"Call her?" Guan Ya frowned slightly. Though they were first cousins bound by blood, she seemed quite reluctant to contact that demigod.
Observing her boyfriend's expression, her heart sank. "Did something happen?"
"Fu Qingyang and two elders laid a trap to hunt down Sect Master Chunyang and the Dark Night Rose, but they haven't returned yet. It's been an entire night. This doesn't make sense—the Grand Marshal is right here in Songhai," Zhang Yuanqing said rapidly.
Guan Ya immediately realized the gravity of the situation.
To spirit walkers, a demigod possessed overwhelming power. What kind of battle could keep her cousin occupied for an entire night?
She reached into her trouser pocket, pulled out her phone, unlocked the screen, opened her contacts, found the name "Fu Qingxuan," and dialed.
*Ring, ring...*
The phone rang for a long time before the call finally connected.
Zhang Yuanqing heard a woman's voice come through, rich with striking texture:
"You rarely call me. What is it?"
Her voice was neither soft nor delicate, but carried the crisp texture of colliding ice and a subtle, unmistakable majesty.
Just hearing her voice, he could already picture an empress clad in dragon robes ruling over the world.
Guan Ya took a deep breath and murmured, "Sister, Fu Qingyang hasn't returned yet..."
"Something happened to him," the voice on the other end said coldly. "He was likely swept into a Mustard Seed Sumeru by Dark Night Rose. I spent the whole night searching Jinshan City with person-tracking items, but I could only confirm he's still within the city without pinpointing his exact location. To hold out for an entire night without returning to the spirit realm—my brother is at least a rather capable piece of trash."
*Has the 'trash theory' been popularized by Fu Qingyang to this extent?* Zhang Yuanqing grumbled internally.
Guan Ya smiled wryly. "You're still holding a grudge at a time like this? What do we do now?"
"The think tank and the elders of the Songhai Branch are holding a meeting to discuss it, but they haven't come up with a plan yet," the female Grand Marshal said. "Anything else? I'm busy."
Zhang Yuanqing whispered, "Ask her what happened. We should have been fully prepared—how did things end up like this?"
Although he was the mastermind pulling the strings from behind the scenes, he vaguely realized his scheme had spiraled out of control.
Yet he couldn't put his finger on what had gone wrong; it was purely a Stargazer's intuition.
"Is that Yuanshi Tianzun beside you?" Hearing his voice, the female Grand Marshal's tone suddenly chilled. Her crisp, authoritative voice said, "Are you the one who often talks behind my back with Fu Qingyang, calling me trash?"
Zhang Yuanqing had been quite anxious, but upon hearing those words, a shiver ran down his spine. He almost dropped to his knees in homage right then and there so the Grand Marshal could witness his sincerity. But considering they were speaking through a phone where no depth of sincerity could be perceived, he said:
"Grand Marshal, personally, I vehemently object to and disagree with Elder Fu's remarks!
"I explicitly told him that the Grand Marshal is heaven's favored pride, a peerless woman unique in this world. To rank among demigods at such a young age is akin to Empress Wu Zhao ascending the throne—unprecedented and matchless throughout history! But as for Elder Fu... well, every bone in his body is born of pure rebellion."
"You certainly know how to speak pretty words." Fu Qingxuan's voice softened slightly, then turned solemn. "Last night, Fear Heavenly King broke criminals out of the Pingchuan City prison to intentionally lure me away from Songhai. To contend with me, he brought Asura's warblade. I was stalled by him for quite some time. By the time I returned to the Zoo, Demonic Eye had already been rescued, and Fu Qingyang was out of contact.
"Elder Dog contacted the Taiyi Sect's First Elder, Chi Ri Xing Guan, for help last night. Chi Ri Xing Guan observed the celestial bodies and reported that Silver Moon Heavenly King of the Soldier Master sect fell in battle in Jinshan City. After that, he could no longer 'see' anything."
*Silver Moon Heavenly King appeared in Jinshan City?* Zhang Yuanqing's pupils contracted slightly. He instantly reined in his emotions and pressed, "Grand Marshal, what is the difficulty right now?"
"Locating Fu Qingyang, tearing open the Mustard Seed Sumeru, and entering it." The female Grand Marshal did not act arrogantly simply because Yuanshi Tianzun was of a lower level; she stated the facts directly. "The Mustard Seed Sumeru trapping Fu Qingyang is similar to a spatial item, but unlike the Dionysus Club's Twisted Realm from last time, this one has the blessing of 'Concealment.' My sword qi cannot lock onto it, so it cannot cut it open."
With that, she cleanly hung up the call.
"Wait for me a few minutes." Zhang Yuanqing leaned down, kissed Guan Ya's soft cheek, and strode out of the room.
