The third blacker said, it is my time to go.
The little brother said, no, no, no, don't go.
The third blacker said, there is still something more in it. I will read this book later, little brother. It is my time to go.
The third blacker opened the door and walked out of his building.
Meanwhile, Gu Yanshu was continuing to walk.
He heard someone passing by and talking.
Someone is there to destroy the world, just like she predicted.
Gu Yanshu fully began to hear this.
He only heard she predicted.
So, Gu Yanshu decided to ignore it for now.
Bao Yuan said, "Do you know why people dance?"
The dragon said, "They dance for enjoyment, or for money, or something."
Bao Yuan said, "That is interesting."
They kept walking.
The town did not go silent.
Qiu Weiran's face got angry.
Since some of the new disciples talked, he was still angry.
He was walking like he was holding all the pressure on his footsteps.
Gu Yanshu was looking forward, not at his disciples.
The dragon said, "I have an idea."
Gu Yanshu said, "What is it?"
The dragon said, "I will make a name for myself."
Gu Yanshu said, "Just leave it. Name isn't it. We will know you as the dragon. If you don't have one, just don't have one."
The dragon said, "Nah, that is not fun. Not absolutely. I will make a name for myself."
Bao Yuan said, "Making a name? Wait, you don't have a name."
The dragon said, "Yep, I don't have one."
Bao Yuan said in anger, "So make one, you little bastard asshole!"
Then when he was about to attack the dragon, the dragon simply dodged it and said, "When thing angry on something, well you are not the exact leader here."
Bao Yuan said, "No, I am the one."
Then Qiu Weiran grabbed his shoulder and said, "Huh? You already must take one step. You are calling yourself the leader."
Bao Yuan said, "Hey, hey, you watch at me. If you even try to touch me, I will... I will... I will... kill you!"
Qiu Weiran kicked him on the face, making him cough blood.
Bao Yuan said, "Stop attacking someone!"
With gathering all of his energy, he tried to attack Qiu Weiran.
Then Gu Yanshu interfered and grabbed Bao Yuan and lifted him up.
He tried to remove himself.
Then Gu Yanshu twisted tightly.
Now it was more tight.
Gu Yanshu threw him back at the ground and grabbed him with his shoulder.
The dragon came back to Gu Yanshu's shoulder and said, "Would you kick this guy out of the stack? He's pretty annoying, asking questions and questions. If something stays quiet, let it be quiet."
Gu Yanshu said, "No, not yet. He is useful for later. Can't you see how with his anger, we can control that anger and make him defeat the opponent without making us attack and run out of energy? This guy will help us. We will piss him off, saying things about example. You are probably the weakest in the sect. If you are not, go attack him and defeat him. Then he will go and attack the opponent just to prove he is not the weakest in the sect. When he does, we will give him pride, saying, you truly are strong. You really can do something in the sect. We're saying that it will work, so this pissed off guy will become pissed off when he relaxes. All we need is words, no action. That's it. Words. Words, pride, pissing off. That is the goal. And that will be the goal."
The dragon said, "Isn't it interesting? That plan might work."
Gu Yanshu said, "I am a little bit confident it works."
Everything stayed silent for a while.
Bao Yuan opened his eyes and saw what was around him.
What was around him was the same people.
He quickly dragged Gu Yanshu and said, "Who do you think you are, bastard?"
He tried to punch Gu Yanshu.
Then he stopped.
He could sense the dangerous red eyes and that aura.
He knew he could not attack.
This guy had not even turned fully, and just showing his one eye already made it too late for him to attack.
He tried to calm himself, but he could not.
He tried to attack again.
Then a barrier created itself.
It looked like he was punching a wall, but he was not.
Instead of breaking through and attacking Gu Yanshu, his hand started bleeding heavily.
Then he stopped himself once again.
Gu Yanshu had not said a word.
He was just standing there, doing nothing.
Bao Yuan's breathing turned rough.
His hand trembled.
The barrier had already shown him the difference between anger and control.
He wanted to lunge again.
He wanted to prove something.
But the red eyes were still there.
That dangerous calm was still there.
He swallowed hard and looked around.
Qu Yaoyang was watching him.
Lan Wege was watching too.
The dragon on Gu Yanshu's shoulder looked almost amused.
Bao Yuan's jaw tightened.
