Book 2: Chapter 36: Extra Rib

Book 2: Chapter 36: Extra Rib

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Gu Hai, Scar, Shangguan Hen, and Gao Xianzhi jumped into the deep chasm and landed on the tortoise shell. Then, they looked at the large Go board on it.

The tortoise shell seemed to have been forged; it was transparent like crystal. Its head end rested on the dragon tail.

“Milord, we might not be capable of obtaining this dragon tail!” Shangguan Hen smiled bitterly.

“Oh?” Gu Hai looked at Shangguan Hen, feeling unconvinced.

“Everyone knows of a dragon vein’s benefits. However, do you know how strong a dragon vein is? Even if you undo the seal, you still need enough power to capture it. Furthermore, this is the dragon tail. It will immediately flee once you undo the seal. The dragon tail possesses overwhelming power; there is no way to capture it,” Shangguan Hen explained.

“What do you mean, Legate Shangguan? Not even Milord’s Xiang Yu cloud beast will work?” Gao Xianzhi asked, feeling unconvinced as well.

“This dragon vein is not formed by Nine-Five Island. Instead, it should be formed by the entire Thousand Islands Sea. It took countless sea regions and islands to birth one dragon vein. Do you know how much power you need to capture this dragon vein?” Shangguan Hen smiled bitterly.

“How much?” Gao Xianzhi asked, still feeling unconvinced.

“You need at least the power to pull islands!” Shangguan Hen replied gravely.

“Pull…pull islands? Islands the size of Nine-Five Island?” Gao Xianzhi goggled. 

Shangguan Hen nodded.

Gu Hai’s eyelids twitched. The strength to pull Nine-Five Island? This was an island about the same size as all of Earth’s continents put together.

Shangguan Hen had a very mysterious background; he seemed to know a little of everything. Gu Hai did not ask further, but he could tell that Shangguan Hen spoke the truth.

Gu Hai ignored the dragon vein. Instead, he reached out to grab that bone saber.

Buzz!

The seal on the tortoise shell immediately stopped Gu Hai.

“Huh?” Gu Hai’s face sank.

Everyone tried to grab the bone saber but failed. The power of the seal on the tortoise shell was too strong.

“This tortoise shell seal uses the shell of a baxia!” Shangguan Hen said in a heavy voice.

“A baxia?” Gu Hai echoed in surprise.

“Yes. Furthermore, it is a baxia that turned into a dragon. A baxia has a dragon head and tortoise body, possessing a dragon’s bloodline, so it can turn into a dragon. However, that is extremely difficult to accomplish. If a baxia were to eat this dragon vein, it could turn into a dragon. After it turned into a giant dragon, it would lose its tortoise shell. This tortoise shell was left by a baxia after it turned into a giant dragon. After that, Old Mister Guan Qi forged it into this enchanted treasure,” Shangguan Hen said with certainty.

[TL Note: A giant dragon is a type of dragon, not just a big dragon.]

Gu Hai remained silent for a while.

Previously, when I met that rarely seen baxia, was it rushing to Nine-Five Island because it sensed the dragon vein?

Gu Hai looked at the tortoise shell, then the dragon vein. Finally, he shifted his gaze to the bone saber giving off faint black energy.

Eventually, Gu Hai looked at the Go board on the tortoise shell.

“Twenty-nine line pairs?” Gu Hai felt slightly stunned.

The Go board on the tortoise shell actually had twenty-nine line pairs? There were black Go stones placed at the side, as though waiting for someone to make a move.

“What a complicated Go puzzle!” Gao Xianzhi revealed an expression of slight shock.

Suddenly, Gu Hai entered deep thought.

To others, this Go puzzle might seem incredibly profound. However, it remained within the acceptable range for Gu Hai. He spent close to half an hour scrutinizing the Go puzzle.

“Excellent puzzle, excellent ritual array!” Gu Hai’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Gu Hai picked up a black Go stone and slowly played it.

Clack!

Then, a white Go stone suddenly appeared out of nowhere and landed on the tortoise shell Go board.

Clack!

It looked like there was someone playing Go with Gu Hai.

——

At the same time, in the Dragon Tortoise Palace:

Boom!

A loud sound rang out, and Chen Tianshan crashed into another palace.

Crash! Rumble…!

That palace immediately collapsed.

“Legate, are you alright?” A group of evil men immediately rushed over.

“Wei Yang, what are you doing?” Chen Tianshan roared angrily as he climbed out of the rubble.

The blind Wei Yang grabbed the vegetative Li Wei and flew into the air.

“Tell Gu Hai that I’m grateful to him for saving me. Everything I told him was true. However, when he tries to break the seal, he needs to be cautious. You can only win and not lose. The moment you lose one Go stone, you will lose your life!” Wei Yang shouted.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Wei Yang flew out of the ritual array, carrying Li Wei.

“One dies upon losing one Go stone?” Chen Tianshan’s expression changed.

