Miao Chen looked blankly at Gu Hai. “Do you know how strong Ao Shun is?”
“Senior Miao Chen, this is not the time to speak about this. I’ll tell you in detail later. How about that?” Gu Hai smiled as he looked at Miao Chen.
“Alright!” Miao Chen nodded.
Gu Hai and Gu Qin stepped forward and strolled to the subdued dragons and sub-dragons.
“One hundred flood dragons, one hundred baxias, ten dragons, and one Liao Ya? Oh? That’s right; there is Young Master An as well. Ha! We meet again,” Gu Hai said, showing a cold smile.
“Gu Hai, what are you planning? My grandfather is the master of the Ying Royal Dynasty. Quickly release me!” Lu An said with a hint of horror in his tone.
Gu Hai showed a faint smile and said, “Young Master An, do you think that I fear Emperor Lu Yang?”
Lu An’s expression turned stiff. He knew that it was Gu Hai who had spoiled countless of his grandfather’s plans.
“The Ying Royal Dynasty? Ha! Do you know that the thing that the Qian Heavenly Emperor wants to see the most is your grandfather rebelling and establishing his own nation? Ha! Ha!” Gu Hai guffawed.
“Huh? What? The Qian Heavenly Emperor wants my grandfather to rebel? Why?” Lu An’s expression changed.
“If Lu Yang did not rebel, what excuse would the Qian Heavenly Emperor have to kill Lu Yang? It is time to take back Ying Province,” Gu Hai said indifferently.
“What are you saying? The Qian Heavenly Emperor planned this long ago!” Lu An’s expression changed.
“I’ll let you keep your wretched life. The Ying Royal Dynasty is about to be destroyed. When Lu Yang’s most trusted man coordinates with Prince Shenwu, subduing Ying Province from both inside and outside, let’s see what else you have to rely on. Hahahaha!” Gu Hai guffawed.
“There is a spy by my grandfather’s side? His most trusted man?” Lu An’s expression changed dramatically.
“Don’t you find it very coincidental that you ran into my trap the moment you arrived?” Gu Hai smiled.
“A spy? A spy sent you information?” Lu An’s expression changed.
“Crown Heir, don’t listen to Gu Hai’s nonsense. He is lying to you. His Majesty will send people to rescue us. The crown prince will come to save us soon!” Liao Ya roared out from nearby.
Lu An felt slightly startled, not knowing whom to believe.
However, Gu Hai turned his head to look at the dragons. He sneered, “Crown prince? Is the dragon crown prince you are referring to Ao Shun? That is already the past. Now, the crown prince is Ao Sheng. Are you still hoping for Ao Shun to come and save you? Hahahaha! Alas, Liao Ya, you trust in your strength too much. To think that you led these dragons and sub-dragons over to destroy my Han Nation?”
“Humph! Gu Hai, don’t get cocky. There will be a time when you end up crying instead,” Liao Ya said with a ferocious expression.
Gu Hai looked at Liao Ya coldly, then at the other dragons. “I can’t be bothered to speak nonsense with you. I’ll give you a chance now. Either you submit to me or die!”
“Ah?” The dragons goggled at Gu Hai in shock.
“Hahahahaha! Just a lunatic raving. Submit? Would we submit to you? Gu Hai, you must be dreaming! Even if I, Liao Ya, die, I will not submit to a weakling like you. Roar!” Liao Ya roared with mockery in its tone.
Gu Hai smiled faintly and said, “Very well. Since you are not willing, Meng Tai, kill it!”
“Yes!” Meng Tai soared with a step.
“What are you doing? Roar!” Liao Ya roared at Meng Tai in horror.
Sweat covered Meng Tai’s forehead. He was a Second Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, while Liao Ya was at the peak Fifth Nascent Soul Stage; there was a significant difference.
However, Liao Ya was bound and could not move at the moment. Thus, Meng Tai gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
Boom!
When Meng Tai swung his sword, Liao Ya’s head immediately flew off.
Bang!
