The jade pendant's gentle warmth flowed beneath his fingertips. Xiao Yan gazed into the heavy darkness outside his window, his Emperor Realm Soul silently spreading like a spiderweb to envelop all of Wutan City once more.
After last night's farce with the Mo Family and the Misty Cloud Sect elder's covert soul probe, his plans had become clearer. The Mo Family's impatience, the Misty Cloud Sect's restraint, and the undercurrents among Wutan City's various factions were all within his grasp.
"To lure the snake out of its hole, the Black Iron Token and a few strokes of 'luck' aren't enough." Xiao Yan murmured, tapping his fingertips lightly against the table. "I need to give them a reason they can't ignore."
He took an unremarkable black pebble from his Storage Ring. It was a Qi-Devouring Stone he had stumbled upon in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, capable of absorbing the surrounding Dou Qi and creating a brief energy vacuum. Such stones were worth little on their own, but used cleverly, they could produce unexpected results.
With a flick of Xiao Yan's finger, the Qi-Devouring Stone flew silently out the window and into the night. Guiding it with his soul power, he sent it along a concealed route until it finally came to rest in an open space between the Mo Family's base and the Mittel Auction House.
Only after finishing did he slowly withdraw his soul power and begin sorting through his next steps.
Having lost the Black Iron Token, the Mo Family would inevitably be desperate to recover it. The Mittel Auction House, a neutral force in Wutan City, possessed a wealth of information, and the Mo Family would likely try to obtain news from them. He had placed the Qi-Devouring Stone there precisely to create an "accidental" energy disturbance during any possible contact between the Mo Family and the Mittel Family, throwing the situation into greater confusion.
And confusion was his best cover.
The next morning, Xiao Yan went to the Training Ground to "cultivate" as "usual," deliberately showing traces of "anxiety" and "unease" in front of several spies the Mo Family had planted in the Xiao Clan, as though Mo Kui's threats from the previous day still frightened him.
Sure enough, those spies quickly relayed the news to the Mo Family's base.
Mo Feng sat in a gloomy room, listening to his subordinate's report with storm clouds gathering on his face. His men had searched all night without finding any trace of the Black Iron Token. Worse, Mo Kui's humiliation the previous day had made the Mo Family the laughingstock of Wutan City.
"Useless! Every last one of you!" Mo Feng slammed his hand against the table. "You couldn't even deal with a brat at Dou Qi third stage, and you let him swagger around the Xiao Clan!"
The deputy beside him spoke cautiously. "Elder Mo, should we ask headquarters to send an expert? If a Dou Ling elder takes action, whoever is backing Xiao Yan would be no match for him."
"Idiot!" Mo Feng glared at him. "Headquarters already has its hands full. The matter in Black Rock City hasn't even been cleared up yet. How could they spare anyone for us? Besides, if we can't even dispose of a piece of trash in a little place like Wutan City, how could we show our faces back there?"
He rose and paced around the room, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes. "If we can't do it openly, we'll do it in secret! Investigate the Mittel Auction House. I refuse to believe they know nothing about the Black Iron Token's whereabouts! If they dare shield Xiao Yan, teach them a lesson!"
The deputy left to carry out his orders. Mo Feng looked out the window, a barely perceptible trace of apprehension passing through his eyes. He kept feeling that Xiao Yan was nowhere near as simple as he appeared. From the Magical Beast Mountain Range to Black Rock City, and now Wutan City, the brat always managed to turn danger into safety, even turning the tables on his opponents. It was downright uncanny.
"Whoever is behind you, you'll pay for daring to touch what belongs to the Mo Family!" Mo Feng muttered through clenched teeth.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yan was in his courtyard, "studying" the half of the Flame Jade Pendant. Rather than directly channeling Dou Qi into it, he gently rubbed the flame patterns on its surface with his fingertips, allowing an exceedingly faint energy fluctuation to spread slowly like ripples.
The fluctuation was so subtle that ordinary cultivators could not detect it at all. To the Misty Cloud Sect elder watching in secret, however, it was a bright lamp in the darkness.
In a secluded residence in the western part of the city, an old man in gray robes had been resting with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he opened them, a sharp gleam flashing in his gaze.
"The pendant's aura... it's clearer than last time." The old man murmured. With a slight movement, he vanished from the room like a phantom.
