Mo Tian Ji and the rest had dazed looks in their eyes. Their entire bodies were filled with ice and snow and they could not regain their senses instantly. They did not understand how did they go from the tent to a huge trench in the snowy ground in the blink of an eye.
Other than Huyan Aobo, everyone else felt as if they just had a weird dream. Yet, they could not be sure whether this was a dream or the reality. They were scared of ridicule so while their lips quivered, they said nothing. They all looked at each other and scrutinized each other’s faces for emotions.
Then, everyone looked at each other and frowned as if they were all deep in thought.
They all shared the same expression. They looked at each other while deep in thought and they thought what they had experienced…
The Lake of Death was utterly still.
It was as if nothing had disturbed it since the creation of the universe.
“I seemed to have a dream…” After a long while, Ji Mo broke the silence.
“Me too…” Luo Ke Di chimed in.
“I think I saw big brother…” Gu Du Xing said with a frown. His handsome face was brooding as he said, “Big brother seems to be in a bit of a pickle…”
“Yes, that’s the case. I remember big brother looking at me worriedly,” said Xie Dan Qiong.
“That’s right…”
“Quiet!” Mo Tian Ji said with a frown. He fell into a deep thought and his countless emotions flashed through his face. The more he heard, the more worried he became. Finally, he could not help but shout this order.
Everyone calmed down and looked at Mo Tian Ji as if they were anticipating his explanation.
“If everyone had the same, it’s not a dream!” Mo Tian Ji said coldly. He rubbed his brows and said, “Let us go through what has happened from the start.”
He said softly, “When I went down, big brother was immobilized. He seems to be panicky… and there was a strange shadow next to him whose face I could not see. The shadow asked me if I’m willing to die for him.”
When Mo Tian Ji said that, all of the brothers said in unison, “Yes! Yes! That happened to me too.”
Mo Tian Ji frowned and continued, “I suddenly arrive at that place and I surveyed my surroundings. It seems to be the bottom of the Lake of Death but the strange thing is… there was no corpse or anything. There wasn’t even a seaweed.”
“At the bottom of the lake, it was entirely flat. There was a huge floor with no elevation…” Mo Tian Ji closed his eyes and he frowned. He tried his best to recall this scene as he said, “The floor had many squares and each square, there was a hole. Streams of bubbles emerged from these holes…”
“That’s right! That was what we saw,” everyone suddenly remembered how the scene looked like.
“That’s right. This means that we all went to the same place,” said Mo Tian Ji worriedly. He concluded, “That was no dream!”
Everyone’s face fell dark.
Mo Tian Ji looked to his left and right and said, “Aobo, did you have a dream?”
Huyan Aobo said, “No.”
Mo Tian Ji replied with an ‘oh’. He looked around and said, “Who else did not experience this?”
He swept everyone with his gaze.
Everyone else shook their heads.
Mo Tian Ji grunted and without any hesitation, said, “Aobo, could you please look around to check for other people.”
Huyan Aobo stood up immediately and said, “Yes.” Immediately, she sprinted away.
While her expression was rough, she was a coolly-intelligent girl. She knew that they had to discuss something extremely secretive. Mo Tian Ji wanted her to leave.
The thing they had to discuss was probably extremely sensitive. If not, with her relationship with Ji Mo, Mo Tian Ji would not have asked her to leave.
Hence, she quickly left.
Mo Tian Ji’s sentence made everyone’s expressions turned serious.
They all understood why Mo Tian Ji did that. This… had to be serious!
“This concerns… boss…” Mo Tian Ji explained with much difficulty. He looked apologetically at Ji Mo and said, “I have to be careful!”
Everyone nodded their heads
“Today’s matter is extremely odd. I did not know what you guys are thinking or guessing… but I hope that you will… never speak of this again!” Mo Tian Ji said seriously word-by-word.
Gu Du Xing and the rest nodded their heads.
“When we went down, the figure asked us if we are willing to sacrifice for big brother?” Mo Tian Ji said with a cold smile. “Since it has to ask us, it means that big brother said ‘no’ to this question!”
“Since the shadow has forced big brother to this stage, this is why the shadow will force us! This is why we all have this experience!”
Mo Tian Ji said seriously, “However, big brother’s strength cannot compare to the shadow’s strength! When we went down, he couldn’t even move!”
“From this, we can see the problem and it’s not with us. Instead, it’s with big brother. I think we have to sacrifice something for big brother to free him. Or maybe we even have to do something.”
Mo Tian Ji said seriously, “However, we’re all normal now! We did not sacrifice anything or pay any price. This means that big brother has rejected the figure and saved us!”
