At those words, the Primordial Heavenly Venerate stopped in his tracks. He looked back at the Dragon Emperor and said:
"What?"
"Is there something else, Dragon Emperor?"
The Dragon Emperor smiled faintly and said:
"Fellow Daoist Yuanshi."
"Could you tell me how you knew I was in Qingqiu?"
Hearing the question, the Primordial Heavenly Venerate gave a cool laugh and replied:
"After the battle in the West Sea, you concealed your aura and went to my Kunlun Mountain."
"Later, Nine-Tails attained the Dao and became a Sub-Saint."
"Then you left the outskirts of Kunlun and came to Qingqiu."
He paused, his gaze moving between the Dragon Emperor and the Nine-Tailed Empress, then continued:
"I don't care what relationship you have with the Nine-Tailed Empress."
"But don't either of you try any tricks while I carry out my plans."
With that, the Primordial Heavenly Venerate vanished in a flash, without waiting for the Dragon Emperor's reply.
Haotian, Jie Yin, and Zhun Ti were briefly taken aback, then flew off after him.
Before long, only the Nine-Tailed Empress and the Dragon Emperor remained in the hall.
The Dragon Emperor stood where he was. His smile gradually faded, replaced by a cold look.
After a moment of silence, the Nine-Tailed Empress said:
"Dragon Emperor."
"Something is very wrong with the Primordial Heavenly Venerate."
The Dragon Emperor nodded, his expression grave.
"Very wrong."
"After the battle in the West Sea, I used a special secret art to conceal my aura."
"He shouldn't have been able to detect me."
The Nine-Tailed Empress narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
After considering it for a moment, she said:
"There's something wrong with Yuanshi's aura, too."
"Could it be... there's someone behind him like the ones behind us?"
She turned to look straight at the Dragon Emperor.
The Dragon Emperor