Chapter 352 - Hu Clan’s Secret

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After Hu Qiongqi and Hu Guiyuan came back to the Hu Clan that day, they immediately went to the ancestral shrine. After searching for a while, they finally found that distinctive flame pattern inside. However, once they knew the answer, both of them were dumbfounded.

That day, the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan called for a secret meeting. This meeting only consisted of six participants, and for the sake of secrecy, the venue was the heavily guarded Hu Clan’s secret chamber.

“What? The Sacred Flame Insignia! How could that be possible?” In the secret chamber, an old man with a white beard and white hair looked at Hu Guiyuan and Hu Qiongqi in disbelief. The face that was normally expressionless was no longer calm, and all his usual self-control was gone at this moment.

He was Hu Guiyuan’s grandfather, Hu Tianfeng, the most senior person in the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan with Cultivation in the later stage of the Embryonic Breathing realm. He could be said to be the number one expert in the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan. Because of his existence, the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan was able to be among the top eight big ancient martial arts aristocratic families.

“Great grandfather, it’s absolutely true. I have definitely seen it correctly,” Hu Qiongqi said with great certainty. There were indeed seven masses surrounding Mo Wen that day, which looked like the flames in the Sacred Flame Insignia. It was said that there were seven pieces of the Ming Cult’s sacred item, the Sacred Flame Insignia. It was impossible that he had seen wrongly, and his father, Hu Guiyuan, couldn’t have seen wrongly with him.

“It was actually the Sacred Flame Insignia!” In the secret chamber, the old man in a blue robe gasped in shock. His eyes were dull, and he couldn’t recover for a while. That was a legendary sacred item. Once the Sacred Flame Insignia appeared, it would command everyone, and nobody would dare to disobey. It now appeared vividly.

Among the six people who were present, other than Hu Guiyuan and Hu Qiongqi, the other four people were the only four experts in the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan who were in the Embryonic Breathing realm. They had a great deal of seniority in the clan and were in seclusion most of the time, so the Hu Clan’s juniors and grandchildren rarely saw them. This time, they all had come out of seclusion after hearing such shocking secret news.

Hu Tianfeng’s countenance was somber. He glanced at Hu Qiongqi and asked, “Is there anything special about the martial arts that the youngster practices?” The appearance of the Sacred Flame Insignia, if known to the outside world, would have a tremendous impact, which would be enough to cause an earthquake in the ancient martial arts world. Those influences of the Ming Cult especially wouldn’t be able to sit back and do nothing.

“The martial art he practiced was very strange. It was cold and hot intermittently. I guess he was practicing two kinds of martial arts in which one belonged to the cold attribute while the other had a hot attribute. However, both martial arts were complex, especially the martial art with the hot attribute. Once he used it, he changed into a golden man as if he were cast from metal that was almost impenetrable to any weapons,” Hu Qiongqi recalled. He didn’t exchange blows with Mo Wen, but he was able to make some discoveries through his observations. That weird golden body could resist the Jiang Clan’s Patriarch’s Sword Qi and remain unharmed. Even metal was not that hard.

“Golden man... impenetrable to any weapons...” Hu Tianfeng furrowed his brows as he was deep in thought and contemplated for a while. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he remarked in shock, “Could it be the Nine Yang Divine Technique? According to the legend, the person who practices the Nine Yang Divine Technique can use the indestructible body of Vajrapani. The whole body will be impenetrable to any weapons and difficult to damage with sharp weapons or armed warriors.”

“The Nine Yang Divine Technique!”

Everyone, including Hu Qiongqi, gasped in shock. They knew the Ming Cult very well, and at the same time knew what the Nine Yang Divine Technique implied. An exceptional divine technique that had disappeared for hundreds of years had actually reappeared and was accompanied by the appearance of the Sacred Flame Insignia.

“That’s... possible?” Hu Qiongqi swallowed with difficulty.

“If that thing is really the Sacred Flame Insignia, then it is very reasonable for the Nine Yang Divine Technique to reappear. Moreover, the ancient martial arts world has always been skeptical, as the Ming Cult had secretly retained the complete heritage, even though the cult had been destroyed. After the disaster, the Sacred Flame Insignia, Nine Yin Divine Technique, and many of the Ming Cult’s treasures had vanished without a trace and had not been in anyone’s hands,” Hu Tianfeng explained stoically.

The Ming Cult’s destruction had always been studied by many sects in the ancient martial arts world, or rather until now, many of the ancient martial arts influences were still casting their covetous eyes on the Ming Cult’s remnant treasures. When the Gong Clan’s tragedy happened, it had caused quite a stir in the entire ancient martial arts world, as it involved the Ming Cult’s treasures.

“Great grandfather means that Mo Wen possibly has the Ming Cult’s heritage?” Hu Qiongqi asked.

Hu Tianfeng nodded as he spoke. “If he is practicing the Nine Yang Divine Technique and has the Sacred Flame Insignia in his hands, he will definitely have the Ming Cult’s heritage.” The Sacred Flame Insignia and the Nine Yang Divine Technique had been missing for hundreds of years. Now that they had appeared simultaneously, there was only one explanation, and that was that someone had received the Ming Cult’s heritage, and the rightful heir of the Ming Cult had appeared.

“Old Clan Elder...”

Hu Guiyuan and the other elders of the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan gasped in surprise as they looked at Hu Tianfeng with fervent eyes. The Ming Cult’s heritage... how shocking that was! An ancient cult with 1,000 years of rich heritage was beyond imagination.

Hu Tianfeng looked at the clan members before asking indifferently, “Your interest is aroused?”

