Chapter 1431: Great Shock Xi Shen's Sacred Mission, Stubborn Fish Disrespects Elders

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Figures leaped out from the South City Gate.

Leading them were Xi, the head of the Yi Bu, and Yu Zhiwen, the head of the Dao Bu.

The Tian Zu members deployed in the Si Xiang Mi Jing had all been recalled, except for Ao Sheng, who remained with a small team on guard.

The Tian Zu operation had failed!

At least, in the minds of nearly all Tian Zu members, this was undoubtedly another major defeat for Dao Hall Master.

They had mobilized so many forces, even involving Ban Sheng experts, and delved into levels connected to the Sheng Di, setting up an elaborate net far in advance—all just to capture Xu Xiaoshou...

Not to mention Xu Xiaoshou; even if Ba Zun An had shown up, they could have easily caught him.

But Xu Xiaoshou simply grew larger, tore through the net, and escaped without a trace.

What a waste, Dao Hall Master!

Still, these thoughts were best kept to themselves; no one dared say them aloud.

Dao Hall Master was still fighting on...

His message to his subordinates was that the true Tian Zu operation was only just beginning.

In the past, many had blindly praised him as the "mysterious and unfathomable Dao Qiong Cang"—the so-called "Dao blowers."

But after the defeats at Void Island and Si Xiang Mi Jing, most people had calmed down.

Dao Qiong Cang's talents were exhausted.

Perhaps not? It was possible.

Regardless, as long as the Ten-Person Council hadn't removed Dao Hall Master from his position, every Tian Zu member had to obey orders, no matter their rank—even if they were a Ban Sheng.

Sure enough, upon receiving the command, Xi wasted no time and led a large force back to Yu Jing Cheng from Qi Lin Jie.

He wasn't a "Dao blower" or a "Dao non-blower"; he was just a lowly worker caught in the middle.

Whatever Dao Hall Master ordered, he did.

If it was wrong, well, that was above his pay grade.

"Dao Hall Master!"

After leaving the city, the group spotted that dignified figure and bowed in unison.

Xi arrived too quickly.

Dao Hall Master had issued an urgent order, summoning him immediately.

So, after exiting the city, Xi used Gui Ling Huan Wei to flash to Dao Hall Master's side.

"Xi, greets Dao Hall Master."

At first glance, Xi thought he was seeing things.

Because Dao Hall Master seemed to have just put a thick cover into his space ring...

What was he thinking?

Xi froze for a moment, almost slapping himself.

Had he been hit by some kind of demonic spell? Why had his mind suddenly turned so filthy?

"Dao Hall Master, what do you need from me?" He quickly pushed aside the distractions.

"Dao Hall Master."

Yu Zhiwen chimed in.

Dao Qiong Cang glanced around at everyone, nodding slightly before saying gravely, "Everyone, fall back to the city walls."

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The figures obeyed at once.

Dao Qiong Cang turned to Yu Zhiwen and gestured with his hand. "Little girl, you should step back too."

"Huh?"

Yu Zhiwen's star pupils widened in surprise, and with lingering doubt, she retreated.

Little girl...

Since when had Dao Hall Master started calling her that?

Now, only Xi remained, and he instantly realized how serious the matter was.

Dao Hall Master actually needed to dismiss everyone just to give him personal instructions?

"Come closer."

"Yes."

"Even closer."

"Uh..."

Closer?

Any closer and they'd be touching! In broad daylight, that wouldn't look good for your reputation, would it?

Xi hesitated, then stepped forward, almost into Dao Hall Master's embrace.

The South City Gate area stirred with unrest.

"Dao Hall Master?"

Xi asked nervously.

"There's something I want you to look at." Dao Qiong Cang said seriously as he pulled out a black object from his ring.

Xi froze.

What was Dao Hall Master doing?

He had taken out half of a black lady's sheer stocking—what did that mean?

"Dao..."

"Do you recognize this thing?"

Should I recognize it?

Help me, someone please help!

Xi's worldview was hit by a meteorite.

Was it him who was off today, or had Dao Hall Master taken the wrong medicine? What on earth was he doing?

But when he looked up and saw Dao Hall Master's utterly solemn expression, Xi realized he was being entrusted with a sacred task.

Whoosh...

Inhale...

Calm down.

One, two, three... three, two, one.

Okay, I must have misunderstood.

"I recognize it," Xi said, straightening up, though he didn't dare look directly at it.

"Good, if you recognize it, then investigate."

"? " Xi's hand trembled as he took the sheer stocking. "Investigate what?"

"Find its owner."

The world fell silent for a moment.

Xi's eyes quickly lost focus.

