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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
“Has Neraka’s contact person finally showed up?”
Gu Changge was leisurely drinking his tea in the quiet courtyard when he heard news about Lu Ming. Dressed in clothes that were whiter than snow, he had his soft, silky hair tied using a simple hairband. Apart from looking clean, he felt detached and refined, as if he was not part of the mortal realm. Gu Changge remained unaffected despite how chaotic and unstable the world was due to the war in the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds. He spent his days sipping on tea and listening to music in his courtyard. Every now and then, he would ask someone to roam around the six regions and select a few youths to work as spies.
Now, standing before him were Ah Qing and many higher-ups of the Alliance of Thousand Merchants in the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds.
“According to what Lady Xue Yan has reported through the jade talisman, Lu Ming has been searching around the battlefield, seemingly searching for someone. He didn’t immediately return to his residence after tonight’s battle.” Ah Qing held a jade tablet and reported what was writen there with honesty and great respect.
“If that’s the case, I think it’s time for me to lift the net,” Gu Changge hummed with a small smile on his lips after he heard the report. He then put the cup he was holding down before he got on his feet. After he spoke, a faint, terrifying fluctuation spread in the void behind him. A vague space portal seemed to have been forcefully torn open.
Ah Da and several figures proceeded to emerge in the mist and step out from within. Apart from Ah Da, the rest of the blurry figures were True Daoists. There seemed to be terrifying pressure permeating the space where they stood.
Seeing this, everyone else in the courtyard immediately sported anxious and scared expressions. If Gu Changge hadn’t willingly shown this scene, they would never have dared to imagine that so many True Daoists were hiding in the dark, ready to take Gu Changge’s orders at any given moment. Just this power alone was enough to sweep the entire Battlefield of Hundred Worlds.
They would only stand a chance to fight against these True Daoists if the six region masters showed up.
However, they were unaware that these True Daoists were just puppets Gu Changge made. Although the original cultivation level had been retained, there was still a big difference when compared to actual living beings.
“It’s about time the army descends…” Gu Changge looked up at the vast sky and muttered in a somewhat profound tone. Now that Neraka’s contact person had surfaced, it was also time for him to send his army over too. After all, this moment of weakness was the best time for everyone to attack.
Ever since Neraka and Pagoda existed, they had made many enemies, and many Forces hated them, thirsting for vengeance. If it wasn’t for the fact that those Forces couldn’t locate their headquarters, their armies would have invaded a long time ago and created a bloodbath. Nevertheless, from whatever base that was uncovered, there had been many sieges over the years.
“Young Master Gu, why don’t we announce news that we have confirmed this place to be the hiding place of Neraka and Pagoda? Since they have existed for many epochs, they definitely are more powerful than they appear to be. They won’t just leave their foundation anytime in the near future.”
Ah Qing and the others knew that Gu Changge wanted to settle scores with the two ancient assassin’s guilds. They were doubtful since they couldn’t understand why Gu Changge wanted to uncover their headquarters before attacking. After all, as long as it was a base, the sooner they announced Neraka and Pagoda was here, the earlier the Forces would be able to prepare for battle.
“Neraka and Pagoda would be able to prepare for it if we announce it too soon. I want to strike when they least expect it,” Gu Changge chuckled lightly when he heard those words. He had assigned his people to wait in secret for his signal on the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds. As soon as he gave the order, the army would proceed to attack the Battlefield of Hundred Worlds as well as Neraka and Pagoda’s hiding places.
…
At another place, at the same time, Lu Ming had found a skinny man from Neraka. He did this by using the Secret Technique that the middle-aged man in the mysterious stone fragment taught him. He was following the other party while avoiding being seen as they headed towards a palace complex buried deep within Vermilion Bird.
Walking through, both sides were full of richly ornamented chambers and pavilions. An extremely wide river flowed quietly in the middle, sparkling when it reflected the sunlight.
There were many people here, with some of them lingering around the brothels while others enjoyed themselves in the casinos and restaurants.
Lu Ming looked forward as he tried his hardest to hide anything about himself that might seem out of place to avoid attracting attention. He knew that this place was crowded with experts, so one mistake could spell trouble for him.
