Dragon Tamer

Chapter 458: Chapter 460: Stealing One’s Own Secret Realm
“If it weren’t for Zhao Yin Ge revealing those things, I wouldn’t dare to fully believe it,” Zhu Huo said somewhat absently.

They continued to interrogate him after that, and perhaps Zhao Yin Ge really didn’t know who the inside traitor was, but he found out a lot of things only the top brass of Zhu Gate would know.

About the Veins of the Earth, about the lava, basically only those who had been there could describe it in such detail.

Zhao Yin Ge could also speak of matters concerning the Zhu Gate Secret Area, which confirmed that someone had sold information about the Secret Area to outsiders.

Eight people.

Who on earth could it be?

But no matter who it was, Zhu Huo felt a deep and terrifying concern!

“Is the exact location of the Secret Area only known by Uncle Wangxing and the four elders?” Zhu Minglang asked Zhu Huo.

“Yes, but actually, the four elders only know parts of it,” Zhu Huo replied.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know the more detailed aspects, but it can be understood as, if there were a map, then each of the four elders holds a quarter of it. In other words, unless all four elders were to betray simultaneously, it would be impossible to find the Secret Area,” Zhu Huo explained.

“So, the complete coordinates are only held by Uncle Wangxing?” Zhu Minglang said.

“Yes, after all, it relates to the lifeblood of Zhu Gate. The Third Sect Leader has always been very careful in guarding it,” Zhu Huo nodded in agreement.

“Then, it’s not too likely that outsiders learned the location of the Secret Area from that inside informant and sneaked in,” Zhu Minglang said.

Zhu Minglang had been there himself.

If some secret organizations wanted to take someone to a forbidden place, they mostly had to blindfold the person, deliberately take a few detours, and only then could they feel reassured about bringing someone into the Secret Area…

The Zhu Gate’s Secret Area was in an endless sea, and the Veins of the Earth were hidden even deeper beneath the sea where not a sliver of sunlight reached; from the sky or the sea surface, it was absolutely impossible to perceive.

There was no need to blindfold or create distractions; even if Zhu Minglang were to be taken back a hundred or a thousand times, it would be impossible to find the exact location of the Veins of the Earth in that sea with no reference points.

So Uncle Wangxing and the others must be in possession of some sort of extraordinary and special method of positioning.

Given this, if Zhao Yu and An Qingfeng wanted to target the Earth Vein Fire, they would have to follow closely behind them; otherwise, it would be impossible to enter the site of the Veins of the Earth.

However, Uncle Wangxing and the four elders weren’t decorations; in such a vast sea area, it was too easy to detect whether someone was following them, unless the inside informant had some way to leave special marks in the boundless and vast sea.

“Can the fire retrieving ceremony be postponed?” Zhu Minglang asked Zhu Huo.

Zhu Huo shook his head and said, “You’ve been there and know that Earth Vein Lava can only be extracted when it’s tranquil. If we miss this time, going into the site of the Veins of the Earth later might reveal an abyss of endless flames. It wouldn’t just be difficult to extract the fire; it would be hard even to get close. Moreover, the Third Sect Leader said that this year is supposed to be the most stable and suitably warm year for casting, perfect for refining fire. If we miss it, it would probably take another two or three decades to get such perfect Earth Vein Fire…”

“That means, unless we come up with conclusive evidence, Uncle Wangxing is unlikely to cancel the fire retrieving ceremony, and informing him wouldn’t make much difference,” Zhu Minglang said, feeling a headache coming on.

“Yes, and because Earth Vein Lava is too unique, we cannot send additional people there. If someone not fully loyal went in and disturbed the Earth Vein Lava, the tranquil fire would turn into a devouring inferno of God Demon Flames… Regardless, we should inform the Third Sect Leader as soon as possible and let him make the final decision. If we have no other choice, we’ll have to painfully give up on this year’s perfect Earth Vein Fire,” Zhu Huo said earnestly.

“We still have some days; there’s no rush. You continue to investigate the leads from Wang Xiao and Miao Sheng, and I’ll pay extra attention to An Qingfeng and Zhao Yu’s movements, trying to find out how they plan to carry out their plan,” Zhu Minglang instructed Zhu Huo.

