Chapter 536: The Benefits
Crack...
As Tang Xiu furiously yelled, the entire s.p.a.ce of the pocket world seemed to crack. The shattering sound, like a egg cracking, was clearly transmitted to his ears.
“What’s going on?”
With a drastically changed expression, information suddenly appeared in his mind, and he suddenly felt like wanting to cry yet was without tears. It was information the humanoid old man had left him, saying that the s.p.a.ce of this pocket world would collapse after the old man dissipated, and that he would be teleported outside as long as he pulled out the divine sword in the distance.
On a certain spot far away, Yang Le looked stupefied and tongue-tied as he gazed at the surroundings. Cracks appeared out of nowhere in the s.p.a.ce, raising deep and intense fear inside his heart. Despite saying that he didn’t have knowledge pertaining the existence of cultivation in the Dao, immortality, and divinity, the disintegration of the s.p.a.ce now still made him desperate.
“Tang Xiu… where are you, Tang Xiu?”
Muttering in a s.h.i.+vering voice, Yang Le had no choice but to run towards the mountain.
“What exactly happened? Wasn’t that mountain burning before? Where has that ice ladder gone? I… what the… how come that big mountain is collapsing?”
When Yang Le was able to clearly see the faraway mountain, as his mouth gaped and opened wide as his body was suddenly paralyzed.
Whoos.h.!.+
A lightning-like silhouette came flying from afar. Yang Le only felt a pair of firm hands grabbed his shoulders and he was suddenly flying amid the clouds.
“Tang… Tang Xiu?”
Yang Le exclaimed in disbelief after he to rubbed his eyes to make sure his eyes didn’t betray him.
“Just keep your mouth shut!” Shouted Tang Xiu. “I know you have loads of things to ask, but now is not the time. I’ll try to tell you what you wanna know after we leave this place.”
“En! En!”
Yang Le repeatedly nodded as Tang Xiu took him “flying”, causing his fear to fade away.
Boom…
When Tang Xiu’s feet landed on the ground, he immediately released Yang Le’s body and dashed toward the giant longsword that stood erect against the sky. An image of a sword appeared out of nowhere inside his mind as Tang Xiu focused his mind and his hands formed a series of hand seals.
Boom...
The layer of ash-gray substances on the surface of the giant longsword blasted out, and the 10,000 zhang long greatsword appeared in front of his eyes. Its size then reduced extremely fast and turned into a normal longsword within a few seconds. The sword revolved around Tang Xiu several times and emitted out buzzing sounds before drilling into Tang Xiu’s body.
“To me!”
Tang Xiu’s mind focused to manipulate it, and the longsword appeared directly in his right hand, leaving an inscribed sword pattern on it.
Quickly after, Tang Xiu returned to Yang Le. After he grabbed him, a longsword appeared out of thin air, and he stroke it the moment it appeared. As a s.p.a.ce crack opened, Tang Xiu slipped into it while carrying Yang Le. The next moment, he and Yang Le appeared in front of the previous cave, standing on the platform covered with silk fabric.
“Move! This place is going to collapse!”
Grabbing Yang Le, Tang Xiu dashed lightning fast to the top of the stairs. Just as he pa.s.sed through the third portal, the gate loudly shut down. At this moment, the longsword in Tang Xiu’s palm emerged out of thin air once again. At the same time, he firmly used it to slash the gate made of special materials. It was cut into two halves like tofu and Tang Xiu collected them into his interspatial ring.
The second portal! The first portal!
Using the same method, Tang Xiu collected them into his interspatial ring and rushed out to the surface.
“We finally came out!”
Tang Xiu’s heart was beating wildly when as he recalled the bitter experience he had gone through inside. Although the Yin Yang Divinity Lake had been swallowed by the black hole in his Dantian, it had given great benefits to his cultivation. He originally thought that he would need at least ten years to reach the peak of the Viscera Transformation stage. Little did he expect that he would have such a colossal fortuitous encounter, mading it easy for him to achieve it.
However, he knew perfectly well that such a boost in cultivation was both good and bad for him. The drawback was that he wouldn’t be able to control his own power for a period of time, thus he must gradually familiarize himself with his current state while using his strength. Only then would he truly reach the peak level of the Viscera Transformation Stage.
“HOORAY! WE CAME OUT!!!”
Yang Le felt like he had just escaped a disaster. He looked at the sunny weather with beautiful sunlight. Despite the chaotic scene, the smooth feeling brought by his breath moved him to tears.
Suddenly, he turned to Tang Xiu and shouted, “TELL ME! WHAT THE h.e.l.l HAPPENED DOWN THERE?”
Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+
Four figures flashed from the entrance of the ancient tomb and suddenly appeared in front of Tang Xiu in the blink of an eye.
“Boss!” The four men called out reverentially.
“You guys go to the Long’s Dining Hall and book a private box for me. I’ll catch up with you later.” Tang Xiu nodded and smilingly said.
“Copy that!” The four men nodded and quickly left.
Yang Le rubbed his eyes. He realized that the time spent for those four stalwart men appeared very short, and their departure was also very fast.
“Tang Xiu, you guys… exactly what are you, people?”
“Have you broadened up your mind after accompanying me today?” Tang Xiu laughed. “Telling you is actually fine, but now is not yet the time. Like I told you before, you’re not yet eligible.”
