A smile appeared on Tang Xiu"s face as he hung up the phone. He did receive a call from the old Patriarch on his way back from Mist Source Island telling him that a special great personage wanted to see him. However, he didn"t expect that he would receive the call now and even abruptly set up a meeting with him tomorrow.
The others may not know the ident.i.ty of this special VIP, but he knew very well that this person held great power with a lot of strange abilities. Although this person might have no status on the surface, he possessed great power and privileges. However, there was one thing he couldn"t figure out—the issue as to why the Chinese authorities didn"t send these ability users to deal with the Mist Source Island problems.
"The meeting tomorrow definitely can"t be held in the Everlasting Feast Hall since our existence is still a secret for many people. In addition, Grandpa should be just getting the news. I don"t know whether he would like to come together."
As expected, his cell phone rang a few minutes later. It was a call from his grandfather, Tang Guosheng. The old man told him that he would accompany this special VIP to Jingmen Island tomorrow and the VIP would be checking in at Guomao Hotel. Tang Xiu would be notified later when would he meet them.
After the phone call, Tang Xiu put the matter to the back of his mind since tomorrow"s business was for tomorrow, while today he still had a lot of precious medicinal herbs in his interspatial ring to process. He wanted to make the best use of his time in Jingmen Island to concoct a batch of medicinal pills for future needs.
The evening of the next day.
After Tang Xiu was done concocting the Essence Ama.s.sing Pill, Gu Xiaoxue came rus.h.i.+ng in, bringing his cell phone from outside and talked to him respectfully, "Grand Master, it"s a call from your grandfather."
Tang Xiu"s brows were slightly pressed as he replied, "I"m currently at a critical moment in refining medicinal pills, it"s inconvenient to divert my focus elsewhere. Tell him to wait for a little more than two hours and that I"ll call him back when I"m done."
"Understood!" replied Gu Xiaoxue as she turned back and walked outside.
Jingmen Island.
Inside the presidential suite of Guomao Hotel, Tang Guosheng hung up the phone with a look of embarra.s.sment on his face. He looked at the energetic-looking Duanmu Lin, then forced a wry smile and said, "This brat is kind of playing hard to get, he didn"t even want to pick up my call. His grand disciple just told me that he is currently refining some medicinal pills and is at a critical moment. She said it would need at least a little more than two hours to finish it."
"Concocting pills?"
Duanmu Lin looked shocked and there was no shred of hesitation as he replied, "Concocting medicinal pills is indeed an important issue, so we naturally can"t disturb him. Let"s just wait."
A quizzical look appeared on Tang Guosheng"s face. "I really don"t get it, though. Why were you rus.h.i.+ng to take a long trip to Jingmen Island? You could just tell him to go to the capital if you want to see him. I"m sure that he would definitely rush over if he knew that you wanted him to go there."
"I wanted to express a form of sincerity, mind you," replied Duanmu Lin with a smile.
"Sincerity? What do you mean?" Asked Tang Guosheng again.
"Well, the reason I want to see him personally… is that I want to ask him… for some medicinal pills," replied Duanmu Lin with a smile.
"You"re seeking him for some pills?" Tang Guosheng"s brows pressed further together and he asked again, "Are thinking of obtaining immortality as well?"
"I don"t dare to think about obtaining immortality," Duanmu Lin shook his head and continued, "What I want is to prolong my life for several years. According to a reliable source of mine, that old man Li from Hong Kong just obtained a ten whole Life Essence Pills. I also heard that the old lady who was in seclusion in the capital say that this Life Essence Pill can prolong her life expectancy. She said that even one with a spent life force could steal several years of time from the G.o.d of Death. Even though the old lady did say that I still had at least ten years to live, it"s best to get this Life Essence Pill and be prepared just in case!"
Tang Guosheng"s expression drastically changed. Never did he dream that his grandson could concoct a Life Essence Pill that could prolong life expectancy. The country was now managed by old people with their vitality and life force declining every second. Even if these VIPs did have great power and privileges, there was no telling if they would be exempted from it in the future.
Shock glimmered in Tang Guosheng"s eyes. It was no wonder that this VIP spared no effort to fly for thousands of miles to visit Jingmen Island to see his grandson. It turned out that he wanted to ask for some help from him!
"Hahaha!"
"This is a really a good thing. Even if this precious grandson of mine doesn"t take advantage of this opportunity, I"m sure he won"t be mistreated and my Tang Family can also benefit from him…"
The thought made Tang Guosheng elated inside. He would have burst out into laughter if the said person was not in currently in front of him.
As the clock struck midnight, Tang Xiu rushed to Guomao Hotel. Although Duanmu Lin came quietly, the security here was very strict. After having his ID inspected a few times, and under the order of Duanmu Lin, Tang Xiu smoothly arrived at the presidential suite.
"You"re really putting on airs, aren"t you, kiddo? To think that you dare to make these two old men wait until now… you"re really making me… irritated!" Tang Guosheng intentionally greeted his grandson with a scolding even though he was very excited to see him.
Duanmu Lin waved and smilingly interjected, "A young man that is always busy is actually a good thing, Old Tang. There"s no need to discipline him like that. He"s really very good. I just got a message from Mist Source Island"s authority who have reported that he had done an excellent job in solving the issues over there. I want to praise him for it."
Tang Guosheng smiled, then pointed to Duanmu Lin and said, "Alright, this elderly man is Duanmu Lin, how about you greet him and call him Grandpa Duanmu?"
