The Gao Family's Secret!

Late at night, Gao Family Fortress had quieted down as well.

The lights were still on in Gao Yucheng's room.

However, several masked Shadowy Figures had appeared in his room.

"Gao Yucheng, how did it go?"

One of the Shadowy Figures asked coldly.

Gao Yucheng's face was livid as he said in a low voice, "That old bastard brought Famous Doctor Doctor Wu Jing from Nanyang City."

"This Doctor Wu Jing really has some skill. He actually recognized that Gao Yuzhi had been poisoned with Mixed Poison, and nearly ruined our grand plan!"

"Fortunately, Doctor Wu Jing is only a doctor. Though he knows it is Mixed Poison, he cannot detoxify it. That has instead done us a great favor."

"That old bastard is probably about to make up his mind to use that method. He will never allow Gao Yuzhi to die."

"The moment that old bastard decides to use that method will be our opportunity..."

A trace of viciousness flashed through Gao Yucheng's eyes.

"Rest assured. The Mixed Poison we concocted cannot possibly be cured by some mere doctor."

"Keep a close eye on Gao Zhanhu. The moment he makes any move, you must follow him. You must find that item."

Soon afterward, the Shadowy Figures vanished, as though they had never appeared at all.

Watching the Shadowy Figures disappear, a cold smile gradually surfaced on Gao Yucheng's lips. "You all take me for a fool? Let's see who the real fool is!"

Then Gao Yucheng pushed open the door and vanished into the night.

After practicing the Ice Bone Forging Technique several times in his room, Lu Changsheng lay down to rest.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

Faintly, Lu Changsheng seemed to hear an unusual sound.

Whoosh.

Lu Changsheng's eyes flew open.

He listened carefully, then raised his head toward the roof.

Clearly, the sound had come from above the house.

Lu Changsheng frowned slightly. At such a late hour, someone was actually walking across the rooftops within Gao Family Fortress. Clearly, they did not want the Gao Family to discover them.

When he came to Gao Family Fortress this time, Lu Changsheng had also brought a black face cloth and a Nightwalker Robe.

After a moment's thought, he immediately changed into the Nightwalker Robe, covered his face with the black cloth, and silently slipped out of the room.

Lu Changsheng had practiced so many Martial Skills that he naturally knew lightness skills as well.

He made almost no sound as he moved.

Lu Changsheng climbed onto the roof too. He saw several figures sneaking about, apparently heading toward the Fortress Lord's Mansion.

So Lu Changsheng followed them.

Within the Fortress Lord's Mansion, Gao Zhanhu took a deep breath and directly picked up the unconscious Gao Yuzhi.

"Yuzhi, soon. You will wake up soon and recover completely. It will all happen soon..."

Carrying Gao Yuzhi, Gao Zhanhu left the room and went to the Ancestral Home.

There was a mechanism beneath the ancestral tablets in the Ancestral Home, and Gao Zhanhu activated it.

Rumble...

The ancestral tablets in the Ancestral Home actually split apart on their own, revealing a pitch-black entrance in the wall.

Gao Zhanhu swiftly entered.

Not long after Gao Zhanhu went inside, Gao Yucheng arrived.

As he stared at the entrance, his eyes were filled with madness and malice.

"Old bastard, you truly refuse to give up. You want to use that method to save Gao Yuzhi."

"But I am your son too..."

Gao Yucheng muttered in a low voice, his words brimming with hatred.

The next moment, Gao Yucheng entered the passage as well.

The passage was pitch-black.

Yet Gao Zhanhu seemed very familiar with it and made his way through the darkness to an Underground Hall.

He lit the candles, and the hall gradually brightened.

It was an extremely vast hall.

There were many secret rooms around it, each one piled full of various things.

This was the most central and most secret place in Gao Family Fortress.

Only the successive fortress lords knew of it.

Gao Zhanhu placed Gao Yuzhi on a stone bed, then opened one of the secret rooms.

Rumble...

The secret room's stone door slowly opened.

Inside were piles of sabers, spears, Crossbow Bolts, and even armor.

