When Zhao Lin woke up again, he found himself lying on the ground. Assessing his current situation, he immediately sprang to his feet, looking around left and right. "What just happened?"
He checked himself and realized the Mother-Child Tower was gone.
"Damn it, what on earth happened?" Zhao Lin was shocked to find there was no trace of the teahouse, as if he were just lying in this mountain range all along.
Something like this happening out of nowhere left Zhao Lin extremely anxious. Losing the Immortal artifact on his watch meant that old man Liu would definitely tear into him. But now, with the tower gone, he couldn't even find a shadow of it.
"What should I do?" Zhao Lin muttered in panic.
Faced with this situation, Zhao Lin searched everywhere for the missing teahouse, overturning the entire mountain range, but found no trace of it at all.
Zhao Lin hurriedly activated his movement technique and rushed back to Fiend Palace, seeking out Elder Liu.
Elder Liu had originally been busy in his secret chamber, but hearing that Zhao Lin urgently needed to see him, he stepped out and immediately saw Zhao Lin's extremely grim expression.
"What's wrong?" Elder Liu asked curiously.
"Elder Liu, something happened," Zhao Lin stammered, voice trembling.
"What happened?" Elder Liu sensed something was wrong and looked at Zhao Lin suspiciously.
Zhao Lin recounted the whole incident to Elder Liu, whose expression grew darker and darker as he listened. Finally, he cursed, "You useless fool! You can't even guard a single Immortal artifact!"
"Elder Liu, what do we do now?" Zhao Lin was terrified Elder Liu might attack him, looking at him in panic.
"You tell me what to do! Letting someone just walk off with it—you're hopeless!" Elder Liu's face was flushed with anger.
"The opponent was too strong. I just got there and immediately blacked out," Zhao Lin tried to defend himself.
If Elder Liu had more than one Third-Rank general available, he would definitely have lashed out and injured Zhao Lin.
"Anyone with such skills is definitely no ordinary expert, and they targeted the Mother-Child Tower. There are only two possibilities: either they're friends of those people, or they're our enemy—or simply after the Mother-Child Tower itself." Elder Liu said angrily.
"The first possibility doesn't seem likely; we haven't identified their origins. The second possibility is too broad—Fiend Palace has made plenty of enemies over the years. But why didn't they just kill me?" Zhao Lin asked, confused.
"So the chance they're an enemy is pretty low. That leaves only one possibility—they're after the Mother-Child Tower. Using it this time definitely drew attention." Elder Liu replied, now regretting he'd let Zhao Lin watch over the artifact.
"After the Mother-Child Tower?" Zhao Lin realized that losing the artifact while it was in his care meant he couldn't avoid responsibility.
"We're from the Tracking Hall. If we can't even track this much, how can we call ourselves Fiend Palace's tracking specialists?" Elder Liu snorted coldly.
"What do you mean, Elder Liu?" Zhao Lin asked in alarm.
"The Mother-Child Tower passed through your hands, so it carries your aura. Use aura-tracking techniques to find its whereabouts," Elder Liu ordered.
"Yes, sir." Zhao Lin nodded, then summoned several Tracking Hall specialists skilled in aura tracking.
They used Zhao Lin's aura as a medium, while Elder Liu and Zhao Lin watched from the side.
But after half an hour, there was still no sign of anything.
"What's going on?" Elder Liu asked one of the team leaders.
The leader, sweating profusely, replied, "Elder Liu, I don't know why, but we haven't found anything."
"How is that possible? Our Fiend Palace aura-tracking techniques shouldn't fail so easily!" Elder Liu frowned.
"It's possible the other side knows how to erase auras. There might not be any trace left on the Mother-Child Tower now," the man answered.
"Is that even possible?" Elder Liu asked skeptically.
"It really is possible. Once the aura disappears, even with tracking techniques, we can't find its whereabouts," the man replied, nodding.
Elder Liu's expression grew even darker, while Zhao Lin stood off to the side, depressed. This time, he knew there was no way to escape responsibility.
"You may all leave for now," Elder Liu said, snapping out of his thoughts.
"Yes, Elder Liu. Let us know if you need anything," the team leader replied.
"Alright." Elder Liu nodded. After they left, he turned to Zhao Lin and asked, "Did you see a teahouse, then someone appeared, you blacked out, and when you woke up, nothing was left behind—not even a mark on the ground?"
"Yeah, where the teahouse was, it's just grass now, and it doesn't even look pressed down," Zhao Lin replied, growing curious as Elder Liu described it.
"Looks like I've got a clue," Elder Liu said, eyes blazing with anger.
"Who is it, Elder Liu?" Zhao Lin asked curiously.
"Someone I hate—and he hates me too," Elder Liu snorted.
Zhao Lin had no idea who Elder Liu meant and looked at him in confusion.
"Do you really want to know who it is?" Elder Liu asked, barely holding back his anger.
