Chapter 99: Invisible Enemy, the Most Deadly

With a subtle flick of his hand hidden in his sleeve, Elder Sang silently absorbed all the invisible intensity that filled the room.

"Xu Xiaoshou, where's the enemy?" Elder Qiao was the first to speak.

Enemy? A question flashed through Xu Xiaoshou's mind: why was there another enemy, and what was happening?

Ye Xiaotian, floating level with the others, glared at Elder Qiao. Clearly, Xu Xiaoshou should be allowed to speak first at this moment. If his information matched what they had received, there would be no problem. If it didn't, that would be another matter entirely. Speaking up proactively, wasn't that just bailing him out?

Elder Qiao, not to be outdone, glared back. His meaning was clear: with so many powerful figures staring, who could stand it? Xu Xiaoshou was still just a child!

Seeing Elder Qiao speak, Zhao Xidong naturally couldn't hold back either. "Just now you exchanged a secret signal with me," he said, "wasn't there a kidnapper?"

A secret signal? Xu Xiaoshou felt dizzy for a moment. Which one was he referring to? When had he exchanged a secret signal with him?

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't foolish. He could glean a lot of useful information from those two sentences and was inclined to follow their cues to respond, which would surely allow him to shirk responsibility. But was it truly feasible? His gaze only moved back and forth between Elder Qiao and Zhao Xidong, but his "Perception" clearly registered the reactions of all five people.

Although Xiao Qixiu appeared strict, they were actually quite familiar with each other, and with Elder Qiao present, he was easy to talk to. Elder Sang was his master; although silent, he was on his side. The only one was that white-haired Daoist boy, Ye Xiaotian. He had only met him once, and his sole impression was that he was taciturn. Yet Xu Xiaoshou could tell at a glance how shrewd the man was, and as the dean of the inner court, he certainly wasn't an ordinary person. Moreover, he wasn't familiar with him, so he couldn't act recklessly.

Xu Xiaoshou was a rational person; he was very good at reading people and generally wouldn't act recklessly. Although he had "blown up" the Spirit Treasury just a little, there hadn't been much damage — just hundreds of bookshelves and many tables and chairs were destroyed... Well, even though they looked quite valuable. Admitting fault only incurred financial loss, but if he were to truly shirk responsibility, it would be a problem with his character.

"There's no enemy, and no kidnapper," Xu Xiaoshou stated calmly.

"Suspected, Passive Value, +5."

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned for a moment. What was going on? He was serious! He wasn't lying!

"Are you kidding me?" Zhao Xidong couldn't help but blurt out, voicing everyone's thoughts. "If there was no one else, then you caused the explosion just now, didn't you?"

"Mhm," Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

"Suspected, Passive Value, +4."

Huh? 4?

Xu Xiaoshou keenly noticed the corner of Elder Sang's mouth curve into a slight smile, as if he knew something, but he pulled down his straw hat and remained silent. That's right. He was the one who taught him the method for compressing fire seeds; probably only he would believe what he said...

"Nonsense!"

Elder Qiao clapped a hand on Xu Xiaoshou's shoulder. "Xiaoshou," he said, "don't be afraid. The top combatants of Tiansang Spirit Palace are standing right in front of you. If someone is threatening you, just say it directly. Don't worry about so many things."

This... Xu Xiaoshou vaguely felt that this scene was a bit familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before. He subconsciously looked towards Xiao Qixiu.

Xiao Qixiu gave an encouraging look. "Heaven's net is vast; though its meshes are coarse, nothing escapes it," he said. "Speak!"

"Encouraged, Passive Value, +1."

Xu Xiaoshou was dumbfounded. Heaven's net is vast, my foot, he thought. He remembered why this scene felt familiar. The last time he drew "Sword Mastery," these two had also constantly pressured him to say where a non-existent person was.

He was about to cry. If it were any other time, he might have just pointed in a random direction to get by, but Ye Xiaotian was here, so he dared not act recklessly. "There really isn't..." he began.

Before he finished speaking, Elder Sang interrupted him.