Returning to his own bedroom, he took out his phone with an ashen face and sent a voice message to Fear Heavenly King:
"Fuck your mother, you bastard! You played me?!"
A few seconds later, Fear Heavenly King replied with a text message:
[That is my freedom (smile)]
Zhang Yuanqing fell silent for a few seconds before sending another voice message in a low, heavy voice:
"When did this start?"
[Fear Heavenly King: Guess (smile)]
Zhang Yuanqing's expression twisted into a savage scowl. Gritting his teeth, he sent a voice message:
"Just you fucking wait! I will wring your dog head off!"
He was utterly furious, even knowing that the person on the other end was a demigod.
Yet beneath the fury lay a fear and chill he was unwilling to speak aloud.
The appearance of the Soldier Master sect's Silver Moon Heavenly King in Jinshan City was ample proof that Dark Night Rose and the Soldier Master sect had coordinated last night's operation. Fear Heavenly King's use of Asura's warblade to stall the Grand Marshal had not just been to buy time for Zhang Yuanqing, but also to buy time for the Grand Protector of Dark Night Rose.
His premonition was correct. Someone had turned his scheme against him, going along with the flow to swallow three official elders, rescue Demonic Eye, and seize fatal leverage over heaven's favored child, Yuanshi Tianzun.
Three birds with one stone.
And only another powerhouse Stargazer could pull this off—one of Dark Night Rose's Protectors, or perhaps even their leader who lurked behind the scenes and had never shown his face.
He just didn't know when this trap had been laid. If it had begun from the very day he first met Fear Heavenly King at the mall, the thought was simply terrifying.
In his very first battle after advancing to Stargazer, he had been thoroughly schooled.
*I won't let you succeed. Fuck!* Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, suppressed the frustration and anger in his chest, decisively assumed his White Face persona, and initiated a mental brainstorm.
*The Grand Marshal's obstacle is that she can't pinpoint Fu Qingyang. He's trapped inside a spatial item reinforced by concealment power. Unable to locate him, even the sharpest attacks are just striking empty air.*
*Locate Fu Qingyang... locate Fu Qingyang...*
Zhang Yuanqing thought of the Red Dancing Shoes that had sat unused in his inventory for a long time.
*Red Dancing Shoes, Activation Form One: Throw the Red Dancing Shoes toward a designated target (a biological medium such as blood, hair, or skin cells can also be used to lock onto the target), and they will relentlessly hunt down the target without end...*
This was a rule!
*I can have the Red Dancing Shoes hunt Fu Qingyang—wouldn't that lock onto him?!* Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up.
The Five Elements Alliance's tracking items couldn't find Fu Qingyang because standard functions could not be compared to absolute rules.
In the spirit realm's hierarchy, the only thing that could overpower a rule was another rule.
He immediately sprinted out of the room, found Guan Ya, and said urgently:
"Call your cousin again!"
***
At the Zoo.
Inside the pet house, Elder Dog sat before the computer, his voice low and heavy:
"At present, the White Tiger Guards' think tank has yet to propose a new plan. Fu Qingyang, Hongying, and Gao Feng could return to the spirit realm at any moment, and the Saints accompanying them have most likely met with disaster."
His dark button eyes scanned the profile pictures of the four Songhai Branch elders on the screen, his tone tinged with guilt.
"Demonic Eye was also rescued. He was apprehended through our joint efforts; this was a dereliction of duty on my part."
The microphone over Elder Luo Shen's avatar lit up. "Why did you leave the Zoo?"
"Someone impersonated an old acquaintance of mine and lured me out of Songhai," Elder Dog said.
"An acquaintance?" Elder Huangsha Baizhan pondered. "If they could impersonate your acquaintance, they must possess an intimate understanding of both your acquaintance and you. That is a clue."
"I will look into it, but it will take time," Elder Dog replied.
"You useless sack of trash! You botched something as simple as watching a prisoner!" Elder World-Destroying Skyfire flew into a rage, the sound of him slamming a table reverberating through the speakers of the pet house. "Does this even need an investigation? Doesn't your rundown park have employees and an item spirit? Just ask them and you'll know!"
Elder Dog silently endured the verbal abuse. "I questioned the plants and employees. Four people infiltrated the Zoo, but the plants couldn't clearly describe their traits. With my help, the employees completed portrait sketches, but all four intruders had the exact same face. Clearly, my employees were affected by illusions.
"The only eyewitnesses are the white lion and the tree that sealed Demonic Eye. Unfortunately, the white lion suffered severe injuries and is currently receiving nurturing from the item spirit; it has not yet regained consciousness.
