At this thought, Yang An glanced at the Muckworm Child beside him, frowned, and asked in a low voice:
"Did your True Person also invite a female cultivator over?"
"Reporting to you, fellow Daoist, we children received no such order from the True Person. Apart from you, we have never captured any other cultivators."
The Muckworm Child seemed rather blank-witted, answering whatever Yang An asked.
It seemed this had nothing to do with Mother Diviner True Person.
Yang An nodded, then looked at the anxious and worried Pan Shi.
"Fellow Daoist Pan, don't panic. I'll help you look again."
As long as she was still on this island, they should be able to find her. A person could not simply vanish into thin air for no reason.
He turned to the Muckworm Child beside him again.
"I'll trouble you to help us look for a female cultivator named Pan Yu."
Yang An then described Pan Yu's appearance and clothing to the Muckworm Child.
These Muckworm Children could see every cultivator's true face on the island just as he could. With more hands helping, the search would be easier.
The Muckworm Child immediately agreed and went to notify the other children.
Before long, Yang An searched for Pan Yu alongside Pan Shi. At Yang An's instruction, the Muckworm Children also sprang into action, searching every corner of the island.
Pan Shi was also greatly surprised that Yang An could command these children.
Earlier, he too had asked these children for help, only to be flatly refused.
Though these children were responsible for receiving the cultivators attending the Communal Feast Convention, they were not people those cultivators could order about.
This raised Pan Shi's estimation of Yang An's identity and standing by a great deal.
But none of that mattered now. The urgent priority was finding his junior sister Pan Yu.
They searched for a full hour. With the Muckworm Children's help, they combed through virtually every accessible place on the entire island, yet found nothing.
Pan Yu seemed to have evaporated from the world, vanishing without a trace.
Yang An found this result extremely strange.
She had not been taken by Mother Diviner True Person, nor was she on the island. Then where could she have gone?
Could she have flown into the sky?
He could not help looking up at the sky above the island. Beyond it lay only a dense layer of mist, blocking everything from view.
Pan Shi grew increasingly worried. If anything had happened to his junior sister, then as her Senior Brother, he could not escape blame. He would have no way to answer to their master or senior uncle, and he would never forgive himself.
At that moment, Yang An seemed to think of something and hurriedly turned to ask Pan Shi:
"Fellow Daoist Pan, while I was gone, before Fellow Daoist Pan Yu disappeared, did you encounter anyone else?"
A person could not disappear for no reason. Pan Yu was merely at the Resonance Stage, a mortal who did not even count as a cultivator. She had no ability to leave this place alone.
Thus, Yang An had always believed Pan Yu's sudden disappearance was caused by human interference. Who they had encountered afterward was therefore especially crucial.
But upon hearing Yang An's question, Pan Shi thought for a moment before shaking his head.
After Yang An suddenly vanished, the two of them had been searching for him the whole time and had not come into contact with any other cultivators at all.
No one?
Receiving Pan Shi's answer, Yang An could not help sinking into thought.
Mother Diviner True Person clearly had no leisure for something like this, and the Pan Shi siblings had not encountered any other cultivators after he disappeared.
Then who had they met before he was gone?
At this thought, Yang An suddenly raised his head. There really was such a person, and he had even seen him while searching the island just now!
That guy!
"Fellow Daoist Pan, come with me!"
The more Yang An thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He called out to Pan Shi, then quickly merged into the crowd and headed toward the place he had caught sight of earlier.
Seeing that Yang An seemed to have discovered something, Pan Shi followed without another word.
Before long, Yang An threaded his way through the crowd and finally stopped before a stall.
Following him here, Pan Shi could see that Yang An was clearly after the cultivator at this stall, but he was somewhat puzzled.
That was because he did not recognize the cultivator meditating behind the stall.
What was Fellow Daoist Yang planning to do?
Trusting Yang An, Pan Shi suppressed his doubts and did not ask. He merely watched from the side.
But upon seeing the cultivator behind the stall, Yang An became even more certain. It was this guy!
He had even changed his entire outfit. Afraid of being recognized, was he?
Black Brow!
The cultivator meditating behind the stall was precisely the snake Daoist the three of them had encountered by the Xi Yue River before entering this island.
Not long after entering the island, Daoist Black Brow had left ahead of them, and they had not encountered him again afterward.
If there was anyone else who had met them and spent some time with them, it could only be Daoist Black Brow.
When Black Brow saw Yang An and Pan Shi appear, the mist prevented him from seeing their faces, but he still recognized them by their clothing.
A peculiar look immediately appeared on the vicious snake head of Daoist Black Brow, as if he had not expected the two of them to show up here.
But in the blink of an eye, he returned to normal.
"Feel free to take a look, fellow Daoists. If you see anything you like, everything is negotiable."
What he did not know was that Yang An had seen that expression with perfect clarity, making him even more certain in his heart.
Not only had this fellow changed outfits, he had also disguised himself. Even his voice had changed, making him look like a human cultivator.
If Yang An had not been unaffected by the Illusionary Insect Corpse and able to directly see his true face, and if that conspicuous vicious snake head had not remained undisguised,
he might truly have had no way of identifying this person as Daoist Black Brow, who had entered this place with them, from anything else.
This guy probably thought he had hidden himself perfectly, didn't he?
Yang An glanced at Black Brow, then at the stall before him.
The items he was selling were somewhat miscellaneous: two bottles of pills, several spirit objects, and several black stones.
Besides Yang An and Pan Shi, several other cultivators were also lingering before the stall.
One cultivator seemed curious about the black stones.
"Fellow Daoist, what are these?"
He pointed at the stones and asked.
"These are called Vitality Replenishing Stones. As long as you activate them with blood essence, they can continuously replenish the user's Mana, so you need not worry about Mana depletion for a short period.
There are four Vitality Replenishing Stones here, divided into grades A, B, C, and D. A grade-D Vitality Replenishing Stone can replenish Mana for a cultivator at the early False Eater Realm, while grade A can only be used by someone at the early Origin Feeder Realm.
If you are interested, fellow Daoist, you may exchange any item of equivalent value. Everything is negotiable."
Black Brow explained earnestly to the puzzled cultivator, appearing to reveal no flaws whatsoever.
Vitality Replenishing Stones?
Although Yang An had found Black Brow, he had yet to figure out how to find clues about Pan Yu's disappearance from him.
Exposing him rashly might have the opposite effect, so Yang An pretended to be quite interested in the item as well.
Like the cultivator beside him, Yang An casually picked up a stone, intending to test it out.
But the information panel that suddenly appeared before his eyes in the next instant made Yang An freeze.
Flesh Beast Yuan Replenishing Stone: Created by snake Daoist Black Brow, made using the "Three Veins Transformation Technique." Living creatures are sealed within Pressure Stones to provide the user with an unending supply of Mana, until the creature within exhausts its vital essence and dies. Cost of use: When the Yuan Replenishing Stone is depleted and shatters, the user will also lose a certain amount of lifespan, which will be transferred to snake Daoist Black Brow. Status: Can be purified!
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