Outside the beast arena, while there were cultivators who had moved towards Gu Hai, many remained still. This included Ninth Young Master and his subordinates.
“Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!” Ninth Young Master covered his mouth with his handkerchief as he coughed. However, his eyes narrowed.
“Ninth Young Master, is this Gu Hai crazy? To think that he took out the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach in front of everyone. What is he trying to do? Wouldn’t it be easier to just say that the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach is gone?” one of Ninth Young Master’s subordinates asked, feeling confused.
“Ha! What do you know?!” Ninth Young Master said with narrowed eyes.
“Huh?”
“You only saw the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach but failed to see his deeper purpose. Although he revealed the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach, he managed to move all the cultivators on Nine-Five Island into doing what he wanted. Ah! The human heart, the human heart. He is an expert at manipulating the human heart. Cough! Cough! Cough!” Ninth Young Master covered his mouth again as he coughed.
“Ah?! He manipulated all the cultivators on Nine-Five Island into doing what he wanted? Ninth Young Master, this subordinate does not understand.”
“He is protecting his family, or rather, his two adopted sons, Gu Qin and Gu Han,” Ninth Young Master explained.
“Oh?”
“Due to Gu Hai’s long disappearance, the cultivators waiting outside the Gu Residence were slowly losing their patience. Presenting the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach now rewards their patience. Since they want to lay a trap for Gu Hai and wait for Gu Hai to fall into it, they need to make sure that the bait is fine. Not only will those cultivators not harm Gu Qin and Gu Han, but they will even protect the two with everything they have and wait for Gu Hai to fall into their trap,” Ninth Young Master explained.
“Gu Hai manipulated all the cultivators into protecting Gu Qin and Gu Han? Furthermore, the only price he paid was presenting the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach?” That subordinate showed a strange expression.
“Although he still needs more time to grow, he already shows the air of a fierce and ambitious person. Although he is just standing there and the surrounding cultivators want to snatch the Century Lifespan Immortality Peach, no one dares to do that. With just a few simple actions, he restrained the surrounding cultivators. A good plan executed with great courage!” Ninth Young Master observed the situation with narrowed eyes.
“Ninth Young Master, should we make a move?”
Ninth Young Master shook his head as he said coldly, “Remember, I never came here. I do not need to make an appearance for this matter. Inform Luo Tiange. He is nearby, right? Since he wants to be my substitute, then let’s see who is more capable of the two!”
“Yes!”
——
At the beast arena, Gu Hai led away most of the evil men.
The surrounding cultivators could only watch as Gu Hai swaggered away.
Of all the evil men, Gu Hai trusted Gao Xianzhi the most. Hence, he assigned the important job of searching the place to Gao Xianzhi. Gao Xianzhi worked very efficiently, first interrogating the Great Feng Mafia Family disciples separately and, at the same time, having people isolate the Great Feng Mafia Family’s family region to prevent others from getting close. Then, he started ransacking the palace.
Shangguan Hen’s Regal Legion followed Gu Hai.
Shangguan Hen extracted a ring from the vegetative Li Wei.
“This is a storage ring?” Gu Hai asked as he looked at Shangguan Hen.
“Yes, Milord. There is a compressed space in it. However, this ring does not seem especially good, only holding about thirty-six cubic meters of space. Leave it to this subordinate. I can undo the seal on it after two days to take out the things inside,” Shangguan Hen said with certainty.
“That’s fine!” Gu Hai nodded.
The heavy rain continued, and the evil men temporarily settled down. However, the cultivators continued to keep an eye on the family region, fearing that Gu Hai’s group would suddenly leave.
Simultaneously, some cultivators quickly rushed off to deliver news of Gu Hai’s presence.
When evening arrived, the four legates gathered at Gu Hai’s location.
This place was the large palace where Li Wei once stayed, the Dragon Tortoise Palace.
The group of evil men camped outside of the Dragon Tortoise Palace and defended it.
Inside, Gu Hai stared at Gao Xianzhi.
“Milord, all the confiscated items have been placed in the palace beside this one. That place is Li Wei’s treasure trove. This subordinate already interrogated the Great Feng Mafia Family disciples and figured out its mechanism,” Gao Xianzhi reported excitedly.
“Oh?”
Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!
Gao Xianzhi operated the mechanism in the Dragon Tortoise Palace, and a small door immediately appeared in the wall at a corner. The small door seemed to lead underground.
Gu Hai exchanged glances with the four legates. Then, they slowly headed down step by step.
When they reached the bottom, many Night Pearls lit up the surroundings.
“This…did they hollow out this mountain?” Scar said while goggling.
“The inside of the mountain also has ritual arrays covering the surrounding walls. Are they to reinforce this large cave and prevent others from digging their way in?” Shangguan Hen said with a serious look.
“Spirit stones! So many spirit stones!” Chen Tianshan exclaimed in excitement.
A densely packed mountain-like pile of spirit stones filled the large space.
“I knew it!” Gu Hai revealed a confident smile.
“Milord guessed right. The Great Feng Mafia Family definitely had accrued vast wealth over the years. Even though they paid a lot of tribute, they still managed to save a lot!” Gao Xianzhi smiled.
“Since there are sufficient spirit stones, then let’s use them to lay ritual arrays!” Gu Hai said.
“Lay ritual arrays?” Everyone looked at Gu Hai.
“That’s right. Strength is the most important. Do you remember the spirit spring that we set up in the Innate Puzzle World previously? I’ll set up a huge spirit spring for the three thousand-odd of us to use. Everyone has probably accumulated hidden injuries after being in Evil Men Valley for so many years. We should nourish our bodies first!” Gu Hai said.
