The sun climbed high, yet vast dark clouds rolled in, dimming the golden brilliance of the earth.
After furtively watching the pavilion on the mountain for a long time and still making nothing of it, the iron-masked man glanced at the sky gradually being swallowed by dark clouds and could not help but say, “Brother Wu, how much longer must we wait? Are we really to keep waiting like this? Perhaps there is no one inside at all. Maybe before we saw those three leave, someone had already left ahead of them.”
The others remained silent, also feeling that waiting endlessly like this was no solution.
Wu Hei thought it over and, finding truly no other way, finally made up his mind. “Even if someone is there, there is at most one person, not a match for us.” His gaze fixed on the iron-masked man. “Remember, the moment someone is spotted, strike with full force immediately. Do not let him raise an alarm.”
Were they to move against someone of that Old Master Wu? The iron-masked man hesitated, but in the end he nodded and said, “Very well. I shall show no mercy.”
Wu Hei: “You lot wait here first. We will go in to scout ahead. Once we are inside, you must immediately bring your men to block the exits and prevent escape.” With that, he was about to call Yu Qing and the others to leave with him.
“Hold on.” The iron-masked man raised a hand to stop him urgently.
Wu Hei and the others had no choice but to pause and look at him.
The iron-masked man’s tone was rather polite. “Brother Wu, matters having reached this point, our two sides ought to advance and retreat together. Leaving us behind and going first, that does not seem quite appropriate, does it?”
He was clearly worried about being played for a fool.
Facing this doubt, Wu Hei had no choice but to explain, “As you said, they did not discover you, or one could say they do not know you came in. The pavilion on that mountaintop commands a sweeping view of the surroundings. The chance of being spotted while approaching is very high.
If there really is still someone inside, seeing us go over, he will not suspect anything else. Once we go in, we can draw his attention, and only then will you have the chance to bring your men over while his guard is down and block all escape routes from that pavilion, preventing him from going to raise the alarm.
Even so, we may not be able to stop him. There are too many exits inside. Fortunately, the Immortal Palace has now sunk deep into the sea. With a pair of wings, the chance of shaking me off in the water is not great. Once we press in, if there is someone, the most likely route is to escape through the pavilion windows.”
The iron-masked man fell into thought, but still exchanged a glance with Ning Chaoyi over there. Seeing the latter give a slight nod, he immediately relaxed and smiled, “So that is how it is. Brother Wu’s wise insight. Very well, we shall follow Brother Wu’s arrangement. Let us coordinate from inside and out.”
Wu Hei wasted no more words with him. Taking his son and calling Yu Qing and the others, they leapt out together, soaring through the air and heading straight for the mountaintop ahead…
Inside the window of the pavilion on the mountain, Wu Xieshan, having resumed human form, stood with hands behind his back, now and then surveying the situation outside the windows. Suddenly, his gaze fixed. He swiftly ducked down, pressing against the wall, peered out the side of the window a few more times, then quickly crouched and lightly went downstairs.
The moment he slipped out through the exit downstairs, he found himself inside the palace complex, hiding among the pavilions and terraces, secretly observing the direction of the entrance.
Wu Hei led a group of people inside.
Yu Qing and the others took out glowing stones to light the way, all following Wu Hei as they strolled about.
The group more or less understood Wu Hei’s intention in strolling, buying time for the iron-masked man’s crew to approach.
After the group walked to the side of the earth-spring pool platform, Wu Hei suddenly shouted, “That uncle of mine took two away. There should still be one left here. Search for me!”
At these words, Yu Qing and the others naturally responded in agreement. Wu Xieshan, concealed in the walls, was startled. He dared not delay, swiftly crouched and retreated, slipping back into the pavilion space leading outside.
Once inside the pavilion, without a word, he immediately leapt out through the window. In mid-air, dark energy spread across his body, and he transformed into a winged demon in the sky, intending to beat his wings and fly high.
Yet just then, he suddenly sensed something amiss. He abruptly turned his head to look, and with one glance, terror showed in his eyes.
The iron-masked man, who had long been waiting quietly atop the pavilion, guarding all directions, shot forth like an arrow from a bow. One foot like a spearhead nearly struck Wu Xieshan square in the back.
Wu Xieshan desperately twisted his body to narrowly escape disaster, but the iron-masked man caught one of his wings with a claw in mid-air. The latter paid no heed to the faint dark energy shrouding Wu Xieshan’s body. In any case, having grabbed the wing, he would not let go, and he attacked the other wildly while holding on.
Bai Lan and the others surrounding the pavilion all emerged, looking up at the battle in the sky.
“Ahh…” Wu Xieshan suddenly let out a miserable cry, blood spraying in mid-air.
One held the wing and would not let go, the other tried to break free, and so that caught wing was forcibly torn off.
Boom! Wu Xieshan’s body crashed to the ground, smashing onto the hard golden floor, sending up a burst of dark energy.
From the broken wing on his back, a great amount of dark energy poured out, and another wing was actually struggling to regenerate.
A figure flashed down. The iron-masked man landed, one foot stomping on Wu Xieshan’s chest, pinning him hard against the ground. At the same time, he drew his sword, pressing the blade against Wu Xieshan’s forehead. “Move again, and I will slice your forehead clean off!”
Wu Xieshan, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, was left with only ragged breathing. After catching his breath, he said in a deep voice, “Who are you?”
By now, Wu Hei and the others had also rushed over upon hearing the commotion to watch.
