Stranger Danger

"Let's be patient," said Feng Qingyou while enjoying a sip of wine.

Ye Qing asked, "You think that a fight would break out after all?"

Feng Qingyou did not answer him directly. Instead, she responded to his question with a question of her own, "What do you think of Wei Duanliu, Joyless?"

Seeing that Feng Qingyou wasn't worried, Ye Qing calmed down and replied, "Wei Duanliu?" Well, I think he's an admirable character."

Feng Qingyou asked another question, "Do you think he's a smart man then?"

"He undoubtedly is." Ye Qing nodded. The guy might act like a simple-minded, barbaric brute, but he definitely carried an intelligent, meticulous brain inside his skull. This was proven by the fact that he had neutralized all of Xuan Youxuan's threats and the verbal assaults of his followers in just a few sentences. Frankly, he had utterly dominated this verbal spar and gave Xuan Youxuan no room to fight back despite how annoyed the city lord clearly was.

In fact, the best way to deal with a two-faced, exploitative wolf in sheep clothing like Xuan Youxuan was to hit him with aggression, overbearance, and rudeness; to tear apart and crush whatever conspiracies he threw up in an attempt to gain an advantage. One effective punch saves one a hundred ineffective punches. The idiom described this situation perfectly.

Wei Duanliu was qualified to pull off this strategy as well. For one, he had strong backing. He was the deputy lord of Floating Light Celestial Island after all. And two, he was an extremely powerful warrior in his own right. He was the number one warrior below the Sage-stage.

If he was lacking in either area, then Xuan Youxuan would have just slapped him out of orbit already. He would not have bothered to waste his breath on him.

In conclusion, Wei Duanliu was a smart man. At the very least, he was not as reckless or brainless as he appeared to be.

It made sense. A brainless, reckless fool could not hope to become the deputy lord of the Floating Light Celestial Island. He could not have been entrusted to manage one of their most important lands, the Floating Light Celestial Islet.

The truly foolish ones were those who believed that Wei Duanliu was stupid and reckless.

Feng Qingyou said smilingly, "Since you believe that Wei Duanliu is an intelligent man, do you think it makes sense for him to start such a ruckus without confirming that Yuan Budong is in the City of No Return, and without having a solution that will suss out Yuan Budong for sure?"

"Ah! You're saying that Wei Duanliu has other countermeasures!" Ye Qing immediately understood Feng Qingyou's meaning.

The woman gave him a wordless smile, and that in itself was a tacit admission.

As if on cue, two powerful auras suddenly erupted from inside the Residence of Gods.

One aura was chasing, and the other was running away.

"Don't you dare run away, Yuan Budong!"

An angry shout came from somewhere.

Everyone in the Residence of Gods blanched when they heard this.

Xuan Youxuan's expression turned dark, and Wei Duanliu's grew delighted.

"Hahaha! I knew you're here, Yuan Budong!"

Wei Duanliu let out a bark of laughter and raised his hands to stop the escaping man.

However, his consciousness cut off for an instant when he moved. Although he recovered immediately, that was enough for the man to slip through his grasp and disappear.

"I knew the two of you are in cahoots, Xuan Youxuan."

Wei Duanliu wasn't angry though. He simply shot Xuan Youxuan a smile that didn't reach the eye.

Xuan Youxuan felt his heart sinking.

He was the one who secretly stopped Wei Duanliu, of course. If Yuan Budong escaped, then Wei Duanliu and his group wouldn't have any evidence. And without evidence, they could not make the accusation stick no matter what.

It would seem that he had underestimated Wei Duanliu though. The man did not look like he was out of cards to play.

As expected, a loud explosion suddenly boomed from somewhere and shook the entire City of No Return.

A silhouette was pushed back to the city. He scattered many a phenomenon in the sky before he caught himself.

At the same time, two people appeared in the sky.

They were a man and a woman. The man wore white and boasted a refined appearance. The woman looked as sweet and comely as a flower.

The duo firmly locked onto the silhouette with their energies, giving him no path to escape.

