Book 9 Chapter 4 | Ink East

B9C4: Crisis

Slowly --

The gate opens.

Di Nai sees that 3 of the 4 soul jade slips on the top shelf of the counter have already shattered, which means his last 3 brothers are already dead. He falls silent at this moment then slowly enters the room and performs the hand sign for shutting the gate.

He stands alone in front of the old-wood counter, looking at the 3 shattered soul jade slips.

When the 9 Purple Demon aquatic dragons were young, they had to run from place to place unceasingly in the dangerous underwater Xiuyao world. Whether in killing, robbing or fleeing, the 9 brothers always stuck together. Their brotherhood was even more important than their lives.

However, now, 8 of the 9 brothers have died and only one of them remains.

“Ha-ha …” Di Nai laughs in a very low voice. His laughter is very soft. Afterwards, he is unexpectedly all smiles: “Brothers, at that time the 9 of us were roaming the underwater Xiuyao world in such a wild, glorious manner, but now all of you are already gone. The only one of us left in this world is me, your 9th brother.”

Di Nai sits down at will. A bottle of wine appears in his hand out of thin air. He then drinks a mouthful and says slowly to the shattered soul jade slips: “Brothers, we didn’t suffer any big losses for so many years, but several years ago, 8th brother died.”

Di Nai frowns because it is exactly Di Tong’s death that led to a train of events which successively caused the deaths of his brothers.

“After 8th brother died, 2nd brother also died. Then 3 of you died continuously on that black rock island. In just a short time, 5 of you died successively. But even though we knew the killers were Hou Fei and Qin Yu, we feared that loose immortal and didn’t dare to kill them to avenge our brothers’ deaths. Every time I think about this, I feel like a knife is piercing my heart.”

Di Nai’s breathing starts to quiver. He then takes another mouthful of wine.

“But today … the last 3 of you have died as well. Dead, all of you are already dead … I can still vaguely see the images of the 9 of us before my eyes, but now there’s only me left. I … would still have no brothers even if I searched the entire world.”

After saying so, Di Nai slowly drinks wine in silence. There is unexpectedly a hint of relaxation on his face as he enjoys the fine wine, an expression of complete disregard and unconcern. Now he is totally different from he was before.

To each of the Di brothers, his brothers are his greatest constraint.

Now all of Di Nai’s brothers are already dead, what else can possibly restrict him?

A barefooted man does not have to worry about shoes, as the saying goes. Di Nai’s 8 brothers are dead so he is like a barefooted man.

Di Nai stands up and looks at the shattered soul jade slips with a brilliant smile!

“Brothers, since all of you are dead, I won’t care anymore. In the past I didn’t dare to deal with Qin Yu for fear that I would embroil the living among you. But now with only me left in the world, I don’t need to worry about anything. From today onwards, I’ll definitely live well. Don’t worry, brothers. Those killers … none of them will be able to feel safe.”

The coldness in his eyes looks like it comes from the 9th level of Hell.

Afterwards, he leaves the keeping place of the soul jade slips.

What are the most fearsome enemies? They are not the crazed, bloodthirsty people, but the cool-headed people with nothing to lose whose only goal is to seek revenge. This is the most fearsome kind of enemy.

In the past, the Nine Demons Hall had to restrain itself because several of the Di brothers were still living. However, now that 8 of them have died, as the only survivor, Di Nai no longer fears anything. The most dangerous thing is, after experiencing such a drastic change and suffering such a blow, Di Nai does not go mad. On the contrary, he has become more clear-headed than ever.

Or perhaps, it can be said that he has become cold and cruel.

……

At the moment, in the Wilderness on the Qian Long continent,

“My fellow Xiuzhenists, now we already know where the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion is, then when are we going to go open it?” Reverend Yan Xu looks at everybody and asks.

Yan Mo says frowningly: “When are we going to open it? The Qian Long continent is about 200 million li away from that Golden Tree Island. It will take an early Kongming stage expert almost a year to reach that island using his normal speed. But I don’t know about the power levels of the individuals sent by each side so I can’t fix a time either …”

Yi Da says with a cold smile: “My Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon’s men will definitely arrive on the Golden Tree Island in one and a half year.”

“I will need 3 years to reach the Golden Tree Island.” Yan Mo’s words make everybody jump.

“Yan Mo, given your speed, perhaps it’ll take you just a month or two to arrive. Why do you still need 3 years?” Azure Dragon asks. He certainly can guess how fast Yan Mo is. If Yan Mo flies at top speed, even a month will be enough.

Yan Mo says with a nod: “Hong Luan is going to undergo the 6-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation in a while. Dragon Rocky’s 6-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation may also come anytime. So, we better take time a bit.”

