Yu Zhen fell silent upon receiving this opportunity, her brow furrowed as if lost in thought.
The Blood Demon Fiend paid her no mind, instead directing others to carry out tasks.
Outside the door, prisoners from the Netherworld tribe peered around curiously, seemingly trying to eavesdrop on the sounds from the main hall.
Perhaps unable to hear anything, the prisoner instinctively leaned closer, only to be stopped by the guards outside with their weapons.
"What are you doing? A new craftsman? Who allowed you here? Hurry back!"
The guard feigned a lunge, intending to intimidate.
Seeing this, the Netherworld prisoner could only quickly turn and leave.
On the surface, he appeared to return to his room. In reality, as soon as the watchful guard was gone, he immediately knocked on the doors of Qi Yu and Si Qing.
Qi Yu opened the door and let him in.
The Netherworld prisoner knelt on one knee, his expression solemn. "I suspect the Lord of the Heavenly Dao is problematic. Just now, when passing by the main hall of the Lord of the Heavenly Dao, I sensed a very strong malevolent aura emanating from within. I don't know what's going on."
"Really?" Qi Yu feigned surprise.
After all, the memories of these prisoners would eventually be broadcast on the water screens of each tribe.
If she appeared completely unfazed, the various tribes might suspect that she had known about this all along and was merely instigating it.
Even though, in truth, that was precisely the case.
Seeing Qi Yu's reaction, the Netherworld prisoner felt as though he had an opportunity to claim credit. He quickly nodded earnestly, recounting everything that had happened outside the main hall, including being intercepted.
He omitted no detail.
Si Qing frowned. Although they already knew that the Blood Demon Fiend was plotting something that he didn't want overheard, he still deliberately put on a surprised act in front of the Netherworld prisoner. "We're also not quite sure why the Lord of the Heavenly Dao is acting this way. This is the Thirteenth Heaven; logically, there shouldn't be any malevolent aura here."
"Remember to keep a close eye and tell our people to be careful, not to wander around."
Although Si Qing said this, the Netherworld prisoner was fully aware of the purpose behind their group's disguise as craftsmen and their presence in the Thirteenth Heaven.
Their objective was to expose the Heavenly Dao Lord's involvement with demons.
To achieve this, they had bound their souls with a confidentiality contract before coming and linked their observations to the water screen.
Therefore, despite Si Qing's warning to be cautious, they would not be cautious. Instead, they would deliberately linger near the main hall.
As long as they could uncover evidence of the Heavenly Dao Lord colluding with demons and reveal it to all beings in the Three Realms, their group, whether they lived or died, would have exchanged a price sufficient to ensure their families' protection and rewards.
With this thought, the Netherworld prisoner rose, bowed, and strode away.
Qi Yu and Si Qing watched his receding figure, their hearts growing heavy.
Their team of craftsmen was numerous.
The current task of crafting magical artifacts was not the priority. The crucial matter was to have the others in the craftsman team, besides themselves, discover the Blood Demon Fiend's existence as soon as possible.
"Sister, what if the Blood Demon Fiend discovers someone spying and decides to kill them? What then?" Si Qing frowned. Although these prisoners, disguised as craftsmen, were all death row inmates from various realms, having committed crimes that endangered lives and deserved to die, it would be more credible to persuade the people of the Three Realms of the Heavenly Dao Lord's usurpation by the Blood Demon Fiend if these death row inmates could leave the Thirteenth Heaven alive.
"When we arrived, I had already placed a protective talisman on each of them," Qi Yu said, standing with her hands behind her back by the window, gazing at the lotus pond through the barrier. "If the Blood Demon Fiend were to attack them, the talisman would provide a defensive assist, and at the same time, I would be alerted."
Si Qing hummed in response.
He returned to his bed and lay down, but sleep eluded him.
Meanwhile, in the South Sea.
Chen Xi paced back and forth in the South Sea's back garden, a look of worry on his face, clutching a small bag of silver fish snacks.
As he frantically stuffed snacks into his mouth, chewing and chewing, he murmured with concern:
"Oh dear, what should I do, what should I do? I'm so worried about Qi Yu and the others. I wonder if these two little rascals will be in danger in the Thirteenth Heaven, or if they'll be bullied. Will that Yu Zhen cause them trouble?"
"No," Yan Hua said, setting down his teacup with a hint of exasperation. "You've walked in circles here fourteen times already, and I've told you fourteen times that they won't be. This makes it fifteen times."
"Let alone their high cultivation levels, these two also possess memories from their previous lives. Their magical artifacts are even more powerful than yours. If it weren't for your longer lifespan, you wouldn't be able to defeat them. What are you so worried about?"
Chen Xi looked at Yan Hua with disbelief. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm weak?!"
Yan Hua quickly explained, "No, I didn't mean you're weak. I mean you're still very formidable, but they've surpassed their predecessors."
"No, that's not what you meant just now." Chen Xi looked at him with hurt, then quickened his pace, muttering resentfully, "What you said just now clearly implies that apart from your age advantage, if we were of the same generation, I definitely couldn't beat them. You're too much. I'm not as weak as you say. I have a trump card I haven't used, do you know that?"
"What trump card haven't you used? Why don't you try it then?" Yu Yuan walked over from not far away and couldn't resist retorting when he heard this. "You always say you have a trump card you haven't used, but in reality, your few trump cards aren't suitable for battle; they're quite good for coaxing children."
"I just don't want to stoop to your level," Chen Xi said, sitting down next to Yan Hua. He nudged Yan Hua with his elbow and gestured towards Yu Yuan with his chin. "He was bullying me with his words just now, didn't you hear?"
Yan Hua nodded, indicating he had heard. Then, with a loud bang, he slammed the table and looked at Yu Yuan, speaking with mock seriousness, "How could you say that to Chen Xi? That's too much."
"Yes, yes, that's too much," Chen Xi chimed in, puffing himself up beside Yan Hua.
Yu Yuan raised an eyebrow and sneered.
Yan Hua continued, "Even if what you said is true, you shouldn't have said it so directly. Chen Xi's techniques are not useless. If they were really used in the mortal world, his dragon horns could turn anything they touched into jade. Who knows how much that would be worth, how much gold it could be exchanged for!"
Chen Xi was about to agree, but then he felt something was amiss. He turned to look at Yan Hua, his expression bewildered. "...??? What are you talking about???"