Chapter 511: Guo Tianren

Half a month later, in the Black Tortoise Empire, at Xuanwu City.

Xuanwu City is the Imperial City of the Black Tortoise Empire, one of the Ten Great Empires of Central Earth; within the city, powerful tribes stand in great numbers, Gu Kings are plentiful, it is extremely wealthy, and it is one of the few super-cities possessing a Cross-domain Teleportation Array.

Long Xuan lowered the map, gazed at the tall city wall before him, and frowned slightly.

He discovered that the city's flag was no longer that of the Black Tortoise Empire, but had somehow been replaced by the flag of the Great Jin Empire.

The flag of the Great Jin Empire bore simply the character for 'Metal' written upon it; the script was golden-yellow, fluttering in the wind.

Gazing at the walls scarred by war, it seemed the great battle had ended not long ago, and Long Xuan understood the situation in his heart.

It appeared that refining the Reincarnation Pill had delayed him too long; delay breeds change, and thus during this period, the Imperial City of the Black Tortoise Empire had unfortunately fallen.

That the mighty Black Tortoise Imperial City could not even withstand the assault of the Puppet Army startled Long Xuan.

He did not know whether the current Black Tortoise Imperial Family had been annihilated or had abandoned the city and fled.

During his secluded cultivation, he was cut off from news and had no idea what the situation outside had become.

The unexpected turn of events in Xuanwu City greatly exceeded his expectations.

Long Xuan took a deep breath and strode toward the city gate.

Although Xuanwu City had been occupied by the Great Jin Empire, he still intended to use the Cross-domain Teleportation Array within Xuanwu City to travel to the Central Region.

Cross-domain Teleportation Arrays were far too rare; if he chose to give up this time, he might have to wait several more months before finding a second one.

Should a similar unexpected event occur again by then, further delays would follow.

Too much time had already been wasted; unwilling to waste any more, and perceiving no aura of a Gu King Peak expert within the city, he prepared to take the risk and venture inside.

With his current combat power, aside from a Gu King Peak expert who could pose a threat to him, he could basically ignore any other Gu King.

Backed by such formidable strength, this King of Lying Low found his courage unusually bolstered.

Upon entering the city, Long Xuan immediately sensed a tense atmosphere; pedestrians hurried with rapid steps toward various shops, nearly sweeping their supplies clean, giving the city an unmistakable feeling of an approaching storm, as if some major event were about to unfold.

Hearing the discussions of passersby on the road, Long Xuan finally understood what had happened and could not help but wear a bitter smile.

It was his misfortune; after the fall of the Black Tortoise Imperial City, the Imperial Family's prestige was damaged, and the Emperor, in a thunderous rage, fled with members of the Imperial Family and immediately began gathering large forces in surrounding cities, preparing to retake the Black Tortoise Imperial City.

The main army of the Black Tortoise Imperial Family would arrive the day after tomorrow, at which point a fierce siege battle would inevitably occur here, and no one knew how many would die in this conflict.

With a war about to break out here, whether the Teleportation Array in the city would still be permitted for use was already uncertain; how could he not silently lament his own bad luck at this moment?

With a bitter expression, Long Xuan dared not delay and ran toward the location of the Teleportation Array at maximum speed, praying in his heart that he would still be in time.

Soon he reached the city center and arrived at the location of the Transmission Hall, only to discover that the entrance was already packed with people.

The crowd jostled and shoved one another, shouts of abuse filling the air, yet everyone was blocked outside, and not a single person had managed to break through after a long while.

Clearly, with war imminent, many people, unwilling to be dragged into the conflict, sought to use the Teleportation Array to escape this trouble spot.

Since this entire group was blocked outside, with constant cries of abuse, it was obvious that the Teleportation Array here had already been disabled; Long Xuan's face turned exceedingly ugly, and he silently lamented that what he feared most had come to pass.

This scene seemed familiar; previously, Leng Qianqiu, the Island Master of Big Solitary Island, in order to resist the Black Dragon Pirate Group, had trapped all outsiders in the city under the pretext that the Teleportation Array was broken.

It was precisely because Leng Qianqiu had dragged all outsiders in the city into the war that he had narrowly defeated the Black Dragon Pirate Group.

Though this scheme was despicable, its advantage lay in its practicality.

This Great Jin Empire was likely about to employ the same trick, preparing to drag all foreign Gu Cultivators in the city into this war to increase their chances of victory.

Long Xuan's eyes shifted as he fell into deep thought; just as he was lost in these random musings, an elder walked out from within the Transmission Hall and made a gesture to halt.

