Book 04 Chapter 144: It’s Real This Time

Clack!

When Gu Hai played the last move, many white Go stones immediately flew off the Go board.

“Congratulations. You solved the thirty-one line-pair,” Old Mister Guan Qi said with a sigh.

Gu Hai lowered his head to look at the Go board. His Go skills seemed to have undergone a qualitative improvement. When he looked at the thirty-one line-pair Go board again, it appeared like a vast expanse of flat land where he could see everything clearly.

“The thirty-one? Excellent thirty-one. I would like to play the thirty-two. I wonder where the thirty-two is?” Gu Hai raised his head to look at the Old Mister Guan Qi image.

The Old Mister Guan Qi image smiled faintly, and his figure faded away.

The solved Go puzzle suddenly released white light and merged into the surrounding golden veins.

Solved. Gu Hai solved the puzzle.

Solving the Thirty-One Line-Pair World Go Puzzle changed the situation in the Thousand Islands Sea completely.

Rumble…!

The seafloor quickly started moving wildly.

The angels and vampires’ battle already caused an enormous commotion in the sky. Now, the crust shifted, causing an even stronger commotion at the bottom of the sea.

Boom!

Just at the moment, one of the one thousand freshly merged Go puzzles suddenly shrank and condensed. Four Gu Hai images merged. Many of the Go stones on the Go puzzle were removed as it condensed slowly into a nineteen line-pair Go board. That Gu Hai image also became more distinct.

“This is the Fifth Cycle’s Go puzzle? A Go soul clone?” Gu Hai felt slightly startled.

Although the surrounding crust’s movements increased, Gu Hai focused on this condensed image instead.

Gu Hai’s consciousness entered this Fifth Cycle’s Go soul clone, and that small clone image suddenly opened its eyes.

“Oh? It already formed a soul body?” Gu Hai was somewhat surprised.

He could feel a solid body from that Fifth Cycle clone. It was no longer just a plain image.

“If so, perhaps…?” Gu Hai suddenly narrowed his eyes.

With a flip of his hand, a coffin appeared before him. It was the coffin containing the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor’s body.

Gu Hai looked at the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor’s body with narrowed eyes. Then, he did his best to control that Fifth Cycle Go soul clone.

Buzz!

That Fifth Cycle Go soul clone strangely came out of Gu Hai’s forehead space and entered the forehead of the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor’s body.

“It really went in?” Gu Hai’s face lit up.

Buzz!

The eyes of the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor’s body suddenly opened. The moment they opened, a baleful aura surged out.

“Body control? Initially, I intended to draw over the heavenly lightning, which would be sufficient. However, since I can control the body, it is even better.” Gu Hai let out a drawn-out breath.

“Rise!” Gu Hai said.

The Slaughter Heavenly Emperor’s body squirmed but failed to sit up.

“That’s right. The Go soul clone is not a complete Go soul yet. I still need a lot of practice to figure out how to control this body.” Gu Hai’s face sank.

——

At the same time:

The battle between Yehua’s and the Bat Ancestor’s factions was unusually ferocious. Huge waves soared up everywhere within five thousand kilometers, filling the sky with water.

Three pairs of wings had appeared behind Yehua long ago. His strength suddenly increased when he threw a palm strike at the Bat Ancestor.

Boom!

The two had been evenly matched earlier when Yehua’s strength suddenly overwhelmed the Bat Ancestor and sent him flying.

“What? Why did your strength suddenly increase?” the Bat Ancestor exclaimed as his expression changed.

The Bat Ancestor looked up and saw another pair of wings behind Yehua.

“Eight wings? Upper Heavenly Palace Realm? That’s not right. Your fourth pair of wings is illusory. What enchanted treasure did you use?” the Bat Ancestor said coldly as his expression changed.

“Humph! There’s no need for you to bother figuring it out. I just need to be able to kill you!” Yehua said coldly.

Boom!

Just as the two were about to start fighting again, a rogue wave soared into the sky, overwhelming all the waves that everyone kicked up. The vampires and angels immediately paused.

“What’s going on? Why did such a strong force come rushing up from the seabed?” Yehua’s face sank.

As Yehua spoke, he waved his hand.

Boom!

The sea parted in the middle, revealing the seabed shuddering.

“An underwater earthquake?” everyone exclaimed in shock.

