Free Web NovelChapter 1854: Chapter 1057: Source of Calamity (Part 2)
By now, Yang Xiao could be considered someone who’d seen his fair share of big scenes; this Ghost Lantern Magic Artifact was simply too damn useful—good for offense and defense both, its practical value was cranked to the max.
And this was only a damaged artifact; you had to know, back then that traitor Hanjiang Jun had used the complete version of the Ghost Lantern to seal that female demon from Heavenly Water Pavilion.
When they left Myanmar and Thailand, Dean Sheng had warned him again and again—he must find a way to piece the Ghost Lantern back together.
Of course he was no match for the Master of Bone Pavilion, but he had an organization behind him; he could call in people from the Patrol General Bureau to punish evil and uphold justice—he only needed a set of coordinates.
Third, there was the matter of Dean Sheng—Yang Xiao wanted to know whether taking back the Academy would run into some unexpected variables; this was extremely important to him.
Because to help Dean Sheng, Yang Xiao had practically bet everything he had—if they failed, it would be very hard for him to keep his footing in the Patrol Defense Office.
Even scarier, in the future he would still have to face the reckoning from the Ling Academy experts led by Sheng Jingxuan, and the Dharma Sect would be helping them.
Never mind that smiling tiger Hong Anguo from the Provincial Bureau and his nice-sounding talk about "do it boldly, full support"—Yang Xiao knew very clearly that once the mission failed, he’d be forced to shoulder all the blame.
His uncle Professor Cui had reminded him before: this is Qinglan City, not Rongcheng; Hong Anguo is not Nalan Shuo; no one will look out for you, no one can be trusted.
Staring at these three questions, Yang Xiao sank into deep thought, and in the end he crossed out the second and the third, leaving only the first.
For no other reason than this: the young Sect Master had left too deep a shadow in Yang Xiao’s heart; the existence of the Hundred Demons Coffin Clothes was his biggest secret, it could not be exposed—the man had to die.
According to the intel Esoteric Sect had sent before, the young Sect Master was currently injured; he didn’t dare return to the country—after all, he was on a full-force national wanted list right now.
He should still be in Myanmar and Thailand—that no-man’s-land with complicated, tangled forces, the best place for him to hide.
And before leaving, Dean Sheng had also promised him he’d do everything he could to track this man down; once he found any trace, he would personally lead people to encircle and kill—only killing was on the table, no taking alive—he’d make absolutely sure the man stayed silent.
Now that Dean Sheng’s strength had recovered quite a bit, with the help of other Esoteric Sect experts, as long as they could confirm the man’s hideout, the odds of killing him were very high.
"It’s you then!" Yang Xiao fixed his gaze on the words "young Sect Master," placed his hand on the Wordless Heavenly Scripture, closed his eyes, and tried to use his spiritual power to awaken the book.
He had watched how Jiushan Cangxuan had done it before, and this time, he very quickly felt a strange sensation—as if the book in front of him had "come alive."
Yang Xiao immediately asked his question in his mind: he wanted to know where that young Sect Master was right now, and what he was doing.
In just a dozen seconds or so, as the chaotic mist inside the Wordless Heavenly Scripture dispersed, it began playing out images like a slide projector, but unfortunately the picture wasn’t very clear—like looking through frosted glass.
Very soon, a blurry back appeared in the image—it was a man in a suit, sitting with a few others, the background looking like some kind of conference room.
Even though he couldn’t see the man’s face, Yang Xiao almost instantly recognized him—it was the Yu Yuan Sect Sect Master.
Yang Xiao hadn’t expected that the man had actually healed up by now and even had the leisure to hold a meeting—obviously he’d found someone willing to shelter him.
There were also a few others sitting beside the young Sect Master, both men and women; Yang Xiao couldn’t make out their faces; they looked like they were plotting something in secret, but there was only image and no sound.
Yang Xiao noticed it was a long table of the type you’d see in conference rooms, and everyone present was looking toward the far end of the table—in usual practice, that was where the highest-status person sat.
Under Yang Xiao’s control, the image eerily shifted to the right. He unconsciously leaned his body forward, trying to get as close to the Wordless Heavenly Scripture as possible; he had to see who this young Sect Master was colluding with.
He had a feeling these guys were probably plotting some earth-shattering conspiracy.