“3 years, then so be it.” Qin Yu says with a nod.

Hou Fei has already passed the 6-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation but Xiao Hei is going to undergo this tribulation in a half year so Qin Yu is not worried about opening the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion right away.

“Good, that settles it. 3 years later, we’re going to gather on the Golden Tree Island then go into the Chaotic Astral Ocean together to open the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion. Is this okay?” Yan Mo looks at everybody and says.

Having been waiting for many years, who would mind waiting for 3 more years? In addition, it requires all the 9 jade swords to open the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion. The mansion cannot be opened if any of the jade swords is missing, and each side has at least a jade sword so naturally nobody worries that someone will open the mansion in advance.

Immediately, Reverend Yan Xu, Yi Da, Qin Yu, Azure Dragon and Old Freak Three-Eyed agree with this plan. Afterwards, they all prepare to return.

When everybody is about to part, suddenly --

“Hey, brother Qin Yu, I got to warn you about something.” Yan Mo says to Qin Yu.

“Oh, what is it, brother Yan Mo?” Qin Yu asks smilingly.

Yan Mo replies by asking: “Brother Qin Yu, have you ever thought about the consequences of me killing the 3 Di brothers? To my knowledge, you and Hou Fei killed some of their brothers and now there is still Di Nai left in the Nine Demons Hall.”

Qin Yu’s face changes color at once.

Just now, when they were discussing the matter of the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion, even though the 3 Di brothers were killed, he only thought that they were killed by Yan Mo and that, given Yan Mo’s power, Di Nai would not be able to get revenge. He did not think about anything else.

However, now, after being warned by Yan Mo, he realizes that the situation is bad for him.

“This Yan Mo fella killed Di Long and 2 other Di brothers so there’s only Di Nai left in the Nine Demons Hall. In the past the 4 of them cared about each other’s live so they didn’t dare get revenge on me and Hou Fei. But now it’s hard to tell what’s going to happen.” Qin Yu frowns deeply.

“Di Nai’s power is average so he can’t kill Hou Fei and me, but … there are still father, big brother and 2nd brother!”

At this moment he has a bad feeling.

Di Long and the other experts also know his father’s and brothers’ identities. Previously, the Di brothers did not dare to hurt his relatives, but now the situation has changed because there is only Di Nai remaining.

“You’re really stupid, Qin Yu. Why did you reveal your identity completely at that time?” Qin Yu scolds himself angrily in his mind.

However, in the past he was so open about his identity because he thought that the Nine Demons Hall absolutely would not dare to touch his relatives without permission. Moreover, he came back to the Qin dynasty to live together with his relatives so the powers’ leaders such as Di Long would definitely have found out who he is even if he had tried to conceal his identity.

“Yan Mo, you killed the 3 of them, but I got to face the consequences.” Qin Yu feels bitter in his mouth.

Yan Mo says with an innocent face: “Brother Qin Yu, how can I be blamed for this? Don’t worry. I won’t let you take the blame. I’ll immediately tell my subordinates to spread the news that I killed the 3 Di brothers, all right?”

Qin Yu lets out a sigh.

So what if Di Nai knows that Yan Mo killed his 3 brothers?

Yan Mo is even stronger than Azure Dragon so Di Nai stands no chance of avenging the deaths of Di Long and the other two. Therefore, he probably will not set himself the goal of taking revenge on Yan Mo. Most likely he will vent his hatred on his relatives.

“Don’t worry, Qin Yu. From here on in, the Nine Demons Hall no longer exists in the underwater Xiuyao world. I’ll immediately send subordinates to tell the caves under it that there’s only Di Nai left and that it’s already finished. Those several caves will be divided among us.” Azure Dragon says at once.

Old Freak Three-Eyed also says with a nod: “Now there are only the Azure Dragon Palace, the Blue Water Mansion and the Stellar Tower in the underwater Xiuyao world. The Nine Demons Hall is no more.”

With just a few sentences, Azure Dragon and Old Freak Three-Eyed have pronounced the termination of the Nine Demons Hall.

“I’ll send some guardians of the Azure Dragon Palace to hunt Di Nai down. As long as he’s killed, he won’t be a threat to your relatives’ safety.” Azure Dragon quickly understands why Qin Yu is worried.

Old Freak Three-Eyed also gives the same guarantee.

“Brother Azure Dragon, Grand Founder, thank you very much.” Qin Yu’s eyes flash with a tinge of coldness.

Afterwards, he takes a look at everybody: “Since the matter of the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion has been decided, let’s meet again on the Golden Tree Island 3 years later. I want to make a request that no Xiuyaoists are allowed to enter the Qin dynasty.”