"The camphor tree did provide a few clues. Among the four intruders, one was a yin corpse, and one sank into Weak Water Lake. As you know, anything that falls into Weak Water can never be salvaged again. In addition, according to the tree, Demonic Eye addressed one of the intruders as 'Ghost Blade Heavenly King.'
"I reviewed the surveillance outside the park today, but no intruders were captured."
Elder Xirang of the Central Court frowned. "Ghost Blade Heavenly King... It seems the Soldier Master sect had plotted this for a long time, dispatching three Heavenly Kings at once."
"No!" Huangsha Baizhan said gravely. "It wasn't Ghost Blade Heavenly King. Your tree misheard."
"What do you mean?" World-Destroying Skyfire demanded in a gruff voice.
"If it were Ghost Blade Heavenly King, why would they avoid surveillance? Why use illusions?" Huangsha Baizhan said. "When a Heavenly King of the Soldier Master sect invades enemy territory to break someone out, do they need to conceal themselves? Demonic Eye's comment sounds far more like a clumsy attempt to deflect—he was covering for someone."
A Scout was a Scout; they were always the sharpest.
"Covering for whom?" Elder Xirang asked.
Huangsha Baizhan said slowly, "I'm not sure, but that person's identity must be extremely sensitive and cannot be exposed to the public. Given the relationship between the Soldier Master sect and Dark Night Rose, my guess is that it's a mole planted by Dark Night Rose within the official ranks.
"Elder Dog, investigate the intel regarding that acquaintance of yours. That is where the clue lies."
Elder Dog uttered an "Mm," then steered the topic away. "Demonic Eye has already been rescued; that matter is settled. Right now, the most critical task is rescuing the three missing elders..."
Just as he spoke, an account with the avatar of a white-haired beauty barged uninvited into the online conference room.
The Grand Marshal's crisp, majestic voice rang through the elders' speakers:
"It is nine-thirty in the morning. Fu Qingyang has been missing for eight hours, and you have sat here helpless for eight hours. I am displeased."
The scalps of the five elders in the conference room tingled instantly.
Given this willful young lady's temperament, being "displeased" was an exceedingly grave threat.
Yet they were genuinely powerless. It had already been confirmed that Dark Night Rose had employed power exceeding the Dominator level.
Elder Dog collected himself and spoke humbly, "Grand Marshal, the think tank has not provided a new solution. The only two proposals are: asking the Taiyi Sect Master to locate him personally, or requesting the President of the Merchant Guild to intervene. However, neither demigod has responded yet."
Demigods were not omnipotent. When it came to tracking people, the Guild Leaders of the Five Elements Alliance couldn't help; specialists were needed.
Fu Qingxuan's tone chilled. "And what if neither of them ever replies?"
The elders were struck dumb. Complete silence fell over the conference room.
Just as they braced themselves for the Grand Marshal's wrath, they suddenly heard Fu Qingxuan say:
"I'm taking a call!"
The Grand Marshal's avatar exited the conference room.
The elders still did not dare to speak, their moods exceptionally heavy.
Elder Dog's sigh echoed through the speakers.
Then Fu Qingxuan came back online, speaking in a noticeably lighter tone:
"The five of you, immediately mobilize the Deacons of the Songhai Branch and head to Jinshan City. Prepare to maintain order."
The elders were momentarily stunned before piecing it together. Elder Dog said delightedly, "Did the Taiyi Sect Master agree to help?"
The other elders shared the same thought.
Fu Qingxuan said impassively, "Yuanshi Tianzun says he has a way to find Fu Qingyang."
*Yuanshi Tianzun?!*
The elders froze in disbelief.
***
Fu Qingyang was an exceptionally cautious man. Even in his own residence, he left behind very few traces.
Hair on the pillows, toothbrushes in the bathroom, stray cells that might cling to clothing—all were meticulously cleaned.
The bunny girls had undergone rigorous training and attended to these details with absolute diligence.
Shed hairs were incinerated. Worn clothes and undergarments were disinfected and sterilized before washing, leaving not a trace of biological tissue behind.
Young Master Qian was clearly not a youth troubled by hemorrhoids, so there was no DNA to be found in the toilet, nor was he a craftsman of self-gratification, so the trash cans contained none of the Fu family's wasted progeny.
In the end, Zhang Yuanqing found a half-empty glass of wine on the desk in his bedroom.
From the rim of the glass, he retrieved Young Master Qian's oral epithelial cells.
Using a tissue, he carefully wiped the rim to collect the tissue, then walked out of the villa and waited by the fountain in the courtyard.
Before long, a streak of vast white sword light appeared on the horizon.
He had barely caught sight of the sword light before it descended into the courtyard before he could even react.
