Chapter 398: Time Running Out
Meanwhile
There were around a dozen figures standing in mid-air above a certain area in the Black Wind Sea.
All of them were dressed in black robes, they were members of the Dawn Fall Sect.
They were led by none other than the zombie-like Feng Tiandu and the master of the Dawn Fall Sect.
Aside from those two, three of the other Dawn Fall Sect cultivators present were also Golden Immortals.
One of them was extremely tall and rotund, resembling a mountain of flesh from afar.
The other two had much more normal figures, but the coloration of their skin was very peculiar.
One of them had skin that was as black as ink, and in dim light, it would've been difficult to even discern his facial features from one another. In contrast, the other man was as pale as a sheet, and even his hair and eyebrows were completely white and devoid of color.
As for the rest of the Dawn Fall Sect cultivators, all of them were at the mid or late-True Immortal Stage.
The portly Golden Immortal turned to Feng Tiandu and the Dawn Fall Sect Master as he reported, "According to our search, not only have the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace cultivators disappeared from Black Wind Island, Island Master Lu Jun and several of his most important subordinates have also gone missing.
“After performing a soul search technique on one of the administrators, I learned that they had suddenly disappeared several days ago."
"It's just as you say, Senior Martial Brother. Xiao Jinhan has most likely somehow concealed the entrance of the immortal manor," the Dawn Fall Sect Master said with a grim expression.
"Looks like we were too careless. This emergence of the immortal palace is more significant than previous ones, so I should've predicted that Xiao Jinhan would take some measures to prevent others from getting in," Feng Tiandu sighed.
"I also discovered that aside from our Dawn Fall Sect, there are several other powers that are also searching for the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace cultivators," the portly Golden Immortal continued.
"Oh? How many are there?" Feng Tiandu asked.
"Around two or three, but all of them are very alert, so I didn't dare to get too close, and I wasn't able to find out too much. However, I'm certain that I spotted Western Extreme Palace Master Cui Can of the Vast Flow Palace's Five Extreme Palaces among them," the rotund Golden Immortal replied.
"Seeing as we were able to determine that the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace had to have concealed the entrance of the immortal manor, the other powers must've been able to arrive at the same conclusion as well," Feng Tiandu said.
"How could Xiao Jinhan do something so deplorable? He's trying to keep everyone out of the immortal manor! What do we do now, Senior Martial Brother?" the Dawn Fall Sect Master asked as he turned to Feng Tiandu with tightly furrowed brows.
"There's still some time left until the immortal manor emerges, and we have to find the entrance before then no matter what. Otherwise, if Xiao Jinhan obtains what he's searching for, then our Dawn Fall Sect will be at risk for suffering the same fate as the Blaze Dragon Dao," Feng Tiandu said in a cold voice.
……
In Black Wind City.
In a room in an inn at the center of the city sat a man and a woman.
They were none other than Daoist Hu Yan and Yun Ni in disguise, and there was a lavish feast laid out before them, but neither of them showed any interest in it, and both appeared quite agitated.
"I didn't think Xiao Jinhan would have a trick like this up his sleeve. We don't have much time left, Hu Yan. What should we do?" Yun Ni asked with a hint of anxiety in her voice.
"It looks like continuing to wait in Black Wind City isn't going to do us any good, so let's go search elsewhere. In any case, we have to find the entrance of the immortal manor no matter what!" Daoist Hu Yan said with a determined expression.
"But we're only two people, and the Black Wind Sea is so vast. How are we supposed to find the entrance on our own? Should we call upon Li Feiyu to help us? It most likely won't make a difference, but I suppose we can always give that a try as a last resort," Yun Ni proposed.
"There's no need for that. This region isn't very safe at the moment, so we should avoid contact with others as much as possible. As for how we're going to find the entrance, I have some ideas," Daoist Hu Yan said as he rose to his feet, then made his way out of the room.
Yun Ni knew that once Daoist Hu Yan made up his mind, there was no dissuading him, so she could only heave a faint sigh before following him out of the room.
……
On a rather desolate-looking island elsewhere in the Black Wind Sea, a group of white-robed cultivators were gathered.
The group consisted of around a dozen people, all of whom were standing in small groups of two or three in silence.
Judging from the way that they were arranged, their leader appeared to be a square-faced elderly man standing at the center of the group, and his aura indicated that he was a Golden Immortal, while everyone else around him were True Immortals.
At this moment, all of them were looking around with anticipation in their eyes, seemingly waiting for someone or something.
Some time later, a streak of silver light appeared on the distant horizon, and it was traveling at a rapid speed, arriving near the island in the blink of an eye.
