In fact, for them, the safest option at present was to leave immediately, to get away quickly before Old Master Wu discovered them.
Yet no one did this. Even knowing that entering might bring immense danger, they all still braced themselves to rush in.
The Iron Masked Man coveted immortality, his greed insatiable, while his group of subordinates had no choice but to obey.
The coerced Gao Yuan and the others were even more helpless. Not to mention having leverage in the hands of the Iron Masked Man, they had also sensed the terror of the power behind him. Perhaps someone was watching right outside the exit of the Golden Ruins. Having already experienced the Iron Masked Man’s torturous methods, they did not even have the courage to escape the Golden Ruins on their own.
Wu Hei had reached a crossroads in his destiny. The tragic death of his mother and the passing of his beloved wife made him resolutely choose to change his fate. He did not want his descendants to continually repeat such a tragedy of blind loyalty. It was precisely because of this choice of his that the reopening of the Golden Ruins was caused.
Little Hei did not know what he was doing. He only thought the Iron Masked Man’s mask was fun, staring at it with wide-eyed curiosity, completely unaware that his father had already made a new choice for his destiny.
Yu Qing had lost his normal rationality. Knowing it was unrealistic, he still insisted on doing it. Resurrecting the deceased Qiao Qie’er had become the thing he wanted to do most. He had no other way. He found it hard to let go easily. She was the first woman in his life in a true sense, and his heart had long been shrouded in deep sorrow, even if it was not visible on the surface.
Even if his junior martial uncle came now, he would not listen to advice. The sincere romantic heart of a young person is so regretless. They do not know what a dead end is until they crash headfirst into it and bleed, which is called purity.
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie also had no choice. They could not just abandon this damned sect leader. In fact, Yu Qing did not want to implicate them, and had even brought them out of the Golden Ruins, but the two of them still followed, helping to carry that heavy golden coffin along the way.
As for Ning Chaoyi and the others, their situation was actually the same as that of Gao Yuan and the four demons. They had no extra paths to take, but they had one more choice. They chose to try their luck with Wu Hei’s side. Because of their grudges with Yu Qing, Gao Yuan and the four demons would not even think in that direction.
At this time, it was naturally Wu Hei who called the shots. He spoke, and the Iron Masked Man immediately complied, ordering his subordinates to divide four golden flying birds to give to Wu Hei.
Wu Hei did not say another word. He took one in his hand and gave the rest to Yu Qing and the others.
Yu Qing and the others immediately made attempts according to Wu Hei’s instructions. Yu Qing and his two martial brothers took one golden bird. Lu Xingyun and her daughter, along with Ning Chaoyi’s group, shared one. The Thief Mandarin Duck couple and their group shared one. After these three groups successively triggered ripples and disappeared into the void waves, Wu Hei, who was keeping guard at the rear, finally took his son and plunged into the cave’s void wave.
This showed that Wu Hei still did not quite trust the Iron Masked Man and his group.
There was no other way. Anyone with common sense would not feel at ease. Besides, he had heard from Ning Chaoyi and the others about the Iron Masked Man’s actions, holding so many people’s family members hostage. Anyone could guess he was no good person.
The Iron Masked Man did not delay either. He ordered his subordinates to quickly copy the method and try it. Seeing that it indeed worked, he was suddenly overjoyed.
The two groups thus successfully broke through.
Emerging from within the cliff face, it was like instantly arriving in another world. Seeing the Grand Golden Canyon again, Yu Qing and the others, who had been there once, were relatively fine, only focusing on keeping a lookout around them. The Iron Masked Man’s group, however, was utterly astonished.
After turning around and staring at the solid cliff face, feeling it for a while, the Iron Masked Man could not help but ask, “Brother Wu, what is this situation?”
Wu Hei now felt a bit like burning his bridges. He really did not want to deal with such a dangerous person who would stop at nothing. He had only agreed to cooperate before because the other party could promptly bring golden animals to help them enter in time, but now they had no further use.
But after all, he had already brought the people inside. With them right beside him, under the current circumstances, he could not just ignore them. He could only perfunctorily reply, “This entrance is not safe. Let us leave here first.” Finishing his words, he waved his hand and first led Yu Qing and the others to quickly sneak away.
The Iron Masked Man naturally hurried to bring his people and follow.
A group of people sneaked through the canyon, not daring to show themselves, quietly fleeing far away.
Inside the spacious golden palace, thumping sounds occasionally echoed. Old Master Wu, leaning on his ice blue halberd, wandered around like a lonely ghost, occasionally stopping in front of exquisite wall carvings. Those carvings seemed to be telling some story, and he was the one watching the story.
When passing through a beam of moonlight crossing the hall, the wrinkles on his face, old like tree bark, were illuminated clearly.
In the air, three demons successively flew out from the pavilions and towers on the surrounding walls. They met together, confirmed that the search was complete, and then immediately flew backwards and downwards. Approaching the ground, they glided up again one after another, landing in front of Old Master Wu.
Wu Dao, wearing a golden headband, reported, “Ancestor, no one was found.”
Old Master Wu’s gaze seemed to be attracted by a wall carving, and he muttered to himself, “What exactly does my eldest nephew want to do, running in here with his son? Is he also here for the Heavenly Spring? Logically, it should not be. If he were really here for the Heavenly Spring, my brother’s nature would not allow his descendants to enter. What are they looking for?”
Muttering, he turned around and faced Wu Dao. “When you came, you still saw them looking for something everywhere here. By the time we arrived, not much time had passed, yet they were gone. Where did they go? There are only two possibilities. They discovered us and hid, or they did not find what they wanted here and went inside to search.”
