Chapter 154: Just Around the Corner
Translator: Panda_Penn Editor: Chrissy
"Buzzing!"
The underground lake beneath the Earth Dragon Island glistened, and two figures emerged in the lake. The two had just been teleported. They were caught unprepared, so they choked on some water, causing tears and snot to come out from their face.
With the light coming from the white stone, the two managed to determine that this was the underground lake at the Earth Dragon Island. The two looked at each other, feeling they had been gone for a lifetime.
The light of the white stone gradually died out. Eventually, it became a dull regular stone. The underground lake regained its quietness and darkness.
"Whoosh!"
Xuan Energy glowed on them as the two rushed upward. They landed at the passage leading down to the lake as the two took deep breaths. Their expressions indicated that they still thought this was surreal.
"We are back. We have finally made it back!"
Lu Li bellowed. Even though they were only in that small world for a couple of days, he felt he had spent several lifetimes in there. The things that happened inside the small world were too absurd. At first, they thought they were going to stay in there forever.
Looking at the black-iron in his hand, sensing the Fate Wheel Realm qi and energy coming from Hunchback Tian, Lu Li understood that everything was real, not a dream.
"Swish!"
There was a piercing sound coming from the passage. A black shadow quickly approached. Hunchback Tian stepped forward, ready to protect Lu Li.
"Island Owner, Island Owner, it that you?"
A voice full of excitement came out. Lu Li recognized it was Liu Xia, a disciple of the Liu Family. Lu Li quickly shouted, "Yes."
"It really is you. Good, wonderful!"
Liu Xia rushed over. He got down on one knee in front of Lu Li and Hunchback Tian and said, "You have been missing for a few days. Our Family Patriarch is going nuts."
"We are okay. Let us go out first."
Lu Li waved his hand and led Hunchback Tian and Liu Xia towards the outside. Lu Li considered it and asked Liu Xia to report first. He and Hunchback Tian slowed down.
"After we go out, we cannot let a single word out about what happened in there."
Lu Li ordered Hunchback Tian in a low voice. Then he added, "If Liu Yi and others asked, just tell them that we were trapped in a strange space. All the Green Dwarfs were killed. We were lucky enough to escape. Don’t say anything else."
Hunchback Tian was now Lu Li’s salve. He would listen to whatever Lu Li had to say. Also, Hunchback Tian was not stupid. He knew that if the information of the small world was disclosed, many big shots would be alarmed. Maybe Old Man of Heaven Prison himself would take some actions.
Hunchback Tian was counting on Ye Cha and his men to help build the second and the third Fate Wheel. How would he disclose information of the small world?
The two soon arrived at the crater. The rope was still there. Lu Li grabbed one and climbed up. Hunchback Tian was so powerful now that he bounced off on the wall of the volcano to leverage some strength and flew up.
"Lu Li!"
From the distance, a shadow flew over. It was Liu Yi. She had someone with her and they ran over. When she saw Lu Li, she was almost reduced to tears.
During the several days that Lu Li went missing, one day seemed like a year for her. If Lu Li and Hunchback Tian could not make it back, the Liu Family would be wiped out in an instant. Lu Li was now the backbone of the Liu Family. Liu Yi felt her life without Lu Li was like the end of the world.
"Island Owner, Master Hunchback Tian, it’s good you come back."
Patriarch Nine came as well. He felt like he was looking at hope when he saw the two. Lu Li had always been cultivating at the Dragon Elephant Mountain, so Patriarch Nine thought their life could go on even without Lu Li, their Island Owner. However, during the past few days, he realized that the Blood Evil Island could not live without Lu Li.
Lu Li smiled. He was not a tree or a grass. He had been living with the Liu Family for such a long time and they had went through so many things together. Naturally, he had feelings toward the Liu Family.
When everyone got up to the crater, Lu Li said with a bitter smile, "We ran into some things. The eight Green Dwarfs are all dead."
"It doesn’t matter as long as you are back."
Liu Yi didn’t care about it. They could buy Green Dwarfs with Xuan Crystals. If Lu Li were dead, they could not get another Lu Li no matter how many Xuan Crystals they spent.
"Eh?"
