Chapter 298: The Secret Missed From the Beginning

Chapter 298: The Secret Missed From the Beginning

“Are you really confident? Be careful not to end up like Wanzhuang...”

“Oh, how affectionate. Wanzhuang~”

“Can you focus on the main point?”

“I’m fairly confident... About seventy or eighty percent confident, in any case. No one can ever say that they are a hundred percent confident, even for the first layer of the Profound Gate. Having this much confidence is very solid.”

“Mm-hm...” Zhao Changhe asked, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“No need. What can you even do?”

“...”

Lady Three smiled and said, “You’ve already done a great job in this matter. Your words were really nice to hear. Even though you obviously recruited me to deal with Ubalu, you made it sound like it was especially good for the Four Idols Cult, as if you were giving us a gift.”

Zhao Changhe sighed. “That was the truth. Even if I had not given you the gemstone, I could still have recruited you to deal with Ubalu. You were already trying to get him killed anyway. Who are you trying to fool here?”

Lady Three fell silent.

It was true that Zhao Changhe’s act of giving her the Black Tortoise Gemstone was not motivated by anything else; it was purely to help the Four Idols Cult.

Or it could be said that he did not want the Four Idols Cult to trouble him. After all, he had given the space to Ying Five. If she entered and found nothing left, not even the jelly, she would naturally come looking for him to demand things, and that would mean falling out.

He did not want their relationship to turn hostile, and since he did not covet the gemstone, he simply gave it away as a favor. At least that way, he could keep the storage ring he obtained, and they would not feel justified in asking for it back since the secret realm was found by him, after all.

After they got the gemstone, Vermillion Bird also remained silent. Even if she now knew he was probably not the heir of the Night Emperor, it was still hard for her to make up her mind to kill him now.

If he had used the Black Tortoise Gemstone as a betrothal gift to propose to Xia Chichi or ask to marry the Fire Serpent of Yi, it would have been quite amusing. But he had asked for nothing; he had truly given it away for free.

No matter how much of a demonic cult they were, they still had to recognize favors. This was why Lady Three was especially nice to him now.

Zhao Changhe suddenly smiled. “Alright, it’s good if you can improve. I’m looking forward to the day the Four Idols Cult steps into the Ranking of Heaven.”

Lady Three said, “Then it will be even harder for you to defeat Vermillion Bird.”

Zhao Changhe did not seem to care. He changed the topic, “The Four Idols Cult and I have too many personal ties. If we start talking about that, it will never end. How about we discuss something serious instead? I want a Dragon Elephant Blood Ginseng. Did Ying Five find any clues as to where I might be able to get it?”

“Yes,” replied Lady Three. “In the far west, you can find the Kunlun Heavenly Pool. In the records from the previous era, the item is mentioned. However, it has not been seen in this era. It could be due to the changes in the environment or excessive human interference that the blood ginseng has not appeared in this era. If you can find any ancient secret realms in that area, you might be able to find some of the leftover blood ginseng from ancient times. Of course, the chances are slim. Secret realms aren’t exactly easy to find, and even if you do find one or two, they might not contain blood ginseng. Are you willing to travel thousands of li just to try your luck?”

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment, then sighed, “What else can I do? I can only try. Since I don’t really have a fixed place I call home, it doesn’t matter where I go.”

“Alright, our people will assist you when the time comes.”

“Your people? Do you mean those from the Four Idols Cult or Ying Five’s organization?”

“Could you have my subordinates here in the mountain stronghold over to the Blood God Cult? If you introduce them to the Blood God Cult, there shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Lady Three gazed at him meaningfully for a while, then smiled and said, “Little brother, you aren’t being honest with me, huh? Are you planning to take over the nest?”

Zhao Changhe just smiled back, saying nothing.

“I’ll write them a letter of introduction. Xue Canghai has to at least give me face.” Lady Three lazily stood up and stretched her body, creating a mesmerizing sight.

Zhao Changhe kept his eyes on his drink.

“Since you’ve added a request, I’ll add one as well.” Lady Three turned to leave. “Take me to see the Azure Dragon Pool.”

The Azure Dragon Pool, at the cave behind the waterfall.

That was the place where Zhao Changhe and Xia Chichi had solidified their bond. After Xia Chichi left with Vermillion Bird and Zhao Changhe became the leader of the mountain stronghold, he rarely came here, and when he did, it was to prepare for battle.

This was because when he did visit this place, it would bring back memories of Xia Chichi, affecting his progress in martial arts for some time.

Now, it was already the Beginning of Summer, and this was no longer an issue. Zhao Changhe wanted to visit the cave behind the waterfall again, to see if there was anything they might have missed back then.

He thus brought Lady Three to the small cave, which was every bit as cramped as he remembered. The central area housed a small altar meant for the Azure Dragon Seal, with nothing else around. The overall layout was very similar to the small space within the Black Tortoise Cave, indicating that it was part of the same system.

However, in the Black Tortoise Cave, the altar could be moved, revealing an exit underneath.

What about here?

Lady Three’s eyes also fell on the altar. Seeing that Zhao Changhe seemed to be about to push it away, she suddenly stopped him. “Don’t move it.”

Zhao Changhe was puzzled.

Lady Three frowned, staring at the altar for a long time before saying, “This place gives me a strange feeling. The energy here is a bit abnormal. In such a peaceful and ordinary place, I actually feel a sense of dread... You were lucky not to mess with it last time. If you had really pushed it back then, it’s likely the entirety of Beimang would have been decimated...”

Zhao Changhe took a sharp breath of cold air.

Could the reason Beimang moved north of the capital be hidden here? Does this mean that the big secret was actually hidden in the novice village?

Lady Three circled the altar repeatedly for a long time, then relaxed her frown. “Oh, it’s not that exaggerated. Ordinary people can’t even move it. Let me see...”

She gently rotated the altar, changing its position.

Zhao Changhe could hear a rumbling sound from beneath the ground, as if the gears of a massive mechanism were being engaged.

“The ancient Azure Dragon, the legacy of the Human Emperor...” Lady Three turned to look at Zhao Changhe, her eyes gleaming. “What do you think? Should I kill you and take the treasure for myself?”

Zhao Changhe replied dryly, “If I’m not mistaken, there should just be a tomb inside, and there’s probably someone in there trying to crawl out.”