Having said this, she gave Peng Bai a meaningful look. He immediately pressed his hand on Madam Xu’s shoulder and said, “Young Miss is resourceful and has her plans. Let’s quickly leave the island, so she won’t have to worry about us.” As he said this, he sighed inwardly. His mission, entrusted by the Queen of An Xia, was originally to protect Feng Miaojun. From what point had this young girl no longer needed his protection, and instead, her delicate foster mother had become his responsibility?
Madam Xu’s expression changed dramatically, immediately sensing something was wrong. But she also understood the gravity of the situation. This was a critical moment concerning everyone’s lives, and she couldn’t afford to be willful. Though her heart was filled with anxiety and reluctance, Madam Xu didn’t persist and readily went with Peng Bai, though she kept turning back to look at her foster daughter.
As for Feng Miaojun herself, she needed to rush non-stop to the next location:
Cone Tail Mountain.
This was the tail point of the spiral shell, also the sharpest end of the entire Spiral Float Island. Fu Lingchuan needed a place to conduct the heaven-worshipping ceremony that would last five hours, and it had to be performed outdoors. Although Spiral Float Island was vast, his choice was limited to just one place: Cone Tail Mountain.
Only here was closest to the sky and easy to defend yet difficult to attack.
Feng Miaojun hurried there to observe the battle while trying to buy more time for the Feng business people’s evacuation.
Whether she blasted open the side door of the palace or betrayed information to the Merman King, it was all for this purpose.
Originally, Fu Lingchuan’s actions wouldn’t have concerned her. She had no interest in An Xia’s restoration, nor did she intend to obstruct it. But Fu Lingchuan shouldn’t have set his sights on Spiral Float Island. When Feng Miaojun heard “sixteen bolts of heavenly lightning,” she decided to disrupt his plan for a straightforward reason:
The heavenly lightning would strike the entire Spiral Float Island. Given the sturdiness of the spiral shell, withstanding these sixteen bolts might be simple, but what about the other living beings on the island?
She had known since childhood how well lightning conducts. Even the weakest heavenly lightning would be unbearable for ordinary people, let alone the powerful currents the Way of Heaven would use to test the strength of a national treasure.
The terrible thing was that this spiral shell artifact was itself an island with numerous beings dwelling on it! After sixteen bolts of heavenly lightning, how many people on this island would survive?
Perhaps powerhouses like the Lord of Yangshan and the Merman King would be fine, but what about the Feng business people and other sea merchants?
Therefore, no matter how noble Fu Lingchuan’s purpose or how justified his reasons were, Feng Miaojun could only oppose him for now. She didn’t care about the grand principles of national restoration, but she absolutely couldn’t allow Fu Lingchuan to endanger her family’s lives!
Just as she led her horse out, a beam of white light shot toward her from the roadside, lunging at her face.
Feng Miaojun saw it, caught it in her hand, and tossed it onto her shoulder: “How did you return?”
This white shadow was the liquid metal monster, White Board.
“With the continuous explosions in Spiral Float’s Lower City, even the Lord of Yangshan was alarmed and left, making my escape easy.”
Earlier, Feng Miaojun had disguised herself as a maidservant delivering fruit to the Lord of Yangshan’s private box. She had prepared for the possibility of being denied entry, so the silver platter holding the fruit was the liquid metal monster in disguise. The guards refused to let her in, but they would surely take the platter inside, right?
In this way, the White Board successfully infiltrated the Lord of Yangshan’s box.
“Good that you weren’t discovered.” She sighed in relief. “What does the Lord of Yangshan look like?”
White Board immediately transformed into human form. This was a tall man in brocade robes, not yet forty, with long, narrow eyes and a meticulously trimmed mustache.
The man was strong and sturdy, with a sharp and sinister gaze, clearly someone long accustomed to high position. Yet even his boundless wealth couldn’t conceal the strong military aura about him. In Feng Miaojun’s view, this man shouldn’t be wearing brocade robes—he would look more fitting in battle armor.
Feng Miaojun mounted her horse and, while galloping wildly toward Cone Tail Mountain, asked: “Did you obtain any useful clues?”
White Board, now transformed back into a pair of earrings hanging on his mistress, said: “Spiral Float Trading has already delivered those few drops of Golden Branch Jade Dew to him. Though I was close, I dared not forcibly seize it.” It added with a sigh, “The Lord of Yangshan appears unfathomably deep. I am no match for him.”
Feng Miaojun was moved: “This man’s power is overwhelming, and his cultivation is so formidable?” Another “leaves no way out for others” type, she thought, finding a reference point. “Hmm, how does he compare to Yun Ya?”
“Hard to say.” White Board pondered for quite a while before weakly saying, “But from my perception, I fear the Lord of Yangshan might be more formidable. After all, State Preceptor Yun is physically weak and has a lingering illness.”
Feng Miaojun recalled the image of the Lord of Yangshan that the White Board had just imitated—full of vigorous energy, indeed appearing to be at the peak of both mental and physical power. In comparison, even if Yun Ya’s divine abilities were on par, his physical strength and endurance would surely be inferior.
This world was full of heroic figures.
She sighed deeply, thinking of the Golden Branch Jade Dew that could break curses, feeling a wave of frustration.
“What else did he do?”
“He also bid on the final treasure, the Time Hourglass. However, the auction hadn’t concluded when the Merman King suddenly left, so Spiral Float Trading temporarily set the treasure aside.” White Board quickly continued, “From his tone, he seems very eager to acquire this hourglass.”
“Who else was in the box?”
“Two women were by his side, graceful and beautiful, but with tinkling ornaments and exceptional auras, unlike ordinary concubines.” White Board had observed. “Besides them, there were two other guests in the box, also extraordinary in bearing, with about ten servants, at least three of whom had profound cultivation.”
“So many people attending to him alone?” Feng Miaojun pondered. “This man has quite an entourage.”
“When he received the Golden Branch Jade Dew, he used the ‘Ring of Carefree’ on his hand. The ring is easy to recognize—black and red amber embedded together.”
“Ring of Carefree?” This was the first time she had heard this name.
“The Ring of Carefree has enormous capacity, said to hold up to several hundred thousand jin. It originally belonged to the Black Abyss Snake God. I saw it once eighty years ago. Now it seems it has changed owners.”
Her heart sank slightly. The Golden Branch Jade Dew had been placed in the Lord of Yangshan’s storage ring, which was bound to its master. Trying to steal it would be extremely difficult unless she could kill the Lord of Yangshan, making the ring masterless.
Bah, she certainly didn’t have such ability at this stage.
In other words, forcible seizure was impossible. What could she do?
White Board continued reporting: “When the Merman King left midway, the Lord of Yangshan also sent people to inquire. His subordinates quickly reported that something strange had happened at the Inner Palace Hall, and the Merman King had gone to handle it. Just as they finished speaking, explosions were heard near and far, the ground shook, and people in the hall below screamed endlessly. Attendants and guests felt the place was no longer safe and urged the Lord of Yangshan to leave. He didn’t insist on staying and simply got up and left.”
“Where did he go?”