With the help of his Celestial Master Technique and powerful Sea of Consciousness Power, Chu Lingguang followed the burly man to a stone cave.
The entrance was guarded.
Fortunately, it was a night of celebration. The few men guarding the entrance had set up a small table of their own. When they saw the burly man carrying the women inside, they just made a few teasing remarks before returning to their drinks.
The pirates of Xiazigou had evidently never imagined someone would dare to sneak onto their island, much less target their chieftain.
So, after the burly man went in and came back out, Chu Lingguang seized the opening in their defenses. His figure blurred, and like a phantom in the dark, he shot into the cave.
The flames in the brazier at the entrance swayed. The pirates drinking beside it instinctively glanced around before resuming their drinks, chatting about their exploits robbing ships on the high seas.
Chu Lingguang released a Spiritual Sense Fluctuation, using his powerful Perception Power to scout the cave’s interior. The burly man had been inside for some time. ’I thought he might have taken liberties with the women after dropping them off,’ Chu Lingguang mused, ’and only left after he’d had his fun.’
But upon entering, he realized the burly man had taken so long because the cave was extremely deep, appearing to run all the way from the mountaintop to somewhere deep underground.
Furthermore, the cave had several branching tunnels.
If he hadn’t locked onto the two women with his powerful Spiritual Sense, Chu Lingguang might have struggled to find them.
’Hm? What’s this?’
Suddenly, Chu Lingguang detected a peculiar fluctuation emanating from several of the branching tunnels at once.
His expression changed in an instant. He pushed his Celestial Master Technique to its absolute limit, wishing he could melt into the cave walls and become just another rock.
After waiting a moment, however, he found that the strange fluctuation from the tunnels remained confined to a fixed area, not extending in his direction.
It was his formidable Sea of Consciousness Power that had allowed him to sense those fluctuations ahead of time.
’Stones?’
’Where... did these come from?’
Curious and cautious, Chu Lingguang moved closer to investigate. He discovered that the source of the strange fluctuations was several oddly shaped Rubies embedded in the stone walls.
In the Northern Territory Trial Ground, Chu Lingguang had first encountered such a fluctuation. It had emanated from a stone stele and was capable of generating a field of gravity.
Later, he had detected similar fluctuations from the Dragon Claw Tree, the Beast Taming Circle, and on Mountain Rain Peak—coming from plants, a stone altar, and even a flight of stairs.
A question had long been brewing in Chu Lingguang’s mind.
’How can inanimate objects like stones and steles release these strange fluctuations? How can they generate distinct powers that create obstacles for people?’
He was deeply curious whether these stones released their fluctuations naturally, like the Dragon Claw Tree, or if they were forged and refined by human hands.
Be it the former or the latter, he was desperate to know how they were created. He had asked Guo Wei and Yun Hong, and had even sought answers from Zhang Xuan and Li Mao.
But Guo Wei had no answers.
Yun Hong knew little about the subject.
And Zhang Xuan and Li Mao were unwilling to explain.
Now, seeing that the walls of the Xiazigou pirate chieftain’s own cave were embedded with Rubies that could release these strange fluctuations, Chu Lingguang felt a strong urge to pry them out and take them back to study.
But he ultimately suppressed the thought.
First, the origins of these stones were a mystery. The fluctuations they emitted couldn’t create gravitational obstacles or mire-like traps, but they did possess a kind of Consciousness Attack. Like the Dragon Claw Tree, they could induce hallucinations.
If not for the fact that Chu Lingguang’s Sea of Consciousness Power was strong enough, protected by a three-layered halo of light that easily blocked this force, he wouldn’t have been able to observe the Rubies from such a close distance.
Besides, if he pried them out and carried them on his person, Chu Lingguang had no way to suppress the fluctuations they emitted. When the chieftain of Xiazigou returned, he would notice the abnormal frequency and easily discover him.
So, Chu Lingguang didn’t make a rash move.
He saw the two beautiful women who had been tossed onto a stone bed. They were huddled in a corner, clinging to each other and crying.
Chu Lingguang did not disturb them.
If he was going to kill the Xiazigou chieftain, he needed to find a different approach.
So he deliberately hid in one of the branching tunnels, one that was enveloped by the Rubies’ strange fluctuations. Under the interference of that peculiar energy, Chu Lingguang’s nerves were stretched taut.
Fortunately, it didn’t affect the performance of his Celestial Master Technique.
He was like a rock in the tunnel; not even Eunuch Liu would have been able to spot him.
「Forty-five minutes later.」
"Chieftain!"
"Chieftain, let us have a turn with them after you’re done."
"Chieftain, the men are all waiting to see your prowess."
A commotion finally broke out at the entrance.
The chieftain of Xiazigou had returned.
"Get lost! Don’t ruin my fun,"
the chieftain said with a wave of his hand.
"Chieftain, you enjoy yourself to the fullest. We’ll stand guard for you at the entrance,"
a subordinate said obsequiously.
"Scram! You think I don’t know what’s on your minds? Get the hell away from here. If you get hurt in a bit, don’t blame me,"
the chieftain warned.
"Then please, Chieftain, enjoy yourself. We’ll go stand guard at the foot of the mountain."
The group of pirates left one after another, not daring to spoil their chieftain’s mood.
The chieftain, reeking of alcohol, hummed a tune as he swaggered in from the entrance. "My lovely wives," he chuckled, "your husband has arrived."
"SOB..."
The chieftain’s voice possessed a chilling, penetrating quality.
Hearing it, the two captive women broke down completely, clutching their heads and sobbing in terror.
Chu Lingguang’s brow furrowed. He pushed his Celestial Master Technique to its limit. Under the constant assault of the Rubies’ energy, his nerves were stretched to the breaking point, and fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
CLANG!
The chieftain took a red stone from somewhere on his person.