Chapter 1800 - 2102: Soul Stone (5)
In the blink of an eye, two days passed, and the members of the Guardian Clan notified by Du Yunzhi had already arrived in East Sea City, numbering over ten people, which included that formidable man. When Ling Chen saw this man appear, his heart was immediately full of confidence. He clearly knew this man’s strength; with him here, He Honggang was nothing.
Once everyone was prepared, the group immediately took vehicles to the airport, boarding a previously arranged private jet headed to Yangcheng.
Around ten in the morning, upon arriving in Yangcheng, Ling Chen took the group directly to their destination, the Jiang Family. After stepping out of the car, Ling Chen stood by the roadside, observing the surroundings. It wasn’t his first visit to the Jiang Family; he was familiar with the environment. "I’ll go in and check first, follow me closely," he said and headed straight for the Jiang Family’s entrance, pushing the door open and walking inside.
Perhaps due to not being maintained for a long time, the ground of the Jiang Family was scattered with dried branches and leaves, desolate in appearance. Not long after, Ling Chen led the group to search the entire Jiang Family premises but found nothing. Of course, Ling Chen didn’t expect to find anything; it wasn’t his first visit to the Jiang Family. If there were anything, he would have discovered it back then.
If the Jiang Family had a laboratory, it would be in a more discreet location. Unfortunately, Jiang Yue’e couldn’t help him; otherwise, he could simply ask her as she surely knew the laboratory’s location.
Regardless, he had brought plenty of people for this operation, and he was determined to find the laboratory.
Time ticked by, and half an hour later, the entire Jiang Family was thoroughly searched both inside and out, ultimately discovering a secret entrance. The secret entrance was in one of the bedrooms, with a bed against the wall. The bed was fixed to the ground, and beneath the moved bedboard was an iron door equipped with a combination lock.
Ling Chen had no patience to find someone to crack the code and resorted to violent measures, smashing the entire bed. Through the secret entrance, Ling Chen suddenly found himself in a spacious, hundred-square-meter laboratory. Numerous pieces of equipment filled the lab, some still operating, yet there wasn’t a single person around.
"Where did everyone go?" Du Yunzhi asked as they arrived and observed the empty laboratory.
Ling Chen shook his head, made a circuit around the laboratory, and noticed coffee cups still left on the workbench, with residual coffee inside. Ling Chen picked up a cup, sniffed it, and took a sip.
"These people should have been here just under twenty-four hours ago."
At this moment, a member of the Guardian Clan seemed to have discovered something and shouted, "Chief, come quickly."
Hearing the shout, Ling Chen and Du Yunzhi rushed over to see a surgical table with a dried corpse lying on it. Not only that, the abdomen of the corpse bore a conspicuous incision, and its contents were emptied.
"This is an ancestor’s remains." Du Yunzhi’s face appeared somewhat cold; anyone would feel discomfort seeing their family’s ancestor desecrated. Quickly, under Du Yunzhi’s orders, the remains were carefully wrapped and prepared to be returned to the burial site in Qiu Nanshan.
"The Soul Stone has already been taken," Du Yunzhi said with a trace of worry in her voice. Her urgency in retrieving the remains was to ensure the Soul Stone remained undiscovered, but she was ultimately a step too late.
"I wonder if they discovered the Soul Stone’s secret," Ling Chen mused.
"Where do you think they’ve gone now?"
Upon hearing Du Yunzhi’s question, Ling Chen shook his head. This operation was still too slow; when Tian Xiong provided the address, he should have immediately brought people over, and at that time, He Honggang would definitely have been here. The downside was they wouldn’t have sufficient strength to deal with He Honggang. Reflecting on this, he sighed. If Ling Gengqiu were with him, all problems would be resolved.
Now, Ling Gengqiu’s whereabouts are unknown, unreachable by phone, and He Honggang was also missing. It seems they’ll need to seek assistance from Tian Xiong!
Ling Chen took out his phone, found Tian Xiong’s number, and dialed it. Soon, the call connected, and Tian Xiong’s voice came from the other end: "Ling Chen, what do you want this time?"
"Mr. Tian, I’m deeply sorry; I didn’t intend to disturb you, but it seems I’ll need your help once more. He Honggang is no longer with the Jiang Family, his whereabouts unknown. Can you tell me his location? If you help me, I’ll definitely owe you one."
"I don’t know their current location, but ten hours ago, I booked them flights to Beijing. Besides He Honggang, Chen Younian and Su Cheng’en were also present, with about thirty people in total. This is the last time I help you; please don’t trouble my family again." With that, Tian Xiong hung up directly.
Headed to Beijing... with Chen Younian and Su Cheng’en... Hearing the information Tian Xiong shared, Ling Chen’s brows instantly furrowed into a line. If it were only Chen Younian, he would understand, as he had previously suspected these two had cooperated. But he couldn’t fathom why they would bring Su Cheng’en, nor why they brought so many people.
What are these guys up to?
As he pondered, one of Du Yunzhi’s subordinates suddenly rushed over, shouting urgently, "Chief, it’s not good, Qiu Nanshan has met trouble."
"What’s going on?"
"Someone forcefully broke into the ancestral tomb, and we’ve halted them for now, but it’s unsure how long they can hold."
Damn it!
Ling Chen thought grimly. No doubt, He Honggang’s group had returned to Qiu Nanshan. They must have learned the Soul Stone’s secret, prompting their large-scale offensive on the Guardian Clan’s territory in a bid to seize other Soul Stones.
At present, most Guardian Clan experts are here, whereas the defenders at Qiu Nanshan are few. With He Honggang, Chen Younian, and Su Cheng’en—the top three experts—joined together, likely no one can stop them.
"We must return immediately," Du Yunzhi said, looking grimly as she dashed outside.
Departing from Yangcheng, they flew to Beijing, then drove to Qiu Nanshan, taking around seven or eight hours without rest during the journey. When the group finally arrived at Qiu Nanshan’s foot, it was already past nine at night.
"Chief, we can’t reach anyone inside," a Guardian Clan member urgently reported.
Du Yunzhi frowned, gazed at the towering Qiu Nanshan reaching the clouds, remained silent, and proceeded directly along the mountain wall to the summit. Witnessing her actions, the Guardian Clan members followed suit without hesitation.