Huang Xiaolong exited the ancient battlefield after spending a few days inside. The location he appeared in was the same spot he disappeared from when traveling through the black hole in the Enlightenment Lake. However, Duan Wuhen had already left and there was only silence in the surrounding waters.
Huang Xiaolong observed the surrounding and noticed that the mountains, reefs, and aquatic plants in the area were in a scene of devastation, destroyed by someone. There was a thousand-meter length palm print left at the bottom of the lake.
Seeing this, Huang Xiaolong was frightened and could guess this giant of a palm print must have been left behind by Duan Wuhen. Supposing the black hole did not suck him into the ancient battlefield in time and that palm fell on his body, he would have exploded into pieces.
Nonetheless, I must breakthrough Xiantian realm as soon as possible. Huang Xiaolong thought to himself.
This trip to the Enlightenment Lake strongly jolted his sense of urgency to grow stronger at a faster pace.
Only by breaking into the Xiantian realm would meet have the minimum requisite to protect himself in this Martial Spirit World.
Giving the surroundings another glance, Huang Xiaolong flashed and disappeared from the spot.
Moments later, Huang Xiaolong popped out of the Enlightenment Lake.
The surrounding area around the Enlightenment Lake was devoid of people. It seems the experts of the different forces had already left.
Fei Hou is probably waiting at the Fei Mansion, Huang Xiaolong thought. According to the agreement he had with Fei Hou, if something happened, they would return separately to Fei Mansion within three days. If more than three days had passed, it was very likely that Fei Hou had sent people scouring everywhere for him.
Exactly like Huang Xiaolong predicted, not long after speeding away from the Enlightenment Lake he came across some Fei Mansion guards that were searching the forest for him. When the Fei Mansion guards saw Huang Xiaolong, happiness beamed on their faces.
Seeing Huang Xiaolong return unharmed, Fei Hou nearly set the altar up in prayer to thank the Heavens as invisible tears and snot flowed out endlessly.
The main hall, Fei Mansion.
Huang Xiaolong sat down and listened to Fei Hou recount what happened at the Enlightenment Lake after he went missing.
"Eight Xiantian realm experts died?" Huang Xiaolong was stunned by this news.
Fei Hou nodded and said: "Yes, all of them were killed by the Imperial Highness, Second Prince Duan Wuhen. When Duan Wuhen took the great treasure, these eight Patriarchs and Sect Leaders arrived at the scene so Duan Wuhen silenced them!"
"Duan Wuhen got the great treasure?" Huang Xiaolong was surprised.
Fei Hou nodded his head, saying "That's right, the news has spread and reached outside."
Hearing Fei Hou's confirmation, Huang Xiaolong secretly shook his head and laughed wryly. He did not expect that an Imperial Prince would be the one shielding the black pot for him. He bet that having to listen to such rumors even while taking a simple stroll would leave Duan Wuhen feeling like killing people!
'Then has Duan Wuhen returned to Duanren Empire?" Huang Xiaolong asked.
"He should have returned. On that same day he got the great treasure, the Duanren Empire's space artifact flew to the sky and disappeared." Fei Hou answered, and then added: "The army stationed at the Enlightenment Lake suffered an immense loss. I heard there were about seventy to eighty thousand Yuwai Kingdom's soldiers that were killed in the midst of conflict."
The Yuwai Kingdom was one of the strongest kingdoms under Duanren Empire's mandate. A loss of eighty thousand soldiers for the Yuwai Kingdom was not small, but it wouldn't hurt its core force.
Subsequently, Fei Hou reported the actions of the Big Sword Sect and the Martial Ning Family during the past few days.
When Fei Hou mentioned the Big Sword Sect losing eight core disciples, Huang Xiaolong grinned and credited himself with the job: "I killed them."
Fei Hou was surprised for a second, "They were killed by Sovereign?"
Then he chuckled, "I was wondering who it was. So the eight Big Sword Sect core disciples were done in by Sovereign? Yu Chen, that old fellow must be jumping with rage knowing this– still, we need to be careful of him."
Huang Xiaolong nodded in agreement.
A while later, Fei Hou left the main hall.
