Chapter 149: The Green Droplet

Wispy Tooth sat behind the front desk counter, his eyes half-closed. He seemed as though he had been sitting there all along, as if he had never stirred from the spot. Even when Lei Xiang and his companions stepped into the Home Inn, he did not so much as lift an eyelid—whether he failed to recognize them or merely pretended not to, remained unknown.

Right at that moment, however, Lei Xiang strode up right before him, shouting and cursing loudly, "What kind of wretched inn is this, dammit? Not only are the lodging conditions deplorable, but there isn't even a single woman to be found! Hurry up and fetch me a couple of fresh ones; your grandfather here intends to carouse through the entire night." As he spoke, he caught sight of Wispy Tooth's face. His gaze instantly drifted, dodging the old man's eyes, before composing himself once more.

Yet even this infinitesimal shift did not escape Wispy Tooth's notice. His eyes snapped wide open with a sudden *swish*, their gaze piercing like lightning straight into Lei Xiang's flesh. "This patron looks rather familiar. I wonder if Your Excellency has ever stayed at our Home Inn before? If my memory serves me correctly, Your Excellency should bear the surname Lei. Though the respected Mr. Lei has altered his appearance, this old man can still distinguish your aura and bearing. Since you wish to indulge tonight, I shall immediately dispatch someone to your quarters."

Exposed!

Lei Xiang shook his head with a helpless sigh. "Lei or no Lei, loud or quiet, this father is visiting your establishment for the first time. Don't try to cozy up to me. As for the young women, forget it—my mood has suddenly vanished. I'll look for them tomorrow instead." With those words, he turned and strode toward the exit.

"Please stay your steps, Mr. Lei!" As he spoke, Wispy Tooth flicked his hand, and a small, entirely white box materialized in his palm. Without a single incantation, the box spat out a thread of white light. The thread rapidly extended, cutting off Lei Xiang's path.

Lei Xiang turned back coolly. Without a word, he exerted force with a single hand, summoning an even more dazzling bolt of lightning that instantly blasted the white thread to smithereens. Seizing the opportunity, Lei Xiang flashed out through the doors of the Home Inn, cast the Pride-Defying Sky-Covering Art once more, and vanished like a gust of wind.

Wispy Tooth, pursuing him moments later, found no target. His secret tracking arts proved futile, leaving him with no choice but to divide himself into three clones. Together with his original body, he gave chase in four separate directions.

About the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a gust of wind swept past the entrance of the Home Inn, revealing Lei Xiang's figure. He glanced in the direction where Wispy Tooth had departed, a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth as he muttered to himself, "Cunning as a ghost though you may be, you've still been played to perfection by your grandfather." With that, he strode briskly back into the Home Inn.

Inside the inn, behind the counter, the chair where Wispy Tooth had just been sitting had already been removed. Tian Rui and Yang Jian were searching about for something. The sudden reappearance of Lei Xiang did not startle them in the least. "Well? Did you find the entrance?"

***

The two shook their heads simultaneously. Tian Rui recovered first and chuckled, "Who would have guessed, Young Master Lei, that you are quite the talented actor? Even that old fox Wispy Tooth was fooled by you. He never expected that you exposed yourself intentionally, all to lure him away from this place."

Yang Jian also fawned with a flattering smile, "The young master is truly brilliant! The stratagem of luring the tiger away from its mountain that you employed was an immensely hazardous gamble; without extraordinary audacity, no one would dare attempt it."

Lei Xiang frowned. Sensing Lei Xiang's impatience with the flattery, Tian Rui hurriedly added, "Time is of the essence, and we haven't discovered the mechanism yet. We must ask Young Master Lei to display the Divine Lightning Slash and let us see what we can find."

Without declining, Lei Xiang channeled his supreme art, his eyes flashing with blue radiance as he swept the surrounding area. A moment later, the blue light fixed upon the chair where Wispy Tooth had been sitting. Reaching out, he grabbed the pear-wood chair, pulling it toward him. Flipping the chair upside down so its four legs pointed toward the ceiling, he gripped the underside of the seat with five fingers and revealed an extremely fine steel cord, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lei Xiang immediately pulled the half-meter-long steel cord. With a *whoosh*, the scenery before everyone's eyes transformed completely. Where there had just been the front desk of the Home Inn, the next moment they found themselves standing inside a vast chamber. This room was truly enormous, measuring no less than thirty square meters. Yet, in the center of this vast space, there was only a single beam of gentle green light.

