his duty, I understand," An Jing waved it off, and his mind pondered, "Over a month ago... Isn’t that when I escaped from Hanging Fate Manor?" "The power of the Demon Sect in Kanming City also weakened in their efforts to capture me because the Demon Sect had even infiltrated the highest ranks of Kanming City; thus, when the Demon Sect weakened, the city defenses of Kanming also debilitated!" "It seems, the group eyeing the Earth Vein even turns out to be enemies of the Demon Sect?" Unsure of this, An Jing steadied his mind, raised his head, and looked at Granny Huai, who was silently waiting for him to speak. "I am not from Dust Li." An Jing stated straightforwardly, "My family was once a prosperous household that dispersed due to a famine. To evade some enemies pursuing me, I disguised myself as a visitor from Dust Li." "But that group, having already reached agreements with the local major households of Dust Li, felt uneasy and suspicious about my arrival, hence their attempt to take action against me and inquire about my true affiliations." "In simple terms, it was because I disguised myself too well that they wanted to probe... by now, saying I’m not from Dust Li is useless, as these people have already moved against me with malice, and I definitely intend to retaliate." At this juncture, An Jing could not help but be curious, "Granny Huai, how did you realize it?" "Qi." Granny Huai seemed contemplative at this moment; she stared deeply at An Jing with a complex gaze. After a while, she spoke faintly, "My Fate Pattern allows me to see the Qi of the soul. The soul’s Qi of the people from Dust Li carries the chill of wind and frost and the coolness of the Northern Mountains, while yours, though truly carrying the martial intent of the vast Northern Plains, still retains the scent of books permeating from long-term living in the city." "At one glance, I knew you must be a young man of a good family from Da Chen with some heritage, which is why I misspoke momentarily, nearly spoiling your disguise." "Such is the case..." An Jing did not mind this as long as others could not recognize it. However, this notion of sensing the Qi of the soul astonished him, and he thought, "Subdue Evil, is this also a method of detection? How should it be concealed?" "The ability to observe soul Qi is rare, as for concealment, it can be somewhat challenging for others, but not for you." The Sword Spirit was very reliable in this aspect: "The breath of the soul is essentially the essence of your past life experiences, but don’t you possess Innate Wisdom? Use your past life’s perceptions." "Visualize using the Tranquil Sword Manual, recall your past life, and let this old lady take another look." "That really isn’t difficult for me." Ever since that dream of his previous life, An Jing had gained more control over his memories from that life. He closed his eyes and meditated, visualizing the Tranquil Sword Manual, and numerous fragmented memories of his past life began emerging, gradually reincorporating the persona of a martial artist who had survived great wars and calamities. Upon reopening his eyes, a faint golden light flashed in An Jing’s eyes, he said, "Granny Huai, would you take another look?" "I’ll try." The old lady was also quite curious; a glimmer of dark light swirled in her eyes, with a halo of dark light momentarily flashing behind her head. Moments later, the elder looked astonished and said, "You’ve completely changed! Untraceable through history and vast like the ocean, yet the waves conceal an unmatched edge... You’ve become even more dangerous!" Hearing this evaluation, An Jing also breathed a sigh of relief, "You’ve been a great help, Granny Huai, I’ll keep this in my heart." Although still unclear about what path he would eventually take, An Jing had instinctively foreseen that his future would definitely involve enmity with many. Because his enemies were not just some lone villains or a solitary Demon Sect, but encompassed the whole murky humanity of this world. In other words, his enemies would be countless, among them many possessing divine abilities and special powers. If he could overcome the challenge, he would fight. If he couldn’t, he would figure out a way to win. While devising this plan, being pursued by enemies meant that An Jing definitely needed to keep himself concealed, which was why he focused so intently on learning the Art of Magic for altering his appearance and changing the characteristics of his Spirit Qi. Now, with Granny Huai’s hint, he could cover up a critical loophole, which understandably relieved and grateful him. "There is nothing difficult about this, as