Tang Xiu observed Duanmu Lin and smilingly said, "This Tang Xiu feels very flattered to have the elderly take a very long hard trip just to see me. There are only a few people worth my respect in China nowadays and you"re definitely one of them."
"Not bad. I finally found another strong point of yours. You can b.u.t.ter people up," replied Duanmu Lin with a smile.
Tang Xiu couldn"t help but laugh. He didn"t act with restraint in front of Duanmu Lin. However, since this person held great power in his hand, Tang Xiu didn"t want to be too casual either and mixed intimacy and humility in balance. He continued inquiring, "Anyways, there"s no way you came to Jingmen Island just to give me praise, right? May I know what you need from me?"
Duanmu Lin could smell the fragrance of medicinal herbs from Tang Xiu after he entered the room, thus proving that Tang Xiu was really able to concoct medicinal pills. Facing the inquiry from Tang Xiu, he didn"t beat around the bush and smilingly said, "You"re right. I came here to personally ask you something."
"And… what is that exactly?" asked Tang Xiu.
"Life Essence Pill," answered Duanmu Lin
Tang Xiu was a bit stunned but then let out a wry smile. "I didn"t expect you to be this well-informed, you caught the news already. Li Juren seems like the one who has revealed it, am I right? Nevertheless, I do still have several Life Essence Pills which I prepared for my family members. But since the elderly have already spoken about it, I"ll give them to you first. You have been working hard for the country, after all. It"s been rough on you."
After saying that, Tang Xiu put his hand into his pocket to conceal the fact that he took out the jade bottle from his interspatial ring. He then spoke to Duanmu Lin, "The Life Essence Pills are in this bottle. Taking one can increase a lifespan for three to five years."
Duanmu Lin couldn"t help but be shocked inside. He received the jade bottle with both of his hands, carefully scrutinizing it for a long time before speaking with satisfaction, "No one is exempted from Mother Nature, for everyone wants to live for several more years. Tang Xiu, you have a special ident.i.ty and you may not have a liking for wealth. In this case, I"ll give you an opportunity. Aren"t you cultivators always speaking about fortuitous encounters?"
"Exactly what kind of fortuitous encounter are you talking about?" Tang Xiu was both startled and puzzled.
"Three-star vestige," answered Duanmu Lin.
"Three-star vestige? What exactly is it?" asked Tang Xiu again.
"Some extraterrestrial beings have appeared on our planet. This is an extremely important national secret and few people have the right to hear this information. You"re not an outsider, so I can take responsibility and tell you about it. The unexpected arrival of these extraterrestrial intelligent beings could be said to bring calamity, yet it could also bring about a good opportunity for study and research. Abiding by the international law on this issue, humanity has found some vestiges and cla.s.sified them into ranks: One Star, Two-Star, three-star, Four-Star, and Five-Star Vestiges respectively.
"I have never heard of the appearance of a Five-Star Vestige, but the Four-Star ones have appeared twice. The first one being the Pyramids in Egypt, and the second one being the Bermuda Triangle. The two vestiges have been explored and various countries have obtained some good treasures, strictly speaking. Yet, they have not been able to obtain the most important core secret so far. In addition, the second vestige can"t be explored due to some special restrictions.
"The three-star vestiges similarly bring about fatal temptations for all countries. The science and technology of all countries have been developing very rapidly in the last 2-3 decades. It could be said that they are a byproduct from the shadows of the technology obtained from these vestiges. The United States has even found a worn-down alien s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p in the Amazon rainforest. That established the United States as a great world power, advancing their science and technology by leaps and bounds."
"As for the two-star and one-star vestiges, they are cla.s.sified as small vestiges. Some are left on Earth by the progenitors of mankind, while some originate from extraterrestrial beings. The treasures obtained by various countries from these vestiges are rather insignificant."
As Duanmu Lin spoke up to this point, a bit of helplessness appeared in his eyes. He forced a smile and continued, "I did say that I want to bestow upon you an opportunity. But truth be told, I want you to also contribute to the country. As a matter of fact, this three-star vestige is a very recent discovery and obtaining a ma.s.sive number of alien technologies would be a great boon to our country"s power."
Tang Xiu only had a bit of interest himself, if any, towards alien science and technology. He was an immortal cultivator, after all, and he would rely on his own strength to smash the void and break the shackles of heaven, then ascend and eventually become an immortal.
After listening to Duanmu Lin"s explanation, however, he made up his mind to take a trip there, because he currently still needed to make a fortune. He could earn ma.s.sive wealth if he was able to obtain this alien technology, which would be helpful in his endeavor to obtain more cultivation resources in the future.
"Could you tell me the situation with this newly discovered three-star vestige?"
"It"s located in a place known as the Maritime Crossroad, the Straits of Malacca," answered Duanmu Lin. "To the west is the Burmese Sea, with the southeastern side connected to the South China Sea. The entire length of the strait is about 1080 km, with its southeastern part connecting to the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. This newly discovered three-star vestige is located at the junction near the bottom of the sea, however."
"Huh?" Tang Xiu was surprised and interjected, "What kind of people can countries send to explore this three-star vestige at such a location?"
"Our country itself will dispatch people with at least at the martial art grandmaster level, along with some ability users, of course," replied Duanmu Lin with a solemn expression. "As a matter of fact, we have a.s.sembled a team for it already and they are rus.h.i.+ng to the destination before May 1st. Some other countries will also dispatch people with extraordinary abilities. Although I don"t know exactly what kind of people will be dispatched by the other countries, I"m sure that none of them will be ordinary people."