Stirring Up Turmoil

Sorry, I got disconnected just now.

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, if they threatened his family, Huo Hai would never let them off.

Since they had done such a thing, they had to be prepared to bear the consequences. "I'll investigate the people behind you myself. Don't worry—they won't live much longer. Soon enough, they'll go down and keep you company." Huo Hai did not realize how icy his voice had become. It was as though a cold wind had swept through the entire warehouse, 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 tore and bit through his flesh again and again, bringing agony beyond measure.

The muscles, tendons, even the blood vessels all over their bodies were bitten apart and devoured. Their bodies suffered severe damage, and the Spirit Veins, things born attached to the body, naturally dispersed as well. Without Spirit Veins, even if they possessed spiritual power, they could not wield it. Instead, as it continued circulating within their bodies, their spiritual power grew less and less until it gradually vanished completely.

Listening to their screams and watching their miserable bodies get eaten away bit by bit by insects, the Killing Aura in Huo Hai's heart surged ever higher. Yet the anger that had originally been boiling within him was slowly vented out.

Thus, Huo Hai remained fairly calm overall. After the Star Gu evolved, Huo Hai discovered that they had become much more intelligent. So he had always kept them connected to himself through a spiritual bond.

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

Relying on the immense power of insect spirits, Huo Hai's own mind was exceptionally resilient. This Killing Aura ultimately did nothing to him. It seemed that before he broke through to the Spirit Blood Realm, these Star Gu would be the key to keeping him from losing himself.

No one knew how much time passed. When the final scream faded away, everyone had completely breathed their last. At a thought from Huo Hai, the Star Gu suddenly sped up their devouring. Moments later, they had consumed every corpse clean, leaving not even a trace of blood on the ground.

Huo Hai took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. The red in them gradually receded. His anger had been vented, and as his blood calmed, the Killing Aura slowly settled as well. This time, he had finally not lost himself.

Huo Hai did not immediately wake Huo Yuner. Instead, he began gathering the Explosive Spirit Stones. No matter where these things were placed, they were dangerous. Besides, they might provide some clues. He did not know much himself, but he could bring them back and ask others. His father should know where these things came from, perhaps even how to use them.

Before long, with the Gu Insects' help, Huo Hai had collected all the Explosive Spirit Stones. One look nearly made him jump in fright. "Who could have made such a massive move? I'm afraid only a handful of Lineages could manage this."

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

Even taking out so many Spirit Stones at once was not something an ordinary person could do. There was no need to think about it—after being made into Explosive Spirit Stones, their value was absolutely higher than ordinary Spirit Stones. Only a few Lineages could accomplish such a thing. The only question was which Lineage had made a move against him. Huo Hai could not make wild guesses about that.

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

Never mind that for now. He should wake Yun'er first. Huo Hai walked to Huo Yuner's side and gently nudged her. "Yun'er, Yun'er, wake up. Hurry, wake up." Yun'er did not move at all and paid him no heed. On second thought, that made sense. Those people had screamed so loudly just now, yet they had not awakened Yun'er. How could he possibly wake her so easily?

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

He should take her back first. Sweeping his gaze around, Huo Hai soon found a handcart in the warehouse. It was an ordinary wooden cart, not very large. He stepped forward and tested it, then nodded in satisfaction.

First, he loaded the Spirit Stones onto the cart, then spread some straw over them. He had found all of it in the warehouse. Even an abandoned warehouse was not completely empty. This should make it more comfortable, right? Huo Hai climbed on and tested it himself. Only after confirming that it was comfortable did he walk 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." Given Huo Hai's understanding of insects, such a strange change was definitely far from ordinary.

Perhaps Yun'er had been lured here by this thing as well. A cold gleam flashed through Huo Hai's eyes. Such a strange butterfly could never be found nearby. It seemed these people had truly racked their brains for the Hidden Weapon Technique. As Huo Hai steadied his emotions, another wave of fury rose in his heart. He stood and placed Yun'er on the handcart.

Afterward, he put away the butterfly and placed Xiao Cui beside Yun'er as well. With a slight exertion of force, he pushed the cart out of the warehouse. Nothing particularly dramatic had happened around the warehouse all this time.

Furthermore, the He Family had cleared this area out long ago, so no one had been nearby for all this time. When Huo Hai pushed the large cart out, it immediately drew a crowd of onlookers. A man in black was actually pushing such a huge cart down the street, with two people lying on it. This was truly earth-shaking news, and word quickly spread.

This place was not far from the Huo Family. Huo Hai soon pushed the cart to the entrance of the estate. 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, and what do you want?" A middle-aged man rushed out, shouting furiously. Huo Hai thought back and recognized him as his second uncle.

Huo Hai lifted the hat from his head, revealing his face. "Second Uncle, it's me. This matter is complicated. You'll understand after reading this." The moment Huo Hai revealed his face, everyone was shocked. Hadn't he been in the Lineage the whole time? When had he left? Huo Kai hurriedly ordered someone to check Huo Hai's courtyard and see what was going on.

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

Huo Kai and the other elders found this strange. They stepped forward to look at it, and their eyes filled with anger as well. Clearly, these people had come for Huo Hai—or rather, for 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, who knew what might have happened? Huo Kai immediately asked, "What happened to the people who captured Yun'er? Did you catch them? Did you find out who was behind this?" Worthy of being the Huo Family head, he immediately understood that anyone capable of capturing Huo Yuner without them noticing had to be an outsider.

Huo Kai's eyes were filled with icy light. Someone had managed to draw away all the people around Huo Yuner, and even after Yun'er was rescued, he himself had not known she had been captured. There was definitely a traitor within the Lineage. Without inside and outside forces working together, this could never have been done.

Huo Hai shook his head. "No. I dealt with those people already. As for whoever stood behind them, I'll investigate." As he spoke, Huo Hai lifted 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 glanced over them. His expression changed dramatically on the spot. No ordinary person could produce so many Explosive Spirit Stones. Perhaps only several other top Lineages could obtain them. This matter was becoming more and more bizarre.

If mishandled, it might even throw the entire Western Frontier into chaos. A cartload of Explosive Spirit Stones this large numbered at least several thousand, perhaps even over ten thousand by rough estimate. Who had done this? How could they be so vicious?

If so many Spirit Stones exploded at once, they clearly intended to put Huo Hai to death. If not for Huo Hai's superb 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. Once Huo Kai and everyone else understood the purpose of these Explosive Spirit Stones, their eyes were filled with both fury and lingering fear. They had not witnessed Huo Hai's rescue, but the danger involved could not possibly have been small. One careless misstep, and he might have lost his own life.

Huo Hai roared, "Everyone, go back! This matter must be investigated thoroughly!" Huo Kai swept his gaze around, then turned and left. The spies from other Lineages hidden in the shadows immediately felt a chill run through their hearts.

The Huo Family was about to erupt. This could throw the entire Western Frontier into turmoil. They had to hurry back and inform their Lineage's higher-ups.