Soon enough, under the guidance of the skinny man in front of him, Lu Ming boarded a colossal celestial boat that shone brightly. Many shadowy figures could be seen on the boat as well. There was a faint mist that slowly spread over whenever there was a breeze. Phoenix boats could also be seen floating on the river as bewailing melodies came from the boats, touching their listeners’ hearts. Crowds of male and female cultivators alike, flirting and stroking away, surrounded by the smell of makeup and perfume.
[This is…] Lu Ming was slightly shocked when he saw what was going on on the celestial boat. He couldn’t help but look away even though he had seen much of life. Noticing this, the skinny man who led the way snickered, “You are an undefiled maiden, huh? What is there to be shocked about?”
Lu Ming’s complexion changed slightly, but he quickly recovered. He had been cultivating for more than ten years, and it was true that he had never had much experience with women. On top of that, these open-minded cultivators were blatantly flirting on the boat.
“Why did you bring me to the red-light district?” Lu Ming couldn’t help but ask the skinny man.
“Weren’t you looking for a contact person? I’m taking you to him, aren’t I?” The skinny man mocked in reply.
Lu Ming somewhat understood what was happening. This place looked like the red light district from the surface, which was why no one expected this place to be Neraka’s contact point.
When the bony man saw Lu Ming’s expression, he decided to warn Lu Ming as he was worried that Lu Ming would offend the person they were about to meet. “Watch out. Don’t think that the higher-ups in Neraka will approve of you just because you have the Legacy of Neraka. The one whom you’ll be meeting is a ruthless person who has no regard for others’ lives.”
Feeling both nervous and expectant, Lu Ming solemnly nodded.
<Judging from the layout here, he will most likely bring you to meet Old Lady Meng’s subordinate.> The mysterious stone fragment under Lu Ming’s sleeve glowed slightly as the voice of the middle-aged man rang in his ears.
[Old Lady Meng?]
There was a slight change in Lu Ming’s expression. He knew that Neraka was made up of ten palaces with each having their respective Lord. Collectively, they were known as the Ten Neraka Palace Lords. Apart from the Ten Neraka Palace Lords, there were also the Ten Commanders of Neraka, the Four Judges of Neraka, and many more… Old Lady Meng was one of the special characters apart from the Four Judges of Neraka. Her status which was no more inferior to theirs, which made her even more mysterious.
Of course, on top of the Ten Neraka Palace Lords, there were also the Five Ghost Emperors as well as the legendary Yin Emperor.
He had no way of knowing this. The middle-aged man hiding in the mysterious stone fragment never told him about this either. Neraka was once known as Hell many years ago. However, it seemed that a taboo had later been violated for some reason, and that led to the change of name from Hell to Neraka.
When Lu Ming was still deep in his thoughts, the bony man in front of him had already brought him to the bottommost area of the celestial boat. Lu Ming could smell a strange, glaring fragrance that had an intoxicating sultriness to it. For some reason, he felt his blood flow faster when the scent hit his nose.
“I heard that you wanted to see me.” An enchanting voice rang out from not far ahead where the mist was spreading.
Lu Ming’s heart trembled, but he calmed down once when he thought about what the middle-aged man said. He then looked up, only to realise that there was another universe covered with space fluctuations that could seemingly cover everything. There was a curtain in the distance that blocked everyone’s vision.
All they could see was the silhouette of someone lazily lying on their side with their head propped up. They seemed to be puffing away at some kind of spiritual smoke.
“I’ll dig your eyes out if you dare to look at what you shouldn’t.” The charming voice spoke again without the slightest killing intent. It sounded like the person was talking about an insignificant matter.
A shocked Lu Ming quickly retracted his gaze and lowered his head respectfully before he uttered, “I have requested a meeting as there is something I need to tell you, my Lady.”
“What is it?” The voice behind the curtain sounded again but without a hint of impatience.
“I received the Legacy of a certain person of position in Neraka…” Lu Ming remembered what the middle-aged man instructed, and he did not want to hide anything as he repeated what was said verbatim. He didn’t say outright that he had received all of the Legacy. Instead, he only mentioned that the Legacy was left behind somewhere because he didn’t have the ability to procure everything, lest the Neraka higher-up in front of him right now coveted his Legacy and killed him for it.
Hearing those words, the person behind the curtain sat up slowly with a gloomy expression.
“Is that the truth? Do you know the consequences if you tell a single lie?” Her voice was no longer charming as before. It now carried a slight twinge of frigidness.