"Everyone, please be quiet; this old man's name is Guo Tianren, and I am the guardian of the Transmission Hall."

"I am truly sorry, but the main army of the Black Tortoise Empire will arrive tomorrow."

"To prevent a large number of reinforcements from using the Teleportation Array to support Xuanwu City, thereby increasing the difficulty of the siege..."

"... the Black Tortoise Imperial Family has sent Gu Kings to infiltrate the city and destroy every single Teleportation Array within it; they cannot be repaired within three months."

Hearing these words, the corner of Long Xuan's mouth twitched involuntarily; at this moment, he truly felt an urge to spit blood.

Indeed, it was exactly the same plot.

Back then, Leng Qianqiu, to prevent anyone from leaving the island, used a scheme to destroy all ships; this time, the Great Jin Empire was surely going to fabricate a reason to seal the city gates and trap everyone inside.

All foreign Gu Cultivators in the city would become cannon fodder for this battle.

As soon as Guo Tianren spoke these words, the crowd, unsurprisingly, descended into chaos, with shouts of abuse erupting everywhere.

"Who are you trying to fool? Xuanwu City is a super-city; there are at least several dozen Teleportation Arrays. How could so many arrays be destroyed without a single one remaining? Do you take us for fools?"

"Exactly! You say they are broken, so they are broken? I don't believe it. Do you dare let us go inside and inspect them?"

"Heh! All the Teleportation Arrays are broken? What an incredible coincidence! Do you think we will believe that? This war is a matter between your two nations; please do not drag me into it. Let me out!"

The crowd grew increasingly chaotic; seeing that collective indignation was about to spark a riot, Guo Tianren curled the corner of his mouth, his expression suggesting he had anticipated this scene all along, and said, "So none of you believe me? Some of you want to inspect the Teleportation Arrays, do you? Very well, then I shall let you go inside and inspect them."

"From this moment on, there is no fee for entry; everyone may come and go as they please."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped aside and smiled at the crowd.

The crowd paused in surprise; that Guo Tianren would agree to let people enter and inspect the Teleportation Arrays exceeded everyone's expectations, but after only a brief moment of hesitation, the crowd surged madly through the gate.

Without seeing it with their own eyes, how could they let go of their suspicions?

Relying on his formidable physical strength, Long Xuan easily squeezed his way into the Transmission Hall.

What met his eyes were Teleportation Arrays of various sizes; some were Small Teleportation Arrays capable only of cross-nation transmission, while others were medium-sized arrays capable only of transmitting to adjacent regions.

The largest was the large-scale Teleportation Array; there was only one, standing tall in the center of the hall, providing direct access to the distant Central Region.

The legendary Cross-Realm Teleportation Array, however, was not present here.

Long Xuan roughly estimated the number of Teleportation Arrays here; there were fully fifty of them.

He clicked his tongue in secret admiration, unable but to marvel at the wealth of the Black Tortoise Empire; Teleportation Arrays were exorbitantly expensive, and few powerful tribes could afford the cost of establishing one. Having even a single array in a city was already rare, yet here there were fully fifty; truly, this was worthy of being the Imperial City of a super-empire.

However, these fifty priceless Teleportation Arrays had, without exception, all been violently destroyed, including that most expensive Cross-domain Teleportation Array.

The corner of Long Xuan's mouth twitched once more; he silently lamented that the people of the Great Jin Empire were truly ruthless, actually going through with the act and destroying every single Teleportation Array.

Back then, Leng Qianqiu had only faked the destruction of the Teleportation Array, whereas now the Great Jin Empire had actually destroyed them.

A full fifty Teleportation Arrays; their cost was astonishingly high, yet they were destroyed without a second thought—simply insane; the decision-makers within Xuanwu City certainly possessed boldness.

Perhaps this never belonged to him in the first place, so he had no intention of cherishing it.

Though lacking evidence, Long Xuan had already concluded that the Great Jin Empire itself had destroyed these Teleportation Arrays.

Long Xuan frowned, sweeping his gaze across every Teleportation Array one by one, before finally focusing on the largest one, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.

Not many Array Masters understood Teleportation Arrays; he was among the few proficient in the Array Patterns of such formations.

With his discerning eye, he could clearly see that although the Cross-domain Teleportation Array appeared heavily damaged and difficult to repair, it had in fact suffered only minor destruction and would require very little time to fix.

It seemed that even the Great Jin Empire could not bear to easily destroy something as valuable as a Cross-domain Teleportation Array; he had overestimated their resolve.

Having investigated the condition of this Teleportation Array, Long Xuan did not act rashly; instead, he feigned disappointment and joined the crowd in sighing deeply.

