Using such words as a test, it was clear that he was not entirely ignorant of outside matters during his years of non-sleep. He probably knew something about how much of the internal situation of the Little Cloud Realm had spread in outside legends.
Yu Qing thought for a moment and replied, “The scenes inside the Little Cloud Realm, although not fully revealed today, have already been entered by too many people. The situation inside has been circulating in all sorts of ways outside. If I describe what it looks like inside, you might not believe me, senior. You might mistakenly think I heard it from outsiders.”
The old man immediately looked at his son and asked, “Have many people already entered the Little Cloud Realm?”
The man in black nodded and said, “Yes, the Little Cloud Realm opened two years ago. Father, those extraterritorial powerhouses from before you fell asleep have all passed away. The Dark Cliff should now be succeeded by a new judge. After Master Yan passed away, two of his disciples both stepped into the Half-Immortal realm. One took control of the Great Enterprise Office of the Yin Kingdom, and the other took control of the Situ Office of the Jin Kingdom. Each holds power over one region, and it is said that because love turned to hate, they became mortal enemies.
The old Great Sage of the Thousand Streams Mountain in the demon realm, before he passed away, ultimately did not wish to see the demon realm decline. He used his entire cultivation to create a new Great Sage to succeed him. Then, a chieftain from a tribe in the Great Wilderness also stepped into the Half-Immortal realm. Currently, there are only these five Half-Immortal realm powerhouses in the extraterritorial regions. All the others you knew back then have passed away from old age.
Two years ago, when the Little Cloud Realm opened, the forces that broke in were the respective forces of Master Yan’s two disciples, as well as the forces of the Thousand Streams Mountain. It is said they killed the mountain guardian beast Yunxi of the Little Cloud Realm. The Dark Cliff still operates by its old principles. As long as that chieftain does not provoke him, he does not interfere with matters outside the Great Wilderness.”
The old man was silent for a while, then said, “That still doesn’t prove they definitely learned the secret of the Golden Ruins from the Little Cloud Realm. Haven’t you considered that they might be a trap set by your uncle?”
The man in black: “Father, there is one thing I have investigated and can confirm. Not long after they arrived at the Split Valley Manor, Little Black fell into a trap. My uncle can control when people arrive at the Split Valley Manor, but he cannot control when Little Black falls into a trap. My uncle also could not have calculated that I would still go to thank them in person. Without these prerequisites, this scheme could not be set up. Also, my uncle has been unable to trace my whereabouts for so many years. As soon as he arrived, he found me. If my uncle had this ability, the situation would have changed long ago. From all these signs, I can clearly feel that they are not my uncle’s people.”
At this point, Yu Qing finally understood why the man in black had said he wanted him to testify. Now he understood, and he suddenly interjected, “I saw a report in the Little Cloud Realm stating that the Cloud Fairy intended to build a golden pavilion at Cloud Lake. So the Little Cloud Realm sent a person named ‘Jinyang’ into the Golden Ruins, responsible for transporting gold to the Little Cloud Realm as building materials. In his report to the Cloud Supervisor, ‘Jinyang’ said that the reason for the delay in delivering the gold materials was because the Golden Ruins had undergone an abnormal change and strictly controlled entry and exit. First, a person named ‘Xiao Shan’ was sent to escort twenty million jin of gold sand over. ‘Jinyang’ stated in the report that due to the incident, when the escort team rushed to the Golden Ruins again, they could not pass directly. The Golden Valley had set up a seal, and they needed to find the halberd guards outside the valley!”
The old man’s expression flickered between light and dark for a good while, not knowing what he was thinking. After a long silence, he slowly raised his head to look up at the sky, then whooshed and shot up into the air, his figure suddenly disappearing in a flash.
The several people present all stared blankly at the sky. Yu Qing then asked the man in black, “What does your father mean?”
The man in black stood up, also letting go of the little boy to play, and shook his head, saying, “I don’t know. Wait, we will know.”
Alright, but Yu Qing was also curious and asked, “Are you called Heizi?”
The man in black: “My name is Wu Hei.”
Yu Qing said in surprise, “Wuhei?”
The man in black reiterated, “Wu, the same Wu as the Split Valley Manor!”
“Oh! Sorry, sorry, I misheard.” Yu Qing quickly apologized, breaking into a small sweat in his heart. He thought this person’s parent really knew how to name a child, and then remembered something, “Your father and the other sleeper are blood brothers, and then they fell out?”
Wu Hei, who had finally revealed his real name, said, “The man has already been killed by you all. There is no need to ask more about this.”
Yu Qing thought that was true. No matter how the previous generation fell out, after all, it was his uncle. The fact that he had conspired with them to kill his own uncle, there was indeed no need to say more.
The scene was quiet for a while, then Wu Hei suddenly asked, “Did you find the entrance to the Little Cloud Realm?”
“Uh…” Yu Qing turned his head sharply to look at him, speechless with shock.
Mu Aotie, who had been watching the child run around, also quickly turned his head to stare at him.
From the two people’s subconscious reactions, Wu Hei got the answer he wanted, “I am not as closed off as you think. I occasionally go out to buy supplies. From the moment you said you had entered the Little Cloud Realm, plus the fact that you saved my son, I had some guesses about your identity.”
Yu Qing couldn’t help but scratch his small beard and said, “Don’t you suspect I am from one of those three major forces?”
Wu Hei: “No matter which force sent people, for this kind of matter, the possibility of someone your age making decisions independently is not great!”
