Dragon Tortoise Palace, Great Feng Mafia Family:
Gu Hai sat at a desk, and the four legates stood before him.
“Milord, the people outside are getting restless. They seem to have organized themselves and look like they will take action soon!” Chen Tianshan frowned.
“Oh? Who are there?” Gu Hai asked.
“This subordinate spent some spirit stones to purchase information. They are organized by two brothers, one called Golden Horn and one called Silver Horn. I heard that they reached the early-stage Nascent Soul Realm not long ago,” Chen Tianshan said gravely.
“Early-stage Nascent Soul Realm? That’s fine.” Gu Hai nodded.
“However, Milord, why do we have to wait for them to attack? Furthermore, letting them attack in an organized group?” Chen Tianshan felt confused.
“I want to set an example!” Gu Hai said coldly.
“Oh?” Chen Tianshan felt slightly stunned.
Gao Xianzhi explained, “Right now, Nine-Five Island is filled with people seeking trouble for us. Milord intends to deal a big blow to them, crippling them as a warning to the other people on Nine-Five Island and saving them from laboring under a delusion.”
“However, there are two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. This subordinate is somewhat worried,” Chen Tianshan fretted.
“They are just early-stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. The large ritual array I laid is even stronger than the one that I formed with everyone’s energy at the beast arena. Since I dare to lay this trap, I am capable of blocking them,” Gu Hai said seriously.
“Yes!”
“How is the operation of the beast arena going?”
“The Great Feng Mafia Family disciples are not cooperating, continuously crying for their parents. My subordinates got impatient and killed half of them,” Chen Tianshan reported bitterly.
Half of nearly one thousand Great Feng Mafia Family disciples died in one day? How was this gambling?
“It’s good that they died!” Scar said coldly at the side.
Shangguan Hen nodded and said, “It’s fine. Milord opened the beast arena to help us vent the hatred in our hearts. No matter how it ends, it’s fine as long as it works towards easing our hatred. Otherwise, it would hinder our future cultivation.”
“When you go out of the ritual array tomorrow, hang a sign at the entrance!” Gu Hai said.
“Oh?”
“All those who barge into the ritual array will die!” Gu Hai said coldly.
“Yes!” Chen Tianshan answered.
Turning his head, Gu Hai now looked at Gao Xianzhi, Shangguan Hen, and Scar. “How goes the search?”
“We even dug one meter into the ground, but we have yet to find anything out of the ordinary!” Gao Xianzhi reported with a complicated expression.
“Indeed. Milord, there are no signs of anything at all.” Scar also nodded.
Gu Hai looked at Shangguan Hen, and Shangguan Hen shook his head.
“Are you sure that you searched everywhere?” Gu Hai asked sullenly.
“We should have searched everywhere!” Gao Xianzhi replied confidently.
After taking a deep breath, Gu Hai said, “The places you searched are where the Great Feng Mafia Family disciples stayed for the past few decades. If there were something, they would have found it already. The places I want you to go to are the places that they would not go to.”
“Oh? But there aren’t any such places!” Scar frowned.
Gao Xianzhi and Shangguan Hen felt slightly stunned and entered deep thought.
“Previously, I investigated these books and discovered that most of the places in the family region had people staying there before. However, there is one place where people rarely go. Everyone would avoid it if they could. You know of that place too, the rubbish valley. Have you searched that place yet?” Gu Hai asked indifferently.
“Ah?” The three legates’ expressions changed.
Gu Hai looked at the three with a sullen expression. “You avoided the place that disgusted you? Remember this, don’t hold such a mentality in the future. The more something disgusts you, the more it will become your weakness. When you consider things, always overcome your own subjective emotions and work objectively.”
“Yes!” Everyone showed a solemn expression.
“Come, let’s go together. Let’s see how dirty and messy that rubbish valley is. To think it made all of you avoid it,” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!”
The group followed Gu Hai out of the Dragon Tortoise Palace, heading for the rubbish valley together.
A large number of evil men followed behind. Soon, they arrived at the rubbish valley. Even from a distance, everyone could smell the stench. All the evil men showed disgust on their faces.
However, Gu Hai appeared not to smell anything. He slowly climbed a peak and looked down at the valley.
Countless rats scurried about in the rubbish-filled valley. The valley was rife with the bones of the dead, containing the corpses and bones of those who died in the beast arena. The rats flourished by eating these corpses.
“Milord, the rats we used to eat came from here?” Scar said as he endured his disgust.
The other evil men felt the same, looking at the rats in disgust.
Gu Hai stared at the valley for a while. Then, he said with slightly narrowed eyes, “Clean the valley!”
“Ah?” the evil men exclaimed.
“Clean out everything in the valley. Place everything in the next valley. Go!” Gu Hai ordered.
The group of evil men endured their disgust, eventually nodding.
They had even eaten these rats before. Naturally, they did not really care. They just could not adjust to it that quickly earlier.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A large number of evil men jumped into the valley, holding flat stone pieces. Then, they started digging in the valley.
Boom!
The moment the evil men started shoveling, an even more horrible stench emerged. This was the stench that had been building up for decades, something extremely excruciating.
Everyone endured the horrendous stench as they quickly tossed the filth they dug up into the next valley.
Rumble…!
Everyone worked together, making rapid progress as the rats fled in fear.
The rubbish in the valley was like a mountain.
