Chapter 607 - Snake Isle’s Secret
Chapter 607: Snake Isle’s Secret
“What happened?” Xia Fei asked severely.
Gu Tong was an honest man, almost even to the point of being stupid. Something that could cause such a man to be so flustered must surely be huge!
“Quickly get yourself to Snake Isle! The family has sent out an order for all warriors with a Law Sovereign or higher cultivation to gather there. Even the two Beast Kings from the Roaring Tiger Park have been brought over! Something happened and it’s something huge!” Gu Tong said with a pale face.
Xia Fei was slightly surprised. All the warriors with a Law Sovereign or higher cultivation were required to be present! That was practically a full assembly order! Just what could be the reason for such a major show of force?
“No need to be flustered. Speak slowly.” Xia Fei pulled Gu Tong to his side.
Gu Tong was of course not in the mood to sit down, constantly pacing back and forth, worry written all over his face.
“Why don’t you first calm down? I haven’t been in the clan these last handful of days, so I have no clue what transpired here. Best if you tell me everything about this situation, sparing no details,” Xia Fei stated in a deep voice.
Xia Fei was never someone who ran into matters blindly. The more critical the juncture was, the more his calm and analytical mind would be demonstrated. Xia Fei knew that the current state of affairs was abnormal, given how panicky and on edge Gu Tong was, and while anyone could afford to be rash at such a point, Xia Fei was not about to do the same.
“Patriarch Yu Jiang has a grandson who goes by the name of Yu Guding. The Yu family has been guarding Snake Isle for years not only because it’s where their Divine Beast Green Dawn, a giant green-spotted python, resides but also because Guding has been on the isle, cultivating and training, all this time.”
Xia Fei was shocked. “There’s a Divine Beast on Snake Isle?”
“That’s right. Green Dawn is Yu family’s Guardian Divine Beast, and it’s been residing on the isle for thousands of years, fighting for the family patriarchs, protecting the clan, through ages. In the Law Realm, any clan that has any prestige to speak of will have exotic beasts to defend them. Though the Yu family has since been on a decline, it once had a glorious past, so the family’s guardian is an actual Divine Beast! A level 2 Divine Beast, too! This is something even those families in White Horse Constellation are greatly jealous of.
“After all, Divine Beasts are considered to be the highest grade of exotic beasts that can be found, possessing a measure of humanity and can even communicate! Of course, your Holy Beast Shatterstar is of a grade higher than a Divine Beast and is far more precious.” Gu Tong spoke very quickly.
Xia Fei nodded. He had seen the two birds of the Black and White Gods. The two were truly proficient in terms of intelligence and speech, far different from any other exotic beasts he had come across before.
“What’s the story behind Patriarch Yu Jiang’s grandson?” Xia Fei asked.
“The patriarch has two sons, both Law Emperors. About thirty years ago, both died in the middle of a fierce battle, leaving just this one grandson, Yu Guding.
“Yu Guding isn’t very talented, and his progress in cultivating has been very slow, so the patriarch secretly sent him to Snake Isle, for him to cohabitate with the Divine Beast Green Dawn and train with it. He’s not allowed to leave the isle without becoming a Law Emperor. This is why Snake Isle has been so strictly guarded all this while.
“Such a move is widely criticized by the clan. Rumors go that Patriarch Yu Jiang’s commitment to the idea of letting Yu Guding become the family successor is akin to burning one’s boat, diverting the best resources of the clan, as well as the Divine Beast Green Dawn, on Yu Guding. However, the old patriarch’s fame precedes him, and as the war god in the Yu family who is closest to attaining Law Overlord, including the fact that he’s sacrificed his two sons for the clan, though everyone’s complaining, none dares to voice their opinion regarding this.”
Xia Fei mused. “If he wants his son to inherit his position in the clan, he should just go ahead and do so; why resort to such harsh means like throwing his grandson to Snake Isle…”
Gu Tong had been heavily injured just from being on guard duty there for a handful of days, which was evidence that Snake Isle was no paradise but rather a place fraught with dangers! Xia Fei felt that sending his own grandson to such a place was very unkind.
“Well, you may not know this, but there’s a rule in the Yu family that the successor of the clan must be of Law Emperor cultivation, or else he or she can’t take the position,” Gu Tong explained.