“Huh? We’re not informing the Third Sect Leader? This is a big issue!” Zhu Huo said, a little surprised.

“We need to gather more information. If An Qingfeng and Zhao Yu only know some surface details about the Earth Vein Fire and are intentionally bluffing to make us miss this fire retrieving ceremony, we’d suffer a loss for nothing,” Zhu Minglang reasoned.

“You’re more thorough in your thinking. I will find out who’s behind Wang Xiao and Miao Sheng as soon as possible, and you be careful dealing with them in the coming days,” Zhu Huo nodded and said.

This time, the Flame Acquisition Ceremony not only concerns the Little Inner Court, but the entire Zhu Gate will undergo changes because of this ceremony. If the Casting Art gets another qualitative improvement, the ruling power of Zhu Gate will be strengthened, and its position as the head of the Family Door will become even more solid.

Although nobody had mentioned these things to Zhu Minglang, as a member of Zhu Gate, he naturally had a clear understanding.

If the Flame Acquisition Ceremony were canceled, it would mean that King An and Zhao Yu had achieved their goal of suppressing the development of Zhu Gate.

They still needed to identify the insider, and at the same time, anticipate the moves of An Qingfeng and Zhao Yu in advance., that would allow them to respond effectively during the Flame Acquisition Ceremony.

…

…

Early in the morning, just like usual, Zhu Minglang fed his dragons and began Dragon Taming.

Now that Zhu Rongrong knew Zhu Minglang was also a Dragon Shepherd, she liked to stick with her cousin even more, listening to interesting stories from his travels while learning his Dragon Taming techniques.

“Rongrong, is this your first time going to the Veins of the Earth as well?” Zhu Minglang asked.

“Yes, Dad never allowed me to go before. He said he was afraid I wouldn’t understand the rules and would anger our Fire God,” Zhu Rongrong replied.

Zhu Minglang looked at Zhu Rongrong, hesitating for a moment, before saying, “I need to tell you something very serious, but you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone, including your dad.”

“Ah??,” Zhu Rongrong looked at Zhu Minglang with a nervous expression creeping onto her small face.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to know. After all, it’s a bit hard on you,” Zhu Minglang said earnestly.

“What does it relate to?” she asked.

“The rise and fall of Zhu Gate.”

“Then I mustn’t shirk from my duty. Brother, you mustn’t underestimate me. I am the future successor of the Little Inner Court, and my Casting Art will soon surpass my dad’s!” Zhu Rongrong exclaimed.

“Then I have to start from when I was attacked,” Zhu Minglang told Zhu Rongrong.

From the assassination attempt that night, to Zhu Huo’s investigation, and finally to the information about the Earth Vein Fire revealed by Zhao Yin Ge, Zhu Minglang made it clear to Zhu Rongrong that among the eight people in their group, there must be an insider for Zhao Yu and An Qingfeng.

Initially, just like Zhu Huo, Zhu Rongrong could hardly believe it…

After a long time, Zhu Rongrong’s emotions finally calmed down a bit.

“So… what do you want me to do?” Zhu Rongrong asked.

“I need you to steal the location of the Secret Area from your dad,” Zhu Minglang said to Zhu Rongrong.

“But brother, with your status, if you directly ask dad, he would tell you too,” Zhu Rongrong said, utterly baffled.

Zhu Minglang is the only son of Zhu Gate. Even if not involved in any matters of Zhu Gate, his status is higher than that of Zhu Wangxing.

Zhu Gate has the Main Inner Court and the Great Inner Court; Qin City is just the Little Inner Court. Although Zhu Wangxing is referred to as the Third Sect Leader or the Little Sect Leader, his position is only equivalent to those elders in the Main Inner Court…

Zhu Minglang shook his head.

He had to use his methods to protect the Earth Vein Lava.

And Zhu Wangxing was most likely not to approve of this method.

At the moment, Zhu Minglang felt that the person with the least suspicion was like himself, Zhu Rongrong, who was going to the Veins of the Earth for the first time.