Chapter 477: Enormous Gains (III)

“Let’s go take a look!” Hong Yitang looked at the pagoda in the distance. “We collected some treasures on our last trip—everyone did. We all took some ancient books and baubles from the city lord manor. It wasn’t until we tried to take the Black Tortoise Seal that we infuriated the golden one, which led it to killing the guy from Celestial.”

The group of powerhouses had infiltrated the city lord manor last time. This time, he wanted to openly walk in for a look. As one of the eight families, Li Hao could visit the city lord manor as well. The guidebook said that he’d be treated with courtesy.

After some thought, the young man decided to go for a look. There were many places in this city that he’d yet to explore. The city lord manor was one place that he was very curious about.

Three humans and a dog headed in the appropriate direction. Panther was a bit uncomfortable and not the most willing. It didn’t want to go there, that place was terrifying!

However, Li Hao wanted to go, so the dog had no choice but to follow.

......

The city lord manor.

Battle Heaven’s city lord manor stood next to the Tortoise Pagoda. It occupied a large expanse of land and the front doors were open. When Li Hao and the rest passed by, he couldn’t help but look at the pagoda next to it. A massive turtle was carved on it—light sparkled off its shell. It was the source of the illumination in the ancient city.

The three were met by three Silver Armors when they arrived.

“Troop Leader Li!” The one in front hailed Li Hao, more emotion in his voice compared to before. It seemed to hint at mirth. “We’re going to the eastern gate to resume defense duties. Come join us for a chat when you’re done!”

Li Hao blinked, then beamed widely. “Troop Leader Jiang, you guys are alright?”

“Of course!”

The three troop leaders were the ones that’d safeguarded the eastern gate. Li Hao had thought they would disappear upon the wind after their reawakening, much like the last Silver Armor. But here they were, alive and well. Well, alright, perhaps alive was the wrong word to use. These three were fine, however. It was quite a surprise.

The note of joy in the Seventh Troop leader’s voice was a marked difference from before. “Then we’re off, you guys go in. Director General Wang from Security is waiting for you inside.”

“Director general...?” Li Hao repeated with surprise.

“Mmhmm, that office is in charge of the city’s day-to-day safety. He’s the one you guys saw before. The military doesn’t normally oversee this, that falls under his jurisdiction. He’s also in charge of securing the city lord manor. He’s been in charge of managing this area since the city lord left...”

Li Hao finally understood! The Gold Armor in residence here wasn’t the city lord, but someone akin to the inspector general of the Inspectorate. This analogy delivered clear understanding. Then the commander of the Ninth Division was likely someone of Huang Yun’s role, or perhaps lower like Hu Dingfang? The one sitting inside was the equivalent of Kong Jie. As for which Gold Armor held a higher status, that was difficult for Li Hao to determine.

The three thought for a bit and were about to walk inside when a voice ripple traveled out. “Only Li Hao need enter!”

He Yong rolled his eyes. Hong Yitang laughed and didn’t insist on anything. He stood by the side of the door and didn’t enter. Li Hao walked in with some apprehension, passing through the square that came into view first.

An open hall loomed moments later. A Gold Armor sat inside with a massive seal on the table in front of him. Out of the corner of his eye, Li Hao saw that it resembled a turtle. Was this the Black Tortoise Seal?

Light glittered in the Gold Armor’s eyes—one couldn’t tell if he truly had eyes or not, so it was rather frightening.

“Time is merciless. The Li family of the day and descendants of the Sword Sovereign have declined to these depths...”

A wordless Li Hao didn’t know what to say.

“Battle Heaven had gone completely quiet,” the Gold Armor changed the topic. “It would’ve disappeared into history in a few more years! But someone seemed to break some sort of seal a few years ago and suffused the barren soil of Silver Moon with energy. We recovered some of our consciousness and revitalized the city.”

The rise of the supernatural!

Li Hao understood what the Gold Armor was referring to and why Silver Moon had become such impoverished territory. The ancient cities had absorbed the energy and caused there to be a shortage of mysterious power.

“We wouldn’t have thought anything else if we’d fully fallen asleep. But since we’ve reawakened, we would like to accomplish some things.” The director general of Security seemed to be looking at Li Hao. “As part of the bloodline of the eight guardian clans and wielder of Stellaris, I do not wish to speak to you of responsibilities or obligations. The times have changed, so none of that matters anymore. Each generation has their own purpose. We have ours, you have yours! Restoring our glory and battling the firmament once more is no longer your responsibility or obligation!

