Above Mist Island, Hong looked down at Baili Lake, his face thoughtful.
From what he knew of Li Qingxu, if there were no problems here, Li Qingxu wouldn't have come in person.
But apart from the Emperor-level monster he had killed, there didn't seem to be any valuable treasures beneath Mist Island.
Besides, Li Qingxu had stayed on Mist Island alone before and absorbed all the Vegetation Spirits. If there really had been a treasure, he should have discovered it then.
But if there were no treasures, where had this newly emerged Emperor-level monster come from?
The river monsters living beneath Mist Island Lake simply weren't enough to support a King-level monster evolving into an Emperor-level monster.
"Could there really be a treasure down there that I haven't found?"
A trace of puzzlement crossed Hong's face.
But he had already sent his three personal guards and six Inspectors deep into Mist Island to investigate.
Nearly half a day had passed, yet no relevant information had come in.
And it wasn't just his Limit Dojo. Councilor-level experts from the other major powers had also entered Mist Island, and they hadn't found any clues either.
"Beep."
Just then, the Communication Watch on his wrist rang.
"Hm? Luo Feng is calling? Could he have found something?"
Hong answered, wondering.
"Dojo Master, Dojo Master, this is Luo Feng." His anxious voice came through the Communication Watch.
"Luo Feng, did you find something?"
There was a hint of hope in Hong's voice.
"Yes, Dojo Master. A strange white crystal was once at my current location, but an Earth Dragon monster at Intermediate Lord Level swallowed it. In just ten seconds, the Earth Dragon transformed directly into a King-level monster. It's still changing now!"
"What?!"
Hong's expression changed instantly at Luo Feng's reply. "Stay where you are. I'm coming!"
The moment he finished speaking, Hong's figure became a streak of black and shot into Mist Island Lake below.
At the same time, inside a giant flying-wing passenger plane stationed on the shore of Mist Island Lake,
the other councilor-level experts had gone out to explore. Jia Yi, the strongest person on Huaxia Nation's side, was the only one left at the command center to oversee the situation.
"Alert! Alert! A rapidly strengthening life signal has been detected."
"Alert! Alert!"
The sudden, urgent announcement brought a trace of alarm to Jia Yi's previously calm face.
"Show me the location," Jia Yi ordered.
"Beep!"
The screen on the wall quickly zoomed in, focusing on a five-hundred-meter radius around one point.
"Commander, there are life signals from two councilor-level experts here. Just now, one previously weak life signal surged in strength. We've confirmed that it should be a King-level monster!"
"In other words, a monster Lord evolved into a King-level monster in just ten seconds."
A staff member spoke in alarm.
"Keep monitoring."
After giving the order, Jia Yi immediately activated his Communication Watch. "Zhu Xi, Old Deng, Tuoba, hurry to the coordinates I sent you. I'm on my way."
Huaxia Nation wasn't the only one with this kind of detection equipment, so nearly every faction discovered the unusual event at the same time.
After spending so much time without finding anything, forces from every nation quickly converged on the location.
More than two thousand meters underground, the once merely turbulent underground river had become a raging torrent.
Like the core of a sea battered by a force-twelve hurricane, the Earth Dragon King—now five or six meters thick and over a hundred meters long—twisted and writhed in agony, sending violent tremors through the entire underground river.
Half an hour later,
a figure appeared out of thin air above Mist Island.
He wore white robes and stood in midair with his hands behind his back, ethereal and elegant.
His black hair danced in the breeze, and his clear eyes were as pure as a mountain spring. Like a Banished Immortal descended into the mortal world, his white robes seemed untouched by dust.
It was deep night, and a waning moon hung in the sky behind him.
For a moment, he seemed like a lunar deity descending from the heavens.
"I hope I'm not too late."
As his voice rang out in the sky, the figure, divine as an immortal, vanished.
By the time Li Qingxu appeared above Mist Island, inside the spaceship more than ten thousand meters beneath the ground,
Babata was shouting furiously. "Bastard! I knew that damn scammer would come again!"
"He swindled me out of sixty-three Wood Bud Crystals last time, and now he's coming to steal from us again!"
"Boss, take a look! Someone's stealing the Black Ink Star's stuff!"
Babata was beside himself with rage, but there was nothing he could do about Li Qingxu.
Meanwhile, the ground beneath Mist Island was already in complete chaos.
Half an hour earlier, the Earth Dragon King had suddenly transformed into a King-level monster. Hong had killed it in front of all the councilors.
Luo Feng had also explained that the Earth Dragon King had transformed after swallowing a white crystal that smelled faintly of rice.
One of the councilors immediately cried out that the white crystal was a Wood Bud Crystal.
In an instant, all the councilors called over their companions or notified the command centers of their respective factions.
A large number of councilor-level experts began searching frantically underground, either following the river or breaking through the rock layers.
Before, they hadn't had a precise target. Now their eyes gleamed with excitement.
In less than half an hour, they found a second Wood Bud Crystal. Hong was the one who found it.
In a vast underground cavern, Luo Feng had just rushed inside when he was stunned by what he saw.
A human martial artist who looked South Asian had been cut in half and was sprawled across the rocks.
A figure darted over and knelt beside him. "Maha, Maha."
"You actually killed Maha?"
"Councilor Fal, you've gone too far!"
Three Indian martial artists glared furiously across at four Planetary Level experts from the European Union.
"He was only a Warlord. If he'd handed over the Wood Bud Crystal, we could've spared him. He dared to fight back, so he deserved to die."
One of the four European Union councilors sneered. All four of them were councilors, while only two of the three surviving men on the other side were.
"Luo Feng?"
"Let's go."
When the four European Union men saw Luo Feng arrive, they immediately turned and burrowed into the rock layer, trying to escape.
But just then—
"Did I say you could leave?"
The instant the voice rang out, a dazzling golden light appeared. A vast, rippling golden sea suddenly enveloped the four European Union councilors.
At the same time, an ethereal young man in white appeared, standing proudly.
The four European Union councilors stood motionless in the golden sea, as if they had been bound.
Their bodies even seemed to move against their will. Slowly, all four turned toward the dead martial artist and bowed their heads and backs, inch by inch.
"Councilor Li!"
Seeing the white-robed man suddenly appear, Luo Feng cried out in delight.
"Mm."
Li Qingxu smiled at Luo Feng. "Luo Feng, go search somewhere else. I'm taking this one."
"Okay."
Luo Feng understood. He greeted Li Qingxu and left.
The instant he was gone, a cold voice rang out.
"You have the same choice: hand it over and live. Refuse, and die."
Before you continue