After the door, there was indeed a room. As Wu Guang had sensed before, it was devoid of life and so he entered it openly.

The previous scan also served him to determine that there were no other runes more than a concealing one, so if no one arrived while he was inside, he would not be noticed in any way. The room by itself was not big, being only a dozen feet in length and width. It was bare of decorations and devoid of any furniture. Still, it was illuminated with a pair of lamps so no one could doubt that the room was used.

At first glance, the room had no other entrances or exits except the door Wu Guang had just crossed... But, he had sensed a concealment rune, which meant that there did exist some kind of secret. And indeed there was. After examining the walls, Wu Guang did find a small plate that when pressed revealed a tunnel in the back wall. Luckily the mechanism was well maintained and so it opened silently.

Before proceeding inside, Wu Guang carefully expanded his senses and found far more recent traces of aura. So recent that even without senses one would feel them. This could mean only one thing, a Soul realm cultivator had passed through here not more than an hour ago.

Such recent traces and his practically unrivaled senses even made it possible to find out the cultivation of this person, he or she was a 6th level Soul Realm cultivator.

The corridor itself was not illuminated, but with Wu Guang's current senses he could easily see in the darkness and so he moved forward while using the shadows as cover. He did not risk to sense far ahead as it could be sensed by specialized techniques or runes, so for safety and stealth, Wu Guang moved very slowly while examining every following step to avoid any alarm or trap.

The corridor was far longer than one could expect, as it took him no less than an hour to reach its end. "Considering how I moved, this corridor is still at least three miles long... Judging from this, I should have already crossed the coastline hills. And if the maps I memorized aren't mistaken, I should be below the forest near the west tract" Wu Guang thought while examining the door that was currently closing his path forward.

This door deserved a special mention as it was no simple door. Not only was it built with qi infused steel but it even had several different locks. Luckily right now they were open, but still, Wu Guang noted that such craftsmanship required at least a Master Refiner. After all, if the locks were closed and the runes on them were activated, such a door could easily resist the attacks of a peak Soul realm cultivator!

But the most important thing was not the door, but the room that laid behind it. Wu Guang first carefully and then fully scanned the room before entering. As for why? He simply wanted to find out the cultivation of the people present inside. And inside there were indeed people, and not two or three, but at least twenty in total.

Luckily for Wu Guang, there were only three people that at least were worth considering. These three people had cultivations surpassing Wu Guang's own and so in a normal situation, they could be dangerous. Still, Wu Guang was alone and had no observers, so in truth, even the strongest one, an 8th level Spirit realm cultivator was not placed in his eyes.

As for the rest of the people inside, they had varying levels of cultivation but the strongest of them was a 2nd level Spirit realm cultivator, so Wu Guang did not need to resort even to special means if he wanted to deal with them.

In any case, after examining the room layout and finding out the cultivation levels of the people inside, Wu Guang did not rush forward. After all, he still did not know if the Soul realm cultivator he had sensed was present, and if he or she was not, then where and for how long the expert had left. So in place of directly rushing inside, Wu Guang decided to first find out a bit more information. For this, he slowly pushed the door a few inches, enough for him to view the overall situation, and perked his hearing.

The weaker seventeen were divided into groups and were mainly chatting while drinking. And so even if a wise person once said that drunk people always reveal information, the same expert still could not assure that the information would be of any use.

In any case, before dismissing their drunken talks, Wu Guang did pay a few moments of attention to make sure. And indeed, his thoughts were confirmed. Still, even if the information was of no use, they all spoke of their successful escape and a new lease on life. And so when coupled with the location, it could mean only one thing, that they all were escapees from the 'Inverted Tower'.

As for the strongest three cultivators present, they were located at the back of the room, near some kind of rope stairs that led towards the ceiling. Up there a trapdoor could be seen, but it was also covered with a concealment rune and so Wu Guang could not tell where it leads to, at least not until reaching it.

The one with the cultivation on the 8th level of the Spirit realm was a burly and hairy man that looked akin to a bear. At the moment that Wu Guang's hearing was centered on them, he was the one speaking. The first part of the sentence was missed, but from that point on, Wu Guang made sure of listening very carefully.

