The eyes of the many spies around immediately lit up, sharpening with alertness when Gu Hai and Fairy Waner left the manor.
“Is it fine to go out like this?” Fairy Waner asked worriedly.
“It is safe only because we are going out like this.” Gu Hai smiled.
The two flagged down an immortal crane carriage. After paying the necessary spirit stones, they headed to the southern sector of the city.
Whoosh!
After the immortal crane carriage left, a number of experts followed them.
——
Standing on a floating island, Li Shenji watched Gu Hai and Fairy Waner leave. His eyes narrowed slightly. “It is not just Gu Hai’s cultivation that increased. This Fairy Waner’s cultivation seems to have increased as well?”
Li Shenji turned his head to look at a distant floating island.
That floating island was where Xi Yong was.
“Given Xi Yong’s vengeful nature, he will probably do something since you framed him previously. He is no kind soul. After waiting for you for ten days, he should be making his move, right? If you die at his hands, then it will have nothing to do with me. Ha!” Li Shenji revealed a cold smile.
——
Indeed, on that particular floating island, Xi Yong immediately saw Gu Hai and Fairy Waner come out.
“Who is that woman?” Xi Yong raised his eyebrows.
“That is the demon woman whom the archduke wanted to kill back then. Purple Subtlety and Longevity saved her, resulting in Gu Hai writing ‘Chivalrous Legends,’” one of the guards explained.
“It’s her? Why is she in Gu Hai’s manor? When did she go in?” Xi Yong exclaimed.
“I don’t know.”
Xi Yong narrowed his eyes. “Humph! I can’t be bothered with that. Since Gu Hai is out, that is good. Keep an eye on him. I’ll let Mister Dongfang know, and we will follow him. After we find a secluded place, we will kill him.”
“Yes!”
One of the guards immediately flew into the distance.
The other guard brought Xi Yong to a nearby building.
“Young Archduke, who is that Mister Dongfang? Why is he helping us?” that guard asked, feeling curious.
“I don’t know. That Mister Dongfang took the initiative to seek me out. He is an honored guest of my father and seems to have a grudge against Gu Hai too. He happened to seek me out, so we might as well work together,” Xi Yong replied coldly.
“Yes!”
——
After Gu Hai came out, the immortal crane carriage that he rode weaved through the city.
The news quickly spread everywhere.
Mo Residence:
Mo Yike was dealing with some work. When he heard this news, his expression suddenly changed.
“Milord, this subordinate does not understand. When did that Fairy Waner go to Mister Gu’s manor?” one of the subordinates said in confusion.
“Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!” Mo Yike’s expression changed further.
“What’s wrong?”
“Long Wanyu left long ago. She is no longer in Gu Hai’s manor!” Mo Yike showed a faint, bitter expression.
——
Qin Residence:
When Qin Zibai heard the news, he felt startled as well. The expression of his blind father, who was at the side, suddenly changed.
“This Gu Hai is incredible. He is indeed very meticulous,” the blind old man said with a bitter smile.
“Father, what’s wrong with Gu Hai?” Qin Zibai asked, feeling confused.
“He thought even further than I did. Long Wanyu left long ago. Hah…we were still thinking about how to test him, but he already executed everything perfectly!” the blind old man explained with a bitter smile.
“That shouldn’t be. Father, didn’t Princess Wanyu appear ten days ago?” Qin Zibai said with a frown.
“That was Fairy Waner. When one’s music Dao reaches a certain level, one can imitate any sound. Don’t you know that?” the blind old man said with a bitter smile.
“What should we do now? Are we going to barge into Gu Hai’s residence?” Qin Zibai frowned.
“Never mind. Since it already happened, there is no more value in barging into Gu Hai’s manor. However, Gu Hai and Fairy Waner went out alone. There must be a reason for it. We must investigate that,” the blind old man said sullenly.
“Yes!”
——
On a floating island in the southern sector of the city:
Gongyang Sheng frowned as he looked at the layout of Major Metropolitan City. A square table lay before him with piles of diagrams placed on it. He looked at these diagrams and compared them against the surrounding terrain, entering deep thought.
Long Shenwu stood at the side.
“Lord Gongyang, can you unravel this Nine-by-Nine Sun Sealing Ritual Array?” Long Shenwu asked, feeling curious.
Gongyang Sheng shook his head and said, “Soon. I managed to figure out that it is near here. However, I am not sure of the exact location.”
“Oh? It is not underground?”
“It is not underground. It should be similar to that independent space that sealed the souls of the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor and the others. Perhaps it would be more accurately called an independent world. However, this independent world is very mysterious. Without knowing the location of the entrance, one can never find it,” Gongyang Sheng said with a frown.
“The entrance is near here?” Long Shenwu’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“That’s right.” Gongyang Shen nodded with certainty.
“Speaking of the independent world’s entrance, was there also an entrance to an independent world where you were imprisoned? We all failed to enter the underground palace, but Gu Hai managed to save you in the end. Is it possible that Gu Hai can find the independent world’s entrance?” Long Shenwu asked with a frown.
“Him? Ha! Impossible!” Gongyang Sheng shook his head.
“Oh? How did he save you then?” Long Shenwu asked with a frown.
Gongyang Sheng frowned slightly. Speaking of which, this was something he could not figure out, no matter how hard he thought about it.
“Lord Gongyang, don’t underestimate Gu Hai. This person cannot be measured by ordinary means,” Long Shenwu sighed while shaking his head.
Gongyang Sheng frowned and said, “The nine palace method is currently the most complicated type of computational divination method. It requires one to have vast accumulations before one can make any headway in it. Why did the Yuan Imperial Dynasty imprison me? It is because no one in the entire Yuan Nation is capable of comprehending the nine palace method. I understand it and am confident that no matter how talented Gu Hai is, he cannot possibly understand it. All the more, he cannot possibly find the Nine-by-Nine Sun Sealing Ritual Array’s entrance before I do.”
