Around the lake were erected tents. There were a generous number of figures within them, and faint but lively noises could be heard.
These figures were naturally the Gu Clan members that were guarding this place. The original liveliness in Mysterious Spirit Island had already swiftly faded after the end of the fight for the Life Mysterious Spirit Fruit, and the various factions had already left one after another. Only the Gu Clan had stayed in order to protect Gu Yan as she trained.
A green boulder towered behind the campgrounds. A beautiful figure sat there peacefully with her fine black hair hanging down. Faintly, wave after wave of boundless Yuan Power fluctuations continuously radiated from within her body.
Around the green boulder, many Gu Clan disciples constantly kept watch over this place, while occasionally chatting in low voices.
“The Yuan Power coming from elder sister Gu Yan’s body is getting stronger and stronger. I think that it would not be long before she’s able to break through to the initial Profound Life stage.” Dressed in red, Gu Ying passed an envious remark as she looked at Gu Yan, who was in the midst of her training.
“Ha ha, if elder sister Gu Yan is able to break through to initial Profound Life stage, our Gu Clan would have a better chance at victory during the Martial Gathering this time.” Beside Gu Ying, a Gu Clan disciple voiced his agreement while laughing.
“That’s true, big brother Yuntian and elder sister Mengqi are both experts at the peak of the initial Profound Life stage. If elder sister Gu Yan joins their ranks, our Gu Clan will not require any external help this time.”
“However, being overly optimistic isn’t good; the other four clans are not easy to deal with. That Shentu Clan is even more formidable, having won the previous martial gathering. Iron Asura Shentu Jue’s name is well known in Heaven Wind Sea Region. I’ve heard that fellow has recently broken through to advance Profound Life stage. He truly is a monster.”
“True. Wei Zhen of the Wei Clan has also long reached the peak of the Profound Life stage. His strength isn’t something that the likes of Wei Song can compare to.”
“Looks like the martial gathering this time will be rather intense…”
While these few Gu Clan disciples whispered amongst each other, Gu Ya squatted beside the lake. Her eyes continuously gazed at the calm and rippleless lake surface, while her young hands fidgeted with the grass and leaves beside her. From time to time, a sliver of worry would flash in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, this fellow isn’t as simple as you think. Even if there is danger at the bottom of the lake, it would not be able to hurt him.”
While Gu Ya was in a daze, a voice rang out from behind her. Subsequently, she saw Gu Ying standing behind her with her arms folded, grinning slightly as she spoke.
Upon hearing this, Gu Ya also nodded her head. After some hesitation, she replied, “But, he has already been down there for half a month…”
“At this time, it would be best to wait calmly. Furthermore, these is nothing you can do. If you’re unable to feel at ease, when elder sister Gu Yan successfully advances, you can ask her to help you conduct a search.” Gu Ying said. Perhaps, due to being violently intimidated by Lin Dong previously, her current attitude towards Gu Ya was much better than before.
“Then… let’s continue waiting.”
Gu Ya hesitated, before nodding her head.
……
Time quietly passed in this quiet manner. In the blink of an eye, another half a month had passed. Within this time, there were still no traces of Lin Dong coming out from the bottom of the lake. This made quite a few Gu Clan disciples have some doubt in their hearts, however, there was no one that dared to go down and search. Fortunately, a joyous event had occurred as the end of the month arrived. Gu Yan’s training had gradually reached its end.
Bang Bang.
Wave after wave of boundless and seemingly corporeal Yuan Power crazily radiated from Gu Yan, who was seated atop the green boulder. The pressure from the Yuan Power made faces of quite a few of the surrounding Gu Clan disciples show some excitement. They clearly understood that this was the sign that Gu Yan was about to have a breakthrough.
The Yuan Power pressure continued to increase. Under the pressure, the few Gu Clan disciples nearby had no choice but to retreat some distance away, before feeling a slight relief from the pressure.
Bang Rumble!
The pressure lasted for several minutes. Subsequently, the boundless Yuan Power that had radiated out suddenly retracted into Gu Yan’s body at an astonishing speed. While the Yuan Power was retracting, thunder like sounds were faintly discernable.
The Yuan Power finally completely retracted into Gu Yan’s body, and all the noises that had previously rang out spontaneously ended. However, this strange silence only lasted for a few seconds. Subsequently, Gu Yan’s eyes, which had been tightly shut for a month, suddenly opened.
Bang!
The instant her eyes opened, an exceptionally tyrannical aura instantly exploded from within her body. The resulting impact caused giant waves that seemingly blotted the skies to form on the surface of the lake, before the lake water poured down from the sky like a storm.
With a wave of her jadelike hand, Yuan Power swept out, flinging away the storm that was pouring down in torrents. At this moment, an unconcealable joy gushed out on her usually cold and elegant face.
