Chapter 21: Stone Gate

"Ten years, twenty years from now, when you have no opponents left to seek, you will surely feel very lonely, very miserable..."

This was Huo Tianqing's curse upon Yu Liancheng, and also his revenge against him.

When Yu Liancheng recalled this sentence, he already felt very lonely and very miserable...

It is indeed an indescribable feeling when opponents are hard to find and it is cold at the heights.

Perhaps he has not reached that realm yet, but in another five or ten years, I fear he truly will not be able to find an opponent.

Yu Liancheng's progress in the path of martial arts was too fast; in merely five years, he had become one of the handful of people who had trained their martial arts to the peak—a supreme master.

And the only ones who truly made him feel wary were Yu Luosha and Xiao Laotou.

But these two were already considered old men.

Yu Liancheng was still far from his peak; even if he was not their match now, as time passed, his cultivation would grow higher and higher.

Conversely, under the baptism of time, the hearts and bodies of Yu Luosha and Xiao Laotou would wither. One day, he would surpass these two.

This day would not be too far off.

And once he was truly invincible in the world, would there not be nothing left but endless desolation and loneliness?

Yu Liancheng suddenly thought of the Stone Gate.

Since the Stone Gate could bring him to this world, could it also take him to other worlds, or perhaps return him to the real world?

With a shift of his mind, a heavy, ancient portal, exuding an aura of antiquity, hung within his consciousness.

His consciousness surged like a tide toward the bronze gate; with a "creak," he suddenly discovered that he could actually push the Stone Gate open a little.

In the past, Yu Liancheng had attempted this many times, but the Stone Gate had remained unmoved, barely shaking at all.

The crack in the Stone Gate was a vast, hazy white, impossible to see clearly.

At once, his mood became somewhat agitated.

Perhaps if he pushed the Stone Gate completely open, he could travel to another world.

However, why could the Stone Gate suddenly be pushed?

Was it an increase in strength? Or some other reason?

With insufficient information, Yu Liancheng could not make a rash judgment.

His consciousness returned, and Yu Liancheng pushed the main door open. Outside the door, three people were looking at him; besides the Shangguan sisters, Gongsun Lan had also come.

Gongsun Lan saw the corpse of Huo Tianqing and sighed softly: "Actually, Huo Tianqing was a very useful talent; you could have completely held him in your hands."

Yu Liancheng said indifferently: "You mean to use Shangguan Feiyan to control him and have him at my beck and call?"

Gongsun Lan nodded and said: "Correct."

"People like Huo Tianqing could never fully obey a woman. He is an eagle that strikes the vast sky, but I do not have that much time to tame an eagle." Yu Liancheng shook his head and said: "By the way, how is the news I asked you to inquire about?"

Gongsun Lan said: "I have already found news about Huo Xiu."

Behind the Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion was a mountain; the mountain was not high, but its terrain was quite elegant.

The mountain forest carried the fresh fragrance of early spring leaves, and although the chill in the wind was heavy, the world was peaceful and tranquil.

There was no one, no sound. The clamor and troubles of the mortal world seemed to have been completely isolated outside the green mountains.

A figure suddenly drifted into the woods.

This was an old man.

He was short, lean, and sturdy, looking just like a wind-dried nut.

He was Huo Xiu.

Anyone in the pugilistic world with any insight knew that the one with the most real estate was the Hua Family of Jiangnan, the one with the most jewelry was the Guanzhong Yan Family, but the truly wealthiest person was likely Huo Xiu.

Huo Xiu was a person of extreme legend; he ventured into the world with empty hands and suddenly, miraculously, became the World's Number One Wealthy Person.

In fact, in the decades he spent in the Central Plains, he not only became the World's Number One Wealthy Person but also organized the massive "Qingyi One Hundred and Eight Towers," appointing himself as the Chief Leader.

Not only were his wealth and influence terrifyingly large, but he also possessed a set of unfathomable martial arts.

To have reached this point in life, he should have been satisfied.

But a person who is easily satisfied could never have reached this point.

Thus, Huo Xiu plotted the case of the Jinpeng Dynasty.

In his view, although this plan was not seamless, it was close enough.

Everything proceeded according to his plan: Lu Xiaofeng entered the game, Ximen Chuixue was invited out, Yan Tieshan was killed...

But the subsequent situation gradually slipped out of his control.

Dugu Yihe did not die, Huo Tianqing met with misfortune, Shangguan Feiyan disappeared...

Everything seemed shrouded in mist. Even when he investigated personally, he reached no conclusion.

He felt as if there were an invisible hand in the dark, manipulating everything from behind the scenes.

And the final target was very likely himself.

Passing through the woods, Huo Xiu had arrived in front of a small building.

In fact, this small building was the Qingyi First Tower, the main headquarters of the Green Clothes Tower.

In a certain sense, this was Huo Xiu's home.

He liked to stay in the First Tower; it contained countless fine wines and innumerable hidden mechanisms and weapons. No one could harm him in this building; it was safe to the extreme.

Huo Xiu entered the small building.

The small building was merely a cover; the mountain belly had actually been hollowed out. Along the stone steps, it seemed to lead to the underground.

Huo Xiu arrived at a corridor with practiced ease; at the end of the corridor was a door. Before he could push the door open, a voice came from inside the room.

"I heard you crossed hands with Ximen Chuixue."

This was a woman's voice, indescribably pleasant and melodious.

"Correct." Another clear, bright male voice rang out.

"Which of you won?" the female voice said.

"Naturally, I won." The male voice was very calm, as if defeating such a world-renowned swordsman was as simple to him as eating or drinking.

"How many moves did it take you to defeat Ximen Chuixue?" the female voice said again.

"I'm not sure, maybe one or two hundred moves," the male voice said indifferently.

"How is my swordsmanship compared to Ximen Chuixue?" the female voice said.

"A little worse, but not by too much," the male voice said.

"But... you defeated me with a single strike." The female voice seemed to carry unwillingness.

The male voice was silent for a moment: "Only because your sword still has a flaw; the flaw is only a tiny bit, but for a true master of the Sword Dao, a tiny bit is enough."

"A tiny flaw... a tiny flaw..." The female voice seemed to be murmuring; if not for Huo Xiu's profound internal energy and keen ears, he absolutely would not have been able to hear it clearly.

The male voice suddenly said: "Feiyan, do you understand Huo Xiu?"

"He is a strange person, and I cannot say I understand him very well." Another woman's voice rang out, sweet and charming. Huo Xiu could tell that this was the voice of Shangguan Feiyan.

The male voice said: "Oh? Elaborate."

Shangguan Feiyan said: "He is a very reclusive and eccentric person. He hates socializing, and he also hates women, so he remains a loner to this day."

The male voice said: "But a person should always have some hobbies, more or less."

Shangguan Feiyan said: "His only hobby is drinking; he not only likes to drink, but he also likes to collect all kinds of fine wines from all over the world."

The male voice suddenly chuckled, and his voice grew a little louder: "The guest surnamed Huo outside, come in; I don't care about anything else here, but there is plenty of wine."