Inside Hell Palace, Dustin Iron and his four accomplices returned in secret. They stood before Gideon Yue, who asked, "I heard your identities have been exposed?"
"Yeah, we tried to capture his wife to lure him out. So the five of us used the Five Elements Trapping Formation to trap her. Thought we'd send her into a preset space, but Battle Goddess Leah smashed one of us, messed up the spatial coordinates, and now we have no clue where she ended up." Dustin Iron explained.
Gideon Yue narrowed his eyes. "Spatial disorder? So even Heavenly Mansion doesn't know where she is?"
"That's right. Even we who set up the formation have no idea." Dustin Iron replied.
Gideon Yue smiled. "Good. That brat will have to show himself now—perfect timing. They'll be scrambling for solutions. You five did well. Even though your covers are blown, you'll still get rewards. Head back to Hell Palace and stay under my command from now on."
"Thank you, Elder." Dustin Iron bowed, then led the others off to handle their tasks.
Gideon Yue summoned another person. The man moved with eerie speed, appeared before Gideon Yue, and respectfully said, "Elder Yue, what are your orders?"
"Dark Ghost Shadow, keep an eye on everything Heavenly Mansion does and report to me immediately," Gideon Yue ordered.
"Yes, Elder." The man vanished without a trace.
At this moment, Skyreach Tower had been completely reserved. That almost never happened unless it was for someone important. When people heard Heavenly Mansion booked it, they understood. News of a ten-day wine tasting event quickly attracted tons of connoisseurs.
Evan Yang and Leah arrived at Skyreach Tower along with the others. At first, Evan only brought out what he thought was ordinary wine, even diluted it with water. But even that had the drinkers raving.
Half a day passed quickly. On the top floor, Evan Yang stood with Tony Tong and the others. Evan sighed, "It's already been half a day, and the Spatial Patriarch still hasn't shown up."
"Don't worry, we've booked it for ten days. Let's just be patient," Tony Tong said. He knew Evan was anxious about Gavin White's safety.
Evan regretted it—if only he'd killed Dustin Iron back then, none of this would be happening now.
Seeing Evan like this, Tony Tong and the others could only wait with him, hoping for a sliver of luck. Meanwhile, after Gideon Yue received Dark Ghost Shadow's report, he muttered, "They're hosting a wine event? Booked Skyreach Tower for ten days? When did Heavenly Mansion get so extravagant? What are they up to?"
Gideon Yue paced back and forth, then stopped and muttered, "Could they be trying to lure out the Spatial Patriarch?"
After thinking it over, Gideon Yue snorted, "No way. The Spatial Patriarch? I'll definitely stop him. Anyone who goes against me won't end well."
Soon, Hell Palace agents also sprang into action, blending into the wine-tasting crowd to look for a chance. The moment the Spatial Patriarch appeared, they'd strike—no way would they let Heavenly Mansion get the upper hand.
Heavenly Mansion had no clue that Hell Palace people were hiding among the crowd.
Time slipped by like this. The first day passed, then the second, then the third—still no news. Evan Yang and the others grew more and more worried. Would the lure really bring the Spatial Patriarch out?
On the fourth day, everyone was still waiting. Suddenly, a ragged old man appeared in front of the crowd. He was filthy from head to toe. The Heavenly Mansion guards saw him trying to get a drink and immediately tried to kick him out, but he wouldn't budge. He kept muttering, "The wine smells amazing—let me have a sip and I'll leave."
No one listened—they just wanted him gone. But right then, Evan Yang appeared next to him, looked at the ragged old man and said, "Senior, the wine out here isn't for you. I've got something much better inside."
The crowd was baffled—why was Evan Yang suddenly so interested in a dirty old man? Tony Tong wanted to ask, but Evan had already pulled him inside Skyreach Tower and ordered the doors shut. Inside, Evan respectfully said, "You're the Spatial Patriarch, aren't you?"
Tony Tong and the others were shocked. How could this ragged old man possibly be the Spatial Patriarch? He definitely didn't look the part.
The old man shook his head, pretending to be confused. "Spatial Patriarch? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Senior, I've got a bottle of Dreamwine here. It's way better than anything outside. If you want it, just admit who you are." Evan Yang placed the bottle on the table and smiled at the old man.
The old man stared at the wine for a long time, then chuckled. "How did you see through me?"
As soon as he finished, the old man transformed, revealing his true appearance—the real Spatial Patriarch stood before Evan Yang and the others, leaving Tony Tong and the group stunned.
Evan Yang smiled. "Any disguise is just an illusion in front of me. No matter what you turn into, I can see your real face."
"Not bad, kid," the Spatial Patriarch laughed.
