Jingmen Island.

In the dining area of Everlasting Feast Hall, Duanmu Lin held a cup of G.o.d"s Nectar and sniffed the fine fragrance of the wine with a love-struck expression on his aging face. Across from him was Gu Xiaoxue in her usual white dress, looking like a flawless celestial maiden as she quietly gazed out the window.

"This really is the best wine; it really lives up its reputation. Just the taste alone wakes up all the appet.i.te inside my belly. Xue la.s.s, this old man wants to order a batch of G.o.d"s Nectar from the Everlasting Feast Hall. It should be fine, right?" asked Duanmu Lin smilingly to Gu Xiaoxue.

Gu Xiaoxue turned back and shook her head. "If you like it, why bother to order G.o.d"s Nectar from our Everlasting Feast Hall? Shouldn"t the Magnificent Tang Corporation be the one you should be paying attention to?"

"Well, I really want to order it from the Magnificent Tang Corp. But that kiddo Tang Xiu has too deep of a background that I can"t bully him even if I wanted to." Duanmu Lin couldn"t help but chuckle. "That makes me think, though. The Magnificent Tang company should have a deep relation to your Everlasting Feast Hall, so ordering it from you is no different from ordering directly from Magnificent Tang company, right?"

"I don"t particularly get what you mean with this "relation" you just mentioned," replied Gu Xiaoxue with slightly pressed brows.

"I know the rules of selling this wine which was set up by the Magnificent Tang Corp.," said Duanmu Lin smilingly. "But you can easily obtain this G.o.ds Nectar, meaning you should have a good relations.h.i.+p, right?"

"Then why should this old man ask something you already know?" replied Gu Xiaoxue slowly after being silent for a while. "He"s my Grand Master, and I believe I can"t hide this truth from you, can I?"

Duanmu Lin looked at Gu Xiaoxue meaningfully as he nodded and said, "I know that, but what I want to know is who exactly your master is? Who"s the founder of this Everlasting Feast Hall?"

"I might be addressed as Little Boss by the Everlasting Feast Hall"s people," said Gu Xiaoxue. "But if I have to speak about stature, there are at least five people who hold a higher status than me here. In the case that my Master doesn"t want to have any dealings with the country officials, do you think I dare tell you?"

Duanmu Lin squinted his eyes. A gleam flashed in his eyes and they dropped down to the cup of G.o.d"s Nectar. At this moment, a stocky man came striding from the staircase and stood in front of Duanmu Lin. He looked at Gu Xiaoxue with vigilance and then whispered near Duanmu Lin"s ear, "We just received the news from Haiben Island. Four out of the five team members who entered the three-star vestige just came out alive. It was the largest number of survivors among the three countries who came out, and also with the most bountiful harvest."

Duanmu Lin patted the table with excitement on his old face. He hurriedly asked even with Gu Xiaoxue in front of him, "Four people survived? Who died in the vestige?"

"Tang Xiu," replied the stocky man, no longer deliberately suppressing his voice.

The excited expression on Duanmu Lin"s face instantly froze, along with disbelief that burst in his eyes. But Gu Xiaoxue, who sat across him and remained indifferent despite being able to clearly hear the dialog between the stocky man and Duanmu Lin, instantly stood up and cried out, "What did you say? Where and why did you say that my Grand Master died?"

The stocky man pressed his brows and kept silent even though he was quite stunned by Gu Xiaoxue"s stunning looks and manners. The gloomy Duanmu Lin, however, waved his hand at the stocky man, and then took a deep breath and said after the latter left, "Is the relations.h.i.+p between Tang Xiu and your Everlasting Feast Hall very close?"

"Grand Master"s life is more important than mine; much more important than the lives of anyone in the Everlasting Feast Hall!" replied Gu Xiaoxue frosty.

Duanmu Lin"s brows were pressed deeper and a sense of restlessness was growing inside his heart. The moment he heard the news that Tang Xiu had died, he knew that this would lead to a very troublesome situation. He could tell that there would be abnormal movements from the Tang Family. If the unfathomable Everlasting Feast Hall also came into the fray, the troubles would probably be even greater than he could imagine.

Gu Xiaoxue stared deeply at Duanmu Lin and shouted, "Shadow, go and tell Master that Grand Master is in danger! The last location is on Haiben Island."

"Understood!"

Only a voice was heard without anyone else seen around, yet there was a ripple in the air momentarily before it returned to normal again.

Duanmu Lin"s face changed. Although he knew that many people from the Everlasting Feast Hall were martial artists, and some of them even had an unfathomable cultivation level, the person who just replied a moment ago had absolutely terrifying strength. Even those at the level of a martial arts grandmaster did not necessarily possess such a mysterious stealth ability.

"Is he also an ability user?"

Duanmu Lin couldn"t help reestimate his evaluation towards the Everlasting Feast Hall"s true strength.

****

Beijing, the Tang Family ancestral home.

Tang Guosheng was sitting comfortably on a rattan chair, savoring the fragrant tea in front of him, while Tang Min, who rarely took time off, was chatting with her father.