Judging from what Lu Ming mentioned, the Legacy he obtained might be from the First Palace Lord of Neraka, who supposedly died 30 million years ago.
The higher-ups of Neraka had remained tight-lipped about this. That Palace Lord used to be unbelievably powerful back then. If it hadn’t been for someone in Neraka who had leaked his whereabouts, he would not have been murdered by other Forces, which was how he met his fall.
This matter had caused great difficulty if they wanted to set up the Immortal Annihilating Formation. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have chosen to stay hidden during this time out of fear of Gu Changge.
“I wouldn’t dare to lie to you. You may have a look at this if you don’t believe me.” Lu Ming had already guessed how the other party would react. And so, he took the item from his sleeve. It was the broken stone mirror that the middle-aged man had given him.
*Hmmm!*
The void suddenly trembled before a palm as smooth as jade reached out from behind the curtain to grab the broken stone mirror. “I can’t believe it’s this thing…”
The woman behind the curtain looked at the item for a long time. A sigh followed the long silence.
Lu Ming stood there without saying anything. He knew that the other party would not doubt him since she had recognised this item.
Soon enough, she sent Lu Ming away. “You should leave now. If what you said is true, someone will look for you after three days.”
However, her tone was much calmer than before. As the mysterious Old Lady Meng’s disciple, she was regarded as one of the important figures in Neraka. She also knew more secrets than ordinary people.
Hearing these words, Lu Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that he was a step closer to being the Successor of Neraka. However, just as he planned to leave and return to his residence, hurried footsteps and successive knocks came from outside the room. A man whose face was drained of blood rushed over in a state of panic to make his report.
“My Lady, something bad has happened! Many foreign experts have appeared outside the boat. There are unfathomable experts who secretly sealed off the spaces here. Forget about the cultivators; even the divine messages can’t be sent out!”
“What?” At that, the woman behind the curtain panicked, and even Lu Ming’s expression changed. Almost immediately, her expression turned cold as killing intent filled her eyes as she fixed her gaze on Lu Ming. “Are you scheming against me?”
She couldn’t help but think of that possibility. It was too much of a coincidence that there were experts who sealed off this place right after Lu Ming was here.
“I swear on my life, my Lady, I have no intention of scheming against you.” Lu Ming felt the murderous aura enveloping and suffocating him. His skin was in so much pain that it was close to breaking. He knew that he would collapse under the pressure and turn into a Bloodmist if he didn’t explain himself.
“Who is it, then?”
The woman behind the curtain finally appeared in a green dress, wearing a gloomy expression. Even though she had a feeling that Lu Ming wasn’t deceiving her, she had no time to consider other possibilities right now.
A majestic divine sense flooded in. It felt like it had caused their world to be overturned and crushed all of a sudden. As if the place it covered had been completely under its dominion, the void that spanned a radius of hundreds of kilometres stagnated.
[A True Daoist?] The woman in green’s expression paled as she felt chills that made her tremble all over. She knew that an indescribable horror had arrived and was converting this place into their domain, to prevent others from knowing about what was going to happen here. [A move this grand could only be achieved by someone equivalent to the Ten Palace Lords!]
[Surely I wasn’t followed!?] Lu Ming thought about this possibility. In fact, he had felt eyes on him since a few days ago. However, when he asked the middle-aged man, the latter would tell him that he had not noticed anything out of place.
*Boom!*
The celestial boat shook right at this moment as a terrifying energy rained down on them. A big black hand had fallen in their direction and crushed everything in an instant. Countless arrays that were on the wall glowed as they tried to resist the force. However, it was like sunlight on snow; they lasted for mere moments before they quickly melted and dissipated. Naturally, everyone dared not move as they were shaking out of extreme fear.
“The void forbidden technique…” The woman in green paled even more when she felt the fluctuation as fear washed over her. She had finally understood. The other party had to come prepared, and they were here specifically for Neraka. That was the reason why this place was isolated before anything else. It was to prevent any news from being leaked and alarming the others.
At this thought, she stretched her hand without any hesitation as she intended to shatter her heart and soul, to prevent anyone else from knowing about Neraka. Unfortunately for her, a burly figure covered in a battle suit made of Hell’s Iron was faster than her as he tore apart space before reaching over to hold her down.
It happened so fast that the woman in green fell into despair at her inability to resist.
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Overpowered her in a moment of a second! Thanks for the chapter)