He hated that he could feel it.
He hated that he knew he had already lost the moment he decided to rush forward.
Gu Yanshu finally spoke.
"Calm down."
Bao Yuan glared at him.
"You trap me and then tell me to calm down?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "Yes."
Bao Yuan's fist clenched again.
Then he stopped.
Not because he wanted to.
Because he knew another strike would only make his hand hurt more.
His anger stayed there, burning hot, but now it had nowhere to go.
That was worse.
Much worse.
The dragon said, "See? That is why he is useful."
Bao Yuan turned sharply.
"Do not talk about me like I am not here."
The dragon said, "You are here. That is why I am talking."
Bao Yuan's eyes widened in frustration.
Qu Yaoyang's expression barely changed.
"Still angry."
Bao Yuan snapped, "Of course I am angry."
Lan Wege said, "That is obvious."
Bao Yuan pointed at them one by one.
"You all are acting like this is funny."
The dragon gave a small tilt of its head.
"It is not funny. It is useful."
Bao Yuan stared.
Then he looked at Gu Yanshu.
Gu Yanshu was still quiet, still calm, still holding the line like nothing Bao Yuan did could shake it.
That made Bao Yuan feel even more helpless.
He hated helplessness.
He hated that feeling more than pain.
His bleeding hand dripped once to the ground.
He looked at it.
Then he looked back up.
"What do you want from me?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "Use your anger."
Bao Yuan frowned.
"On who?"
Gu Yanshu looked forward down the road.
"On the next one who deserves it."
Bao Yuan followed that gaze.
He did not fully understand yet.
But he understood enough.
Gu Yanshu was not trying to break him.
He was shaping him.
That thought made him even angrier.
But it also made something inside him slow down.
Just slightly.
The dragon whispered, "There."
Bao Yuan looked at it.
The dragon's eyes were bright, almost sharp with interest.
"Your anger is easy to pull."
Bao Yuan hissed, "Shut up."
The dragon replied, "Not until you learn to be useful."
Bao Yuan's shoulders shook with irritation.
He wanted to fight.
He wanted to shout.
He wanted to do something.
But Gu Yanshu had already predicted the shape of his anger and placed it back in his hands like a tool.
That was somehow worse than being insulted.
The road ahead remained long.
The town still talked around them.
Life kept moving.
Noise kept moving.
And Bao Yuan, bleeding a little, angry a lot, stood there in the middle of it all, finally beginning to realize that Gu Yanshu had not kept him for strength.
He had kept him for direction.Gu Yanshu's plan suddenly changed.
His plan was to move forward just in a second, but now it was another one.
His goal was to reach the base of the greats.
This was a place where nothing would ever remain normal.
Everything would be and should be and will be and will be dangerous.
The base of the greats was the next target, but the walking forward was... yes, useless.
Gu Yanshu changed his plans and did not share it with anyone.
He stopped moving straight.
He remembered the direction and walked into random places.
It might look random, but in action, he was reaching the base of the greats.
The strongest disciple said, "Where are we going?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "To my goal."
The strongest disciple did not continue, but Bao Yuan said, "What is your goal?"
The dragon said, "He will not answer. After he was just explaining a lot of things, he became suddenly suspicious now. He is not sharing any info."
Bao Yuan said, "But why are we going to random places?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "That is the point. Going to random places is the point."
Bao Yuan started thinking.
Point?
Did he mean walking into random places means that is his goal?
But as he was a sect member, he should probably follow him.
Bao Yuan had completely forgotten about what just happened and how he was lifted up.
After he was angry, he just forgot all that in just an instant.
As Gu Yanshu knew, there would be a trap.
So they would, when they walked around it or just on it, they would instantly fall in.
That was the point of the base of the greats.
Inside there, nothing was bad and nothing was normal and nothing was good at all.
There were weird things everywhere.
It was like infinite weird places and people or even monsters or even demons or even gods.
Just as its name, it was the base of the greats.
The greats stayed there.
If you could not cultivate, you could not come in.
That was also a rule in the base of the greats.
Gu Yanshu forgot about the place he was looking for when his goal became to walk forward.
To the new disciples, this was very sudden and unexpected.
He had pride, so he thought he could predict everything in the future, but that was not it.
Gu Yanshu knew he had to act normal, just like he was randomly getting on this place.
