Xu Lai was stunned. "You can break the formation?"
He was one hundred percent skeptical. Ruan Lan hadn’t been able to see through a single formation since entering the Mount Fu mountain range; he was the one who’d had to point them out. And now she claid she could break one.
Probably not even a pig would believe it!
"It’s not that difficult." Ruan Lan proudly stood up straight.
Xu Lai glanced over. Hmm... No wonder those Martial Artists at the foot of the mountain suspected she was a boy. How did she get even flatter after the New Year?
"Despicable brother-in-law, where are you looking!" Ruan Lan’s pretty face flushed, and she gritted her teeth.
If they weren’t in public, she would have bitten Xu Lai to teach the detestable man what cruelty truly ant.
"Senior Xu, saving the Dragon Vein is urgent!" Gao He pleaded, so anxious his hair felt like it was falling out.
"Now that I’m here, I have no intention of standing by idly. Don’t worry."
As soon as Xu Lai said this, Gao He and the other Martial Ancestors all cald down.
One Martial Ancestor, who didn’t know Xu Lai’s identity or strength, sneered and was about to question him, but Gao He scolded him.
"You go and stand guard at the foot of the mountain! Make sure no one else cos up!"
"? An Eighth-Grade Martial Ancestor? Guard the path?" That Martial Ancestor was dumbfounded.
"Scram! If you disturb Senior Xu while he’s protecting the Dragon Vein, a hundred of our lives wouldn’t be enough to atone for it!" Gao He said irritably.
The words were harsh, but they were true. The value of several Martial Ancestors wasn’t one-ten-thousandth as important as a single Dragon Vein.
The Martial Ancestor who wanted to question Xu Lai was sent down the mountain, his belly full of resentnt.
The blood-red Divine Dragon bound in the lake let out a mournful whine, its head drooping weakly. The light in its eyes completely vanished, leaving them dim and lifeless.
High in the sky, Tang Baishan’s face went deathly pale. SPURT— He vomited a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the mountain peak.
Except for Gao He, who knew the highly respected elder was trying to seize the Dragon Vein’s fortune, the other Martial Ancestors were oblivious. Shocked, they rushed over to him.
"Senior Tang, are you alright?"
"Senior Tang, here’s an elixir! Take it quickly!"
...
Under everyone’s concerned gazes, Tang Baishan coughed, spitting another large mouthful of blood.
He pounded his chest, crying out in anguish and self-reproach, "I have sinned! I have sinned!"
"I failed to protect the Dragon Vein of Mount Fu! I... I deserve to die a thousand deaths!"
Tears stread down Tang Baishan’s aged face as he coughed up blood. "I have betrayed the nation’s trust! I have betrayed the people’s trust! Help... help up. I can still fight."
The old man’s voice was hoarse and weary. Paired with the whimpers of the Divine Dragon in the lake, the atmosphere beca exceptionally tragic.
Forget Gao He, who was already suspicious; even Ruan Lan’s eyes grew red. She began to wonder if she had wrongly accused this wretched old man.
Could he really be the mastermind behind the Transplanting Flowers and Trees Formation? He’s clearly a hero who has dedicated his entire life to Hua Country!
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.
Xu Lai applauded and nodded. "Excellent."
Tang Baishan was taken aback. Excellent? Excellent what? Who is this young man? I’ve never seen him before...
But that didn’t stop his performance. He staggered to his feet, coughed up more blood, and declared, "Today, even if I, Tang Baishan, must die, I will die here on Mount Fu, protecting Hua Country’s fourth Dragon Vein!"
"Senior Tang, you mustn’t!"
Gao He and the others grew frantic. If a national treasure like him were to die here, it would be an imasurable loss!
"Excellent acting," Xu Lai said, continuing to clap. His voice wasn’t loud, but each word landed like a clap of thunder.
SWOOSH!
Tang Baishan whipped his head around, his voice filled with pain. "Young friend, what is the aning of this? Are you suggesting I’m putting on an act?