“So, what happened… to big brother?” Mo Tian Ji’s gaze was sharper than Gu Du Xing’s sword.
Everyone’s breathing quickened and they were suddenly reminded by Mo Tian Ji that Chu Yang was now in danger. This was something unimaginable…
If the shadow wanted to kill Chu Yang… with its powers… it would be extremely easy with its powers.
“Right now, big brother has yet to surface! He’s still down there!” Mo Tian Ji slowly raised his hand to stop them from acting rashly as he said, “Hence, from now on, I, Mo Tian Ji, order all of you to keep your mouths shut! We can wait! However, this concerns big brother’s life. If anyone dares to leak this secret… don’t blame us for being… ruthless!”
His eyes sliced through the crowd.
Everyone nodded their heads in unison.
Actually, Mo Tian Ji’s words were unlike a final warning. However, Mo Tian Ji’s directness made everyone feel shocked.
“If anything happens to big brother, it will be because of us! I hope you all remember this! Remember!”
“We will wait for nine days!” Mo Tian Ji inhaled and said, “If big brother doesn’t emerge after nine days, we’ll go down to search! Including yesterday, there are still eight days!”
“Nine days?” Ao Xie Yun frowned. “Does… this mean…”
“Big brother is not an ordinary person. If he can drown… I am afraid that he’s already dead,” said Mo Tian Ji. “Eight more days! I don’t hope anything will happen!”
Mo Tian Ji gathered all his brothers because he wanted to clarify Chu Yang’s importance to them. He knew that among the brothers, some of them had made a few guesses that they were not sure of.
He wanted to take this chance to clarify Chu Yang’s identity to everyone and hence, he asked Huyan Aobo to leave.
However, just when the words were at his mouth, he changed his mind.
Chu Yang would not die!
He should tell his brothers about his identity himself. It was not right of him to speak and act on his behalf!
However, he had never been more anxious in his life.
That night, Mo Tian Ji used his Calculation of Heaven’s Will to calculate the chances of survival and strategize.
When it was almost midnight, a ‘wah’ could be heard…
Gu Du Xing rushed out like a bolt of lightning and he saw that all 72 lamps near Mo Tian Ji were extinguished. Mo Tian Ji’s face was pale as he spat out a mouthful of blood as he breathed heavily.
“I can’t predict… the will of heaven!” Mo Tian Ji’s eyes were worried as he said to Gu Du Xing with much difficulty.
Gu Du Xing nodded his head seriously and a sharp look glinted in his eyes. He said, “Rest. Big brother will be fine!”
The next day, after Mo Tian Ji regained some of his vital energy, he tried divination again.
This time, he fainted straight away.
It was already the seventh day.
In these seven days, Mo Tian Ji would try divination as long as he had a bit of energy. Every time, the will of heaven would strike back at him!
He could not divine anything!
Mo Tian Ji became weaker day-by-day.
On the eighth day, Gu Du Xing forcibly stopped Mo Tian Ji divining the future. He slapped Mo Tian Ji forcibly ten times, finally waking him up.
Mo Tian Ji woke up and took a few deep breaths.
The eighth day.
Everyone started to going into the lake to search.
However, when they ventured inside, they realized that the Lake of Death was unbelievably deep. They had never seen anything like this before. Furthermore, it was also very buoyant.
Even with Gu Du Xing, a Grade 4 Sword Sovereign, could only descend for 600 meters with the help of a colossal stone. Beyond that, he could go no further.
This cruel reality made them despair!
Mo Tian Ji stood by the side of the lake and looked at its calm water without moving for a long while.
In these few days, his body had been weakened by his repeated bouts of blood-vomiting. Hence, he did not descend.
However, Mo Tian Ji believed that Chu Yang would not die!
He would come back!
When he looked at the calm lake, Mo Tian Ji’s eyes stared into the distance. He thought, “Chu Yang, if you don’t come back, I’ll curse you for generations!”
After a few days, Mo Tian Ji stopped this fruitless endeavor.
Everyone ascended from the water with pale faces. They all looked lost and dejected.
Even Gu Du Xing, the strongest among them, had tears in his eyes. Normally, he would hide his tear-streaked face but now, he did not even want to do that.
He was extremely dejected and everyone felt as if their hearts had been torn to shreds.
Death was on everyone’s mind. However, no one dared to say it. They did not dare to look at each other. Occasionally, when their gazes met, they would look away.
However, they saw in each other’s eyes a horrible news none of them was willing to accept!