I have a martial arts panel.

Chapter 267 Potential Crisis on the Island

"This is troublesome!"

Xu Ning was startled when he saw the old woman appear in front of him.

This old woman was Princess Mo Lan's person; strictly speaking, she was her enemy.

Xu Ning clutched a crystal in his hand. This was a tool for summoning reinforcements. It could be activated when in danger and would allow Dong Ji to come to their rescue. Only Duan Chaofeng's trusted confidants were entitled to use this tool.

Bang!

Just as Xu Ning was about to activate it, the old woman flicked her finger, and a sharp gust of energy shot directly into Xu Ning's palm.

With a snap, Xu Ning's palm was blasted open, leaving a bloody hole.

The distress device clutched tightly in his hand was also shattered.

"Senior, may I have offended you in some way?"

Xu Ning calmed herself down and ignored her injuries.

Facing this old woman, he was powerless to fight back and could only try his best to remain calm.

"Are you working for Prince Ye?"

The old woman asked, her eyes scanning Xu Ning up and down.

"Yes."

Xu Ning remained remarkably calm.

The old woman nodded and approached Xu Ning.

"A fourth-level Dao Realm cultivator, the Core Formation stage, yet possessing such a solid foundation..."

The old woman scrutinized Xu Ning: "Moreover, his vitality is extremely strong, clearly indicating that he is not very old... In fact, his current appearance is a reflection of his true age..."

In just a brief encounter, the old woman figured out Xu Ning's background.

"You have good potential. Come with me to seek refuge with Princess Molan."

The old woman saw Xu Ning's potential and grabbed him by the collar, intending to carry him away.

Xu Ning almost instinctively dodged.

However, Xu Ning did not dodge the old woman's movements.

"Working under Princess Mo Lan is not necessarily worse than working under Prince Ye."

The old woman smiled and said, "I'm about to take off."

"Xue Jinghua! Aren't you afraid we'll pursue us for this blatant robbery of my Ye Wang Mansion's people?"

Just as Xu Ning was about to be captured by the old woman, a loud voice came from afar.

Then, Dong Ji appeared on the scene.

"Senior Dong Ji!"

Xu Ning felt relieved when he saw Dong Ji arrive.

"I clearly didn't activate the summoning device, so why did Senior Dong Ji still come looking for me?"

Xu Ning was puzzled, but now that Dong Ji had arrived, his safety should be guaranteed.

Sure enough, Xue Jinghua's expression froze when she saw Dong Ji arrive.

"Dong Ji!"

Xue Jinghua looked at Dong Ji with apprehension in her eyes.

She knew very well that Dong Ji's strength was at the peak of the seventh level of the Dao Realm, and his status in the Ye Wang Mansion was also very high.

He didn't have much of a chance against Dong Ji.

"What, now that I'm here, you still intend to kidnap people from the Ye Prince's Mansion?"

Dong Ji sneered.

Upon hearing this, Xue Jinghua narrowed her eyes slightly and put Xu Ning down.

Seeing this, Xu Ning also walked behind Dong Ji.

"You're smart to know your place."

Dong Ji glanced at Xu Ning and found that he had only suffered some superficial injuries.

Xue Jinghua lost face slightly, but she didn't really care.

If Dong Ji hadn't been there, it would have been easier for him to kidnap Xu Ning himself.

However, if Dong Ji were here, and I were to do this in front of him, it would be a direct slap in the face to the Ye Prince's Mansion, and the nature of my actions would change.

"Next time, I have high hopes for you guys."

Xue Jinghua glanced coldly at Dong Ji, then once again took up her sword and flew away.

"Thank you very much, Senior Dong Ji!"

After Xue Jinghua left, Xu Ning also clasped his hands in thanks to Dong Ji.

If Dong Ji hadn't appeared, I don't know what situation I would have faced if I had been taken to Mo Lan.

Dong Ji smiled and gently shook his head.

As a trusted confidant of Ye Wang and a senior colleague, Dong Ji greatly admired Xu Ning.

"How did you end up in her hands?"

Dong Ji inquired.

Xu Ning then recounted what had just happened.

"So that's how it is..."

Dong Ji understood.

"Senior Dong Ji, I didn't activate any rescue items, so how did you find me?"

Xu Ning had some questions, and at this moment, she asked them.

Dong Ji said, "It was the Crown Prince who sent me to find you."

Why is that?

Xu Ning pressed for an answer.

Previously, when searching for Soyamon on other islands, it was quite normal for individuals or teams to go out and stay away for several days before returning to camp to report their experiences.

It has only been less than two days, so why would the Crown Prince take the initiative to search for someone outside?

"In the past two days, several teams we sent out to search for the Soyamon have disappeared without a trace."

Dong Ji's face showed a slight solemnity: "Even Zhuo Weisong has disappeared without a trace."

"It was Zhang He who discovered that something was wrong."

Dong Ji said, "During his search, after passing by other teams, he wanted to turn back and exchange information. However, following the direction of the other teams, Zhang He discovered that they had disappeared."

"After searching, he couldn't find where the missing person had gone, so he returned to the camp and reported the matter. Subsequently, the prince began to recall the missing persons. After questioning each other, they also discovered that Zhuo Weisong was missing."