“I nearly died in the ancient tomb this time, and not even a shred of benefit did I get…” Yang Le screamed angrily. “IS THIS YOUR ANSWER??!!!”
“Yeah, that’s my answer,” Tang Xiu nodded. “If anything, I have offered you a good fortune already. If you can fulfill my request, I still won’t take you as a disciple, but you can be sure that I’ll regard you as a friend. The chance is yours to take.”
Yang Le fell into silence. He stared at Tang Xiu for a long time before he asked, “That opportunity you told me, does it include explaining what happened inside the ancient tomb and that particular s.p.a.ce? Literally everything?”
“Yes!” Tang Xiu directly nodded.
Yang Le suddenly laughed. His smile was bright yet looked frenzied, for he felt that through Tang Xiu, he had finally seen a window to a magnificent novel world filled with mystery and never-before-seen things that were beyond his cognition and knowledge.
Thus, he decided that, regardless the price he must pay, he would stick close to Tang Xiu like a dog-skin plaster to learn about that mysterious, magical world.
“I want it, Tang Xiu!” Yang Le stretched out his hand and restored his cheeky grin.
Tang Xiu rolled his eyes at him, “The benefits will be great for you. Consider it as a reward for helping me opening those two portals. But don’t ask for a mile after you got an inch, okay? Or else I’ll annul your opportunity.”
“So, 5 billion, right?” Yang Le raised his head and asked.
“Yup, 5 billion!” Tang Xiu understood what he was asking. “Of course, if you still want to give me 10 billion yuan, I’ll be more than happy to accept it.”
"..."
Yang Le rolled his eyes and strode outside.
Revealing a faint smile, Tang Xiu caught up with him after several steps. He then sent an instruction to the security guards and then strode outside. Although the s.p.a.ce underneath had caved in, the construction above it had already collapsed, so Tang Xiu wasn’t worried that it would cause casualties. Nevertheless, he still instructed the security guards to guard the perimeter and told them to not let anyone approach the landslide spot.
More than an hour later, Tang Xiu and Yang Le arrived at the entrance of Star City’s Long’s Dining Hall. The security guards at the entrance had been replaced, thus he had to take out his members.h.i.+p card to be allowed to enter.
Inside the presidential suite, Long Zhengyu had already arrived after having previously received a phone call from Tang Xiu. At this time, he looked weary and exhausted. Had it not been for the various things he needed to deal with, he may have fallen asleep at any time.
“So, what about your consoling duty?” Asked Tang Xiu after motioning for Long Zhengyu to sit on the sofa.
“Everything that could be done was done, yet dealing with the aftermath of a disaster can’t be done all at once!” Long Zhengyu answered with a bitter expression. “A lot of workers are dead and many got injured. This accident was really too big.”
“No one wants such an accident to happen. No one,” Tang Xiu sighed. “Yet we must make sure to treat the families of the dead and injured workers well. It’s all right to spend more money to compensate them, for it’s about their future lives, since it also relates to the reputation of the Long Group as well.”
“I know. Don’t worry about that!” Long Zhengyu nodded heavily.
Upon hearing his answer, Tang Xiu no longer continued talking about this issue. He put his hand on Long Zhengyu’s shoulder and began to ma.s.sage him. His action made Long Zhengyu dazed and surprised for a moment, yet it immediately warmed his heart, causing his weariness and heavy feelings to gradually vanish.
With Tang Xiu’s very unusual ma.s.sage technique, Long Zhengyu, who looked distressed and downcast, gradually relaxed. Tang Xiu’s fingers then moved and began ma.s.saging Long Zhengyu’s forehead, as he pressed his temple, causing him to slowly fall asleep.
“Carry him to the next room and let him sleep for three hours, and then wake him up,” instructed Tang Xiu to the four men who had arrived earlier.
“Understood!” The four experts of the Everlasting Feast Hall replied and then carried Long Zhengyu off.
With a queer expression, Yang Le stared at Tang Xiu and said, “Tang Xiu, I just realized that you’re very good to him. It’s like… he’s a family member.”
“We are friends,” said Tang Xiu lightly.
Yang Le was stunned.
Friends?
In his life, he used to think that his senior brothers were his closest relatives. Not until his Master pa.s.sed away did he finally see their true faces, causing him to heartlessly sever any relations.h.i.+p he ever had with them. Aside from looking for women all day, he had been alone all these years.
All of a sudden, he felt jealous and truly envied Long Zhengyu.
The complex expression on Yang Le’s face was noticed by Tang Xiu, “Perhaps we’ll become friends in the future as well. That is if you’re willing to open your heart and devote yourself to our relations.h.i.+p.”
Yang Le kept his silence for a long time before he spoke with a very serious expression, “Then, I swear to G.o.d that I’ll make sure to never steal your stuff in the future.”
Cough, cough…
His reply made Tang Xiu choke and be at a loss whether to cry or laugh. This guy wanted to befriend him, yet it was just the same as promising to not steal his stuff? This chap was really… the best spare-tire among all spare-tires… a rare, exotic marvel!
“If you dare to steal my stuff then I’ll cut off your third leg!” Tang Xiu replied with a joke.
However…
It was exactly this sentence that caused Yang Le’s head to shrink.