Hearing Aldrian's plan, the others were stunned, but then they understood that it was the safest and easiest method to keep the spirit ancestor safe until the situation was resolved. And how to resolve it?

"While elder stays in my palace, I will first look for the source of the information leak. Since they seem to know elder's location, I think they are currently also in this continent or even in this city," Aldrian said.

The dragon king nodded his head. What Aldrian said made sense.

"Then we will do what Your Majesty planned. We will follow you if you need any help," he said, and the phoenix queen also agreed.

Aldrian smiled and then nodded. "Great, then we will do this…" Aldrian then told them about how to catch the informant quickly. To do that, they would have to be quite conspicuous for a while.

After hearing what Aldrian expected from them, they agreed, and not long after, the dragon king and the phoenix queen returned to their rooms. Aldrian looked at the spirit ancestor with a regretful expression.

"Elder, I apologize for the inconvenience, as this plan has to make you the bait. But I think this is the fastest way for me to catch the ones who want to harm you," he said in a regretful tone.

The spirit ancestor smiled. "It's okay, Your Majesty. I will gladly follow your plan, as it is also a good idea to catch any troublemakers that might endanger your people. Instead, I should be the one to apologize, because of my visit, the people of this continent might fall into danger."

Aldrian waved his hand. "Please don't mind it, Elder. Instead, I hope that you could visit this continent more often, or perhaps even stay here if you wish to look for new scenery. For any problem, just as I said in the past, I guarantee your safety. If I put my heart into it, no trouble will arise in the future. I will prevent that," he said reassuringly.

The spirit ancestor only nodded with a smile, while her retainer and guardian's worries eased.

"Then I will move according to what I have already planned. If I have not yet returned to the palace when elder arrives, Sylphia will receive elder's group," Aldrian said before disappearing.

A few moments later, the dragon king with his group and the phoenix queen with her group had already gathered outside the spirit ancestor's room. The spirit ancestor also came out with her two companions, and together they finally left the inn.

The spirit ancestor and her two companions wore robes that covered their features, the robes they had always used since their journey to the Barisan Continent, and continued to wear whenever they were outside. The robes themselves were artifacts that could block any senses attempting to probe the wearer. No one could discern their characteristics or even their cultivation while they wore them.

The dragon king and the phoenix queen, however, did not conceal themselves. They still wore their grand attire that displayed their status as sovereigns of their races. Their appearance naturally drew attention because of the distinct characteristics of spiritual beasts as they walked through the streets.

Even so, the people had already begun to grow accustomed to the presence of some outsiders from the beast races, so they were not too surprised anymore. After glancing at the dragon king and phoenix queen's groups for a moment, they returned to their activities.

Their group walked across the streets of the city, appearing as if they were sightseeing without any worries. But unbeknown to the people watching them—or anyone else in the city not part of the group—Aldrian was in the sky, observing them while also focusing on their surroundings and the nearby area.

He concentrated his senses to detect any suspicious movement or even hidden communication coming from anyone in the area. His mind worked quickly, filtering through each movement and each conversation among thousands of people almost at the same time.

After waiting for almost an hour, he finally found a clue. He sensed a man with beginner stage cultivation who seemed to be following the group's direction. However, the man kept his distance and acted as if he were just an ordinary visitor enjoying the city's scenery. His movements were natural and inconspicuous, making him appear to others as nothing more than a normal passerby.

Even for Aldrian, the man would not have seemed suspicious, he might have thought the man merely happened to walk the same path as the spirit ancestor's group, if not for the fact that he always kept his pace with them. If the group stopped, then he also stopped, and at times he even feigned ignorance by walking past the group while keeping a certain distance.

Although the man did not make any communication and remained silent, Aldrian knew that he was in fact following the group. Once he was confident that he had found what he was looking for, Aldrian teleported to one of the deserted alleys in the city, and a moment later, he teleported the man in front of him.

The man was first stunned, then shocked as he realized he was suddenly in a different environment. His shock deepened when he saw Aldrian standing before him. His eyes trembled, and he instantly prostrated himself before Aldrian.

"Your Majesty," he said. He did not think about whether the man in front of him was real or fake, he simply prostrated in reverence.

Aldrian did not answer him for a moment. He could sense that the moment this man saw him, he truly revered him, almost to the point of seeing him as a god, something that normally appeared only from the populace of this continent. After a brief silence, while the man remained prostrating, Aldrian finally asked—

"Where did you come from?"

The man instantly raised his head from his kowtow position.

"I am now staying in this city, Your Majesty, but before that, I was from Arelous City in the Vindas Empire—my apologies, I mean Vindas Kingdom," he answered. Aldrian could sense that he was not lying, which made him nod his head.

"Are you following a group of spiritual beasts?" Aldrian asked again.

The man was stunned, but after a moment, he hesitantly nodded his head.

"Uhm… yes, Your Majesty. A few hours ago, I was asked by someone—well, I don't know his identity. He was wearing a black robe that covered his face, so I couldn't really see any of his features. Anyway, while I was doing my business selling food at my stall, this man approached me. He gave me five hundred peak-level energy stones before asking if I could keep an eye on a group of spiritual beasts in human form."

"Because he gave me that much, and I thought there would be no problem with it, I decided to accept. He showed me the picture of the group and gave me a message: I must act natural, not get caught or draw any attention, and if the group left with someone wearing strange robes, I had to follow them wherever they went. That unknown man also said that today, he would come to me again before sunset."

Aldrian narrowed his eyes in thought. All of the man's words were true, and with how honest he was, he was far too innocent to be part of those who wanted to harm the spirit ancestor.

'I see, those guys must be using third parties like this man to observe the spirit ancestor's movements, making their traces difficult to track even if something goes wrong. They came to him only a few hours ago? Then it seems they just started using third parties today, and they will likely keep using them in the future.'

"Uhm… Your Majesty, did I do something wrong?" the man suddenly asked. His expression turned worried as he looked at Aldrian.

Realizing he would not get anything more from the man, Aldrian finally smiled.

"Well, you did nothing wrong, so you don't have to worry," Aldrian said reassuringly, which made the man sigh in relief.

"Anyway, you can go back to your stall and continue your business. Keep what that mysterious man gave you, but stop following the spiritual beast group. You don't have to worry about the man who comes later—I will take care of it. You just need to act natural, like always," Aldrian added, and the man responded with a nod.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will do that." The man did not ask anything further and simply obeyed Aldrian as it was. That was how deep his faith in Aldrian ran, which made Aldrian feel irritated that those unknown men would take advantage of his people.

Aldrian then sent the man back to his original place before he had been teleported, and returned to the sky to continue observing the city. He still did not know who was moving behind the scenes, and with so many outsiders blending into the city, the suspects could be anywhere.

At this moment, there were more than a hundred thousand outsiders in the city alone, and perhaps the real suspect was not even inside the city anymore but would arrive again through a teleportation station.

It would be too great a burden to search the entire continent when he did not even know what kind of person he was looking for. That was why Aldrian chose this easier and more effective way to catch them.

Not long after, the spirit ancestor's group entered the teleportation station. Just as planned, they would visit his palace, and the spirit ancestor would stay there for some time. As for Aldrian, he continued to observe the city and also the man who had already returned to selling food.

Time passed quickly, and the sun had already begun to hide its body in the western horizon. As Aldrian kept watching, he finally saw someone approaching the man, just as the man had described. This person wore a black robe that covered his entire figure, the kind commonly worn by cultivators who wanted to conceal their identity.

Someone like this robed man was not unusual, which was why no one found him suspicious, treating him as nothing more than an ordinary stranger.

'Now, let's see who this guy is,' Aldrian thought.