"Here... is this that room that was never opened before? How come there's nothing else inside?" Yang Jian asked excitedly. In their view, entering this place smoothly meant they had already touched the threshold of the Floating Island's gates.

Lei Xiang looked in astonishment at Yang Jian and Tian Rui. In both of their eyes, strange glows flickered in unison. There was a trace of shock in those gazes, but far more excitement, and even a hidden hint of greed. *What on earth are the two of them looking for? Is it something of immense importance? Are they both searching for the exact same object?* Lei Xiang pondered inwardly, but allowed none of it to show on his surface, turning a blind eye to the changes in the pair.

Since the three of them were at their wits' end regarding the gentle light, they began to circle around it. *Could that object be hidden within this beam of light?* Lei Xiang thought to himself. *There's bound to be a fierce battle to seize it later. If it's nothing of real importance, I won't bother getting involved.*

About a quarter of an hour passed, and their patience was wearing thin. Tian Rui made the first move. Coming to a halt and planting her feet firmly in a nail-like stance, she opened her mouth and spat out a ball of fire, encasing a glowing red pair of forging tongs, and struck directly forward. "Let me be the first to see what kind of monstrosity this is!"

Startled, Yang Jian reacted instantly. A dark green flying sword shot from his mouth, growing to two zhang in length against the wind, ready to slash toward the forging tongs. Tian Rui emitted a cold snort from her nose. Yang Jian's heart leaped; he instantly realized that Tian Rui's cultivation was superior to his by more than a single grade, and trying to snatch the prize from her would only invite humiliation. Adapting to the situation on the fly, he smiled and said, "Allow me to guard Senior Sister so that she may retrieve the treasure in peace."

***

Tian Rui sneered and said nothing. With a flick of her slender finger, the forging tongs already clamped onto the ball of green light. When the tongs retrieved the green light, even Tian Rui could hardly believe how smoothly the treasure-retrieval process had gone. After hammering several incantations into it, the green light slowly contracted, ultimately condensing into a liquid droplet the size of an apple.

In an instant, joy bloomed on the faces of all three. A clump of deep green liquid of this size, even if not a supreme treasure, was undoubtedly a rare and precious refining material. Yet Yang Jian and the others found their divine senses still unable to penetrate the droplet; even Lei Xiang's blue radiance failed to pierce it, which only heightened its mysterious aura. Thus, the three took turns unleashing their mystical abilities, intent on unlocking the secret of the droplet.

An hour later, having employed no fewer than thirty different methods, they were still unable to probe the green liquid, nor had they caused it to undergo even the slightest change. Just as Lei Xiang and the others sank into total despair, Yang Jian made an astonishing move.

Suddenly, he raised his head toward the ceiling, his gaze turning dull and unmoving, completely unresponsive to Lei Xiang and Tian Rui's calls. It was only after Tian Rui employed a soul-startling art that Yang Jian gave a violent shudder, lowered his head, and charged directly toward the liquid droplet. Incredibly, he hurled his own head straight at the hovering droplet.

There was no sound, no resistance whatsoever. Yang Jian's head smashed fiercely into the green liquid. Bizarrely, the droplet adhered to the center of his brow and slowly seeped inward. Between Yang Jian's eyebrows, a green vertical mark appeared, resembling a third vertical eye. Yet it did not look out of place at all, appearing as though it had been born there and existed since the beginning of time.

Just as Lei Xiang and the others stared with dropped jaws, an even more astonishing transformation occurred. Yang Jian's hands moved on their own, rapidly forming hand seals and striking a spiritual seal directly onto his own glabella. Then, the green liquid erupted outward, swelling rapidly in mid-air—first the size of a bowl of water, then a basin, and still it continued to expand violently.

As for Yang Jian, who had spewed forth the liquid, he had returned to his normal state, save for the faint, very faint gleam of green light that periodically flashed within his eyes.

*(Note: Today is October 1st, wishing all book friends a happy National Day!)*