Chapter 668: They've Confessed

In a dungeon of the Southeastern Aquatic Palace, Long Er and Long San were beating up Ye Dafu and the three other golden cultivators. Screams echoed around the dungeon.

Despite their cries, neither Ye Dafu nor any of the others would reveal anything.

"Keep beating them up until they tell us what they know!"

"Bring some poison over. We have plenty of ways to get them to talk!"

Long Er and Long San instructed their subordinates to bring them specialized supplies as the screams continued to echo.

Meanwhile, Long Si was interrogating Xiao Nanfeng on his own, having set up a formation to prevent anyone else from approaching. No one knew what was going on within, but considering Long Si's public humiliation at Xiao Nanfeng's hands, it wasn't hard for them to guess that Xiao Nanfeng was enduring inhumane torture.

No one would have suspected the reality: that Xiao Nanfeng and Long Si were deep in meditation, with neither of them speaking to the other. After all, Long Si was currently being possessed by Xiao Nanfeng's avatar.

After some time, the two cultivators opened their eyes simultaneously, then began to add to each other's disguise. Xiao Nanfeng gave his body a few wounds, then caused his face to swell up. Then, he pretended to lose consciousness.

Long Si rolled up his sleeves, making it look like he had just exerted himself.

Then, he dispelled the formation and walked out of the torture chamber.

"Lord Si!" A group of subordinates rushed toward him.

"No one is to enter. Keep an eye on the door. I intend to continue questioning him later," Long Si commanded.

"Understood!" his subordinates said.

They glanced into the chamber to see Xiao Nanfeng wounded and scarred all over. He had fainted from the severity of his wounds. They nodded at each other.

Then, Long Si shut the chamber and sealed it off with a formation.

"Xiao Nanfeng, do you think I'll let you go just because you're unconscious? I'll make your life a living hell!" Long Si spat out.

Then, he stalked off and headed toward Long Er and Long San's torture chambers.

Upon seeing that Ye Dafu and the other three cultivators had been beaten almost to a pulp, he nodded in satisfaction. Long Er and Long San seemed pleased as well.

"Second Brother, Third Brother, what have you uncovered?" Long Si asked.

"We finally got them to talk. Ao Canghai's been planning to take down the Southeastern Aquatic Palace for quite a while. He even managed to have a few spies infiltrate the palace. I can't believe it," Long San said.

"Although we don't know precisely who the spies are, we learned that they're going to strike within the next few days. We really were lucky," Long Er said.

"I uncovered where their base is," Long Si reported.

"What?" the two cultivators exclaimed in surprise.

"Come on. Let's report back to Eldest Brother," Long Si said.

"Very well!"

The three dragons returned to Crystal Hall, where they found Long Yi waiting for them.

"Eldest Brother, we managed to get something out of the prisoners. Ao Canghai's trying to seize our Eye of the Sea!" Long Er exclaimed.

The three cultivators revealed what they had learned from their interrogations to Long Yi.

"The fact that Ao Canghai's working with Xiao Nanfeng means that he's intent on seizing our treasure. He's been revealed, so he's going to act quickly. He might even be planning to raid us right away," Long Si said.

"It's strange for him to be cooperating with Xiao Nanfeng, but perhaps there was some private deal between them. Considering Ao Canghai's personality, I'm sure he'll strike at us directly within moments." Long Yi nodded.

"Eldest Brother, rather than sit here and wait for them to come to us, why don't we make a move against them?" Long Si proposed.

"Are you sure Xiao Nanfeng's telling the truth?" Long Yi asked Long Si.

"Don't worry, Eldest Brother. The only reason Xiao Nanfeng's been successful all this time is because nothing has ever gone wrong for him. Now that we're in full control, he would never dare lie. What's more, he and Ao Canghai are enemies. He'd hardly bat an eye at betraying Ao Canghai," Long Si promised.

"But wouldn't Ao Canghai be on guard against him?" Long Yi frowned.

"I expect he can't be," Long Si replied. "According to Xiao Nanfeng, Ao Canghai was planning for Xiao Nanfeng to take the lead. Ao Canghai never revealed the location of his camp to Xiao Nanfeng, but Xiao Nanfeng was sly enough to have found out where it was beforehand," Long Si replied.

Long Yi was silent as he considered the situation.

"Eldest Brother, this is our territory. If we don't make a move, we're giving them the opportunity to take the lead!"

"Eldest Brother, let's attack them. We aren't going to give up on our own treasure, are we?"

Long Er and Long San sided with Long Si.

"We'll have reinforcements here before long," Long Yi revealed, frowning. He didn't seem to want to take the risk.

"Eldest Brother, will those reinforcements ensure that we'll be able to take down Ao Canghai?" Long Si asked.

"We likely won't be able to do so, but we'll be able to force him to retreat."

"What if Ao Canghai attacks us before those reinforcements arrive? If they can't decisively take down Ao Canghai, then they might as well be useless. Once they leave, Ao Canghai will only batter us with even more forces! If we attack him now, we'll be able to catch him unprepared. We aren't going to get such an opportunity again!" Long Si said.

"Right, Eldest Brother! We can't miss out on such a good opportunity," Long Er added.

Long Yi fell silent again. He didn't doubt Long Si any longer; he was carefully considering his brothers' viewpoints.

In the end, he nodded. "Very well. Let's give it a try. We'll launch a sneak attack on them and probe just how many Golden Immortals Ao Canghai brought with him."

"Eldest Brother, Ao Canghai is a Boundless Immortal. We can't underestimate him," Long Si said.

"A Boundless Immortal? Only a fledgling one. Perhaps we really might be able to take him down," Long Yi murmured.

"Eldest Brother, are we really going to make use of the Eye of the Sea?" Long Er asked.