He did not rush straight toward the Xiao Clan. Instead, he took a roundabout route and quietly concealed himself on a rooftop nearby, releasing his soul power to carefully trace the source of the pendant's aura.
Yet the instant his soul power was about to reach Xiao Yan's courtyard, the faint fluctuation from the pendant suddenly vanished, as though it had never existed.
"Hmm?" The old man frowned slightly, a trace of confusion crossing his eyes.
Had he imagined it? Or had the other party deliberately released that aura to draw him out?
After pondering for a moment, he refrained from acting rashly and remained hidden, waiting patiently. As a Misty Cloud Sect elder, he had patience to spare.
At that moment, Xiao Yan sat on a stone stool, a cold smile curling his lips.
"He came, just as expected." He could clearly sense the powerful soul presence lingering nearby. "Mid-stage Dou Wang cultivation. My guess was right."
He had released the pendant's aura precisely to determine the other party's location and cultivation. Now that his goal was achieved, he naturally had to suppress the aura at once, leaving his opponent unable to gauge his true strength.
"Next, it's time for the Mo Family's 'covert operatives' to have a 'chance encounter' with this Misty Cloud Sect elder." Xiao Yan took out another Qi-Devouring Stone and flicked it toward the Mo Family's base.
This Qi-Devouring Stone was different from the first. He had attached an exceedingly faint trace of the Misty Cloud Sect's spiritual energy fluctuation to it—something he had captured during the other party's previous soul probe.
He wanted the Mo Family to believe that someone from the Misty Cloud Sect was secretly stirring up trouble and had stolen the Black Iron Token.
Sure enough, less than an hour later, a commotion erupted at the Mo Family's base. Mo Feng stormed out with his men and headed straight for the Mittel Auction House. From their bearing, they had clearly found a "lead."
The Misty Cloud Sect elder lurking near the Xiao Clan sensed the trace of spiritual energy belonging to his own sect, as well as the Mo Family's unusual movements. Surprise flashed in his eyes before he quietly followed them. He intended to see just what sort of performance the Mo Family was putting on.
Standing at the entrance to his courtyard, Xiao Yan watched the direction in which the Mo Family's men had departed, then glanced at the barely visible gray figure on a distant rooftop. The smile on his lips deepened.
"Time for the show to begin."
He returned to his room and took out the ancient-looking ring—another item he had found in the wooden box his mother had left behind. Its design was plain, its material neither gold nor jade, and the character "Xiao" engraved on it had become indistinct.
Xiao Yan tried injecting a thread of soul power into the ring, but it gave no response, as though it were merely an ordinary ornament.
"Could it just be an ordinary keepsake?" Xiao Yan frowned slightly. Unwilling to give up, he injected soul power again. This time, he used a sliver of his Emperor Realm Soul's origin power.
"Humm..."
The ring finally reacted. A faint white glow spread across its surface, and the blurred character "Xiao" became clear. At the same time, an ancient aura, weathered by the ages, emanated from within it.
A fragment of information suddenly flooded Xiao Yan's mind—a record concerning the "Xiao Clan." Though it contained only a handful of words, it shook him to his core.
"So... my mother's identity was actually connected to the ancient Xiao Clan..." Xiao Yan murmured, shock and understanding flashing in his eyes.
No wonder the Misty Cloud Sect cared so much. No wonder his mother had left behind such belongings. The ancient Xiao Clan had once been an incomparably glorious clan on the Dou Qi Continent. Though it had long since declined, the secrets it left behind were enough to drive any faction mad.
And that half of the Flame Jade Pendant was very likely the key to unlocking one of the Xiao Clan's secrets.
"The Misty Cloud Sect probably wants the pendant for more than just the Xiao Clan's secrets. It may also have something to do with their own ambitions." Xiao Yan tightened his grip on the ring, his gaze becoming utterly resolute.
No matter how many storms lay ahead, he had to protect what his mother had left behind, uncover the Xiao Clan's past, and, above all, make those coveting its legacy pay.
He slipped the ring back onto his finger and concealed it beneath his sleeve. A clamor rose outside. Clearly, the Mo Family, the Mittel Auction House, and the Misty Cloud Sect elder who had arrived by "chance" had begun their "performance" on the "stage" he had prepared.
Xiao Yan walked to the window and quietly watched the flashes of Dou Qi light in the distant sky. In his mind, the pieces were already arranged to counter every move.
The winds over Wutan City were growing stronger.
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