Wu Dao said, “Ancestor, could it be that they already found it and have left?”
Old Master Wu said, “Apart from this underground spring, almost all other items in this palace were cleared and taken away back then. With nothing here, what could they find? The fact that they are making a fuss here shows they found nothing. Furthermore, the area outside the back door forms a world of its own, a very vast region, making it difficult to find anything. In the short time it took you to go back and forth, they probably have not found anything yet.”
Wu Dao tilted his head and looked towards the main gate. “Could it really be that they discovered us and ran? Could they be hiding outside? Should we go out and search?”
Old Master Wu, looking extremely senile, chuckled. “There is no need. Since my younger brother allowed his descendants to enter, it means the thing they are looking for is very important, and they will not give up easily. Whether they went inside or outside, as long as they have not found the thing, they will come back in.”
Wu Xieshan pondered and said, “So, we can set up an ambush at the entrance of that Grand Golden Canyon!”
“Hey!” Old Master Wu waved his hand. “After all, he is my eldest nephew. Keeping them alive is still useful. We are not going to kill them, so why ambush them? What if they do not come in for a long time? Are we really going to waste our time ambushing there continuously? Do not let them delay our main business. Ignore the entrance and let them come in. Second brother, you stay here and just guard this exit.”
Guard here? Wu Xieshan was a bit hesitant, but still agreed. “Yes.”
Old Master Wu instructed further, “Just hide here in the dark. If you find they have come, continue hiding and ignore them. If they want to leave, do not stop them either. You alone would hardly be a match for Big Heizi, let alone that he has helpers. If they go out, let them go. You only need to send out an alarm signal, and then follow Big Heizi and his son in the air. I will rush to find you.”
Wu Xieshan felt relieved, nodded, and said, “Understood. Rest assured, Ancestor, there will be no mistake.”
Old Master Wu made an acknowledging sound, then turned and pointed to a pavilion entrance on the wall. “There should be a rather special room there. Which of you went in?”
The three demon-like figures looked at each other. Finally, Wu Heyun tentatively said, “Ancestor, I saw a distinctive room there. The other openings all looked out to the outside of the mountain, but one opening alone showed the situation inside the mountain.”
Old Master Wu nodded. “That is right. That is the one. That room is the interior of the hilltop pavilion you saw when you entered. From there, you can see the situation outside the back door clearly. Second brother might as well hide there, keep an eye on the outside of the back door. If anyone wants to enter this palace, it will not escape your eyes.”
Wu Xieshan said, “Yes.”
Old Master Wu then flashed away again, landing at the back door, where he walked over and sat down on a recliner.
Wu Dao and Wu Heyun immediately flew out, lifting the recliner from the front and back. Old Master Wu pointed his ice blue halberd in a direction, indicating to go there and have a look. The two demons immediately flapped their wings in unison, lifting him and flying away rapidly.
Inside a rift in the earth, some sneaky heads half emerged from the ground, hiding behind a pile of golden rocks, observing the movements of the hilltop pavilion through the gaps in the rocks. It was exactly Wu Hei and the Iron Masked Man’s group.
From a distance, having vaguely witnessed the sedan chair leaving under the moonlight, the Iron Masked Man gave a soft ‘eh’. “Four, but only three left. Is there still one inside?”
No one answered.
He had to turn back and ask Wu Hei beside him, “Brother Wu, where did they go?”
Wu Hei said, “Shall I go and ask for you?”
The Iron Masked Man was obviously stunned for a moment, then gave a dry laugh. “That will not be necessary.”
The group did not dare to act rashly and could only continue hiding for now.
As they hid, the sky eventually brightened, and everyone gradually saw this dazzling golden world clearly. It was truly astonishing. It turned out that the precious things pursued in the human world were nothing here, while the earth and rocks of the human world were actually rare items here.
What they could not see was that the entire massive golden mountain, hidden within the cloud mass, was already floating over the vast sea, slowly sinking towards the sea surface in this dimly lit early morning.
After the massive golden mountain touched the sea surface, it did not stop sinking. It maintained its existing steady speed and continued to sink, and the sea level soon submerged more than half of the massive golden mountain.
At this time, the massive cloud mass gathered over the sea seemed to lose its cohesion, quickly dispersing in the sea breeze, revealing the true face of the golden mountain.
On the sea surface, large numbers of golden swimming fish occasionally leaped out, as if welcoming the arrival of the immortal palace.
Meanwhile, inside the earth rift within the immortal palace, Wu Hei and the others, along with the Iron Masked Man and his group, were all dumbfounded. Due to the roaring noise, they all ran to the end of the rift, peering into that massive Grand Golden Canyon.
They saw the source of the massive roaring noise. A huge torrent of water rushed from the other end of the canyon with the momentum to destroy everything, rumbling past their eyes in an instant. The ground trembled, accompanied by a whooshing wind sound like a tsunami.
The surging torrent was rapidly raising the water level.
Inside the palace, Wu Xieshan could no longer hide due to the commotion, and ran to the position of the city gate to see what was happening outside.
He witnessed with his own eyes the scene of the immortal palace sinking into the sea, and was deeply shocked by it.
The seawater flooded his vision but stopped right outside the city tower. An invisible void wave prevented the seawater outside from seeping into the palace in the slightest.
It was just that the light grew darker and darker, and Wu Xieshan watched helplessly as the immortal palace continued to sink into the unfathomable depths of the sea.