They traced the source of the quake to where the shaking was the most violent. Then, they saw a slowly shrinking light platform.

Gu Hai had solved the Go puzzle. Now, the Go stone that was Nine-Five Island had completely left the Thousand Islands Sea’s ritual array. The remnants of the Go board here slowly vanished along with the light platform, merging into the ritual array covering the entire Thousand Islands Sea.

Gu Hai stood on the light platform. The moment he stepped out, the light platform would vanish.

While he stood on the light platform, there was a huge flying ship at the side.

Gu Hai looked coldly at the experts in the sky.

When Yehua parted the sea, he immediately exposed Gu Hai’s location.

“Gu Hai?” the Bat Ancestor suddenly roared with a fierce expression.

“Gu Hai, so, you were hiding here?!” the Chang Clan elders also roared with fierce expressions.

“Hahahaha! Gu Hai, so you were here?! We put in so much effort looking for you, but it turned out that you were here all along. Where is your Dongfang Bubai?” Yehua showed a fierce expression.

At this moment, everyone looked at Gu Hai with hatred. They all seemed poised to pounce over and tear him apart in the next moment.

Gu Hai was alone, but many powerful experts were on the other side.

Suddenly, these angels and demons seemed to unite in their desire to tear Gu Hai apart.

Gu Hai revealed a faint, cold smile.

“The Bat Ancestor? Yehua? Ha! You came really quickly!” Gu Hai sneered.

“Of course, we have to be fast. Humph! We will repay the humiliation of the past today. You can forget about fleeing!” Yehua said coldly.

“Gu Hai! I’ll turn you into a vampire and make you suffer the humiliation we suffered at Vacant City!” the Bat Ancestor said coldly.

“You old thing, how dare you try to snatch away the person I want to kill!” Yehua immediately glared at the Bat Ancestor.

“Insignificant thing, Gu Hai is mine today!” the Bat Ancestor retorted coldly.

The angels and vampires looked like they would resume fighting.

“Ha! A bunch of reckless things!” Gu Hai suddenly said coldly.

The sneer immediately caused Yehua’s and the Bat Ancestor’s expressions to chill as they turned their heads to look.

“Do you really think that you can easily kill us today?” Gu Hai asked coldly.

“Huh?” Yehua’s and the Bat Ancestor’s expressions changed.

“If not for Senior wanting me to spare you, do you think you can leave this sea region alive today?” Gu Hai asked coldly.

As Gu Hai spoke, he glanced at the flying ship at the side.

Senior?

Yehua and the Bat Ancestor raised their eyebrows. Is there someone on the flying ship?

Senior? What senior?

“Humph! Gu Hai, you already put on such a pretense once in Vacant City. To think that you want to repeat that? Do you think that you can fool me?” Chang Ming’s second uncle glared.

The Bat Ancestor suddenly raised his eyebrows. That’s right. Gu Hai put on a pretense previously and fooled the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor. Is he pretending again?

Thinking of this, the Bat Ancestor revealed a cold smile and said, “Gu Hai, what senior is there? Tell him to come out, then.”

The Bat Ancestor did not believe Gu Hai.

Yehua looked at the Bat Ancestor. He did not believe Gu Hai, either.

Both of them smiled coldly, looking like they wanted to rush forward to capture Gu Hai.

Everyone showed a ferocious expression. Only Chang Sheng and Chang Ming appeared slightly anxious. When they saw Gu Hai earlier, there had been no senior around. Well, there had been Old Mister Guan Qi’s image, but that was just an image.

However, Gu Hai turned his head and looked at the flying ship. Smiling faintly, he said, “Senior, look. They do not appreciate your kindness at all.”

Then, Gu Hai laughed.

At this moment, a coffin lay in a large hall in the flying ship. The Slaughter Heavenly Emperor’s body lying in that coffin suddenly opened its eyes.

“Humph!”

A cold snort came from the flying ship.

Accompanying the cold snort, a surging, murderous aura rushed out.

Boom!

That murderous aura caused the surrounding sea to part further, expanding the waterless region more than tenfold.

The aura of an Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator burst out—an aura that was even stronger than what the Slaughter Heavenly Emperor’s soul body had unleashed.

Rumble…!

The moment the intense, murderous aura appeared, a chill spread out, instantly freezing the water forced aside into ice.

