The chatty old man vanished because his speed was just too fast. He could move so rapidly, his figure had virtually become invisible. Instead of heading south, however, he was moving deeper into the Valley of Crime!

After about an hour, he finally slowed down, the Forest of Deadly Wind right in front of him. The old man had come to the deepest part of the Valley of Crime.

 This place was narrower compared to the periphery, but it was flat. Facing the Forest of Deadly Wind, there were nine dragon statues made of some unknown metal. It appeared quite strange, seeing the intertwined dragon statues here.

 In the middle of the nine dragon statues, there was a middle-aged man, his hair hanging loose. When the old man came close to him, the middle-aged man slowly opened his eyes.

 Meanwhile, seven light beams lit up around the statues. As if the nine dragons were alive, they started to coil around each other even more tightly.

 “The dragon pillars and the seven-star array formation still don’t make you feel secure?” The middle-aged man asked casually, painfully bound to stay where he was by the dragons.

 The old man who wouldn’t stop nagging was on his full alert currently. Although he was still some distance away from the man, he wouldn’t go any closer. “You’re the most powerful culprit in the Fire Mystic Sect ever. I can never be too cautious.”

 The middle-aged man grinned. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

 The old man also smiled. “You’re welcome.”

 After a short moment of silence, the middle-aged man said coldly, “Why are you here today? The last time you came was more than ten years ago.”

 The old man nodded. “I’ve something important to ask you.”

 “Spill it. Then get out of here,” said the middle-aged man in a rather cold tone.

 “Where is it?” The old man asked.

 “Fu*k off!” responded the middle-aged man.

 The old man sighed. “To be honest, the sect is going through hard times presently. You’re also from the sect. Can’t you just do us a favor, for once?”

 The middle-aged man sneered. “Let go of me, and I’ll solve any trouble for the sect. Isn’t this the simplest solution?”

 The old man forced a smile on his face. “Then, even more people will die.”

 A cold light flashed past in the middle-aged man’s eyes. “If so, leave me the hell alone! Just keep believing those cowards will give you a solution.”

 “You sure you don’t want to tell me?” the old man insisted.

 “I said, fu*k off!” the middle-aged man roared.

 The next moment, the place started trembling, as though responding to the man’s wrath. The tremendous amount of Spirit Qi made the mountain walls shake, and broken-off rocks were thrown into the air.

 The Forest of Deadly Wind also started making a restless noise, as the cacophony of sounds rose to a crescendo. It almost looked like the end of the world.

 The power originated from the deepest part of the Valley of Crime, and it had extended all the way to the entrance of the valley. Both Old He and Du felt quite nervous.

 “Again!” said Old Du seriously.

 “Not a surprise. That old man is there,” commented Old He in a low voice.

 “Bound to the Nine-dragon Pillar, his Spirit Qi is still this aggressive and overbearing… It’s just hard to imagine how powerful he really is.” Old Du felt amazed and said with a sigh.

 “After all, he’s known as the most powerful man in the Fire Mystic Sect in three thousand years.” Old He nodded.

 “Had he not—” Old He murmured.

 “Don’t say it!” Old He abruptly broke in as he glared at Old Du. “We were told not to mention it!”

 Old Du put on an embarrassed smile. “Sorry! I forgot.”

 Then they stopped talking and turned to look toward the deepest part of the valley again. Although they could see nothing, they couldn’t help frowning and feeling worried.

 That mighty Spirit Qi kept sweeping the valley in the following two hours. When the Qi gradually died away, they finally released a sigh of relief.

 At this time, a gentle breeze came, bringing the chatty old man with it. Covered in dust, clothes in rags, he now looked shabby and unkempt, like a beggar who had not bathed for years.

 “Master!” Old Du and He bowed towards the old man at the same time.

 This old, chatty man was their master!

 “Save it,” The old man said to them, brushing down the dust on his clothes with his hands.

 “Master, you… you got it?” asked Old Du carefully.

 “Of course not! That man’s completely crazy! Bound to the pillar, he’s still extremely dangerous. I was almost hurt! What a monster…!” The chatty old man looked quite pissed.

 “Try to calm down, Master. It’s been so many years; it’s okay to wait a bit longer,” said Old Du, forcing a gentle smile on his face.

 The old man sighed. “I can wait. But someone can’t.”

 “You mean?” asked Old He.

 “Dragon Island is appearing soon. If we still can’t find anything this time… Well, talking doesn’t help at all.” The chatty old man shook his head.

 However, Old He and Du quickly exchanged a surprised look between them.

 The chatty old man complained, “Not a single good news recently. Bad days…”

 At this time, he suddenly came up with something and turned to ask his two students. “In fact, there is one. You two know there’s a young man in the valley whose name’s Yun Shu?”

 Old He and Du answered at the same time, “Yes! Why?”

 A smile crept up on that chatty old man’s face when he mentioned Yun Shu.

 “Tell me everything you know about him,” said the chatty old man.

 “A genius! Besides, he has some connection with the steles left by the founder of the sect. If he can finally read the steles, his future will be unfathomable!” said Old Du immediately.

 He had always valued Yun Shu’s talent. In front of his own master, Old Du would obviously not skimp on praise.

 The chatty old man slightly shook his head, though.

 “Did I say anything wrong, Master?” asked Old Du.

 “Of course, both of you are wrong. You are incorrect because you have underestimated him,” said the old man.

 “Underestimate?” Both Du and He exclaimed in amazement and confusion.

 “Yes! Even if he didn’t have a connection with the steles, he’s still a marvelous genius! In terms of talent, he can even compete with that man bound to the Nine-dragon Pillar!”

Old Du and He were taken unawares. They were well-aware of the horrible power of the man bound to the Nine-dragon Pillar. That was also why they had never thought of the possibility that someone in the sect could compete with that man in terms of talent!

 “I know what a genius is like. By the way, which bastard sent him here? For what?” asked the old man.

 “He humiliated one of the Elders in public,” said Old He.

 “It’s not even a big deal. Listen: no matter whether he can figure out the steles or not, release him after three years, and send him directly to the inner sect. I’ll teach him in person!” said the chatty old man excitedly.

 Old Du and He were stunned; their master was ready to take on another student! This would be a real buzz in the entire sect when the news spread. It seemed today was a day full of shocks!

 “Then, Master, why don’t you take him out of this place right away?” asked Old He in wonder.

 “The finest diamond must be cut! Talented as he is, that boy still needs to be tempered first to become fine steel. You two, make sure he’s safe.” instructed the chatty old man.

 “We will!” Old Du and He gave the old man a palm-hold-fist salute at the same time.