Chapter 10: Obstruction
Two months later, the ones who could come visit him had come. Yue Longsha had also came.
Since Su Chen didn’t believe that there would be any visitors in the near future, he could finally go on a trip to Empty Mountain.
This time, Su Chen did not go alone. Apart from Iron Cliff, he also brought the Death’s Shadow, Cloud Leopard, and twelve Sword Servants. After all, he was now the Sect Master of the Boundless Sect, and he would seem poor if he didn’t even have any subordinates with him.
After leaving the Boundless Sect, Su Chen and the others headed straight for New Rain City.
New Rain City was the capital of Empty Mountain. It had been built by the Chu Clan’s Chu Yuankong, whose bloodline was that of the Desolate Beast, White Fang. The current Chu Clan’s ruler was Chu Yuan, the fifth-generation ruler of the Chu Clan.
As the targets of intense scrutiny, the Gu Clan had been sent to New Rain City.
Not only so, but they were also the largest clan there apart from the Chu Clan.
After flying on the Raging Sun Shuttle for many days, Su Chen and the others finally arrived at New Rain City.
They first landed outside the city walls, then walked towards the city.
Unlike Long Coiling City’s tall, sturdy walls, New Rain City’s walls were very short. There wasn’t much in the way of security either. Even though it was the country’s capital, it seemed just like an average city.
Perhaps this was because Empty Mountain’s purpose was not to deal with external enemies but internal threats.
Apparently, the Chu Clan’s bloodline possessed a kind of Origin Skill that could repress the Gu Clan’s bloodline, which was why they had been given such high status.
Su Chen had a hard time imagining what kind of Bloodline Origin Skill could allow a Desolate Beast Bloodline to suppress an Origin Beast Bloodline, but since the Chu Clan had somehow managed to keep an eye on the Gu Clan’s members for thousands of years without falling, they probably had some kind of unique attribute allowing them to do so.
The Gu Clan’s residence was not hard to find. Su Chen and the others just had to ask around a bit to find out.
West Willow Alley, near the main Northforest Street, belonged entirely to the Gu Clan, which was why it was also known as the Gu Clan Alley.
Two guards stood at the front door of the Gu Clan.
Shockingly, these guards were both at the Yang Opening Realm. It seemed like they were only a single step away from reaching the Light Shaking Realm.
If the guards at the front door possessed such high cultivation bases, it was quite obvious how powerful the Gu Clan was.
Su Chen stepped forwards and said, “My name is Su Chen. I am here to see Miss Gu Qingluo.”
Unexpectedly, the two guards were taken aback when they heard this name. “Su Chen?”
Su Chen said, “Yes.”
The two guards glanced at each other. One of them said, “Please, sir, wait out here for a moment. We will go and notify them immediately.”
As he spoke, that person turned around and walked into the Gu Clan’s residence.
Su Chen glanced at the guard’s disappearing figure as he calmly said, “It seems from your tone earlier that you have heard of my name before?”
The remaining guard avoided making eye contact with Su Chen. “We have not.”
“You haven’t?” Su Chen stared at the guard. “Then why are you so nervous? Your breathing is becoming labored, you are gathering your Origin Energy, and your strength is subconsciously building up……”
The guard harrumphed, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just sit here and wait obediently.”
Su Chen took one step back. “Since that’s the case, I’ll come back and visit another day.”
As he spoke, he turned around as if he was going to leave.
When the guard saw that he was about to leave, he became extremely agitated and cried out, “Don’t go!”
He actually reached out to grab Su Chen.
Before he his hand even made contact with Su Chen, Su Chen barked, “Grab him!”
Iron Cliff reached out his massive hand, placing it on that guard’s shoulder and rendering him immobile. At the same time, the Death’s Shadow unleashed its large strips of white paper, wrapping up the guard and mummifying him.
Su Chen continued to walk away without even looking. The others took the guard and left quickly, rapidly disappearing from the alleyway.