The ice sealed the area five thousand kilometers around them.

That was a vicious aura from killing countless people. The expressions of the Bat Ancestor and Yehua, who were about to charge down, changed.

There really is an expert?

How can that be possible?

“Who is it?” Yehua called out while glaring.

The various powerful experts in the world flashed through Yehua’s mind. This aura definitely belonged to an Upper Heavenly Palace Realm expert. Even if he was not a peak Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator, he was at least a middle-stage Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator.

How can this be? How did Gu Hai get to know such an expert?

The Bat Ancestor and the Chang Clan elders gaped.

At this point, everyone was on the verge of madness. After putting in so much effort to come and deal with Gu Hai’s citizens, they managed to find Gu Hai. However, an expert protected him?

“It’s not real! It can’t be real! Primogenitor, this must be fake!” Chang Ming’s second uncle immediately said anxiously.

Yehua did not say anything, as he already somewhat believed that there was a powerful expert below. His eyes immediately turned uncertain.

Since these vampires were feeling restless and skeptical, he would let them test it out first.

“Fake?” the Bat Ancestor said with a frown.

“That’s right. Primogenitor, do you not remember the last time? He used a ritual array to create a false impression. This is a hoax. Why would a strong Upper Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator hide in the flying ship? Get him to come out, then. This is all fake. Gu Hai is right before us. Primogenitor, we cannot let him fool us again!” Chang Ming’s second uncle called out.

“That’s right. Primogenitor, Gu Hai must be pretending. This is the effect of a ritual array!” Chang Ming’s fourth uncle yelled as well.

Chang Sheng and Chang Ming did not say anything. They felt certain that Gu Hai was pretending, but they were not in a position to expose him.

Now, the Bat Ancestor was convinced of the Chang Clan elders’ judgment. Indeed. If there is an expert, why is he not showing up?

“Trying to trick me again? Gu Hai, there is no escape for you today!” the Bat Ancestor shouted fiercely.

As the Bat Ancestor spoke, he tried to grab Gu Hai. It seemed like he was going to use his full power.

However, Gu Hai smiled coldly. He even stepped forward and left the light platform.

“Bring it on. Try and grab me?!” Gu Hai sneered.

When Gu Hai stepped out of the light platform, it suddenly shrank and vanished.

When the light platform vanished, Gu Hai was considered to have completely solved the Go puzzle. The dark clouds of heaven’s wrath from before sensed the lingering signs of Old Mister Guan Qi in this place.

Rumble…!

The churning dark clouds over Tengen Island immediately expanded again, covering the entire Thousand Islands Sea.

The sky instantly turned dark, and a lightning bolt charged in Gu Hai’s direction. However, the Bat Ancestor was right above Gu Hai. Just as the Bat Ancestor was about to grab Gu Hai, a lightning bolt as thick as a bucket lashed down.

The Bat Ancestor’s expression changed as he turned and punched the lightning.

Boom!

The Bat Ancestor instantly shattered the lightning, but his expression changed.

Just at that moment, that “senior” shouted coldly from the flying ship, “Reckless fool! Lightning, come!”

Everyone’s expression changed upon hearing that cold shout.

Did that senior summon the lightning?

Yehua turned his head and looked. Then, his expression changed dramatically.

Dark clouds? Boundless dark clouds? Yehua could see five hundred thousand kilometers away, possibly even farther. However, all he saw were churning, dark clouds.

Dark clouds completely fill the sky. How is this possible?

Rumble…!

Lightning immediately cascaded from the sky.

The dark clouds of heaven’s wrath sensed the lingering presence of Old Mister Guan Qi here. Naturally, they sent out a lightning bolt in rage. However, someone dared to resist that lightning bolt it sent out. This seemed like a rebellion to them.

Thus, the dark clouds of heaven’s wrath became even more furious.

As that “senior” summoned, lightning came.

“Roar! Roar!”

Dragon roars rang out in the sky. The lightning bolts took on the shape of dragons as they charged at the Bat Ancestor and the others.

Previously, they could explain the lack of any physical prowess as Gu Hai’s deception. However, with so much lightning, how could it still be a deception?

“It is real this time?” Chang Ming’s second uncle was stupefied.

The Bat Ancestor: “…”

Yehua: “…”