Chapter 102 : Chapter 102
Chapter 102. The Reason
“You traitor!”
Xie Yun’s furious curse was still echoing through the mist when Wang Tao, standing at the edge of the islet, merely let out a cold laugh.
“A traitor? I risked my life for the Shangyang Residence for decades, and all I got in return was a cushy post as a medicinal field’s chief guard so I could scrape by.”
Shrouded in swirling mist, his figure looked half-insubstantial, yet his voice carried over with perfect clarity.
“And what happened after that? Some yellow-haired little girl, relying on family connections, pushed me out with a few casual words. Tell me, who could swallow that humiliation?”
He paused, his gaze sharp as a blade as it swept across the people on shore before finally settling on Yang Caiyu.
“I came back this time to destroy these medicinal fields and cut off Yang Cang’s foundation. I want to see what face he has left to remain in the Shangyang Residence after that!”
“How dare you!”
Xie Yun’s beard and hair seemed to bristle as he roared, “If you dare lay a hand on the Purple Gold Eel, then you will have touched the Shangyang Residence’s reverse scale. When that time comes, no one will be able to save you!”
“The reverse scale?”
Wang Tao had yet to answer when the red-robed man standing beside him, silent until now, spoke in a flat voice.
He looked to be around forty. His features were ordinary, but his eyes were frighteningly sharp. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, and even the mist around him seemed to part on its own, staying three feet away.
“Now that Wang Tao has entered the Bai Family fold, the Bai Family will naturally protect him. As for the Shangyang Residence’s anger... hehe. It still has to be able to reach someone before it can burn.”
“You...” Xie Yun pointed at him, his chest heaving violently, but for a moment he was at a loss for words.
The man’s bearing was steady and restrained, his force hidden beneath the surface. He was clearly another formidable expert among six-meridian martial artists.
On the shore, everyone wore expressions of shock.
Most of them had only known Qinglong Lake as a water source rich in spiritual energy. Who could have imagined that such a priceless treasure lay hidden at the bottom of the lake?
And even more unthinkable was that after Wang Tao defected, he would dare return here with the Bai Family and scheme for this very thing.
Zhang Cheng drew in a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart, then quietly explained to Xu Yuan beside him, “The Purple Gold Eel is a rare treasure fish. Nearly seventy years ago, the previous family head brought its juvenile form back from a dangerous place.”
“It has been secretly raised in the medicinal fields ever since and personally watched over by each successive Chief Overseer. They say it is already close to reaching its seventh transformation. I never imagined it was hidden beneath Qinglong Lake...”
A strange gleam flickered through Xu Yuan’s eyes.
Nearly a century of cultivation, and it was close to its seventh transformation?
This was no ordinary “spirit beast meat.” Its value was probably enough to make any family covet it.
No wonder Xie Yun had lost his composure, and no wonder the Bai Family had dared take such a risk, launching a direct assault the moment the Chief Overseer left.
But almost immediately, another doubt arose in his mind. In a low voice, he asked, “Brother Zhang, if it is an exotic species close to its seventh transformation, then its strength is probably no weaker than a martial artist at the peak of the six-meridian level. With just Wang Tao and those two, how could they possibly take it down?”
Zhang Cheng looked just as bewildered. “That... I do not know either.”
At that moment, the chief guard of the Second Field suddenly spoke in a muffled voice, his tone thick with restrained anger.
“The Purple Gold Eel may be strong, but it has one particular trait... Whenever it is on the verge of breaking through to a major realm, it falls into a deep slumber that lasts for several months.”
“During that time, it barely swims or moves at all. It relies entirely on instinct to absorb spiritual energy and complete its transformation. That is when it is at its weakest.”
At that, he let out a cold laugh. “That old thief Wang Tao picked his timing with terrifying precision. He must have been spying in secret for a long time already!”
On the other hand, Xie Yun had clearly thought of the same thing. His brows locked together as he stared fixedly at Wang Tao.
“The Purple Gold Eel’s slumber is the greatest secret of the medicinal fields. How did you learn of it?”