"Fang Qionghua (Flower)... Wu Shengshui (Water)..."

"I'm glad you still remember us, senior brother Yuan!"

The woman, Fang Qionghua, beamed like a hundred blooming flowers.

"Hmph! To think that the Floating Light Celestial Island would dispatch three deputy lords to kill me. It is my honor!" The silhouette in the sky said sarcastically.

He was Yuan Budong, of course.

"Your infamy precedes you even sixty years later, senior brother Yuan. We would be remiss to treat you lightly."

The white-robed man, Wu Shengshui, replied. He was the Water Deputy Lord of the Floating Light Celestial Island and the overseer of the Heavenly Water Celestial Islet. He was equal to Wei Duanliu in terms of status.

Wu Shengshui wasn't famed for being rash and impulsive like Wei Duanliu though. No, he was famed for being calm and wise.

Prior to coming to the City of No Return, they already guessed that the city lord would try and dupe them with a fake. That was why they had split into three groups. Wei Duanliu was the distraction. He would barge into the City of No Return, start a riot, and draw as much attention to him as possible. As for him, his role was infiltrating the City of No Return and sussing out Yuan Budong. Finally, Fang Qionghua—the Flower Deputy Lord and overseer of the Blossom Garden Celestial Islet—plays the role of a support. Her main responsibility was to keep Yuan Budong from escaping.

So far, things unfolded exactly as Wu Shengshui had predicted. They were able to locate Yuan Budong and prevent him from escaping.

As for why they were so certain that Yuan Budong was still alive, and that he was hiding in the City of No Return, it wasn't just because Yu Hongluan was a trustworthy source. It was also thanks to a secret art.

The forbidden martial art that had warped Yuan Budong into a monster and caused him to betray the Floating Light Celestial Island was called the "Blood Massacre Nether King Scripture".

Legend had it that the founder of the Floating Light Celestial Island once stumbled upon a celestial's abode and obtained two martial art manuals. One of them was called the "Floating Light Immovable Wisdom King Art", and the other the "Blood Massacre Nether King Scripture". The former was honest and dignified, whereas the latter was bloody and vicious.

The founder of the Floating Light Celestial Island was an astounding genius of his time. He was able to master both martial arts, conquer their flaws, and eventually create the Floating Light Celestial Island.

Unfortunately, no one was able to practice both martial arts again after the founder had passed away. It wasn't that it was difficult to practice them at the same time, but because anyone who practiced the "Blood Massacre Nether King Scripture" gradually turned bloodthirsty, brutal, evil and ruthless. In the end, they would fall completely into the Dark Ways and turn into a hopeless monster.

That was why the Floating Light Celestial Island later labeled the "Blood Massacre Nether King Scripture" as a taboo martial art and forbade any disciple from practicing it.

That said, the "Blood Massacre Nether King Scripture" was passed down by the founder, and the Floating Light Celestial Island hoped that someone would be able to master both martial arts one day and resurrect their past glory. That was why they hadn't destroyed it despite forbidding their disciples from practicing it.

Just in case someone didn't listen, the third island lord of the Floating Light Celestial Island invented a secret art that would allow the practitioner to sense the "Blood Massacre Nether King Scripture"'s Blood Massacre True Astral and Nether King True Intent. If someone practiced the "Blood Massacre Nether King Scripture", then the practitioner of this secret art would find out and lock onto their location.

Of course, this secret art wasn't perfect. It could only work within a certain range, and the conditions one must meet to grasp it were extremely stringent. That was why only a handful of people were able to practice it, and only a handful of people were made aware of it. Not even the former Holy Son, Yuan Budong, knew about its existence.

Wu Shengshui happened to be one of the handful of people who was able to grasp this secret art. It had happened by coincidence and a stroke of luck too. In any case, Wu Shengshui executed the secret art and discovered that he was able to sense the Blood Massacre True Astral and the Nether King True Intent, and the only person who practiced the martial art in recent years was Yuan Budong.

This proved that Yuan Budong was still alive. He could confirm that the man was hiding in the City of No Return as well.