Wu Xieshan’s eyes darted left and right, taking in the situation on the scene, and he understood at once that more people had entered than the number they had seen.
So he gave up resisting. His form rapidly changed, and before everyone’s eyes he transformed back from demon form into the appearance of the Second Manor Lord.
The iron-masked man said to Wu Hei, “Brother Wu’s calculations were indeed brilliant. Caught the whole net in one go. This fellow’s strength is not weak, actually between Early Xuan and Upper Xuan.”
Wu Hei: “Under normal circumstances, he is only Early Xuan. After transforming into a demon, his strength increases considerably.” He then stared at the man on the ground and asked, “Wu Xieshan, what have the others gone to do?”
Wu Xieshan retorted, “If I tell you, can you spare me?”
Wu Hei: “That depends on whether what you say is worth our letting you go.”
Wu Xieshan: “If I say I do not know, would you believe me?”
Wu Hei: “Given my uncle’s character, it is indeed hard for you to know anything.” With that, he took his son and turned to leave.
The iron-masked man was clearly taken aback and called out, “Brother Wu, what do we do with this monster?”
Wu Hei: “This hostage cannot threaten my uncle.”
At these words, the iron-masked man understood. Keeping him was useless, and he might even become a hidden danger.
Wu Xieshan on the ground also understood. He immediately struggled frantically and shouted, “Big Blackie, you cannot escape…” His voice cut off abruptly. The iron-masked man’s sword flashed, and the head on the ground separated from the body.
Blood, a rolling head, twitching limbs, dark energy gushing out with a hiss.
Lu Xingyun, watching from the side, suddenly spoke up, “I killed him once before, and he could still come back to life. Better to chop him into pieces to be safe.”
The iron-masked man gave an “oh,” and immediately swung his sword in rapid slashes, hacking Wu Xieshan into pieces before stopping.
And on Lu Xingyun’s gentle face, a hint of perverse satisfaction finally emerged.
Yu Qing’s group of accomplices noticed this and all fell silent…
In the scorching mountain belly, dazzling red bubbles gurgled and churned ceaselessly, like magma from the earth’s depths. Old Master Wu and the two manor lords walking through the crisscrossing paths knew this was all molten gold. Once cooled, it would become gold.
Although the ground was covered everywhere with red, boiling golden soup, the precipitous stone walls and rugged terrain all around were filled with a dark colour, giving a gloomy, oppressive feeling.
“Old Ancestor, look, what is that?”
Wu Dao suddenly pointed somewhere and shouted.
Old Master Wu and Wu Heyun followed his gaze, and beneath a jagged curtain of hanging fangs, in the middle of a patch of red, boiling golden soup, a large charred rock stood tall. Growing on the charred rock was a plant half a person’s height. From the shape of its long, slender leaves, it looked like an orchid plant, a golden orchid plant.
Unlike an orchid, it had no flowers. Instead, on the main stem of the plant grew three egg-shaped fruits.
Golden fruits, smaller than eggs by two sizes.
The three golden fruits were extremely eye-catching. Wu Dao had also first noticed the fruits before spotting the plant, because occasionally a golden gleam would flash across the fruits, making the object seem somewhat extraordinary.
How could the three of them hold back? They immediately flashed onto that charred rock, all bending down to look at the golden orchid plant.
Wu Dao clicked his tongue and said, “Since entering the Golden Ruins, we have seen quite a few golden animals, but this is truly the first time seeing a golden plant.”
“What is this thing?” Old Master Wu also muttered in considerable astonishment.
“Old Ancestor, Old Ancestor…”
Wu Heyun suddenly called out repeatedly.
Old Master Wu and Wu Dao looked up at him, saw him staring at something opposite, and immediately followed his gaze. After looking, the two of them also froze.
Previously, the hanging fang-like stone curtain had blocked the view, and the dim light behind it made it hard to see the situation clearly. Now, standing beneath the fang-like stone curtain, they could see rather clearly. They saw an enormous human figure sitting upright.
A giant figure, a golden giant, in the form of a man, with lifelike features, eyes closed in serene repose, leaning against the stone wall, both hands clasped upon a sword.
To the three of them, that sword he held was naturally a giant sword, with a sharp blade and flowing cloud patterns along its body.
“Dead or alive? A sculpture?”
Wu Heyun asked cautiously.
If this were the outside world, one would naturally assume it was a golden sculpture. But in this haunted place, golden animals were alive, so a golden living person or two would hardly be strange.
Let alone him, even Old Master Wu felt somewhat apprehensive, somewhat afraid to act rashly. But his mouth offered self-reassurance, “It should be a sculpture. If it were some living person, it would not fail to notice us right before its eyes. If it lacks even this much awareness, even if alive, it is nothing to fear.”
Hearing him say this, the two manor lords felt somewhat relieved, but their voices still dared not grow loud.
Wu Dao: “Old Ancestor, were there giants in the Golden Ruins back then?”
Old Master Wu: “Naturally there were. Excellent labour for moving mountains and filling seas, far more useful than a swarm of common folk. Immortals everywhere liked to recruit them as labourers.”
Wu Heyun asked strangely, “Old Ancestor, what is the point of placing a golden sculpture like this here?”
“Do not know…” Old Master Wu had only muttered half a sentence when his face suddenly changed drastically. He whirled around to look back the way they had come and said in a deep voice, “Not good, something has happened to the second child!”