Evan Yang handed over the Dreamwine. The Spatial Patriarch laughed, "This wine is practically poison! Did you do all this just to lure me out?"
"Honestly, Senior, I couldn't think of any other way," Evan Yang admitted.
"How can you be sure I'll help you? I'm weak—Heavenly Mansion could kill me anytime," the Spatial Patriarch joked.
"Senior, just drink the wine first," Evan Yang smiled. The Spatial Patriarch laughed, "Even if it's poison, I'd still drink it. The aroma is irresistible."
After drinking, the Spatial Patriarch fell into deep intoxication, laughing and crying. Tony Tong was curious, "You didn't actually poison him, right?" Evan Yang explained, "Dreamwine just shows you what you most want to see."
When the Spatial Patriarch finally calmed down and realized his embarrassing display, he quickly wiped his tears and joked, "You guys are ruthless, giving me wine like that."
Evan Yang said, "We just want to ask you for a favor."
The Spatial Patriarch agreed, but set two conditions. "First, no one here is allowed to mention what just happened. If you do, I'll come back for revenge—even from the grave."
"What's the second condition?" Evan Yang asked.
"I want a hundred bottles of Dreamwine as payment. How about it?" The Spatial Patriarch pointed at the wine.
Evan Yang grinned, "No problem. If Senior is willing to help, I'd give two hundred bottles if needed."
"Alright, since you said that, I'll help. So, what's the problem?" The Spatial Patriarch asked. Evan Yang replied gravely, "A friend was trapped by the Five Elements Trapping Formation. When one of the controllers was attacked, the spatial coordinates got messed up and she vanished. Can you help us find her?"
"That's pretty tricky. The Five Elements Trapping Formation is weird, and the space itself is strange. Still, I can give it a shot. Do you have her aura and portrait? That'll make it easier to search." The Spatial Patriarch said to Evan Yang.
Evan Yang handed over Gavin White's portrait and aura imprint. The Spatial Patriarch looked them over and said, "I need a quiet place, absolutely no interruptions, and I need five days."
Evan Yang glanced at Tony Tong. Tony said, "Heavenly Mansion can provide that. Let's go."
After that, Tony Tong and the others led the Spatial Patriarch away. On the way, Evan Yang told Tony, "This time, we can't let anyone else in Heavenly Mansion know. Hell Palace has spies everywhere—if they mess things up, it'll be trouble for Senior."
"Don't worry, I know how to handle it. Nobody else will hear a word about this," Tony Tong promised.
Only then did Evan Yang relax, but he still sensed someone tailing them. This person was hiding their aura well, making it hard to pinpoint.
That person was Dark Ghost Shadow. He flashed away, returning to Hell Palace, and reported all the details to Gideon Yue.
Gideon Yue was suspicious. "You're saying they invited a ragged old man?"
"Yeah," Dark Ghost Shadow replied.
"Something's fishy. I need to send Heavenly Mansion agents to investigate. No matter what, we have to figure out what they're doing with that old man," Gideon Yue grumbled.
As for Evan Yang and the others, they returned to Heavenly Mansion. Inside, Tony Tong arranged a secret room for the Spatial Patriarch, forbidding anyone from getting close.
Even so, plenty of people noticed something was off about the secret room—after all, there were guards posted everywhere.
Word soon reached Gideon Yue, who started mobilizing Hell Palace's forces inside Heavenly Mansion.
"Tony, it's the first day. Any news?" Evan Yang asked, worried Hell Palace's people might cause trouble again.
"Nothing yet. But with all this high-profile protection, people are bound to get suspicious. Hell Palace definitely knows something's up," Tony Tong said worriedly.
"All they know is there's someone important in the secret room—they don't know who. That's good enough," Evan Yang replied.
Tony Tong nodded. The hidden forces inside Heavenly Mansion started moving. The first three days seemed quiet, but there were always people lurking nearby. Evan Yang noticed too, and suspected some of them were tied to Hell Palace. He had to hold back from grabbing them on the spot.
But he had no proof, so Evan Yang just kept watch.
On the fourth day, Evan Yang finally got a message from Tony Tong: "Senior is almost done. If nothing goes wrong, we'll get results tomorrow."
Evan Yang was so excited he couldn't sit still. He paced back and forth all day, waiting for news.
Meanwhile, Hell Palace agents kept trying to sneak into the secret room, but Tony Tong's security was airtight. No one got through.
Finally, at dawn on the fifth day, the Spatial Patriarch emerged from the secret room, looking exhausted but triumphant.
Evan Yang rushed over. "Senior, did you find her?"
The Spatial Patriarch nodded. "I found her, but she's trapped in a chaotic space. It'll take special methods to rescue her."