Chapter 1051

But the two of them had long since been drained completely by that flower bud, not a drop left.

At this moment they couldn't even lift a finger, let alone get up.

They could only watch helplessly as Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou grabbed Shangguan Haitang in his hand.

Then he forcibly pressed her hand to grab the flower bud.

Shangguan Haitang had no way to resist; she grabbed the flower bud in an instant.

Immediately she felt her whole body tremble, her true essence like a wild horse with broken reins, rushing toward her palm.

"Hahaha! The Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, my Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom."

At this moment, in Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou's eyes, there was only the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, nothing else.

He watched Shangguan Haitang's true essence flow ceaselessly into that flower bud.

The blossom that had already stopped opening once more slowly began to bloom.

Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou was wild with joy, watching the blossom with immense anticipation.

"Zhu Wushi, let go of Haitang."

Just then, from the stone passage within the mountain's belly, a figure suddenly appeared.

This person wore a set of richly luxurious, exquisite clothing, with a portly bearing.

"Wan Sanqian, you've finally shown yourself."

The newcomer was none other than the richest man under heaven, Wan Sanqian, who had long been secretly working for Zhu Wushi.

He was enamored with Shangguan Haitang and had always kept close watch on her movements.

This time, seeing Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou lead the four great secret agents in disguise to this great snow mountain,

he feared something had happened to Shangguan Haitang, and so had followed.

But little did he know that every one of his actions had long been seen by Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou.

"I'll say it one more time: let go of Haitang."

Wan Sanqian looked at Shangguan Haitang in anguish, watching her appearance change rapidly, her black hair turning to white hair.

His heart was unbearably grieved as he spoke again to Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou.

"Heh! You, a mere wealthy man of the jianghu, dare to threaten me?"

Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou cast a cold glance at Wan Sanqian and said disdainfully.

"Hmph! Since you know I'm the richest man, you know there are many in this world who can be driven by money."

Wan Sanqian was no longer afraid of falling out with Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou.

The current Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou was no longer the man he had known—full of ideals and ambitions, open and sincere.

He had already become a madman willing to use his own adopted sons and daughters to water an evil, strange flower.

Yet the one he was touching was none other than Shangguan Haitang, whom Wan Sanqian himself adored most.

Watching Shangguan Haitang in agony, Wan Sanqian felt worse than if he himself had been killed.

As he spoke, four green-clad figures suddenly appeared behind Wan Sanqian.

These four were identical in height, shortness, fatness, and thinness, without the slightest difference.

Their heads were further covered with black gauze, making it impossible to tell whether this was one person or four!

837 Don't be fooled!

The Four Ghosts of Xiangxi!

These four were martial arts masters of the Xiangxi region.

It was rumored that a jianghu eccentric had taught them a unique Charm Shadow Divine Art.

This so-called Charm Shadow Divine Art appeared to be a movement-type martial art.

In truth, this divine art was actually a unique joint-strike formation.

Once the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi deployed this Charm Shadow Divine Art, they could form a battle formation.

Once an enemy was wrapped into the battle formation, not only would all qi strikes and attacks become utterly useless,

even the elemental force of heaven and earth could not be sensed in the slightest.

Then the enemy could only have their true essence drained alive, before being casually killed by the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi!

These Four Ghosts of Xiangxi, taken singly, were hardly considered jianghu masters.

But once they formed their formation, let alone the sect leaders of the Bada Sect, even the Eastern Depot's Commissioner Cao Zhengchun had once suffered a crushing defeat at their combined hands.

Now this Wan Sanqian, by a twist of fate, had hired these Four Ghosts of Xiangxi as his personal bodyguards.

With the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi present, this was his confidence in opposing Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou.

"Good! So the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi you've brought are quite skilled indeed."

Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou recognized the four and said lightly.

"Zhuge Shenhou, let go of Haitang, and everything can still be discussed."

Unless absolutely necessary, Wan Sanqian truly did not wish to fall out with Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou.

After all, Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou not only possessed extraordinary martial arts, but was also the current Emperor's uncle.

Most critically, this man was ruthless and vicious.

Anyone who offended him—even if he did not act out at the time—would in the end be made to suffer a fate worse than death behind the scenes.

Wan Sanqian had secretly done countless such dirty deeds for Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou.

He was also one of those who understood Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou's true nature best.

"Fine! I'll let her go right now."

Unexpectedly, Iron Gall Zhuge Shenhou was truly easy to talk to, and casually withdrew the soul-draining great art he had applied to Shangguan Haitang.

He himself even retreated several steps, yielding two body-lengths of distance.

"Haitang…"

Though Wan Sanqian was immensely shocked, he still ultimately cared about Shangguan Haitang's life and death.

He immediately prepared to push past the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi, wanting to rush in and rescue Shangguan Haitang.

In fact, this peculiar bluish flower bud, after consecutively draining Cheng Feifei, Duan Tianya, and Guihai Yidao of the three of them—

was now only a single step away from blooming in full.

Moreover, once one was absorbed by this flower bud, even someone with true qi as abundant as Cheng Feifei's could not break free in the slightest.

Shangguan Haitang's cultivation had never been high to begin with; at best she was only at the Earthly Immortal Realm.

After the time spent conversing with Iron Gall Divine Marquess, in truth Shangguan Haitang's true qi had long since been mostly drained away.

Even if Wan Sanqian rushed over, setting aside whether he could actually rescue Shangguan Haitang from that peculiar flower bud—

in terms of timing, it was already too late.

"Master Wan, don't fall for it!"

The Four Ghosts of Xiangxi, who had remained silent all this while, just as Wan Sanqian was about to push past them and go forward—

the one on the left immediately spoke up to advise,

"This Miss Shangguan has not only had her true qi drained completely dry, but even her essence, qi, and spirit have hardly any left.

Even if you go rescue her now, in truth she won't live much longer anyway."

"What? How could this be? Zhu Wushi!"

How could Wan Sanqian possibly believe such news? He roared at Iron Gall Divine Marquess,

"How could you bear it? Haitang is your goddaughter, and such a good one at that.

For your sake, she willingly became the so-called Master of the Number One Manor Under Heaven.

She ran about in all directions for you too—who knows how much effort she put in, how much blood she shed. How can your heart bear it?"

"Hehe! Brother Wan, you mustn't listen to the nonsense spouted by your Four Ghosts of Xiangxi."

Iron Gall Divine Marquess was not truly afraid of the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi; rather, he had originally planned to give up Shangguan Haitang in order to lure Wan Sanqian forward.

Once Wan Sanqian truly made a move to rescue Shangguan Haitang, he would most likely also be absorbed by that peculiar flower bud.

After that, all the internal force in his body and everything else would be drained away completely.

At that point, if the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi went to rescue their master,

four great enemies would be effortlessly dealt with directly, without a word.

The blooming of this flower that he desired would likely also come to pass.

Who could have expected that though the Four Ghosts of Xiangxi's cultivation was not high, their eyes were viciously sharp.

In one glance they saw that Shangguan Haitang had already been drained to utter exhaustion.