Huang Xiaolong did not clarify that the treasure was in his hands and not Duan Wuhen's, for it was unnecessary and not due to feelings of distrust towards Fei Hou. Moreover, Fei Hou's knowledge of Heavenly Treasures was limited and he wouldn't know where the God Binding Ring stands on the list or its usage for that matter.
After Fei Hou retreated from the main hall, Huang Xiaolong returned to his courtyard then triggered the God Binding Ring and entered the ancient battlefield.
The most crucial thing right now was to breakthrough to the late-Ninth Order, and Huang Xiaolong decided to return to the Luo Tong Kingdom after he advances successfully.
In the ancient battlefield, Huang Xiaolong summoned the Linglong Treasure Pagoda, took out a Fire Dragon Pearl, and sat cross-legged to practice.
Running the Asura Tactics, he absorbed the spiritual energy that came from the ancient battlefield.
The last time he practiced here, Huang Xiaolong detected an indistinct carnage qi that proved beneficial to his cultivation, as well as sharpening his soul and will.
Twelve days passed.
Almost twenty days had passed since the birth of the great treasure in the Enlightenment Lake and the storm brought about by its emergence had gradually subsided. Although it was still talked about, it didn't receive the level of attention it had before.
For twelve days, Huang Xiaolong stayed inside the ancient battlefield and practiced, finally advancing to late-Ninth Order.
Only then did Huang Xiaolong exit the ancient battlefield.
Next, Huang Xiaolong and Fei Hou made their way out of the Luo Tong Kingdom, choosing the same way they arrived–through the Silvermoon Forest. Both of them killed demonic beasts and further trained along the way.
Slightly over two months later, Huang Xiaolong made his first stop at the Tianxuan Mansion instead of the Cosmic Star Academy.
"Big Brother, you're back!" Stepping into Tianxuan Mansion, the first one to greet him was his younger sister, Huang Min. Delight showed on her face as she hurried in front of Huang Xiaolong, pulling his hand, "Big Brother, during this trip to the Yuwai Kingdom, did you happen to find anything to bring back for me ah?"
"I already know you're a persistent bug." After he finished saying that, Huang Xiaolong took out a bunch of things from the Asura Ring.
Seeing so many things appearing in front of her, Huang Min burst into gleeful laughter.
Huang Xiaolong shook his head. In another few months, this girl would be fifteen, but she still acts like a little kid.
When he stepped into the main hall, his parents, Huang Peng and Su Yan, were there and so was Li Lu. But Li Lu's eyes were red and teary, evidence that she had just been crying.
The atmosphere in the main hall was somewhat depressing.
"What is the matter?" Huang Xiaolong asked as he walked in.
At this point, Li Lu had already run into Huang Xiaolong's embrace, hugging him tightly while crying nonstop.
Huang Xiaolong was somewhat stupefied, seeking clarification from his parents.
Huang Peng spoke solemnly, "We have just received news from Canglan County which said that the entire Li Residence was obliterated from top to bottom. Over a hundred people were killed!"
Shocked! Huang Xiaolong was utterly shocked when hearing this. The Li Residence was obliterated from top to bottom? Does that mean Li Lu's father, Li Cheng, and her Grandfather, Liu Mu, were also dead?
"It's okay, don't cry anymore." Huang Xiaolong patted Li Lu's back gently, comforting her in a soft voice.
Li Lu cried for a while in Huang Xiaolong's embrace before her hands let go. Wiping the tears from her face, she saw the wet patch on Huang Xiaolong's shoulder that was soaked through, an embarrassed red flush stained her cheeks.
Everyone sat down in the main hall.
"Did we find out who did it?" Huang Xiaolong asked.
Su Yan said: "Li Cheng and Old Patriarch Li died from the Poison Blood Palm– Marshal Haotian confirmed this."
"Poison Blood Palm!" Huang Xiaolong's eyebrows creased deeply. At that time, the Green Hawk Gang's leader, Jiang Wei, also died under the Poison Blood Palm. Did that mean the person who killed Jiang Wei and the person who killed Li Cheng and decimated the Li Residence was the same person?
Thinking back seven years ago, during Liu Mu's eightieth birthday celebration, two people with poisonous snake martial spirits vowed to take Liu Mu's life within three years….. but, seven years had passed since then. Were those people with the poisonous snake martial spirits really responsible for this?