Gu Yuan could no longer feign death. He was clear that Yun Ran’s relationship with the boss was merely cooperative, not that of a bona fide subordinate. Usually, when getting Yun Ran to do work, sufficient benefits had to be provided.
Now with just a few words from this senior, they want Yun Ran to hand over her own Magic Artifact, especially one like the Qiankun Ring—the fallout would be immense.
"Esteemed senior, with all due respect, this Qiankun Ring is the treasured artifact of Yun Ran’s sect, I’m afraid she can’t make that decision on her own."
Could the elder who spoke not know how precious such a Magic Artifact is, and that it couldn’t possibly be handed over easily?
Of course, he knew, it’s just that everyone has their own desires.
If they truly reach a critical juncture, these old folks—even if they have to die here to forge a path of survival for the younger generation—that would be proper.
But things are stable now, aren’t they? They only need to use the Qiankun Ring so that everyone benefits at the cost of sacrificing one person’s interest.
However, the one thing he didn’t anticipate was that the Qiankun Ring belonged not to any of the others present, but to that girl with the unfortunate Life Chart. This made things somewhat awkward for him.
If the Magic Artifact belonged to someone else, and there were seniors from their families or sects present, they would have to comply once he asked.
"Young friend, to which sect do you belong?"
Gu Yuan’s eyebrows slightly furrowed. Were they trying to involve Yun Ran’s sect? If so, the Qiankun Ring might truly be at risk.
"Enough already, do you old geezers have no shame? Coveting the young girl’s possession!"
The one who spoke was an elder standing at the very back, but don’t imagine that just because he stood at the back, his status was the lowest.
Gu Yuan looked at the elder who had spoken and breathed a sigh of relief: "Uncle Gu."
Uncle Gu nodded lightly, hands clasped behind his back, and squeezed through the crowd blocking his way.
"Brother Gu, what you’re saying is a bit harsh. We’re simply thinking of completing this mission at the smallest cost."
"Hah, the smallest cost? Since it’s not from your own pocket, huh? If you truly had no ulterior motives, then offer up a Magic Artifact equivalent to the Qiankun Ring as collateral to the young lady.
To let her hand over the treasured artifact of her sect on mere words, yet the credit all goes to you, what kind of good fortune are you dreaming of!"
The elders who were speaking just now suddenly blushed; they weren’t shameless people. They were just thinking of borrowing it, not truly coveting the artifact.
Yun Ran, who had suddenly become the center of the dispute, had yet to open her mouth but had already ’won lying down.’ Uncle Gu from the Gu Family was completely speaking on her behalf.
[Host, among these old men, Uncle Gu’s Dao progress should be the strongest, nearly reaching your master-uncle’s level. With them here, you will be able to go back to sleep soon.]
The others also felt somewhat embarrassed. No one had told them that when these elders of their families gathered together, such a scene of conflict could occur.
How could Gu Yuan, as one of the high-ranking officials of the Special Administration Bureau, allow these seniors to lose face?
He immediately jumped out to smooth things over: "Esteemed seniors, we have clarified..."
After waiting for Gu Yuan to report everything uncovered previously, the few elders, who were somewhat unconvinced, suddenly let go of the grudges in their hearts.
They began to investigate the jars.
The elder who regarded Yun Ran with disdain as if she was trash squatted down to examine the jars closely, then his expression drastically changed.
"These jars are made from the soil of thousand-year-old ancient tombs, inherently filled with Yin Cold Energy. Ordinary ghosts, if they encounter such jars, would find their cultivation progress doubled.
According to your earlier report, these ghosts can feed on Ghost Kings, which suggests they have surpassed even the Great Ghost King Level.
If I’m not mistaken, this is an ancient witchcraft called the Nine Heavenly Mysterious Demon Technique, which involves torturing those capable of communication with spirits and imprisoning their souls.
Then, in the manner of raising gu, they are made to kill and devour each other, absorbing their cultivation, and what is finally crafted can break free from all rules, not bound by heaven and earth..."
The elder speaking was named Zhongli Yuanjing, whose ancestors were from the Qintian Bureau. His family had a profound legacy, with many ancient books documenting many ’legends’ unknown to outsiders.
Yun Ran had never heard of such witchcraft, but she still could not help but shiver instinctively. To break free from all rules, that’s almost on par with the methods of immortals.
Upon hearing this, the only thought in everyone else’s mind was that this thing must be destroyed!
"With the methods we few possess, it’s no problem to seal these jars, but to destroy them will not be easy."
By now, they had guessed that the ghosts inside the jars might well be the Xuanmen people who had died tragically before.
Zhongli Yuanjing shook his head: "They cannot be destroyed. Once the ghosts inside sense danger, they will gnaw at these containers and mutate prematurely."
Just then, the Qiankun Ring suddenly emitted a cracking sound.
Yun Ran’s expression also changed slightly. The Qiankun Ring was given to her by her master-uncle, and while it couldn’t be said to be indestructible, able to stand against everything in the world.
But if it was just to suppress ghosts, it should have been more than enough.
Now that the Qiankun Ring was beginning to crack, it indicated that the item inside the jar was likely close to being fully nurtured.
As the sound of this sentence fell, the nine jars began to shake violently. Cracks appeared on the edges of the jars and chewing sounds came in waves, pounding on everyone’s hearts.
Seeing that things were going awry, Yun Ran hurriedly made hand signs to enlarge the Qiankun Ring directly above the villa, enveloping the whole villa within.
No matter what, these things could not be allowed to escape!
Although the elders were shocked, they were not panicked. The objects in their hands did not stop; those who were forming arrays did so, those making hand signs did so, and those wielding Magic Artifacts continued.
While the chewing sound slowed down, everyone could visibly see cracks gradually forming on the jars.
Inside, with eyes that were pitch black yet glinting eerily, were firmly fixated on the people outside.
Although the ghosts said nothing, a bizarre notion arose in everyone’s minds—that these ghosts wanted to devour them.
The Ghost King Bead in Yun Ran’s hand trembled with fear, afraid that it would become food for the ghosts.
Seeing the light from the Qiankun Ring grow dimmer, Yun Ran released the Heavenly Thunder Pearl. The chewing noise slowed further, but the three thunder patterns on the Heavenly Thunder Pearl also began to fade.
This made Yun Ran look even more concerned. Even the Heavenly Thunder was not enough to restrain these beings directly.
She seemed to guess the reason why Rong Gu had been able to do evil for over a decade under the watch of Hai City Special Administration Bureau without being discovered.