Xia Fei was startled, seemingly having suddenly thought of something, but he did not mention his speculation. Instead, he chose to bury it deep in his heart.
“Some time ago, we received news that Yu Guding had managed to ascend to Law Emperor. He is about to be released, so Patriarch Yu Jiang is of course elated. He set out yesterday to visit Snake Isle, taking this opportunity to show veneration to the family’s ancestors.
“Unfortunately, as the patriarch led his men into the isle, a Sky Curtain got erected, trapping them within! That’s why the chief custodian, Yu Jin, urgently called for all the elites of the clan to gather at Snake Isle and deal with whatever unexpected event is happening there!”
Xia Fei heaved a long sigh and asked, “What’s a Sky Curtain?”
“A law barrier! A very powerful spatial isolation. Right now, the patriarch is inside, unable to get out, while people on the outside can’t enter. No one has any idea what’s going on inside!” Gu Tong said with urgency.
“How are you so certain that this Sky Curtain isn’t something the patriarch erected himself?” Xia Fei asked.
“It’s absolutely impossible. The patriarch happily went to receive his own grandson, who had gotten promoted; why would he erect a Sky Curtain and seal himself in? Besides, the Sky Curtain is a high-level spatial law isolation technique, and no one in the Yu family has ever managed to have such a high-level technique before.”
Xia Fei lit a cigarette for himself and was deep in his thoughts. Gu Tong saw that Xia Fei had no intention of heading to Snake Isle and was extremely anxious. He lacked the cultivation himself, or else he would have been among the first to rush over when the call first went out.
“The patriarch is the pillar of the Yu family. If anything were to happen to him, the clan would be doomed!” Gu Tong hastily pleaded.
Xia Fei smiled. “Your anxiety isn’t helping anyone either way. Let me ask you: Where’s Yu Hua?”
“He’s on Snake Isle, of course! Though Yu Jin doesn’t see eye to eye with him, he’s still the only Law Emperor in the clan aside from the patriarch; Yu Jin personally showed up to request Yu Hua’s presence on Snake Isle,” Gu Tong said.
Xia Fei frowned. “Yu Hua didn’t leave for Snake Isle with the patriarch?”
“Of course, he didn’t. Snake Isle is the holy ground of the clan, where the ancestors are laid to rest. Since Yu Hua left the family many years ago, even his name can’t appear on the clan tree. Though he’s still living here, he isn’t considered a member of the clan. Yu Hua simply has no qualifications to join the patriarch on his trip to venerate the ancestors,” Gu Tong said.
‘He didn’t go?’ Xia Fei muttered to himself as he rubbed his chin.
“Are you suspecting that Yu Hua is behind this?” Gu Tong was puzzled.
“Xia Fei chuckled. “You said that only a Law Emperor can succeed the post of the family patriarch, and now that Guding has achieved just that, this happened, so—”
“You’re wrong!” Gu Tong sighed as he explained. “Others may have such ambitions but not Yu Hua. He’s a gentlemanly and amicable person, preferring business and pleasure than such worldly concerns.”
“Back when the patriarch’s two sons died, he personally sought Yu Hua and requested his return to the clan, even offering the position of the patriarch to him, but the latter refused it. All the elders of the family also showed up then; he would get the position if he only wanted it. There’s no reason for him to wait till today. Everyone in the clan knows this, so you shouldn’t suspect him,” Gu Tong said.
Xia Fei nodded and did not say a word. Hearing Gu Tong’s words, Xia Fei’s initial assumption that, if something truly happened to the patriarch, the main one who would benefit from all this was Yu Hua had ultimately been a miss. This was because Yu Hua did not join the entourage inside, and he was also gone from the family tree, no longer having the chance to take up the position.
The one Xia Fei next suspected was Yu Jin, seeing as the latter was the second in command within the Yu family. If anything were to happen to the patriarch, and Yu Hua had no way of succeeding the leadership post, then he would naturally be next in line for the job. Meanwhile, Xia Fei reckoned that it was not a problem with regard to the Law Emperor cultivation prerequisite.
SInce Yu Hua could hide the truth of his Great Law Emperor cultivation, Yu Jin would of course be able to do the same!
