The image shook, then cleared. Several rows of fuzzy little heads filled the mirror, young faces awash with confusion and pain. Ancestor Sui Bian exclaimed, delighted: “That old fellow did not lie after all. Bookworm really was taken by the Giant Spirit Bear beastkin. Let’s go save him right now!” Senior Xiu Yu checked him with a calm murmur: “Do not be hasty. Now that we know Bookworm’s life is not in immediate peril, the most urgent thing is to get out safely. The black market will not let us walk away.” Ling Long nodded: “She is right. Shake the tail first, then plan the rescue.”

Though anxious, Ancestor Sui Bian knew they had a point. He swallowed his impatience and asked, “So what do we do now?” After a quick discussion, they decided to rest and recover for one night and leave the next evening.

Under cover of darkness, they slipped from the courtyard and blended into the crowds of the Myriad Realms Treasure Market. The bazaar was still in full roar, hawkers and hagglers clamoring in waves, and no one seemed to notice them. They eased beyond the market, boarded Ling Long’s starship, and flew into the depths of the starry sky, the smoothness almost suspicious.

“This is a bit too…” Ancestor Sui Bian had not finished when the starship lurched violently. A terrible creaking followed. The hull twisted; the interior squeezed in, as if it would crush itself flat in the next instant. Ling Long decided without hesitation: “Out, now!” She flung the hatch wide, waving them through. They had barely cleared the ship when a force like heavenly might descended from above, as if the power of the starry sky itself had gathered to press them down.

Senior Xiu Yu reacted fastest. She split her spiritual power and wrapped Yu Zhao, yet even so, in that brief instant, Yu Zhao felt the choking brush of death. Red Tail had not recovered from her wounds; the impact wrung blood from her lips, and even her fur dulled.

Ling Long’s cold voice cracked the void: “Even riffraff dare to make mischief.” Her words boomed through the starry sky, and space itself trembled. Shapes peeled out of the dark and ringed them in. Ling Long spotted several familiar faces among the crowd, only now their numbers had multiplied many times over. Three figures at their head carried auras equal to her own.

A woman in black Daoist robes curled her lip and taunted: “Ling Long, instead of throwing your weight around in the Lingxiao Realm, you come to the Myriad Realms Treasure Market to run wild. Truly courting death.” A gaunt elder hissed: “Enough chatter. We will pin Ling Long down. The rest of you grab the others. Leave no one behind.” Even as he spoke, the three leaders moved together to encircle Ling Long. Ling Long smiled with contempt and stepped in rather than back, meeting the three head-on.

The rest of the group had a harder time. Ancestor Sui Bian and the Old Black Daoist fought with all they had, but two fists could not beat four hands, and they began to flag. No one noticed that under the buffeting of loose spiritual power, the starship was sliding farther and farther away.

After a while, Ling Long’s movements hitched, a glaring flaw opening in her guard. The black-robed elder’s eyes flashed; he vanished and reappeared behind her, stabbing a hand like a blade through her dantian. Yet there was no spray of blood. Ling Long’s figure thinned, blurred, and billowed away like smoke.

“Ha, ha, ha… huh?” The elder’s laughter cut off. The black-clad woman’s face drained: “Not good. We were tricked.” Even as she spat the words, more pops cracked the air. Yu Zhao, Ancestor Sui Bian, the Old Black Daoist—one after another, their bodies winked out and dissolved. Only then did the three realize they had been punching at illusions all along. Snarling, they looked to the distance just in time to catch the deformed starship slip into a silently opening spatial rift and vanish without a trace. Their furious roars echoed across the starry sky.

Inside the starship, Ancestor Sui Bian laughed so hard he doubled over: “Did you see their faces? Hilarious. They really did not suspect a thing.” The Old Black Daoist’s grin was wide: “All thanks to Yu Zhao’s idea, fooling them long enough. Otherwise, even if we did not die this time, we would have been skinned.” Yu Zhao shook her head: “You give me too much credit. The merit is Senior Ling Long’s. Without her spiritual power, I could not have cast illusions that could fool them.”

Bound as she was by her small body, Yu Zhao could bring out only a fraction of her strength and certainly could not unleash advanced illusion arts. She had therefore thought to borrow Senior Ling Long’s body as a conduit. Fortunately, Senior Ling Long trusted her enough that her soul was not rejected, and the plan succeeded. “You are all brilliant. You all deserve praise,” Ancestor Sui Bian declared, laying it on thick, until Senior Ling Long ordered curtly for silence and he finally behaved.

Yu Zhao turned to Red Tail in concern: “Senior Red Tail, is your injury serious?” Red Tail managed a smile: “It is nothing, a minor wound. A bit of rest and I will be fine.” Senior Ling Long flicked out a pill and handed it over: “A healing pellet. Take it and stabilize your injuries.” Red Tail accepted it with a grateful nod: “Many thanks.”

Once Red Tail had taken the medicine, Ancestor Sui Bian steered them back to business: “Do we know where the Giant Spirit Bear beastkin live?” The Old Black Daoist answered briskly: “We do not, but other beastkin will. Ask a few and we can learn.” Ancestor Sui Bian blinked at him in surprise. The Old Black Daoist flushed and snapped, “What is that look for?” Ancestor Sui Bian drawled, wickedly pleased: “Old Black Daoist, I thought that lump on your shoulders was for show, but it seems it does have its uses.” The Old Black Daoist froze, then realized he was being mocked and lunged to throttle him.

“Enough, stop fooling around. Rest a while. We are about to exit the spatial passage,” Xiu Yu interceded. The two finally quieted. Yet after the ship drifted on for the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense, Senior Xiu Yu’s brow pinched. “Something is wrong. Under normal circumstances we should already have left the spatial passage, yet we are still inside.” She paused, then her face changed sharply. “Someone tampered with the spatial passage.”