But...
"Gulp!"
He drained a pot of wine in one go.
Perhaps it was the spiciness of the wine, or perhaps it was the sadness in his heart, but his eyes were already moist.
Butâ
He took a deep breath and forced his tears back.
From that day on, Hong Zhisha would not shed tears.
His heart was filled only with revenge, with the slaughter of the Great Yu, except for the small bit of humanity he felt only when he was with Xiao Yu.
"But this matter shouldnât be hidden for long!"
He sighed deeply in his heart.
After the Nine Gates Battle... perhaps... he could hold on a bit longer.
...
Hong Zhisha sat there, accompanying Xiao Ming.
He only stood up slowly at dawn.
"Alright, old brother, I have to go."
"Rest assured, with me here, Xiao Yu will be fine."
He stopped to look at Xiao Mingâs pale face, then finally turned away and left the room.
In the hall.
The clone was waiting early.
When he saw Hong Zhisha walk in, he quickly stood up, "Uncle!"
"Hmm!"
Hong Zhisha nodded slightly, "Is everything ready?"
"Just waiting for the Nine Gates Battle."
The clone appeared very eager.
"Ah!"
Hong Zhisha could only sigh in his heart seeing him like this.
"If he were to know the truth... who knows what he would become!"
Xiao Mingâs situation was something even a World Spirit from the Lower Realm couldnât handle, and thatâs because it was Xiao Mingâs decision, to give him a bit of hope.
Otherwise... with the bond between father and son, Xiao Yu would have collapsed long ago.
But... "What should be done?"
If it really doesnât work out, then only that method can be used.
"Letâs go, Uncle needs to seal off your perception, donât resist."
Hong Zhisha instructed.
"I understand, itâs Hidden Killâs rule!"
The clone nodded.
Then Hong Zhisha enveloped him with several streams of Spiritual Power. After confirming there was no issue, he took him to Tangyun Lake.
Meanwhile, in the inn, Chen Xuan suddenly opened his eyes.
"Theyâve left."
He sensed the position of the clone moving rapidly.
"Heading straight west!"
Chen Xuan wasnât in a hurry; he waited until the distance was roughly a thousand miles before entering the spatial rift.
He kept the distance between them around a thousand miles.
A day later!
Hong Zhisha stopped in a mountain range.
However, he didnât lift the seal on the clone.
Instead, he released a few streams of Spiritual Power into the air.
"Rumble..."
Suddenly, the void trembled, and the next moment a golden gate dozens of meters tall appeared mid-air.
Then Hong Zhisha led the clone through the golden gate.
As they stepped through, the gate vanished, returning the area to an ordinary mountain range.
"Huh?"
Hiding in the spatial rift, Chen Xuan slightly furrowed his brow.
"Is it here?"
Just at that moment, the clone stopped and then continued moving, but at a much slower speed.
And... the connection between him and the clone significantly weakened.
"It must be isolated by an Array."
And that Array isnât weak, otherwise, it wouldnât affect the connection between him and the clone.
Chen Xuan didnât go straight there; instead, he took out a drop of Thunder Spirit Mosquitoâs blood and activated the concealment ability.
In an instant, he transformed into a Thunder Spirit Mosquito.
After repeatedly confirming there were no issues, he headed to the location where the clone had just stopped.
Moments later.
Chen Xuan arrived at the mountain range.
Being much closer now, his connection with the clone also strengthened.
"Prince Xiâs Mansion!"
An image of the Eastern Continentâs map appeared in Chen Xuanâs mind, and he instantly confirmed their current location.
Unexpectedly, the Hidden Kill headquarters was here.
And the Prince Xiâs Mansion was quite different from other mansions in Great Yu.
Because the Prince Xiâs Mansion existed before the prince did.
Itâs said that this Prince Xi was already a hundred thousand years old, with unfathomable strength, even the Emperor Yu was considered his junior.
Chen Xuan hid in a dense thicket, sensing carefully.
However... he discovered no Array!
"Impossible!"
Chen Xuan was very shocked; even without using Spiritual Power, given his current strength, even without using Telepathy, no Array could elude his senses.
"Telepathy!"
The Thunder Spirit Mosquito, the size of a fingertip, its two small eyes immediately shone like two blue points of light.
Scanning the area carefully.
"Impossible!"
Chen Xuan exclaimed in his heart; even using Telepathy, he hadnât found a trace of any Array.
Could it be that there really wasnât an Array!?
Unwilling to give up, he quickly changed his position; he didnât believe it!
They couldnât have disappeared for no reason.
At this time, Hong Zhisha had already led the clone near Tangyun Lake, finally lifting the seal on him.
For a whole day, he had been like a blind man.
Suddenly, light appeared before his eyes, and the clone instinctively raised a hand to shield them.
Once he adjusted, he saw an endless expanse of the lake.
Then he turned to Hong Zhisha and asked, "Uncle, is this Tangyun Lake?"
"Hmm!"
Hong Zhisha nodded slightly, then asked back, "How do you find it?"
The endless lake surface, with wisps of white mist; earlier he thought it was fog, but upon sensing it, he realized it was Spiritual Qi.
Liquid Spiritual Qi!
This....
"What dense Spiritual Qi, at least ten times stronger than outside, right?"
"Outside itâs about the same, but the closer you get to the center of the lake, the denser it is."
Hong Zhisha explained, then pointed to an island in the distance, "Thatâs where the Nine Gates Battle will take place, but the other eight gates havenât arrived yet, so wait at Uncleâs place first."