"I, Tang Baishan, spent twenty-one years building the Dragon Protection Formation of Shushan, thirty years building the Dragon Protection Formation of Changbai Mountain, and another twenty years constructing the Spirit Vein Formation of Qing Lake. I have dedicated seventy years of my life to my country and its people. And you—are you doubting ?"
Tang Baishan was exceptionally agitated, an unnatural flush rising in his face. He looked around. "Gao He, Li Tian, Zou Fengcong, do you all doubt too?"
No one he looked at dared to et his gaze.
Gao He bit the bullet and said, "Senior Tang, please, calm down. You’re injured right now, you mustn’t..."
"Injured?" Tang Baishan laughed, a sound full of bitterness. "I do not fear the wounds of the flesh! I only fear the wounds of the heart!"
Gao He was filled with sha. I can’t believe I actually doubted Senior Tang just a mont ago...
Ruan Lan shot Xu Lai a glare. "Brother-in-law, we can’t accuse an innocent man."
...
Xu Lai was helpless. With my sister-in-law’s intellect, if she were thrown into the dog-eat-dog Immortal Domain, she’d be swindled out of her money and virtue ten thousand tis over, and that would be an understatent. If she were to run into soone like my past self, she’d probably lose her life...
"Enough, enough. Since you all doubt this old man, I might as well leave."
Tang Baishan hunched his back, swaying with each step as he began to unsteadily descend the mountain.
"Senior Tang!"
"Senior Tang, you can’t go!"
...
Several Martial Ancestors cried out anxiously. The destruction of the Dragon Vein would be a catastrophe.
Tang Baishan said, his figure a lonely silhouette, "If you don’t believe , then I’ve lost the will to fight to the death." He didn’t turn back.
"Stop glaring and learn from the old senior," Xu Lai said, patting Ruan Lan’s head. "To survive in the Immortal Domain, you need to be this shaless and black-hearted, calling red white. After all, as long as you occupy the moral high ground, you’re invincible. No one can say a single word against you."
Tang Baishan stiffened slightly, but he didn’t stop walking, as if his heart had truly been shattered.
Ruan Lan fell into thought. As she gradually cald down, a golden light flickered in her eyes, seeming to pierce straight through Tang Baishan’s body.
She saw it. Within the body of the old man, who looked as if his life force was spent and he had one foot in the grave, a tiny, blood-red dragon was coiling.
That was the Dragon Vein’s fortune of Mount Fu!
Ruan Lan gasped. "It’s just as you said! That wretched old man is no good!"
...
Xu Lai put a hand to his forehead. It seems my sister-in-law has already mastered two important villainous skills: shaless opportunism and being a turncoat. In the Immortal Domain, perhaps she could live a little longer this way.
"HEY! You old man! Leave that little dragon here!" Ruan Lan shouted angrily. "How dare you try to fool ! You must have a death wish!"
"What are you talking about?" Tang Baishan continued to feign ignorance.
"You set up the Transplanting Flowers and Trees Formation to seize the Dragon Vein’s fortune for your own use! Your cris are unforgivable!" Ruan Lan pointed at Gao He and the other Martial Ancestors and snorted, "You might have fooled these fools, but you can’t fool my sharp eyes."
"Gao He, is this how you East Sea Martial Artists treat your guests? By falsely accusing an old man on the brink of death?" Tang Baishan’s body trembled with rage. "My life is nearly over! All I wanted was to pass away peacefully in my holand. Is that so wrong?!"
Gao He’s gaze shifted between Xu Lai and Tang Baishan. He hesitated for a long ti, saying nothing. He didn’t know who was telling the truth, so he chose to remain silent.
However, the Dragon Vein had indeed started showing signs of trouble not long after Tang Baishan’s arrival. So, he silently moved forward, blocking Tang Baishan’s path down the mountain.
"Gao He, you dare!" Tang Baishan roared. The ground shook, and the mountains quivered.
"Will you shut up, you old fool!" Ruan Lan said, covering her ears in annoyance. "You’re deafening !"
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