On an uninhabited island, four figures sat in a circle, each seated upon an imperial chair. The strength of these four was terrifying; their average power was infinitely close to that of an immortal.
After quietly listening to the accounts of the Immortal Fairy, Ao Ling, and Lu Yang, Yun Zhi summarized calmly, "So, the Four Ancient Celestials originally intended to resurrect Senior Fairy, but through some bizarre twist of fate, somehow ended up producing a Senior Fairy who possesses the Extinction Dao fruit?"
"And there is a very high probability that this person is the immortal deliberately concealing information about the Xinhuo Dynasty?"
Yun Zhi wore a peculiar expression. Back then, her little junior brother had promised so nicely that he would never get involved in matters concerning the Xinhuo Dynasty. Barely a month had passed, and how had he already found the immortal hiding information about the Xinhuo Dynasty?
"Girl Yun, you really can't blame me for this. The dense fog suddenly swallowed us up. This immortal had no idea the dragon-pattern bracelet that was picked up back then was the key to opening the dragon pearl, either. I just saw that it was Xiao Ling's belonging, so I had the Second-in-Command pick it up." The Immortal Fairy stood up for Lu Yang, not saying a single word about how she and Lu Yang had crept out in the dead of night to investigate the immortal battlefield ruins a second time.
Yun Zhi was not the least bit surprised by the Immortal Fairy's response. "Who taught you to say that?"
"The Second-in-Command."
Yun Zhi shot a cool glance at Lu Yang and said nothing.
Lu Yang felt he really could not collude with the Immortal Fairy on testimonies anymore; she gave him away far too easily.
Sitting silently to the side, Ao Ling looked at Elder Sister Immortal on her left, then glanced at Yun Zhi on her right, letting out a soft hum of curiosity.
"Strange. Why do you two feel somewhat alike?"
Lu Yang felt Senior Ao Ling must have poor eyesight. Although the Immortal Fairy and Eldest Senior Sister were each peerless beauties with their own charms, one was foolish and silly while the other was brilliantly clever. Where on earth could anyone see a resemblance between them?
"It's not about looks. Aiyah, I can't put my finger on it, but I just feel you two are somewhat alike." Ao Ling did not know how to explain it either.
Yun Zhi said placidly, "Perhaps Senior Ao Ling is mistaken. There is no similarity between Senior Fairy and me."
"Really?" Ao Ling always felt her intuition was correct.
"It is an illusion."
"All right then."
The four returned to the main topic.
"According to Gray Doudou's modus operandi, anyone who knows about her falls within her hunting scope," Lu Yang pondered.
"Hold on, hold on! Why call her Gray Doudou!" The Immortal Fairy was thoroughly dissatisfied with Lu Yang's naming.
Eldest Senior Sister also felt the name lacked majesty; it didn't sound like the name of an expert.
"Then what should we call her? Extinction Immortal?" Lu Yang felt put on the spot. They needed a code name, or how else could they discuss her?
"No way, no way! How could she have such an overbearing name?" The Immortal Fairy objected again, feeling that the honorific "Extinction Immortal" overshadowed that of "Immortal Fairy."
Lu Yang turned to Ao Ling. "Senior, did Gray Doudou have a name during the Xinhuo Dynasty?"
Ao Ling said earnestly, "During the Xinhuo Dynasty, she was the Master of the Heavenly Court and had no name. However, looking at her purpose, since her existence was meant to resurrect Elder Sister Immortal, calling her Huang Doudou would work too."
"Then Gray Doudou it is!" The Immortal Fairy hastily sealed the matter.
Eldest Senior Sister fell into thought. "In that case, I have also become her hunting target."
Lu Yang analyzed earnestly. It seemed all four people present were in danger. Wait, that wasn't right! Eldest Senior Sister could beat Gray Doudou, the Immortal Fairy could revive, and Senior Ao Ling had the dragon-pattern bracelet to block an attack—didn't that mean he was the one in the greatest danger?!
Lu Yang prayed that Gray Doudou's personality was just like the Immortal Fairy's, loving to challenge the strong, rather than being like him, preferring only to fight those weaker than himself.
"Senior Ao Ling, if you trust me, you might as well give me the dragon-pattern bracelet. I know someone who can re-infuse energy into it."
"Here." Ao Ling naturally trusted Yun Zhi.
Yun Zhi put away the bracelet.
