Chapter 800 - More Shocking News
With a face like black ice, Shuang Wuyan silently followed closely behind.
After taking their seats, the duo was immediately attended to by the waiters, who brought tea.
Holding a wood-carved teacup, Ye Qingyu sniffed the refreshing fragrance within, and could tell that this was no ordinary tea, and was instead brewed from the tender leaves of a precious divine herb called the [Deity Attracting Tree]. It could strengthen one's constitution and inner yuan, improve one's concentration, and calm one's qi, and was particularly beneficial for martial experts. Taking his time, he sipped on the tea while carefully listening to the ongoing chatters and whispers.
Just then, a figure flickered in the distance.
Several hastily-moving figures, who were covered in so much gray mist that their race could not be identified, suddenly walked into the teahouse. The auras surging on them were not weak, and disclosed that they were at the pinnacle Immortal Step realm or thereabouts. As soon as they sat down, they ordered a few dishes and clustered together to discuss something in hushed voices.
"Big Brother, what's the source of your information? Is it reliable?" one of the dumpier figures impatiently asked once he got into his seat.
"Of course. The messenger sent by Ninth Brother says that the little envoy mission has been hemmed in for three days. If we hurry over, it'll be a good chance for us to snag some stuff while the two parties fight!" Seated facing east was a lofty figure whose voice was low and powerful, and whose strength was clearly way above that of the other misty figures.
"Haha, I heard that they've obtained many good items from the giant chaotic cities, and even their weapons are treasures from [Refine Armour] of the Sunrise City. This time, we must seize the opportunity to bring back some gains!" A voice from beside the lofty figure was unabashed by his greed.
The little envoy mission has been hemmed in...
Weapons from [Refine Armour]...
Hearing this conversation, Ye Qingyu was startled.
"Huh?"
Although they kept their voices soft and even operated magical ability in doing so, Ye Qingyu could hear them clearly. He suddenly realized that they were likely to be talking about the Heaven Wasteland envoy mission!
Why is it such news again?
Ye Qingyu's gaze fell upon these figures.
The news he heard regarding the Heaven Wasteland envoy mission the last time were deliberately spoken by the Four Stars holy girl and her accomplices to lure him into the mountain manor where he could easily be caught. He thus wondered if the present news was just a coincidence or if it was yet another fabrication.
Reasonably speaking, there currently should not be anyone who would still use this method to plot against him.
Could it be that... the Heaven Wasteland envoy mission is really in trouble?
He felt a discomforting concern.
His thoughts became confused at once.
"Let's go," Shuang Wuyan suddenly said.
Started up abruptly, Ye Qingyu placed the nearly-smashed teacup down and nodded his head with a somber expression. Although the discussions of the figures beside him were fervent, their later conversations revealed that they were actually rushing over just to join in the fun and did not possess much inside information. Therefore, Ye Qingyu restrained his intention to interrogate them with force.
His mind became hazy.
For the subsequent journey of more than a hundred kilometers, his and Shuang Wuyan's strides spanned a kilometer as they activated yuan qi to increase their speed by several times.
Finally, after ten minutes, the duo arrived near the Sky Mirror Sea.
From afar, the surface area of this salt lake, which had an outline that was shaped like a teardrop, was three times as big as the entrance of the Black Demon Pool. It certainly could pass for a boundless ocean. The water in the salt lake was so clear that the bottom could be seen. From different distances, it could be seen that the lake surface, shone upon by the sun from morning to evening, reflected all kinds of gorgeous colors.
This explained why it was called "Sky Mirror". The images reflected on the surface seemed like real substances in the lake, while those colors more so appeared to be derived from the Saint realm.
Gazing at the scene of sublime and unreal beauty, Ye Qingyu was in no mood for appreciation.
"Let's go." Shuang Wuyan took the initiative to enter the lake as soon as he spoke, and dove toward the bottom.
Subsequently, Ye Qingyu activated his yuan qi and converted the wisp of bright yellow Immortal qi into a thin layer of mist which wrapped around his body, before he leapt into the lake.
After fifteen minutes or so.
The duo finally arrived at the bottom of the lake, dozens of kilometers below, in front of the gate of the Sky Mirror City.
This halite-formed ancient city lodged firmly at the bottom of the lake, possessing the lofty air of a divine mountain. It was completely snow-white and deeply textured, as though many years of chaotic torrents had meandered and circulated above it, such that it looked majestic and ancient like no other.
Under the reflection caused by the lake water, the rock walls gave off a sparkling luster, while embellished on them were differently-colored and -shaped crystals which shone brightly, resembling an array of ever-flickering stars scattered across the cosmos.
After entering the city, Ye Qingyu only then discovered that the lake water was completely cut off outside the city gate, while in the air of a kilometer above the ancient city, a transparent and giant inverted dome shrouded the entire place.
So that's how...
He roughly observed the surroundings.
"I know what you're worried about. Let me bring you somewhere that will tell you whether this place is real or fake with just one inquiry." Shuang Wuyan cast an eye on him.
