Hale stayed in the inn, keeping a close eye on the Fenn Family’s movements. He saw Steward Fenn appear again at the gate, this time with two people following behind.
"Who are those two?" Hale wondered suspiciously.
At this moment, Hale really wanted to sneak inside, but Patriarch Fenn’s strength was overwhelming and leaving would be too risky. He could only stay put, watching the Fenn Family for any changes.
Led by the steward, the Ninefold Palace Lord arrived at the Fenn estate. By now, the bodies of those who had died had been moved aside.
Seeing so many corpses piled up, both the Ninefold Palace Lord and the insect specialist revealed strange expressions.
When they reached the Fenn Council Hall, the Ninefold Palace Lord stepped forward and said, "Brother Fenn, what happened here?"
"Brother Zi, you finally made it." Patriarch Fenn sighed.
"What’s this?" Seeing bloodstains still scattered in some places outside, as if a brutal fight had taken place, the Ninefold Palace Lord frowned.
"Sigh, it looks like the Fenn Family is in trouble. I called you here to see what these insects really are." Patriarch Fenn said, then ordered someone to bring out an insect—this one had been severely wounded by Patriarch Fenn and was barely clinging to life.
"Brother Lin, I’ll leave it to you," said the Ninefold Palace Lord to the expert beside him.
The expert replied, "Mm."
Then the man walked over, squatted down, and examined the insect up and down. The people around grew impatient, especially when they saw him turning the insect corpse over and over.
Throughout the whole process, everyone kept silent. After a quarter of an hour, the man stood up, frowned, and said, "Palace Lord, Patriarch Fenn, this seems serious. Do you know how these insects appeared?"
"It was an enemy of the Fenn Family. He released these insects, but I don’t know what kind they are," Patriarch Fenn replied suspiciously.
The man glanced at the Palace Lord, who signaled him to speak. He continued, "Tens of thousands of years ago, there appeared an Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects. It could spawn many offensive and defensive insects, and these are likely its offspring."
"Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects?" Both Patriarch Fenn and the Ninefold Palace Lord showed shocked expressions. Back then, the Ancestor nearly caused the Three Palaces to go to war. After all, it could produce insects tailored to the user, and if nurtured with the blood of the strongest, it would be an invincible army. Not just the Three Palaces—even other great clans wanted to secretly capture it and use it to rule the whole star system.
"Yes, that’s my initial assessment. Patriarch Fenn, did you see these insects appear in batches? And do they all share similar traits?" the expert confirmed.
"That’s right, each one is nearly identical, and their aggression is extreme. Some even suck blood. Most importantly, they can match a cultivator at the Crossing-Shadow stage," Patriarch Fenn said.
"Then I’m certain these are the Ancestor’s offspring. Otherwise, no other insect could be this powerful—spawning so many similar, highly aggressive and defensive insects," the expert said with conviction.
"Didn’t that being disappear?" the Ninefold Palace Lord exclaimed in shock.
"This whole thing is strange. Brother Zi, let’s discuss it in the secret chamber," said Patriarch Fenn.
The Ninefold Palace Lord nodded, and he and Patriarch Fenn left together, leaving everyone else uncertain what to do.
Inside the secret chamber, Patriarch Fenn frowned and asked, "Brother Zi, what do you think?"
"Back then, the Three Palaces and your great clans all tried to find the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects, but it vanished without a trace. Its reappearance must be related to whoever disappeared. Do you know who your Fenn Family’s enemy really is?" The Ninefold Palace Lord wanted to get to the bottom of things. Right now, only the Fenn Family and Ninefold Palace knew the secret. As long as the other two palaces and other clans remained unaware, they could capture that person and force out the Ancestor’s whereabouts.
"They say it’s someone from the Genius Pavilion, and a Violet Seventh-Tier at that—maybe you even know him," Patriarch Fenn mused.
"Violet Seventh-Tier? Who?" Hearing this, the Ninefold Palace Lord was shocked. All Violet Seventh-Tier geniuses from the Genius Pavilion are known throughout the palaces. If it really is one, he would definitely recognize the name.
"Yang Han," said Patriarch Fenn.
"Yang Han? Isn’t that the recent one?" The Ninefold Palace Lord felt the name was familiar.
"That’s right. If these insects really are his, then he’s very likely to know where the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects is," Patriarch Fenn replied.
"The Genius Pavilion probably doesn’t know, right?" asked the Ninefold Palace Lord.
"They probably don’t know. If the Genius Pavilion did, they would have seized the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects long ago and used it to rule the star systems," said Patriarch Fenn.
"Exactly. Looks like no one else knows about this yet," the Ninefold Palace Lord said, sounding excited.
But Patriarch Fenn wasn’t excited—he had no idea where that person was, and the Fenn Family had suffered heavy losses.
"Don’t get ahead of yourself. Let’s find him first," Patriarch Fenn said.
"That’s simple—just make his portrait the highest-level wanted order. I doubt he can hide then, and we’ll force the Genius Pavilion to hand him over," said the Ninefold Palace Lord.
"I forgot to mention, he can disguise himself—he uses Hidden Dragon Elixirs, making him nearly impossible to spot," Patriarch Fenn explained.
"Hidden Dragon Elixir?" the Ninefold Palace Lord asked suspiciously.
