Old residential area.
Zhang Yang and Li Dabai brought the unconscious Han Xiyao.
The three of them arrived here together.
At this moment.
Zhang Yang had already changed his appearance.
He was wearing a black cloak, and his face looked weathered and old.
And Li Dabai, who had transformed into Zhang Yang's likeness.
Was currently carrying Han Xiyao on his back, silently following behind.
Tonight.
Jiangnan City was struck by lightning and thunder, and the rain gradually intensified.
Raindrops hit the ground, causing the potholes on the road to form puddles.
Zhang Yang and the other two advanced through the rain, heading towards the construction area of the old residential district.
It could be said.
Zhang Yang's side was much faster than the other parties.
Because they didn't need to wait for anything.
On his side, there was only himself, plus Li Dabai.
Although they were few in number, Zhang Yang had enough confidence in himself.
He was determined to claim the Dragon Vein of Jiangnan City.
No one was allowed to compete with him for it!
Otherwise, he would dare to fight anyone to the death!
"Zhang Yang, is the makeup I applied waterproof? Will it come off later?" Li Dabai asked worriedly.
Although they were covered by an umbrella now, if a fight broke out later.
They couldn't possibly hold an umbrella with one hand, could they?
"It... it should be waterproof, right?" Zhang Yang was also unsure.
Li Dabai's question touched upon his blind spot of knowledge.
He paused.
And looked around.
Due to demolition, the remaining streetlights had been removed, leaving only simple solar emergency lights.
Furthermore, with the rain, the light was even more blurred than usual.
"Actually, it's fine if it's not waterproof. The visibility is poor at night, and even if you're a bit darker, you probably won't be noticed."
However.
As soon as Zhang Yang finished speaking.
A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.
With a rumble.
A deafening thunderclap exploded, and a flash of white light turned the night into day.
"What about now? Are you still sure?" Li Dabai asked.
"It's fine, let's proceed as planned." Zhang Yang felt a bit of a headache.
It wasn't the right time to be arguing about this issue.
Moreover, if a fight really broke out, everyone's attention would be focused on the Dragon Vein.
Basically, no one would care about Li Dabai's skin color.
"Let's go, we're going in. Remember, from now on, I'm your senior martial uncle."
As they approached the construction gate of the old residential district, Zhang Yang instructed.
Li Dabai nodded silently and followed him in.
Entering the excavated construction site.
Inside, there were not only machinery but also some security personnel, working in full swing, wearing raincoats and braving the heavy rain.
The arrival of Zhang Yang and the other two did not attract anyone's attention.
However.
Guan Fenghua, who had been steadfastly guarding the site, was the first to discover them.
"Zhang Yang, why are you here?"
Zhang Yang, wearing a cloak, remained silent and did not answer.
He reached out and nudged Li Dabai beside him.
Li Dabai then realized that he was currently Zhang Yang.
Immediately, he let out a "Ah."
Then he said, "I felt it was about time, so I came over in advance."
Upon hearing this, Guan Fenghua felt something was strange.
Why had Zhang Yang's voice changed?
Or was the sound of the excavators and dump trucks outside too loud?
Had she misheard?
"And who is this?" Guan Fenghua asked.
"This is my senior martial uncle, from the逍遥派 (Xiaoyao Sect)," Li Dabai said.
Guan Fenghua stared silently at Zhang Yang, who was wearing a cloak, with a suspicious look.
But she didn't ask any further questions.
She led the three of them into a temporarily erected mobile cabin.
"What is the actual progress on-site now?" the cloaked Zhang Yang asked in a hoarse voice.
Guan Fenghua looked at Li Dabai and did not answer.
"This is my senior martial uncle. He's here to help me. Just answer what he asks," Li Dabai said with a dry cough.
Hearing this, Guan Fenghua said.
"According to the feedback half an hour ago, it should be about half a meter more to reach sea level, 9.9999 meters."
"However, this last half meter is extremely difficult to excavate. The soil layer below is very hard, and it should have entered the moderately weathered rock layer."
"I've asked the geological survey construction team, and they've never encountered such a situation before. They find it very strange."
This time, the excavation of the foundation pit in the old residential district.
Guan Fenghua had been involved from beginning to end.
She was clear about everything.
The more than nine meters below sea level were all ordinary sandy soil.
According to the weathering patterns of geological strata, after excavating the sandy soil.
Below it should be strongly weathered, fragmented brittle rocks.
However, the site skipped this geological layer and directly entered the moderately weathered granite layer.
This was clearly not right and went against the laws of nature.
"What explanation did the geological survey construction team give?" Zhang Yang pressed.
"Their conclusion is that the soil in this area has been disturbed before, or that some natural disaster or other special circumstances have occurred," Guan Fenghua replied.
Hearing this.
Zhang Yang fell into contemplation.
