The information about the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach spread extremely quickly. In a few short months, the information had already spread to hundreds of the islands in the Thousand Islands Sea, and the news was still spreading at a rapid pace.
Between ten Century Lifespan Immortality Peaches and one Century Lifespan Immortality Peach, it was not that more people cared if there were more. On the contrary, the fewer there were, the more precious it would be. Now that there was only one left, there would not be a second one within a century.
Yet, an Innate Realm cultivator managed to snatch the last Century Lifespan Immortality Peach? Only an Innate Realm cultivator?
All the various Golden Core Realm experts who did not enter the Innate Puzzle World came out immediately and rushed to Nine-Five Island.
Nine-Five Island, Hulao Pass:
Gu Qin and Gu Han sat in a large hall of the Gu Residence, listening to the various reports from their subordinates.
The two frowned slightly as they entered deep thought.
“First Brother, more and more cultivators are approaching my Gu Residence, monitoring us at all times. The situation does not seem good,” Gu Han said with a frown.
Gu Qin nodded and said, “Through our connection with the Clear River Sect, I asked the Elite Hall Master for help. The hall master agreed to protect my Gu Residence. Hence, the people outside do not dare to be unruly and just monitor us.”
“They are waiting for Adoptive Father to return. However…” Gu Han revealed a bitter smile.
“Don’t worry. Adoptive Father is smarter than you are. There countless cultivators around the Gu Residence; why would Adoptive Father return rashly? Relax. We should just focus on what we should do. Just pretend that they do not exist,” Gu Qin said.
“I know this. I’m just worried about Adoptive Father’s safety…!” Gu Han said worriedly.
“Don’t worry about Adoptive Father; he is a dragon among men. Now that he has reached the Innate Realm, he is like a dragon that entered the sea. These are just thieves and rascals in the surroundings; they won’t be too difficult for Adoptive Father to deal with!” Gu Qin said.
Gu Han nodded. He could only console himself that way.
Clear River Sect:
Long Wanqing and Venerable Liu Nian played Go against each other. As they did so, Long Wanqing frowned.
“Venerable, do you think Gu Hai will come back safely this time?” Long Wanqing asked.
“Hall Master, there’s no need to worry. We already saw how incredible Gu Hai was in the Innate Puzzle World. He managed to face tens of thousands of people alone. Ha! He is a person who can fight tens of thousands of people by himself. Do you think that he will be in danger when he is hidden, and his enemies are out in the open?” Venerable Liu Nian replied as he played his move.
“This is different from the Innate Puzzle World. In the Innate Puzzle World, everyone is limited to the Innate Realm.” Long Wanqing kept frowning as she made her move.
“You are right. However, even in the Innate Puzzle World, Gu Hai was not at the peak of the Innate Realm, right? Hall Master, don’t worry. Just send people to protect Gu Hai’s two adoptive sons; at least we can be accountable to him. After all, he did help you find the Unborn Man.” Venerable Liu Nian shook his head.
“However, Division Master Ding keeps wanting to take revenge for Meng Tai. Yet…”
“Is that a difficult choice?” Venerable Liu Nian said with a smile.
Long Wanqing nodded. Elite Hall had its rules. Gu Hai had helped her a lot by finding the Unborn Man. However, he had also killed Meng Tai. Long Wanqing did not know how to decide.
“Hall Master, just delay, and that will do.”
“Oh?”
“I can tell that Gu Hai is not an easy person to deal with. Since Division Master Ding wants to kill Gu Hai, then let them fight it out themselves,” Venerable Liu Nian said with narrowed eyes.
Long Wanqing’s expression changed as she nodded.
“By the way, that Divine Strategy Battalion Commander, Li Haoran, you’d better stay farther away from him,” Venerable Liu Nian advised with a frown.
“Huh? Why? Venerable, I noticed that you seemed to be biased against Li Haoran during this journey.” Long Wanqing frowned as she looked at Venerable Liu Nian.
Venerable Liu Nian shook his head and said, “Hall Master, do you remember the instructions that your mother gave you before she died?”
Long Wangqing bit her lips, appearing reluctant. However, she took a few deep breaths in the end and suppressed her depressed feelings, then nodded. “My mother said to listen to Venerable in all things.”
Seeing Long Wanqing’s depressed expression, Venerable Liu Nian sighed and said, “Li Haoran? He is an ambitious and ruthless person. Back then, he pursued your mother, but she rejected him.”
“Oh?! He once pursued my mother?” Long Wanqing said in shock.
“That’s right. Li Haoran made great accomplishments at a young age, bringing the Divine Strategy Battalion to fight in various places. Everyone in the world knows about the Divine Strategy Battalion. Naturally, such an excellent man would attract countless people of the opposite gender. However, he is too proud and single-minded, never losing himself in women. Naturally, your mother could tell that the woman that ended up with him would not have a good life!” Venerable Liu Nian exclaimed.
“I feel that this is just the biased opinion of an outsider…” Long Wanqing seemed to want to speak up for Li Haoran.
Venerable Liu Nian shook his head and said, “Hall Master, I’m aware of your current mental state. I also know that I cannot stop you for long. I only have one request. Before you avenge your mother, don’t walk too closely with Li Haoran, alright?”
Long Wanqing looked at Venerable Liu Nian and remained silent for a while before nodding. “Venerable, don’t worry. Avenging my mother’s death takes priority. Before I get revenge, I will not think of anything else.”
“That is good.” Venerable Liu Nian nodded.
In a large hall of the Clear River Sect:
A large map lay flat before the golden-armored Li Haoran. The marks on the map indicated the detailed terrain of Nine-Five Island and the surrounding islands.
A group of Divine Strategy Battalion disciples stood behind him.
“Battalion Commander, more and more cultivators are gathering at Nine-Five Island!” a subordinate reported respectfully.