"Our enemies are right at our doorstep. What are we waiting for?" Long Yi retorted. "Prepare to strike."

"Understood!" the three dragons chorused.

Back when Ao Zhou was rescued by Ao Canghai's two Martial Aspects and Long Er had left, the two Martial Aspects eyed each other, then looked sharply at Ao Zhou. They were considering the prospect of taking him down right then and there.

Just then, shouts could be heard from afar. "Martial Aspect Ao Zhou, something's wrong! His Majesty has been caught!"

A group of Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates rushed over anxiously.

"Xiao Nanfeng has a bunch of treasures—how could he have been caught?!" Ao Zhou exclaimed.

"It's true! Our avatars are already in the process of seeking aid," Xiao Nanfeng's subordinate replied. Then, he turned to the Martial Aspects in surprise. "Martial Aspects, what are you doing here? Please assist us."

The two Martial Aspects grimaced, knowing that they had lost their best opportunity to strike. They stared at Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates coldly, not intending to lend any assistance.

"Bring me over," Ao Zhou said.

When the cultivators saw that the two Martial Aspects were refusing to help, they had no choice but to leave with Ao Zhou. They headed to where Xiao Nanfeng had been last witnessed. Then, Ao Zhou asked the witnesses what they had seen before he could confirm that Xiao Nanfeng really had been taken away.

He fretted anxiously, turning his head and suddenly spotting the two Martial Aspects, who had followed behind him. He marched up to them. "Is the Eastern Aspect around?"

One of the Martial Aspects hesitated, clearly not wanting to expose the fact that Ao Canghai was present.

"He isn't around, then? Xiao Nanfeng and I have already found an Eye of the Sea. We know how to extract it, but we were attacked before we could make a move," Ao Zhou revealed.

"What? How could the likes of you have figured that out?" one Martial Aspect exclaimed in disbelief.

"Forget it. If the Eastern Aspect isn't around, I'll inform the Yuqing holy land immediately and have them dispatch their disciples to help. They're closer, after all," Ao Zhou said.

"And why would those cultivators from the Yuqing holy land help you out?" the other Martial Aspect asked.

Ao Zhou didn't explain. He looked toward one of Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates. "Immediately have your avatar seek an audience with the Mountain Lord of Chiyang Peak. Tell him that Xiao Nanfeng's trapped within the Southeastern Aquatic Palace and have him send reinforcements as quickly as possible. Tell him that we've found an Eye of the Sea and have a very good chance of being able to claim it. We're willing to split the profits with the Mountain Lord of Chiyang Peak."

"Understood!"

One of the Martial Aspects nudged the other one. He shouted, "Hold it! The Eastern Aspect is here. Time is of the essence, so it'll be faster if he rescues Xiao Nanfeng instead."

"The Eastern Aspect is here? You aren't lying to me, are you?" Ao Zhou exclaimed.

"He's right outside. I'll bring you there," the Martial Aspect replied.

Ao Zhou pursed his lips, but he and his subordinates followed the Martial Aspects out of the sea. Time was of the essence, after all, and they couldn't waste even a single second.

High in the air, Ao Canghai raised an eyebrow. He didn't understand why his two subordinates had chosen to expose his presence until they drew near and explained themselves. Ao Canghai narrowed his eyes greedily.

"Ao Zhou, isn't the Eye of the Sea in the Southeastern Aquatic Palace? Have you found a second such eye?" Ao Canghai demanded.

"There's only one, and it is located within the Southeastern Aquatic Palace, but it's so strong that it has formed a secondary current that we can follow straight toward the Eye. Only we know where that secondary current is. I borrowed the Cage of the Sea from the Hall of Martial Aspects precisely to extract the Eye, but we were discovered before we could make a move.

"Oh? And where's that current?" Ao Canghai asked.

Ao Zhou glanced around shiftily, not wanting to reveal that information.

"Ao Zhou, you should know how strong an Eye of the Sea is. A Golden Immortal using the Eye will have the strength of a Boundless Immortal. If we don't prevent the Southeastern Aquatic Palace from using its abilities, we won't have a chance at victory. The longer we stall, the more likely Xiao Nanfeng will die. Don't you want to save him?" Ao Canghai asked.

"Let me think..." Ao Zhou furrowed his brows.

He flew toward his subordinates and began discussing the situation with them, but then seemed to get into an argument.

Just then, one of Xiao Nanfeng's subordinates stepped forward and whispered, "His Majesty's avatar has sent word stating that the draconic lords of the palace are torturing him, and he may be in grave danger. He wants you to agree to cooperate with Ao Canghai for the moment—at the very least, to distract the cultivators of the palace. He's already sent some subordinates to seek assistance from the Yuqing holy land. Slow the Eastern Aspect and his Martial Aspects down as much as you can."

Ao Canghai was a Boundless Immortal. If he wanted to listen in to a conversation, he would be able to do so no matter how quietly the cultivators whispered to each other. When he overheard the conversation, he smiled in satisfaction and excitement. He wasn't in a hurry, either. He was more than happy to wait.

After a moment, Ao Zhou flew toward him with his subordinates in tow.

"Follow me, Eastern Aspect," Ao Zhou said.

"Let's go," Ao Canghai said coolly.

Very quickly, Ao Zhou led them toward a small island shrouded with fog, clearly the result of some formation or another.

As they landed on the island, Ao Canghai immediately began searching the neighboring sea.

"Are you sure it's here? Where's this current you were talking about?" Ao Canghai asked in confusion.

Just then, Long Yi arrived having triggered the power of the Eye of the Sea.

The waves all around the island surged forth, encroaching on the land.

"What?!" Ao Canghai exclaimed.