“Then…then how many spirit stones would that take?” Chen Tianshan exclaimed in trepidation.
“Hahahaha! We will spend all of it!” Gu Hai laughed.
“Yes!” Gao Xianzhi said excitedly.
“A spirit spring?” Scar and Shangguan Hen revealed shocked expressions.
“Aside from a spirit spring, I also want to lay a large ritual array. During this period, you all will take turns helping me lay it. Let’s target its completion by tonight. We might have a fierce battle waiting for us after that,” Gu Hai said.
“Yes!” everyone answered.
“Chen Tianshan, are there any movements on Meng Tai’s side?” Gu Hai asked gravely, looking at Chen Tianshan.
“Oh, Meng Tai? There isn’t much movement from Meng Tai. He had been recuperating from his wounds. I even chatted with him. He said that Feng Ling suffered a lot over the past few years and that he wanted to take care of her properly,” Chen Tianshan said while shaking her head,
Gu Hai smiled faintly and said, “Did you tell Meng Tai about our situation, even everything that happened in the Innate Puzzle World?”
“Yes, shouldn’t I? I only mentioned a little. Mainly, it was that Meng Tai asked, so I casually mentioned it,” Chen Taishan said while shaking his head.
“Meng Tai asked? Legate Chen, you still underestimated Meng Tai. He is not an easy person to deal with. He was leading you into saying what he wanted to know. He probably obtained all the information he wanted,” Shangguan Hen said while shaking his head.
“That can’t be, right?” Chen Tianshan said, feeling confused.
“Never mind. It’s not really a secret. If Meng Tai wanted to find out, it would not be difficult,” Gu Hai said.
“Milord, aren’t we being biased against Meng Tai. Based on what he said, he seems to be someone who is willing to sacrifice his benefits for his emotions. He was locked up and tortured for twenty years for Feng Ling. Furthermore, he deeply loves Feng Ling. If he is such a person who acts on his emotions, aren’t we…? Chen Tianshan said, feeling confused.
“A person who acts on his emotions? Ha!” Gu Hai sneered as he shook his head. “I acknowledge that Meng Tai is a capable person. However, you are wrong in saying that he is someone who is willing to sacrifice his benefits for his emotions!”
“Oh? That’s not the case?”
“A person willing to sacrifice his benefits for his emotions cannot possibly betray his friends and family. He grew up with Yue Yao, but he killed her without a second thought for the sake of his future. He showed no care for the feelings between fellow disciples. When he killed Yue Yao, he was apathetic to Li Wei’s feelings. Would you kill your family for the sake of some potential future?” Gu Hai said indifferently.
“Ah? I…” Chen Tianshan’s expression changed.
“Furthermore, this person is too good at acting. Before I returned to Evil Men Valley, he already looked too weak to move. However, he still could fight Li Wei, despite us returning only after a long time. When he tried to bring back Feng Ling’s consciousness, he played dead at first. After that, he still had the strength to want to kill Li Wei?” Gu Hai pointed out in a heavy voice.
“Perhaps?”
“There is no ‘perhaps. He is the Earth Division Master, a colleague. I will not target him as long as he does not target me. However, I do not have any friendship with him. I helped him obtain freedom because he promised to help us obtain the method to remove the mask. However, he completely ignored that from the start to the end. He could immediately forget the gratitude of being saved. Do you still think that he is a person willing to sacrifice his benefits for his emotions?” Gu Hai said indifferently.
“Ah?” Chen Tianshan’s expression changed drastically.
“Legate Chen, this Meng Tai is not a simple character. He is very scheming and has no care for others. Don’t be tricked by what he shows. That is just him pretending to be pitiful. However, he might be baring bloody fangs at you under that pitiful exterior,” Gao Xianzhi said gravely.
Scar and Shangguan Hen nodded.
“Yes, I got it. I will be careful!” Chen Tianshan nodded.
“Milord, what about my authority token?” Gao Xianzhi looked at Gu Hai.
Gu Hai had obtained the Earth Division Master’s authority token from the fake Meng Tai. It was a symbol of Elite Hall.
Gu Hai shook his head and said, “Just keep it!”
“Huh? But what if the hall master finds out?” Chen Tianshan asked.
“So what if she knows? It is something that Meng Tai lost. We are not responsible for helping him get it back. We went through a lot of trouble to obtain it. Why should we give it to him with no recompense? Since Milord said so, I will keep it,” Gao Xianzhi retorted seriously.
After some silence, Gu Hai frowned and said, “I keep feeling that Meng Tai is hiding something from us.”
“Oh?” Everyone felt stunned.
“That’s true. Milord, something does not seem quite right!” Shangguan Hen’s face suddenly sank.
“Oh?” Scar and Chen Tianshan turned to Shangguan Hen.
“Although Milord did not fall out with Meng Tai at the beast arena earlier, he had alienated Meng Tai to a great degree. Given Meng Tai’s intellect, he definitely noticed. Under normal circumstances, he should have just left the Great Feng Mafia Family with Feng Ling. However, he did not do that but chose to stay,” Shangguan Hen pointed out.
“Meng Tai wants something in the Great Feng Mafia Family?” Gao Xianzhi’s expression changed.
“Is it Li Wei?” Scar asked in shock.
“Keep an eye on Meng Tai at all times and tightly guard Li Wei!” Gu Hai instructed.
“Yes!” everyone answered.
“Alright. Pick out people who know how to lay ritual arrays from among your subordinates. I will draw the plans. We will use a large number of spirit stones to set up the ritual array according to my plans, encasing the entire family region!” Gu Hai instructed seriously.
“Yes!” everyone answered.
With the support of a massive stock of spirit stones, Gu Hai got to work.
