Book 2: Chapter 105: Collecting the Dragon Vein
In the death puzzle’s world:
Previously, Long Wanqing had told Gu Hai how to use the Dragon Luring Jade. It was not too difficult. After carefully studying it for a while, he grasped it in his left hand and looked coldly at the dragon vein below.
Gu Hai already put away the two sabers. Holding two golden Go stones in his right hand, he said, “Death puzzle? This is truly crude!”
Crack!
Gu Hai suddenly crushed the two golden Go stones.
——
The instant Gu Hai crushed the two golden Go stones, the countless cultivators outside gaped.
“Why did Mister Gu crush those two golden Go stones?”
“Look! Cracks are appearing in the death puzzle!”
“The death puzzle is shattering?!”
“The puzzle breaks after destroying two golden Go stones? Then, what was the point of Meng Tai and Li Haoran’s fight?”
The cultivators outside felt shocked as they looked at the gigantic peony flower trembling slowly.
“Venerable, is crushing two golden Go stones all it takes? It’s that simple?” one of the servants asked, feeling confused.
“That’s not true. There is only one winner for the death puzzle. That is the final remaining Go stone. After crushing two golden Go stones, isn’t there still one Go stone left?” Venerable Liu Nian explained.
“Gu Hai’s Go stone clone? That golden Go stone?” Long Wanqing said as she looked into the distance.
“That’s right. He alone remains. He is the final winner. Hence, the puzzle is solved!” Venerable Liu Nian explained.
——
Inside the death puzzle’s world, mountains and rivers shattered. The entire world crumbled.
Gu Hai grasped the Dragon Luring Jade with his left hand and the crimson saber with his right hand as he coldly watched more cracks appear in the ground.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The cracks spread out like spiderwebs as the ground quickly shattered.
“Roar!”
The dragon vein roared. The seal had loosened, and now, it could move.
Rumble…!
The ground looked like it would completely break apart soon.
The eight-colored peony flower, Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance, trembled as it pushed against the shattering seal and rushed towards Gu Hai.
Gu Hai showed an icy gaze as he ferociously swung the crimson saber in his hand. A manifested saber that looked like a river of blood swept towards the eight-colored peony flower.
——
“What? Mister Gu wants to destroy Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance?”
“Are you joking? That is Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance!”
“No! Mister Gu, how could you destroy it? If you don’t want it, give it to me!”
“No! Mister Gu, don’t!”
Countless cultivators shouted wildly, giving Gu Hai incredulous looks.
However, determination flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes as he showed a ferocious expression.
Long Wanqing and Venerable Liu Nian were also flabbergasted. They did not expect Gu Hai to be this extreme.
Not far away, Gu Qin’s expression changed. First, he bit his lip as he extended his hand and grabbed a black Go stone on the life puzzle. Then, as he looked at the large Go board, he recalled where Gu Hai’s hand hovered over previously.
Clack!
Gu Qin played a black Go stone.
On the other side, Old Mister Guan Qi’s puppet suddenly revealed a strange smile.
Bang!
Old Mister Guan Qi’s puppet suddenly turned into smoke and vanished.
Boom!
——
Far away, Gu Hai shattered the seal with his saber strike. It looked like his attack would reach the eight-colored peony flower.
Strangely, that eight-colored peony flower swerved, instantly dodging the crimson saber’s attack, and flew towards Gu Qin.
“What?” Gu Hai’s expression changed as he turned his head to look.
Buzz!
The eight-colored peony flower shot into Gu Qin’s forehead.
Whoosh!
Boundless clouds and fog appeared out of nowhere in the surroundings and converged on Gu Qin, slowly lifting his body into the sky.
“First Young Master!” the group of subordinates below cried out worriedly.
“How silly!” Gu Hai shouted angrily with a glare.
“Roar!”
The dragon vein below finally struggled free and roared.
Rumble…!
The surroundings immediately shuddered as the entire gigantic peony flower exploded and shattered.
Gu Hai’s subordinates quickly jumped off, rushing into the distance while carrying a coffin.
“Ah! There’s another earthquake! Hurry! Retreat!”
“The dragon vein is coming out! Quickly flee!”
“Oh no! The seal is undone. The dragon vein is going to run amok!”
The onlooking cultivators fled in fear.
Many mountains quickly crumbled while many other mountains rose steeply.
“Roar!”
When the dragon roar rang out, it unleashed a berserk storm.
Gu Hai had no time to chide Gu Qin; he had to put away the crimson saber and quickly activate the Dragon Luring Jade while rushing towards the dragon vein.
A strong suction appeared that seemed to hold a fatal threat to the dragon vein.
Suddenly, the dragon vein’s pupils constricted.
“Roar!”
The dragon vein quickly squirmed in fear, apparently trying to flee.
Smash!
The Dragon Luring Jade made contact with the dragon vein’s head.
Rumble…!
A strange thing happened. The incredibly gargantuan dragon head—more than one hundred kilometers tall—suddenly entered the Dragon Luring Jade.
Gu Hai’s eyes lit up. The dragon head entered? I should hasten this!
“Roar! Roar! Roar!”
The dragon vein struggled as it roared and squirmed.
Rumble…!
The surrounding land exploded. Countless rocks and trees flew into the air as the powerful explosion turned the world gray.
Phish!
