The Last Sentinel

"We meet again, Young Master Tianyou."

Hua Xiaobai's gaze languidly swept over the dying Tianyou Gongzi lying on the ground, a playful smile curving her lips as she shook her head and sighed, "It's only been a few days, and we've already met again."

"I still remember the last time we met, young master. You were dressed in a brocade robe, your words sharp and aggressive. Your haughty and arrogant demeanor made me think that you were the kind of ruthless character who was hiding your true strength and pretending to be weak while actually being cunning and decisive in private!"

"Who could have imagined that in just a few days, the young master would personally ruin such a promising game, ending up in such a sorry state! What a cowardly and useless piece of trash!"

Tianyou's face turned ashen, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. "The victor is king, the loser is villain. A bet is a bet, so kill me or torture me, it's all up to you!"

"No way!" Upon hearing this, Hua Xiaobai quickly waved his hand, his playful expression vanishing, replaced by a genuine sense of helplessness. "That kind of fighting and killing is my boss Ye Feng's exclusive hobby. I, Hua Xiaobai, have never liked swords and bloodshed. I may not have many other virtues, but I do have a strong preference for being kind to others and making friends all over the world. Having one more friend is always better than having one more enemy, don't you think?"

Tianyou remained indifferent, seemingly unwilling to say another word to Hua Xiaobai!

Seeing this, Hua Xiaobai was not annoyed. Instead, he chuckled and slowly raised his right hand. With a gentle sway of his five fingers, a palm-sized, angular, five-sided storage cube appeared out of thin air in his palm: "It seems that you have a prejudice against me, young master. Very well, I will show you a treasure so that you will know that I am not playing a trick on you."

The five-sided storage cube released layers of black and gold ripples, and a Leo Gold Cloth, frozen by the blue and white spacetime laws, slowly appeared in front of everyone.

The entire suit of armor was gilded, with the helmet featuring curled plates resembling a lion's mane, and a jadeite gemstone inlaid on the forehead.

The breastplate is cast with a majestic lion's head, the waist and abdomen are inlaid with gemstones of the same color, the shoulder armor has a streamlined and curvaceous shape, and the limb armor is neat and lightweight.

On its back stands a high-relief holographic lion totem, its luster intense and surging with a thunderous aura, proclaiming that its owner is an unparalleled powerhouse who can fight against heaven and earth!

Tianyou Gongzi's pupils suddenly contracted as he stared intently at the golden holy armor before him, his eyes filled with shock and greed, and his breathing became rapid.

But this greed didn't last long. He quickly sensed something was wrong, his face changed drastically, and he became extremely panicked. Pointing at the Leo Gold Cloth, his voice trembled slightly: "It's a curse! It's the Red Hair Curse! This is an ominous sign! Quickly, put it away!"

Seeing this, Hua Xiaobai's smile deepened, and he slowly began to speak eloquently: "After my last meeting with you, young master, the Holy Maiden Anqing of the Gonggong Holy Land came to find me. She told me that in the current universe, there are now two opposing factions regarding this so-called 'ominous sign'."

"On the other hand, some people believe that this ominous sign is not a disaster, but a blessing. It will allow those old monsters who are stuck in high positions and have no sense of the times to be quickly eliminated by the times and make room for them; at the same time, it will also grant the new generation of strong people a power called 'blood totem', which will enable the strength of the new generation of strong people to increase rapidly, thereby accelerating the pace of the replacement of the strong in the entire universe and making the universe pattern rejuvenate."

"She also promised me that if I could provide her with Ye Feng's personal token, she would give me an extremely generous reward, enough for me to gain a foothold in the universe."

At this moment, Young Master Tianyou was completely blinded by the allure of the Golden Saint Armor. His eyes were filled with undisguised greed, and he no longer cared about anything else. He weakly and frantically said, "Lord Hua, as long as you give me Ye Feng's Golden Saint Armor, I can give you anything you want! Whether it's rare resources from all the universes, top-tier cultivation techniques, divine weapons, or even power and status, I can satisfy your every whim. Name your price!"

Hua Xiaobai smiled with satisfaction and said leisurely, "I prefer doing business with straightforward people like Young Master Tianyou! That woman An Qing is just too long-winded! But, Young Master, my conditions are not low!"

Tianyou's eyes were filled with greed for Ye Feng's armor. "Speak!"

Hua Xiaobai asked, "First, where did Charles Darwin go?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Young Master Tianyou immediately replied, "He was taken away by the new generation giant—The Matrix, along with his younger brother."

"I've never seen any movies about Blue Star, and I don't know what you're talking about." Young Master Tianyou shook his head, his tone tinged with arrogance, and slowly explained, "The Matrix in the myriad universes is a top-tier and powerful force among the Four Brahma Heavens, with unfathomable strength. They were the absolute main force civilization in suppressing the Third Cataclysm—the Mechanical Frenzy—and made outstanding contributions in that catastrophe. Because of this, they obtained the greatest legacy of the Mechanical Frenzy, the Third Cataclysm, and even obtained the corpse of the God of Machines, Okalah! This foundation is far beyond what ordinary forces can match."

"This is nothing but a small matter, nothing to mention." Young Master Tianyou agreed without hesitation, even adding to the offer, "Not only that, I can also help you secure the position of Demon Suppressor of the Demon Locking Tower, giving you the same power and status as Tokugawa Mitsunori before you, making your word law within the Demon Locking Tower territory!"

"That's easy, leave it to me." Young Master Tianyou readily agreed, and then asked impatiently, "Any other requests? As long as you hand over the Golden Cloth, I will try my best to meet the rest of your conditions."