"Did you see? Every single Teleportation Array is truly completely destroyed; I have not deceived you."

"We too wish to repair these Teleportation Arrays quickly, but alas, there is no Array Master within the City skilled in repairing them."

"Is there any Array Master among you? If you are an Array Master, please raise your hand; if anyone can assist us in repairing the Teleportation Arrays here, the Great Jin Empire will surely bestow generous rewards."

Guo Tianren smiled as he swept his gaze across the faces in the crowd one by one. Long Xuan snorted inwardly; whoever dared to raise their hand at this moment would likely never see tomorrow's sun.

After a long while, seeing that no one in the crowd raised their hand, Guo Tianren nodded and addressed the crowd again: "You have all seen the Array Formations; every single Teleportation Array is indeed destroyed, so even if you are anxious, it is useless."

"With a great battle imminent, to prevent experts from the Black Tortoise Empire from launching surprise attacks and to stop spies from leaving the City to transmit intelligence, the City Defense Battle Formation will be activated around the clock starting today, prohibiting anyone from entering or exiting."

"We ask for your understanding."

Once Guo Tianren finished speaking, he ignored the crowd, which had already begun cursing furiously, and departed with a group of Great Jin Empire Gu Cultivators.

Long Xuan, lost in thought, dispatched a Clone to keep this person under strict surveillance before blending into the crowd and slowly departing as well.

Half an hour later, in a deserted street, Guo Tianren suddenly turned his head and shouted sternly: "Stop following; I have spotted you, come out."

Long Xuan, hidden in the shadows, was momentarily stunned, but confident in his concealment abilities, he suspected Guo Tianren was bluffing and did not immediately reveal himself.

Soon, from a concealed corner, an old man suddenly emerged from the shadows, smiling at Guo Tianren as he said: "Truly remarkable eyesight; my concealment technique was so perfect, yet you still managed to see through it."

"Since you have already discovered my whereabouts, I will speak plainly."

"I am Liu De, a renowned Array Master; you should have heard my name. There is something fishy about that large damaged Teleportation Array; you may fool others, but you absolutely cannot fool me."

Liu De stared fixedly into Guo Tianren's eyes, speaking with immense confidence.

Hearing this, Guo Tianren's face showed no trace of panic at having his scheme exposed; instead, he clapped his hands and laughed loudly: "Impressive! I knew this trick could never fool everyone in the City, but the City Lord insisted on leaving a way out, unwilling to truly destroy the last Teleportation Array."

"The fact that someone could detect the trickery behind that Teleportation Array does not surprise me."

"Since you did not expose it publicly but instead chose to approach me alone, you must wish to conduct a secret transaction with me!" Guo Tianren asked with a smile.

Liu De laughed: "Heh! There are fully twenty-eight Gu Kings of the Great Jin Empire within Xuanwu City, possessing sufficient military force to compel us to serve as cannon fodder; even if I exposed it publicly, what difference would it make?"

"Do you think exposing it would allow you to let me pass? If we tear off the mask then, the situation will only worsen; the gun shoots the bird that sticks its head out, and if I did that, my fate would certainly not be good."

"I will give you Ten Billion Spirit Stones; how about you secretly let me pass?" Liu De asked with a smile, getting straight to the point.

"Is the life of a powerful Array Master worth only Ten Billion? I know you Fourth Rank Array Masters are all rolling in wealth."

"I want Twenty Billion; only for Twenty Billion Spirit Stones would I dare risk secretly letting you go, and I will not haggle," Guo Tianren declared greedily, his eyes revealing a hint of avarice.

Liu De gritted his teeth, remained silent for a long while, and finally said: "Very well! Then I will give you Twenty Billion!"

"Tonight, when there are fewer people, I will secretly come to the Transmission Hall to find you; that time should be sufficient for you to repair the Teleportation Array, at which point I will hand over the Twenty Billion Spirit Stones on the spot."

Guo Tianren nodded and smiled: "Good! We have a deal; I will wait for you at the Transmission Hall tonight."

"Remember, you absolutely must not tell anyone about this matter, nor must you bring another person with you," Guo Tianren warned, staring intently into his eyes.

Seeing Guo Tianren agree, Liu De breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart and smiled: "I naturally understand the rules; the more people who know about this, the greater the variables, which benefits me not at all."

"Since we have been open and honest, I wonder if you could clarify something for me."

"Why did you destroy all the Teleportation Arrays here? These arrays could continuously transport reinforcements to you; they are key to your holding this City. What benefit is there to you in destroying all of them?"

