156: Chapter 156 The Wang Family's Secret Meeting: A Murderous Scheme Takes Shape!

The Grand Elder of Heaven and Earth Gate stood to the side, his old face gloomy.

He lifted a withered palm and said with a grim expression:

"Enough nonsense."

"Let's get down to business first."

Xu Tian suppressed his hostility and stepped forward to stand before Wang Shuo.

Without a single redundant word, he raised his hand and pressed it against Wang Shuo's shoulder.

In the next instant, blue and white streaks of Origin Qi surged from his palm, pouring into Wang Shuo's ruptured Meridians.

The aura in the Ancestral Hall grew heavy.

The roiling force of the old injury in Wang Shuo's chest was forcibly suppressed by a portion of this Taisu Origin.

His originally ashen complexion regained a touch of vitality.

The bloody fissures on his face stopped spreading.

The expressions of several Elders of the Wang family in the hall changed simultaneously.

Just moments ago, they had looked at Xu Tian as nothing more than a blade to be used.

Now, the calculation in their eyes grew even deeper.

This blade might actually be sharp enough to cut someone.

Wang Shuo closed his eyes as the surging injuries within him were forcibly stabilized; even his breathing became much smoother.

A few breaths later, he slowly opened his eyes, the slight disdain on his face completely vanished.

He raised the back of his hand, heavily wiping the bloodstains from his lips, and said in a deep voice:

"Good technique."

"Previously, this old man thought you were just a piece of trash that Lin Yi stepped on."

"Looking at it now, the successor of Heaven and Earth Gate truly has some skill!!"

Xu Tian's face twitched violently.

But he did not lash out.

He stared at Wang Shuo, his fingertips still pressed against the wound, his tone carrying an irrepressible malice.

"Head of the Wang Family, I will stabilize your injuries, and you will cooperate with my Heaven and Earth Gate."

"Lin Yi's life—I want it!"

"Shen Qingyue's person—I want her too!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a series of faint, rustling sounds echoed through the Ancestral Hall.

Several Elders of the Wang family glanced at each other, their eyes filled with Yin Qi.

Wang Shuo slowly sat upright, the half of his face that was split open twitching slightly, his expression becoming increasingly grim.

The Wang family had suffered far too much recently.

First, the loss of face.

Then, the deaths.

And then being suppressed by Heavenly Profound Holy Land until they could barely breathe.

The fire of hatred in his heart had long since burned through everything.

Now that Xu Tian was actively seeking cooperation, there was no reason for Wang Shuo to refuse.

He slapped the armrest of his stone seat and said in a muffled voice:

"If you can truly settle this blood debt for the Wang family, everyone in the family will be at your disposal."

"As long as we can keep Lin Yi here."

"This old man is willing to sacrifice anything!"

A light flickered in Xu Tian's eyes.

Even his swollen face showed a hint of morbid pleasure.

The Grand Elder stood nearby, watching coldly as the two finished their conversation.

Then, he spread out the marriage contract flat on the stone table in the center of the Ancestral Hall.

Only half a scroll of that marriage contract remained.

However, the ancient runes within the paper's fibers were still there.

Deeper within, a lingering connection to the Shen Family's blood seal remained.

The Grand Elder picked up a thin, grayish-black needle and, with a press of his fingers, pierced the tip directly into the layers of the marriage contract.

Ssh!

A soft sound echoed.

A cold, dark mark quickly burrowed into the paper, rapidly spreading along the ancient runes.

The faded characters on the surface of the marriage contract suddenly lit up.

The air in the hall also turned cold.

The sight made the scalps of several Wang family Elders tingle.

Xu Tian, however, grew more excited as he watched.

The Grand Elder stared at the marriage contract, his voice dry and heavy:

"Taichu governs the source of life."

"Tai Su shapes the physical form."

"Both Origins stem from the same lineage, their roots stained with Chaos Mother Qi."

"Though the marriage contract has been severed, the connection remains."

"Through this, I can lay down the Chaos Fate Union Grand Array!"

"By pressing this half-scroll of the marriage contract into the heart of the array and activating it with the Wang family's ancestral pulse..."

"The seal on this marriage contract will follow that connection and bite back."

"As long as that girl sets foot in the Wang family's territory, this Soul-Locking Seal will entwine her."

"When that time comes, she won't be able to escape."

