After a journey of several hours, Gu Chen arrived at Zhou City Railway Station.
After getting off the bus, Gu Chen called Zhao Bo, but strangely, he couldn't get through.
"I was gone for three days, it's impossible that something happened during that time."
Gu Chen frowned, a bad feeling rising in his mind.
Although he obtained the Shennong Grass, it would be troublesome if things went wrong in his backyard.
Gu Chen checked his phone again and called Lu Fan.
This time, Lu Fan Lu Fan the phone, but his voice was filled with impatience.
"Who is it? I'm busy right now."
"Steward Lu, do you not remember my voice?" Gu Chen said coldly. "Where is Zhao Bo?"
"I don't know any Zhao Bo." After saying this, Lu Fan actually hung up the phone.
Gu Chen held his phone between his fingers, thought for a moment, and decided not to call again. After leaving the train station, he hailed a taxi and headed to the black market in Zhou City.
Upon arrival, Gu Chen was stopped by two henchmen at the entrance, who wouldn't let him in.
Seeing that the two were complete strangers, Gu Chen asked, "What do you mean?"
One of them sized up Gu Chen, and perhaps seeing that he was young, arrogantly raised his chin and said, "The black market is closed today; we are not accepting customers."
"We don't accept guests?"
Gu Chen glanced at the sky and said, "It's almost evening, is the black market closed?"
"I'm not doing it anymore." The man waved his hand impatiently and said, "Where did this kid come from? Annoying as hell? Get lost!"
Just as Gu Chen was about to say something, he saw a head pop out from the corner of the alley next door. It was Ma Gang. Gu Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly walked over.
At the entrance of the alley, there was a dilapidated Santana parked. When Ma Gang saw Gu Chen coming, he quickly got into the car, and Gu Chen followed him in.
Ma Gang was the only one in the car. After closing the door, Gu Chen frowned and said, "What are you doing, being so secretive?"
"Boss, you're finally back!" Ma Gang said, his face full of dejection and a mournful expression. "We've been cleared out by the Water Cloud Sect."
"Clear the area?"
Gu Chen raised an eyebrow, only then noticing that Ma Gang had several injuries on his body. His voice deepened as he asked, "What exactly happened? Where's Zhao Bo? Where are the others? Tell me slowly."
"Okay, okay." Ma Gang hurriedly said, "Boss, the day after you left, people from the Water Cloud Sect came. As you know, this black market belongs to the Water Cloud Sect. After they arrived, Lu Fan, the manager, was stripped of his power. Jiang Qi and Zhu Jun were severely injured by them, and I barely managed to escape. I was waiting for you to come back in this area."
After hearing Ma Gang's words, Gu Chen finally understood what had happened.
Although Lu Fan and Gu Chen had formed a partnership, the news of Shennong Grass was not so easy to conceal. Lu Fan's desire to share the grass with Gu Chen was naturally discovered by the higher-ups of the Water Cloud Sect. After learning that Shennong Grass would appear in Zhou City, they sent several elders there.
Lu Fan was merely a martial artist in the Mid-stage Bone Forging Realm, not yet in the Late Bone-Forge Realm, let alone the Revolving Illumination Realm.
Therefore, with his cultivation level, he had no say in the Water Cloud Sect and was quickly sidelined.
After investigating, the elders of the Water Cloud Sect learned that Lu Fan had actually cooperated with an unknown person to wipe out the Zhou Family Zhou City, and they were immediately furious.
Of course, they didn't care at all about the Zhou Family's fate; what they were worried about was offending the Steel Tremor Sect!
After all, in Huaxia, the Steel Tremor Sect is a peak two-star sect, which even the Water Cloud Sect cannot compare to!
Subsequently, the enraged elder not only placed Lu Fan under house arrest, but also severely injured three of Gu Chen's men. Ma Gang was lucky enough to escape, but Zhu Jun, Jiang Qi, and Zhao Bo were all imprisoned.
"Why didn't you call me?!" Gu Chen's face darkened upon hearing this. The Water Cloud Sect had acted with surprising speed and efficiency.
Ma Gang, with a long face, said, "Boss, I didn't have your phone number, so I could only stay here and wait for your early return. Now that you're back, at least someone is in charge for us!"
"With Zhao Bo's strength, how could he be imprisoned?" Gu Chen asked. "And where is my father?"
"Although Elder Zhao's cultivation is outstanding, the Water Cloud Sect sent several elders this time, two of whom have reached the Grandmaster Realm. Elder Zhao was no match for their numbers and was captured," Ma Gang said. "However, they didn't kill anyone; they probably wanted to wait for you to return, Boss."
At this point, Ma Gang paused for a moment, then said, "As for the sect leader's father, I've been secretly protecting him these past two days, but he should be fine. Water Cloud Sect is a major sect after all; they wouldn't resort to such underhanded tactics."
Are your injuries serious?
Gu Chen's expression turned cold, and he immediately asked a question.
Ma Gang grinned and said, "I'm fine. After escaping, I went to a clinic for treatment. Besides, practicing the Tiger Roar Technique has made my body stronger than before, and the flow of True Qi in my meridians is much faster. After resting for two days, I'm fine."
"That's good." Gu Chen got out of the car and said, "Let's go."
"Where to?" Ma Gang was taken aback.
Gu Chen said calmly, "Of course we'll go to the Water Cloud Sect to release them."
Seeing Gu Chen get out of the car, Ma Gang stammered, "Boss, are we just going like this? Don't we need to prepare anything?"
"Prepare?
"There are only two of us," Ma Gang said in alarm. "The Water Cloud Sect sent more than a dozen people, including four elders, two of whom are Grandmaster! That's how Elder Zhao was subdued by them!"
"Heh." A murderous glint flashed in Gu Chen's eyes. "He's already detained our Heavenly Pivot Sect members. What's there to discuss? Let's just go."
After saying this, Gu Chen strode back towards the entrance of the black market, while Ma Gang opened his mouth but could only swallow the words of advice he wanted to say.
At the entrance, the two guards frowned upon seeing Gu Chen return, and said impatiently, "What, it's you again? Didn't we already tell you, if you don't open the door today, I'll beat you up..."
Before the word "you" could even be uttered, Gu Chen reached out and instantly grabbed the shouter's face with his five fingers, then seized his head and slammed it against the wall.
"Bang!"
The man was bleeding from a head wound and instantly lost consciousness, collapsing limply to the ground.
"Boy, do you know where you are?" The remaining guard roared, but before he could finish speaking, Gu Chen grabbed him by the neck and threw him away.
Then, Gu Chen stepped into the black market.
After taking the elevator to the underground, many of his underlings tried to block his way, but Gu Chen defeated them one by one. In just one minute, wherever Gu Chen went, nothing grew.
Ma Gang had just arrived and, upon seeing this scene, gasped in shock.
Gu Chen's approach showed that he had no intention of discussing things; he was simply planning to storm in!