Stranger Danger

As the tip of the brush descended, the Earth Spirit Book shook soundlessly, and a great yet formless power washed out to the surroundings.

A mad gale suddenly started blowing in the sky, the mountains and rivers quaked unsteadily, and the earth shook like an earthquake.

The many "unknowns" on the Earth Spirit Book abruptly squirmed like living objects. They slowly formed the sentence: "Ye Qing is currently at Wei."

Triumph colored the trio's expression, but before they could even relish in their victory, the Earth Spirit Book suddenly caught on fire, and the brush in Yue Hanhai's hand crumbled into nothing.

"Pwack! Dammit!"

It was impossible to say if it was the result of pure outrage or the backlash from the destruction of the Earth Spirit Book. In any case, Yue Hanhai spat out a mouthful of blood and roared at the top of his lungs.

"Ye Qing must possess an item that shrouds his threads of fate. He must bear incredible karma as well. The Compass shows that he is west, but it cannot show his exact location."

Xuanyuan Wang was holding an ancient luopan, but the indicators on it were different from normal. Instead of the Eight Trigrams, the Five Phases, or the four cardinal directions, it showed mountains, rivers, and the four realms instead. At the center of the luopan was a ladle pointing toward the west.

The luopan's name was Compass. Just like the Earth Spirit Book, it was a Strange Artifact used to search or track down someone. All it needed was the target's name to pinpoint their location. However, just like the Earth Spirit Book, the Compass could only show a rough direction. It could not narrow things down any further than "west".

"I am unable to divine his location either," said Haotian Hong with a gloomy expression. An expert in heavenly divination, he could theoretically use the rivers of fate to divine any living being in the world. And yet, all he could divine at the moment was pure chaos.

"The Earth Spirit Book says that he is at Wei, and the Compass says that he is westward. This proves that Ye Qing is in Wei right now."

Xuanyuan Wang declared eagerly, "Let us head to Wei right now."

"We might as well." Xuanyuan Wang and Haotian Hong nodded in agreement.

"Heh..."

It was at this moment Emperor Jing Run let out a disdainful snort.

Haotian Hong shot him a look of displeasure. "What are you on about now?"

"Has old age rotted your brains or something? You seriously thought they would still be there by the time you make it to Wei?"

Emperor Jing Run sneered. "I'm calling it now. You will find nothing if you actually travel to Wei."

"What is your suggestion then?" Xuanyuan Wang asked.

"Heh..." Emperor Jing Run snorted again and said nothing.

Xuanyuan Wang endured the anger bubbling inside his heart and said, "We are all on the same boat. Finding the Earthly Sovereign Bell benefits you and us, so there is no reason for you to withhold useful ideas or information from us."

Emperor Jing Run let out a grunt but finally relented. "You'll never find them or capture them if you keep trailing behind them like a bull that is being led by the reins."

"The only way you might turn this situation around is to seize the initiative from them!"

Haotian Hong asked, "And how might we do that?"

"It's simple. Instead of going after them, you should make them come to you instead."

Emperor Jing Run said coldly, "Ye Qing is a compassionate, principled man. We simply need to capture his friends and threaten him with their lives. He will naturally show himself then."

"That's a little—" Haotian Hong subconsciously began.

He was going to say that such an action was "despicable" and "shameless", of course.

"Hahaha! I'm just offering you a suggestion. It is up to you whether to use it or not."

Emperor Jing Run sneered. "This is just a reminder, but anything we can think of, I'm sure Ye Qing and his companion would have considered as well. If you're too slow, then you might not even have this option."

"A man who achieves great things doesn't sweat the small stuff. The fate of humanity hangs on the Earthly Sovereign Bell. We cannot allow it to fall into another's hands."

Yue Hanhai said immediately, "I agree with his plan."

Xuanyuan Wang fell silent for a moment before agreeing, "The lives of the people are more important. If we must break our principles to defend them, then so be it."

"Very well."

Haotian Hong did not argue against his compatriots. In fact, his earlier response was just an instinctive reaction. In fact, he agreed strongly with Emperor Jing Run's idea.