Ye Qingyu blanked for a moment, but quickly nodded.
His primary concern currently was to confirm the circumstances of the Heaven Wasteland envoy mission.
As an elder of the Alliance of Domains, Shuang Wuyan possibly had means and channels to do so.
The duo proceeded forth.
Ye Qingyu tried hard to calm himself down, and observed his surroundings.
Shuang Wuyan led him through streets and alleys, and finally arrived in a restaurant situated on the main street of the eastern part of the city.
The restaurant, also built using halite, was called [Lake View Restaurant]. As the biggest and most patronized restaurant in the city, its five stories were fully occupied. Because of the large numbers of travelers and passersby, the information exchanged here was, relatively speaking, of the newest and most reliable sort.
"Shopkeeper Yoo, I'm back." Shuang Wuyan headed toward the bar as soon as he entered the building.
Standing behind the bar was a burly human figure with a friendly face and a black beard that was linked to his hair. He was dressed in a black gown, while blue tentacles protruded from among the hair on his head.
"It's... it's Elder Shuang! Long time no see..." Raising his head from the account books, Shopkeeper Yoo's eyes lit up when he saw Elder Shuang Wuyan, and he hurriedly went over to welcome the latter warmly.
A while later.
In a VIP private room on the 5th story.
Sitting within the room that was made entirely from top-grade crystals, Ye Qingyu still felt somewhat out of sorts.
Based on appearance, Shopkeeper Yoo looked like a merchant who was among the wealthiest in the city. Toward such a person, even the city's officials would show great courtesy, yet he treated Shuang Wuyan with immense respect. He not only sent away all of the waiters who crowded around but also personally poured tea and water for Shuang Wuyan and himself.
"Shopkeeper Yoo, I came today because I have something that needs your help..." Shuang Wuyan did not beat around the bush and instead got straight to the point.
It was to find out news regarding the Heaven Wasteland envoy mission.
This was not just their purpose for coming to the [Lake View Restaurant], but more so that of entering the Sky Mirror Sea.
The gossip they heard along the way was ultimately unreliable. If the envoy mission was truly in trouble, they needed to have a grasp of accurate information in order to launch a rescue.
"Don't worry. I'll pass instructions down right now. Just wait for a while, and there'll certainly be news coming through." Wearing a smile as usual, the shopkeeper turned and exited the room.
Ye Qingyu glanced gratefully at Shuang Wuyan. This gathering of information did not fall under a reception elder's responsibility, and moreover, it appeared that Shuang Wuyan was tapping on relations acquired via the Alliance of Domains.
Half an hour later.
A waiter in a brown short gown knocked on the door hastily, saying, "Elder Shuang, there's news."
"Come in." Shuang Wuyan's voice remained as ice-cold as ever.
To one side, Ye Qingyu instantly felt a hint of nervousness streaking across the bottom of his heart.
"Elder Shuang, our waiters have found out some news. Allegedly, this Heaven Wasteland envoy mission successfully passed the test of the twelfth chaotic city, but subsequently ran into a surprise attack by a powerful force and suffered heavy losses. During the battle, two of their Brute Race experts perished." The waiter offered a summary of the information in one breath.
Sitting beside the lapis table, Ye Qingyu's countenance froze and his breath felt heavier.
The news collected by the waiters naturally came from the guests, but should have been verified by the Alliance of Domains, and thus negated the possibility that it was fabricated as part of a plot against Ye Qingyu.
In other words, it was highly likely that this news was true.
"Understood. You may take your leave first." Although Shuang Wuyan's countenance did not change dramatically like Ye Qingyu's, a chill nevertheless swept across his eyegrounds upon him hearing the news.
After the waiter left, Shuang Wuyan gently swiped his finger toward the Void to create an isolating formation.
He then took out the token with a half-ice totem, and wrote several mysterious ancient words on it.
The crystalline words flickered a cold light incessantly and displayed a highly-dazzling luster.
Ten breaths later.
The words suddenly stopped giving out light, while a faintly-blazing luster on the token began to circulate, seeming as though several strange characters were emerging.
As Shuang Wuyan stared fixedly at the token, the chill in his eyes gradually thickened.
"My elder brother has gone missing..."
What?!
Elder Yan Wushuang is missing?!
Ye Qingyu's pupils widened in anger and his entire being flew into an immense rage.
Such news not only shocked Ye Qingyu like no other, but also caused Shuang Wuyan, who never displayed his emotions, to reveal a stunned expression.
For several hundred years, it was considered a normal occurrence for envoy missions participating in domain ratings to suffer casualties during the test process. This time, however, even the reception elder could go missing. This accident was a bit too weird.
"Elder Shuang, can you use the token to find out the current location of the Heaven Wasteland envoy mission, and also what exactly happened to them?" Ye Qingyu urgently questioned.
Shuang Wuyan shook his head and replied in a grave tone, "The token is only for me to contact my brother, and, being a secret treasure of my race, cannot be used except at critical moments, and that's why earlier on... However, it has no other use except to communicate, and so it won't be possible to find out more news for the time being."