Then the underground made them fall into the ground.
Gu Yanshu said, "We are in our goal."
Now, finally, everyone realized the goal was to come here.
The walls were so dark green.
It was like not a good sign at all, but Gu Yanshu did like bad signs.
If there was something red flag, Gu Yanshu liked that.
If that was too red flag, Gu Yanshu avoided it.
That was the entire normal strategy of the main character.
Like, it was just a normal and common thing.
The moment they landed, the air changed.
It became thicker.
Heavier.
The kind of air that made the chest feel a little more awake than it should have.
Bao Yuan looked around first.
Then he frowned.
"This place feels disgusting."
Qu Yaoyang glanced at the walls.
"Correct."
The dragon stayed on Gu Yanshu's shoulder and looked ahead.
"Red flags are everywhere."
Bao Yuan immediately pointed.
"You also noticed?"
The dragon said, "Of course. I have eyes."
Bao Yuan wanted to say something back, but then he saw the corridor ahead.
It was not a corridor in the normal sense.
It looked like a road split from stone and shadow, with angles that did not stay still for long.
The walls were dark green like Gu Yanshu had said.
Not moss green.
Not forest green.
Dark enough to feel wrong.
Every few steps, a faint pulse moved inside the stone.
Like the place was breathing.
Bao Yuan swallowed.
"This place is alive."
Gu Yanshu answered, "Yes."
Bao Yuan turned to him.
"Why do you say yes like that so calmly?"
Gu Yanshu said, "Because it is not the first time a place has wanted to kill us."
Bao Yuan stared at him.
"That is a terrible sentence."
The dragon said, "And also a useful one."
Bao Yuan made a face.
Qu Yaoyang looked down the hall and said, "So this is the base of the greats."
Gu Yanshu nodded once.
"Yes."
Bao Yuan looked around again.
"I thought it would be bigger."
Gu Yanshu answered, "It is."
Bao Yuan frowned.
"Then why does it feel tight?"
The dragon said, "Because the place does not want you comfortable."
Bao Yuan looked at the dragon.
"That is a very annoying answer."
The dragon replied, "It is also true."
They started moving.
Not fast.
Not slow enough to look afraid.
Just enough to stay aware.
As they walked, strange sounds came from deeper inside.
Something dragging.
Something whispering.
Something moving behind a wall that should have been solid.
Bao Yuan looked up sharply.
"Did you hear that?"
Qu Yaoyang said, "Yes."
Bao Yuan lowered his voice.
"What was it?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "Not ours."
That was enough to make Bao Yuan go quiet.
The hallway opened into a wider chamber.
The floor was made of dark stone, cracked in several places.
At the center of the chamber was a circle carved into the ground.
Not a clean circle.
A damaged one.
Like it had been used too many times.
Bao Yuan looked at it.
"That looks like a trap."
Gu Yanshu said, "It is."
Bao Yuan turned toward him.
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"Then why did we walk here?"
Gu Yanshu looked at the circle.
"Because I wanted to be here."
Bao Yuan blinked.
Then he looked from the circle back to Gu Yanshu.
His expression changed.
Not fear.
Not yet.
But understanding.
Slowly.
Uncomfortably.
He said, "You planned this."
Gu Yanshu did not answer right away.
Then he said, "I changed the route."
Bao Yuan looked at the chamber again.
The walls.
The floor.
The broken circle.
The darkness.
The unnatural feeling in the air.
Then he looked at the others.
No one else seemed surprised.
That made him even more uneasy.
The dragon said, "You are catching up."
Bao Yuan muttered, "I do not like catching up."
Gu Yanshu stepped closer to the center of the chamber.
The circle gave off a faint sound.
A click.
Then a low hum.
Bao Yuan immediately took one step back.
"Did it move?"
Qu Yaoyang replied, "Yes."
The circle on the floor slowly lit up.
Not bright.
Just enough to show lines hidden under the stone.
Lines spread out.
More lines joined them.
The whole chamber began to shift.
Bao Yuan nearly shouted, but held it in.
The dragon's tail curled slightly.
"Here comes the real part."
Then the floor dropped.
Not all at once.
Just enough to make the stomach sink.
Bao Yuan lost his footing for half a second.
Qu Yaoyang steadied himself.
