Chapter 490: His Name is Wen Ming

Beyond the Eight Palaces.

In the desolate wilderness.

The red robes' military tent rustled in the cold wind.

Rain poured down relentlessly.

In recent days, except for the day when the Bai Ku dimensional space opened, it had been almost nonstop rain.

This realm was already quite barren by nature.

With the opening of Bai Ku, the number of people lingering there had sharply decreased, making the area even more eerie and foreboding.

"Buzz!"

Inside the secondary tent, a circular disk suddenly trembled violently, jolting awake the dozing Hong Yi guard.

This was a middle-aged man, hooded and with his hands tucked into his sleeves, drool streaming from his mouth as he dozed off.

But as the disk shook intensely, he sprang up like he'd been electrocuted, reacting on instinct.

"It's happening?"

The Hong Yi guard's face showed unmistakable panic.

Lan Ling, the Bai Ku Hong Yi overseer, had once said that this "Tian Yuan Tan Ling Pan" detected intruders at the Zhan Dao level or above.

Within a thirty-li radius, it could instantly sense anyone exceeding that realm.

At present, Lan Ling, Xin He, and Shou Ye had all entered Bai Ku.

The only one left in charge here was Lord Hei Hun.

"Someone, quickly fetch Lord Hei Hun..."

The Hong Yi man had barely called out when the tent flap was flung open by a hand in dark armor.

"Lord Hei Hun!"

The man immediately bowed deeply.

"What is it?"

Hei Hun was a man fully encased in dark armor, his face completely hidden, his voice deep and forceful.

The red robes that others wore properly barely reached his shoulders.

The long hem, which should have dragged on the ground, only grazed his calves on his powerful, towering frame, fluttering in the wind.

With a stoop, he entered the tent.

Four Hong Yi followers filed in behind him, standing at attention on either side.

A thunderous boom echoed as lightning danced across the sky, intensifying the downpour.

"The Tian Yuan Tan Ling Pan—it's activated!"

The Hong Yi guard, named Can An, looked up at Lord Hei Hun, who towered over him by more than two heads, and felt a surge of resolve. He pointed to the disk, his voice steadying.

Hei Hun's eyes, hidden beneath his helmet, fixed on it, but the disk was utterly still.

"Are you sure it moved?"

His voice dropped lower, making Can An's legs go weak.

"It really moved. It definitely shook just now—I couldn't have imagined it."

"What were you doing just then?" Hei Hun turned back.

"I..."

Can An's face flushed red.

He had been sleeping.

Due to days of anxiety and fear, constantly dreading the disk's activation, was it just an illusion?

"It wasn't an illusion!"

Can An said earnestly, "Even though I was a bit drowsy..."

"Drowsy?"

Hei Hun's tone sharpened.

The four attendants behind him lifted their eyes simultaneously, and the cold wind outside the tent carried a palpable killing intent into the space.

Can An's tough exterior shattered instantly.

He plopped back into his chair with a thud.

But realizing Lord Hei Hun was still standing, how could he sit?

He shot up, gripping the chair's back for support to steady himself.

"I absolutely didn't imagine it!"

"The Tian Yuan Tan Ling Pan moved—and it shook violently—which means there might be more than one Zhan Dao intruder in the Bai Ku territory."

"We should search the thirty-li radius thoroughly."

"I was wrong to doze off, but I should be punished after we handle this."

He forced his head up defiantly.

But his tone weakened amid the chilling killing intent in the air.

"Are you instructing me?"

Hei Hun moved without warning, closing the distance to Can An in an instant, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him until his face turned purple. Then, with a sinister edge, he said,

"You people are spoiled by Lan Ling."

"A perfectly good Hong Yi organization, turned into a lazy, undisciplined mess—what a disgrace!"

With a bang, spiritual energy burst from his hand, sending Can An flying like a cannonball. He spat blood in mid-air before crashing into the tent's barrier.

Thud.