"Looking at the power of this explosion," Elder Sang said, "the third floor of the Spirit Treasury was affected, but the damage was not great. I have inventoried the spirit skills, and none were lost or damaged; only some miscellaneous items are missing."

"Preliminary estimates suggest the intruder was likely Grandmaster-level and fire-attributed," he continued. "However, it's not ruled out that they lowered their cultivation to mislead us, so let's assume they were at the King's Throne cultivation level!"

Ye Xiaotian frowned. The matter hadn't been defined yet, and Elder Sang had already drawn a conclusion, which was a bit unusual. But he didn't refute him; after all, the man had just reattached his arm.

Xu Xiaoshou listened in astonishment. An intruder? King's Throne? His mind raced, and he quickly understood that Elder Sang was giving him a way out.

Sure enough, the old man with the straw hat said solemnly, "Where did the person go?"

Xu Xiaoshou tremblingly extended a finger and pointed in a random direction... Why? Why did someone always have to force him to lie?

Elder Sang decisively ordered, "Zhao Xidong, gather your men and search everywhere. Qiao Qianzhi, Xiao Qixiu, track them immediately and follow the clues. Ye Xiaotian..." He glanced at the white-haired Daoist boy, who in turn looked back at him with a suspicious expression.

"You go too, and join Xiao Qixiu's team!" Elder Sang decided immediately, his face revealing nothing. "It could be a trick by the 'Holy Slaves'; don't take it lightly!"

Hearing "Holy Slaves," Ye Xiaotian finally dismissed his concerns, and his expression became serious.

"It's not impossible that they're trying to lure us away. I will remain in the Spirit Palace. You all search your way out, act immediately!" Elder Sang's command was so decisive it left no room for doubt.

"Yes, sir!" The few of them responded and left one after another.

Xu Xiaoshou stared blankly at the old man with the straw hat, a wave of admiration rising in his heart. Amazing! With just a few words, he had perfectly defined the nature of the matter, leaving no loopholes that anyone could refute. Powerful!

He offered a flattering and worshipful gaze.

Elder Sang took a deep breath, his face darkening as he stared intently at Xu Xiaoshou. "I was only gone for a moment and told you to properly refine pills," he said. "Look what you've done?"

Sure enough, the old man had seen through everything...

Xu Xiaoshou awkwardly rubbed his head, unable to respond. I'm helpless too! I wanted to refine pills properly; how could so many accidents happen?

Elder Sang glared fiercely at him. It was a good thing there was no major damage and no loss of spirit skills; otherwise, today's transgression would have been enormous.

"The others, I've sent them away for you," Elder Sang said. "But if you don't give me an explanation for today's incident, heh heh..."

Xu Xiaoshou's hair stood on end, a chill running down his spine as if he was being stared at by a fierce beast. He gave an awkward smile, knowing that flattery would be useless now.

"I have an explanation," he mumbled, "but I don't know if I should say it..."

Elder Sang grabbed him and moved in a flash, and the two arrived on the third floor. As soon as the formation was activated, it immediately shielded everything from the outside. Only then did the old man lift his straw hat, but upon seeing everything in front of him, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

The large bathtub lay overturned nearby, as if it had been heavily struck, and even the wall had an indentation. The bottles and jars that were originally neatly arranged all around now looked as if they had been swept by a whirlwind, scattered chaotically everywhere. Some pill bottles were broken, their contents lying forlornly, like helpless, naked maidens curled up on the ground. The windows on both sides had vanished, and a gentle breeze drifted in. How refreshing!

Did I take on a disciple? This was clearly bringing back a house-wrecking beast!

Elder Sang was fuming with rage, his sparse eyebrows narrowed towards Xu Xiaoshou with a gaze like Death itself. If it were anyone else, they would probably already be a corpse.

Xu Xiaoshou's body trembled, his voice as faint as a mosquito. "I was just putting out the fire," he said, "I haven't had time to clean up yet..."

"Clean up, my foot!" Elder Sang roared. "Where's your explanation?! Let me hear it!"