Gu Yanshu had already expected it.
The wall opened.
Not a door.
A mouth.
A dark opening widened from the stone, and the chamber began to tilt inward.
Bao Yuan's eyes widened.
"What is this place?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "A threshold."
The dragon said, "And a test."
The floor finally gave way.
They fell.
Not far.
Not painfully.
Just enough to remind everyone the base of the greats did not care what they thought.
When they landed again, the world around them had changed.
The ceiling was higher.
The green walls were deeper.
And in front of them, the path split into three directions.
Bao Yuan looked between them.
"Which one do we take?"
Gu Yanshu stood up slowly and looked at all three.
Then he said, "The one that looks the least correct."
Bao Yuan stared.
"That is not helping."
Gu Yanshu started walking toward the left path.
"That is the point."
Bao Yuan sighed and followed, still looking behind him once at the place they had fallen from.
The base of the greats had swallowed them in.
And now it was going to see whether they would stay whole inside it.Gu Yanshu let out that smile again.
It looked calm at first glance.
But when the dragon looked at him, it turned terrifying.
His face looked like he was grinning too widely.
His teeth were showing.
His teeth were clean.
That did not make it better.
It made it worse.
For a second, the dragon could not say anything.
Then he moved his head and said, "Humph."
After that, everything went silent.
The base of the greats was also known as the most dangerous place in the world.
The walls kept going deeper.
Very deep.
Slowly, the walls turned dusty.
Then a guy came out.
He said, "I am the one who made you come here. I am the one who swallowed you here. I was the one, but I am not the leader. I am not the final boss. The final boss is someone else. You see it yourself. And I have not dragged like 95 members in here. Welcome to the place. Welcome to the dangerous place called the base of the greats. Isn't it wonderful to watch it? Seven more people in? Yes, that is seven. One, two, three, four, five, six. Oh, is that actually seven or only one eight? Don't you see? Now it is time to finally eat someone."
He jumped up.
Gu Yanshu raised his blade and moved it tightly.
Then he forced the blade into the stranger's mouth before the man could finish speaking.
The man froze.
He could not say anything.
Then he started bleeding heavily and his jaw gave way.
Gu Yanshu pulled the blade back.
The man fell into the ground.
He looked terrified now.
"I cannot have a meal. At least my name is... Aly Chang. I apologize for earlier. Please forgive me."
Gu Yanshu did not move at once.
Then he said, with a sweet voice, "We will forgive you, Aly Chang, won't we?"
He stared at the others.
The strongest disciple said, "Yes. We will forgive you. Just for now."
Gu Yanshu also said, "Yes."
Gu Yanshu smiled again with that terrifying look.
Then he stopped.
His face went expressionless again.
They continued walking.
Aly Chang broke the walls and entered his base.
He grabbed the pieces he had broken and mixed them together again.
Meanwhile, Gu Yanshu was walking.
Gu Yanshu still had no expression on his face.
The dragon said, "Why are you grinning like that? Is something wrong with you?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "No. You have not seen that before. I have done this many times in my past. You are just not the one seeing it."
The dragon said, "Ah, I see."
They continued walking again.
This time, cautiously.
The path ahead felt tighter.
Not because the walls moved closer.
Because the place itself was watching.
The dust on the ground shifted a little every few seconds.
Not with wind.
With something else.
Bao Yuan looked around and said quietly, "That guy was disgusting."
Qu Yaoyang replied, "Yes."
Bao Yuan frowned.
"Why does this place already have someone like that inside it?"
The dragon answered, "Because this is the base of the greats."
Bao Yuan looked at the dark walls.
"That does not make me feel better."
The dragon said, "Good. You should not feel better here."
Bao Yuan sighed.
"I really hate that you are often right."
Gu Yanshu did not answer.
He kept moving forward.
His face was still flat now.
But the dragon had seen it.
That smile.
That sharp grin.
It was not a mistake.
It was not random either.
The dragon stayed on his shoulder and looked forward.
"This place has many traps."
Gu Yanshu answered, "I know."
"You came here on purpose."
"Yes."
The dragon stayed quiet for a moment.
Then it said, "You really are looking for something dirty."
Gu Yanshu replied, "If it is too clean, it is probably fake."
That made Bao Yuan look at him.
The dragon also looked slightly amused.