Besides, the clan could not go one day without a patriarch, so changing the rules to accommodate some unforeseen circumstances was not an impossibility.
Bidding farewell to Gu Tong, Xia Fei headed to the seaside in accordance with Gu Tong’s directions.
Though the Yu family was situated aboard a huge warship, it did not lack the necessary land features a planet would have.
The vast and endless sea was no different from a real sea.
Snake Isle was right in the middle of this sea.
…
“The overseer of Roaring Tiger Park, Xia Fei, is here!”
Shouting loudly upon his arrival on Snake Isle, Xia Fei leaped off a small ship and stood on the unceasing seashore.
Practically all the combat-capable had gathered on the isle; Yu Jin, Yu Hua, Yu Xiaobei, Yu Luxuan, and even the little demoness Yu Qiqi were here.
Xia Fei looked around. Snake Isle was in the middle of the sea, covering a sizable area of land, lush with verdant forest.
At present, the entire isle had been shrouded in a layer of hazy fog. People beyond could not see clearly what was happening inside, and Xia Fei supposed that this was the so-called Sky Curtain.
The warriors assembled were all clutching their weapons as if they were ready to clash against a great army, waiting somberly.
Yu Hua waved his hand from far away, making his way over to Xia Fei’s side.
Though he had his suspicions toward Yu Hua, the last thing Xia Fei wanted was for Yu Hua to have had a hand in this. After all, there were few in the clan whom he was familiar with, and the two of them shared a fairly good relationship.
“I have yet to congratulate you for successfully passing the initial assessment of the Dragon Ascension Conclave.” Yu Hua laughed, looking no different from before.
At the side, Yu Xiaobei clenched his fists. Xia Fei had managed to pass, yet he had been eliminated; to the extremely prideful Yu Xiaobei, this was no doubt a great affront.
“Hmph! What’s so great about that? Our Brother Xiaobei is still formidable!” Yu Qiqi snorted indignantly, reaching out to lock her arms with Yu Xiaobei.
“Scram!” Yu Xiaobei angrily shoved Yu Qiqi, causing the girl to collapse, butt-first, on the sandy shore. Her two eyes grew bewildered and verged on tears.
Xia Fei very gentlemanly strolled over to help Yu Qiqi up, softly saying, “Your skirt got dirty. Go and change to a new one.”
One was short-tempered while the other was personable. There was a stark distinction between the two when compared.
Yu Xiaobei had an ugly expression on his face. Actually, Xia Fei did not like Yu Qiqi at all, given how small-minded she was, but he was not about to give up on the chance to make Yu Xiaobei look bad. Anyone who made themselves his enemy would always find themselves squeezed.
Yu Qiqi ran off with tears in her eyes just as two elders in uniforms of the Law Enforcement Board walked over from the other side of the seashore.
“Elders, what have you learned?” Yu Jin asked with a bow.
“Yes, we gave it a thorough inspection, and while the Law Enforcement Board does indeed have records of such a powerful spatial isolation technique, this Sky Curtain here doesn’t belong to any particular clan or family,” one of the elders spoke.
Yu Jin was stunned, gritting his teeth.
“Do you really not need the Law Enforcement Board to act?”
Yu Jin shook his head. “This is the resting ground of the Yu family’s ancestors and also where our clan’s Divine Beast lives. The patriarch has given a strict order not to open the place up to outsiders.”
The elder from the Law Enforcement Board nodded. “Alright, then. You’ll have to settle this among yourselves. We’ll be taking our leave now.”
Xia Fei arched an eyebrow as he asked Yu Hua, “Why did he refuse the aid of the Law Enforcement Board? They are surely capable of lifting the Sky Curtain.”
Yu Hua looked around and, upon seeing that there was no one near them, softly whispered, “You may not know this, but legend has it that, aside from what Yu Jin stated, the clan’s biggest secret is hidden inside, too, and it mustn’t be leaked to any outsiders.”
“Secret? Is it forbidden to open Snake Isle even though the patriarch is in danger?” Xia Fei asked.
“Impossible.” Yu Hua watched the two elders from the Law Enforcement Board leave as he affirmed solemnly.
That was when Phantom’s words sounded in Xia Fei’s ears. “Don’t forget that, while this Sky Curtain can stop the others, it can’t stop you.”