Can An slid down, his throat feeling crushed as he coughed up more blood.

"The Hong Yi power isn't meant to be used against our own!"

After coughing, Can An lifted his head, his eyes filled with resentment.

Though speaking was difficult, his tone grew firmer.

"That's why you were demoted, Hei Hun."

"If Lan Ling were here, she wouldn't strike without cause!"

In his heart, he seethed with anger.

"Strike..."

Hei Hun scoffed.

"Reward when deserved, punish when needed."

"You nearly botched everything, yet you want to make amends and be punished later?"

"In this world, if such leniency existed, evildoers could just reform and be forgiven by heaven and earth?"

"Absurd!"

His fingers brushed the air dismissively.

In the dim space, Hei Hun's gaze was cold enough to devour.

He stepped past the others and approached the disk, pausing to think.

"The Wang Zuo's perception couldn't be wrong..."

"Lan Ling may be cautious, but her spirit array skills are unmatched..."

"So, Zhan Dao, or perhaps Tai Xu..."

Hei Hun placed his hands on the disk and channeled spiritual energy into it.

After a brief hum, a light screen projected into the void.

"Three people!"

In that moment, everyone's eyes were drawn to the three figures on the screen.

But before they could make out their faces, the image flickered and vanished.

The violently trembling disk fell silent once more.

"They noticed it?"

Hei Hun's mind raced.

From such a distance, with the heavenly dao as cover, how could those three detect the Tian Yuan Tan Ling Pan so acutely?

"I told you there was someone..."

Can An exclaimed in delight, but a glance from Hei Hun silenced him instantly.

"Shut up, you negligent fool!"

The rain continued to pour, leaving the scene deathly quiet.

"Lord Hei Hun, what do your plans?"

The four Hong Yi behind him couldn't help but speak up.

Though the Hong Yi from various Bai Ku gatherings formed different factions, in the face of such an unpredictable place, they needed to unite to resolve issues.

"Three Zhan Dao..."

Hei Hun assumed the worst-case scenario.

If it were three Zhan Dao, he could handle at most two.

The remaining one would fall to the dozen or so Wang Zuo here, but even if they succeeded, casualties would be immense.

Hei Hun steeled himself, looked at the four before him, and said, "First, seal all spaces here to prevent intrusion, then activate the Eight Palaces' protective spirit array. The rest of you, follow me to..."

His words halted abruptly.

"To where?"

The four Hong Yi were stunned.

Why stop mid-sentence?

"From that image just now... Lord Hei Hun, have you already pinpointed their location?" someone asked.

"Oh!"

A high-pitched voice suddenly came from outside the tent flap.

"It's been so long, and you still haven't found us!"

"Not even your Lord Hei Hun, let alone you fools, should know where we are by now."

"Who is it?" The Hong Yi spun around in alarm, their spiritual energy shredding the tent flap.

But outside, there was only the torrential rain and no sign of anyone.

"Over here."

The high-pitched male voice now echoed inside.

The four Hong Yi turned sharply to see a slender man in a red skirt, half-squatting before the fallen Hong Yi, slowly extending a delicate finger.

"Come on, get up. The ground's so cold—let me help you."

Can An trembled in fear.

The man had appeared right in front of him, yet he only fully noticed when the voice sounded.

Zhan Dao!

Definitely Zhan Dao!

This person's mastery of the heavenly dao might have reached the peak, on par with Lord Hei Hun.

With a bang, the floor beneath Can An exploded, launching him toward Hei Hun.

In that moment, factions meant nothing.

Survival was the only priority!

But before he could fly far, Can An felt something yank his collar, pulling him back.

"Why run?"

"Is my looks that frightening?"

When Can An came to, he found himself seated on the red-skirt man's lap.

The man's red skirt had a high slit.

As Can An sat, a pair of flawless, slender legs were fully exposed.

Just brushing against them with his backside, Can An felt the overwhelming heat of masculine energy.

