Upon seeing Master Cloud-Dao’s reaction, Feng Youde frowned, raised his voice, and said, “Well, is there?”
Unsure of why exactly Feng Youde was asking about Bai Xiaochun, Master Cloud-Dao immediately started to get nervous. Nodding his head, he said, “There is.... He was in the last group of new recruits....”
Feng Youde laughed loudly as he suddenly recalled Bai Xiaochun, and how his burst of speed had been a bit irritating. Now, however, Feng Youde’s attitude was completely different. Someone very important cared about Bai Xiaochun, which meant that he obviously was not anybody ordinary.... “Oh, I remember him now. Well, go get him, no wait, go invite him to come see me. And remember to be very polite!”
“Huh?” Master Cloud-Dao said, his eyes widening and his head beginning to spin. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead as he realized that something about the situation was definitely not right. The fact that Feng Youde had used the word ‘invite’ spoke volumes, and caused Master Cloud-Dao’s nervousness to mount.
When Feng Youde realized that the mention of Bai Xiaochun’s name caused Master Cloud-Dao to start sweating, he immediately suspected that something was going on. Gaze sharpening, he said, “Well? What are you standing around for?”
Bracing himself, Master Cloud-Dao said, “Hallmaster... Bai Xiaochun... he’s... he’s still out on his first mission.”
Inwardly, he was cursing Li Yuansheng. The reason why Master Cloud-Dao had recognized Bai Xiaochun at first sight was because he had personally worked very hard to make sure that he ended up being recruited by the Hall of Devil Slayers.
According to the agreement he had reached with Li Yuansheng, if he could get Bai Xiaochun killed, he would receive all sorts of rewards. This wasn’t Master Cloud-Dao’s first time handling such a matter. As far as he was concerned, one disciple couldn't possibly be very important in the grand scheme of things, not even a hostage. This was the Hall of Devil Slayers, and if he wanted to see someone dead, that person would definitely die.
All of a sudden, Master Cloud-Dao’s heart began to pound.
“His first mission?” Feng Youde said, looking a bit surprised. Then, his gaze turned as sharp as daggers. As the hallmaster, he didn’t pay much attention to the day-to-day affairs of the Hall of Devil Slayers. However, he was aware of the corruption and vice that existed within its ranks. Obviously, Bai Xiaochun must have offended someone, otherwise, Master Cloud-Dao wouldn’t be reacting in such a way.
“What mission is he on?” Feng Youde said, sounding a bit displeased.
Face clinching bitterly, Master Cloud-Dao said, “He... he was sent to kill the notorious sex fiend Zuo Hengfeng....”
Feng Youde’s left eyelid twitched as he glared at Master Cloud-Dao, and then spoke in the most frigid of tones, “Where exactly is this mission to be carried out? Tell me the truth!”
By this point, Master Cloud-Dao was actually quite confused, and was already furious at Li Yuansheng. Furthermore, if the hallmaster was connected to Bai Xiaochun in some way, why hadn’t he said so earlier?! “In the immortal's cave of Eccentric Earthvile. Zuo... Zuo Hengfeng was recently accepted as Earthvile’s new apprent--”
“What!?!?” Feng Youde exclaimed, his eyes widening in rage. Flicking his sleeve, he sent a wind screaming through the temple that instantly caused all the miscellaneous items lying about to be reduced to ash. As for Master Cloud-Dao, he began to tremble visibly.
Brimming with rage, Feng Youde yelled, “You sent Bai Xiaochun to the immortal's cave of Eccentric Earthvile, a Nascent Soul Daoist master, to kill his apprentice!? Get him back here immediately! He shouldn’t be out doing missions!!”
He backed his words with the power of his Nascent Soul cultivation base, causing them to echo like thunder throughout the Hall of Devil Slayers.
Terrified by Feng Youde’s display of anger, Master Cloud-Dao dropped to his knees to kowtow. Nearly weeping, he said, “It’s... it’s too late. He’s been gone for ten days already. Also... um... I gave him a faulty jade slip that won’t work outside of the sect....”
“Y-you... you....” Feng Youde felt his heart go cold. It was as if he had been struck by lightning out of a blue sky, and immediately, his robes were soaked with sweat. Eccentric Earthvile was a late Nascent Soul stage expert who had gathered quite a band of rogue cultivators. Furthermore, he had certain proclivities, the mere thought of which got Feng Youde shaking with nervousness. If the Heavenspan emissary hadn’t made that special request, it might not have been a big deal, but now that she had, Feng Youde knew that if Bai Xiaochun died outside the sect, there would be severe repercussions, the extent of which he couldn’t even begin to fathom.
Then he thought about how even the demigod patriarch showed respect to the emissary, and he began to shake harder. Eyes completely bloodshot, he roared, “What have you done!?!?”
A resounding smack sounded out as Feng Youde slapped Master Cloud-Dao in the face, sending him tumbling out of the temple. Then Feng Youde shot up into the sky, where he called out in a voice that filled the entire Hall of Devil Slayers.
“Every cultivator in the Hall of Devil Slayers has ten breaths of time to assemble in the main square!
“Deploy the Devil-Slaying Battleships!!
“Activate the teleportation portal that leads to the Eternalflux Continent. Power it up as much as possible!! Immediately!!!” Everyone who heard Feng Youde’s frenzied howl was deeply shaken and didn't dare to delay for even a moment. All of them flew over at top speed, and within the blink of an eye, over 10,000 cultivators were gathered in midair, bowing to Feng Youde.
At the same time, ten shocking battleships appeared, terrifying in appearance and pitch black in color.
And yet, things weren’t over yet. The teleportation portal leading to the Eternalflux Continent began to power up, causing intense rumbling sounds to echo out in all directions. The flurry of activity in the Hall of Devil Slayers attracted the attention of the other halls, and even the notice of the Sky Quarter peak lord on his seven-colored mountain.
However, before any of the other powerful figures in the sect could inquire about what was happening, Feng Youde led all of the more than 10,000 cultivators of the Hall of Devil Slayers onto the battleships. Then, the power of teleportation surged out, whisking them away. Of course, to teleport so many people so far and so quickly came at significant cost.
As the massive rumbling sounds echoed out, the cultivators from the other three rainbows looked over in complete shock.
“What’s happening on Sky Quarter Rainbow?”
“Was that... was that the Sky Quarter’s Hall of Devil Slayers? Considering the extent of that teleportation, they must be on their way to wipe out an entire sect!”
The cultivators on Sky Quarter Rainbow were even more astonished, including Li Yuansheng, who was suddenly struck by a very bad feeling.
Meanwhile, as the entire Hall of Devil Slayers was mobilizing and teleporting to the Eternalflux Continent, Bai Xiaochun was cautiously making his way through that very continent. He had already decided to abandon his mission, and was currently heading back to the teleportation portal.
Considering the speed he was able to maintain, he was still about three days away from his destination. Inwardly, he was sighing, and couldn’t stop wondering how he would be punished for failing to accomplish his mission.
“Well,” he encouraged himself, “no punishment could be worse than losing my poor little life.”