Blood gushed out, splattering on Meng Tai’s face. At first, this slightly stunned him. I killed a Fifth Nascent Soul Stage dragon? If it were in the past, I could only run if I met Liao Ya. Yet, I killed Liao Ya today?
After the initial shock, excitement flashed in Meng Tai’s eyes. This feels great!
“You…you really dare to kill me?” Liao Ya said in disbelief when his head fell to the ground.
Shing!
Meng Tai stabbed his sword into Liao Ya’s head, thoroughly killing Liao Ya and ending all signs of life.
Gasp!
The sound of sharp intakes of breaths filled the ritual array.
All the dragons and sub-dragons looked at Gu Hai in horror. They finally realized the reality. Gu Hai could kill whomever he wanted here.
Lu An’s mind buzzed. Liao Ya is Ao Shun’s most trusted general. Yet, Gu Hai executed it without hesitation?
“I appreciate Liao Ya’s character. Refusing to submit to force, preferring death to surrender. Does anyone else want to follow in its footsteps?” Gu Hai asked indifferently.
The ritual array turned deathly silent. Be it the dragons or the sub-dragons, no one dared to talk back to Gu Hai anymore.
“Senior Miao Chen, can I trouble you to seal their cultivations? There will be no need for these chains for now,” Gu Hai said as he looked at Miao Chen.
“That’s fine.” Miao Chen nodded.
Miao Chen quickly sealed the dragons’ cultivations and removed their chains, letting them recover from their injuries. None of the dragons dared to mess around or cause trouble.
Leaving Meng Tai to watch over the dragons, Gu Hai, Gu Qin, and Miao Chen prepared to leave the ritual array.
“Imperial Father, is Mister Mo’s news reliable? Is Ao Shun bringing the dragon army over soon?” Gu Qin asked as they walked.
“Don’t worry. Mister Mo has been preparing for so many years already. How could he fail at such a minor thing? We just need to coordinate with him,” Gu Hai said indifferently.
As the two spoke, the three stepped out of the ritual array.
Not far away, the bound Lu An’s expression suddenly changed.
Mister Mo? That’s impossible. How could Mister Mo be a spy? He is Grandfather’s most trusted man, the one who helped Grandfather accomplish so much. Gasp! That’s not right. The Qian Heavenly Emperor hopes for Grandfather to rebel, so he sent someone to tempt Grandfather into rebelling? Also, back at Silver Moon City, Mister Mo took Gu Hai’s side. Siding with a stranger? No, they must have known each other before that. Lu An showed an increasingly unsightly expression the more he thought about this.
——
After leaving the ritual array, Miao Chen looked at Gu Hai and said, “Han Royal Emperor, I am aware of Ao Shun’s strength. I have seen him fight from afar before. I am not his match at all. I don’t understand. What in your Han Royal Dynasty can deal with him? The power of the Han Royal Dynasty’s citizens? That is only one nation’s worth of citizen’s strength. Only large dynasties would have a sufficiently large citizenry for that. Your Han Royal Dynasty only has the people of Nine-Five Island. What can you do with that little?”
Gu Hai shook his head and said, “Senior Miao Chen, there’s no need to worry. At that time, I don’t need you to face Ao Shun head-on. I have my ways to deal with him. You just need to coordinate with me.”
“Huh?” Miao Chen appeared extremely confused.
As the three spoke, they went to another foggy ritual array.
Miao Chen felt puzzled, but he still followed Gu Hai, hoping to learn Gu Hai’s thoughts.
This other ritual array contained a vast valley. This was where the treants and Mu Chenfeng stayed.
“Master! Master is back!” The treants excitedly welcomed Gu Hai.
“Salutations, Master!” the treants greeted respectfully.
Mu Chenfeng also walked over, showing a bitter expression.
“Division Master Mu, thank you for the hard work.” Gu Hai smiled.
“Division Master Gu, sorry. I failed,” Mu Chenfeng said bitterly.
Gu Hai smiled faintly, not minding this. Instead, he took out dozens of large jade crates with a flip of his hand.
“This is the Divine Heptagold Water. Use it to repair your dantian first,” Gu Hai said to the two thousand-odd treants.