The streak of silver light contained a silver-robed woman, and the square-faced elderly man immediately approached her with a fawning smile on his face as he greeted, "Welcome, Fellow Daoist Qu."
A faint smile appeared on the silver-robed woman's face as she asked, "Have you made any discoveries?"
"Not at the moment, but even though our Xue Clan moved out of the Black Wind Sea many years ago, we still have many contacts here, and I've already sent out people to get in touch with these contacts while also helping out in the search, so I'm sure we'll find something soon," the square-faced elderly man replied.
The silver-robed woman's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and she said, "There's not much time left before the emergence of the immortal manor, so we have to do everything in our power to find the entrance. Otherwise, all of us will have come here for nought."
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Qu, we're doing everything in our power," the square-faced elderly man immediately replied.
The silver-robed woman nodded in response, then spoke to the elderly man for a while longer before flying away as a streak of silver light.
A long-faced man swept a sleeve through the air to conjure up a white light barrier around everyone, then approached the square-faced elderly man as he said, "Esteemed patriarch, that woman's cultivation base is far superior to ours, and she claims that she wants to work with our Xue Clan to venture into the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor together, but is she really being earnest and forthcoming with us?
“She tries to hide her malice behind that smile of hers, but I can tell she's not a kind person."
"I'm sure she won't turn on us. Her cultivation base is indeed far superior to ours, but she's on her own, while all of the other powers that have come to the Black Wind Sea have superior numbers on their side, so it makes sense that she would want to secure some allies," the square-faced elderly man replied.
The long-faced man didn't say anything, but the concern on his face didn't diminish at all.
"Rest assured, with the Snow Silkworm Array from the 10 of you and myself, we'll be able to ensure at least self-preservation. Even if she wants to use us, it's not like she can interfere with what we do once we enter the immortal manor," the square-faced elderly man said with a faint smile, seemingly quite pleased with himself.
The long-faced man's expression eased slightly upon hearing this, and he smiled as he said, "You're right, esteemed patriarch. It seems I was just excessively cautious."
Meanwhile, the silver-robed woman was racing over the sea, and there was a longhorn beetle perched on her shoulder. Its body was a pristine white color, as if it had been carved out of jade, and at this moment, the voice of the square-faced elderly man was coming out of its mouth.
"... it's not like she can interfere with what we do once we enter the immortal manor..."
"Pathetic little bugs," the silver-robed woman scoffed to herself with a cold sneer. "I suppose I'll spare you for now, seeing as you're still useful to me."
The silver-robed woman stowed the white longhorn beetle away, then began making a string of hand seals, and a cloud of white mist flew out of her sleeve.
The mist then quickly dispersed in all directions, revealing itself to be a swarm of tiny semi-transparent white insects.
A Core Formation Stage eel demon beast was swimming through the sea when it came into contact with a few of these white insects, and the insects immediately vanished into its body like water droplets into cotton, but the eel demon beast remained completely oblivious as it continued to swim through the water.
Similar scenes were unfolding across the entire nearby area at the moment, with these white insects entering the bodies of all types of marine demon beasts and even ordinary fish as they spread far and wide at a rapid speed.
……
Meanwhile, a group of around a dozen cultivators were seated in a circular formation on a calm area of the sea.
There were three bald men hovering in front of the group, all three of whom were at the Golden Immortal Stage, while the others were all True Immortals.
Each of these cultivators had a small blue flag hovering in front of them, with countless runes visible on each flag.
All of the flags were giving off water law fluctuations, indicating that they were immortal treasures, and they appeared to be part of the same set.
These cultivators were collectively chanting an incantation while making a constant string of hand seals, and dazzling blue light was radiating from the flags before coming together to form an enormous blue light barrier that resembled a huge mirror.
Each of the three bald Golden Immortals had a palm outstretched, sending a pillar of blue light surging into the giant mirror, and all of a sudden, the mirror shattered into several dozen smaller mirrors amid an audibel crack.
Each mirror depicted a different setting, varying from under the sea, or in the sky, or on an island.
Different images were constantly flashing over these mirrors, and all of the cultivators present were scrutinizing the mirrors intently to see what was happening in all of those places.
……
All of the major powers that had come to the Black Wind Sea were naturally feeling extremely agitated by their inability to track down the immortal manor's location, and all of them were searching frantically.
Initially, they tried to cover their tracks as much as possible, but as time passed and they became more desperate, they gradually began to throw caution to the wind, not bothering to keep their search secretive any longer.
With so many formidable foreign cultivators suddenly appearing in the Black Wind Sea, all of the local powers were left feeling quite uneasy, and more and more islands were going into lockdown.
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