No wonder Meng Tai could not solve it. It was not that his Go skills were poor. It was that he did not dare to do it.

“Legate, are you alright?” a subordinate rushed over.

“No, move aside! It’s not good. Milord’s in danger!” Chen Tianshan’s expression changed again. He could not be bothered to chase after Wei Yang. Instead, he rushed to the rubbish valley.

——

At the rubbish valley:

Clack! Clack!

Gu Hai steadily placed Go stones. Neither side could do anything to the other; neither managed to capture any Go stones.

“Great Go skills!” A serious look flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes.

Clack!

Gu Hai played another Go stone.

“Milord managed to capture a Go stone!” Gao Xianzhi’s eyes lit up.

Suddenly, a white Go stone soared up.

Rumble…! The seal seemed to loosen a little.

The dragon vein immediately started moving slowly, as if an earthquake occurred.

“Milord, stop playing! It can kill you!” Chen Tianshan rushed over at this moment.

However, Chen Tianshan saw that Gu Hai had already stopped playing and stood up.

When the seal loosened a little, the dragon vein could move slightly. That allowed Gu Hai to get closer to the bone saber and grab it.

Although such Go puzzles were hard to come by, Gu Hai still had his priorities, not losing sight of his goals because of this Go board.

Since Gu Hai already pushed the Go puzzle to where he wanted it, he went to obtain the bone saber first.

Now that Gu Hai could approach the bone saber, he could observe it up close. He saw web-like cracks on the bone saber. It seemed like the bone saber had shattered previously.

“Wei Yang spoke the truth? The bone saber shattered and recovered a little after absorbing the energy of the dragon vein?” Gu Hai’s eyes lit up.

Chen Tianshan immediately jumped down.

“Milord, Wei Yang ran with Li Wei!” Chen Tianshan huffed as he told Gu Hai everything.

“I know. I let them go,” Gu Hai said indifferently without even turning his head.

“Ah?” Chen Tianshan felt slightly stunned. How come I do not know?

“Do you think that Wei Yang would trust me, given that he just met me for the first time? Since he could survive in Meng Tai’s hands up until now, he is not an ordinary person, either. However, I have no grudges with him, so I might as well let them go, as he has a grudge with Meng Tai. He can help me restrain Meng Tai,” Gu Hai explained.

“Ah?” Chen Tianshan felt slightly stunned.

“Milord, be careful. This bone saber seems incredibly sinister!” Shangguan Hen frowned.

Gu Hai nodded. Then, he reached out to grab it.

Buzz!

Countless strands of black energy instantly emerged from the bone saber, strongly rejecting Gu Hai.

“Rise!”

Boom!

The bone saber seemed to weigh five hundred kilograms as Gu Hai slowly raised it.

“Roar!”

Suddenly, the underground dragon vein let out a roar. Without the bone saber pinning it down and draining it, it immediately became more mobile.

Rumble…!

The dragon tail struggled intensely, fighting the seal and trying to escape.

The surrounding lava splashed up. Everyone quickly used their Veritable Energy to protect themselves.

“Ah!” Gu Hai suddenly let out a cry of pain.

“Milord!” everyone exclaimed.

They saw the black energy from the bone saber encasing Gu Hai. An intense evil aura surged out, preventing the others from approaching.

The instant Gu Hai drew the bone saber, the bone saber seemed to awaken a mind of its own; it started to counterattack.

Shing!

The bone saber suddenly stabbed Gu Hai’s palm and started to enter his body through his palm. A heart-wrenching pain engulfed him.

“You bastard!” Gu Hai hastily grabbed the bone saber with his left hand and pulled.

However, the force coming from the bone saber was too great. It instantly charged into Gu Hai’s body, entering it.

Gu Hai quickly sat down cross-legged, with horror on his face, as he sensed a consciousness running rampant in his body.

Kekekekeke! Reckless brat, to think that you dare to interrupt me as I absorbed the dragon vein to recover. You have to pay the price for interrupting me. Perhaps I’ll eat you? Oh? What firm foundations and excellent body! Let me replace your consciousness; let me become you! Kekekekeke! A sinister voice rang out.

That consciousness seemed to charge towards Gu Hai’s mind.

Gu Hai’s expression changed, focusing his mind on blocking the evil consciousness from the bone saber attacking his mind with all his will.

What a strong will! Mortal, you’ve done well. However, you ran into me. Even though I am weakened, and the power of my consciousness is extremely weak, it is not something a mortal like you can block. I am God. Bow down before God! The sinister voice from the bone saber rang out again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gu Hai’s mind seemed to suffer an intense impact. He did his best to endure, trying not to faint. For the first time, he felt death was so close.

If Gu Hai could choose again, he absolutely would not pull out that bone saber again.

Rumble…!

The bone saber’s consciousness was overwhelming. Riding its strong momentum, it broke through Gu Hai’s many attempts at blocking it and charged towards his mind.