A brief moment later, a large group of people came charging out of the alleyway, a handsome young man with a lofty aura at the very front. He glanced around and didn’t see the other guard, then cursed with a dark expression on his face, “Damn! He got away!”
A man with a cloudy expression said immediately, “Search. He can’t have gotten far.”
Everyone dispersed.
No one noticed a person silently standing in a shadowy corner of the alleyway watching them.
It was Su Chen.
After watching them for a bit, he turned around and left.
This time, he was really leaving.
The guard gradually awoke in a forest outside of New Rain City.
A vicious face was pressed up right against his as soon as he opened his eyes.
The guard was badly startled, and Iron Cliff grabbed him by the throat as he howled, “We will ask, you will answer. Don’t waste our time with anything unimportant. Understand?”
The guard nodded with fright.
Iron Cliff released his grip and stepped aside, allowing Su Chen to take center stage. “Who was the one who gave you the order to deal with me?”
“Young Master Gu Feihong.”
“What status does he have amongst the Gu Clan?”
“Elder Gu Mingwei’s youngest son.”
“Why does he want to deal with me?”
“Young Master Gu likes Gu Qingluo.”
“They’re both from the Gu Clan. Why is he so eager to eat his neighbor’s grass?”
“They’ve been apart from the main clan for so long, so their blood relation has grown thin a long time ago. In addition, for the sake of bloodline purity, the various nobility clans all support this kind of behavior. Is that really so strange?”
“Bang!”
“Ah!”
The guard cried out in pain as one of his fingers was broken.
Su Chen coolly said, “I reminded you before that you shouldn’t waste my time with anything unimportant, right?”
“Yes…… Yes……” The guard nodded frantically.
“What is your name?”
“Gu…… Gu Lian.”
“Your bloodline hasn’t awakened?”
“If my bloodline was awakened, how could I be chosen to guard the front door to the clan?”
“Good point. So how many members of the Gu Clan have had their bloodlines awakened?” Su Chen continued to ask.
“A total of 542 people.”
“What are their cultivation bases like?” “Who are they?” “Where are they located?” “Where is Gu Qingluo?” “How is she doing at the moment?”......
Su Chen asked question after question.
As the guard answered all Su Chen’s questions, a rough sketch of the strength of the Gu Clan slowly began to appear before their eyes.
There were twelve Emperor-level existences amongst the Gu Clan, known as the twelve human emperors. They were the Gu Clan’s main source of power.
There were forty-two Thought Manifestation Realm cultivators below them, known as the forty-two Sky Columns due to the fact that they upheld the Heavens for the Gu Clan.
There were around a hundred Spirit Burning Realm cultivators below that.
Three hundred Light Shaking Realm cultivators were below that, making up the largest numbers. Actually, there were no more than a hundred or so Yang Opening Realm cultivators.
This was because, as soon as the Origin Beast Bloodline awakened, breaking into the Light Shaking Realm was exceptionally easy. What others considered to be a tremendous obstacle was like a highway in the eyes of the Gu Clan.
As for Blood Boiling Realm and below, there were basically none, because it was too hard to awaken the Origin Beast bloodline at that cultivation level. It was extremely hard to do it without possessing a certain degree of strength.
No clan in the entire continent could declare that they had more might and strength than the Gu Clan.
If it weren’t for the fact that the Chu Clan possessed a secret technique that could suppress the Gu Clan, the Gu Clan’s power probably would have allowed them to create a period of prosperity for themselves.
Even though they were aware that the Gu Clan was powerful, everyone was still shocked when they found out just how powerful the Gu Clan really was.
No wonder the guard was so easily willing to spill all the information; everything Su Chen was asking were questions that most of the people in Empty Mountain already knew the answers to.
The Gu Clan had never attempted to conceal their strength, and the Chu Clan didn’t allow them to do so anyways.
At this moment, the guard finished his explanation and said, “Now do you know how frightening the Gu Clan really is? I will give you some advice: your best move right now is to leave and never reappear. In any case, if you dare offend the Gu Clan, you will most certainly die a tragic death.”
