Chapter 550 - 317: Hell Has No Gates

Before he even landed, a hoarse voice rang in his ears. "Who goes there?"

Chen Yi looked toward the voice and saw a thin old man dressed in Mountain Race attire, with a dark face, black eyes, and a square mouth and nose.

"I am Liu Wu. I have come specifically to seek the Mountain Race’s assistance."

"Liu Wu? The ’Dragon Tiger’ Liu Wu?"

"That would be me."

The old man looked him up and down, a grin suddenly breaking out on his pitch-black face.

"You truly live up to being a renowned figure in Shu State. What a dignified appearance. No wonder Miss Pei has been constantly talking about you.

"I am Pei Ze of the Mountain Race. Come in and tell me what you need."

Chen Yi nodded and followed him into the residence. However, after taking just a few Steps, he noticed abnormal sounds outside the gatehouse. Hundreds of Gu Insects were actually hidden in the shadowed corners.

Seeing that he had discovered them, Pei Ze said with a chuckle, "They are just little playthings our race uses for warning. Please forgive us, my young friend."

Chen Yi naturally did not say much, but what followed truly opened his eyes.

After taking ten Steps, the number of Gu Insects broke a thousand. After a hundred Steps, tens of thousands of Gu Insects all turned to look at him.

Although they posed little threat, Chen Yi’s overly sharp senses still found it somewhat uncomfortable. After all, those were tens of thousands of Gu Insects. Not to mention their emotionless gazes, just the convergence of the faint sounds they made was enough to make his hair stand on end.

It wasn’t until he entered the back residence that this feeling finally dissipated a bit.

"Wait a moment, my young friend. I will go..."

Before Pei Ze could finish his sentence, a series of JINGLE JINGLE sounds approached from afar.

Chen Yi looked over. No matter how much coldness he held in his heart, he couldn’t help but smile.

Pei Guanli ran over with her hair disheveled, rubbing her eyes as she ran, looking half-asleep. Upon seeing Chen Yi, her eyes lit up, and she ran over on her tender white bare feet.

"You... My Lord, why are you here?

"I thought Little Flower had smelled the wrong scent."

Chen Yi revealed a faint smile. "There are some matters that made my visit necessary."

Pei Guanli’s smiling face turned into a pout. She leaned in close and muttered, "What? You’re not here to take me back?"

Chen Yi patted her head. "Wait a little longer."

"I know, I know. Waiting is fine. I’m not in a hurry, hehe..."

"Not in a hurry?" Pei Ze observed their expressions and said with an odd look, "Miss Pei, who was it that complained every day about how boring it is here?"

"Third Granduncle, don’t say it out loud! Be careful, or I’ll pull your beard..."

As they were speaking, Pei Qian and several other Mountain Race members arrived together.

"Senior, Se... You?" Previously, Pei Qian had only ever seen that black iron mask. This was his first time seeing Chen Yi in this "Liu Wu" disguise, and he couldn’t help but open his mouth in surprise. "How... how old are you?"

Before Chen Yi could answer, a young girl even younger than Pei Guanli squeezed through and looked up at him.

"You’re the ’Lord’ Sister Guanli talked about?

"You do look quite dashing. I approve of your marriage. However, you can’t bully Sister Guanli in the future, or else..."

Pei Guanli hurriedly covered the girl’s mouth. Blushing fiercely, she shouted, "Lan Yanni, or else what? If you dare spout any more nonsense, be careful I don’t tear your mouth off!"

"Mmph... yoo... can’t beat mm..."

Another middle-aged man and woman arrived together. They glanced at Chen Yi, their expressions largely the same as Pei Ze’s had been earlier.

Although Chen Yi found this amusing, business was more important.

After exchanging pleasantries with Pei Qian and the others, he took the sugar cube out of his pocket. His tone turned somewhat serious. "The people from the Five Poison Sect have made their move!"

"Hmm?"

