249: Chapter 249 This old man is hiding something quite well.

Just at this moment, deep within the Sea of Consciousness, the golden system panel vibrated crazily without any warning.

[Intelligence 1: Secret Order from Luoxia Commandery Imperial City.]

[Details: The search for outsiders by thirty thousand Imperial Guards across the territory is merely a cover. The true strategic objective: to locate and capture the ‘Desolate God Bloodline’ hiding on the border.]

Gu Changsheng stopped in his tracks, his knuckles tapping gently against the side of his thigh.

So that was it.

The grand search operation during the day was a show put on for everyone to see.

The blood-testing stone wasn't testing for outsiders at all, but for the purity of one's Bloodline.

He quickly replayed the scenes of the inspection from the day in his mind.

That Vajra Realm lieutenant had a momentary pause in his movements when testing the old man and Stone's blood.

If they were ordinary villagers, the lieutenant wouldn't have even bothered to look at them.

With so many eyes around during the day, arresting them on the spot would easily cause a riot or even alert the target.

Marking them in secret and sending elites to close the net after nightfall—this was the usual trick of those in power.

Gu Changsheng twitched his facial muscles, letting out a silent sneer.

These natives actually had some brains.

However, this so-called “Desolate God Bloodline” sounded much more nourishing than those low-grade blood crystals.

Since it had been delivered to his doorstep, there was no reason not to devour it.

Night fell.

The strong wind whipped up large chunks of ice, smashing against the dilapidated thatched roof of Liuxi Village.

Gu Changsheng did not stay inside the house.

He sat cross-legged on the ridge of the adobe house, his green robes blending perfectly into the night.

The taiyin submerging spirit jade was quietly operating.

His figure, aura, and even the rhythm of his heartbeat were completely erased by this exotic treasure.

He was like a withered piece of wood, coldly looking down at the courtyard below.

The third quarter of the Ugly Hour.

When the wind and snow were at their peak.

Three ghost-like black shadows silently vaulted over the half-human-high courtyard wall.

They landed without making a sound.

Not even the accumulated snow was crushed.

This level of sophisticated movement control was definitely not something that the black-armored cavalry from the day, who only knew how to use brute force, could compare to.

They were definitely elites specialized in assassination.

Gu Changsheng looked down from above, his gaze sweeping over the three men.

All wore tight night-traveling clothes, holding short blades tipped with deadly poison.

The three looked at each other and made an obscure hand signal.

They headed straight for the inner room where the old man and Stone were sleeping.

Without the slightest hesitation.

The wooden door was quietly pushed open with a gentle force.

The door hinge didn't even have time to make that teeth-aching creak.

The three black shadows filed in.

Killing intent instantly filled the cramped adobe house.

“Who is it!”

An old, explosive shout came from the inner room.

Immediately following it was an extremely violent, dark red Qi surging into the sky.

Boom!

Half of the thatched roof of the adobe house was directly blown off by this blast of energy.

Hay and snow splattered everywhere.

A burly figure violently smashed through the wooden partition of the inner room and threw himself at the three assassins.

Gu Changsheng sat on the remaining half of the roof ridge, tilting his head.

Through the blown-off roof, he clearly saw the scene below.

The old man, who had been as thin as a stick, now had muscles bulging all over his body.

Dense, dark red ancient patterns appeared on his skin.

The intensity of that Qi was in no way inferior to the Imperial Guard lieutenant from the day!

A genuine Vajra Realm expert!

This old man was hiding quite deep.

Before, he had been trampled underfoot by trash like Wang Hu, who was only in the Blood Tempering Realm, and didn't even dare to fart.

Now, to protect his grandson, he directly revealed his Vajra Realm foundation.

If it weren't for these men in black forcing him, even he would have been deceived by this honest-looking skin.

In this man-eating Desolate God Grotto-Heaven, indeed, none of them were pushovers.

Bang!

The old man threw a punch, and a white wave of energy exploded in the air.

The assassin in the lead couldn't dodge in time.

He could only cross his dark blue short blade in front of his chest to block.

Crack.

The short blade made of refined steel was smashed into pieces by the punch.

