Hardly had Bai Xinghe concluded his explanation when the entire Star Prier’s House started shaking slightly. Li Yao stuck his hands to the ground. Spiritual energy surged out of his palms as he sensed the surroundings carefully. He did detect that spiritual energy of the water class was roaring in various directions. Even the steam in the air was more irked than usual.
The color of Bai Xinghe’s face changed, and he said in a hurry, “There’s no time. I’ll explain to you later while we are on our way!”
Li Yao hesitated for a moment and tossed the Cosmos Ring that stored the Dragon King Battlesuit to Bai Xinghe.
After changing into the Dragon King Battlesuit, Bai Xinghe threw a Cosmos Ring to Li Yao, too, saying that it would be needed soon.
Bai Xinghe set the super crystal processors to run automatically. The two of them exited the Star Prier’s House from the way they had entered, except that they bypassed the Lustful Rock Spider’s hunting range and zigzagged down a brand-new branch.
Bai Xinghe was carrying a mini crystal processor that was connected to the super Cultivators remotely. It could display the real-time picture that the thousands of crystal cameras captured. However, the transmission of telepathic thoughts was intermittent because of the complicated terrain in the underground fortress. They could only stay close with Bai Kaixin and Lei Dalu. As for Bai Wulei, Fengyu Zhong, the Black King, and the other Immortal Cultivators, they were not able to monitor them constantly.
While they were on their way, the shaking became more and more violent. In the beginning, a slight shiver would only occur every twenty seconds or so. But now, a great earthquake would take place every other second.
Bai Xinghe ran forward fast as he explained, “Yan Xinjian spent decades resetting the parameters of the crystal processors in the main control room of the underground fortress. There was nothing strange upon first inspection, but an extremely sordid backdoor actually had been concealed.
“When the traps are activated, the entrance and the exit of the underground fortress will be immediately detonated. But other than them, all the other channels, including the gates, tunnels, ventilation tubes, and maintenance tubes, will be fully opened and cannot not be closed off with the crystal processors so that the flood can pour in without any obstacles!
“The flood is not terrifying per se. Many crystal suits can fight underwater. For the experts who have Cultivated to a certain level, they can live a long time by holding their breath and resorting to their ‘inner cycles’.
“However, there are countless horrifying beasts inside the river. Those we met when we leapt across the Nether River are just one kind of them. The hundreds and even thousands of other beasts did not have the ability to soar hundreds of meters into the sky. That was all.
“The beasts have lived in the Nether River for thousands of years. By absorbing the mother lodes below the ground, they continue mutating and strengthening themselves. They have strong senses about spiritual energy just like the Lustful Rock Spider and feast almost exclusively upon spiritual energy!
“When the intruders in the underground fortress encounter such a drastic change, they will certainly put on their crystal suits and trigger their spiritual energy. If so, they will be perfect prey for the beasts in the water!
“Moreover—”
Bai Xinghe narrowed his eyes and said, “A lot of high-purity crystals, such as ‘Thunder Stones’ and ‘Sunlight Stones’, are stored inside the warehouse of the underground fortress. Those crystals are as stable as rocks in dry air. However, once they meet water, intense chain reactions will be triggered. A huge amount of spiritual energy and heat will be emanated instantly as they turn into powerful bombs!
“Hehe. It was indeed an excellent move for Yan Xinjian. Since this is a fortress, important war assets such as the Thunder Stones and the Sunlight Stones are not weird at all when they are piled up in this place!
“The intruders would never have dreamt that the Thunder Stones and the Sunlight Stones, which are stored in the driest, special warehouses and blocked by drying rune arrays, will be submerged by a flood!
“The flood and the explosion of the Thunder Stones and the Sunlight Stones will block the upper half part of the underground fortress immediately.
“The important persons of the Immortal Cultivators are all concentrated in the bottom half of the fortress. They will have absolutely nowhere to run to when they realize what is going on!”
Sweat covered Li Yao’s forehead. Yan Xinjian’s schemes were indeed sordid.
It was impossible to destroy the entire underground fortress. However, drowning half of the fortress by pouring the river into it, together with the explosion of the crystals and the underwater predators, was going to be a major headache for the intruders.
Pondering for a moment, Li Yao asked, “Such traps might be sufficient for those in the Refinement Stage and in the Building Foundation Stage, but I wonder whether or not they are effective for those in the Core Formation Stage and in the Nascent Soul Stage.”
“That is exactly why I am hiding here,” Bai Xinghe explained. “After I discovered Yan Xinjian’s traps, I thought of building the traps into my last trump card. Therefore, I performed major modifications on the Star Prier’s House and sealed it again. Moreover, I deployed water-driving rune arrays around the house and stored tremendous food, compressed air, and water-driving magical equipment inside.
“In the meantime, I spent ten years digging a secret tunnel leading to the outside of the underground fortress from the Star Prier’s House. The front end of the tunnel exceeded the block range of the fortress. I built a one-way teleportation array there that could transport people out!
“My plan was simple. When the river poured into the underground fortress, I would stay in the Star Prier’s House and have a good rest while I observed the fight between the Immortal Cultivators and the underwater beasts.