"Speaking of which, I never knew, and Husband never mentioned it to me either—Elder Sister Immortal, it turns out you belong to the Jiaoren Clan," Ao Ling smiled, watching the half-fish, half-human Immortal Fairy sprawled across the imperial chair.
From the beginning of the East Sea trip to the end, the Immortal Fairy had remained in mermaid form.
Lu Yang: "..."
*Fairy, why don't you change back, and while you're at it, drain the seawater from my head too?*
Originally, Daoist Lord Hanhai could have taken everyone directly back to the Dao Seeking Sect. However, considering Lu Yang and the others only had a record of leaving Great Xia and no record of returning, which would be difficult to explain, he dropped Lu Yang's group off to register.
Both Yun Zhi and Daoist Lord Hanhai had teleported back via the Space Dao fruit and had no departure records to begin with, so naturally they did not need to go through entry procedures.
As for Ao Ling, her identity was special, and it was inconvenient for her to appear before the public.
After the five of them completed the procedures, Daoist Lord Hanhai crossed the border and opened a spatial tunnel, the other end leading straight to the Dao Seeking Sect.
"A lot has happened in the East Sea. Junior Brother Dai oversees intelligence affairs and likely doesn't know about it yet. You five experienced it firsthand, so go give Junior Brother Dai an update," Eldest Senior Sister instructed.
"Understood!"
Eldest Senior Sister invited Ao Ling to Tianmen Peak to sit and talk, while Lu Yang and the others eagerly headed straight for the Mission Hall. Having visited frequently, they easily found Senior Brother Dai's room.
"Senior Brother Dai, are you in?" Lu Yang knocked gently on the door.
"Come in."
Seeing all five of them arrive, Dai Bufan smiled. "Didn't you go with Old Horse to have fun in the East Sea? Back so soon? Did Patriarch Hanhai bring you back?"
Dai Bufan had heard Lu Yang was kidnapped by the dragon pearl and that Patriarch Hanhai had gone to the East Sea to search for him.
Lu Yang nodded; it was indeed Daoist Lord Hanhai who brought them back.
Noticing Lu Yang hesitating as if holding something back, Dai Bufan teased, "Could it be that you ran into something in the East Sea that you want to tell me?"
"Yes." Lu Yang organized his words, trying to make the intelligence as digestible as possible for Senior Brother Dai. From past experience, although Senior Brother Dai possessed profound cultivation, his Dao heart was brittle and prone to getting startled.
"Senior Brother Dai, here's the thing. Originally, we just wanted to go have fun in the East Sea, and we experienced plenty of local East Sea specialties, like brawls and fights. But don't worry, we used our Five Elements Sect identities at the time, absolutely never smearing our sect's reputation."
Lu Yang scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat sheepish. "Later on, there was a little mishap. I accidentally awakened the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor, Ao Ling. Senior Ao Ling even insisted on calling me Senior Brother, which led to Patriarch Hanhai calling me senior too."
"Penglai Island's Daoist Sanshan wanted to possess the Old Dragon Emperor, but thankfully Senior Ao Ling stopped him. Then Lord Shanhe of Great Qian popped up out of nowhere. Senior Ao Ling took on both of them at once and gave them a thorough thrashing."
"Then out of nowhere an immortal appeared and tried to attack Senior Ao Ling. In the end, she failed to kill Senior Ao Ling, but instead killed Daoist Sanshan and Lord Shanhe."
"Seeing that nobody could defeat this immortal, Eldest Senior Sister stepped in to help and engaged in a great battle with her."
Lu Yang sighed. "It's just that she didn't catch that immortal—she only severely injured her, and she managed to get away. Such a pity."
Dai Bufan burst out laughing upon hearing this. "Junior Brother Lu, you sure know how to joke! What a vivid imagination."
"Senior Brother Dai, if you don't believe me, Senior Ao Ling is right here in our sect, drinking tea with Eldest Senior Sister. She can vouch for everything I said."
Senior Brother Dai wore a smile, his eyes hollow, looking as if his expression had frozen in that exact moment.
"Senior Brother Dai? Senior Brother Dai?" Lu Yang called twice without receiving an answer. Curious, he waved his hand in front of Dai Bufan's eyes.
Still no reaction.
Lu Yang gingerly tapped Dai Bufan's shoulder. Dai Bufan's upper body swayed twice before slamming face-first onto the desk with a loud *thud*, scaring Lu Yang half to death.
Lu Yang hissed, drawing in a sharp breath. He felt he had spoken subtly enough—how was Senior Brother Dai's reaction still this extreme?
Chapter 878