"That's why the Crown Prince was so worried about your safety, so he sent me out to look for you. I just didn't expect you to have gone so far."

"Is that really true?"

Xu Ning's eyes twitched: "Was it Mo Lan County who initiated this?"

"no."

Dong Ji responded, "According to our inquiries, some people have also gone missing from Princess Mo Lan's side. Xue Jinghua's appearance outside the camp is probably to recall those who are outside..."

"I see..."

Xu Ning was also on high alert.

"It must be a hidden danger on this island..."

Dong Ji narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Let's go back to camp first."

Dong Ji grabbed Xu Ning and flew back to the camp.

He had to protect Duan Chaofeng on this trip. If he hadn't come to find Xu Ning, he would never have left Duan Chaofeng's side.

Dong Ji, who is at the seventh level of the Dao Realm, can fly at an extremely fast speed, not much slower than flying demonic beasts of the same level.

"Your Highness, the person has been brought back."

Before long, Dong Ji brought Xu Ning to Duan Chaofeng.

Duan Chaofeng had initially breathed a sigh of relief, but upon seeing Xu Ning's still-healing injuries, he raised an eyebrow: "You're injured?"

Then, Dong Ji recounted Xu Ning's ordeal.

"Have the people of Mo Lan become so arrogant...?"

Duan Chaofeng's expression was rather unpleasant.

However, he also knew that now was not the time to seek an explanation, as there were other important matters to attend to.

"Your Highness."

At this moment, Zhang He also returned from outside.

"Apart from sending out a small number of people to search for the missing team, everyone else has been recalled."

Zhang He reported this to Duan Chaofeng.

"How many of us have gone missing on this island?"

Duan Chaofeng inquired.

"Among them, 37 people from the Prince's Mansion, including Zhuo Weisong, have gone missing, as have 10 of the accompanying beast-taming masters."

Zhang He responded.

Upon hearing this, Duan Chaofeng's expression became very serious.

This loss is indeed considerable.

Among them, Zhuo Weisong is missing. If he cannot be found before this return trip, it will be difficult to explain to his father, Zhuo Cengyun.

Like Dong Ji, Zhuo Cengyun was one of Ye Wang's most trusted men.

Although Zhuo Cengyun certainly wouldn't dare to hold a grudge against him for this, this matter could absolutely not be easily dismissed.

In addition, ten beast taming masters have gone missing.

The beast taming masters recruited this time are not only the top in Guqing Prefecture, but also from several nearby prefectures.

There were fewer than fifty of them in total, and now, less than two days after they arrived on the island, more than a quarter of them have disappeared.

"Your Highness, this must be the work of some creature on the island...it could even be the work of the Soyamon..."

At this moment, Dong Ji spoke up.

"Oh?"

Duan Chaofeng looked at Dong Ji.

"Based on our previous understanding, these teams disappeared without leaving any trace. This means that the mastermind behind this is either extremely powerful, capable of eliminating all the missing teams with a single blow, without making a sound or allowing them to call for help..."

"Either... their methods are extremely unique, capable of annihilating or abducting them on the spot without them even realizing it..."

Dong Ji responded, "And the abilities of the Soyamon happen to match the second deduction..."

"The Soyamon is said to be a master weaver of the night."

Dong Ji said, "Its ability is to cause human experts or other demonic beasts to unknowingly sink into endless darkness..."

"hiss……"

Duan Chaofeng gasped slightly: "You mean, the Night Beast has already shown itself?"

"Very likely."

Dong Ji looked completely confident.

Upon hearing this, Duan Chaofeng's expression changed slightly.

"If that's the case, then this Nightbeast is incredibly powerful..."

Zhang He frowned deeply, "Your Highness, your safety..."

"With Senior Dong here, I don't need to worry about my safety."

Duan Chaofeng said, "If I encounter danger, I can hide inside Senior Dong's spatial treasure. With him there, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"But that Night Beast is so terrifying..."

Zhang He was still somewhat worried.

"It's true that the Night Beast has special abilities, but it's only at the mid-stage of the Dao Realm after all..."

Dong Ji said, "I am a high-level Grandmaster of the seventh level of the Dao Realm. It has no chance of winning against me... Otherwise, it wouldn't have targeted a lone group, but would have attacked our camp directly..."

Dong Ji's words directly assumed that the one who made the move was the Soya Beast.

Dong Ji's words reassured Zhang He and the others somewhat.

As long as Dong Ji is around, everyone's safety can be guaranteed.

"In that case, let's all stay in the camp for now."

Duan Chaofeng said, "We'll take action once the search team sends back any leads..."

After concluding that the Night Beast was highly likely to appear, Duan Chaofeng was both cautious and somewhat expectant.

The goal of this trip may already be right in front of us.

Just as Duan Chaofeng was about to dismiss everyone, a guard burst in.

"Your Highness!"

The guard hurriedly reported, "News has come from the front! They've found the missing person's belongings!"

"What?"

The expressions of the people present also changed.

"Such high efficiency...!"

Xu Ning felt somewhat puzzled.

They just went missing, and there wasn't a single clue at the scene, so how come their belongings have been found now?

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(End of this chapter)