long as it helps you, that’s good." Granny Huai thought nothing of it. Many things in the world could enlighten someone with just a casual action. She had seen it often enough and didn’t care for the recognition, happy to be of help. An Jing and Granny Huai pooled their information and quickly pieced together the overall situation. There was a group of people who, noting the defenses of Ming City were down, had infiltrated the city to covertly battle for control over the unguarded Earth Pulse. Before this, they had already contacted the surrounding Dust Li people, asking them to stand by and watch without interfering with their actions in Ming City. An Jing hadn’t understood why at first, but thinking about the Frost Calamity and the situation back home with the Northern Barbarians, he began to understand—the environmental pressure on the Dust Li must be intensifying as the influence of the Frost Calamity kept spreading. Those near the Sects were alright, protected by powerful figures, but those tribes close to Da Chen were surely caught between two difficult choices, uncertain whether to seek the protection of the Sects or to wholly side with Da Chen. But the best choice was to remain independent and migrate south. After all, even if they offered themselves to Da Chen, he might not accept them, or allow them to move south. All in all, with Da Chen standing in their way, they didn’t want to start a war like the Northern Barbarians had, they could only hope that things would turn chaotic on Da Chen’s side. As long as things turned chaotic in Ming City, no matter how the chaos unfolded, they would have an excuse to move south, then naturally assimilate into Da Chen or take over the land. "The Frost Calamity is approaching... just a few days away." An Jing murmured to himself, "Unless something unexpected happens, the City Magistrate will then use a Talisman to Join the Earth Pulse and wield his Divine Skill to curb the frost." "But should the Earth Pulse Node fall into the wrong hands, taking advantage of the situation to twist the Divine Skill, the City Magistrate might end up severely injured or even dead, not to mention... under the backlash from the Earth Pulse, the entire foundation of Ming City would be shaken!" "Furthermore, with the heavy snowfall from the Frost Calamity, casualties will be countless, and the entire northwestern frontier will be plunged into great turmoil!" —It’s almost... just like what happened back home at the Northern Border! At this thought, An Jing clenched his fists. Amidst his anger, An Jing was somewhat puzzled, his brows furrowing deeply, "But why? Are they just aiming to create chaos and bloodshed?" "Even the Demon Sect isn’t like this!" In An Jing’s understanding, even the Demon Sect wouldn’t cause chaos for the sake of chaos. Deliberately creating chaos contradicts their doctrine of ’Following Heaven’s Will’; at most, they would take advantage of the situation. Not to mention, this city was likely a stronghold of the Heaven’s Will Demon Sect in Da Chen, even if they intended to collect more Children of Calamity, they could’ve done so elsewhere without disrupting their own base. Was it perhaps to create more Blood Pills? But, the Blood Pills of the Demon Sect were quite special, requiring Ritual Sacrifices, a fated weapon, and the collaboration of the Master of the Medicine Manor and Pharmacists to make them, different from the low-quality Blood Pills An Jing had seen. These low-quality Blood Pills, being produced, served little purpose, being perhaps a somewhat effective Qi Nourishing pill that might slightly enhance Blood Qi, but that was the extent of their use. Not to mention, creating them didn’t require such grand maneuvers... if refining was necessary, wouldn’t small villages and towns be more convenient? If he couldn’t understand it, he wouldn’t ponder over it. An Jing knew that he was still missing a key piece of information to uncover the truth. Fortunately, he had the means to investigate this crucial information. Recently, Granny Huai’s teahouse was definitely not going to open, An Jing placed his luggage in a private room, settling down there to also protect Granny Huai and the local Earth Pulse. After making all the preparations, An Jing closed the door of the private room under the pretext of needing to cultivate, allowing him to control the drones discreetly and preparing Granny Huai for the arrival of the unknown mysterious person. The trust between them hadn’t reached that level yet, and neither side was in a hurry, a sudden meeting might be awkward for both. Soon, night fell. A Lotus Seed Drone quietly flew into the Chongyi Building.