“Many thanks, Master!” the treants said excitedly.
Gu Hai followed the method that Huangfu Chaoge taught him, quickly pouring the Divine Heptagold Water into the treants’ dantian. The treants immediately gave off a dim green light as surging lifeforce gushed towards their dantian.
“My dantian is recovering!”
“Mine too! It feels very comfortable and warm!”
“I feel very comfortable too. I just need a little more!”
The treants chattered excitedly.
“There’s no need to save any; use it all up. After you have fixed your dantian, use the remainder to boost your cultivations!” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes! Many thanks, Master!” the treants said excitedly.
“Master, I have recovered! My dantian is fixed!” one of the treants called out excitedly.
“All those who have fixed their dantian, help the other treants fix theirs!” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes!” the treants answered.
Then, Gu Hai, Gu Qin, Miao Chen, and Mu Chenfeng walked to a nearby palace hall.
“Division Master Gu, you instructed me to go to the Northern Sea’s dragon palace to deliver a letter to the dragon crown prince. I saw the dragon crown prince, Ao Sheng, and handed him the letter that you wrote. He also read it,” Mu Chenfeng said with a bitter expression.
“Oh? You went to the dragon crown prince, Ao Sheng? Your Majesty wrote a letter to him?” Miao Chen’s expression changed to that of joy.
“Yes. Ao Sheng pushed Ao Shun off the crown prince position, so he would be very sensitive to any information about Ao Shun. I sent you with Elite Hall’s identity to report that Ao Shun rebelled and wanted to snatch back the crown prince position. Ao Sheng would definitely meet with you. The sin dragons are not permitted to leave the borders and are to obey the Qian Heavenly Dynasty. These are all evidence that Ao Shun is rebelling to regain the crown prince position. Naturally, Ao Sheng hopes that Ao Shun will vanish from this world. What did he say when he read my letter?” Gu Hai asked.
“You wrote a letter to Ao Sheng to get him to come to Nine-Five Island to deal with Ao Shun? Why did I not think of that?” Miao Chen said happily.
Mu Chenfeng said bitterly, “Ao Sheng refused to come.”
“Oh?” Miao Chen’s expression turned stiff.
“Ao Sheng received and entertained me for a while, letting me stay at the dragon palace for two days. Then, he said that he was entering closed-door cultivation and would not be entertaining me any longer, so I returned,” Mu Chenfeng said bitterly.
“Ao Sheng is avoiding this? Is he not willing to deal with Ao Shun? This…what are we going to do now?” Miao Chen asked with an unsightly expression.
“Ao Sheng’s refusal to come shows that some of the dragon race’s core members still support Ao Shun. Perhaps Ao Sheng does not want to take this risk to stabilize the dragon race’s internal affairs?” Gu Qin analyzed.
However, Gu Hai just smiled and said, “That’s right. Still, obtaining this information is sufficient.”
“Huh? How can you still smile when Ao Sheng refused to help you?” Miao Chen looked at Gu Hai in confusion.
“I have no relations with Ao Sheng. Why would he help me?” Gu Hai smiled.
Miao Chen looked at Gu Hai in confusion. “Then, didn’t Mu Chenfeng go to the dragon palace for nothing?”
“He did not go for nothing. Mu Chenfeng went to the Northern Sea’s dragon palace to probe Ao Sheng’s stance. At the same time, he made a recording of Ao Sheng’s tone, voice, and mannerism.” Gu Hai smiled.
“What is the point of recording those? How are you going to deal with Ao Shun without Ao Sheng?” Miao Chen asked worriedly.
“Who says that I do not have Ao Sheng?” Gu Hai smiled.
“Didn’t you say that Ao Sheng refused to come?” Miao Chen asked in confusion.
“Indeed. While Ao Sheng refused to come, I can create an Ao Sheng!” Gu Hai smiled.
“Cre…create an Ao Sheng?”
Miao Chen continued looking at Gu Hai in confusion. Do you think that Ao Sheng is made of mud and that you can just squeeze one out?