“But since we share enough of a destiny to meet at Battle Heaven, I would like to ask you for a favor. Of course, I will compensate you accordingly.”

“Please go ahead, general!” Li Hao finally responded.

“I am not a general... but it’s fine, you can call me whatever you wish. The eight guardian clans have eight heritage weapons! These ancient weapons must still exist as they are indestructible! Your Stellaris is one of them. One of the other seven is in Battle Heaven. The other six are lost. I do not know if they’re in the other cities or if the descendants of the eight families took them away...

“If possible, I would like you to collect these weapons.”

“What use is there apart from them possessing formidable might?” Li Hao asked curiously.

“They are keys... Of course, it doesn’t have much to do with you.”

Oi, you talk like I don’t hold Stellaris. Of course it has much to do with me!

“Does the general mean to say that I should collect these weapons and give them to you?”

“No,” the director general responded ponderously. “Just lend them to me for a bit, I will return them to you after! There’s no rush as countless eons have passed. It’s just a lingering wish of mine.”

Li Hao blinked, then suddenly asked, “Does the general know about a diagram of the eight trigrams and a stone door...”

The director general was deathly still before finally responding, “Have you... seen that place?”

“Yes!”

“Ai!” he sighed. “It looks like... they truly didn’t come back! Let’s set the diagram aside—there’s more than one stone door. There’s eight, but I’m not sure what lies behind the doors. The city lord might know. I think that there might be some heritage left behind by the powerhouses of the eight clans behind the doors. In our age, promising talents from the families were transported through them to receive some benefits.

“Of course, it’s hard to say now since it’s been too long! Your Stellaris is still sealed. That’s good, as you wouldn’t be able to use it if it’s unsealed. The stone door... Don’t be in a rush to go through the door of the Lis if you see it. You’re so weak that unexpected danger might occur after you cross it!

“As for the eight diagrams... you should not explore that yet. It’s too dangerous for you—you’ll easily lose your life!” The director general added, “And don’t try to unseal it either...”

“That’s a seal?” Li Hao blinked. “But someone has destroyed the legacy of the eight families. Everyone else is dead apart from me. I see seven lines out of the eight in the diagram being held by one person!”

The director general quieted again. “Is that so? Then the person manipulating the lines should be a descendant of the eight. Outsiders cannot control them. It looks like traitors have appeared in the eight guardian clans after so much time has passed... That makes sense, their calling is too far removed! It is normal to forget their ancestors’ glories. There is no need to demand too much from them.”

It would seem that the director general kept a very open mind and was magnanimous about things. However, he still said after some thought, “You must be careful if this is the case! That person is certain to be strong! He will come for you if you don’t go for him. He’ll attempt to take your life since he knows certain things!”

“He’s tried to kill me multiple times.” Li Hao nodded. “He did so from the shadows at first and didn’t mean to kill me in the beginning. He wanted to use a bloody shadow to devour my bloodline...”

“He just wants to unseal Stellaris.” The director general knew quite a lot. “Stellaris is the heart of the eight ancient weapons. If Stellaris is strong enough, it might be able to replace the other seven if they’re lost.

“It looks like this person understands quite a lot. Otherwise, it would be too foolish to make his attempts while lacking the Black Tortoise Seal of the Wangs.”

Li Hao was confused by the conversation because he knew too little. Ying Hongyue knew more, and it looked like he might be one of the eight!

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Well, maybe not! What if there was someone else behind him? Who knew?

“Be careful.” The director general said nothing else or offered advice on how to withstand Ying Hongyue. “I’ve seen the bloody shadows you speak of, it’s those things outside the city, yes? Those are blood puppets and nothing good. Be careful of backlash if you keep a blood puppet around! They come from devouring the blood qi of others. Prolonged nurturing comes at the cost of one’s own health. Of course, there are scoundrels who borrow the vitality of others to raise their blood puppets. The people outside might be the subordinates of the one you speak of, or their enemy.”

“They’re all from Red Moon. The leader of Red Moon is the scoundrel that I speak of!”

“It would seem that these people have laid hands on the legacy of a deviated path. They do not walk the true path,” concluded the director general. “Kill them if you can. If not... there’s no need to do anything. They’ll be caught in their own trap soon enough as they’ll be the death of themselves! Avoid them, they’re quite strong. I saw that some of the blood puppets outside are fine specimens. Although it hurts others, it benefits the master.”