Then the dragon gave a low hum.
"That is a bad habit."
Gu Yanshu said, "It works."
They moved deeper inside the base.
The floor changed from rough stone to old dust-covered slabs.
Some parts looked polished from repeated footsteps.
Other parts looked broken and unused.
It felt like many people had lived here.
Many had fought here.
Many had died here.
Or disappeared.
Bao Yuan kept glancing at every corner.
He was trying to act calm.
He was failing.
Qu Yaoyang noticed and said, "You are nervous."
Bao Yuan snapped, "Obviously."
Qu Yaoyang replied, "Then stop shaking your foot."
Bao Yuan looked down.
His foot really was moving.
He stopped it.
Then it started again.
He got even more annoyed.
Gu Yanshu finally spoke.
"Stay close."
Bao Yuan looked up fast.
"Why?"
Gu Yanshu's eyes moved forward.
"Because the walls are already changing."
The others looked.
He was right.
The passage behind them was no longer the same.
It had shifted.
Not fully closed.
Just enough to make it obvious that going back would not be simple.
Bao Yuan's face went pale.
"Wonderful."
The dragon said, "Now you understand."
Bao Yuan muttered, "I understood too early and too late at the same time."
They kept going.
After a while, they reached another chamber.
This one was larger.
Much larger.
The ceiling disappeared into shadow.
The floor was marked with cracks that formed strange shapes.
Some looked like circles.
Some looked like old symbols.
Some looked like they had been dragged into the stone by force.
Bao Yuan stared at it.
"This place really is full of weird things."
Gu Yanshu said, "Yes."
Then he stopped.
The others stopped too.
Because something ahead had moved.
Not loudly.
Not suddenly.
Just enough.
A shadow slid across the far wall.
Then another.
Then a voice came from deeper in the chamber.
"You entered the base of the greats and already made one of ours bleed."
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
Then a figure stepped forward from the dust.
He wore a long coat that looked almost gray in the bad light.
His hair was tied back.
His eyes were half-lidded, but sharp.
He smiled a little.
Not kindly.
Not cruelly.
Just like someone who already knew where the next problem was standing.
He looked at the group and said, "Aly Chang was lucky to keep his head."
Bao Yuan frowned.
"Who are you?"
The man tilted his head.
"Someone who watches."
The dragon narrowed its eyes slightly.
Gu Yanshu did not move.
The man looked at him and smiled.
"That smile earlier was not bad."
Gu Yanshu answered, "I know."
Bao Yuan looked between them.
He could feel it now.
This man was different.
Not just another guard.
Not just another resident.
He felt old.
And dangerous.
The man's eyes shifted to the floor, then back up.
"You are walking through the base of the greats with no fear."
Gu Yanshu replied, "That would be a mistake."
The man smiled wider.
"I agree."
The chamber stayed still for a moment.
Then the man stepped aside and pointed down one of the darker paths.
"If you want to keep going, take that path."
Bao Yuan looked at him suspiciously.
"Why are you helping us?"
The man answered, "I am not helping you."
Then he pointed at the path again.
"I am helping the base decide what to do with you."
No one liked that answer.
That was obvious.
The dragon's tail curled a little.
Gu Yanshu looked at the path for a moment.
Then he said, "We will go."
The man nodded.
"Of course you will."
Bao Yuan muttered, "I already hate this place."
Gu Yanshu did not look at him.
He only started walking.
The others followed.
The new path was narrower.
The walls on both sides had deeper scratches now.
As if something sharp had dragged through them many times.
Bao Yuan looked at the scratches.
Then looked at Gu Yanshu.
"You really are fine with all this?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "No."
Bao Yuan blinked.
Then he said, "That is the first honest thing you have said in a while."
Gu Yanshu replied, "I am always honest when it matters."
Bao Yuan did not know whether to agree or not.
So he kept walking.
The dragon watched the corridor ahead.
Its voice dropped a little.
"This place is preparing something."
Gu Yanshu said, "Yes."
The dragon looked at him.
"You knew."
"Yes."
Bao Yuan looked between them.
"What does that mean?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "It means we are close."
To what, he did not say.
But the others understood enough to stay quiet.
The base of the greats had already started showing its teeth.
And the deeper they went, the more it felt like those teeth were waiting just ahead.