Old Master He had once said that the Dragon Vein of Jiangnan City had been plundered in the early years.
However.
That turmoil had been quelled by the protectors and the people of the Five Dragons of China, who had saved the Dragon Vein.
There was also another matter, the strange connection between Han Xiyao and the Dragon Vein.
Perhaps...
The strange geological phenomenon now was caused by those past events.
It seemed that as soon as they broke through this granite layer.
The Dragon Vein would appear.
"What about now? How is the construction team handling it?" Zhang Yang asked.
"The excavators at the bottom have all been replaced with breaker hammers and are preparing to break through this granite layer."
"I believe they will reach the depth you require before dawn," Guan Fenghua replied.
Hearing this.
Zhang Yang, hidden in his cloak, nodded silently.
"Do we have to use a breaker hammer? What if I directly use my internal energy to shatter this rock layer?" Li Dabai interjected from the side.
He recalled the incident when he broke through to the Hidden Yuan realm while cultivating in a cave, causing the cave to collapse.
Zhang Yang shook his head.
"It's not suitable. The foundation pit is too deep now, and it's basically within the groundwater level. Using internal energy would cause a large-scale collapse, which would only slow down the excavation speed."
If he could use internal energy, Zhang Yang wouldn't have to go through so much trouble.
Other factions naturally understood this principle, otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to win over wealthy families.
To have them invest heavily and dispatch mechanical construction teams to excavate.
After all.
This was 9.9999 meters below sea level.
Until now.
Guan Fenghua still didn't know what Zhang Yang and the others were digging so deep for.
Now that they were about to reach the required depth, Guan Fenghua was also very curious.
"What is hidden down there? Are you sure the depth of 9.9999 meters is enough? Will you need to go deeper?" Guan Fenghua asked.
"No, it will definitely be at this depth," Zhang Yang affirmed.
9.9999 meters, five nines.
It represented the supreme emperor.
The supreme emperor symbolized the dragon.
Therefore, the Dragon Vein must be at this depth.
"Except for the necessary operating personnel, arrange for the rest of the people to withdraw, including yourself," Zhang Yang instructed Guan Fenghua.
Hearing this, Guan Fenghua felt a little unhappy.
This cloaked old man who had just arrived.
Not only did he not tell her what was below, but he also wanted to drive her away?
"Can't I stay? I can also help out," Guan Fenghua pleaded.
Zhang Yang shook his head.
"No, you must hand over matters here to others."
This...
Guan Fenghua fell silent.
Unable to communicate with this mysterious cloaked man, she turned to Li Dabai, who was disguised as Zhang Yang, and said.
"Zhang Yang, can't I stay?"
"No, my senior martial uncle's word is final," Li Dabai shrugged.
Although he didn't know what he should say, it was definitely not wrong to follow Zhang Yang's wishes.
Guan Fenghua almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.
Zhang Yang had rejected her twice tonight!
She had worked so hard here for so many days, and just as they were about to see results, she was being driven away?
Suddenly.
Guan Fenghua thought of a possibility.
The matters here might involve a great secret.
Otherwise.
Zhang Yang wouldn't have invited his senior martial uncle.
Perhaps...
Guan Fenghua's mind began to work its own calculations.
"There's no need to discard the millstone after grinding the grain, is there? I'm just curious, I really won't cause you any trouble," Guan Fenghua insisted.
"No, you must leave," Zhang Yang insisted.
After speaking, he turned to Li Dabai and said.
"Go and call Luo Yiren over, and arrange for people to clear the site first."
Li Dabai immediately nodded.
However, before he could get up, Luo Yiren walked in herself.
She first looked at the unconscious Han Xiyao, her expression filled with sympathy.
"Xiyao? Zhang Yang, why did you bring Xiyao here too? This place is very dangerous."
"Ah? This is a secret, don't worry about it," Li Dabai was stunned for a moment and quickly dodged Luo Yiren's hand that was about to rest on his shoulder, making up a casual excuse.
"Why are you acting so strange?" Luo Yiren muttered to herself.
Then she looked at Zhang Yang, who was wearing a cloak, and asked.
"Who is this? I've never seen them before."
"This is my senior martial uncle," Li Dabai said, scratching his head.
"Sister Luo... Yiren, we're about to reach the depth, please arrange for the site to be cleared. Everyone except the necessary personnel should be evacuated."
Luo Yiren blinked her beautiful eyes.
She knew what the words "reach the depth" meant.
So she didn't ask further questions and turned to Guan Fenghua, saying.
"Fenghua, it's going to be very dangerous here next, please arrange for people to withdraw."
This...
Guan Fenghua remained silent for a moment, then said.
"I can arrange for people to withdraw, but can I stay?"
During this period, Guan Fenghua's worldview had completely changed.
She herself yearned to become stronger.