Guo Tianren shook his head, smiling bitterly: "What reinforcements are there left? The Great Jin Empire is fighting on so many fronts against so many nations simultaneously, with countless battlefields opened; manpower is stretched thin, and it is already very difficult to spare any reinforcements."

"It would be good enough if they did not demand reinforcements from us."

"Keeping the Teleportation Arrays would at best allow a small number of reinforcements to arrive, which would be utterly insufficient for the upcoming great battle, and might even allow powerful experts of the Empire to infiltrate through them."

"Rather than that, it is better to destroy all the Teleportation Arrays and burn our bridges; once the defending soldiers know there is no retreat, they will surely fight to the death to defend the City, increasing their combat power by at least double."

"Of course, there is another reason for destroying the Teleportation Arrays, a reason that you understand even if I do not speak it, so there is no need for me to waste words."

Guo Tianren smiled and said no more.

Hearing this, Liu De suddenly realized the truth and praised: "Using the destruction of the Teleportation Arrays to boost the morale of the defending troops is truly brilliant."

"Then I will say no more; I will go now to prepare the Spirit Stones. We shall meet tonight."

Having finished speaking, Liu De said nothing further, finally turning and departing.

Watching his retreating figure, Guo Tianren curled the corners of his mouth, unclear what he was thinking; just as he too prepared to leave, someone suddenly jumped out from the shadows, startling him.

"I heard everything you two just discussed; count me in for the Twenty Billion Spirit Stones."

After revealing himself, Long Xuan stated his purpose directly, without beating around the bush.

At the same time, he released his aura as a Gu King, preventing Guo Tianren from making any rash moves.

Looking at this person who had suddenly appeared, Guo Tianren's expression turned grave.

This person had been hidden nearby, yet he had failed to detect him all along; this alone proved that the individual was far from simple, forcing him to feel apprehension toward this mysterious figure.

"Since you have already overheard our conversation, I have no choice but to agree."

"Letting one person pass is letting them pass; letting two pass is letting them pass; having you adds nothing, lacking you subtracts nothing."

"Then I will count you in; prepare Twenty Billion Spirit Stones tonight, and remember: bring no one else, and do not reveal this matter to anyone."

Once Guo Tianren finished speaking, he bothered to converse no further, turning and departing.

As night fell, amidst anxious waiting, the night quickly arrived.

It was now deep night, and most people were fast asleep.

At this moment, inside the Transmission Hall, all the guardians had gathered together.

Since the Transmission Hall was a critical location, it was naturally impossible for there to be only one guardian stationed within.

The most precious Cross-domain Teleportation Array remained undamaged, and even the destroyed Teleportation Array still contained a vast amount of invaluable materials; how could such a place lack a large number of powerful experts guarding it?

"Do you truly intend to let them pass? The City Lord has repeatedly ordered that not a single person be allowed to escape; this matter is likely far too risky."

"Once the City Lord learns of this, we will suffer dire consequences," Zhang Wenshan asked, his gaze filled with worry.

He was the second Gu King guardian within the Transmission Hall, and like Guo Tianren, he was a powerhouse at the Gu King Early Stage.

The two restrained and supervised each other, while the rest were all Spirit Sea Stage Gu Cultivators, numbering around ten or so, with not a single Gu Cultivator of a lower Cultivation Realm present.

"Hmph! What? Are ten billion Spirit Stones not enough to tempt you?"

Guo Tianren curled his lips and said, "Rest assured, if I truly intended to take such a risk, I would find a way to send you away first; how could I let you know about this? It is even more impossible to use ten billion to buy your silence."

"The City Lord is ruthless and cruel; I dare not provoke his wrath."

"Moreover, even if the Teleportation Array suffered little damage, I had no intention of repairing it whatsoever; even if I wanted to secretly let people pass, I would be powerless to do so."

"The power of the Array Formation within the Transmission Hall is immense; as soon as they dare to come, we will activate the formation and kill them on the spot."

"When the City Lord inquires, we will simply say that someone attempted to force their way through the Teleportation Array; this matter carries no risk whatsoever," Guo Tianren said, the corners of his mouth curling into a sinister smile.

Hearing this, Zhang Wenshan was stunned; the corners of his mouth twitched as he stared wide-eyed at him and said, "You never intended to let them pass from the very beginning?"

"I thought you were going to risk everything for those two billion; you really can withstand the temptation."

A sinister expression appeared on Guo Tianren's face as he sneered coldly, "Hmph! Fool! If I kill them, everything will be mine."

"Only children make choices; I want everything on their persons!"

Guo Tianren clenched his fists, his eyes revealing an expression of extreme greed.

(End of Chapter)