“From now on, any Xiuyaoists not from the Stellar Tower entering the Qin dynasty will definitely be killed.” Qin Yu says in a cold voice.

He looks at everybody, saying: “Brother Azure Dragon, Grand Founder and Yan Mo, that’s the warning I want to give you in advance. I think that Di Nai will surely send large forces to harm my relatives. Given the Nine Demons Hall’s history, it must have a bunch of loyal subordinates. I definitely can’t afford to make any mistakes.”

“Good, this is certainly no problem. As the matter of the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion has been decided for the moment, I’ll also return to the Azure Dragon Palace. Plus, the subordinates I sent here were already killed by Yan Mo’s forces.” Azure Dragon says immediately.

Old Freak Three-Eyed also says with a nod: “The matter has been decided so I’ll go back to the Blue Water Mansion too. I’ll take the Blue Water Mansion’s forces back with me. Later, if any Xiuyaoists enter the Qin dynasty, just kill them as you wish.” He also supports Qin Yu.

“Don’t worry. The Wilderness’s demonic beasts won’t go into the territories of mortals for no reason. Besides, I’ll give a strict order. If someone violates the order, even if you don’t kill them, I’ll kill them.” Yan Mo assures Qin Yu too.

After the 3 of them gave him a guarantee, Qin Yu no longer has any misgivings.

“Thank you very much. This matter is serious so I can’t waste any time. I’m leaving now.” He says to everybody with folded hands.

“Goodbye.” Everybody present knows how anxious he is at the moment.

Qin Yu, Hou Fei and Hei Yu then fly towards the Qin dynasty extremely fast without delay.

“Azure Dragon, Three-Eyed, help me spread the news that I killed Di Long and 2 other Di brothers. Maybe Di Nai is stupid enough to come here to kill me, in which case I’ll be a little help to Qin Yu.” Yan Mo says to Azure Dragon and Old Freak Three-Eyed.

……

The Qin dynasty’s Imperial Palace, Pure Forest Garden,

On a stone table under a willow, there is a chessboard with various crisscrossed lines. A refined old man wearing black scholarly clothes and a silk headscarf and holding a feather fan and a blue-clad long-bearded middle-aged man are sitting opposite each other at the table quietly playing the game of Go. Fengyuzi is sitting on one side watching in silence.

After thinking for a long time, that blue-clad middle-aged man says smilingly: “Xu Yuan, your Go skill is becoming more and more profound.”

This old man, who is waving a black-feathered fan, is none other than Xu Yuan. Unlike Qin De, he has not achieved much on the path of practice so now, near his sixties, he has started to show signs of age.

“There’s no need to overstate my skill, Supreme Emperor. I’m still far inferior to Miss Li’er.” Xu Yuan says with a sigh. “I never thought that after returning from more than 10 years of wandering and sightseeing outside, I would be able to meet such a wonderful girl.”

In the past, after the destruction of the Xiang clan and the establishment of the Qin dynasty, Xu Yuan, a meritorious official, unexpectedly resigned and began to travel the world. He spent over 10 years visiting various scenic places with his servants. He only returned recently and met Qin De soon afterwards.

On the outside, Qin De and Xu Yuan are a master and a servant, but they are actually like brothers.

“Li’er? Ha-ha, looks like you also heard about Li’er’s reputation while travelling outside.” Qin De says with loud laughter.

“That goes without saying, Supreme Emperor. Miss Li’er continuously beat the capital’s God of Go and even the top figures of the Go world so everybody in the Go community knows about her reputation. Even though I was travelling the remotest corners of the world, her name was still resounding in my ears like thunder.” Xu Yuan says loudly.

Qin De observes Xu Yuan’s appearance for a long time then says with a sigh: “More than 30 years has passed so quickly since Yu’er came to Misty Villa at the age of 6. At that time you were still young but now the hair on your temples has already turned white a little.”

When Qin Yu was 6, Xu Yuan was in the prime of his youth.

“During the past over 10 years, I tried to find you but you were travelling outside and there was absolutely no news about you. Last time Yu’er made Base Building Pills, maybe there are some left. Even though you haven’t practiced, after you take them, they can still improve your longevity.” Qin De says with a smile.

At this moment, 3 blurs come rushing.

Afterwards, Qin Yu, Hou Fei and Hei Yu appear in front of Qin De and the other two.

Seeing Qin Yu, Qin De immediately stands up, as does Xu Yuan on one side.

“This is Uncle Xu, Yu’er. Your Uncle Xu just finished his over 10 years of travelling outside too.” When Qin De has just stopped talking, Xu Yuan makes a wave of his feather fan and says with an indifferent smile: “Xiao Yu, judging from your expression, it seems something serious has happened. Tell us about it.”

End of b9c4.

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