Chapter 186: Father and Son Reunited

On his way back, Gu Qingyi stumbled upon Dahuang, who was also retracing his steps. Eager for news, he quickly asked,

“Dahuang, how did things go on your end? Did you uncover any valuable clues?”

“Ugh, it’s a long story,” Dahuang sighed, his face clouded with frustration.

“The path I took was nothing but a graveyard of bones. Not a single living soul in sight. What about you, Master Dad? How did it go on your side?”

Gu Qingyi looked at Dahuang and let out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes as he tilted his head back.

“My experience wasn’t much different from yours. It’s hard to fathom that so many cages held the remains of great human cultivators!”

“These Alien Race bastards are utterly despicable!”

Dahuang stomped his paw in righteous anger.

Shaking his head helplessly, he finally voiced the nagging question in his mind.

“From what we’ve seen, have we searched every corner of Blackwater Prison?”

“Yet why haven’t we found any trace of Master’s father? Could it be that he’s already turned to bones, and we just couldn’t recognize him…”

As he spoke, Dahuang’s voice grew quieter, as if unwilling to entertain such a grim possibility.

Hearing Dahuang’s words, a flicker of doubt stirred in Gu Qingyi’s heart.

But it vanished just as quickly.

For he could clearly feel a deep, blood-bound connection tugging at him, silently guiding his steps forward…

It was as if an invisible force pulled him toward a specific direction…

Trusting this inner sensation, he slowly rose to his feet and started walking toward a spot behind him.

“Master Dad, where are you headed?” Dahuang asked, puzzled as he followed Gu Qingyi’s departing figure.

And so, man and dog turned back to where they’d been before. Relying solely on that strange intuition, Gu Qingyi finally arrived at the entrance of a dark, eerie tunnel.

Cages of all shapes and sizes lined both sides of the passage, filled with piles of bones and rusted chains. The sight was chilling to the core.

Dahuang sniffed the air, overwhelmed by the pungent stench of decay. Unable to hold it in, he stopped in his tracks and retched uncontrollably.

“Master Dad, why are we back here? Didn’t we already check this place?” Dahuang muttered, wiping his mouth with a paw, his tone full of confusion.

Gu Qingyi paused for a moment at the question.

“Dahuang, I can feel it—my father is still alive. There’s a resonance in my blood guiding me forward, and it seems to be coming from just ahead!”

Gu Qingyi sighed, clenching his fists with determination.

Dahuang blinked, his eyes filled with doubt. “Master Dad, are you sure about this? If we keep going, we’ll just hit a wall!”

Gu Qingyi shook his head, choosing not to reply. Instead, he leaped forward, landing right in front of the looming wall.

Though Dahuang harbored doubts, he still followed. Together, man and dog stared at the wall before them, uncertainty hanging in the air.

Gu Qingyi pressed his hand against the cold surface, closing his eyes to focus on the source of that guiding sensation.

Dahuang watched from the side, completely baffled. Tentatively, he asked, “Master Dad, do you think your father is behind this wall?”

“Mhm…” Gu Qingyi hummed in acknowledgment, then turned to Dahuang. “Step back. I’m going to smash this wall down!”

“Huh?” Dahuang froze for a second before nodding. “Oh, alright. I’ll move right away!”

As soon as Dahuang stepped back, Gu Qingyi raised his fist and slammed it into the wall with tremendous force.

“Bang!”

The wall collapsed instantly, kicking up a thick cloud of dust while revealing what lay hidden behind it.

Beyond the rubble was another cage, draped in intricate chains. At its center, a bearded middle-aged man was bound to a massive cross.

The man’s eyes were tightly shut, his aura so faint it seemed he could slip away at any moment.

Caught off guard, Gu Qingyi and Dahuang inhaled a mouthful of the sudden dust cloud.

“Cough, cough!”

Gu Qingyi hacked violently, waving his hand to clear the haze in front of him.

Dahuang mimicked him, pawing at the air to dispel the dust.

As the fog slowly cleared, the scene before Gu Qingyi came into sharp focus—a sight so shocking it left him stunned.

His eyes widened in disbelief as his heart pounded fiercely, threatening to burst from his chest.

That innate, bone-deep sense of blood connection surged within him once more, prompting him to clutch his chest tightly.

His body seemed to move on its own. Gu Qingyi took a small step forward, the faint sound of his footfall echoing in the oppressive silence.

The frail middle-aged man nailed to the cross stirred at the noise. With great effort, he pried open his heavy eyelids, confusion and suspicion clouding his gaze.

“Who are you?” His hoarse voice rasped like a whisper from the underworld, laden with exhaustion and despair.

“Is my suffering not enough for you? Have you come at this moment just to gawk at my pitiful state…”

Mid-sentence, the man’s eyes sharpened, a glint of ferocity flashing through them. Then, he erupted into wild laughter.

“Hahaha! Let me tell you, vile Alien Race scum, if you’re here today hoping to break me, to make me bow and surrender…”

“You’re dreaming! Even if another ten thousand years pass, I’ll never yield to the likes of you! So spare me your pathetic schemes!”

With a roar of defiance, the man mustered all his strength to thrash against his bonds.

The countless thick chains binding him rattled loudly with a clanging “clatter,” as if mocking his futile struggle.

Witnessing this, Gu Qingyi could no longer hold back his emotions.

He stepped forward and dropped to his knees, bowing deeply before the man with several resounding kowtows.

“Thud, thud, thud!”

“Father, you’ve suffered so much! Your unfilial son, Gu Qingyi, is here to bring you home!”

The man on the cross froze, his pupils dilating in shock as he stared at the young man kneeling before him.

After a moment of scrutiny, realization dawned. This was indeed his own flesh and blood—Gu Qingyi!

A wide smile broke across his face. “Haha, truly worthy of being my son, Gu Ran! In just a few short years, you’ve reached such impressive cultivation!”

“My son Qingyi possesses an invincible bearing!”

“Father, let me get you down from there!”

Gu Qingyi glanced at the chains binding Gu Ran, then hurriedly stood and gripped one of them.

Gu Ran shook his head with a sigh. “Son, these chains are no ordinary bindings.”

“They’re forged from Meteoric Iron from Beyond the Heavens. Not only do they suppress cultivation, but they’re incredibly tough. Brute force alone can’t break… them…”

Before he could finish…

“Crack!”

With a single motion, Gu Qingyi shattered every chain on Gu Ran’s body, gently lowering him from the cross.

“Father, what were you saying? Did you mean these things are hard to break?” Gu Qingyi scratched his head, looking at Gu Ran with a puzzled expression.

“Cough!” Gu Ran let out an awkward cough.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. His gaze locked onto Gu Qingyi as he asked urgently,

“By the way, my son Qingyi, how have your mother and Xiao’er fared all these years? Are they safe?”

Gu Qingyi paused for a moment before smiling. “Rest assured, Father. Mother and Sister are both doing well. Come, let me help you out of here!”

“Good, I’m glad to hear that.” Gu Ran looked at Gu Qingyi with a relieved expression.

“Come, Father, this way!”

With that, Gu Qingyi carefully supported Gu Ran, guiding him step by step out of the grim cage.