"Crack!"
As he sealed the coffin with the lid made from the Thousand-Year Profound Ice Stone, Xiang Mantang looked at Mu Jinyu, who was lying quietly inside, his expression one of lost hope, yet there was also a glimmer of it in his gaze.
There was still a chance, he definitely could bring Mu Jinyu back.
For now, it was only a matter of letting him sleep for a while.
"Wuu wuu..."
Xiang Mantang, who had weathered many storms, managed to maintain some composure despite the immense pain in his heart.
But Su Zijin, Gu Xiyan, and a few others watched as Mu Jinyu lay in the ice coffin, and they couldn't help but lean on the coffin lid and burst into heavy sobs.
It had been three days since they placed Mu Jinyu in cryonic preservation.
Over these days, Xiang Mantang had summoned the country's top-grade doctors to perform this operation for Mu Jinyu.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to complete this still not fully mastered operation so perfectly for Mu Jinyu in just a mere two days.
Xiang Mantang took one more deep look at the peacefully sleeping Mu Jinyu and chose not to stay in this chilled room any longer, turning around and walking away.
"Dragon Master!"
As soon as he stepped out of the sickroom, Mu Hongchen and Wu Shisan, among others, immediately greeted Xiang Mantang with respectful voices.
"Don't call me by that title. I am merely standing in for my senior brother; when he awakens, he will still be in charge of the Dragon King Hall!" Xiang Mantang sternly reminded them with a somber face.
"Yes." Mu Hongchen's expression tightened as he corrected himself, "Tianshu!"
"Yuheng Hall Master, come with me for a moment," Xiang Mantang waved the others away, beckoning Mu Hongchen to follow him.
"Yes." Mu Hongchen followed on Xiang Mantang's heels, heading to a secluded corner.
Wu Shisan, Qin Qiaochu, and Di Yin watched as Xiang Mantang and Mu Hongchen left, their expressions turning grim.
Qin Qiaochu looked around and cursed, "Don't you find it strange that the new Dragon King just took the throne and after going on a trip to the headquarters of 'Slaughter Redemption' with Beidou Tianshu, he suddenly dropped dead? And then Beidou Tianshu took full control of the Dragon King Hall?"
Di Yin cautiously looked around before responding in a low tone, "What are you suggesting? You suspect the incident with the new Dragon King was Beidou Tianshu's doing?!"
Wu Shisan said coldly, "Don't make wild guesses without a cause; after all, they were senior and junior brothers. How could it come to this?"
After speaking, he disdainfully left the two who had obtained their positions in the Dragon King Hall through connections and walked away from the corridor.
"Hmph!" Qin Qiaochu watched Wu Shisan leave, snorted coldly, and cursed, "What an idiot. Just because they are senior and junior brothers, it means they have a better opportunity to strike. What do you think, Kaiyang Hall Master?"
Di Yin said, "It's possible, but let's not talk rashly."
"I actually think that the incident with the new Dragon King is ninety percent Xiang Mantang's doing. Otherwise, why would he refuse to talk about what happened on Kunlun Mountain?" Qin Qiaochu said with a flicker in his eyes, sounding very certain.
Di Yin also nodded, feeling there must be something very peculiar about Kunlun Mountain.
As for whether Mu Jinyu's death was really Xiang Mantang's doing, he too harbored doubts.
But how would they know that Xiang Mantang's silence on the matter of Kunlun Mountain was solely because the girl who might have been his sister had died by his hand!
Plus, with Mu Jinyu having died in his stead, how could he possibly speak of this before others.
It would be like tearing a large wound open on a scar that had just begun to heal!
...
Let's leave aside the suspicions of Qin Qiaochu and Di Yin for now.
Xiang Mantang finally dealt with Mu Jinyu's affairs and called upon Mu Hongchen to begin preparing to settle the score with the true culprit behind the Kunlun calamity!
"Do we have a rough idea of the suspects?" Xiang Mantang stood at the window with his hands clasped behind him, overlooking the tall buildings below, and spoke in a chilling tone.
"We've lost contact with Beidou... Shen Cangsheng. If nothing unexpected has happened, this Kunlun calamity should be his doing!"
Mu Hongchen stated.
