The Branch Altar

"Hmph, good." Si Borong lowered his voice and asked the black-haired old man beside him, "Old Liang, who's that kid?"

"Judging by his appearance and the spear on his back, he should be Dongbo Xueying from Yi Water City," the black-haired old man replied in a low voice. "He should only be twenty-two this year. When he was fifteen, he destroyed the Curved Blade Alliance all by himself. Since he dared to take this mission, he's probably a Silver Moon Knight."

"Twenty-two?"

Si Borong was even more displeased.

He was already over fifty, and now he'd run into a twenty-two-year-old Silver Moon Knight. Naturally, he wasn't happy about it.

"Hmph." Si Borong snorted at Dongbo Xueying twice before sitting down nearby. The black-haired old man sat down beside him as well.

"Now that all five experts have arrived..." The red-robed, bald old man swept his gaze over the five people before him—Si Borong, the black-haired old man, the white-haired, burly old man Tang Xiong, Dongbo Xueying, and the blue-robed female mage Yu Jingqiu.

"My name is Yuan Wu, and I'm the Tower Master of the Dragon Mountain Tower in Qinghe Prefecture." The red-robed, bald old man smiled. "I imagine most of you have heard of me, but this is my first time meeting Mage Jingqiu and Dongbo Xueying."

Yu Jingqiu and Dongbo Xueying both smiled.

"Tower Master Yuan, just tell us about the mission," Si Borong said bluntly.

"No need to rush."

The red-robed, bald old man's voice suddenly turned cold. "Before you accept the mission, I need to go over the most basic rules!"

"First, nothing about the mission may be divulged, including information about your companions! Leaking anything could result in your companions being retaliated against, and that's something the Dragon Mountain Tower will never tolerate! Anyone who deliberately leaks information and gets caught—hmph, no one will be able to save you."

"Second, this is the most difficult of all Black Iron-level missions. No one can guarantee your safety. Your lives will be in danger, and if you die, you'll have no one to blame."

"I'm telling you these two things in advance. If you can't accept them, you can leave now!"

The red-robed, bald old man looked across the five people before him.

Not one of them, Dongbo Xueying included, stood up to leave.

"Tower Master Yuan, we all know the rules," the white-haired, burly old man Tang Xiong said with a smile.

"Hmph. There's no such thing as absolute safety when you're risking your life out there. If you're afraid, you'd better go home now." Si Borong glanced at Dongbo Xueying. He was instinctively hostile toward the young man. With Mage Jingqiu, the woman he was pursuing, present, he instinctively wanted to suppress every other man. His guards and Tang Xiong were old men, so they weren't a threat!

It was only Dongbo Xueying, so young, who bothered him.

"Good."

Tower Master Yuan Wu nodded. "Since you all understand that you could die and know the rules about keeping things confidential, I'll explain the mission in detail."

Dongbo Xueying, Yu Jingqiu, and the others, including Si Borong, all listened intently.

A careless mistake on a mission could cost them their lives.

"The target of this mission is the Lu Clan's ancestral castle, located in Qutai City, Qinghe Prefecture's largest clan. You are to destroy the entire castle and kill the Lu Clan patriarch, Lu Huairu," the red-robed, bald old man said.

"Lu Huairu? A Meteor Rank mage. I hear the Lu Clan also has three or four Meteor Rank Knights, but why would you need all five of us for that? And why say our lives will be in danger?" Si Borong asked suspiciously.

Tower Master Yuan Wu replied gravely, "Lu Huairu is also skilled in alchemy. There are bound to be many dangers throughout the castle. More importantly... this place is actually a branch altar of an Evil God or Demon God in Qinghe Prefecture!"

"What!"

Dongbo Xueying, Yu Jingqiu, Si Borong, Tang Xiong, and Liang Yong, the black-haired old man, all changed expressions.

An Evil God or Demon God?

In the entire Empire, only the Earth Temple was orthodox. All the others were Evil Gods or Demon Gods! Even the founding emperor of the Longshan Empire hadn't established a temple to spread his faith.

And yet—

Any Evil God or Demon God daring to extend their influence into this world was terrifying. No one would dare take them lightly.

"Anything involving an Evil God or Demon God must be treated with caution. This is only a branch altar of one of them in Qinghe Prefecture, and the only experts we know of there are a few Meteor Rankers. The threat level is relatively low, so we're sending the five of you," Tower Master Yuan Wu said. "You know the mission now. If you don't want to go, you'll have to stay in the Dragon Mountain Tower for the time being and won't be allowed to leave until the mission is over."

"Any objections?" Tower Master Yuan Wu asked the five people before him.

"Are there any Silver Moon Rank or Title-level experts in the Lu Clan's ancestral castle?" Yu Jingqiu asked.

"None have been found so far," Tower Master Yuan Wu replied. "There could be hidden forces, but there's unlikely to be anyone Title-level. Title-level experts are rare. They wouldn't waste one on a branch altar."

"Those Evil Gods and Demon Gods are only hiding in the shadows, after all." Si Borong hurriedly said to Yu Jingqiu, "They wouldn't be extravagant enough to station a Title-level expert in every prefecture."

"If there are no questions, we'll set off now!" Tower Master Yuan Wu said. "The Dragon Mountain Tower will send a Flying Boat to take you there."

Si Borong immediately said, "Jingqiu, this mission is dangerous. You're a mage, so stay close to us. We'll protect you."

Yu Jingqiu frowned slightly.

She was thoroughly annoyed by Si Borong, who kept pursuing her, but her family lived in Qinghe Prefecture, so she didn't want to sour relations with the Si Family too badly.

Dongbo Xueying had his weapon case on his back and was already heading out. Yu Jingqiu followed him.

"He doesn't even have a decent storage treasure. He's still carrying a weapon case," Si Borong scoffed.

In Qutai City, a magnificent castle stood on an open plain. It covered an area of more than three li, making it even larger than Dongbo Xueying's Snow Stone Castle.

This was the Lu Clan's ancestral castle.

The castle consisted of an outer castle and an inner castle.

The Inner Castle was octagonal, resembling some strange creature crouched on the ground. Lu Huairu had personally designed and constructed it, and its interior was filled with layers of mechanisms and magic arrays. The closer one got to the bottom of the castle, the more dangerous it became.

"Divine Envoy, are these maids we prepared to your liking?" Lu Huairu asked obsequiously.

Lying half-reclined before him was a burly man who looked like a monster.

The man was extraordinarily massive, his waist as thick as a water barrel. He stood about two meters and forty or fifty centimeters tall, and his arms were thicker than an ordinary man's thighs. His beard was stiff as steel needles. His eyelids drooped slightly, but whenever he opened his eyes, they carried a terrifying pressure. Even his breathing made the air around him tremble and rumble, leaving the maids nearby visibly nervous.

"They're so-so," the monster of a man said indifferently. "What, are you afraid of me?"

"Your strength is overwhelming, Divine Envoy. I only feel reverence," Lu Huairu replied hurriedly.

"Relax. I'm just resting here for a while. I barely escaped the Xinhuo World alive, and I've almost forgotten what it's like to enjoy the pleasures of the mortal world! All right, get me some more pretty young women. Preferably some powerful female mages. Ordinary people just don't do it for me." The monstrous man smacked his lips and picked up the meat beside him, devouring it in huge bites.

"Yes, yes. Don't worry, Divine Envoy. I'll find female mages and offer them to you as soon as possible," Lu Huairu replied hastily.

"Go on, get out of here. You're in my way," the monstrous man said casually.