His somewhat numb gaze shifted from the black sheer stocking to Dao Hall Master's face.

"You said, investigate... what?"

Dao Qiong Cang hadn't spoken yet.

Xi shuddered as if struck by lightning, recalling unpleasant memories.

"I get it, investigate its owner... um, the owner. I'll definitely find them for you."

"Um."

Dao Qiong Cang nodded sternly, without a smile.

Then, he pulled another item from his ring—a pair of pink underwear. "Investigate this one too."

Xi stumbled.

What was this about?

Was Yi Bu supposed to handle this kind of work?

Pale pink with a cute rabbit... Was this men's underwear? Had Dao Qiong Cang lost his mind?

"... So, investigate its owner too?" Xi struggled to keep his thoughts from wandering, fighting back those images.

"Yes."

After getting the affirmative, Xi felt like dying inside.

That's when he remembered the thick cover he'd glimpsed earlier...

Maybe it wasn't an illusion after all?

"Anything else?"

"That's all."

Dao Qiong Cang shook his head.

He needed to keep one for himself to analyze the aura of the Shu Zu force.

Even if Xi wasn't the best, wasting one should still help track the thief's trail.

Besides, Yi Bu had intelligence networks spread across the world, with eyes and ears everywhere.

It was just a matter of whether Yi Bu's collective effort would be faster or if his own Tian Ji Shu would prove superior.

But Dao Qiong Cang always prepared on both fronts.

"That's all...?"

Xi was still reeling from the shock.

It couldn't be all—there was clearly one more!

Dao Hall Master... wow... tsk... what could he even say about this? Or should he say nothing at all?

Xi's world suddenly felt strange.

He felt corrupted, like he'd become a bad kid, forced to do the bidding of a tyrant.

Glancing sidelong at the graceful figure standing at the South City Gate, he saw the suspicion on her face.

Xi suddenly understood why they had to be dismissed.

This really wasn't something that could be done in the open—it wasn't sacred at all!

"You have half a day to find out who owns them."

Dao Qiong Cang issued the strict order, then added, "Send your people out. Search everywhere outside the Jing Du Great Array's coverage—dig three feet into the ground if you have to. He's nearby."

Xi was stunned.

When Dao Hall Master tossed him the battlefield recording bead and told him to watch it himself, he finally realized...

There was a recording bead too?

Could he not watch it?

"Withdraw."

Dao Qiong Cang waved the young man away.

He knew full well what handing over those private items implied, and from Xi's reaction, he must have misunderstood.

But Dao Qiong Cang didn't bother explaining—everything was in the recording bead.

If it were someone else, they might have been too embarrassed to speak, but he never worried about such trivial details.

In fact, from those three rather playful private items, he could even deduce the general character of the thief.

"A bit of a wicked sense of humor..."

"Good, flaws make it easier to handle."

Yes, Dao Qiong Cang had briefly lost track of his target.

That person who swapped items was one of the best at concealing their presence—second only to Xu Xiaoshou—and extremely cautious.

Some of his arrangements hadn't taken effect yet.

But it didn't matter; the real show was just beginning.

"Yu Zhiwen."

"Here!"

Yu Zhiwen responded, popping up like a fish breaking the surface, quickly appearing at his side—but sadly, she hadn't overheard anything.

"This thing, you research it."

Dao Qiong Cang flipped his palm and produced a rough arm made from an ancient spear shaft.

Earlier, this arm had blown up his space ring, forced out the array-breaking disk, and unleashed that special Tian Ji Shu, shattering the "Pan Fu Zhi Zhen."

It was precisely because a gap had been opened in the Jing Du Great Array that the thief could swap and take the three people right under his nose.

In short, this arm was the key focus of the entire situation—the most critical part!

Of course, Dao Qiong Cang hadn't let it go.

After completing its mission, the arm's spiritual energy had fully dissipated and even tried to self-destruct.

But under the seal of the Jing Du Great Array, the self-destruction only half-activated before he forcibly stopped it.

Unfortunately, the will inside had died.

Losing the two array-breaking disks but gaining this half-useless Tian Ji arm... it was a loss that might turn into a gain.

In Dao Qiong Cang's eyes, no one was more valuable than another. A Tian Ji arm that could manipulate array-breaking disks was incredibly useful.

After studying it himself, he handed it to Yu Zhiwen, partly to involve her and test her abilities.

"Can you tell what this is?"

"An arm?"

Yu Zhiwen glanced up and said casually.

Dao Hall Master didn't respond—he was no fun.

Feeling foolish, she lowered her head and examined the arm closely.

