Chapter 233: Ancient Dragon Lair

Chapter 233: Ancient Dragon Lair

"I'm surprised you managed to acquire it this quickly, Chamber Master Hei Yu. You are indeed very efficient as expected. It's no wonder that the White-Bone Hall's master holds you in high regard," Enchantress Liu remarked with a bright smile.

General Hei Yu gazed at this woman who was exuding charm continuously and felt very happy to hear her words of praise.

He patted his chest and said, "Haha, it was nothing."

General Hei Yu spoke the truth. He hadn't expected that the alchemist would be dealt with so easily. His plan had been to let the newcomers have a go doing whatever they could. After all, he didn't care if they died.

Unexpectedly, they'd acted without hesitation; they'd seized the treasure, killed those involved, and set the place on fire. They had completed the mission cleanly and efficiently. This gave General Hei Yu a good impression of them.

Of course, he couldn't tell Enchantress Liu that he'd actually gotten someone else to do the job.

"The White-Bone Hall has many chamber masters, but only a few are outstanding. It appears that Master Hei Yu is definitely one of them," Enchantress Liu praised General Hei Yu highly.

"Oh, no, no. How could I dare accept such praise?" General Hei Yu replied humbly, hiding that he actually felt very pleased. Nevertheless, he couldn't hold back a grin as he said, "The three principles that I, Hei Yu, stand by are that a person should always be ruthless, loyal, and have many brothers! That's all that matters."

Enchantress Liu then changed the topic. "Acquiring the Eternal-Youth Pills is indeed just a small matter. There's a matter of much greater difficulty. I wonder if you would be willing to work with me on it, Chamber Master Hei Yu?"

"Oh?" General Hei Yu uttered, his expression turning serious. He asked, "What is it?"

"I discovered a hidden realm with someone. Each of us had half of the key and agreed to explore it together in the future," Enchantress Liu explained slowly. "However, that person has died, but I have no idea where that happened. So, all I have is my half of the key.

"But it's a rare ancient hidden realm. I'm unwilling to let it go. So, I asked a formation specialist for help. He can attempt opening the hidden realm with the half key, but seventy-two cultivators are needed for the Major Enchanted Formation of the Earthly Evils[1]. What I'm asking is... could you have your subordinates help form the enchanted formation? I can pay you generously..."

General Hei Yu considered the offer for a moment.

The woman's eyes were extremely captivating, but there was no way General Hei Yu would not let her feminine wiles cloud his judgment.

General Hei Yu had a high level of self-awareness. He knew that at least ninety percent of the men in the diabolical sects desired to be with this Enchantress. There was no way she would be interested in him romantically.

Even though she had expressed that she admired him, it was surely just a means to persuade him to help her.

General Hei Yu thoughts were focused solely on what he could benefit from this situation.

After that moment of contemplation, General Hei Yu asked, "I assume that opening an ancient hidden realm won't be an easy task, right?"

"As expected, you're an intelligent person, Chamber Master Hei Yu." Enchantress Liu smiled again. "I won't hide it from you then. There is definitely some danger for those involved."

"Everyone in the diabolical sects know that I, Hei Yu, prioritize being loyal the most. I have always treated my brothers like they're part of me," General Hei Yu said. He paused before saying, "Yet, you want me to lead my brothers into danger..."

Enchantress Liu added, "I will pay you more."

"Which hidden realm is it? When are we going?" General Hei Yu asked, no longer hesitating.

Enchantress Liu answered, "In two days. We're going to the Ancient Dragon Lair!"

...

After completing their first mission, Chu Liang's party and his companions intended to leave.

They all carried tracking jade talismans, but the White-Bone Mountain was constantly in flight. Their senior sect members wanted to wipe out all of the White-Bone Hall members at one go, but it was highly likely that their senior sect members would rush over only to find nothing. Moreover, they didn't have knowledge of the situation, so they definitely wouldn't have brought enough manpower to take down the White-Bone Hall.

He just gave a slight nod and uttered, "Mm."

Nevertheless, General Hei Yu didn't get angry.

Instead, he laughed. "Hehe."

Master Mu was renowned among the diabolical sects. He didn't belong to any major cultivation lineage, but he had a very high status in the diabolical community.

A cultivator never knew when they might need the help of a specialist like Master Mu, just like how cultivators occasionally needed the services of alchemists and artificers. Specialists had a wide network of connections and usually possessed considerable power and influence, so it was always wise to treat them with respect.

As for why it didn't matter that Chu Liang's trio had killed that alchemist in their operation, it was because the alchemist wasn't a member of a diabolical sect. That meant General Hei Yu wouldn't have had any further dealings with the alchemist anyway, so he didn't care about the alchemist's death. However, General Hei Yu might need Master Mu in the future.

Everyone was somewhat proficient in enchanted formations, but a formation specialist—someone who specialized their cultivation in the field of enchanted formations—was extremely rare. Formation specialists were even rarer than alchemists, artificers, and the like, so they possessed a much higher status than specialists of other fields.

Master Mu swept his gaze over the seventy-two people behind General Hei Yu and asked, "Do all of them have a cultivation level that's at the third realm or higher?"

General Hei Yu answered, "Yes. As you requested, all of my brothers here are powerful cultivators at the third and fourth realms."

Master Mu raised his hand and tossed out a sheet of paper. A diagram of an enchanted formation had been drawn on it.

"Stand in accordance with the positions for the qi-circulation route mapped out in the diagram for the Major Enchanted Formation of Earthly Evils. Assist me by activating the underground channels of yin qi. Aim to complete the formation within two hours."

"Sure!" General Hei Yu nodded. "Leave it to me."

He turned around, showed the formation diagram to his subordinates, and explained it to them. Major enchanted formations like these consisted of at least a dozen minor enchanted formations. It was an extremely deep field of study. Nevertheless, Master Mu's diagram was detailed and concise, making it relatively easy to understand.

Chu Liang, Luo Yao, and Monk Pushan were among the top disciples of their respective sects, so they probably understood what they needed to do with just a glance. Meanwhile, General Hei Yu was still racking his brain, engaged in a serious discussion with his brothers of the criminal world.

Chu Liang couldn't be bothered teaching them, so he just silently retreated to the rear of the group. Then he glanced furtively at the two people standing on the side, away from General Hei Yu's group.

Master Mu and Enchantress Liu were whispering to each other. After they had a brief conversation, Master Mu turned around and scanned the deep valley that was surrounded by lofty trees with a height of ten zhang. Then he used his palm to strike the tangle of vines on the mountain wall!

Wham!

"It should be here," Master Mu said resolutely.

He finished talking just as a burst of dust fell, revealing a section of the mountain wall that was covered with strange carvings. In the center of the carvings was a stone disk with a hollow center, appearing to be missing something.

Master Mu raised his hand toward Enchantress Liu.

Enchantress Liu handed over a semicircular iron plate that was engraved with strange patterns. Master Mu then set the iron plate into place, perfectly filling up the hole in the stone disk halfway.

"Fortunately, the half of the key you possess is the Yang Plate, we can use the yin qi in the underground channels as the other half of the key. We might not be able to do it if you possessed the Yin Plate instead," Master Mu said.

Enchantress Liu laughed, "Hehe, it's fortunate that you're here, Master Mu."

The pair weren't trying to hide what they were doing, so Chu Liang had witnessed everything. His pupils contracted a little as a realization surged through his mind.

That iron plate... he had one too!

1. Daoists believe that among the stars of the Big Dipper, there are 72 Earthly-Evil Stars, each with a deity. Collectively, the deities are known as the 72 Earthly Evils. ☜