Paired with the man's coquettish voice in his ear...

He couldn't control himself—goosebumps erupted from head to toe.

"Giggle, are you scared?"

The red-skirt man covered his mouth with a laugh: "Don't be afraid. With me here, no one can hurt you..."

His words trailed off as his gaze locked on Can An's face, as if entranced.

"Brother, you're so handsome..."

Whoosh—

Can An felt not just his body, but his very soul shiver as if doused in ice water, nearly leaving him.

"Damn it, get off me!"

Can An struggled fiercely, but realized his body's strength was completely gone, as if his spirit and flesh were severed.

He could only watch helplessly as his body sank deeper into the man's tightening embrace.

"What the hell is happening?!"

"Hei Hun!"

"Lord Hei Hun, help—"

Can An roared.

But he discovered that whether cursing or crying for help, only he could hear his own voice.

"Hei Hun..."

Despair washed over him.

Heavenly dao isolation!

Under such absolute control, his Wang Zuo cultivation couldn't even muster a hint of resistance.

This was a true Zhan Dao powerhouse.

An existence that no number of Wang Zuo could defy.

"Lord Hei Hun, Can An is..."

The four Hong Yi stared at Can An in the red-skirt man's arms, utterly stunned.

From the man's approach to Can An's flight and embrace, everything flowed so smoothly.

They even suspected Can An was a traitor who had summoned him.

Hei Hun remained silent.

The four sensed something was wrong.

"Lord Hei Hun?"

Calling again, still no response.

Panic set in.

"Alert!"

"Enemy attack—"

Alarms and pleas echoed into the void.

But the Hong Yi camp, which always responded to such calls, was eerily silent.

"It's over..."

The four felt a chill in their hearts.

This intruder wasn't just any Zhan Dao.

It was a Zhan Dao master who had mastered the heavenly dao to its utmost.

Against such a being, even ordinary Hong Yi Zhan Dao would be doomed.

Their only hope was Lord Hei Hun.

"Lord Hei Hun!"

"Lord Hei..."

"Quiet, quiet!"

The red-skirt man, busy wiping drool from Can An's face, rolled his eyes at the noisy group.

"Your Lord Hei Hun is barely holding on himself—who has time to save you?"

With a wave, he lifted the void isolation.

The four Hong Yi froze in shock.

Above Hei Hun's head, a massive dark dragon head, hundreds of zhang in size, loomed halfway into the tent.

Its jaws wide open, engulfing Hei Hun in endless saliva.

"This..."

From the looks of it, one snap, and Hei Hun would be done.

The four Hong Yi's faces turned ashen.

What kind of entity was this?

Even Hei Hun was subdued without a fight.

Was this still Zhan Dao?

Could it be... Tai Xu?

"Lord Hei Hun, brother,"

The red-skirt man finally turned to the armored man and called softly, "Long time no see."

"Shuo Shu Ren..."

Hei Hun's heart sank to the abyss.

He had anticipated the intruder's strength, but never imagined it would be this one from the Sheng Nu, stirring chaos in the Central Domain.

The Sheng Nu's nine seats, each with godlike power.

And this Shuo Shu Ren held the seventh seat.

How could he stand against such a force?

Even knowing the man hadn't reached Tai Xu yet, the gap between Zhan Dao masters was vast.

At least, Hei Hun dared not face the nine-death lightning tribulation before Tai Xu.

From Shuo Shu Ren's heavenly dao insight, he was likely close to that final ordeal.

And his presence here meant no Hong Yi reinforcements could arrive.

But...

Hei Hun was baffled.

The three figures seen in the disk must include one of them.

Why could someone dozens of li away teleport directly into the Hong Yi camp without triggering the grand array?

Was it the same person?

Or was there a traitor in the Hong Yi?

"Don't guess, Lord Hei Hun, brother."

Shuo Shu Ren shifted Can An on his lap and pointed to the disk. "First, open the projection for me. I want to see where my brother is."