“When the Immortal Cultivators had soaked in water for one day or two and were exhausted in the battles against the beasts, I would sneak out with the water-driving magical equipment and assassinate my targets.
“The underground fortress has a complicated terrain, and I am familiar with the environment here. Having had several days of good rest and knowing the location of every one of them, I could avoid the strongest experts and attack the lone, weak ones.
“With my capability in the Nascent Soul Stage and the chaos of the situation, it should not be a problem to slay a few people in the Core Formation Stage. By any luck, I could assassinate Fengyu Zhong or the Black King if I had the opportunity!
“Whether I could successfully assassinate the important persons of the Immortal Cultivators or not, I would return to the Star Prier’s House without any hesitation and then leave the underground fortress through the secret tunnel!”
Li Yao thought for a moment and suddenly blurted out, “When a tiger leaves a mountain, the monkey calls itself the king.”
Bai Xinghe chuckled and sneered. “Do you think Boss Bai is a monkey? But you are not wrong. Compared with the powerful Temple of Immortals, I am indeed a monkey.
“However, when I reappear on the surface, the ‘tigers’ of the Temple of Immortals will still be struggling to survive in the underground fortress!
“The traps might not be enough to kill the Black King, Fengyu Zhong, and Bai Wulei, but the space pirates and the Immortal Cultivators in the Refinement Stage and Building Foundation Stage will definitely suffer heavy losses!
“Then, just think about it. All the space pirates who distinguished themselves in the final battle between me and Fengyu Zhong and proved themselves loyal to the Temple of Immortals were permitted to enter the underground fortress. Then, what kind of person would be left on the surface?”
Li Yao took a long breath and replied, “All the space pirates loyal to the Temple of Immortals have come deep below the ground. Those left on the surface will either be the pirate gangs that were defeated and battered because they are loyal to you or those who were not really willing to contribute to the Temple of Immortals’ cause during the last battle!
“The final battle between Fengyu Zhong and you was like a filter that directed all the hardcore lackeys of the Temple of Immortals underground. Those who were left on the surface are definitely not the most loyal ones even though they were lackeys, too!”
“Exactly,” Bai Xinghe said. “That is the key of my entire plan.
“As the saying goes, a cake is sour when it is not divided evenly. I publicized the news that a lot of secret treasures of the Star Ocean Imperium are buried inside the underground fortress since a long time ago. Even a pig on Spider Den should be familiar with the rumors and fantasizing the wealth, not to mention the space pirates.
“The space pirates left on the ground are destined to not be trusted by the Temple of Immortals in the future. They can only wait and watch other pirate gangs looting trophies underground and probably swallowing them one day when those pirate gangs are strong enough!
“Tell me, what would those space pirates think?
“It is needless to say that the pirate gangs defeated and loyal to me are probably waiting for their death now. As long as there is a slim chance of survival, they will definitely try their best!
“Alright. That would have been the basic situation when Boss Bai, the Pirate Potentate, returned to the surface.
“The Temple of Immortals would have no leaders, and their core persons would not be able to break out of the underground fortress in a fortnight.
“Besides, with the flood and the explosions, and because of the blockage of the thick rock stratums, no news would be leaked out. I would be the only one who could tell them what happened below the ground.
“Just like that, when I showed up in front of everything and claimed that I had killed all the key persons of the Temple of Immortals in the underground fortress, preferably with the Black King’s or Fengyu Zhong’s head, do you think there would be anybody on Spider Den who would not obey me?”
Li Yao thought for a moment and cursed. He mumbled, “The king has returned!”
Bai Xinghe smiled and said, “Half a month would be more than enough for me to carry out a brutal counterattack!
“By then, even if the Black King or Fengyu Zhong could break out of the underground fortress, so what? Everything would already have changed!
“Hehe. What I was going to lose was the Abyss Pirate Gang, whose loyalty was questionable, but what I was going to get was the whole of Spider Den! Isn’t that a fair deal?”
“It’s a pity that you never calculated that your son would appear out of nowhere,” Li Yao said.
Bai Xinghe smiled bitterly. “Indeed, I didn’t. What a fool. I haven’t seen him for decades. Right now, I seem to be doomed for sure. Why did he come here?
“Is it possible that he grew suspicious about his past and wanted to know the truth before I was killed?”
Li Yao recalled Bai Kaixin’s eyes that were forever filled with vague sorrow and yet were as sharp as a frosted blade. He shook his head and said, “Boss Bai, you can’t see the big picture because you are in the game. Bai Kaixin is such a smart guy. Do you think he does not know the truth to this day? In my opinion, he figured everything out a long time ago.
“He did not come for an answer; he came to save you.”
Bai Xinghe suddenly stopped running and blurted out, “I am a battle-type Cultivator in the Nascent Soul Stage, and he is an admin-type Cultivator in the Building Foundation Stage. Do I need him to save me? What makes him think that he can save me?”
“The fact that he is your son,” Li Yao said.
Bai Xinghe was dazed for almost ten seconds. He suddenly burst into laughter. The aura of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator fully burst out and nearly knocked Li Yao over.
“Yes. I should’ve realized it earlier. He is here to save me. My son is here to save me!
“But right now, let your old man save you first!”