Patriarch Nine sensed Hunchback Tian was different. Patriarch Nine stared at Hunchback Tian for a moment and said, "Master Hunchback Tian, you… have built a Fate Wheel?"
Hunchback Tian held his head up high in pride and replied, "Ha, ha, I just made the breakthrough by accident."
Lu Li looked at Hunchback Tian. The latter lowered his head at once. Patriarch Nine and the others were shocked. Hunchback Tian had come to the Blood Evil Island to cast Fate Wheel. Would he leave now that he had made the breakthrough? With the eight Green Dwarfs dead, the protection of the Blood Evil Island was not strong.
"Let us go back first."
Lu Li waved his hand and ran towards the Blood Evil Island with a group of people following him. On their way, Lu Li posed many questions. He learned that the Earth Dragon Island was now fine. Patriarch Seven and Patriarch Lu hadn’t come back yet, but everything else was okay.
Patriarch Seven and Patriarch Lu had gone to the Shun Feng City to the south of the Thousand-island Lake. The journey was long and it would take them at least half a month to go and come back. Lu Li thought it was normal that they were not here.
When they went back to the Blood Evil Fortress, naturally, Liu Yi asked where Lu Li and Hunchback Tian had been. Liu Yi and Patriarch Seven all explored around the underground lake but they found nothing. The white stone never emitted any light after Lu Li and Hunchback Tian were teleported. All the people went to explore thought it was a regular stone so they paid no attention to it.
Hunchback Tian dared not to say anything rashly. Lu Li casually explained that they triggered some mysterious Inhibition Formation and they were teleported into a strange space in a daze. They were trapped there for several days.
Lu Li also ordered that nobody could go to that underground lake. If somebody accidentally triggered the Inhibition Formation, they would be in trouble. The strange space was pitch dark and horrible, and he and Hunchback Tian almost lost their minds in there.
Patriarch Nine was surprised. He said that someone should be sent to have a look or that the matter should be reported to God-down Island. Lu Li stopped bossily him. He said that the volcano erupting water might be triggered by the mysterious Inhibition Formation. What if when Xu Chen and others went there to have a look and they triggered the Inhibition Formation? The Blood Evil Island would be destroyed.
Patriarch Nine was crept out. Lu Li ordered again and again that nobody could go in there. He even said that nobody should live on the Earth Dragon Island. They should just leave one or two scouts to guard the place.
Lu Li also told Liu Yi to spread the word that not a thing about the Earth Dragon Island could get out. Anyone who breached the rule would be killed with no questions asked.
Liu Yi and Patriarch Nine understood that once the thing went out there, it would attract the attention of the God-down Island. They soon arranged someone to spread the order along.
Lu Li then secretly promised to Liu Yi and Patriarch Nine that Hunchback Tian would not leave. Lu Li told everyone to put their mind at ease and live on as usual. They would discuss other matters after Patriarch Seven and Patriarch Lu came back.
After everything was arranged, Lu Li came back to the Elephant Dragon Island. He needed a good rest. As soon as he got to the foot of the Elephant Dragon Island, a white blur flew toward him and rushed into his arms.
"Squeak, squeak~"
Hearing the familiar sound, looking at the excited face of Little White and its eyes full of worry, Lu Li felt his heart could melt.
The unreserved passionate feeling of the small beast towards him made Lu Li felt like it was a family relative. Lu Li held Little White and kissed it. Then he ran onto the Elephant Dragon Mountain while laughing out loud.
After he got back, Lu Li started cultivating immediately. He took out the Cyan Phoenix Pellet from the Interspatial Ring and stayed in closed-door training. He wanted to test the efficacy of the pellet and see if Ye Cha was messing with him.
Two hours later, Lu Li opened his eyes. He was wild with joy.
Ye Cha did not lie to him. Because of the animal tooth pendant, the efficacy of the Cyan Phoenix Pellet was boosted even more. He felt like the speed of his cultivation was increased by 60 or 70 times at least.
"Sixty or 70 times, the day that I reach the Soul Pond Realm is just around the corner!"
Lu Li clenched his fist. He looked towards the southeast. With the elevation of his realm, he felt he was getting closer and closer to Lu Ling…