20: Chapter 20 Old Friends Become Enemies

He reached out and lightly tapped the chessboard.

Boom!

The entire chessboard instantly shattered into dust.

"You miscalculated one thing." Bai Yu stood up, looking down at Qian Ji from a height, "I don't need to hide."

Qian Ji' pupils constricted.

"You think because my cultivation is low, I can't beat them?" Bai Yu sneered. "Wrong. Although I'm only at the Nascent Soul Stage now, with the power I've absorbed from all of you..."

He raised his hand, and a ball of multicolored energy condensed in his palm.

Within that ball of energy, there was the searing heat of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, the freezing chill of the Extreme Cold Ice Soul, the vitality of the Myriad Medicine Spirit Body, and several other powers that Bai Yu himself couldn't quite name.

"Once these powers are fused, I can fight even if I encounter someone at the Void Refinement Stage." Bai Yu clenched his fist, and the energy instantly exploded, making the entire hall tremble. "As for the Tribulation Transcendence Stage... I really want to see if I can cross realms to kill one."

Qian Ji' expression changed.

He hadn't expected Bai Yu's strength to have already reached such a level.

"More importantly..." Bai Yu walked up to Qian Ji and pressed a hand on his shoulder, "I am not fighting alone."

"The third is guarding the Northern Border, the fourth is refining medicine in Medicine King Valley, Little Nine is out making money, and the second is in charge of hacking people."

"And then there's you, the strategist."

Bai Yu stared into Qian Ji' eyes and said word by word, "The ten of us, Master and Disciples, could conquer a God Dynasty back then, and we can take it back now!"

"Hide? Why should I hide?"

"I want everyone to know that Bai Yu is back!"

"Whoever dares to touch my Disciples, I will exterminate their entire clan!"

"Whoever dares to scheme against me, I will flip their nest upside down!"

"The Upper Realm wants to interfere? Then I'll fight my way up to the Upper Realm!"

The last sentence made Qian Ji' eardrums ache.

He looked at this Master before him, who was domineering to the point of being unreasonable, and suddenly realized that all his planning over these five hundred years seemed so... pale and weak in front of this man.

Because Bai Yu had never won through scheming.

He relied on absolute strength to crush everything in his path.

"Revered Master..." Qian Ji opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

"You're not convinced?" Bai Yu let go and took a step back. "Fine, let's make a bet."

"You walk your path, and I'll walk mine."

"In three months, we'll see whose path goes further."

Qian Ji was silent for a moment before finally nodding. "Very well."

He pulled out a new Jade Slip from his robes and placed it on the table.

"This contains all the intelligence I have gathered over the past five hundred years, including the inner workings of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, the weaknesses of the Shadow Demon Venerable, and... the location where Sixth Junior Brother was last seen."

"Since Revered Master intends to take the initiative to attack, this intelligence might be of use."

Bai Yu picked up the Jade Slip, scanned it with his Divine Sense, and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Old Six is in the South Sea?"

"Yes." Qian Ji nodded. "Three months ago, someone saw him on 'Myriad Monster Island' deep within the South Sea. He seemed to be looking for something."

"Myriad Monster Island..." Bai Yu narrowed his eyes.

That was one of the most dangerous places in the cultivation world, occupied by Yao Beasts year-round; even Void Refining Cultivators didn't dare set foot there easily.

What was Old Six doing there?

"Does Revered Master plan to go look for him?" Qian Ji asked.

"Of course." Bai Yu sneered. "The debts owed to me must always be repaid."

Qian Ji took a deep breath. "Then I shall take my leave. We shall meet again in three months."

He turned to leave but was called back by Bai Yu.

"Wait."

Qian Ji looked back.

Bai Yu pulled a Storage Pouch from his robes and tossed it to him. "Your Heavenly Secret Pavilion was emptied by Little Nine; take these Spirit Stones for emergencies."

Qian Ji caught it, scanned it with his Divine Sense, and his pupils shrank.

Inside this bag, there were at least a million High-Grade Spirit Stones!