"Your grandson is truly talented, Father. He took care of the Qingyuan Group in Mist Source Island with a simple yet decisive action in such a complicated situation. The one who benefitted the most was even his future wife, Mu Wanying. Also, Wanying just returned to Shanghai from Mist Source Island and she called me, saying that she would visit you and mother a few days later," said Tang Min smilingly after chugging down a whole cup of fragrant tea.

A content smile appeared on Tang Guosheng"s old face as he nodded and said, "When you can benefit, why bother to draw it out? He did handle the issue well, very well. Even if that Mu brat is not happy, it"s not like he can"t find Xiu"er in the future, no? It"s a pity Xiu"er is still too young. If he were eight or ten years older, I would have really wished to pa.s.s along the family Head position to him immediately."

"I don"t think he would accept it even if you wanted to pa.s.s the torch as the patriarch, father!" Tang Min smilingly said, "Besides, how can common people read the mind of those with great minds and ambitions? And to be honest, I really can"t figure out what Xiu"er has been planning in the end, though I"m sure that it"s absolutely beyond our imagination."

Tang Guosheng couldn"t help but laugh and said, "Don"t exaggerate like that. It can"t be that he still plans to live forever?"

Tang Min"s expression moved and he said with a pale smile, "I think he does have a plan to reach immortality, and still, it"s also within reason. Don"t forget that he"s an immortal cultivator; one who can live very long if his cultivation reaches a very high level."

The smile on Tang Guosheng"s old face slowly receded. After the long silence, he said in a deep voice, "If he really dares to live forever, then the Tang Family will go all out to sacrifice everything to support him. Immortality, huh… hehe. Even if he can live for a few hundred years, our Tang Family can become the first family in China in the truest sense. We would even be equal to those foreign families who have been reigning for hundreds of years."

"Well, if Xiu"er can live for hundreds of years, then I"ll follow suit and profit from him too." Tang Min smiled.

At this moment, the phone on the table buzzed, interrupting Tang Min"s words.

Tang Guosheng grabbed the mobile and looked at the caller"s name on the screen. His expression suddenly moved and, after picking it up, he said with a smile, "Hey, Duanmu Brother, is the exploration of the three-star vestige done already? Any earth-shaking things that Xiu"er has brought back?"

A bitter voice of Duanmu Lin transmitted, "Tang Xiu. He"s sacrificed himself."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Tang Guosheng was stunned and abruptly jumped up from his rattan chair and roared, "DUANMU LIN, STOP YOUR f.u.c.kING NONSENSE! My grandson has great abilities and I know him better than anyone. I dare say the people who can kill him in this world are still not yet born!"

"I just received the news and it"s been verified. All the pa.s.sages to the three-star vestige have been completely sealed off, whereas the surviving explorers from the vestige are only from three countries. Our Chinese people, j.a.pan, and India," said Duanmu Lin helplessly. "Out of the five members of our team, only four came out alive, only Tang Xiu… he… he didn"t come out. I heard from Zhu Long, the team captain, that after the five of them went deeper into the vestige, Tang Xiu left the team to go alone and they weren"t able to find him again."

Tang Guosheng gasped a heavy breath twice and angrily shouted, "THAT"S IMPOSSIBLE!!! I absolutely don"t believe that my grandson died in that trivial three-star vestige. Where the h.e.l.l are you now? I"ll catch up with you immediately."

Duanmu fell into hesitation for a while but he still answered helplessly, "I"m on the way to Haiben Island. The other countries can"t accept the result of the vestige exploration this time, given the number of survivors, so I need to go there and solve this issue."

"Haiben Island? Wait for me there…"

Tang Guosheng hung up the phone and fiercely kicked the table in front of him, and then roared, "Command all members of the 1st and 2nd Guardian squads to a.s.semble and immediately set off with me to Haiben Island. Tell them that they will go with me and the possibility of returning alive is close to zero!"

In that instant, Tang Min"s face was devoid of blood. She had heard a lot of bad news in life, but none had brought such a huge impact like this one.

"My nephew… has sacrificed himself and died?"

"THAT"S IMPOSSIBLE!"

Tang Min screamed inside and then turned and ran outside. At the same time, two robust and stocky middle-aged men leaped out from the corner of the courtyard and rushed outside without a shred of hesitation.

Ten minutes later, dozens of cars appeared near the Tang Family"s residence as a tough and stocky man in a black wushu suit boarded the car. Tang Guosheng, accompanied by Tang Min, then strode into another car. With the cars" doors closed, the dozens of cars roared and headed off.

All members of the Tang Family everywhere were the first to receive a notification: the old patriarch was furious and flew into a rage due to an unknown reason, but he left with all members of the 1st and 2nd Guardian squads.

In that instant, all the members of the Tang Family were shocked. Even all of them headed to the Tang Family"s residence without delay. The only thing they knew was that the most secretive 1st and 2nd Guardian squads were the strongest of the guardian forces belonging to the Tang Family and that they were rarely dispatched unless the Tang Family was in a grave situation.

What was it… what kind of life and death crisis did the Tang Family encounter?

However, before they had arrived at the Tang Family"s residence, they were informed with more news: the old patriarch has decreed that all the members of the 1st and 2nd Guardian squads will go with him and the chance of returning alive is close to nil.

"This… is the Decree of Death Warriors!"