Chapter 165

Chapter 165 – The Empire Intervenes

“So, how do we meet again once the matter has been settled?” The Huangquan Evil Ghost was afraid that Gu Suihan would abandon it in this world once he was done making use of it. If that happened, it was going to live in misery forever. This young man looked sweet and harmless but was secretly a terribly scheming and ruthless man, so there was probably a 90% chance that Gu Suihan might just do that to it.

“This is a Void Breaking Fixed Destination teleporting formation, but I need high-grade spiritual stones to activate it. I’m pretty sure the major sects would have some hidden away, so you just need to gather some. If I don’t look for you by then, it means that I haven’t completed what I planned to do or achieved what I set out to do. If that happens, you can go by yourself.” Gu Suihan took a blank jade slip out, carved all the details of the formation on it, then threw it to the Evil Ghost.

“Are you…” The Evil Ghost caught the jade slip, then looked up at Gu Suihan with a start. “Are you…going to take a look at the Devil Abyss?”

To its surprise, Gu Suihan shook his head and said quietly, “If I have nowhere to go, I’d go there. But that’s all it is to me. I…am going to check out the Seven Kill Sect’s storehouse.”

“What? You’re crazy!” The Evil Ghost felt numb all over and shuddered. A chill ran through its entire body.

“This is…this is my way, my heart, my…obsession.” Gu Suihan smiled faintly, his smooth complexion shining as brightly as a shooting star under the sunshine.

Woong! The saber on the table suddenly let out a low hum. There was a soft click, and the blade peeked out from its sheath. The blade that was previously as clear as water had become a deep red color.

“You…oh, never mind.” The Evil Ghost opened its mouth to say something but decided against it in the end and just sighed. It kept the jade slip carefully, looked intently at Gu Suihan, then left, leaving the still hibernating Black Killer Snake behind on the floor.

“So, in the end, you’re still unwilling to talk?” There was a glimmer in Gu Suihan’s eyes for a moment before his gaze returned to normal, and he walked toward his study.

The living room was left with only that slightly disappointed yet indifferent sigh.

“Sir, you called for me?” Yan Hua had a calm expression on his face, but he couldn’t hide the excited look in his eyes as he stood before Gu Suihan with his body slightly bowed.

He didn’t have the intelligence or the scheming mind of someone with the potential for greatness. Still, he certainly had plenty of the cautiousness and adaptability a subordinate ought to have, and he put in the effort to carry out instructions well and sometimes went a little further to please Gu Suihan.

That was why he fell into his subordinate position quickly and easily, not daring to do anything out of line.

“Pass this jade slip to Elder Yan. Also, you can take your pick from all these magical and spiritual items.” After Gu Suihan handed a purplish red jade slip to Yan Hua, he waved his arm, and the entire study was filled with hundreds of magical and spiritual items overflowing with qi, gleaming brightly in the light.

All these items were his spoils from all the fights that he had fought so far. Anything he kept were definitely high-grade items. Items that didn’t meet his standards were thrown away long ago.

Yan Hua gasped. He was a little ambitious, but he was still an ordinary man. Or rather, he was merely a young man still. He was completely stunned when he saw the entire room full of sparkling magical and spiritual items.

After a long while, he calmed down a little and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Then he looked up with a start at the faintly smiling Gu Suihan seated behind the desk.

Why was he so stunned? It was because there were so many items in this room. Not even the Swordsmith Court of the Youthful Clarity Sect had this many on hand at any one time.

He started trying to guess why Gu Suihan was doing this. The more glances he stole at Gu Suihan, the less confident he felt.

A few moments later, he straightened his thoughts out. He tried hard to hold back the burning desire in his eyes for all those high-grade items in front of him, took a deep breath, and bowed deeply. “Sir, anything you give to me…I will gladly take it!” His heart was about to leap out of his mouth when he said these words.

“Very well.” Gu Suihan fell silent for a brief moment, then suddenly smiled and waved an arm to keep everything inside his storage ring again. Instead, he gave Yan Hua a jade slip. “You may leave.”

“Yes, sir.” Yan Hua was a little disappointed, but he didn’t dare to show it. After bowing, he left the room as quickly as possible.