Pei Qian, Pei Ze, and the others instantly wore solemn expressions. Without needing to ask, several Gu Insects flew out from their bodies and landed on the sugar cube.

A moment later, Pei Ze looked at the dead Gu Insects on the sugar cube and furrowed his brows deeply. "It is indeed the Poison Refining Technique of those Gui’Ers from the Five Poison Sect.

"However... the Poisonous Insects on it..."

Pei Qian finished his sentence. "...are very similar to our Mountain Race’s Witch Transformation Technique for Gu Insects."

The middle-aged man named Li Yunjun revealed murderous intent. "Thirty years ago, several people from our race were captured by the Five Poison Sect.

"The Five Poison Sect must have obtained the Witchcraft and Gu Skill from them."

He paused, then looked at Chen Yi and asked, "May I ask where you obtained this poison, sir?"

Chen Yi put away the sugar cube and said, "From the refugees outside the East City Gate. The Five Poison Sect’s people hid among them at some point and spread these things out.

"Fortunately, it hasn’t been long. As of right now, no one should have lost their lives because of it."

Hearing this, Pei Guanli blanked for a moment. She looked suspiciously at Pei Ze and the others. "Third Granduncle, Brother, didn’t you say you were keeping a close eye on the people from the Five Poison Sect?

"How did they leave the Prefecture City?"

Pei Qian pursed his lips slightly and remained silent.

Pei Ze, who was standing beside him, wore a cold expression. "We naturally kept a close eye on those Five Poison Sect members in Xinglin Hall. However, if they came in from the outside..."

Li Yunjun nodded in understanding. "This kind of Poison Refining Technique is sinister and vicious. Coupled with the Witchcraft and Gu Skill...

"There shouldn’t be many people in the Five Poison Sect who can pull this off. Thinking about it, it could only be him.

"The Great Elder of the Five Poison Sect—Yan Jingchen!"

A fierce grin tugged at the corners of Pei Ze’s mouth. "An old friend has returned to Shu State. How worthy of celebration!"

After saying that, he looked at Pei Qian. "Search!"

Pei Qian grunted in agreement. With a flip of his wrist, a palm-sized piece of bamboo, as translucent as jade, appeared in his hand. Next, he bit down on one end of the bamboo and blew hard into it.

"WOOO—"

A shrill and piercing sound suddenly rang out. Following that, a charmingly naive, plump white caterpillar slowly crawled out from the other end of the bamboo. Once its entire body was out, it curled into a ball, and a cocoon quickly formed around it. It was like a caterpillar metamorphosing into a moth.

Seeing this, Pei Qian waved to the others and signaled, "It will take another half an hour."

Pei Ze nodded and said, "Everyone, go prepare."

Everyone except for Pei Guanli returned to their rooms, clearly preparing for a major battle.

Chen Yi quietly watched their actions from the side, having no intention of leaving. Since the Five Poison Sect’s people had arrived, he also wanted to meet them.

But before that, Chen Yi still had one thing to do.

Before he could even speak, however, a streak of Jin Guang flashed before his eyes:

[Daily Intelligence · Earth-level Lower Grade: At the third quarter of the Chou hour, Yan Jingchen led the Five Poison Sect to attack Lin Zhenghong, Liu Lang, and the others. Reward: Obtain a massive Opportunity.]

Hmm?

Chen Yi blanked slightly, then looked toward the west, his gaze narrowing.

"The people from the Five Poison Sect went there?" he thought. "To think they actually know about the trade between the grain merchant firms and Liu Lang’s group. Is it Liu Hong? That’s right. Li Sanyuan previously mentioned wanting to drag Liu Taofang down with them. It seems that old fox Liu Hong has made his move first."

Thinking of this, a smile curled the corners of Chen Yi’s mouth.

"There is a road to the Celestial Court, yet you refuse to take it; there is no door to Hell, yet you barge right in. Heh..."