“…” Faced with this statement, Yu Qing was momentarily speechless. He asked himself honestly, was it really that obvious?
Wu Hei continued, “For the person who could find the entrance to the Little Cloud Realm first, and then find the entrance to the Golden Ruins first, it is not strange. You could also find me, and find the Yellow Halberd. The number one talented person in the world truly lives up to his reputation. No wonder even my uncle’s series of smoke screens could not deceive you. He did not die unjustly!”
Yu Qing wanted to speak but stopped. He really wanted to ask him, what kind of logic is this? Isn’t it a bit too arbitrary? However, on second thought, since the other party already suspected this, if he deliberately lied to him, it would be bad if he was exposed later.
Mu Aotie did not know if it was his imagination, but he seemed to detect a hint of admiration in Wu Hei’s tone. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, then he seemed to hear nothing and continued to watch the little boy playing by the water.
“The so-called number one talented person in the world is a joke, not worth mentioning. My name is Yu Qing. In front of those people, I use the alias Lin Erqing.”
Yu Qing reported his real name, which was also an admission of his identity.
Wu Hei’s eyes flashed, and he nodded, saying, “A name is just a title. It doesn’t matter what you are called.”
Just then, a figure suddenly descended from the sky and abruptly stopped above the water pool.
It was the old man, floating above the pool, his toes almost touching the water surface when he halted, bringing a gust of wind in all directions.
He looked at the little boy playing by the water, seemingly because of the little boy that he did not directly impact the water surface.
The pool water rippled and lapped against the shore due to the wind, washing over the little boy’s feet. The little boy also looked up at him, seeing him suspended in the air, looking very curious.
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie stared wide-eyed at the old man’s hand. A halberd, another single-edged halberd, but not golden yellow. Instead, it was a blue halberd. Due to the angle of light refraction, it looked like ice blue, very beautiful.
Apart from the color difference, its shape was exactly the same as that golden halberd. No one knew where the old man had found such a halberd again.
The old man suddenly lightly touched the water surface beneath his feet with the ice-blue halberd. The water waves abruptly stopped spreading from the point of contact, rapidly expanding to the surroundings. In an instant, the entire pool was frozen over. A layer of frost also quickly climbed onto the stones by the pool.
The people standing by the pool immediately felt the biting cold. The two brothers were shocked and stared at the ice-blue halberd again.
The little boy was already full of wonder, excitedly touching the ice surface, and from time to time looking up at the old man, looking very admiring.
The old man smiled slightly, his toes landing, and he stood on the ice surface. Then he turned back to look at his son, “Being a normal person is indeed a choice. My mission does not necessarily have to be imposed on you father and son, but I want to remind you that the fate of normal people is the most unpredictable. It is not as good as you imagine. Before your uncle and I entered the Golden Ruins to change our fate, we fully experienced the hardships of normal people. I will ask you one last time, do you really not regret it?”
Wu Hei: “I have considered this question for a very, very long time. I do not regret it!”
The old man turned back to look at the little boy and sighed, “Good, then let’s go.”
Wu Hei went over and picked up the child. The group set off, and the old man whooshed and flew into the sky…
When they saw the old man again, he stood alone on the mountaintop of the Split Valley Manor, holding a long halberd, gazing at the clouds and sky, his long hair fluttering in the wind.
Seeing that Yu Qing and Mu Aotie had returned safely, Nan Zhu and Ning Chaoyi and the others emerged from the hidden cave within the manor, jumping down to meet them.
They even specifically exchanged a few words to confirm that the two were themselves, and only then did everyone feel relieved.
Of course, those who did not know the situation found it somewhat strange to see Wu Hei still carrying a child.
These were minor matters, and everyone did not pay too much attention. Ning Chaoyi asked Yu Qing, “So, is the secret solved?”
Yu Qing raised his finger and pointed toward the mountaintop. Everyone turned their heads to look and only then discovered the old man standing on the peak.
Wu Hei carried the child and flew up first. Yu Qing did the same, and the others naturally followed.
Once up there, Ning Chaoyi and the others did not pay attention to the old man himself. They all stared in shock and uncertainty at the ice-blue halberd in his hand.
The old man’s gaze fixed on the golden halberd that Nan Zhu was carrying, and he said indifferently, “Give me the halberd.”
Nan Zhu looked stunned, pointing at the halberd in his hand, seemingly asking, you want this?
Yu Qing couldn’t help but roll his eyes at him. Really, why carry a fake one around everywhere for no reason?
He quickly went to Ning Chaoyi to get the real one, opened the cloth wrapping, and revealed the true golden halberd. After walking up to the old man, he couldn’t help but ask, “Old senior, don’t you want to ask why we want to go in?”
The other’s complete lack of detailed inquiry made him feel somewhat uneasy.
The old man grabbed the golden halberd and snatched it away. After confirming it was real, he remained completely calm, seemingly giving a casual remark, “The reason is no longer important. Let’s go!” After speaking, he strode forward, walking along the mountaintop toward the rift valley cutting through the great mountain.
Yu Qing waved his hand at Ning Chaoyi and the others to signal them, calling everyone to follow along. He had promised to bring them along to get rich.
They walked all the way to the front of the canyon. The old man jumped straight down. After everyone followed and jumped down, he was already standing in the middle of the canyon, one hand holding the golden halberd, the other the ice-blue halberd. Without hesitation, he forcefully struck the two halberds against each other.