"Heh..." Emperor Jing Run sneered again. These bastards could have just said that they wanted Earthly Sovereign Bell. What lives of the people? What fate of humanity? They were like whores wanting a monument put up to their chasity!

"Ye Qing has several good friends or benefactors. They are Yi Pin, Fang Xiaoman, Gu Suitang, Chu Nianjiu, and Lin Yuhuai. Yi Pin is at Bei You, and Bei You is Ye Qing's old base. I do not know where the others are right now."

As disdainful as he was, Emperor Jing Run still told them everything he knew. "If the plan really is to take his friends hostage, then I would suggest that you head to Bei You and capture that old Taoist named Yi Pin."

"Also, my investigations revealed that Ye Qing is very close with a mysterious woman. She had helped him to frame the geniuses of Chu. I am almost certain that she is the one accompanying Ye Qing this time."

Although Haotian Hong, Xuanyuan Wang and Yue Hanhai were the ones who directly ruined his plan, the true mastermind was Ye Qing. Looking at the situation objectively, they were all victims. That was why Emperor Jing Run told them everything that might be useful to them.

He hated Ye Qing more than he hated the three Sages who ruined his plan, and he wanted revenge. He didn't want to stop with Ye Qing either. He was going to kill everyone related to him no matter the cost. To that end, he could even temporarily cooperate with Haotian Hong, Xuanyuan Wang and Yue Hanhai.

Yue Hanhai asked urgently, "What is that woman's name? Where did she come from?"

"I only know that her surname is Feng. Neither her background nor her full name are known to me. She is very mysterious."

Emperor Jing Run answered, "I have a portrait of her, but I do not know if it's her true appearance."

In fact, he originally wanted to capture this woman to threaten Ye Qing. After all, Ye Qing was clearly closer to her than the likes of Fang Xiaoman. Unfortunately, his men failed to obtain any useful information despite looking into her for a very long time. That was how he knew that she was more than what she seemed.

However, just because he failed did not mean that the three sect heads would. What if they actually found something?

"It definitely sounds like she is Ye Qing's accomplice," Yue Hanhai uttered through gritted teeth.

Xuanyuan Wang hummed thoughtfully. "There is no time to waste. Brother Yue, I want you to head to Bei You and capture that Taoist named Yi Pin."

"I will accompany Brother Haotian to Wei and continue tracking Ye Qing. With luck, we might be able to discover his hiding spot."

Yue Hanhai and Haotian Hong nodded in agreement.

Xuanyuan Wang then looked at Emperor Jing Run. "We just fought a great battle, and I'm sure that we still resent each other. However, the reason we fought in the first place is because we were set up by a villain. Our highest priority right now is to find Ye Qing and take back the Earthly Sovereign Bell and the Heavens' Eye. That is why I hope you will lend us a hand, Your Holiness."

Although the Clear Sky Palace, Earthly Sovereign Hall and Human Sovereign Mountain were as powerful as they were ancient, their manpower still could not compare to Emperor Jing Run's, who was the regent of a nation. If Emperor Jing Run was willing to cooperate with them, then their task would be much easier than otherwise.

"I can cooperate with you, but do not forget what you promised me."

Emperor Jing Run did not care that the trio's attack against him was a setup. The fact that they attacked him at all had put them squarely in his book of vengeance. That said, Xuanyuan Wang was right about one thing. The highest priority right now was finding Ye Qing and retrieving the Earthly Sovereign Bell and the Heavens' Eye. "I have one more request. You must surrender Ye Qing to me after you capture him. I want his friends, acquaintances, anyone else who is related to him as well."

"You have a deal."

The three sect heads exchanged glances with each other before agreeing to Emperor Jing Run's suggestion. They only wanted the Earthly Sovereign Bell anyway, not to mention that handing off the hostages to Emperor Jing Run would save them a lot of trouble.

Emperor Jing Run barked out a laugh. "Hahaha... a pleasure to work with you all."

His eyes were brimming with madness and murder.