“Old Black Daoist, Sui Bian, they did not only catch me; Bookworm is in their hands too,” a weak voice reached Ancestor Sui Bian and the Old Black Daoist’s ears, and their faces darkened further.

The Old Black Daoist swung toward the elder at once and asked anxiously: “Where is the person who was captured with this nine-tailed fox?”

The elder hesitated, then produced a sheepish counterfeit smile: “Apologies, that person was sold yesterday.”

“What? Who bought him? Speak,” the Old Black Daoist snapped.

The elder’s expression cooled, a wary glint in his eyes: “Apologies. The underground black market only does business. We do not ask origins, and we do not disclose guests’ information. I will not break our rules.”

Ancestor Sui Bian frowned: “We are not asking you to break your rules. We are also doing business with you. That person, we will buy as well.”

“You are not of the underground black market, so you do not understand our rules,” the elder shook his head. “We trade, yes, but we keep our word. Once a guest buys something, we will never interfere further, still less divulge where it went. If you would destroy our rules, that is to make an enemy of the entire underground black market.”

Ancestor Sui Bian and the Old Black Daoist felt their hearts sink. Bookworm was from Taibai Academy. He loved to read and to spout great principles, so the two of them had nicknamed him Bookworm. When Ancestor Sui Bian and the Old Black Daoist first ascended to the Seven Mists Realm, it was Bookworm who served as their guide and taught them much about the Middle Thousand Worlds. Learning that he might be in peril, the two were in a panic.

“What happened?” Senior Ling Long asked.

Ancestor Sui Bian explained in a low voice to Senior Ling Long and Senior Xiu Yu: “Red Tail and Bookworm are our friends. Red Tail is rescued, but Bookworm is still missing. We must find him at once.”

Senior Ling Long listened, glanced at the elder’s now-chilly eyes, and decided on the spot. While sending a voice transmission to Senior Xiu Yu to protect Yu Zhao, she flashed forward and appeared before the elder in an instant. Her five fingers curved like hooks as she clamped his throat and lifted him off the ground.

Caught unprepared and seized by a vital point, the elder’s face filled with fear, though he forced himself to sound calm: “What do you think you are doing? You dare to lift a hand here? Are you tired of living?”

“Enough nonsense,” Senior Ling Long said without expression. “Tell me where the person captured with the nine-tailed fox is.”

Overawed by her aura, the elder broke out in a cold sweat, but he still braced himself: “I warn you, if you touch me, you will not leave this black market alive. This is not a place where you can run wild.”

As if to answer him, countless figures appeared in the air above the cages, spreading like a giant net that enveloped Ling Long’s party. Senior Ling Long sneered; her grip tightened.

“Then we will see whether you die first or we do,” she said.

A fierce battle intent poured from her limbs and bones into the elder’s body; he felt even his very soul being shredded. He collapsed, voice shaking: “I will speak, I will speak. That person, that person was bought yesterday.”

“Bought?” Ancestor Sui Bian and the Old Black Daoist exclaimed together.

“By whom? Make it clear,” Senior Ling Long asked coldly.

“It was bought by the beastkin of the Giant Spirit Bear Clan,” the elder rasped.

Hearing this, Senior Ling Long did not relax; instead she increased the pressure: “You dare lie.”

“I am not lying, I am not,” he stammered. “A beastkin said they needed someone to go back and teach, so they specially bought a man of vast learning. As for where exactly they went, I truly do not know.”

Senior Ling Long gave a slight nod and looked down at the elder: “We cannot yet tell whether you speak truth. We will trouble you to come with us.” As she spoke, she shot a look to Senior Xiu Yu and the others, signaling everyone to move.

But as they stepped forward, the cultivators closing in around them stepped forward as well. A heavy pressure settled from above. Those imprisoned in the cages, human or beast, grew restless in turn.

“Tell them to let us pass,” Senior Ling Long said in a low voice.

“We all work for others. They will not listen to me,” the elder answered bitterly.

Just then, a man with a knife-scar on his face gave a cold laugh: “You dare start a fight in the underground black market. You have some nerve.”

Ancestor Sui Bian and the Old Black Daoist tensed at once. The Old Black Daoist turned, set Red Tail in Yu Zhao’s arms, and drew his lifebound flying sword with a backhand. Yu Zhao stared at the behemoth she suddenly held, eyes going perfectly round; woman and beast exchanged a look.

Senior Ling Long swept a glance around, a glint of cold light in her eyes: “Since it is already chaotic, then make it even more chaotic,” she said. With that, she flung the elder to the floor, drew a long whip from her storage space, and flicked her wrist. The whip writhed through the air like a spirit snake; lash-shadows cracked like lightning, slicing the air with a keening hiss.

Those encircling them had meant to dodge, but discovered every lash-shadow skimmed past their bodies without touching them. They were about to sneer when a harsh creaking rose on all sides. Looking up, they were horrified to find that wherever the lash-shadows had flown, the iron cages were splitting apart. Only then did they realize the whip had never been aimed at them.

Those within the cages, human and beast, did not react at first; they stared, stunned, at the openings yawning before them.

“What are you waiting for? Move,” Ancestor Sui Bian’s voice boomed like thunder, snapping them to their senses and igniting long-buried fury.

The Golden Leopard beastkin who had been presented as a pet let out a roar and drove his fist into the nearest cultivator. The young man once praised as a prodigy saw red, forming hand seals as searing flames exploded from his body and swept in all directions. A giant lizard covered in scales bolted in a wild rush, smashing through everything in its path and leaving bedlam behind.

In a heartbeat the surroundings fell into chaos. The defensive line they had established collapsed at once, and every man had to fend for himself.

“It is over, all over,” the elder moaned, watching the scene before him and nearly fainting dead away.

“None of you are leaving,” the scarred man barked, his face gone livid. He burst into a streak of black light and shot straight for Senior Ling Long.

Senior Ling Long did not even look at him. She snapped the whip backhanded: “Go,” she said. With a crack, the black blur in midair was lashed away. Senior Ling Long led the charge toward the entrance at full speed. Senior Xiu Yu scooped up Yu Zhao and followed at once, with Ancestor Sui Bian and the Old Black Daoist close behind.

“Kill them,” someone howled.