Chapter 144: The Missing Island Lord's Daughter

"No need for formalities, everyone, please sit." The middle-aged man in brocade robes waved his hand. Though his expression was calm as water, deep in his eyes there was a hint of anxiety not easily noticed by others.

Han Li and the others, upon hearing this, bowed to him before taking their seats.

"I won't waste words. The person I'm asking you to find is my daughter Yuqing. She disappeared with several companions two days ago. These are some clues I found after her disappearance. If you can bring my daughter back, there will be a heavy reward." Lu Jun got straight to the point. With a flick of his sleeve, over a dozen jade slips flew out and landed on the tea tables beside everyone.

Han Li took the jade slip, pressed it to his forehead, and probed it with his divine sense.

At the beginning of the jade slip was an image of Lu Yuqing, a girl of eighteen or nineteen, dressed in white like snow, with brows like paintings.

His heart stirred. Wasn't this island lord's daughter Lu Yuqing the white-robed girl he had encountered at the Thousand Herb Hall not long ago?

After her image, there were images of several other people who had disappeared with Lu Yuqing, with their identities marked beside them.

The first was the blue-robed youth who had accompanied the girl that day, named Fang Leng.

This person was also a human-rank alchemist, apparently the disciple of an earth-rank alchemist with considerable reputation in the Black Wind Sea region.

The others were Lu Yuqing's guards.

These people had left Black Wind Island via a teleportation array two or three days ago and had been missing since.

The following information was about places Lu Yuqing might have gone.

There wasn't much information; Han Li finished reading quickly, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Island Lord, do you have any leads or guesses as to why Miss Yuqing suddenly disappeared?" The first to speak was the burly man from the trio.

At these words, everyone's gaze turned to him.

Han Li also looked at the man. According to Guan Yong, these three hailed from a place called Shaoshan Island in the Black Wind Sea region and called themselves the Three Shaoshan Fiends.

No one knew their real names; they referred to themselves as Big Fiend, Second Fiend, and Third Fiend. The burly man was Big Fiend.

The Three Shaoshan Fiends were all rogue cultivators, acting together, with no fixed abode and rather overbearing behavior. Thus, they had considerable notoriety in the Black Wind Sea region, and few dared to provoke them.

"My son Lu Mo went out several years ago and never returned. The soul lamp in the mansion went out, and to this day I haven't found out who did it. Yuqing was always close to her elder brother. For the past two years, she wanted to investigate the cause of Mo'er's death, but I forbade it. Her sudden disappearance this time might be related to that matter." Lu Jun's eyes seemed to flash with a trace of sadness, but he quickly regained his composure and spoke slowly.

Hearing this, everyone present had varied expressions, and a silence fell.

Han Li's gaze flickered slightly. In his mind, he recalled the conversation between Lu Yuqing and Fang Leng at the Thousand Herb Hall that day, which indeed concerned her elder brother.

"In that case, Island Lord, could you also give us a copy of the information on Young Master Lu Mo? It should help in finding Miss Yuqing." Big Fiend said after exchanging glances with the other two.

"You have a point." Lu Jun nodded.

He took out a jade slip, then took out over a dozen blank jade slips, quickly copied them, and gave one to each of Han Li and the others.

Han Li probed it with his divine sense. Inside was various information about Lu Mo, unorganized and somewhat messy.

"Oh!" When he saw a certain piece of information, a flicker of surprise crossed his mind.

It was an image of a blue tiger-head mask, though not very clear.

This mask was very similar to the member masks of the Wuchang Alliance, and Han Li found it somewhat familiar.

"This is... Jiao Shiliu!"

After a moment's thought, he suddenly recalled Jiao Shiliu, who had acted with him during the Red Moon Island mission. His mask was indeed a blue tiger head.

"Could this Lu Mo be Jiao Shiliu..." Han Li speculated, but he wasn't sure.

Just then, Island Lord Lu Jun waved his hand again, and over a dozen black tokens flew out, landing beside everyone.

"These are Black Wind Tokens. During this mission, you may freely use the teleportation arrays that Black Wind Island has set up in various places." Lu Jun said.

Everyone present looked pleased and said, "Thank you, Island Lord."

Black Wind Island had teleportation arrays connecting to many nearby islands, but because the distances between islands were vast, the cost of using them was high. With the Black Wind Token, they could save a considerable amount of spirit stones.

"Also, you must not divulge any details of this mission. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless. In this Black Wind Sea region, if I want to kill someone, no matter where they hide, they can never escape!" Lu Jun's face suddenly turned icy cold, completely different from before, as he spoke each word deliberately.

"Rest assured, Island Lord, we dare not breathe a word!" Everyone present changed expression and quickly agreed.

Lu Jun's expression slowly returned to normal. "As long as someone can bring my daughter back safely, I will certainly fulfill one of his requests as stated in the mission, and I will never go back on my word."