The expression on Young Master Tianyou's face instantly turned extremely troubled. His lips moved, but he remained silent.

Seeing this, Hua Xiaobai didn't press the matter. Instead, he chuckled, waved his hand, and called out to the group behind him, "Since you feel it's inappropriate and inconvenient to tell us, then forget it. I, Hua, am not the kind of person who forces others or acts in a low manner. Why ruin our harmony over such a trivial matter? Brothers, pack your things, let's leave!"

Having said that, Hua Xiaobai turned to leave without a second thought. Seeing this, Young Master Tianyou panicked. He knew perfectly well that if Hua Xiaobai left like this, he would not only fail to obtain the Golden Saint Armor, but he might even lose his life. He quickly called out urgently, "Wait! Hua Jun, please wait! I can show you this magical artifact! I'll tell you its origin and all the details!"

Hua Xiaobai stopped in her tracks, slowly turned around, a knowing smile playing on her lips, but said nothing, simply looking quietly at Young Master Tianyou, waiting for him to continue.

Young Master Tianyou gritted his teeth, as if he had made a great decision, and slowly raised his palm. A nine-sided storage cube appeared out of thin air in his palm. The cube emitted a dazzling golden-white halo. As the halo flowed, a palm-sized bronze fragment covered with mottled marks slowly flew out of the cube and hovered in mid-air.

Hua Xiaobai's pupils suddenly narrowed, his gaze fixed on the bronze fragment, his expression becoming extremely solemn. The fragment was surrounded by a fine, intricate border of meander patterns, between which were carved simple sketches of the tributaries of the Si and Yi rivers. The winding, intersecting curves clearly marked the course of the waterways, the lines ancient and rugged, carrying a strong sense of antiquity—clearly the style of ancient water management diagrams.

Hua Xiaobai took a deep breath and said in a serious tone, "Could you move the fragment closer? Young master, rest assured, although I, Hua Xiaobai, am a free spirit, I am also a high-quality carbon-based life form. I would never do anything underhanded like taking advantage of someone's misfortune or stealing their treasure. I just want to take a closer look."

Young Master Tianyou hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. He raised his hand and gently pushed the bronze fragment, which slowly floated towards Hua Xiaobai and finally stopped three feet in front of him.

Hua Xiaobai immediately took out a single-frame combat analyzer from his pocket and put it on his right eye. The analyzer activated instantly, and a pale blue laser beam shot out from the lens, landing precisely on the bronze fragment.

The beam of light continuously scanned and repaired the damaged parts of the fragment. The bronze fragment, originally the size of a palm, began to slowly enlarge under the action of the beam of light, gradually restoring its original complete appearance.

A moment later, a terrifying cauldron, three zhang tall and imposing, suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes!

The tripod is thick and simple, with three sturdy and robust legs shaped like animal hooves. The middle section is constricted, and animal face reliefs are cast at the base of the legs. The eyes are slightly protruding, but there are no complicated and ferocious fangs. The overall style is warm and grand, showing a simple and elegant style.

Standing behind Hua Xiaobai, Hanzhong King Lao Liu couldn't help but exclaim in shock and excitement, "This is... the Nine Tripods of Yu the Great—the Xuzhou Tripod! It's actually the long-lost Xuzhou Tripod!"

Hua Xiaobai stared intently at the Xuzhou Cauldron before him, his right eye's combat analyzer constantly operating, displaying lines of ancient characters in the lens as he began a comprehensive assessment of the Xuzhou Cauldron:

"Based on relevant records in the 'Nine Tripods' section of the Huainanzi, a comprehensive appraisal of the ancient tripods will be conducted!"

"Identification of the mountain and hill patterns: The upper part of the ding is decorated with rounded and raised relief carvings of the gentle hills of Guishan and Mengshan. The curves are soft and gentle, without any steep or strange peaks, which perfectly matches the gentle terrain of the ancient Xuzhou Plain and is completely consistent with the records in the ancient geography of Daxia, 'Shui Jing Zhu'."

"Identification of the Huai and Si River Veins: Several wide and curved bronze patterns simulate the scene of the Huai and Si Rivers running across the plains. The water surface is engraved with fine ripples, occasionally dotted with shallow beaches and islets. The texture is clear and the layers are distinct, which is highly consistent with the distribution of the ancient Xuzhou water system."

"Identification of auspicious animal patterns: Between the waterside and fields, there are reliefs of red-crowned cranes and spotted deer. The cranes stand on the water's edge with an elegant posture, while the deer roams the wheat field with a serene expression. The sides of the tripod are decorated with simple depictions of the ancient people farming and fishing. The ancient people are shown holding plows to cultivate the fields and wading through the water to catch fish. Their expressions are vivid and the match is perfect."

"Identification of the pattern for warding off evil spirits and demons: The patterns of small monsters and demons are lightly carved between the crevices of mountains and rivers. The lines are simple and ancient, and the meaning is clear - to enable people to recognize all things, distinguish good and bad fortune, and not encounter evil spirits when entering and leaving rivers and lakes. This is completely in line with the ancient pattern style of the sacrifices to heaven and earth before the Xia and Shang dynasties."

"Comprehensive identification complete. Based on the comparison of various data, there is a 95.5% probability that this item is a genuine Xuzhou Ding from the era of Yu the Great!"

Hua Xiaobai stared at the analysis results on the instrument, his gaze growing increasingly profound, a storm raging within him. He never imagined that this seemingly ordinary bronze fragment would actually be the Xuzhou Ding, one of the Nine Tripods of Yu the Great. There must be an unknown secret hidden behind it.