Hei Hun trembled with rage.

He felt utterly humiliated.

A moment ago, he thought he could face two.

Now, he realized this was an enemy beyond his reach—going up would be suicide.

"Open it!"

Shuo Shu Ren adjusted his red skirt, letting his legs catch the light, gleaming enticingly.

Hei Hun tried to resist, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Shuo Shu Ren spoke again.

"Don't think about calling for help!"

"Your Bai Yi reinforcements haven't arrived yet. You're all struggling just to survive."

"If you don't cooperate, I'll strip them one by one, you included, and tie you here until the Hong Yi come to rescue."

He paused. "Don't worry, my brother said no killing, so as long as you cooperate, they won't die."

"But if you don't..."

"Hehe!"

Shuo Shu Ren covered his mouth with a laugh, his gaze roaming over the Hong Yi, eyes sparkling with excitement.

Hei Hun fell silent.

Bearing the dragon head above, he stepped forward slowly and touched the disk.

Shuo Shu Ren timely pulled an ancient book from his chest and placed it on Can An's face, watching with a smile.

Hei Hun hesitated for a breath.

Whoosh!

The light screen appeared.

The patter of rain returned to the tent.

"Wow!"

The other Hong Yi felt as if they'd been released from another space, gasping for air, their faces pale with lingering shock.

"Smart move."

Shuo Shu Ren praised, glancing down at Can An.

Can An wished he hadn't been released—his soul back in his body made the heat from those legs feel like it would scorch him.

"I..."

"Brother, you don't need to speak." Shuo Shu Ren caressed his face.

Hiss—

Can An hadn't even reacted, but the distant four Hong Yi shuddered, sucking in a breath.

Thankfully, it wasn't them.

This was truly...

Was it fortune or misfortune?

Tap, tap, tap.

As the image clarified, faint sounds emerged.

Everyone turned, their eyes fixed on the disk.

In the next second, shock registered on all faces.

On the barren ground walked three figures.

Besides the leading masked person,

Followed by an elder with a small axe at his waist, and...

Another man in a red skirt!

They glanced sideways in disbelief.

This red-skirt man was right here—how could there be another in the image?

Faced with such attention, Shuo Shu Ren seemed shy, covering his face with delicate fingers.

"Staring like that..."

"Am I pretty?"

Hiss—

The group averted their eyes, not daring to look further, fearing it would lead to trouble.

Hei Hun stared intently at the screen, speechless.

Sheng Nu's first seat!

Sheng Nu's fourth seat, Cen Qiao Fu!

Sheng Nu's seventh seat, Shuo Shu Ren!

Such a lineup could upheave any forbidden ground in the Central Domain—yet here they were in mere Bai Ku?

What allure did Yi Ba You Si Jian hold?

And...

Hei Hun snuck a glance at Shuo Shu Ren, now fondling Can An's chest.

"An external incarnation..."

"Isn't that a technique only Ban Sheng can master?"

"Brother!"

"Brother, we're here, we're here!"

Shuo Shu Ren pointed to the collapsed Eight Palaces gate ahead, excitedly linking arms with the masked person.

"What's the situation like?"

Cen Qiao Fu asked without turning his head.

"Brother, ahead should be the Eight Palaces. After rushing for so long, we've finally arrived!"

"Are you excited?"

Shuo Shu Ren leaned in slightly, tilting his head up, eyes full of stars as he looked at the masked person.

Cen Qiao Fu's mouth twitched. "Shuo Shu Ren, I'm asking about the situation!"

"Come on, come on, it's collapsed here—not from lightning, probably from a earlier fight."

"And over there..."

Shuo Shu Ren pointed into the distance. "I see the teleportation array."

Cen Qiao Fu: "..."

He gripped the small axe at his waist tightly.

The masked person waved a hand, stopping him.

"How's it on your end?"

A hoarse voice, like a saw blade scraping, made everyone outside the screen shudder.