At first, she was baffled by the shattered Tian Ji Dao patterns on it. After activating her Xing Tong, she sensed something profound, but since most of the patterns were destroyed, restoring its original form was tough.

She hadn't seen the battlefield yet... Dao Qiong Cang was patient and didn't give her the recording bead; he just waited quietly.

He was so calm, as if he had no enemies or any anxiety about them escaping—like an outsider letting Xiang Yi go free.

Before long, a shock appeared in Yu Zhiwen's Xing Tong. She looked up, astonished. "A Tian Ji Kui Lei?"

Dao Qiong Cang's face turned stern. "Am I the one asking questions, or are you?"

Yu Zhiwen shrank back.

"It's a Tian Ji Kui Lei, all right."

"But these Tian Ji Dao patterns don't come from the Dao Bu... and they don't seem to be from you, Dao Hall Master..."

"So?"

Dao Qiong Cang picked up the thread, noting that the young fish had made significant progress by spotting these details from a self-destructed Tian Ji arm, but it wasn't enough.

Yu Zhiwen hesitated. "Could someone else have developed a Tian Ji Kui Lei?"

"Next..."

Dao Qiong Cang paused, his eyelid twitching. "Are you stuck? I prompt, and you respond?"

Yu Zhiwen puffed out her cheeks.

From the start, he wanted me to discuss Tian Ji Shu in front of him and then mock me—do I have no backbone?

She composed herself, cleared her thoughts, and said in one breath:

"Besides Wu Ji Lao Zu, it's just you in the Sheng Di Dao Shi!"

Dao Qiong Cang glared.

Yu Zhiwen's momentum peaked, then waned, her tone softening:

"Just you and my master's clan—it's not impossible."

"And the various techniques from Nan Yu—some touch on the true meaning of Tian Ji, so they could have developed a Tian Ji Kui Lei."

"Not yet."

Dao Qiong Cang interjected.

"Not yet! But recently, there's this Tian Ji Shen Jiao—it's spreading like wildfire. My little Xing Xing has already infiltrated it; they're really impressive."

"What?"

Dao Qiong Cang was taken aback.

"Tian Ji Shen Jiao!"

Yu Zhiwen widened her eyes, staring back defiantly, unable to believe that Dao Hall Master hadn't heard a whisper about such a big thing in the Tian Ji world.

"Oh, right, I remember now." Dao Qiong Cang rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Little Xing Xing?"

"Yeah." Yu Zhiwen's eyes curved into crescents, her little fist clenched. "She changed her name and got into a high..."

She suddenly stopped.

Her Xing Tong dropped, then lifted back to Dao Hall Master.

Her eyelashes fluttered, her eyes darted sideways, then quickly returned.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing."

"Speak!"

Yu Zhiwen's lips pouted, her expression like she might cry. "Don't scare me..."

Dao Qiong Cang was helpless. "It's not what you think."

"Then you haven't heard of Tian Ji Shen Jiao? I don't believe it."

"I've been swamped lately; my mind's a mess."

Do you expect me to believe that? Yu Zhiwen's Xing Tong twinkled as she decided to tease Dao Qiong Cang. "I'm going to tell..."

"Yu Zhiwen!"

Dao Qiong Cang suddenly shouted, startling everyone on the South City Wall.

"Here!!!"

Yu Zhiwen jumped, standing rigid like a dead fish.

"Shut your mouth and stop spouting nonsense. Think before you speak—others can think of what you can. Use your brain for what's next, don't act like a child and stop at the surface." Dao Qiong Cang rarely got angry and even more rarely said so much.

"Oh."

"Then continue."

"Continue what?"

"What do you mean, continue what?!"

"... Then there's Xu Xiaoshou left."

"Oh?" Dao Qiong Cang perked up. "Why could Xu Xiaoshou develop a Tian Ji Kui Lei?"

"He just could."

"Explain."

"No explanation." Yu Zhiwen rallied, glaring back. "Less talk, more action."

Dao Qiong Cang was stunned.

His eyes widened more and more.

He was more shocked than when he'd seen Xu Xiaoshou possess Ba Zun An and accidentally blow himself up while refining a ninth-grade pill with alchemy.

He tilted his head, circling Yu Zhiwen once, twice, three times, still unable to figure out if this girl had grown a backbone today or what.

"You, if you have something to say, say it straight—don't beat around the bush."

"Less talk, more action."

"I'm allowing you to talk more now." Dao Qiong Cang's eyelids narrowed, and the air around them seemed to cool.

Yu Zhiwen shivered.

Should she back down?

She forced back her fear, stubbornly flipping out a star disk and demanding:

"You! Why did you tamper with my 'Gui Lan'? Tell me!"

(End of chapter)