Wang Tao laughed loudly, the sound rippling across the lake with unmistakable delight and mockery.
“Xie Yun, do you really think Yang Cang’s arrangements were flawless?”
“I’ve spent all these years in the medicinal fields. How could I have failed to notice even the slightest clue? All I can say is that Yang Cang was clever all his life, yet never expected that this old dog of his, in his eyes, would one day bite back!”
“What a Wang Tao. You really are profoundly calculating.”
Xie Yun’s eyes turned as sharp as an eagle’s. “But do you really think you can still leave here alive today?”
“I already sent men to the Shangyang Residence. With the Chief Overseer’s speed, he will surely return in time to bury every last one of you here!”
Wang Tao had just opened his mouth to sneer back when the red-robed man beside him grew impatient and cut him off.
“Why waste words with him? The effects of the Dragon-Bewildering Incense are already dissipating. The longer we drag this out, the greater the risk that the Purple Gold Eel will awaken. Deal with the troublesome people on shore first.”
His indifferent gaze swept across the crowd on the bank, as though he were looking at a flock of lambs awaiting slaughter.
“I’ll take the six-meridian old man. As for the rest, Wang Tao, you handle them.”
Wang Tao nodded. His gaze swept across the group, lingering especially on Yang Caiyu, before he let out a dark chuckle.
“Do not worry. This time, the Shangyang Residence will feel pain down to its marrow.”
The moment those words fell, the red-robed man moved.
He did not take the narrow path leading off the islet. Instead, his body swayed, and he stepped directly off the island’s edge. With a light tap of his toe against the shore of the islet, his whole body rose like a drifting red cloud.
He was actually walking on water.
His feet touched the lake surface again and again, creating only the faintest ripples, as though he needed only the slightest support to glide forward several zhang at a time.
The mist rolled wildly in his wake, like waves churned by the wind.
“Walking on water? No... this is an extremely profound use and control of projected force!” one of the more knowledgeable chief guards cried out in shock.
To circulate one’s force to such an exquisite degree, pressing it through the air onto the water and borrowing that force for movement, meant that this red-robed man’s control over his own power had already surpassed ordinary six-meridian martial artists by far.
Everyone was shaken speechless by that display.
Xu Yuan’s pupils contracted slightly. Without drawing attention to himself, he quietly shifted a few steps backward, letting the others stand in front of him.
Xie Yun’s expression turned grave as he said in a deep voice, “What superb control over force. In the Bai Family, you must surely be no obscure nobody.”
“Your eyesight is decent enough.”
The red-robed man gave a contemptuous laugh. Before his words had fully fallen, he had already crossed the last stretch of lake like a blur and landed steadily on the shore.
“But save those words for the underworld!”
The instant he finished speaking, his body sprang forward and lunged straight at Xie Yun.
He moved so fast that everyone’s vision blurred. All they saw was his right palm thrust forward in a simple, unadorned strike, yet the surrounding mist converged around it, and the faint sound of crashing waves could be heard within it.
Xie Yun did not dare take it lightly. With a low shout, he crossed his arms into a defensive stance. His robes billowed without wind as he unleashed the full power of his six-meridian cultivation.
Boom!
A deep, drumlike impact exploded outward.
Xie Yun’s whole body shuddered. The stone beneath his feet shattered, and he was forced back three or four steps before he barely managed to steady himself. A flush rose across his face, making it clear that he had suffered a hidden loss in the exchange.
“Everyone!”
Suppressing the surging blood and qi within him, Xie Yun shouted urgently at the people around him,
“Hold on! As long as we can endure until the Chief Overseer returns, it will be the hour of their deaths!”
But before his words had even finished, the red-robed man attacked again.
His offensive came like a raging storm, palm shadows flying as each strike carried overwhelming force, forcing Xie Yun to swallow the rest of his words.
In an instant, the two were locked in fierce combat, force lashing wildly in all directions and driving everyone nearby back again and again.
But anyone with eyes could see it.
Xie Yun was completely at a disadvantage and could only struggle to hold on.