"It's going great—we're watching our chat right now!" Shuo Shu Ren smiled charmingly.

Cen Qiao Fu finally snapped.

"Shuo Shu Ren, can you just speak normally for once..."

The masked person raised a hand.

Silence fell.

"What happened?"

Cen Qiao Fu tensed.

"Brother, what happened?"

Shuo Shu Ren asked worriedly.

"Nothing."

The masked person lowered his hand. "You two are just too noisy."

Cen Qiao Fu deflated.

"Hmm."

"Brother, you're so mean!"

Shuo Shu Ren playfully punched toward the masked person's chest.

The latter vanished in a flash, reappearing at the Eight Palaces gate ruins.

"Ah, brother, wait for me!"

Shuo Shu Ren tucked his elbow, pointed his fingers delicately, and trotted after with a sway.

Cen Qiao Fu watched it all, his teeth grinding.

"Don't look, don't look..."

"Don't get angry, don't get angry..."

He breathed deeply.

In, out.

"Old woodcutter, you're talking badly about me again!" Shuo Shu Ren suddenly turned back in the rain, flushed with anger. "I've been watching us the whole time!"

Cen Qiao Fu nearly swung his axe at the red-skirt face.

"Be quiet."

The masked person spoke again from the front.

He squatted down, picking up a stone from the ground.

"What's wrong?"

Now, neither dared to interrupt.

The first seat's actions meant something was up.

"Jian Qi..."

A hint of amusement flickered in the masked person's murky eyes. "He really came."

"Who?"

Shuo Shu Ren quickly clung to the masked person's arm, jealousy evident. "Male or female?"

The masked person pulled away and shifted. "Male. You'd like him—a very handsome young man."

"Oh?"

Shuo Shu Ren's eyes lit up. "What kind of person could earn such praise from you, brother? I want to see him."

He paused. "But don't worry, brother, I'll just look—I won't make you jealous."

The masked person: "..."

"It's fine, go ahead. It's part of the plan."

"Better if you can bring him back completely." The amusement in the masked person's eyes grew.

"Oh?"

Even Cen Qiao Fu was surprised.

Jian Qi?

A young man?

He immediately thought of the spiky intruder at Tian Sang Ling Palace.

The first to refuse such an invitation from the seat—it was a first.

So, that guy was a Jian Xiu?

But in the world, the only Jian Xiu to catch the seat's eye was Lei Shuang Xing.

Was that spiky one...

"Bring him back?"

Shuo Shu Ren's voice pierced everyone's ears.

He was incredulous.

Bringing back meant to the Sheng Nu.

So, that young man favored by his brother was already that exceptional?

"What's his name?"

Though he hadn't met him, Shuo Shu Ren felt his heart racing.

"Let's go in first and discuss. Then we'll split up."

The masked person looked at Cen Qiao Fu. "No teleportation array—we'll cut through directly!"

Cen Qiao Fu nodded.

But Shuo Shu Ren pouted, grabbing Cen Qiao Fu's hand as he reached for his axe.

"Brother!"

"Tell me first—what's his name?"

Cen Qiao Fu's face darkened, feeling tainted, and he jerked away like from an electric shock. "Shuo Shu Ren, keep your filthy hands off me!"

"Hmph, I'll touch, I'll touch!" The red-skirt man fumed and lunged for the old woodcutter's hand.

"Get away from me—"

"I'll touch it—oh, so rough!"

"I'll chop you!"

"Come on, chase me!"

The masked person rubbed his temples.

This was the consequence of Shuo Shu Ren joining.

Two incompatible people together was a headache.

"What's his name?"

Shuo Shu Ren ran back to the masked person, grabbing his shoulders and whispering in his ear.

"Tell me, tell me!"

With eager eyes, Shuo Shu Ren urged, "What's his name?"

The masked person shivered involuntarily, as if using a shield, and blurted, "Wen Ming. His name is Wen Ming—very outstanding. You can go meet him!"