"...saw him. As he reported right away, Lord Liao quickly ran to meet him alongside his two helpers"

"But why does Lord Liao worry so much? Isn't this elder a simple inner circle one? An unknown inner circle elder means advanced Spirit realm..." The man standing nearby asked in succession. As for the man himself, he was similarly built to the bear-like man but was fully shaved. This lack of hair revealed a bald head and a face full of scars, that even if Wu Guang did not guess their origins screamed of a rough life full of fighting.

"You don't understand... If this elder is snooping around on Sect's orders, then Lord Liao has to find out what they know. If they suspect something, then all of us will have to hide. At least if we don't want to be caught. While if this Sect elder is here on his own, then he has to be eliminated quickly. Even if he is not a Soul realm cultivator, he could still notice something amiss and report it" The bear-like man explained

"I see, thank you for enlightening me brother"

"Don't think about it, after all, we all now serve our benefactor Lord Liao... and so all of us should understand what's at stake"

"Heh, it seems that the two of you like this Lord Liao" Without any indication before the 3rd man suddenly talked. Although he could not be seen from Wu Guang's position, the tone was full of mockery, to the point that if not for him being alongside the previous men, Wu Guang could have thought that they were on different sides

"You! Weren't you also saved by Lord Liao?" Both of the burly men exclaimed in unison

"And so if I was? I still don't buy his explanation about him gathering people like us to form a new island power and give us a new life. Why would he? I never even heard about him before... And you?"

"I did not hear or know of him before... But! It's still a fact that he saved us. As for why, well, he did explain his intrusion into 'Underwater Hell' and so as he could not accomplish his initial objective, why not help people in a similar situation?"

"Oh, so you also believe that load of shit? How could he not know that One-Eyed Savage was executed directly? He never arrived at our hell. So yes, I don't believe him at all" The man half-turned while saying this, thus letting Wu Guang see his full appearance. This man was tall and lean, with a head of sand-pepper hair. His demeanor was also different, as, in place of the rowdy bearing that the other two had, he looked almost refined. If he was placed in any place outside this room, anyone would take him for a scholar... And even if not, no one could think of him as of an evildoer, something that was confirmed by the next words of the bear-like man

"I still don't think that Lord Liao lied. And if you do, why do you remain here? Oh, it can not be because you can't show your mug anywhere? After all, even if the bounty on your, Black and White Evil, head was retired after conviction, you still are hated by all the three powers on the island"

"Heh... I simply want to repay him for being brought out. When this so-called Lord says I can leave, I will do so right away" Smirked the man that was just called by his nickname.

Although Wu Guang wasn't interested in such things, even he, during the brief reading he had done about the island knew of this name. 'Black and White Evil', the title of the evildoer who poisoned to death almost a hundred disciples from the three main powers of the island. That incident was spoken of in the Sect even now, to make the disciples beware anyone who approaches them without a clear reason and background. As for the jianghu in general, the incident was considered more like a treasure story.

This incident was later named the 'Hundred Tragedy' and had happened 11 years ago. During a joint event for the young generation of the island powers, this evildoer approached the camp where the disciples from the three powers were readying for a competition.

Still, the one hundred or so youngsters would not fear someone of similar cultivation to theirs and so did not react until it was late. Or to say the truth, until they felt the poison that led every one of them to death.

As for why this man had done it? He had explained it as simple robbery.

Normally such a criminal would be killed on the spot or executed by the power that found him, but he wasn't found on the spot. And as no survivors were found, his face and name were marked as unknown even on the enormous bounty offered by the Powers. In the end, nobody even could recognize him until he turned himself in at Coastal Hill City. When he did, he also fully confessed but requested a trial without the Sects or the Qiu family involvement.

As the District Lord that had received his confession had sworn an oath before, he had no option but to follow with the agreement. So in the end, this evildoer was sentenced and sent to the 'Inverted Tower', to work until death.

As for the treasures... he never confessed their location and so they remained hidden somewhere, giving birth to the treasure part of the incident retelling.