A lot of rubble struck Gu Hai, causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood. He found it unbearable. However, his eyes turned even more ferocious.
“Collect!” Gu Hai drove the Dragon Luring Jade with all his might.
Rumble…!
A large portion of the dragon’s body had already entered the Dragon Luring Jade.
The dragon vein now struggled even more violently.
However, Gu Hai gripped the Dragon Luring Jade with all his might, no matter how intensely the dragon struggled or the Dragon Luring Jade trembled.
“Save me! Argh!”
“No! There’re too many rocks falling from the sky. I’m going to get buried! Argh!”
“Quickly run!”
“Save me!”
The surrounding cultivators shouted as they ran with all their might.
Rocks flew around in the upheaval; clouds of dust rose. There was no way to differentiate the directions. All the cultivators struggled in fear amid the great chaos.
This continued for thirty minutes.
Boom!
A loud sound rang out as all the rocks in the sky fell. Then, peace returned.
The dust cloud still appeared horrifying as everyone waited quietly.
Gu Hai stood on a large rock as he looked at the Dragon Luring Jade in his hand.
“Roar!”
A dragon roar seemed to come from the Dragon Luring Jade. Gu Hai could clearly see a tiny golden dragon struggling inside the Dragon Luring Jade. Due to the robust seal, the tiny dragon could not escape; it could only twist and turn inside with much difficulty, shining with a faint golden light.
Gu Hai waved, but the Dragon Luring Jade remained in his hand.
“A storage space can contain only dead objects and not live creatures? The dragon vein is alive, so it cannot be stored?” Gu Hai appeared doubtful.
Gu Hai took out a small box and carefully placed the Dragon Luring Jade in it, then slung it on his back.
As he was doing all that, the surrounding dust clouds scattered slowly.
Several cultivators had been injured. Now, they crawled out of the rubble in pain.
Like the Dragon Pinning Sect, the surroundings had been reduced to rubble; however, the destruction was not as extensive.
The devastation was limited to the surrounding fifty kilometers. Even so, it still looked incredibly shocking.
“Milord!”
Eight evil men carrying a coffin arrived before Gu Hai.
Gu Hai nodded. When he raised his head, worry flashed in his eyes as he looked at a cloud in the sky. This cloud took the shape of a peony flower and had eight colors. Gu Qin was inside it.
Long Wanqing, Venerable Liu Nian, and the others walked over.
The eight-colored cloud slowly started to withdraw into Gu Qin’s body only after two hours.
Gu Qin opened his eyes, and a multi-colored glint flashed in his eyes.
Whoosh!
Gu Qin fell from the sky.
Bang!
Gu Qin landed in front of Gu Hai.
Gu Hai looked at Gu Qin coldly while Long Wanqing, Venerable Liu Nian, and the others watched quietly, not interjecting.
Gu Qin knelt and said, “Adoptive Father, this child was unfilial. Please punish me!”
“So, you know you were unfilial?” Gu Hai said coldly.
Gu Qin bit his lip and said, “This child carefully listened to what Adoptive Father said. This child knows that there are risks and dangers. However, this child carefully thought this through while Adoptive Father was in the death puzzle. Eventually, this child decided to take this risk!”
“Huh?” Gu Hai said.
“This child recalled that before Second Younger Brother left, Adoptive Father said that we could not put all our eggs in one basket. This child thought deeply about this. While Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance carries risk, it is also an opportunity, right? We have to take revenge for Adoptive Mother. This child saw Adoptive Father striving so hard, but this child ended up a burden. Dissatisfied with that, this child also wanted to contribute. This child also wants revenge!” Gu Qin said with bloodshot eyes.
Gu Hai stared at Gu Qin. His anger receded.
“Adoptive Father and Adoptive Mother carried this child back amid a snowstorm. At that time, this child had been abandoned. Perhaps I would have frozen to death that night. This child thinks that living for so many years is already a gain, isn’t it? Adoptive Father, you taught us that one finds joy in contentment. This child is already content.
“Of us four brothers, this child’s personality is the calmest and steadiest. That is because this child is stupid. I am not as intelligent and imaginative as my three younger brothers. This child does not want to embarrass Adoptive Father. This child would rather not do anything than do something wrong. That’s why I appear steadier and calmer. This child is stupid, unable to learn things as fast as my three younger brothers. However, Adoptive Mother never shunned me. When I was young, Adoptive Mother would give this child any new toy or good food first. When we four brothers fought, Adoptive Mother would defend this child first.
“Adoptive Mother died so miserably. How can this child not do anything? Can I do nothing? This child is not satisfied with that. I’m highly discontented with that!
“Yes, being able to follow Adoptive Father’s footsteps is sufficient. However, this child really hopes to have his own opportunity.
“I do not want to follow in Adoptive Father’s shadow. I want to help Adoptive Father.
“This child has always been calm and steady, listening to Adoptive Father in everything. However, I ask that Adoptive Father let me be reckless this once, just this once!
“Adoptive Father, this child really wants to take revenge for Adoptive Mother! I really want to contribute!” Gu Qin’s tears slowly seeped out.
Gu Hai looked at Gu Qin and remained silent for a long time. Then, he sighed, “Hah! Never mind! Get up! It’s time to return home!”
“Many thanks for Adoptive Father’s forgiveness?” Gu Qin raised his head, showing bloodshot eyes.