Inciting Turmoil

Sorry, I just got disconnected.

Huo Hai watched coldly from the sidelines, utterly unmoved. Perhaps these people had their own reasons for doing this. But no matter how many reasons they had, once they threatened his family, Huo Hai would never let them go.

Since they had done such a thing, they had to be prepared to bear the consequences. "I'll investigate the people behind you myself. Rest assured, they won't live much longer. Soon, they'll be going down to keep you company." Huo Hai did not realize that his voice had turned cold enough to crumble slag. The entire warehouse seemed to have been swept by an icy wind, chilling everyone to the bone.

Before long, even the mercenary leader could no longer endure the pain. He wanted to beg for mercy, even to kill Huo Hai, but his body could no longer move at all. The Star Gu crawled back and forth over him, tearing and biting, bringing unbearable agony.

The muscles, tendons, and even blood vessels throughout their bodies were all bitten apart and devoured. Their bodies suffered severe damage, and the Spirit Veins, things that existed by relying on the body, naturally dissipated as well. Without Spirit Veins, even if they had spiritual power, they could no longer wield it. Instead, as it continued to circulate within their bodies, their spiritual power grew less and less until it gradually dispersed completely.

Listening to their screams and watching their miserable forms being eaten away bit by bit by insects, the killing intent in Huo Hai's heart surged ever higher. Yet the fury that had originally been rising within him was released little by little.

Thus, Huo Hai remained fairly calm overall. After the Star Gu evolved, Huo Hai discovered that their intelligence had increased considerably. He had therefore kept them connected to himself all along, through a spiritual link.

For the Star Gu, killing was merely their master's command. As for eating, that was simply instinct. The Star Gu were extremely simple by nature, holding only admiration, affection, and concern for Huo Hai. It was precisely these emotions, simple to the very extreme, that kept Huo Hai from losing himself. Because he knew that there were still some who cared about him, even if they were not human.

Relying on the powerful effects of insect spirits, Huo Hai's own mind was exceptionally resilient as well. This killing intent ultimately did nothing to him. It seemed that before breaking through to the Spirit Blood Realm, these Star Gu would be the key to ensuring that he did not lose himself.

No one knew how much time passed. When the final scream faded away, every one of them had breathed their last. With a thought from Huo Hai, the Star Gu suddenly sped up their devouring. In moments, they had consumed all the corpses cleanly, leaving not even a trace of blood on the ground.

Huo Hai drew a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. The red in them gradually receded. His anger had been vented, and as his blood calmed, his killing intent slowly subsided as well. This time, he had finally not lost himself.

Huo Hai did not wake Huo Yuner immediately. Instead, he began gathering the Explosive Spirit Stones inside. No matter where such things were placed, they were dangerous. Besides, they might provide some clues. He did not know much himself, but if he brought them back and asked others, his father should know where they could be obtained, perhaps even how they were used.

Very quickly, with the help of the Gu Insects, Huo Hai collected all the Explosive Spirit Stones. One look nearly scared him out of his wits. "Who exactly has such a huge hand? I'm afraid only a few Lineages could manage this."

Huo Hai had found over ten thousand Spirit Stones. This was not merely a number written on a receipt, but truly over ten thousand Spirit Stones. Piled together, they were far larger than Huo Hai himself, like a small mountain.

Even taking out this many Spirit Stones at once was not something an ordinary person could manage. Needless to say, after being made into Explosive Spirit Stones, their value would be far higher than ordinary Spirit Stones. Only a handful of Lineages could accomplish something like this. The only thing he did not know was which Lineage had made a move against him. Huo Hai could not simply make wild guesses about that.

Every Lineage was suspicious. Although Huo Hai knew that the He Family had the greatest grudge against him, this matter could not be concluded so easily. They were after the Hidden Weapon Technique, and it was not only the He Family that wanted it.

Never mind that for now. He should wake Yun'er first. Huo Hai walked over to Huo Yuner and gently nudged her. "Yun'er, Yun'er, wake up. Wake up quickly." Yun'er did not move at all and paid him no heed. Come to think of it, even those people's ear-splitting screams had failed to wake her. How could he possibly wake her so easily?

Huo Hai sent spiritual power into Huo Yuner's body and circulated it through her once, but found nothing unusual. It did not seem that her body had been restrained with spiritual power either. It appeared that she had been drugged with some special drug, something he could not solve himself.

He should bring her back first. Looking around, Huo Hai quickly found a handcart in the warehouse. It was an ordinary wooden cart, not very large. He walked over and tested it, then nodded in satisfaction.

He first loaded the Spirit Stones onto the cart, then spread some straw over them. He had found all of this in the warehouse. Even an abandoned warehouse was not completely empty. This should be more comfortable, right? Huo Hai sat on it himself to test it. Only after confirming it was comfortable did he head toward Yun'er.