After they started digging, everyone goggled at the immensity of the rubbish heap. No one expected this valley to be so deep.
“Something’s not quite right, Milord. This valley is too deep, more like a chasm. How much have we dug out already? The rubbish we dug out has filled four valleys. Even so, we have not reached the bottom yet,” Gao Xianzhi said in shock.
“Continue digging!” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!”
The evil men endured the increasingly more pungent stench, steadily digging out the rubbish from the valley. Soon, Gu Hai could no longer see the evil men below, only hear them working from the sounds they produced.
Gu Hai and the four legates continued standing at the peak’s summit and staring at the bottom.
Down in the pitch-dark depths, the evil men continued to dig deeper when suddenly, a trace of golden light appeared in the chasm like a small flame glowing in the gloom.
“We reached the bottom! There’s something! There’s something!” Suddenly, a cry of pleasant surprise came from the valley.
“Continue digging! Quickly!”
All the evil men immediately increased their pace.
From just one light source, more got uncovered. One more, two, three, four, five… The place grew increasingly brighter.
The light coming from the bottom illuminated the previously pitch-dark valley.
Now, Gu Hai could see the evil men clearing out the rubbish there.
Clearing out the rubbish revealed a large energy barrier. There seemed to be a volcanic crater below the barrier.
Suddenly, a loud shout came from the chasm. “Milord, there is someone below!”
Whoosh!
Gu Hai jumped into the deep chasm together with the four legates.
Thud!
Everyone stood on the energy barrier, looking into it.
Indeed, it looked like a volcanic crater. However, this volcanic crater seemed too bright. The glare was so piercing that they could not see the bottom. All they could make out was the silhouette of a golden tail floating above the lava.
“This is…a dragon vein? A dragon vein’s tail? Why is it here?” Shangguan Hen suddenly goggled.
“A dragon vein’s tail?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
Is this the dragon vein that Ding Rui, Meng Tai, the previous Elite Hall Master, and the First Song Sect Master are searching for? The dragon vein is in the Great Feng Mafia Family?
“Look! There’s a person there?” Chen Tianshan goggled.
Now, Gu Hai noticed that there was indeed an old man right below the barrier. Countless golden chains shackled that old man and even pierced his bones, suspending him in midair and preventing him from moving.
That old man was already blinded, and he did not seem to be breathing.
“Old man!” Scar shouted.
However, the energy barrier separating the two prevented the old man from hearing. He remained still, like before.
“Why is the dragon vein’s tail here? This should not be the case!” Shangguan Hen frowned.
“Oh?” Gu Hai looked at Shangguan Hen.
“Milord, under ordinary circumstances, the dragon veins should be moving at all times. The dragon head might not move that much, but the body would be in constant motion, with the tail’s position ever-changing. Who knows where the dragon head of this dragon vein is? But the dragon tail seems to be fixed here. That should not be the case. Who is that capable, able to seal a dragon vein in place?” Shangguan Hen frowned.
“Remember the letter Wei Yang wrote to Li Wei? This must be the Great Feng Mafia Family’s secret, right?” Gao Xianzhi’s expression changed slightly.
“The Great Feng Mafia Family? Feng? No, it should be Seal. The two words just sound the same. This sect exists here to guard this seal?” Gu Hai frowned.
[TL Note: The Chinese character for seal is also read as Feng. They are homonyms.]
“Sealing the dragon vein? That can’t be. Who is that capable? Even a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator cannot keep a dragon vein in place!” Shangguan Hen protested with a frown.
“What if it were Old Mister Guan Qi?” Gu Hai said.
“Old Mister Guan Qi? Oh, right, the pavilion master that Wei Yang referred to in that letter is Old Mister Guan Qi? So, the Great Feng Mafia Family should be a pawn left by the Heavenly Go Pavilion?” Gao Xianzhi’s expression changed.
“Then, who is this old man?” Scar asked as he pointed at the shackled old man, feeling curious and startled.
Gu Hai stared at the blind old man, remaining silent for a while. Then, he said after inhaling deeply, “If I guessed right, this old man is Wei Yang.”
“Wei Yang? The Great Feng Mafia Family’s previous don? The master of Meng Tai and Li Wei?” Chen Tianshan said in shock.
“That’s right. I have been reading the Great Feng Mafia Family’s books and records over the past few days. One of them mentioned Wei Yang’s appearance. This is him; it should be right,” Gu Hai said.
“Wei Yang? Didn’t Wei Yang die? After that, the first senior brother, Meng Tai, raised Feng Ling, Li Wei, and Yue Yao? To think that Wei Yang is still alive! Who trapped him here? Furthermore, in such a miserable state, blinding him?” Chen Tianshan exclaimed as he frowned.
“Is it Meng Tai?” Gao Xianzhi’s expression changed.
“How can it be? He is Meng Tai’s master, Feng Ling’s father, thus Meng Tai’s father-in-law. How could Meng Tai do something like this?” Chen Tianshan argued, feeling confused.
“Legate Chen, you don’t understand. You don’t understand!” Shangguan Hen said taking after a few deep breaths to suppress the excitement in his heart.
“I don’t understand what?”
“You don’t understand how precious a dragon vein is. Those with a dragon vein can contend for hegemony over the world. Old Mister Guan Qi had a dragon vein back then too,” Shangguan Hen said.
“Ah?”
“We have to think of a way to break this barrier first!” Gu Hai said.