[TL Note: The ancient Chinese believed in a method of knowing what is happening in the world, as well as predicting the future, by using some sort of calculation that involves many factors like Yin and Yang, the five elements, the eight trigrams, the sixty-four hexagrams, astrology, geomancy, dream reading, drawing lots, numerology, and many others. It is a calculation of fate; hence, it supposedly could be used to locate things or tell the future.]
“Oh?” Prince Shenwu frowned slightly.
“I have a report!”
A Divine Night Guard suddenly flew to the floating island.
“Reporting to Prince and Lord Gongyang, Elite Hall Master Gu Hai and Fairy Waner arrived at a nearby valley!” that Divine Night Guard said respectfully.
“Oh? Where?” Prince Shenwu asked.
The Divine Night Guard pointed to the distance.
Everyone standing on the floating island looked down. They immediately saw Gu Hai and Fairy Waner getting off an immortal crane carriage at a distant mountain forest, then entering the forest.
“Indeed, it is him. He is finally willing to come out after recuperating in the manor for ten days?” Long Shenwu frowned as he looked into the distance.
“Ten days? Princess Wanyu should be safe by now.” Gongyang Sheng nodded.
“Do you know why Gu Hai came here?” Long Shenwu asked.
“I don’t know. He did not mention anything to anyone before coming,” the Divine Night Guard answered.
Prince Shenwu felt slightly startled. He looked at Gongyang Sheng and asked, “Lord Gongyang, is it possible that Gu Hai has the same target as we do?”
“That’s impossible. He does not know the nine palace method. How is he going to find the entrance? If there is anyone who can find this entrance in Major Metropolitan City, it would only be me,” Gongyang Sheng immediately retorted with confidence.
“However, you calculated that it is nearby. Then, Gu Hai also came to this place for some reason,” Prince Shenwu said with a frown.
“I managed to find the rough area only after countless calculations and extrapolations. If he can find the Nine-by-Nine Sun Sealing Ritual Array’s entrance, doesn’t that prove that my studies are stupid and pointless?” Gongyang Sheng countered skeptically.
Boom!
A loud report suddenly came from the valley where Gu Hai was. As the ground shook, what looked like a black hole formed there all at once, consuming the things around it. A surging wind rushed out of that entrance as well.
The thunderous sound shook the entire Major Metropolitan City.
“Lord Gongyang, Hall Master Gu found the entrance!” the Divine Night Guard at the side exclaimed.
Long Shenwu gave Gongyang Sheng a strange look.
Gongyang Sheng: “…”
——
After Gu Hai and Fairy Waner arrived in that valley, he asked with a frown, “This is the place? It looks ordinary.”
“It should be right. The Myriad Age Daoist Sect’s records say that it is here. Just wait for a moment. I’ll retrieve the item,” Fairy Waner said gravely.
“Oh?” Gu Hai nodded.
Fairy Waner chanted something under her breath, tapping on the air more than a hundred times. With each tap, the air lit up. Soon, she reached her final tap.
Buzz!
A bright, white light suddenly appeared in the space before the two. The dazzling light came from a white pearl floating in the air.
“What is this?” Gu Hai exclaimed as he looked at the pearl.
“The entrance to the Nine-by-Nine Sun Sealing Ritual Array uses the Damage Fixing Pearl from my Supreme Ascendant’s line of inheritance as the seal’s foundation. The Damage Fixing Pearl prevents any terrain change from damaging the seal’s entrance. If any damage occurs, the Damage Fixing Pearl will immediately fix it,” Fairy Waner explained.
“Quickly extract it, then. When the two of us came out, many factions probably sent their spies after us,” Gu Hai said.
“Alright.”
Fairy Waner did not grab the pearl with her hand. Instead, she opened her mouth and swallowed the pearl.
This action piqued Gu Hai’s curiosity somewhat, but he did not say anything.
After Fairy Waner swallowed the pearl, she jerked her head to the side.
Crack!
Fairy Waner extracted the Damage Fixing Pearl.
The instant that happened, a pearl-sized hole appeared in space, looking like a black hole. Then, a strong suction came from it.
Whoosh!
The black hole sucked in the surrounding dirt and stone.
Rumble…!
The black hole immediately enlarged, and the ground suddenly shook.
The change in this place affected the ritual array covering most of Major Metropolitan City. When it suddenly shook, the entire Major Metropolitan City experienced an earthquake.
Boom!
Many of the buildings that had yet to be fully fixed collapsed again.
The black hole kept growing larger, frantically sucking in everything around it.
“Ah!”
Gu Hai and Fairy Waner stumbled, nearly falling in.
“The Nine-by-Nine Sun Sealing Ritual Array’s entrance?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
“It broke open now that the Damage Fixing Pearl is gone,” Fairy Waner said with a bitter smile.
“Oh no! Such a big commotion will attract the powerful experts in the city. We need to go quickly.” Gu Hai immediately pulled on Fairy Waner, running away.
Everyone wanted the treasure. However, one needed to be powerful enough to enjoy it.
——
As the two ran, the flabbergasted Gongyang Sheng watched from a nearby floating island.
“Perhaps it was really just a coincidence?” Prince Shenwu said with a strange expression.
Gongyang Sheng’s expression twitched. After working so hard to divine the location for ten days and ten nights, he only obtained a rough location, unable to pinpoint the exact location. He had already reached his wit’s end. Where did this monster come from? To think that Gu Hai found it just by coming out and walking around?
A coincidence? Even a fool would not believe that it was a coincidence. One might find the entrance by coincidence, but how could one open the entrance by coincidence?