Huo Hai picked Yun'er up, intending to place her on the cart. At that moment, a box suddenly fell out. Huo Hai narrowed his eyes and turned the box over. Through the transparent crystal lid, he could clearly see what was inside.

"This is... a butterfly? No, what are these phantoms? This butterfly might be useful too." Huo Hai's understanding of insects told him that such a strange transformation was certainly not ordinary.

Perhaps Yun'er had been lured here by this thing as well. A cold glint flashed through Huo Hai's eyes. Such a strange butterfly could never have been found nearby. It seemed that, for the Hidden Weapon Technique, these people had truly racked their brains. Huo Hai composed himself, yet a blaze of anger surged within him. Rising to his feet, he placed Yun'er onto the cart.

Afterward, he put away the butterfly and placed Xiao Cui beside Yun'er. With a slight exertion of strength, he pushed the cart out of the warehouse. Nothing major had happened on the warehouse side all this time.

Moreover, this place had long been cleared out by the He Family, so no one had been nearby for all this time. When Huo Hai pushed the large cart out, he immediately drew the attention of many onlookers. A man in black was actually pushing such a huge cart through the streets, with two people lying on top. This was truly sensational news, and word quickly spread.

This place was not far from the Huo Family. Huo Hai soon pushed the cart to the entrance of his home. Sure enough, as soon as he returned, a large group of Huo Family guards surrounded him, and even Huo Kai and the others rushed out.

"Yun'er, Yun'er, what happened to you? How did this happen? Who are you? What are you after?" A middle-aged man ran out, roaring. Huo Hai recalled that this man was his second uncle.

Pulling back the hat on his head, Huo Hai revealed his face. "Second Uncle, it's me. This is complicated. You'll understand once you read this." When Huo Hai revealed his face, everyone was startled. Had he not been in the Lineage all this time? When had he gone out? Huo Kai hurriedly ordered someone to check Huo Hai's courtyard and see what was going on.

"Bastard! Who exactly did this?" Huo Hai's second uncle, Huo Ran, flew into a rage the moment he read the note.

Huo Kai and the other elders found this strange. They stepped forward to take a look, and their eyes filled with fury as well. It was obvious that these people had targeted Huo Hai—or rather, the so-called Hidden Weapon Technique. They had never expected them to make a move against Huo Yuner.

If Huo Hai had not rescued Huo Yuner, no one knew what might have happened. Huo Kai immediately asked, "What happened to the people who captured Yun'er? Did you catch them? Did you force them to tell you who was behind this?" Worthy of being the Huo Family's head, he immediately understood that anyone capable of capturing Huo Yuner without their knowledge had to be an outsider.

Huo Kai's eyes were filled with icy light. To lure away everyone around Huo Yuner, and for Yun'er to be rescued without him even knowing she had been captured—there was definitely an internal traitor in the Lineage. Without collusion from within and without, this could never have been done.

Huo Hai shook his head. "No. I dealt with those people already. As for whoever stands behind them, I'll investigate." As he spoke, Huo Hai pulled aside the straw. By then, Huo Yuner and Xiao Cui had already been taken off the cart by others.

"Spirit Stones? No, that's not right—these are Explosive Spirit Stones! How many Explosive Spirit Stones are there?" An elder stepped forward and took a few looks, his expression changing drastically. So many Explosive Spirit Stones were not something ordinary people could produce. Perhaps only a few other top Lineages could obtain them. This matter was becoming increasingly bizarre.

If mishandled, it might even trigger great chaos throughout the Western Frontier. A whole cart of Explosive Spirit Stones—by rough estimate, there were at least several thousand, perhaps even over ten thousand. Who had done this, to be so vicious?

If so many Spirit Stones exploded at once, this was clearly meant to send Huo Hai to his death. Had Huo Hai not possessed such brilliant methods, the Huo Family's only two direct descendants might have vanished just like that, and the Huo Family itself might even have faced destruction.

These people were truly vicious. They wanted to wipe out the Huo Family's entire Lineage. Not only Huo Kai, but everyone else, after understanding the purpose of these Explosive Spirit Stones, had eyes full of fury and lingering fear. Though they had not witnessed Huo Hai's rescue, the danger involved could not possibly have been small. One misstep, and he himself could have been buried along with them.

Huo Kai flew into a rage. "All of you, go back! This matter must be investigated thoroughly." Huo Kai swept his gaze around, then turned and left. The spies from other Lineages hiding in the shadows immediately felt a chill run through their hearts.

The Huo Family was about to erupt. This time, perhaps the entire Western Frontier would descend into chaos. They had to hurry back and report this to their Lineage's upper ranks.