"In that case, we'll begin the investigation now. Farewell." Big Fiend first cupped his hands to Lu Jun, then left with Second Fiend and Third Fiend.

Han Li and the others also left one after another, and soon only Lu Jun remained in the hall.

At that moment, a figure flickered beside him, and an old man in black robes appeared. He had white hair and beard, but his face was as delicate as a baby's. His aura was immense, clearly a powerful True Immortal at the中期 stage.

"Can these people really save Yuqing? Island Lord, why not let me or Third go?" The black-robed old man spoke.

"No. Qingyu Island has been making frequent moves recently, as if planning something big. At this time, none of us can leave Black Wind Island. Yuqing's matter can only be entrusted to these people. I have promised a generous reward, and I believe they will do their utmost." Lu Jun immediately shook his head and said with a sigh.

"But..." The black-robed old man opened his mouth to speak, but Lu Jun raised his hand to stop him.

"Matters have their priorities. Yuqing's affair can only be handled this way for now." Lu Jun waved his hand, his tone revealing a hint of weariness.

"Alas, this girl Yuqing really chose a bad time to run off." The black-robed old man sighed, seeming somewhat resigned.

"It's all because I've indulged her too much in the past that she's become so reckless. When she returns this time, I must discipline her properly." Lu Jun snorted.

"You can't blame Yuqing entirely. It's been several years, and we still haven't found out the cause of Mo'er's death. No wonder she's anxious." The black-robed old man shook his head.

Lu Jun seemed somewhat agitated as he stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the hall.

After a few steps, he stopped and said, "If Yuqing were just temporarily missing, that would be one thing. What I worry most is that she might have inadvertently revealed her identity and fallen into the hands of those from Qingyu Island. That would be troublesome."

"Yuqing may be a bit naive, but she's quite clever. Besides, she has a spirit treasure on her. She should be fine." The black-robed old man frowned slightly but said so.

"I hope I'm just overthinking." Lu Jun said slowly.

...

Han Li and the others left the Island Lord's mansion. Everyone flew toward one place, silent all the way.

After a moment, they landed in front of a huge diamond-shaped building made entirely of green bricks in the city.

On the first floor of the hall were over a dozen teleportation arrays of various sizes, emitting a hazy white light. Next to each array was a sign indicating the destination, covering over a dozen islands near Black Wind Island.

Seeing this, Han Li raised his eyebrows slightly.

He had been on Black Wind Island for several days. In addition to handling other matters, he had also crammed on information about Black Wind Island and the surrounding sea area.

The islands marked in the teleportation hall were all within Black Wind Island's sphere of influence.

Unlike remote small islands like Wumeng Island, powerful islands like Black Wind Island, located in the center of the Black Wind Sea region, had spheres of influence extending beyond their own island, with smaller nearby islands attaching themselves to form alliances.

Because Black Wind Island had a spatial teleportation array connecting to the outside world, it enjoyed favorable timing and geographical advantage, making it extremely prosperous.

However, it was precisely this prosperity that aroused the jealousy of many nearby island alliances. There were many hostile forces, and conflicts between the two sides never ceased.

Fortunately, the Island Lord of Black Wind Island was powerful, having reached the late True Immortal stage, and had many guest elders and disciples under his command, intimidating the surrounding forces. This ensured the stability of Black Wind Island and, to some extent, maintained the relative peace of the Black Wind Sea region.

Han Li thought about these matters, then shook his head.

These conflicts had nothing to do with him. As long as he found Lu Yuqing, he would immediately leave this Black Wind Sea region.

At this moment, while others might have no clue about Lu Yuqing's whereabouts, he had a vague idea.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes swept over the teleportation arrays in the hall.

The hall was empty at the moment, with no visitors except for the cultivators operating each teleportation array.

Han Li's gaze fell on one teleportation array, and he walked over.

This array was the one mentioned in the materials that Lu Yuqing had used to leave, leading to a place called Ningcui Island.

To find Lu Yuqing, naturally, he had to go to Ningcui Island first.

The others had the same idea. After a brief pause, they all walked over there.

"Seniors, do you wish to use the teleportation array?" A gray-haired old man beside the array was startled to see Han Li and the large group approaching, then asked respectfully.

"Nonsense! What else would we come here for if not to teleport? Hurry up, I'm in a rush!" Big Fiend snorted, took out the Black Wind Token and flashed it, then stepped onto the array.

The others also took out their Black Wind Tokens and stood on the array.

"Yes, yes." Seeing the Black Wind Tokens in everyone's hands, the gray-haired old man quickly responded without daring to delay, waving his hands to form hand seals.

The array hummed, a dazzling white light flashed, and Han Li and the others were enveloped and vanished without a trace.