“Your tone is quite arrogant. Are you not worried I am going to kill you?” Su Chen asked.
The guard harrumphed, “I was only cooperating earlier because I was worried you would be too impulsive. Now that you know the Gu Clan’s might, however, you should think a little bit before acting. If you dare kill me, the Gu Clan will not spare you.”
“The Gu Clan cannot leave Empty Mountain. Why should I be afraid of them?”
“They cannot leave Empty Mountain, but that depends on the circumstances. If someone kills a Gu Clan disciple, they have the right to send someone to get revenge. In times of need, they can seek approval to leave the country under certain circumstances!”
“But those circumstances do not include you, right?” Su Chen said.
The guard’s expression changed drastically. Obviously, Su Chen had managed to pinpoint his weak spot.
Su Chen sighed. “I warned you not to waste my time with unnecessary chatter, but you refused to listen. You have already spoken way too many unnecessary words, so I will not break your fingers anymore. Instead, I will break another one of your members.”
Just as the guard sighed with relief, he heard Su Chen say, “Neck.”
The guard was badly stunned. “No……”
Crack! Su Chen snapped the guard’s neck.
“If you weren’t so arrogant, you could have lived,” Su Chen said as he tossed the guard’s corpse aside, then fell into deep thought.
After some time, Su Chen said, “No matter what, we must get an audience with Gu Qingluo.”
Iron Cliff was startled. “Master, please think thrice about this!”
Twelve Human Emperors was simply too frightening. Even the badly wounded Demonic Emperor, the Scarlet Heart, had almost killed Su Chen. These twelve Human Emperors were existences that stood at the peak of humanity.
The current Su Chen had no right to challenge them. He could only gaze up at them in awe.
Even one of the forty-two Thought Manifestation Realm cultivators below them could most likely wipe out a majority of the Boundless Sect with a single move.
But no matter how dangerous it was, Su Chen still wanted to advance without fear.
Su Chen said indifferently, “The Gu Clan is strong, and we cannot force our way in. But just because force won't work doesn't mean that more refined approaches won't. Some things can always be done as long as you are willing to think about them for a bit."
Su Chen had managed to rope in the Gu Clan in Swallow River City by throwing a few million at the problem, so it wasn't an impossibility for him to gain the same influence here as well. However, the main Gu Clan, which had the twelve Human Emperors, was much more powerful than the branch at Longxi. Wanting to buy then all out was probably something that would take something on the order of hundreds of billions, not tens of millions.
Su Chen wouldn't have put down so much money even if he had it.
As such, it was most likely that he wouldn’t be able to use money to resolve the situation.
But not being able to use money didn’t mean that there was no other alternative.
After thinking about it for some time, Su Chen said, “First, I must let Gu Qingluo know that I’m here.”
Gu Feihong was obviously in such a hurry to deal with him because Gu Qingluo was still waiting for him.
But with Gu Feihong still in the Gu Residence, it was incredibly difficult for Su Chen to find Gu Qinluo. Every day that Su Chen didn’t manage to see Gu Qingluo was an extra day that Gu Feihong would be able to use to make arrangements for Su Chen. It was possible that Gu Qingluo might think that Su Chen had fallen in love with someone else someday, and then Gu Feihong could seize the opportunity to insert himself into the situation. Even the strongest woman might have problems resisting.
As such, the most important thing to take care of was that he needed to get word to Gu Qingluo that he had come for her.
Iron Cliff said with anxiety, “But if we can’t meet with Young Miss Gu, how will we send news to her?”
“This……” Su Chen paced back and forth a few times. “It’s not necessarily impossible.”
“What’s your plan?” everyone asked.
Su Chen said calmly, “Think a bit more outside of the box. We might not necessarily need to get into the residence in order to get word to her…… No matter how Gu Feihong tries to prevent word from reaching her, she must leave the residence at some point, right?”
“So then we wait. We can be a thief for a thousand days, but they will not be on guard against a thief for a thousand days. She will come out sooner or later.”
Patience was often the simplest and most effective tactic that guaranteed the most success.