Initially, she nearly addressed Shen Cangsheng with his formal title, but knowing that Shen Cangsheng was in a precarious situation, she immediately called him by name.
Her gaze was complex as she looked at the silhouette of Xiang Mantang's back.
After all, according to the information she had gathered, the original target of Shen Cangsheng's trap was meant to be Xiang Mantang.
Unexpectedly, Mu Jinyu ended up dying in his place.
If Shen Cangsheng knew about this situation, he would probably laugh himself mad since Mu Jinyu was truly the thorn in his eye, and the reason to kill Xiang Mantang was partly due to the grudge and because Mu Jinyu was hard to assassinate, leading him to make such a decision.
Who could have guessed that, by a twist of fate, Shen Cangsheng would end up directly killing the New Dragon King!
As a result, he didn't even dare to return to Dragon King Hall now.
"Shen Cangsheng! Shen Cangsheng..."
Xiang Mantang, with his hands still clasped behind his back, kept repeating this name as a killing intent roared from his eyes, ready to destroy everything he saw!
In truth, after completing the cryonic surgery on Mu Jinyu's body, Xiang Mantang had calmed down and suspected that Shen Cangsheng was the perpetrator, but he wasn't completely sure, which is why he had sent Mu Hongchen to investigate further.
The only person who had animosity against him in Dragon King Hall was Shen Cangsheng, having brought Mu Jinyu there, ruined his engagement with Su Zijin, and shot his messenger pigeon, thus cutting off his communication with Kunlun Ruins.
Xiang Mantang now reflected that he should have been cautious when Shen Cangsheng asked for leave to visit his sect, and that period coincided exactly with his leveraging the power of Dragon King Hall to search for his sister, Xiang Yinxui.
It was very likely that Shen Cangsheng discovered Xiang Yinxui was in Kunlun Ruins and then hatched a plot to use her to set up a trap to kill him.
Unfortunately, at that time, he only considered Shen Cangsheng as a clown and didn't pay much attention, resulting in an eternal regret!
Not only did Xiang Yinxui die under his own knife, but it also led to the death of Mu Jinyu!
Xiang Mantang was filled with hatred!!
He wished he could devour Shen Cangsheng's flesh, grind his bones to dust, extract his soul, and refine his spirit so he could never find peace in the afterlife!!
They both had grudges against each other, so why didn't he come after him directly for revenge, instead targeting those close to him?!
After a long time, Xiang Mantang finally suppressed the overwhelming killing intent and said coldly to Mu Hongchen, "Have you determined the exact location of Shen Cangsheng's sect in Kunlun Ruins?"
Mu Hongchen understood the relationship between Xiang Mantang and Mu Jinyu, so she didn't mind his tone at the moment and answered, "Although Shen Cangsheng hasn't mentioned much, he's left behind quite a few traces. His sect should be called 'Tianhe Sword Sect,' quite renowned in the eastern region of Kunlun Ruins..."
Mu Hongchen continued, beginning to elaborate on the details of Tianhe Sword Sect she gathered from the secret tomes of Dragon King Hall.
"According to the records left by the Old Dragon King from his visit to Kunlun Ruins ten years ago, the Supreme Elder of the 'Tianhe Sword Sect' is a God Realm powerhouse!"
God Realm, also known as Embrace the Elixir, those who are in this realm are called Terrestrial Immortals in Taoism and Innate Path, while the Buddhist Sect refers to them as Arhats!
"A Terrestrial Immortal?" Upon hearing Mu Hongchen's briefing, Xiang Mantang's fists couldn't help but clench!
Quick to advise, Mu Hongchen said, "Tianshu, don't be rash, a God Realm powerhouse is not to be provoked lightly!"
She feared that Xiang Mantang, in a fit of rage, might head straight to Kunlun Ruins to confront the Tianhe Sword Sect alone, and Dragon King Hall would need to appoint another New Dragon King.
If it were to fall into the hands of people like Wu Shisan, it would truly be disgusting, and Dragon King Hall might be tormented into ruin.
Xiang Mantang chuckled lightly, "Don't worry, my life was given by my senior brother, I won't be so foolish as to throw it away again, but I will settle this account with them eventually!"