"Even if a Quasi-Emperor takes action, they will be hindered by the Life-Binding Grand Array."

His words fell.

He tapped his fingertip again.

Rings of grayish-white array patterns immediately surfaced beneath the marriage contract.

Deep within the array patterns, a long, thin chain could be faintly seen coiling.

Xu Tian stared at that chain, his breathing becoming slightly heavier.

He raised his hand to touch his still-swollen face and smiled through gritted teeth.

"Lin Yi, oh Lin Yi!"

"This Young Master wants you to see it with your own eyes."

"Watching Shen Qingyue being locked in the heart of the array, watching her fall into my hands!"

"I want to see if you can still be so arrogant then!"

Wang Shuo's eyes were dark as he listened. He suddenly reached out and dragged an old, battered copper box from behind the stone seat.

The copper box opened, revealing a pieced-together remnant map of animal skin.

The hide was worn, and in the center was drawn only a broken coastline and an ancient gate with a strange silhouette.

Xu Tian and the Grand Elder glanced at it, and their expressions changed simultaneously.

Wang Shuo pressed his finger onto that gate and said in a cold voice:

"After Lie'er died, I found many fragments among his belongings."

"After much piecing together, I managed to form this thing."

"The map is incomplete."

"No one can say for sure what lies behind the gate."

"But the name of the location is written very clearly."

He paused his finger.

The lamplight in the Ancestral Hall flickered along with him.

Wang Shuo spoke three words, emphasizing each one.

"Burial Emperor Island!"

Xu Tian's Adam's apple bobbed heavily.

The Grand Elder's old face also tightened instantly.

The mysterious gate that Heaven and Earth Gate had spent years searching for had actually been partially located by the Wang family.

Xu Tian stared intently at the gate on the remnant map, the fire of greed flaring up in his eyes.

The face he lost at Jade Lake.

Shen Qingyue's Taichu Origin.

And that gate hidden on Burial Emperor Island.

He couldn't miss a single one!

He wanted them all!

A cold light flashed in the Grand Elder's eyes as he said solemnly:

"No wonder the Shen Family refused to let go even at the cost of their lives back then."

"No wonder everyone in the old scrolls of Heaven and Earth Gate was circling around this place. So that gate was hidden on this island all along."

"The integration of Taichu and Tai Su is the key to opening that gate."

"Now the key has been delivered right to us."

"If we miss this chance, it will be difficult to find it again in the future."

Wang Shuo sneered, the split skin on his face twitching with it.

"The Wang family will clear the path for you."

"You will kill for the Wang family."

"Once Lin Yi is dead, Shen Qingyue is captured, and the gate is open..."

"As for who can take how much Opportunity, we shall see based on our own abilities!"

These words were very blunt.

The thin veil of pretense in the Ancestral Hall was completely torn away at this point.

Xu Tian felt even more refreshed.

Since it had come to this, even he felt disgusted trying to maintain the image of a refined Young Master.

He waved his hand, and the Origin Qi in his sleeve dispersed with a boom, directly suppressing the lamp flame on the table.

Then, he twitched his swollen, bruised face and spoke ruthlessly:

"I want Shen Qingyue."

"And I want Lin Yi's life too!"

As his voice fell...

Everyone on both sides of the Ancestral Hall stood up.

The Wang family wanted revenge.

Heaven and Earth Gate wanted the key.

Xu Tian wanted the woman and his dignity back.

All of this finally brought Heaven and Earth Gate and the Wang family together.

Wang Shuo raised his hand and pressed it against the edge of the stone seat, asking in a deep voice:

"How do we lure them in?"

"Lin Yi has Luo Qinghan, Zhou Qing, and those lunatics from Heavenly Profound Holy Land by his side."

"If he doesn't enter the Wang family's territory, everything will be for naught."

Xu Tian looked down at the half-scroll of the marriage contract, a trace of Yin Qi slowly crawling into his eyes.

He slapped his hand down.

Smack!

A sharp sound.

The marriage contract was pinned firmly to the center of the stone table.

"Three days."

"Give me three days."

"Lin Yi is holding half of the marriage contract; he won't just stay obediently in the Holy Land."

"Leak some information."

"Then scatter a few baits."

"The Wang family is wounded, the ancestral land is about to be sealed, there are anomalies with the old map, and Heaven and Earth Gate has other hidden moves."

"As long as he bites even one, he will definitely come chasing after us!"