Everyone said this place was very dangerous.
This meant that where there was danger, there was also opportunity.
She wanted to take a gamble!
"You can't stay, it's really dangerous," Luo Yiren said.
"But... I also want to become like you," Guan Fenghua said frankly.
"Become like us?" Luo Yiren tilted her head and thought for a moment, understanding Guan Fenghua's meaning.
"Oh, that's easy, you can just find Zhang Yang to solve this kind of thing."
As soon as she said this.
Zhang Yang, wearing the cloak, looked extremely unnatural.
The mystery was solved!
Guan Fenghua's targeting him tonight was definitely instigated by Luo Yiren!
Li Dabai, on the other hand, was bewildered and didn't understand.
And Guan Fenghua became angry.
"It's better if you don't mention it, but the moment you do, I get angry. I was about to succeed today, but then a black rat appeared out of nowhere!"
"It actually ruined my good deed at the most crucial moment!"
"If I ever meet him again, I'll break both his legs and poke out his eyes!"
Guan Fenghua said through gritted teeth.
Li Dabai, disguised as Zhang Yang, instinctively shivered.
Li Dabai thought to himself.
It seemed that the description of Guan Fenghua in Jiangnan City had a significant discrepancy.
She wasn't just an ice beauty, she was a vixen!
Cough cough~
Zhang Yang couldn't help but cough.
"Alright, other matters can be discussed later. Hurry up and clear the people, ordinary people cannot continue to stay here."
Luo Yiren glanced at Zhang Yang, completely disregarding his words.
Wearing a cloak and acting mysterious, how arrogant.
But...
Why should I listen to you?
"Zhang Yang, is this old man very powerful? Are his words more effective than yours?" Luo Yiren asked.
"I... this is my senior martial uncle, what do you think? Of course, you have to listen to him," Li Dabai explained.
"Oh, alright then, I'll do as you say. But after this is over, you'll have to reward me."
Luo Yiren suddenly threw a flirtatious glance at the current Zhang Yang.
Her eyes flowed, and her expression was alluring.
Li Dabai couldn't handle it and quickly looked away.
Otherwise, he might have started drooling.
Luo Yiren was very pleased with this reaction.
It seemed her charm on Zhang Yang was still quite strong, as he couldn't handle it with just a little display.
Then.
Luo Yiren first pulled Guan Fenghua and explained.
"Fenghua, let's go. You shouldn't stay either. Next time, I'll personally help you with Zhang Yang."
"But..." Guan Fenghua pondered for a moment, her mind uncertain about something.
In the end, she didn't object and left with Luo Yiren.
At this moment, it was raining outside.
The entire construction site was muddy, and everyone was working in raincoats.
Basically, if two people met more than five meters apart, they couldn't see each other's faces clearly.
However.
Each construction worker was equipped with a walkie-talkie.
Luo Yiren, taking over the position of the overall commander of the old residential district, directly shouted into the walkie-talkie.
Except for the operators of the construction machinery, everyone else evacuated.
Although this order was strange.
They could all understand it.
Because from the beginning, they knew there was a secret here.
It was not as simple as digging foundations and building houses.
Now that they were about to reach the depth, it was clear that the secret was about to be revealed, and they didn't want others to know.
Therefore, they didn't question it further and orderly followed the orders to evacuate.
Quite a few people evacuated.
However, due to the weather, everyone was wearing raincoats.
Luo Yiren didn't count them carefully, which gave Guan Fenghua an opportunity to exploit.
Not only did she not leave.
She even secretly walked towards the excavated foundation pit...
"Zhang Yang, are we just waiting here?" Li Dabai asked, sitting in the temporary mobile cabin.
"No need to rush. You wait here first, I'll go out and take a look," Zhang Yang said, then stood up and left.
He brushed past Luo Yiren, and neither of them acknowledged the other.
Zhang Yang first went to the side of the excavated foundation pit and looked down.
With a trace of internal energy appearing on his fingertips, he wiped his eyes.
Seeing through the external to the essence.
Currently.
The excavators at the very bottom were breaking the granite with a "dududu" sound.
The excavators above were lifting the broken stones and loading them onto trucks for removal.
"The abbot of Lingtai Temple didn't lie to me. The center of the Dragon Vein is indeed within the old residential district," Zhang Yang said to himself.
After activating his Heavenly Eye, he could already see what was hidden beneath the granite.
Although he couldn't see it comprehensively, he had a general idea.
After understanding the situation here, Zhang Yang didn't linger.
He estimated in his mind.
It would take about two more hours to break through this rock layer.
He then turned to leave, intending to go and see other places.
At this time.
The other factions should also have arrived.
He wondered if the illusion technique the abbot of Lingtai Temple had asked him to set up would be effective.
...
Zhang Yang walked forward in the heavy rain, not bothering with an umbrella.
...