Chapter 34: Imprisonment

Gu Chen let out a low growl, pouring every ounce of his inner strength into the altar without regard for the toll it took on his body, manipulating the structure to charge forward.

"Admiral Ren, I have a private matter I would like to ask you about." Seeing that the official business had concluded, Guan Dafu spoke up quickly.

"Eh? Elder Lan, I am merely acting under orders; surely that is not grounds for my dismissal?" Upon hearing Elder Lan’s circuitous remarks, Zhuo Tianhao was immediately thrown into a panic. He had no idea of the importance of Bi Chenghu and Jiang Zhanjun to Elder Lan, and for a moment, he was completely at a loss.

Chen Wei hurriedly put down his phone, turned off the screen, and lay back down on the bed, pretending to read a magazine.

"Swish!" A dagger infused with battle energy flew from the opponent's hand, streaking across Wood's chest and leaving a long, deep wound.

Just as Yang Ming was secretly on guard, tongues of fire suddenly erupted from the nearby bushes, the rhythmic "da-da-da" of gunfire echoing through the abandoned factory.

"How about this? Let’s wait for Mo Yu to wake up and let him decide for himself!" Xuan Ya, not knowing how to respond, took the opportunity to pass the buck to Qin Moyu.

"Zhan Lu, please begin by reporting the military's losses this time," the leader, referred to as Number One, said, gesturing to the notebook in front of Zhan Lu.

"I’ve finished up on my end, how about you?" Thomas shouted toward the other direction.

Suddenly, a fierce surge of sword energy exploded from ahead, slashing through the air toward Murong Xitong. Murong Xitong had never expected Chen Yan to attack his own side at such a moment. Shocked and enraged, her heart felt as if it might burst, and she swept her sword in a furious, retaliatory strike.

Ghost One truly lived up to his name; like a wraith, he was impossible to guard against. It was a mystery how he had ever attained such cultivation.

The leader who spoke, Wanyan Wujin, seemed completely oblivious to the fact that they had incited the incident, choosing instead to blame the Song people.

Gu Ting’s face was dark as ink, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Feng Qiye. His knuckles turned white as he gripped his fists; clearly, he viewed the bandit’s words as an utter humiliation.

Listening to these high-sounding words, Yang Ping sneered inwardly. *Keep pretending,* she thought. *One day, I will expose your true face in front of everyone.*

However, Duanmu Zheng had firmly adopted the attitude that "if you can't afford to provoke them, you can at least hide," and stepped backward, intending to flee the scene.

***

Liu Ning did not know that her recent conversation with her brother had been overheard by Tang Changyu, who was in the courtyard, though Liu Ning understood in her heart that her identity had surely been exposed.

Yue Yun and Zhao Fuxin could not have been happier to hear Hong Lie’s words. Not only would it be easier to wipe out the Miaoshan bandits, but everyone was glad to be rid of such a formidable rival. However, what Xu Da said next shocked them even more.

A chill washed over her, causing her to freeze in her tracks. At that moment, Queen Mo Ying and Jing Li pushed the door open and stepped out. Liu Ning dropped her things and turned to run.

"This is..." Wan Shishan, Peng Wu, and the others stared in bewilderment, their faces filled with shock, as they saw that the trunk of the Divine Flower Tree was, in the end, nothing more than a sapling less than a meter tall.

He closed his eyes to adjust before slowly opening them again. His eyes felt sore, and his entire body ached. Da Niu had been unconscious for three days. The first thing he saw was an old Taoist priest he had never met before. Seeing that Da Niu had woken up, the old priest picked up a bowl of medicine from the table and brought it to his lips.

"I am a resident in the emergency room at Massachusetts General Hospital, not a physician at a nursing home. He will consider his own living expenses; if he truly cared about the cost, he wouldn't have spent 300 dollars to get a CT scan."

Lying in bed, Huang Han’s mind was in turmoil. Could it be that my influence on Ma Zhide resulted in his son turning into a chubby girl?

One had to understand that he was the most invested in this matter; being the oldest, he was the most desperate to obtain the mysterious item to trade for life-extending medicine.

At that time, Camille and Joanna were still studying in London. Since they had arrived, he hadn't taken them out to eat much, his goal being to avoid inciting public resentment.

The fire tripod itself was sturdy, and having been refined by him into a vessel, it possessed its own form; it could be considered a kind of alternative magical treasure.

He had finally seized an opportunity to "beat a dog already in the water," only for it to be ruined by the referee.

When the number of top-tier experts is evenly matched, victory or defeat depends on whether the subordinates can hold their own.

He had thought that apart from Buddhist martial arts, other energy systems would have no effect on the White Jade Dzi Bead. However, since the bead was a weapon composed of 40 fragments, it logically should have had many special uses, and even a sliver of its power would be worth it.

This weapon required a special Reaper bloodline to function. Once activated, it could easily split the boundaries between realms to travel elsewhere. Of course, Li Qi was unsure if this world still retained that function.

Judging by the attitude of the Supreme Elder and the records of the Celestial Clan, the so-called "Return to Earth" was definitely not on the island. How, then, was one to return?

***

"Eh? Brother Mu Yi is actually able to sense our Chen family's array?" Hearing Mu Yi’s words, Chen Lei was greatly astonished. This array had been constructed by a master of extremely high attainment; usually, it could not be sensed unless it was activated. How could Mu Yi feel it now when it was dormant?

Previously, Lou Haoran had distrusted Lan Rongyue’s medical skills primarily because Ji Changming was also sitting in a wheelchair.

Emerging from the bathroom, Tang Xiao walked to the bedside and carefully observed Tang Xin, who was lying there enjoying herself.

Wen Yu Kou was slightly surprised, then, realizing something, she let out a giggle, and Hua Yue laughed along with her.

The master’s return this time, aside from continuing to investigate what happened back then, was for the sake of seeing Jun Wuji once more.

Thinking of this, Tian Ying stopped overthinking things and, in broad daylight, pulled Linlin into his arms to sleep.

Seeing the young man, Nanny Gui and Hua Yue exchanged a smile and dismissed everyone else so the siblings could talk in private.

"Fine, we won in the end anyway, so let’s not talk about these things," Jiang Yi said. As long as the final result was that Mu Yi won the match, that was all that mattered; everything else was unimportant.

Cold sweat broke out on Gonggong Lin’s back. Lan Rongyue had previously instructed him not to let anything go wrong with tonight’s victory banquet, but such a massive incident had occurred, with so many people poisoned. Just thinking about it made Gonggong Lin shudder with fear.

Wei Yu had followed Boss Chen for so long that he had managed to figure out some of his temperaments: he was stingy and cared deeply about his reputation.

Taking a healing pill from his ring, he placed it into Suo Yunfei’s mouth. Suo Yunfei felt a refreshing fragrance permeate his heart and lungs; based on experience, he knew it was a healing medicine and swallowed it. Knowing that Second Uncle Su practiced wood-attribute arts, Lin Yifei circulated his wood-attribute inner core, slowly channeling pure magic power over to him.