Chapter 49 - Guo Jiahao.

The first thing Yao Jun did after entering Soaring Cloud City was find an inn where he could wash himself and change into a fresh robe. They had hurried to Soaring Cloud City immediately after leaving the ruins, giving them no time to change into a clean pair of clothes.

While he was changing, he also took the chance to properly clean and wrap up his old sword before storing it away into his interspatial ring. Since Sword Empyrean Heng Jiang had crafted a sword made out of Yao Jun's own blood, there was no need to continue using the old sword. He could even store the new blade within his own body.

But despite this, Yao Jun was still not willing to just dispose of his old sword. This old sword had been with him ever since he started training, it was the first gift he was given by his father. Even the Yao Jun that had gone mad with rage in the illusion had kept this sword at his side, using it to slice a bloody path through the continent.

After storing away the sword and changing into a fresh and clean green robe, Yao Jun left the inn. He had been given a pendant by Yun Yantian that would allow him to get anything he wanted for free, so his next step would be to find out how to travel between continents.

Yao Jun had just left the inn and turned a corner when he suddenly felt an unpleasant nervousness creep into his mind. He quickly turned around but was shocked to see that the area behind him was completely shrouded by darkness. He got a dangerous feeling from the darkness, so he immediately tried to run forward, but before he managed to run, the darkness lunged forward and completely surrounded him. He tried to summon his gate, but before he managed to bring it out, he was knocked unconscious.

When Yao Jun opened his eyes again, he was lying on the ground in a small stone room. The entire room was made out of rough stones and the air was very moist, droplets of water dripping down from the ceiling and the walls.

His feet were chained together by a black chain that extended all the way into the wall. His arms were chained up behind his back, in the same way, denying him the ability to move as he wished. Yao Jun quickly took a few deep breaths to calm his panicking heart. After calming down, he scanned the room he was in once more.

Besides the chains that chained him to the wall, there was only a single metal door and a simple wooden chair placed in the corner. The metal door was completely plain, not even a slit that could be used to see through it. The only source of light in the room was a small rock that gave off a faint yellow light.

"You have woken up."

While Yao Jun was scanning the room, a calm and soothing voice rang out from the corner of the room. Yao Jun quickly turned his head in shock, only to see the form of a white-robed youth slowly appearing on the chair that was placed in the corner of the room.

The white-robed youth had exquisite and soft features, limpid brown eyes, and long black hair tied into a bun. He looked so much like a graceful immortal that even Yao Jun was shocked by this man's beauty. Despite his shock, Yao Jun quickly regained his bearing.

"Who are you and why have you brought me here?"

Yao Jun narrowed his eyes as he asked. He had only stayed in Soaring Cloud City for at most two hours before he was suddenly kidnapped. The odds of him being targeted intentionally were much higher than this being just a random kidnapping. At first, he thought he was captured because of how he triggered the Anti-Demon Pillars as he tried to enter Great Xian City, but he quickly threw this idea out of his mind. The Demon Race was the mortal enemy of the Human Race, so there was no way they would just capture him, they would immediately kill him.

Yao Jun did his best to stay calm and observe his surrounding, channeling his Qi into his eyes. The surrounding walls grew transparent as his gaze passed through them, allowing him to see some of his surroundings. He was currently in an underground dungeon, at least a few kilometers beneath the surface. A large estate spread out above the dungeon, stretching further than he was able to see. He had no idea where this estate was, but what he was certain of was that it was filled with people far stronger than him, he could see them spread all around the estate. Some of them were filled with so much energy that just looking at it made Yao Jun feel stifled. While he was observing his surroundings, the white-robed youth introduced himself.

"My name is Guo Jiahao, I'm the one in charge of handling the affairs of the Guo clan on the Guanyu continent. As for why you have been brought here, it is simply because of your bad luck."

The white-robed youth, Guo Jiahao gave a polite smile as he introduced himself, but he sighed sadly immediately afterward, the eyes he used to look at Yao Jun with were filled with pity.

"My bad luck?... Is it because of Yun Yantian?"

Yao Jun's mind spun at full speed as he was listening. Yun Yantian never mentioned the relationship between the Yun and the Guo clan, but since they were willing to share this city, they were clearly about even in total strength. There was also no way that two tigers would be willing to share the same mountain, so there would obviously be some conflict between them. With these thoughts in mind, the only reason he could think of behind the Guo clan kidnapping him was because of his relationship with Yun Yantian.

"Indeed, it is because of your relationship with Yun Yantian."

The eyes of Guo Jiahao flashed with some admiration as he responded. Talking to someone who was quick to figure out things was always much more enjoyable than talking to someone ignorant. After his words finished, the door to the room opened, and two people walked in. Yao Jun had seen them earlier but didn't pay too much attention to them as he was more focused on figuring out where he was. One of the two people was a hunchbacked old man covered in wrinkles, liver-spots covering his barren scalp. He was clad in a tattered gray robe and was looking at Yao Jun with a very happy expression.

The other person that entered was a young girl clad in a simple maid outfit. She had a slightly pale complexion, fear, and sadness evident in her black eyes. She had shoulder length brown hair that seemed like it had not been washed in a while. The skin on her hands was rough and blemished, several smaller scars covering her face. Yao Jun's eyebrows furrowed slightly when he looked at her, he could see a strange hazy fog swimming around inside her chest, its colors constantly changing.

"You can take over after I am done talking."

Guo Jiahao dismissed the two people that had just entered with a wave of his hand. The two people quickly bowed and stood at the side of the room, seemingly too scared to even breathe loudly.

"You might not believe me even if I tell you, but this is one of the last things I want to do, but despite that, I still have to do it. Tell me, how much do you know about the surrounding continents and their clans?"

Guo Jiahao spoke with another sigh as he looked at Yao Jun. As he was talking, he looked towards the ceiling of the room, seemingly trying to look through the stone and into the sky. Yao Jun responded with silence, waiting for Guo Jiahao to continue his words.