“Interesting, but…that’s about it,” remarked Gu Suihan quietly. The indifferent look in his eyes, paired with that warm and gentle smile on his face, only looked more and more creepy.

Over at the Seven Kill Sect, in a secret room behind the First Peak’s main hall.

You Hantian bowed his head reverently toward the small but detailed magic formation in front of him.

“You Hantian, according to the clues the empire has gathered, Qingming is already dead, but the test subject has not fallen yet. You must capture it and send it back to us.” The illusion of a middle-aged man appeared in the middle of the formation and spoke flatly to You Hantian.

“Sir, I will see to this. Also, about the Devil Abyss…” You Hantian immediately bowed deeply and let his voice trail off as though he was in a very difficult position.

“Hmm?” The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow. His authoritativeness could be felt through the formation, which weighed heavily on You Hantian.

“Due to some unexpected circumstances, we’ve faced major losses, and the strength we have left will not be enough to hold back the violent movement from the Devil Abyss,” said You Hantian through gritted teeth as he shuddered violently.

“Join forces. Use that to make up for your mistakes,” said the middle-aged man calmly after pausing to think. The illusion flickered, then burst into a large cloud of sparkles that slowly faded.

“Thankfully, I was smart enough not to tell the truth,” said You Hantian to himself with a big sigh of relief after the formation had turned back into a formation compass.

This all started with the three jade slips that You Hantian had received a while back.

After thinking about what to do, he finally decided to test what the empire was thinking. So, his report to the Upper World was:

The domain has collapsed, and the major sects have suffered severe losses. Qingming is nowhere to be found and seems to have perished along with the domain. I ask the empire to use a secret technique to investigate if Qingming is dead or alive.

After the empire received the news, they used some techniques to investigate the situation and discovered that Qingming had already died inside the domain. His soul had been destroyed, and his spirit had been shattered.

Of course, the empire thought that You Hantian was the one who had accomplished all this, thinking that it was You Hantian who had managed to shake the foundations of the domain and thereby caused the death of Qingming. But they also discovered that the Huangquan Evil Ghost was still alive, so they gave him a new mission. He had to personally capture the Evil Ghost and send it back to the empire.

You Hantian was happy to receive this news. He wasn’t stupid.

The implication of those words was that while he had done a lot, they would keep his reward until he returned with the Huangquan Evil Ghost. Then, they would reward him for both deeds.

And after he got his reward, would he stay in this lousy, tiny place with little qi and no future? Of course not! He was going to live in the Upper World permanently!

“So, it turns out that Qingming is already dead. If that’s the case, who was the one who shook the laws of nature?” You Hantian kept his formation compass and massaged his temples as he fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he chuckled. “Who cares who it is? Once I’m gone, this world can go up in flames for all I care. You Hanyun, this time, I’m in the lead!”

“Damn it! Who’s trying to track me down?” spat the Huangquan Evil Ghost angrily in an unknown part of the world as it suddenly looked up at the sky.

Its body suddenly shrank and the aura around itself that helped it to blend in with nature slowly turned into complex runes which hid and reduced its presence.

“Someone…is using some sort of deduction technique.”

Inside the Youthful Clarity Sect.

Gu Suihan stood up with a start. His arms were folded behind his back as he looked up at the gloomy sky with a flicker in his eye.

“Generalize the elements, reverse the yin and yang,” chanted Gu Suihan as he slowly moved qi within his body. The spirit inside his consciousness shuddered suddenly and unleashed his vast spiritual sense. It mixed itself in with the laws of nature to become an actual invisible cloak around his body that slowly erased all traces of himself.

“Is that…the work of the Upper World?” murmured Gu Suihan to himself. He withdrew all his spiritual energy and kept everything inside his heart-soul. His spirit trembled slightly and made all sorts of quiet murmuring sounds.

“Everything is futility, only my Way will last forever. Fate, chance, worldly desires and relationships…they shall all become nothingness.”

“Futility – the blade that will sever all emotional ties!”

Gu Suihan felt a knife come down. It cut, broke, destroyed and erased everything about him. He was now like a blank piece of paper, clean and open for everyone to read.

“Now…are you still able to find me?” Gu Suihan’s eyes flickered slightly before an indifference that was hard to describe finally filled his gaze.