“Congratulations elder sister Gu Yan.” The surrounding Gu Clan disciples rapidly crowded around, happiness showing on their faces as they offered their congratulations.
Gu Yan’s mood at this moment was obviously great, and a smile surfaced on her usually cold and indifferent face. She nodded her head slightly, before her gaze turned and locked onto the lake. With some amazement, she asked, “He hasn’t come up yet?”
“Yes, big brother Lin Dong has been down there for a month. During this period, there wasn’t any activity. Elder sister Gu Yan, do you want to go down and take a look?” Gu Ya repeatedly nodded her head.
Gu Yan pondered for a while before saying, “Let’s wait for a while. Lin Dong has many tricks up his sleeve, and won’t easily suffer a mishap. If he has his own plans for being down there, and I accidentally startled him, it would not be good.”
Upon hearing her reply, Gu Ya could only nod her head.
“Has anything else happened during this time?” Turning her head, Gu Yan looked towards Gu Ying and the rest and asked.
“There is. We’ve received a Yuan spirit transmission from the Gu Clan. However, we still need elder sister Gu Yan to open it.” Gu Ying hurriedly nodded her head. With a clench of her jadelike hand, a blood red jade piece appeared in a flash.
“Yuan Spirit transmission?”
Gu Yan’s umber black brows faintly wrinkled as she received the blood jade. As she clasp it in her hand, her mind moved, and she read the message contained within. Subsequently, her face rapidly turned furious and ice-cold.
“What is it elder sister Gu Yan?” Upon seeing the changes of her face, Gu Ying and the rest got a fright, and asked hurriedly.
“Big brother Yuntian has been seriously injured by someone…” Gu Yan’s frosty voice rang out. An unconcealable fury was contained within it.
“What?”
“Big brother Yuntian was actually seriously injured? He possess the strength to attack the advanced Profound Life stage.”
“Exactly who could have done such a thing?”
When Gu Yan’s words rang out, an uproar immediately swept through the surrounding Gu Clan disciples. Their faces turned ugly as they cried out in alarm.
“It is probably the Wei Clan.” Gu Yan replied while tightly clenching her jadelike hands. She had recalled what Wei Song had said that day. It turned out that they really had taken action towards Gu Yuntian.
“Those despicable fellows! If big brother Yuntian has suffered serious injuries, our Gu Clan has lost an expert for the martial gathering! The Wei Clan has definitely done this deliberately!” Gu Ying furiously exclaimed.
Gu Yan’s umber black brows tightly furrowed as she muttered, “ If big brother Yuntian is unable to participate, it will be difficult for our Gu Clan to achieve a good result in this martial gathering…”
“Elder sister Gu Yan, the various clans are able to invite a single external helper for the martial gathering. This time, our Gu Clan has not invited anyone yet…” A Gu Clan disciple spoke out with some hesitation.
“There isn’t even a month left before the martial gathering starts. During this time, I’m afraid we won’t be able to find an external helper that is both trustworthy and powerful.” Gu Yan shook her head faintly. However, at this moment, she suddenly paused. She raised her head to look at the Gu Clan disciples around her, and noticed that they had turned their gazes towards the calm and tranquil lake.
“Lin Dong is a pretty good choice... if we’re able to request for his help, he might be able to replace big brother Yuntian.”
Gu Yan’s heart faintly shook. Soon after, she bitterly smiled and said, “Lin Dong only has a working relationship with us. Given his character, I’m afraid that it won’t be easy to invite him to be the Gu Clan’s external helper.”
“Lin Dong doesn’t like trouble, however, he is a pragmatic person. If we’re able to convince him with some benefits, it should not be difficult to gain his assistance.” Gu Ying said.
“Benefits?”
“The family that wins the martial gathering will get three quotas to enter the Chaotic Tower right… I believe that he should be interested.” Gu Ying said. She believed that no one would be able to reject such an enticement. After all, in Heaven Wind Sea Region, countless people desired to enter the Chaotic Tower. However, the Chaotic Tower was guarded by the five great clans. Every year, only three people could enter. This martial gathering was in fact the method to determine which family would have the three quotas.
Gu Yan faintly wrinkled her black brows. Three quotas were already extremely limited, but the benefits were indeed extremely great. However, she did not know if this was enough to move Lin Dong. She knew that the latter was extremely stubborn, and Gu Yan already had a taste of this before…
“We’ll wait here for Lin Dong to come out. At that time, we’ll mention it to him. If he’s interested, we’ll invite him as the external helper for our Gu Clan. If he remains unmoved, we’ll think of another way.”
Hearing Gu Yan’s words, Gu Ying and the rest nodded their heads; this was all they could do for now...