The Imperial Court did not prohibit sabers or spears, but it expressly forbade armor. Anyone found privately hoarding armor would be treated as a rebel!

Yet this secret room contained a huge quantity of armor, enough to arm several hundred people without any problem.

However, Gao Zhanhu turned a blind eye to the armor, as though he did not care about it in the slightest.

He pressed against the wall inside the secret room.

Click.

A hidden compartment immediately appeared in the wall.

Gao Zhanhu took out a box from the hidden compartment.

He brought the box to Gao Yuzhi's side, then gently opened it.

Snap.

The box opened, revealing a faintly visible blood-colored bead inside.

The blood-colored bead was only the size of a thumb, covered in delicate patterns that made it appear extraordinarily mystical.

At the sight of this blood-colored bead, a trace of fervor appeared in Gao Zhanhu's eyes.

"Yuzhi, this is the Gao Family's most precious Treasure—the Blood Exchange Bead!"

"As long as you use the Blood Exchange Bead, you will gradually be reborn, remade from the bones up. No matter how potent the poison, it can be cured."

"And with your talent, once you use the Blood Exchange Bead, there is a great chance that you will break through the Life and Death Profound Gate, undergo Marrow Cleansing Blood Changing, and reach the Divine Strength Realm! It was only because your father hesitated back then and did not let you use the Blood Exchange Bead sooner. Otherwise, if you had entered the Divine Strength Realm, how could villains have poisoned you?"

"But it is not too late now..."

Gao Zhanhu took a deep breath and was just about to use the Blood Exchange Bead on Gao Yuzhi.

Whoosh.

At that moment, a figure appeared in the Underground Hall.

"Who is it?"

Gao Zhanhu abruptly raised his head. His gaze was sharp as a blade as it instantly landed on the figure nearby.

"Is that you... Yucheng?"

Gao Zhanhu's eyes widened, seemingly shocked and surprised.

"Father, it is me."

"You really do have the Blood Exchange Bead. The Blood Exchange Bead can let a martial artist change their blood, equivalent to placing half a foot into the Divine Strength Realm. Such a precious Treasure, yet you want to use it on a useless man who is unconscious and on the verge of death?"

"Father, have you gone senile?"

Gao Yucheng's expression twisted with ferocity.

"Shut up!"

"Tell me, how did you get in here?"

"Did you follow me?"

"Unfilial son, only the successive Family Heads may enter this place. You..."

Gao Zhanhu was beside himself with rage.

Yet as he spoke, he seemed to realize something and did not continue.

Instead, his eyes widened, and a trace of shock appeared on his face.

Gao Yucheng remained calm. He even smiled faintly. "Father, it seems you have guessed it too."

"That is right. I poisoned my elder brother. And not only him—the people in Gao Family Fortress who were poisoned were also my doing."

Gao Zhanhu's chest heaved violently. Gritting his teeth, he asked word by word, "Unfilial son, why? Why would you do this? He is your elder brother!"

"Why?"

"Hahaha! Old bastard, you know very well why. My Gao Family originated from the Five Poisons Sect. But back then, the Five Poisons Sect rebelled and was suppressed by the Imperial Court, crumbling apart. More than One Hundred years have passed now, so why are you still clinging to those damned ancestral precepts?"

"All these years, you have been determined to accumulate strength and forge weapons and armor. Were you not preparing for rebellion?"

"This is no longer more than One Hundred years ago. The Five Poisons Sect has already vanished like smoke and scattered like ashes, yet you are dead set on rebelling. Are you not condemning everyone in Gao Family Fortress to death?"

"I will never let you gamble with the lives of everyone in Gao Family Fortress! And besides, elder brother is the apple of your eye. You have poured nearly all your effort and resources into him. What about me? I am your son too!"

"Those things would have been one matter. But you even intend to give the Blood Exchange Bead to elder brother. My Gao Family should have only this one Blood Exchange Bead left, right? You would give it to someone on the verge of death rather than to me. Old bastard, since you have been heartless, do not blame your son for being unfilial!"

Gao Yucheng's blood and qi surged violently.

At the same time, he slowly drew the saber in his hand!