One of the clan elders said with fervent eyes, “Old Clan Elder, if the Ming Cult’s heritage were to be in our hands, the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan would definitely stun the ancient martial arts world and become the biggest influence.” He couldn’t wait to seize the Sacred Flame Insignia and Nine Yang Divine Technique immediately and discover the whereabouts of the Ming Cult’s heritage.

“With your abilities? That’s digging your own grave,” Hu Tianfeng said indifferently. His eyes had been clear, and he didn’t lose his mind over huge treasures.

“Don’t act rashly!” Hu Qiongqi shook his head. Although the Ming Cult’s heritage was very attractive, the Hu Clan couldn’t afford it. Had they forgotten about the Gong Clan’s tragedy that had been caused by the suspicion that the Gong Clan was connected to the Ming Cult’s treasures? Without any substantial evidence, the entire Gong Clan had been annihilated.

When comparing the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan to the Gong Clan, the difference was vast. If they were connected to the Ming Cult’s heritage and treasures, they would surely bring disaster to their clan. Moreover, the Ming Cult’s heritage was in Mo Wen’s hands. That terrifying youngster could kill even an ancient martial art practitioner in the Embryonic Breathing realm. The entire Ghost Physicians Hu Clan might not be his match.

“Then, what should we do now?” Hu Guiyuan asked with furrowed brows. He also thought that the Hu Clan didn’t have the ability to seize food from the tiger’s mouth. Not to mention the other risks, they were not even a match for Mo Wen alone.

“Pretend not to know. Nobody should leak this matter. Not even a word should be revealed. Otherwise, it will surely bring disaster to the clan,” Hu Tianfeng said sternly. He was more than 100 years old, so he understood many things. If the Hu Clan released this news, they would have no peace in the future. Those people who were looking at the Ming Cult’s heritage with covetous eyes would flock there and reduce the Hu Clan to nothing.

The ancient martial arts world was unreasonable. Everything was about strength. That year, a big clan like the Gong Clan was annihilated overnight because they were unable to reveal the exact location of the Ming Cult’s treasures. The Gong Clan had terrifying experts in the Golden Elixir realm at that time, yet they couldn’t resist those crazy people.

After that, it was proven that the Gong Clan really hadn’t known the location of the Ming Cult’s treasures, but the clan had already been destroyed. With the lesson learned from the Gong Clan, the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan shouldn’t reveal anything, even if they had news about the Ming Cult’s treasures.

“Great grandfather, it was said that hundreds of years ago, the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan had a very close relationship with the Ming Cult...” Hu Qiongqi asked. When he was very young, he knew that his clan was related to the Ming Cult, as there were many descriptions of the Ming Cult in their ancestral shrine, which included the origin of the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan’s heritage and even the Sacred Flame Insignia.

Hence, he was able to have a sense of familiarity when he saw that Sacred Flame Insignia for the first time. However, only the members in the direct line of descent were able to enter the ancestral shrine. There were very few clan members who knew this secret, so it would naturally be impossible for those people in the ancient martial arts world to know the origin of the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan.

“The Ghost Physicians Hu Clan was one of the influences which branched out from the Ming Cult. However, compared to the Ming Cult’s extremely overbearing influence, the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan was merely insignificant.” Hu Tianfeng nodded.

Very few people knew the relationship between the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan and the Ming Cult. In fact, the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan had a special position in the Ming Cult, as it particularly inherited the Ming Cult’s way of Medical Expertise. Hence, their clan members had been famous Miracle Physicians for generations but didn’t excel in fighting.

However, after the Ming Cult’s disaster, the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan was also greatly affected. They had lost most of their inherited techniques, and many other things had been lost in the fight as well. As it had developed until now, the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan’s attainment in the way of Medical Expertise was not even comparable to the Medicine Manor.

A clan elder asked as he knitted his brows, “Since that youngster has received the Ming Cult’s heritage, he would surely have the mission of rebuilding the Ming Cult. Do you think he will attack us if he knows the relationship between the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan and the Ming Cult?”

The Ghost Physicians Hu Clan had been separated from the Ming Cult for hundreds of years and had developed into an independent clan. The people of the Hu Clan did not have any sense of belonging to the Ming Cult.

Even many influences that had branched out from the Ming Cult basically didn’t dare to mention that they were related to the cult, as everybody was afraid to be involved with the Ming Cult’s treasures. For the past hundreds of years, uncountable influences that had branched out from the Ming Cult had been annihilated due to the treasures, and among them were many influences that had been way stronger than the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan.

“Now, we shouldn’t be worried about whether that youngster is eyeing the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan. Even if he knows the relationship between the Ghost Physicians Hu Clan and the Ming Cult, we merely played an insignificant role in his eyes. There are too many strong influences that branched out from the Ming Cult, so they may not agree to his rebuilding of the cult. Hence, those strong influences will be his opponents.”

Hu Tianfeng shook his head before speaking indifferently. “If he can really rebuild the Ming Cult, it isn’t a bad thing for us to return to the cult. Perhaps we can find the ancestral medical expertise that had been lost.”

“What if he can do it...” Hu Guiyuan said as he furrowed his brows. There were many people who were covetous of the Ming Cult’s heritage. Almost all the people in the entire ancient martial arts world, including those who had originally branched out from the Ming Cult, were included among them.

It could be said that if the news of the appearance of the Ming Cult’s heritage was released, that youngster would be very dangerous, and his survival would be an uncertainty.

“If he can’t do it, he naturally will be in perpetual peril, and we will pretend we don’t know anything,” Hu Tianfeng said stoically.