Very soon, the image turned to the right, and Yang Xiao couldn’t help being startled. Sitting at the head of the table was a burly, towering figure; judging by his seated height, he had to be over two meters tall. His face was square and blocky; even though you couldn’t see his features or clothing clearly, he still looked extremely uncanny.
Just as Yang Xiao kept manipulating the image to move closer, intending to see more clearly, something unexpected happened—the guy at the head of the table seemed to sense something, suddenly turned his head, and looked straight toward Yang Xiao’s position.
At the same time, a shrill wailing exploded in Yang Xiao’s mind, wiping his brain blank in an instant. Before he could react, a white skeletal arm covered in bells suddenly thrust through the image, clawing at him across the void. freёwebnovel.com
At that critical instant, Yang Xiao’s body toppled backward; as he fell to the ground he also severed his connection with the Wordless Heavenly Scripture. By the time he scrambled back up, the Scripture had already returned to normal, the book closed shut.
Yang Xiao was panting heavily, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, lingering fear still in his chest. He hadn’t expected that guy on the other side to be so terrifying—actually able to detect him through the image and strike at him.
To pull that off, you’d probably need at least the level of Second Demon Uncle and Ru Lin Academy’s Yang Qianhe.
Yang Xiao still didn’t know this mysterious man’s identity for the time being, but he knew he was in trouble—the young Sect Master had found himself a helper.
Right now he was in Japan, which made things inconvenient; the phone he was using was left by Mu Yunshu and was definitely under surveillance. He made up his mind: once he returned to the country a few days later, he would immediately inform Dean Sheng, who was far away in Myanmar and Thailand. That man had seen a lot—maybe, just maybe, he’d recognize who this guy was.
Replaying the details of the image in his mind, the more Yang Xiao thought about it the more it scared him. It didn’t feel like a setup in Myanmar and Thailand—it felt more like it was inside the country, though he didn’t dare be sure.
Besides, he himself was still wanted in the country—the Provincial Bureaus of the Patrol Defense Office and Ru Lin Academy were all hunting him. Yang Xiao didn’t believe that guy would dare come back.
But who could say for sure? The man didn’t play by the rules. Yang Xiao couldn’t judge his next move at all—but in any case, it spelled danger.
Yang Xiao had a feeling that everyone in that room just now was a master, and the man at the head of the table was definitely a top figure in the world of martial arts. With that bunch gathered together, you didn’t even need to think about it to know they were up to something big.
Once he’d fully calmed down, Yang Xiao moved around on the spot; his body didn’t feel off. He took off his clothes and checked himself over again, and still didn’t find any injuries.
But Yang Xiao still wasn’t at ease; he used the Ghost Lantern to scan himself front and back three times before finally letting out a breath. The shock from that scene just now had been too much.
"From now on, I absolutely can’t use this book lightly—there are unknown risks." This incident rang a loud warning bell in Yang Xiao’s mind. He felt like he finally had some idea how that Great True Master of the Taoist Sect had fallen; even with the Wordless Heavenly Scripture in hand, it was far from a guarantee of safety.
Yang Xiao couldn’t help imagining—if he had been a bit slower in cutting off the image, would he have been killed on the spot by that mysterious expert reaching across the void? That guy was too terrifying.
The young Sect Master had been there just now as well, but he hadn’t shown any sign of noticing that someone was spying on them. That alone proved that the bizarre expert’s strength far outstripped his.
Right then and there, Yang Xiao made up his mind—once he completely took control of that Puppet, he would head back to the country immediately. What he had just seen left him profoundly uneasy.
He didn’t know whether the young Sect Master had sold out the news of the Hundred Demons Coffin Clothes to the mysterious expert, but he felt it was unlikely—if he’d wanted to sell it, he would have done it long ago. What the young Sect Master really wanted was to keep the item for himself.
This was a guy even greedier than he was, with top-level intelligence and scheming ability, and on top of that, a tenacious heart. So what if he’d been imprisoned by Yang Qianhe for ten years? Once he escaped, he was still able to turn Ru Lin Academy upside down and even kill the Old Clan Leader Yang Qianhe’s only son to avenge his imprisonment.
Yang Xiao and this man were only on opposing sides, but deep down he still admired him. Even the always-arrogant Dean Sheng had nothing but praise for this man’s abilities.
Leaving the Mirror World and returning to reality, this time Yang Xiao tossed and turned on the bed, sleepless, until dawn was just breaking before he finally drifted off into a deep sleep.
