Chapter 31: Dragon Bone

The violent tremor not only tore open the sealed space, but also caused a localized shockwave. At the top of the Central City Circle Financial Company skyscraper, a white-haired, elegantly dressed woman with shrewd eyes played with her exquisite nails as she questioned another elderly woman, hunched and worn, in an aristocratic tone.

"Gao, regarding the loss of the Black Void, do you really have nothing more to say?"

Opposite her, Madame Gao, who had previously dealt with Gu Zhongyan, raised her eyelids calmly and replied unhurriedly, "The disciple responsible for transporting the Black Void was from Murakami, and his contact was Fisk's man. I only handle the business at the processing plant. If blame is to be assigned, it shouldn't fall on me."

"Besides," Madame Gao lifted her head, letting out a cold laugh, "if I recall correctly, New York is your territory, Alexandra!"

Alexandra, the white-haired woman, responded with a chilly smile. "What, are you implying that I failed to manage my own territory? Don't forget who withstood S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pressure for you all in the most dangerous place in the world."

"If not for my years of operations in New York, do you think you could continue your shady 'laundry powder' business?"

Just as their conflict was about to erupt, a middle-aged white man interjected, "Enough. Now is not the time for infighting. Losing the Black Void is something none of us wanted. The priority is to quickly find the next one."

"Easy for you to say," sneered a cold-faced Japanese man. "Do you think the Black Void is so easily found? Even if we locate it, unless we rid ourselves of those rats from the Pure Truth Society, we’ll eventually fall into their hands."

"But we still have to search," said a tall Black man.

"Of course we must..." Alexandra shook her head, about to continue.

Suddenly, the entire building shook violently. With a crash, the intricate art pieces on the table shattered across the floor.

The five rose to their feet with a start, panic flickering in their eyes.

"What’s happening, is it an earthquake?" Madame Gao asked.

As soon as she spoke, the shaking ceased and the skyscraper regained its calm.

They all breathed a sigh of relief. As the Five Fingers of the Hand, they were not as fragile as ordinary people, but ultimately, they were still human; if an earthquake hit a hundred-meter-tall building, they would fare little better than anyone else.

However, they quickly realized that their relief was premature.

This tremor was clearly no ordinary earthquake. Alexandra reacted the fastest; the moment the shaking stopped, something struck her.

Her pupils contracted, and she sprinted toward the edge of the conference room. "This is bad—it's the Dragon Bone! Something’s wrong with the buried Dragon Bone beneath us!"

The other four’s faces changed instantly; without hesitation, they chased after her, rushing out of the conference room.

Meanwhile, deep underground in the building, Gu Zhongyan stood before the newly torn, enormous cavern. He did not enter immediately but turned, surveying the massive rocks scattered around the subterranean space.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

With a flick of his finger and a levitation spell, a stone weighing hundreds of pounds rose and dropped heavily in front of the elevator shaft.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

...

He repeated the spell several times, piling broken rocks into a miniature mountain that thoroughly blocked the elevator entrance.

Satisfied with his work, Gu Zhongyan finally lowered his hand. Now, even if the members of the Hand tried to come down, it wouldn't be so easy.

Yet, glancing at his fingers, Gu Zhongyan thought that, if only to avoid casting spells in such a delicate, awkward manner, he needed to fashion a wand soon.

With that in mind, he entered the vast cavern. Confronted with pitch-black darkness, he had to flick his fingers once more.

"Lumos!"

A faint glow illuminated the huge cavern, revealing a colossal skeleton, like a slumbering ancient beast, sprawled atop the rocks.

Even after centuries of death, the immense form radiated a powerful sense of menace.

Gu Zhongyan, not quite two meters tall, stood before the massive remains, appearing utterly insignificant.

Any ordinary person who witnessed such a scene would be struck speechless with awe. But Gu Zhongyan had seen much in his time; encountering gigantic magical creatures was not new to him, and this Dragon Bone, while impressive, could not truly astonish him.

However, while its size failed to shock him, the vast vitality emanating from the Dragon Bone did.

He had assumed that after four centuries, most of the Dragon Bone's energy would have dissipated.

Now, he realized he had underestimated it. The power of a peak Divine Dragon was indeed capable of rivaling fragments of Phoenix Force. From this Dragon Bone, he sensed an extraordinary level of life energy.

This discovery delighted Gu Zhongyan. As wand material, the more abundant the Dragon Bone's vitality, the better for him.

Originally, he thought that if too much power had been lost, he would simply extract a bit of its essence and make a barely usable wand.

Now, it seemed the benefits this Dragon Bone could bring him far exceeded expectations.

Gu Zhongyan quickly recovered his composure, climbing onto the Dragon Bone and searching for suitable materials for crafting a wand.

The earlier tremor would have certainly alerted the Hand; it wouldn’t be long before they arrived. He had to make a usable wand before that happened.

While Gu Zhongyan was selecting materials from the Dragon Bone, above, the Five Fingers of the Hand, realizing the Dragon Bone was in peril, rushed toward the elevator.

Their faces were grim to the extreme, and with reason. For years, they had sought immortality, forsaking the status of Kunlun Elders, fighting the Pure Truth Society for centuries—all for the Dragon Bone.

If they lost the Dragon Bone, their path to immortality would come to an end.

Losing the Black Void only made them angry; losing the Dragon Bone would drive them mad.

Yet, before their fury could erupt, an unexpected situation occurred.

Alexandra was the first to reach the elevator. As she arrived, she suddenly froze.

Her brow furrowed, looking as perplexed as a student baffled by advanced mathematics, she turned, gazing at the four who were also frantically rushing over, and asked a question that pierced straight to the heart:

"Wait—where exactly are we supposed to be going?"