The assassin, along with his blade, flew backward and slammed heavily into the adobe wall, spitting out a mouthful of black blood.

“Form up!”

The leader of the black-clad men in the middle shouted coldly.

The remaining two dispersed instantly, flanking from left and right.

They didn't clash head-on with the old man at all.

Their figures moved like ghosts within the narrow room.

The dark blue short blades specifically targeted the old man's lower body and joints.

Although the old man's Qi was strong, he was old and frail, and long out of practice.

What was more fatal was that Stone was hiding behind him, trembling.

To protect his grandson, he didn't dare to dodge and could only take the hits.

Gu Changsheng watched coldly from the sidelines.

This old man had a body full of violent Qi but didn't know the slightest bit of combat technique.

The outcome was already decided.

Ssh!

The muffled sound of a short blade tearing through flesh came.

The leader of the black-clad men seized the opening when the old man turned to protect Stone.

With one strike, he precisely cut the tendon of the old man's right leg.

Fresh blood sprayed out.

The old man let out a painful grunt, his right knee went soft, and he knelt heavily on the muddy ground.

The violent Qi dissipated by more than half in an instant.

Before he could gather his strength again.

The other two men in black were already upon him.

Two short blades were held against the old man's neck and Stone's forehead respectively.

The battle was declared over within ten breaths.

Clean and efficient.

“Grandpa!”

Stone cried out and tried to pounce forward, but was kicked into the corner by an assassin.

The old man gritted his teeth, and the dark red patterns on his skin gradually faded.

His muscles withered again, returning to the appearance of a candle in the wind.

The leader of the black-clad men walked up and stepped on the old man's chest.

Looking down at the old, furrowed face.

“Hiding quite deep.”

The leader's voice was hoarse, filled with intense mockery.

“When the blood-testing stone showed golden threads during the day, the Lieutenant felt something was wrong.”

“How could the blood of ordinary villagers resonate with the blood-testing stone?”

The leader exerted force with his foot, causing the old man's ribs to creak.

“So it really is a remnant of the Desolate God.”

“The Imperial City has been looking for your Bloodline for ten years; I didn't expect you to be hiding in such a godforsaken place.”

The old man coughed violently, blood constantly spilling from his mouth.

He stared fixedly at the black-clad man, his eyes full of despair.

“Kill me if you want, but let my grandson go.”

“His Bloodline hasn't awakened yet; he's useless to you!”

“Whether he's useful or not, we'll know once we take him back and drain his blood.”

The leader waved his hand coldly.

“Take them.”

The black-clad man next to him immediately pulled a specially made meteor iron chain from his waist.

The chain was covered with runes that suppressed Qi.

In a few quick moves, he tied the old man up tightly.

Stone sobbed desperately in the corner, unable to resist.

Gu Changsheng sat on the roof, having heard the entire conversation.

Remnant of the Desolate God.

Bloodline not yet awakened.

Drain the blood.

Several keywords quickly pieced together a complete logical chain in his mind.

The Bloodline within these two grandfather and grandson was definitely the top-tier cultivation resource in this Grotto-Heaven.

If he let these three underlings take them away.

Wouldn't he, Gu Changsheng, have lost a humanoid treasure vault for nothing?

The leader of the black-clad men, having confirmed the binding was secure, turned to prepare for retreat.

He held his blood-dripping short blade, his gaze sweeping casually across the outer room.

Preparing to confirm no survivors were left.

His gaze passed through the dilapidated wooden partition.

The leader's body stiffened abruptly.

His pupils contracted to the size of pinpoints.

In the outer room.

Beside that rough wooden table.

Sitting there, at some point, was a man in green robes.

The residual charcoal fire in the fire pit emitted a faint red light, casting the man's shadow extremely long.

The man leaned lazily against the back of the chair.

In his hand, he held that old, coarse porcelain teapot.

Clear tea was slowly being poured into a chipped ceramic bowl.

Splash, splash.

The sound of water was clearly audible in the dead silence of the night.

He slowly raised his head, his face blurred by the taiyin power, facing the three assassins in the inner room.

“The three of you.”

His tone was flat, without a trace of fluctuation.

“Coming to my place in the middle of the night to snatch things.”

“Did you ask me first?”