Siles City, this city known for its commerce and intelligence, is as noisy and busy as ever. Caravans, adventurers, and mercenaries from Heaven Dou, Star Luo Empire and even major principalities shuttle through the wide streets. The sounds of bargaining in different accents, the noise in the tavern, and the mixed smell of spices and leather in the air together form the background of this city.
However, in the past few days, an unusual undercurrent has begun to surge in specific circles. It is not an explicit ban or notice, but a surprising and uncertain message has begun to circulate through some Concealment channels, private rooms in some high-end taverns, and underground intelligence dealers.
"Have you heard?" On the second floor of a high-end tavern named "Ash Rose", in a private room near the corner, several Soul Masters who appeared to be dressed in ordinary clothes but had sharp eyes and reserved breath gathered together. The speaker was a middle-aged man with a lean face and a goatee. He lowered his voice and unconsciously traced circles on the table with his fingers, "Star Luo Empire, there is a big move over there."
"What big move? Are you having trouble with Heaven Dou at the border again?" A burly bald man on the opposite side asked angrily, picking up the wine glass and taking a big sip.
"It's more serious than that." The goatee man looked around and said in a lower voice, "It's Forgotten Gobi."
"Forgotten Gobi?" Soul Master, a young man next to him who looked a little frail, frowned, "That inhospitable ghost place? What big move can be made? What rare mineral veins were discovered? Or did Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast appear?"
"None of them." The goatee man shook his head, with a hint of solemnity and confusion on his face, "It's a blockade. The entire Forgotten Gobi, especially the area close to it, has been completely blocked by White Tiger Guard directly under the Star Luo Imperial Family. No entry is allowed, and trespassers will be shot to death."
"What?" The bald man and the frail young man were shocked at the same time. White Tiger Guard is one of the most mysterious and elite royal guards of the Star Luo Empire. It is named after White Tiger Martial Soul of Star Luo Imperial House. Its members are all affiliates of the royal family or absolute confidants. They are not only powerful, but also represent the direct will of the royal family. Let them block the barren land like Forgotten Gobi?
"What's the reason?" the frail young man asked.
"The apparent reason is that the energy anomaly in that area has intensified recently, and there is a risk of large-scale collapse. For the sake of surrounding safety, it is temporarily isolated." The goatee man curled his lips, "But who believes it? The energy anomaly does not happen every day or two. In the past, at most, a warning was issued. What? Did White Tiger Guard need to personally block it? And it was so thorough that even some Soul Hunting teams and treasure hunters who had been operating on the edge all year round were forcibly driven away. There were a few unbelievers who wanted to sneak in, but I heard they never came out again."
"There are rumors," the goatee man leaned forward, his voice almost inaudible, "That it is related to the Bai Chenxiang disappearance case that made a lot of noise some time ago. Did Clear Sky Sect and Tang Sect search in that area before? It is said... that the loss was not small."
The bald man took a breath. "You mean, something happened to the Clear Sky Sect's people in Forgotten Gobi? And Star Luo Empire had to use White Tiger Guard as well?"
"It's very possible. And I'm afraid he's not an ordinary person." The goatee man's eyes flickered, "Otherwise, how could White Tiger Guard be used? A friend of mine who has some connections in the Star Luo Empire military drunkenly revealed that White Tiger Guard received a death order, not even a fly could be allowed in, and no information was allowed to be leaked."
The frail young man muttered, "If it's true that Clear Sky Sect's important person is lost there... Darling, that would be great fun. Can Clear Sky Sect just give up? Why should Star Luo Empire block it? Have you discovered something? Even Star Luo Empire doesn't want more people to know about it?"
"Who knows." The goatee man spread his hands, "In short, Forgotten Gobi is now a restricted area. I advise you not to join in the fun there recently, White Tiger Guard doesn't care which family you are from. And..." He paused, a trace of fear flashed in his eyes, "I always feel that the water there is very deep. Something that can make Clear Sky Sect and Star Luo Empire so nervous... we little characters, it's better to stay away."
There was a brief silence in the private room, with only the faint noise coming from the street outside.
No one noticed that just next to their private room, in a darker and almost unused storage room, a figure shrouded in a wide black cloak was quietly leaning against the shadow of the wall, as if blending into the shadow.
The hood of the cloak covered his face, with only two glimmers of ice-blue light flickering occasionally in the shadows, calmly "listening" to the conversations coming from the next door that were deliberately lowered but still clearly audible.
It is Kraken.
He has been away from Forgotten Gobi for some time. After devouring Fourth Elder of the Clear Sky Sect and several Soul Douluo that were subsequently "cleaned up", he needs to find a place that is relatively safe and where information circulation is fast enough to observe the subsequent fermentation of the incident. Siles City is undoubtedly a good choice.
The conversation next door reached his ears word for word.
"White Tiger Guard... total blockade..." Kraken muttered silently in his mind. Was he worried that Clear Sky Sect would use the topic to make waves in the Star Luo Empire? Or did they really find something in the depths of Forgotten Gobi that was worthy of them going to such great lengths to go to war and cover it up even at the cost of temporarily turning against the Clear Sky Sect?
Kraken prefers the latter. Star Luo Empire is not a soft persimmon, but there is no need to go to war over an "accidental death" of an elder Clear Sky Sect, unless there is a secret behind this accident that can affect the interests of the empire and even its safety?
But these have nothing to do with him for the time being. Star Luo Empire blocking Forgotten Gobi is, in a sense, a good thing for him. At least, it can temporarily block more irrelevant people, which gives him more time and space.
As for White Tiger Guard's blockade... if they didn't take the initiative to provoke him, he wouldn't bother to care about it. He is now more concerned about collecting more information about the movements of various forces in the mainland, especially those that Clear Sky Sect and Tang Sect may be interested in.
"The loss is not small..." Kraken thought about this word. It seems that his move to clean up those Soul Douluo also made Clear Sky Sect and Tang Sect realize the seriousness of the problem, and they may even have misjudged it.
The conversation next door continued, starting from the blockade of Forgotten Gobi, to the recent changes in the Star Luo Empire and Soul Grandmaster families, as well as some frictions at the Heaven Dou Empire border. Kraken listened quietly, writing down these pieces of information one by one, and piecing together the situation on the mainland in his mind.
He left the storage room quietly, just as he came, without attracting anyone's attention. The black cloak blended into the bustling crowd on the street and quickly disappeared.
Siles City is still noisy, rumors about Forgotten Gobi are only secretly circulated among a few people, and the culprit is walking calmly in the sun at this moment, like the most ordinary passerby.