Li Haoran looked at the map and said indifferently, “Dancing clowns. There’s nothing to fear from them!”
“Yes. However, according to recent news, a flood dragon and a baxia appeared in the seas to the north a few days ago. The two humongous sea beasts appeared overwhelmingly ferocious and fought at sea for several days.”
“Oh? Li Haoran raised his eyebrows and looked away from the map.
“This subordinate only just came to know!”
However, Li Haoran looked out of the hall, into the distance, as he slightly narrowed his eyes. “What did these two beasts sense?”
“This subordinate does not know!”
“Send people to keep an eye out for these two beasts. Immediately report it the moment they appear!” Li Haoran ordered.
“Yes!”
In another hall within the Clear River Sect:
The old woman, Ding Rui, held her walking stick as she looked at the First Song Sect Master.
“Division Master Ding, more and more cultivators are arriving. We have already spread the information about Gu Hai. The ships that departed from Tengen Island have arrived. However, there were no traces of Gu Hai,” the First Song Sect Master reported with a frown.
“Slowly search for him. Now that more people are searching for him, let’s see where he can flee to!” A cold light flashed in Division Master Ding’s eyes.
“We already sent people to keep an eye on Gu Hai’s family. Should we capture them?”
“There’s no need. They are bait. Gu Hai will show up sooner or later. He cannot run!” Ding Rui said coldly.
The First Song Sect Master nodded.
“That’s right. I got you to keep him locked up for the past few years. How goes the interrogation?” Ding Rui asked as she looked at the First Song Sect Master.
“There’s still no news!” The First Song Sect Master shook his head.
Ding Rui frowned and nodded.
As more cultivators poured into Nine-Five Island, all those who entered the island underwent strict checks by the earlier batch of cultivators. Gu Hai already slipped past them on Tengen Island once. Now, they conducted their checks exceptionally thoroughly. However, there was still no news of Gu Hai.
Everyone searched for Gu Hai, waiting for him to fall into their net. They did not know that Gu Hai had arrived on Nine-Five Island several days ago.
However, he had done so in a bizarre manner.
Gu Hai wore a bronze mask with his hands and feet chained. His clothes appeared tattered as someone used a whip to drive him forward.
Aside from Gu Hai, one hundred other people were in similar situations.
All of them were chained and wore a mask that covered everything above their nose and revealed only a pair of eyes, allowing them to see their surroundings.
Rattle! Rattle!
The jangle of chains dragging across the ground sounded extremely bleak.
Crack!
“Move quickly! Or do you want to taste the whip again? Faster!”
The black-clad men swung their whips, lashing the group of bronze-masked men.
Some of the bronze-masked men showed fierce expressions despite being whipped, bellowing in rage.
“Humph! What are you howling for? Do you want to be whipped more? Move along!” Crack! The black-clad men angrily whipped the group of bronze-masked men.
Gu Hai did not struggle, following the group.
“Milord, perhaps if we reveal our identity…” Chen Tianshan’s flustered voice came from behind.
Chen Tianshan and Gao Xianzhi were in the same state as Gu Hai; chains bound them, and they wore bronze masks.
“Reveal our identity? Are you not afraid of them killing us to silence us?” Gao Xianzhi retorted sullenly.
“However…however…however, what should we do now?” Chen Tianshan was so frightened that he was on the verge of tears.
“Don’t get worked up. We will find an opportunity and escape,” Gu Hai whispered.
“We can’t escape. We can’t escape. Division Master, do you know? The mask we are wearing will explode. If you escape, they will explode the mask. If you tear off the mask, it will explode. It explodes! Furthermore, they sealed our cultivation. With the Great Feng Mafia Family’s special sealing methods, we are like ordinary people now,” Chen Tianshan said in despair.
“The Great Feng Mafia Family? Chen Tianshan, do you know where this is?” Gu Hai asked.
Chen Tianshan nodded and smiled bitterly. “Yes, I came here before. Unexpectedly, I would return in such a manner. This is Nine-Five Island. The Great Feng Mafia Family is one of Nine-Five Island’s major sects.”
“The Great Feng Mafia Family, one of Nine-Five Island’s major sects?” Gao Xianzhi parroted, feeling confused.
Chen Tianshan nodded and explained, “The Great Feng Mafia Family is also the richest sect in Nine-Five Island. They do not need to mine spirit stones but can have an endless supply of them. The sect has countless experts!”
“Oh?”
“More accurately, the Great Feng Mafia Family is a large casino, a gambling den for cultivators. They invite cultivators from all over the Thousand Islands Sea to gamble. As for us, we have become betting tools of the Great Feng Mafia Family.” Chen Tianshan smiled bitterly.
“Betting tools?”
“Yes, betting tools. One of the attractions of the Great Feng Mafia Family’s casino is the beast arena. All the bronze-masked men are extremely fiendish people from the Thousand Islands Sea. Of course, that is what the sect tells people. Now, I know that it is not truly the case. Otherwise, why would we be bound here too.”
“Beast arena? What do you mean?”
“It is a large plaza where people fight each other or fight beasts. The contestants are in the Innate Realm, at the very least. The strongest are Golden Core Realm cultivators. They are absolutely the most ferocious group of people, killing each other in the beast arena until the other party dies. The battles are extremely savage and bloody. There are people who take bets on the contestants. I gambled here before. Who could have imagined that I would one day be forced into a battle to the death for the entertainment of others?” Chen Tianshan said fearfully.
At this moment, the black-clad men had already driven the bronze-masked men into the entrance of a massive valley. Roiling mist surrounded the valley. Gu Hai could immediately tell that this was a vast ritual array.
“Evil Men Valley? This is Evil Men Valley?” Chen Tianshan appeared extremely unsightly.