Boom!

It seemed like a large skull suddenly barged into Gu Hai’s forehead space, breaking through all his defenses in an instant.

Buzz!

Suddenly, the black Go stone hovering at the top of Gu Hai’s forehead space released a resplendent black light that charged towards the skull radiating black energy.

What? Why do you have a spirit treasure? If I were at my peak, this spirit treasure could not harm me at all. No! Why do you—a mortal—have this?! Why?! the skull radiating black energy suddenly roared.

Boom!

A loud sound rang out, and the black light crushed the skull radiating black energy, turning it into countless fragments floating in Gu Hai’s forehead space.

Gu Hai’s heart skipped a beat. Feeling extremely fortunate, he immediately split off a portion of his consciousness to go over to the skull fragments.

That portion of Gu Hai’s consciousness began consuming the skull fragments.

No! No! You cannot consume me. My consciousness! My consciousness! I am the noblest Bone Ancestor; even the gods cannot do anything to me. A mere mortal cannot possibly consume my consciousness! It’s impossible! No! An extremely weak voice came from the skull fragments.

Unfortunately, the black Go stone had already shattered the skull, preventing it from resisting. It could only let the portion of Gu Hai’s consciousness consume it.

Rumble…!

Soon, that portion of consciousness finished consuming the skull fragments along with the black energy. After it consumed everything, it suddenly left the forehead space and seemed to return to a strange body.

The black energy continued to linger around Gu Hai. No one could approach him. Gu Hai slowly opened his eyes within the black energy.

Now, the black energy came from his chest.

Gu Hai tore open his shirt at the chest. He saw a pitch-black area at the lower left part of his chest. His heart thumped heavily as he slowly touched his left chest.

“A rib? I have an extra rib? Furthermore, I can sense that it has become a part of my body. My consciousness can control this rib?” Gu Hai goggled.

After gulping, he stretched out his right hand as if groping for something.

Schik!

Suddenly, a hole opened on the skin of his chest. The extra rib protruded gradually from his chest, exposing a sharp bone handle.

Enduring the shock and horror in his head, Gu Hai slowly pulled the handle.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Gu Hai pulled out a pitch-black bone from his chest. As he did so, the bone automatically straightened and released an even more ferocious black energy.

“Ah!” The black energy forced Gao Xianzhi and the others back, drawing a cry from them.

Schik!

Gu Hai pulled out the rib completely. It was a slender bone saber about four-thirds of a meter long with large amounts of cracks on it and radiated surging black energy that looked incredibly sinister. This was the bone saber that entered his body after he pulled it out of the dragon vein.

However, it now seemed connected to his blood vessels, like it was a part of him. No, from the moment the portion of his consciousness he split off had consumed the original consciousness of the bone saber, something had changed. The bone saber had gained a new consciousness he controlled. This felt very strange.

As Gu Hai held the bone saber, he felt like it could cut through anything. He felt fearless, like nothing could stop him.

After looking at his chest, Gu Hai slowly stabbed the bone saber back into it.

Schik! Schik! Schik! Schik!

The bone saber entered Gu Hai’s skin, slowly sinking into his body, and turned into an unremarkable rib.

Whoosh!

Controlled by Gu Hai’s consciousness, the black energy suddenly withdrew, immediately vanishing. The darkness around his chest also vanished, and his wounds strangely recovered. Aside from his torn shirt, it seemed like nothing had happened.

Gu Hai took a deep breath and turned his head to look at the surroundings.

The surrounding black energy scattered, and the dragon vein struggled wildly, kicking up lava into the air.

The others had already left the deep chasm, waiting at the top.

“The black energy disappeared? Milord! Milord! Quickly come up! The volcano is about to erupt!” Chen Tianshan urged happily.

“The black energy from earlier was horrendous. I feel like I saw the forest of white bones from hell. It made me hallucinate! It really made me hallucinate! Had we not quickly fled, I…!” Scar showed horror on his face.

“Milord is fine?” Gao Xianzhi marveled as he looked at Gu Hai.

Bang!

Gu Hai immediately jumped, leaving the chasm.

“Milord, are you alright? What happened to that bone saber?” Shangguan Hen asked, both startled and curious.

Gu Hai looked at everyone but did not explain. Then, he lowered his head to look below.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As the dragon vein struggled, it seemed like the seal was loosening. The surrounding peaks started to shake as well.

Perhaps the dragon vein would struggle free of the seal soon.

“Is the dragon vein going to break free?” Scar’s face sank.

“Inform everyone. We are leaving this place immediately!” Gu Hai said.

“We are leaving? For where?” Chen Tianshan felt slightly stunned.

“Don’t you want to inform the Clear River Sect to keep its guard up against the First Song Sect? We are returning right now. Back to the Clear River Sect, back to my Gu Residence!” Gu Hai said seriously.

“Yes!” everyone answered.