Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

Crown Prince River, the sky was getting dark, and the Sturgeon Dragon Boat set sail again, carrying Zhang Ze and his three companions, along with a bunch of captives.

The big fish broke through the ice while muttering, interspersing its rumblings with words like pill medicine supplement and rest.

On the boat, Hero Chou was still sleeping soundly, covered with a small quilt.

Lin Feng took out a magical artifact, and a white light screen enveloped Zhang Ze and the others, isolating them from any external prying.

The three of them were chatting about the Divine Egg Gang.

According to Bai Tao, this so-called Divine Egg Gang was entirely his foster father's exaggerated nonsense.

Despite being called a gang, it was actually just a playground for old folks, and all the helm leaders were Silver Hand Wei Dalu's old buddies.

Over the last three to forty years, a group of elderly folks, accompanied by a bunch of orphaned children, have been fooling around in Wangyang City every day.

All these old folks fancifully refer to themselves with invented titles of the Heavenly Gang.

For example, [Celestial Donkey Star·Heaven-shaking Silver Hand·Wei Dalu] [Celestial Carp Star - Sea of All Rivers - Li Dayan] [Celestial Bull Star, Iron-faced Divine Venerable, Wang Daniu] [Celestial Poison Star·Hundred Scorpion Sand Concealment·Liu Shufen] and such.

As for Iron Arm, the real Iron Arm Man was only Wei Dalu himself, who had lost his right arm in his youth and replaced it with an iron one.

Wei Dalu's old buddies wore iron armor on their arms to keep him company and entertained.

Bai Tao's father, who had a child late in life, was also Wei Dalu's brother. Before he died, he entrusted the young Bai Tao to Wei Dalu, who treated Bai Tao as his own daughter.

As for things like fighting against Nascent Soul enemies, they were just drunken ramblings of these elderly folks.

Those kids, having listened to the stories from their grandfathers and grandmothers, further embellished them and spread them around Wangyang City. The demon race, always eager for a good tale, also joined in the fun, which is why the stories became more and more outlandish.

By the time these tales reached Cyan Thorn, they became even more nonsensical, and all these exaggerated legends were compiled into the intelligence Lin Feng collected.

It's no wonder Dragon Tiger Mountain and Sword Hall lacked any records; no one doing missions bothers with the drunken ramblings of old folks by the roadside.

Looking at the intelligence Lin Feng had collected, Zhang Ze let it go, allowing the papers to drift away in the winter breeze by Crown Prince River.

"Your foster father won't be in danger, will he?" Zhang Ze asked.

Bai Tao shook her head and took out a pendant, from which a fox fire burned incessantly, "Foster father is perfectly fine."

"Then what's the deal with this guy? Is he trying to take over a nursing home or raid a kindergarten?" Li asked, pointing to the lifeless Zeng Bao.

"I don't know, he was probably tricked by those stories; something like this happened before." Bai Tao thought for a moment, "It was when I was a child, over ten years ago."

"There was a human cultivator with the surname Fan who mistakenly believed the Divine Egg Gang was an Outsider Sect and came here seeking fortune."

"He thought my foster father and his friends wielded some Iron Arm Divine Techniques."

"The guy was ruthless too. As a token of his loyalty, he cut off one of his own arms and renamed himself Fan Dachui."

"My foster father and the others were dumbstruck when they saw him."

"Foster father had no choice but to treat his injuries, but later the guy seemed to run off on his own and even stole something."

"I was too young at the time and don't remember the details clearly."

After hearing this, Zhang Ze recalled the Fan family father and son who died at Ivory Mountain Village due to a Tiger Demon, and thought this was really messed up.

He supposed the thing Fan stole was the Void Stone Pill, although Bai Tao didn't seem to know about the pill and the forest.

Bai Tao paused, then frowned slightly, "Something's not right; I don't think this guy is straightforward, and I believe foster father and his friends might be hiding something from me."

After all, tampering with the Sturgeon Dragon Boat, bringing out so much Spirit Transformation Powder, and hiring so many loose cultivators must have cost a fortune in spirit stones.

Using detective methods she learned from Zhang Ze's old book, Bai Tao spent a long time reasoning and constructing one meticulous plan after another, but still had no clue.

She couldn't understand why she was so important as to necessitate such elaborate plans for her capture.

Zhang Ze knocked on the deck, telling Bai Tao to stop overthinking, and then explained a simple principle to her.

"Clever schemes are just plot devices; reality isn't like that.

There's a saying, problems solvable by cultivation are not problems at all; strength breaks ten thousand laws.

If someone goes through all this trouble, it only means one thing: they can't summon reliable experts.

They're out of options.

If a Golden Core cultivator wants to capture you, there's no need for clever schemes, just a simple plan would do.

If a Nascent Soul cultivator wants to capture you, it's even easier—no plan needed at all."

After saying this, Zhang Ze looked over at Lin Feng, who was examining Zeng Bao's body, and asked, "Is he someone from the list?"

After Blood Lion Ancestor was slain by Li Guanqi, although Song Qingpao and Lin Feng had absorbed some of the remaining forces of Blood Lion Helm, there were still some die-hard members unaccounted for.

These people were listed on a handwritten list by Lin Feng, and half of the names had been crossed out.

Lin Feng finished inspecting Zeng Bao's body and stood up, nodding.

"This man's real name is Zeng Bao, and he was a subordinate of Blood Tooth Taoist. After Blood Lion Ancestor's death, Blood Tooth Taoist, who managed Blood Lion Helm's treasury, disappeared with some of Blood Lion Helm's funds."

"What was Blood Tooth Taoist's cultivation?" Zhang Ze asked.

Lin Feng thought for a moment, "He was a Vice Helm Leader, Golden Core, as far as I recall."

Zhang Ze nodded, thinking he and Lin Feng could handle this.

But Bai Tao became anxious, "If it's Golden Core..."

Zhang Ze waved his hand, "Golden Core is nothing; let me teach you another saying."

"There's a saying, beat the young, and the old ones will come."

"And I'm that young one. My master with Divinity Transformation cultivation, can be here shortly with just a message.

My master can't hold them off, but my master's master, the Pavilion Master and Tribulation Crossing Great Power, can call upon the Hundred Demons Sect elders.

If they really show up, it's no worry. My master's master's master—the Sword Sect Sect Leader—is invincible, just one sword is enough.

I have connections with Dragon Tiger Mountain and Beast Taming Sect too, so Bai Tao, rest assured nothing will happen.

No matter what schemes they have, it's no problem; let's find your foster father first."

With Zhang Ze's guarantee, Bai Tao finally relaxed.

Half of the Divine Egg Gang mystery was already solved, and Zhang Ze felt as if he was playing a game with three side quests before him.

One, directly take down Blood Tooth and unravel everything.

Two, go find Bai Tao's foster father, Heaven-Shaking Silver Hand, Wei Dalu, and uncover the truth.

Three, accompany Qiu Jidan to find his subordinates and discover the secrets of the Divine Egg Gang.

After mentally reviewing these three side quests, Zhang Ze glanced at the problematic system that gave no hints, feeling sorrowful.

Thinking about the situation in Wangyang City, Zhang Ze casually asked, "Bai Tao, why don't you live in Wangyang City?"

Bai Tao's face darkened, "My seniority is high, and those little brats..."

"They call me auntie every day."

"So I ran away."