"Yeah." Zhao Lin nodded.
"Phantom Elder of the Fiend Realm’s Phantom Lineage," Elder Liu said.
"It's him!" Zhao Lin was stunned.
"Only his phantom abilities could make you think there was a teahouse there, when in reality it was nothing but an illusion," Elder Liu explained.
"What!" Zhao Lin exclaimed, realizing he'd been played.
"Go. Investigate. Get me everything you can on that old bastard," Elder Liu said coldly, now certain of his target.
"Yes, sir." Zhao Lin hurried off.
After Zhao Lin left, Elder Liu glared fiercely and muttered, "Phantom Elder, you finally showed yourself. After all these years, aren't you afraid of Fiend Palace's revenge? How dare you steal my Immortal artifact!"
In a distant place, Evan felt the silence outside and wondered what had happened.
Suddenly, a flash of light appeared, and he found himself outside the tower. A shabby old man was smiling at him with curiosity.
"Who are you?" Evan looked around, noticing there were no Fiend Palace people and this didn't seem like their territory. The shabby old man before him showed no hostility, just a kind expression.
"Just call me Phantom Elder," the old man replied with a smile.
"Phantom Elder?" Evan eyed the old man suspiciously, not recognizing him.
(This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Please click to the next page to continue reading!)
"Kid, I saved you. How can you be so rude?" Phantom Elder said with a laugh.
"You're right, thank you for your help, Senior Phantom," Evan said gratefully. He knew the old man had saved him, but was curious why a stranger would help.
"Are you the one Elder Liu was after?" Phantom Elder looked Evan up and down.
"Huh? What's the matter?" Evan asked, puzzled.
"Is it because you killed his grandson?" Phantom Elder asked with a smile.
"Yeah, but how did you know?" Evan looked the old man up and down, curious.
"You don't need to worry about how I know. As long as you confirm it, that's enough," Phantom Elder laughed.
Evan found Phantom Elder's words odd, and still wondered why he'd been saved.
Seeing Evan's suspicious gaze, Phantom Elder laughed, "Do you hate Elder Liu?"
"Not really hate, but since he's trying to capture me, I naturally have to fight back." Evan thought for a moment. If Derek hadn't been hunted by Liu Meisheng, he wouldn't have killed a Liu clan member for no reason.
"So you mean you'll fight him to the end? Won't let him catch you?" Phantom Elder laughed.
"Seems that way. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been trapped by this artifact, waiting for him to deal with me someday," Evan replied.
"It's fine if you don't hate him. As long as there's conflict between you, that's enough," Phantom Elder said.
"What do you mean, 'conflict is enough'? Senior Phantom, what are you really after?" Evan asked, confused.
"Let me put it simply: I hate that Liu from Fiend Palace, and he hates me too. But I can't confront Fiend Palace openly. You, on the other hand, can," Phantom Elder said with a smile.
"Senior Phantom, what are you getting at?" Evan felt like the old man wanted to use him as a weapon.
Phantom Elder laughed, "Don't look at me like that. I'm just proposing a deal."
"What kind of deal?" Evan stared at him.
"I can make you stronger, but you have to help me capture that old bastard," Phantom Elder said with a smile.
"Stronger? Is it pills, or what?" Evan asked suspiciously.
"Of course not pills. That's a dead-end. I'll give you a place where your cultivation will be twice as effective, maybe even faster," Phantom Elder replied.
"Then why don't you go yourself?" Evan eyed Phantom Elder warily. If it was so good, why didn't he use it himself?
"I'm too old. It wouldn't help me much. But you, young as you are, could accomplish a lot there," Phantom Elder laughed.
"Are you sure?" Evan still eyed Phantom Elder skeptically.
"I see you still don't believe me. Fine, I'll take you there so you can see for yourself. That way, you won't think I'm lying," Phantom Elder said.
"That sounds good. I'd like to see if such a place really exists," Evan nodded.
Seeing Evan no longer resist, Phantom Elder smiled, "You'd better get back in the tower. It'll be faster if I take you."
The great tower sucked Evan back into its darkness.
"Seriously, back in again. Who is this Phantom Elder really?" Evan knew the old man's power was extraordinary—otherwise, he couldn't have silently snatched the tower from Fiend Palace.
But Evan still had no clue who Phantom Elder was, or who he was after.
Suddenly Evan thought of someone who might know, so once inside the tower, he woke up the gentleman.
The gentleman who accompanied the youth was annoyed to find himself still in Evan's tower. "What is it now?" he grumbled.
"I wanted to ask, who is Phantom Elder?" Evan asked suspiciously.
"Phantom Elder?" The gentleman was a little surprised.
"Don't stare like that. Tell me, what's his background?" Evan pressed.
"He's quite something. Back in the day, Fiend Palace spent a lot of effort to force him back to his old territory. His techniques are strange and unpredictable. Without great strength, you'd never know if he was right beside you," the gentleman explained.