"Revered Master, this..."

"Don't talk nonsense." Bai Yu waved his hand. "Even though we're betting on different paths, you're still my Disciple. I can't let you be so poor you're drinking the north wind."

Qian Ji gripped the Storage Pouch, his eyes slightly red.

He bowed deeply. "Thank you, Revered Master."

After speaking, he strode out of the hall.

Liu Hanyan watched Qian Ji' retreating back and frowned. "Revered Master, are you really going to bet with Senior Brother?"

"What bet?" Bai Yu sat back down and drained his wine cup in one gulp. "I just wanted to let that kid know that his way of doing things won't work with me."

"However..." He looked out the window, a hint of deep meaning flashing in his eyes, "That kid hasn't lived five hundred years in vain; he's spread his intelligence network wide enough. With him helping from the shadows, I can stir up trouble in the open with peace of mind."

Liu Hanyan was stunned for a moment, then she understood.

Revered Master and Disciple, one in the light and one in the dark.

It seemed like a bet, but it was actually cooperation.

"Revered Master, then next we..."

"To Myriad Monster Island." Bai Yu stood up and stretched his muscles. "Since Old Six is there, I'll go meet him. And while I'm at it..."

A cold light flashed in his eyes.

"Let's see if he's made any progress in these five hundred years."

Three days later.

South Sea, outskirts of Myriad Monster Island.

The nine nether bone dragon carriage hovered above the sea, sulfurous breath venting from the nostrils of the nine bone dragons, boiling the seawater below.

Bai Yu stood on the dragon's head, gazing at the giant island in the distance, shrouded in black mist.

Myriad Monster Island.

This island spanned ten thousand miles and was shrouded in Demonic Qi year-round, with countless powerful Yao Beasts living on it.

It was said that in the center of the island lived a Tribulation Transcendence Stage Yao King called the 'Heaven Swallowing Python,' whom even the Upper Realm was wary of.

"Revered Master, are we really going in?" Liu Hanyan stood behind Bai Yu, her expression grave. "It's too dangerous here."

"Dangerous?" Bai Yu laughed. "I even dared to barge into the Abyssal Demon Eye back then, why would I fear some broken island?"

"But Revered Master..." Liu Hanyan hesitated.

She wanted to say that back then he was in the God King Realm, but now he was only at the Nascent Soul Stage.

But the words reached her lips and were swallowed back down.

Because she knew it was useless to say it.

Her Master's personality was just that reckless.

"Old Second, are you ready?" Bai Yu turned to look at Mo Chi.

Mo Chi carried his heavy sword and nodded with a simple smile, "Ready to hack at any time!"

"Where's Little Nine?"

"Disciple is here!" Gu Yelian jumped out of the cabin, holding a large pile of treasures she had swiped from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

In the waters surrounding Myriad Monster Island, the demonic fog churned.

The nine nether bone dragon carriage hovered a thousand meters in the air, the seawater below boiling from the dragon's breath as countless sea monsters fled in panic.

Bai Yu stood on the dragon's head, squinting at the giant island in the distance shrouded in black mist.

"Revered Master, I've scouted it." Gu Yelian withdrew her Divine Sense, her expression solemn. "The concentration of Demonic Qi on the island is a hundred times that of the outside world. Any Cultivator below the Soul Transformation Stage will have their spiritual power suppressed by eighty percent."

"There is a particularly terrifying aura in the center of the island, likely the legendary Heaven Swallowing Python." She paused. "Peak Tribulation Transcendence Stage."

Mo Chi scratched his head. "Then are we still going in?"

"Nonsense." Bai Yu jumped off the dragon's head and landed on the deck. "Old Six is inside. If I don't go in, am I supposed to wait for him to come out and pick me up?"

He looked at Liu Hanyan, "Old Third, you stay outside to provide support."

Liu Hanyan frowned. "Revered Master, I'll go with you..."

"Be good." Bai Yu interrupted her. "This Myriad Monster Island is a wicked place, and I don't want anything to happen to you. Besides..."