"What's wrong?"
Xingxiu, who had stayed beside Hun Changqing all along, noticed that the moment the middle-aged man appeared, Hun Changqing rose from her lap and sat bolt upright. His jade-white hand, exposed beneath his black sleeve, quietly clenched and trembled faintly. He gripped so hard that it had turned bluish white, and he looked decidedly nervous. Puzzled, Xingxiu asked with a trace of concern.
"Don't ask so many questions. If I send you a message later, don't hesitate. Detonate the Origin Emperor Qi with me immediately!"
Hun Changqing offered Xingxiu little explanation, merely sending her that grave message. Beneath his pitch-black hood, his dark eyes remained fixed on the scene, unwilling to miss the slightest detail. He believed he held Gu Xun'er's weakness in his grasp and controlled Xiao Yan's life and death, so Gu Xun'er should not say anything out of turn before Gu Yuan.
But his life was at stake, after all. Even if ten thousand things went right, one mishap was enough. His concentration had therefore reached an unprecedented height. At the slightest sign of trouble, he would immediately have Xingxiu join him in detonating the two portions of Origin Emperor Qi they had obtained from the Dou Di Cave Abode.
Origin Emperor Qi was both a tremendous opportunity and a devastating weapon. Detonating it without any guidance might not do much to someone like Gu Yuan, who stood at the pinnacle of Dou Sheng with one foot already in the Dou Di realm, but it would certainly rip an enormous breach in the Ancient Realm, creating an opportunity for Hun Changqing and Xingxiu to escape. That was what gave Hun Changqing the confidence to venture into the dragon's pool and tiger's den that was the Gu Clan and seek the opportunity within the Heavenly Tomb.