"That’s right. He used one when he came to the Fenn estate, and he’s also a master brewer. I tasted his wine—honestly, it was just like a hallucinogen," Patriarch Fenn said.
"That strong?" the Ninefold Palace Lord exclaimed.
"That’s why he’s so hard to catch—unless we have something to lure him out," said Patriarch Fenn.
"Didn’t you say he has a grudge with your family? What’s the reason behind it?" the Ninefold Palace Lord asked curiously.
"It’s about the solution to the Tyrant Seal Art’s side effects. You know only the patriarch ever knows it; nobody else would tell him," Patriarch Fenn replied.
"That’s easy—just announce you’re willing to tell him," suggested the Ninefold Palace Lord.
"We tried that before. Now it won’t work," Patriarch Fenn sighed.
"You already tried that?" the Ninefold Palace Lord exclaimed.
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"Yes, we did," Patriarch Fenn nodded.
The Ninefold Palace Lord pondered for a while, then said, "Let’s go to the Genius Pavilion. I don’t believe he doesn’t have friends there."
"Genius Pavilion? Those old stubborn men—do you really think they’ll sit back and do nothing? Besides, if they learn about the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Insects, they’ll protect him even more," Patriarch Fenn said.
"Just find an excuse and smooth things over. I don’t believe those old stubborn men will fight me to the end," the Ninefold Palace Lord sneered.
"Then I'll go with you. That way, they won't dare to act recklessly," said the Fenn Patriarch after some thought.
"Then I'll go with you. That way, they won't dare to act rashly," said Patriarch Fenn after thinking for a moment.
"Alright, let's go," said the Ninefold Palace Lord.
Thus, Patriarch Fenn and the Ninefold Palace Lord quietly disappeared. Even the steward and others had no idea what happened, and another Ninefold Palace member was eager to know what had transpired and why they hadn't returned yet.
When Patriarch Fenn and the Ninefold Palace Lord appeared again, they were already on Genius Star.
"Old fellows of Genius Star, aren't you coming out yet?" The Ninefold Palace Lord laughed loudly upon arrival.
Sure enough, several powerful auras suddenly appeared, and those nearby who heard the voice exchanged bewildered glances—who could be so arrogant? They rushed over to watch the spectacle.
Whoosh—three people appeared before the Ninefold Palace Lord and Patriarch Fenn. The three showed odd expressions upon seeing two top experts arrive together.
"What are you here for?" one of them asked.
"We have business with you," the Ninefold Palace Lord said with a smile.
"What business?" the person asked curiously. The other two were also eager to know what could require both Patriarch Fenn and another Palace Lord to come in person.
The surrounding people didn’t dare get close and were blocked by several elders.
"There’s a Violet Seventh‑Tier in your Genius Pavilion who turned the Fenn Family upside down, causing the loss of over a thousand people. As the top clan of Ninefold Star, I, as Palace Lord, can’t stand by, so I’ve come to demand this person," the Ninefold Palace Lord said, expression unchanged.
Hearing that the Fenn Family lost over a thousand people, the three were shocked—that’s no small number. They were also curious: what kind of genius could do such a thing, killing so many Fenn clan members?
So one of them asked suspiciously, "Are you sure this person is from our Genius Pavilion?"
"Yes, absolutely. And he’s a recently promoted Violet Seventh‑Tier," Patriarch Fenn replied.
All three knew the terror of Patriarch Fenn and the Ninefold Palace Lord—even together, they weren’t a match for those two. This was a forced demand; they had no power to resist.
"What’s his name?" asked one, after thinking for a moment.
"Hale," said Patriarch Fenn. The moment the name was spoken, the crowd erupted. One elder’s face changed dramatically.
That elder was Elder Mu, who had always looked after Hale. He never expected that these two big figures had come for him, muttering inwardly, "Did Hale really kill over a thousand Fenn clan members?"
The three old monsters of Genius Pavilion exchanged glances. One of them said, "Let me ask."
After speaking, he turned and found Elder Mu, asking, "Elder Mu, is Hale here?"
"Left Pavilion Lord, he’s been gone for many years and hasn’t returned," Elder Mu replied.
The Left Pavilion Lord nodded, then walked back and said, "He’s not here, so we can’t give you the person. If he returns someday, we’ll hand him over then."
"Not here? Who knows when that will be. Let me help you," the Ninefold Palace Lord said with a smile. He bypassed the three Pavilion Lords, stepped forward, and addressed the crowd: "Who knows Hale? Who is Hale’s best friend?"
Gavin Qiao was right there, knowing Hale had gotten into huge trouble. He felt secretly pleased, and thought of Reed Kong. He stepped out and said, "I know him."
At that moment, Gavin Qiao was immediately despised by many. The elders exchanged glances, and the three Pavilion Lords silently cursed him for stirring up trouble now.
But since Gavin Qiao stepped out, the three Pavilion Lords were powerless to stop it, knowing they had to let things proceed.
The Ninefold Palace Lord smiled, "Oh? What’s your name? And who is his best friend?"
"I’m Gavin Qiao of the Qiao Family. His best friend is the steward who brought him here, Reed Kong," Gavin replied without hesitation.
The crowd instantly fell silent. Some secretly cursed Gavin Qiao for being despicable.