"Alright, I understand your intentions, but the Bai Ningmei you are looking for is really not here with me. Searching here is useless."
"Also, I have a way to deal with the Mad Flood Dragon. Stop killing those with the Yang bloodline," Xu Yang said indifferently.
Since these people had already arrived, Xu Yang decided to take the opportunity to discuss his plans with them.
"My lord, how do you plan to deal with it?" Zhao Tianyu asked, somewhat surprised, and spoke respectfully.
"This matter is of no use if I tell you. How about this—tell me which faction you're from, and I'll speak with your superior," Xu Yang suggested.
"I'm from the Tianwu Prefecture branch of the Lingbao Guild," Zhao Baiyu said.
Upon hearing this, Xu Yang's expression grew somewhat strange. They were from the Lingbao Auction House?
It seemed he had just wiped out the Lingbao Auction House's branch in Qizhou, killing many of their members. If nothing unusual had happened, he would now be considered the second enemy of the Lingbao Auction House.
"So, you're from the Lingbao Auction House," Xu Yang nodded, his smile slowly fading as he looked at them, his thoughts unclear.
Zhao Tianyu felt uneasy under Xu Yang's gaze. Fearing Xu Yang might misunderstand, he quickly added:
"Xu Sir, although we are from the Lingbao Auction House, we haven't received any orders from above yet. Moreover, according to our investigation, the destruction of the Qizhou branch was entirely their own fault and had nothing to do with you."
Xu Yang smiled after watching Zhao Tianyu nervously explain.
Zhao Tianyu's anxious defense was obviously because he was afraid Xu Yang might suddenly turn hostile.
"Alright, let's just consider the Qizhou branch matter settled," Xu Yang said.
"Yes, yes, yes," Zhao Tianyu quickly agreed. For the Lingbao Auction House, whether the matter was settled or not didn't matter as much, as long as they didn't end up having to fight Xu Yang.
"Fine, let's not talk about that for now. Take me to Tianyang Mountain. I'll speak with the people there. I know how to deal with the Mad Flood Dragon," Xu Yang said calmly.
Though Zhao Tianyu was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to comply with Xu Yang's request.
Although his goal was to find the Bai family members, he figured that bringing Xu Yang to the Tianyang Central Sect would at least be an acceptable outcome.
"Alright, come with me," Zhao Tianyu sighed after a moment. Suddenly, he tossed a small boat from his storage bag.
The small boat, initially the size of a palm, quickly expanded to the size of a house.
"A spirit boat?"
Xu Yang muttered, somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Zhao Tianyu to have a spirit boat.
Spirit boats were a type of transportation tool. Zhao Tianyu's boat could only be considered a small spirit boat. Large spirit boats could carry entire mountains, or some space-type spirit boats might appear small on the outside but contain entire worlds inside. However, such large spirit boats were not something cultivators at Zhao Tianyu's level could even know about. Still, the fact that the Lingbao Auction House could afford to have spirit boats surprised Xu Yang.
This indicated that the Lingbao Auction House had significant financial power to possess such items.
...
Before long, Xu Yang arrived at Tianyang Sect. Had it been any other cultivator walking on foot, it would have taken several times longer.
"Stop, who are you!" The spirit boat landed at the gate of Tianyang Sect, and a few disciples of Tianyang Sect came forward to investigate.
Zhao Tianyu took out a golden token from his chest.
The token was engraved with the words of several elders from the Lingbao Auction House's Tianwu Prefecture branch, written in a flowing, dragon-and-phoenix style.
The disciples of Tianyang Sect, upon seeing this, immediately became respectful.
Xu Yang glanced at Zhao Tianyu, surprised to learn that he was actually an elder.
"Xu Sir, we've now arrived at Tianyang Sect. What would you like to do next?" Zhao Tianyu asked.
Xu Yang sensed the surroundings. Indeed, the Yang energy here was dozens of times stronger than elsewhere, making it ideal for imprisoning Yin evil creatures.
"But why haven't I felt even the slightest trace of Yin evil energy here?" Xu Yang frowned, muttering to himself.
"Let's find the sect leader of Tianyang Sect first," Xu Yang said, shaking his head and deciding not to dwell on it.
Due to his connection with the Lingbao Auction House, Xu Yang was easily able to enter Tianyang Sect and meet its sect leader.
The sect leader of Tianyang Sect, named Xu Long, was a cultivator at the late-stage Nascent Soul. What stood out most was his long white beard, which was so long that it dragged on the ground.
Xu Yang stared at him for a while before suddenly asking, "When you sleep at night, where do you put your beard?"
For a moment, Xu Long was stunned, standing frozen for a while before he finally responded with a deep sigh:
"Ever since someone asked me that question a hundred years ago, I haven't been able to sleep well. In fact, I was almost about to forget it until you reminded me again."
Xu Yang twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Since that's the case, why not just cut your beard off? Why keep it so long?" Xu Yang asked.
Xu Long smiled faintly and replied, "I know you came here because of the Mad Flood Dragon. Since that's the case, I'll be straightforward."
"My beard is made from a material that seals the Mad Flood Dragon. I've kept it for hundreds of years and finally managed to grow it this long."
Xu Yang nodded thoughtfully before suddenly saying, "But the Mad Flood Dragon is no longer here."
Xu Long paused for a few seconds, then laughed loudly, "Haha, you really have a sense of humor, young friend. Though the seal on our Tianyang Sect has indeed loosened over the years, there's no way that beast could escape."
"But I haven't felt any of the evil beast's aura here," Xu Yang said with a faint smile.
Seeing how certain Xu Yang was, Xu Long began to feel uncertain as well.
Suddenly, he remembered that if the seal had loosened, the beast should be desperately attacking the sealing formation. But the formation was completely still, with nothing unusual happening.
"However, that can't be. If it had escaped, wouldn't it be causing chaos? Yet, nothing has happened in Tianwu Prefecture."
Xu Long shook his head, then added, "You've seriously underestimated the intelligence of a beast. It just escaped, its strength severely weakened, and its cultivation greatly reduced. After barely escaping, it wouldn't go around causing havoc right away—why would it, when it's just waiting for you to seal it again?"
Xu Long, now anxious, suddenly stood up and said, "Whether the beast has escaped or not, we can check the seal directly."
"Alright," Xu Yang nodded. Though it was just a guess, Xu Yang himself was somewhat confused about the situation. It was better to check and find out.