Chapter 20

While everyone in the Xiao Clan was immersed in the joy of their recent victory, no one noticed that Yun Xi, held in the Xiao Clan's dungeon, quietly took out a talisman no longer than his thumb while the nearby guards were not paying attention.

Then, under the puzzled gazes of Jia Lie Bi, Ao Bapa, and the others in the cell, Yun Xi activated the talisman and sent it flying out of the prison.

In an instant, the talisman turned into a streak of yellow light in the pitch-black night sky and swiftly vanished beyond the horizon.

Jia Lie Bi and Ao Bapa, seeing this, looked at Yun Xi in confusion and cautiously asked,

"Brother Yun, what was that just now...?"

Before the two could finish speaking, Yun Xi smiled faintly.

"Before I left the sect this time, my father specifically gave me this talisman. If I encountered any unforeseen circumstances during this trip, I only needed to tear off the restriction on it to use it as a communication talisman."

As he spoke, a strange gleam gradually appeared in Yun Xi's eyes.

Although Yun Xi did not know Xiao Ming's identity or background, Xiao Ming had dared to injure him in public and had now locked him in this vermin-infested prison.

As the grandson of Yun Ling, the Grand Elder of the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Xi had never been treated this way wherever he went.

Yet now, in a godforsaken backwater like Wu Tan City, he had actually suffered such a setback.

Thus, after successfully activating and sending out the communication talisman, Yun Xi began plotting how he would deal with these commoners who had made him suffer once the Misty Cloud Sect sent people over.

Just as Yun Xi believed he could rest easy, he had no idea that the communication talisman he had sent out from the prison had already fallen into Xiao Ming's hands.

In truth, the moment Xiao Ming first learned Yun Xi's surname, he had keenly analyzed the forces that might stand behind him.

Over this period, he had also continuously sent Seven Baleful Intents and the others out to investigate Yun Xi's identity.

After all, while a Grand Battle Master might be no more than an ant in the outside world, in a place like Wu Tan City, anyone with the cultivation of a Grand Battle Master could never be a nobody.

Therefore, if Yun Xi had truly been a cultivator native to Wu Tan City, then no matter how long he had been in seclusion, someone would surely have known of him.

However, after searching everywhere, Seven Baleful Intents and the others had not obtained any information about Yun Xi within Wu Tan City.

Thus, Xiao Ming was certain that Yun Xi was absolutely not from Wu Tan City.

After all, a Grand Battle Master's lifespan was limited. It was simply impossible for one to have existed so long that everyone in an entire city had forgotten him.

Having reached this conclusion, Xiao Ming could only turn his suspicions toward forces outside Wu Tan City.

Yet without exception, the forces bearing the Yun surname were all utterly insignificant.

Most of those clans were even weaker than the Xiao Clan.

Therefore, after eliminating all the impossible candidates, only one sect remained on the long list: the Misty Cloud Sect!

Moreover, the Xiao Clan itself had an inseparable connection with the Misty Cloud Sect.

So, to a certain extent, Xiao Ming had already concluded that Yun Xi was definitely connected to the Misty Cloud Sect.

After reaching this conclusion, Xiao Ming knew that if Yun Xi truly belonged to the Misty Cloud Sect, then after being captured, he would certainly not just sit there and await death.

To verify his suspicions, Xiao Ming had secretly kept watch outside the cell holding Yun Xi and the other two day and night.

When he saw that the three had shown no movement for several days in a row, Xiao Ming had once thought he was overthinking things.

But just as Xiao Ming was preparing to leave, Yun Xi activated the communication talisman while the guards were distracted.

This allowed Xiao Ming, who had been lying in wait for days, to intercept it successfully.

After seeing the message recorded within the talisman, Xiao Ming's expression darkened completely.

Xiao Ming had previously guessed that Yun Xi might be the descendant of some important figure in the Misty Cloud Sect. After all, for Yun Xi to become a peak Grand Battle Master at such a young age, he must have had an extraordinary background.

However, upon learning that Yun Xi was Yun Ling's grandson, even though Xiao Ming had long been mentally prepared, he could not help but be greatly shocked.

If Yun Xi's arrival in Wu Tan City to help the two clans oppose the Xiao Clan had been ordered by Yun Ling, then even if the Xiao Clan managed to withstand this crisis, Yun Ling would soon return with renewed force.

And because he had captured Yun Xi, it was highly possible that Yun Ling himself would come next time.

If Yun Ling personally arrived, let alone Xiao Ming, even if the entire Xiao Clan and everyone from the Black Demon Stockade were added together, they probably would not be enough to fill the gaps between Yun Ling's teeth.

At that thought, several bead-sized drops of sweat rolled down Xiao Ming's forehead.

The most urgent matter was to find out whether Yun Xi had come to Wu Tan City of his own accord, on Yun Ling's orders, or under the Misty Cloud Sect's instructions.

If it was only the former, then as long as Xiao Ming handled things properly, Yun Ling and the Misty Cloud Sect would not notice Wu Tan City anytime soon.

But if it was either of the latter two, then starting tonight, Xiao Ming would have to immediately take the entire Xiao Clan and the Black Demon Stockade's forces and swiftly flee Wu Tan City to hide.

Otherwise, they would one day face the wrath of a Battle King like Yun Ling.

By then, everyone in the Xiao Clan aside from Xiao Yan, including Xiao Ming himself, might become nothing more than a speck of ash upon the Battle Qi Continent.

There was not much time left for Xiao Ming and the entire Xiao Clan. Fortunately, he had left a little later and successfully intercepted this communication talisman.

However, judging from what was written on the communication talisman, Yun Xi's arrival this time appeared to have been entirely his own doing.

The talisman merely stated that Yun Xi had been injured by Xiao Ming and his group; it did not mention the Jia Lie Clan or the Ao Ba Clan at all.

It seemed that the main reason the two clans had suddenly joined forces against the Xiao Clan this time was not because they had received orders from the Misty Cloud Sect.