Chapter 43: The Deceiving Subordinates

Gu Yuan didn't care whether Xiao Yan lived or died. If he weren't afraid that Xun'er would hate him after finding out, Gu Yuan might have even killed Xiao Yan with his own hands. But now that the ancient jade fragment was in Xiao Yan's possession, and Xiao Yan had been captured by the Soul Palace, Gu Yuan couldn't remain indifferent. He sent his daughter to the Xiao family to steal the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade. 

Unexpectedly, not only did he fail to obtain the ancient jade, but the Soul Clan managed to get it first. Gu Yuan and Emperor Hun Tian were both at the late stage of Nine-Star Dou Sheng. Emperor Hun Tian wanted to gather all eight pieces of ancient jade to open the cave and break through to the Dou Emperor level. Gu Yuan had the same goal.

The greatest benefit of breaking through to the Dou Emperor level would be the improvement of his clan's bloodline. The reason the seven ancient tribes were so powerful and had such a profound foundation today was due to the existence of Dou Di-level experts in their ancestry. However, for countless years, none of these ancient families' strong men had been able to advance to the realm of Dou Di. Even Xiao Xuan, the brilliant and talented patriarch of the Xiao clan, was no exception. This was why Emperor Hun Tian had endured for a thousand years.

So, when they heard that Xiao Yan, who held the ancient jade, had been captured by the Soul Palace, they reacted strongly. Although it was useless if the eight pieces of ancient jade weren't gathered together, Gu Yuan couldn't allow the Soul Clan to obtain them so easily.

Gu Yuan paced back and forth in the hall. If possible, he would have gone himself, but he hadn't forgotten that the eight ancient tribes had a rule that Dou Sheng powerhouses above five stars were forbidden from taking action. Although several tribes didn't strictly adhere to this rule, everyone tacitly agreed not to break it.

Despite being one of the strongest on the Douqi Continent, Gu Yuan was notoriously indecisive. Compared to Xiao Xuan, who was always prepared for danger in times of peace, and Emperor Hun Tian, who excelled at planning, Gu Yuan could be seen as someone who merely indulged in comfort.

In the end, to comply with the so-called "rules," Gu Yuan decided to send Gu Yun, a late-stage four-star Dou Sheng, instead.

Gu Yuan asked, "Do you know which Soul Palace branch Xiao Yan is in?"

"Father, I know. I left a sub-flame of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame on Brother Xiao Yan. I can sense its location," Gu Xun'er anxiously replied, but regretted it as soon as she finished speaking.

"What? You gave the sub-flame of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame to that kid?" Gu Yuan was furious when he heard that Xun'er had given the sub-flame of their clan's inherited fire to Xiao Yan. The sub-flame couldn't survive without a trace of the original fire's essence. Even though it was just a trace, it would take a long time for their clan to nurture even that small amount. Gu Yuan felt like he was about to lose his mind with anger.

At this moment, Gu Xun'er didn't dare to say a word, fearing that if she did, Gu Yuan might refuse to save Xiao Yan.

It took Gu Yuan a long time to calm down. When Gu Yun arrived, Gu Yuan explained the situation and instructed him to take Gu Xun'er to the Soul Palace to retrieve the ancient jade.

Although Gu Xun'er wanted her father to go with her, knowing that Gu Yuan, as a nine-star Dou Sheng, was much faster than Gu Yun, she had to give up after seeing how angry he was.

So, Gu Yun and Gu Xun'er rushed towards the direction indicated by the sub-flame.

Inside the Soul Palace branch, the guardian who captured Xiao Yan was now bound tightly with a black chain. Sitting in front of him was a middle-aged man whose mere presence was intimidating. This man was the Soul Palace Master, Hun Mie Sheng, a late-stage four-star Dou Sheng. Since the ancient tribes had a rule that powerhouses above five stars shouldn't interfere in the struggles of ordinary people, Hun Mie Sheng was sent to oversee the Soul Palace's activities.

Hun Mie Sheng, though, hadn't originally intended to come in person. However, when he heard that Xiao Yan had been captured, he felt it necessary to take charge himself. He had also ordered the massacre of the Xiao family and the capture of Xiao Zhan, acting on instructions from Emperor Hun Tian to retrieve the Xiao clan's ancient jade. But being the master of a hall, it wasn't feasible for him to go himself, so he had delegated the task to his subordinates.

Hun Mie Sheng knew that the Xiao family was now weak, with its strongest member only at the Grand Fighter level. The weakest guardians of the Soul Palace were all at the Dou Zong level, so after issuing the order, Hun Mie Sheng went into seclusion without worry.

However, his subordinates turned out to be incompetent. They passed the message down the chain until a mere human-level guardian was sent to the Gama Empire to handle the matter. When Hun Mie Sheng emerged from his retreat, he was informed that one of the Xiao family members had escaped!

Initially, Hun Mie Sheng didn't care. He figured they could hunt down the escapee later; the main priority was retrieving the ancient jade and reporting to Emperor Hun Tian. But to his surprise, his subordinates reported that they hadn't found the ancient jade, and the escaped Xiao Yan was likely the one who had it.

Given his growing mistrust of his subordinates, Hun Mie Sheng decided to visit the Soul Palace branch in person. Upon arrival, he found that the captured Xiao Yan was already dead, but he wasn't concerned about the boy—only about the ancient jade.

However, after searching Xiao Yan's body, they found no jade, and the storage ring that should have been on Xiao Yan was also missing. This led Hun Mie Sheng to suspect that his subordinates might have stolen the ring. 

Thus, Hun Mie Sheng ordered the interrogation of the guardian who captured Xiao Yan, which resulted in the current scene: Hun Mie Sheng sat observing while the guardian was tied up with black chains, and the elders of the branch hall conducted the interrogation.

"Elder," the elder in charge of the interrogation said, "Yinshan, I'll give you one last chance. Hand over Xiao Yan's storage ring."

"Respected Elder, I swear I'm innocent! When I found Xiao Yan outside the Soul Palace, he didn't have the storage ring on him. I didn't hide anything!" the guardian, whose right arm had been broken, pleaded in agony.

It turned out that after capturing Xiao Yan, Yinshan had lied, claiming to have been the one who captured him to magnify his contribution and earn a reward. Instead of being rewarded, he now found himself bound and tortured under suspicion of theft!