The sword light dispersed, revealing a young woman clad in tailored riding breeches and knee-high leather boots standing gracefully in the courtyard.
This was a woman who could not be described by words like "beautiful" or "pretty."
Those words were meant for mortal beauties.
The Grand Marshal was no mortal woman; she looked like a heroine who had stepped straight out of the 2D realm.
A mane of fluffy white hair, eyelashes that were entirely white, and a pair of crystal-clear, light-green heterochromatic eyes. Her eyes were massive, slightly upturned at the corners, radiating formidable spirit.
Her breathtakingly gorgeous face was completely devoid of blemishes—human skin could never be so perfect.
White hair, heterochromatic eyes, huge expressive eyes, an impeccably stunning countenance, and a superlative figure... Any otaku who saw her would go mad.
*A top-grade figure—no, a living anime figure...* Zhang Yuanqing thought from the bottom of his heart.
The white-haired Grand Marshal suddenly knit her brows and said coldly:
"The way you're looking at me is just like how I looked at dolls I liked when I was little."
Zhang Yuanqing promptly dropped his head in bow:
"Yuanshi Tianzun greets the Grand Marshal! May the Grand Marshal live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
Fu Qingxuan's brow relaxed, overlooking Yuanshi Tianzun's minor insolence. "You can help me locate Fu Qingyang?"
Zhang Yuanqing kept his eyes lowered, avoiding her gaze. "Please take me to Jinshan City, Grand Marshal."
"Alright!"
Fu Qingxuan nodded slightly. Without wasting a moment, she took out her phone, tapped on it for a few seconds, and then pressed her hand against Zhang Yuanqing's shoulder.
Zhang Yuanqing heard an electronic female voice from her phone:
"Preparing to depart. Total distance: sixty kilometers. Estimated time..."
*Navigation? Why did she turn on GPS navigation?* A string of question marks flashed through Zhang Yuanqing's mind.
The next second, a tremendous sonic boom erupted in his ears. The headwind felt like steel blades scraping across his body, and the city below retreated at blinding speed.
Beside the howling wind, the navigation app's "panicked" voice shrieked in his ear:
"You are speeding. Please slow down. You are speeding. Please slow down..."
***
The vast white sword light landed on the rooftop of a skyscraper in Jinshan City.
Zhang Yuanqing's first thought was: *Having both feet on solid ground is the greatest bliss in the world.* His second thought was to touch his forehead, only to discover that his hairline had receded by several centimeters.
The blade-like gale had indeed torn away a portion of his fine hair.
Fu Qingxuan looked down upon the modest city, her tone commanding and cold:
"Find him!"
Her detachment was not directed at any single person; it seemed innate to her being.
She was born an exalted empress, naturally maintaining a distinct distance from her subjects.
*Being around her is way too stressful. The Demon Lord really was something else, wanting to sleep with a domineering woman like this... Keep your head down, keep your head down, don't let her notice...* Zhang Yuanqing kept his head bowed and summoned the Red Dancing Shoes from his inventory. Two faint streaks of dark red light intertwined, coalescing into a pristine pair of dancing shoes.
*Tap, tap, tap...*
The moment the Red Dancing Shoes appeared, they took cheerful steps, preparing to twirl around their master. But they suddenly froze, abandoned their master, and hurried over to the Grand Marshal. The left shoe stepped back, heel tilted slightly up.
They performed an elegant curtsy.
The Grand Marshal raised an eyebrow. "A rule-based item of the Void class. No wonder you dared to talk so big."
Zhang Yuanqing tucked the tissue he held tightly into the Red Dancing Shoes.
The shoes remained still, seemingly reading the DNA from the tissue. After three or four seconds, they suddenly sprang into motion, clattering across the rooftop before dashing straight down the sheer wall.
Fu Qingxuan stood motionless on the rooftop, her gaze tracking them as they wove through streets, alleys, and high-rise buildings.
Finally, the Red Dancing Shoes came to a halt far in the distance.
It was a traffic intersection.
The shoes spun in frantic circles at the crossroads, occasionally kicking out with both feet to strike violently at the void, sending ripples through space that were invisible to mortal eyes.
They had found Fu Qingyang, but they couldn't get in.
Pedestrians and vehicles passing along the street paid no heed to the shoes leaping about.
"So that's where it is..."
Fu Qingxuan leaped into the air, transforming into a streak of vast white sword light that shot toward the distant intersection.
*Holy shit, this woman is just charging straight over? Without even casting an illusion? Do you want to end up on the news?!* Zhang Yuanqing was appalled. He quickly brought out the Gale Gloves and harnessed the wind to chase after her.
He was now a Level 6 Saint; he could cast large-scale Star Illusions.
Chapter 514