The silver-haired woman also strode into the hall and stood behind Patriarch Ao Xiao, completely ignoring everyone's bewildered eyes.
The white-haired elderly swept his spiritual sense toward the woman to find that she was a late-Spatial Tempering Stage demonic cultivator, and he couldn't help but ask, "May I ask who this is?"
"This is my granddaughter, Ling Long. You may not have met her before, but I'm sure you've heard of her," Patriarch Ao Xiao replied.
A hint of surprise flashed through the elderly man's eyes upon hearing this, and he said in a polite manner, "Oh, it's Fairy Ling Long; please forgive me for my rudeness."
Indeed, this woman was none other than Silvermoon, who had parted ways with Han Li in the human world over 1,000 years ago.
Of course, this Silvermoon was different from the Silvermoon of the past; she had fused the split soul and possessed the complete soul of Silvermoon.
Everyone else was also rather surprised to hear who this woman was.
The holy island held a very special status among both the human and demon races, so the beings on the island naturally paid close attention to the seven demon monarchs that ruled over the demon race.
Fairy Ling Long was Wolf Monarch Tian Kui's concubine, and she had once been sealed in the human world for many years. All of the elders of the holy island had heard about how her relationship with Wolf Monarch Tian Kui had become rather strained following her return to the Spirit Realm, even though this was only the first time that they had met her.
Silvermoon paid no heed to this and merely stood in silence behind Patriarch Ao Xiao with her head slightly lowered.
"Senior Ao Xiao, to what do we owe this pleasure? Have you recovered from your last tribulation transcendence?" the red-haired man asked in a respectful manner.
"My last tribulation transcendence was indeed a bit of an ordeal, but after resting for so many years, I've already completely recovered. Otherwise, I wouldn't have appeared here. As for why I came to the holy island, I was naturally invited here by Fellow Daoist Mo," Patriarch Ao Xiao said with a faint smile.
"Does this mean you've already met Senior Mo? That's fantastic news! He also fell completely into obscurity after leaving the holy island all those years ago, and we've been very concerned about him," the clean-shaven man said as an ecstatic look appeared in his eyes.
"Hehe, he's not even as old as I am; there's no need to be concerned for him. Alright, I won't waste any further time with my rambling. On this occasion, I was asked to come here by Fellow Daoist Mo to deliver a message for him, and also to remain on the island for a while," Patriarch Ao Xiao said.
The clean-shaven man's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he asked in a respectful manner, "What message does Senior Mo have for us?"
"Fellow Daoist Mo recently received news that the location of the holy island seems to have been leaked to the Elder Devil Race. The devilish army currently doesn't possess the power to pose a threat to the holy island yet, but we still have to take some precautions just in case. The holy island holds an extremely important status in our two races; if something were to happen to this place, morale would plummet to an unsalvageable degree," Patriarch Ao Xiao said as a grim look appeared on his face.
"The location of the holy island has been leaked again? But that's impossible! The holy island only just teleported to a new location; it won't be able to teleport again in the near future," one of the Body Integration Stage beings present exclaimed.
"There's no need to panic; I'll be here to hold down the fort. The fact that the location of the holy island was leaked again in such a short time indicates that a devilish spy has most likely infiltrated the island. However, the spy shouldn't be very troublesome to track down; we just have to investigate all of the people who have entered the island since the commencement of the devilish tribulation to find the culprit," Patriarch Ao Xiao said in a cold voice.
The white-haired elderly man's heart jolted upon hearing this, and he hurriedly cupped his fist in a salute as he said, "I'll organize some people to conduct an investigation right away."
Patriarch Ao Xiao nodded in response, and after a brief pause, he said something that came as quite a surprise to everyone. "The other message that Fellow Daoist Mo wanted me to relay is that we need to adjust the countermeasures we've originally prepared against the devilish army."
"Why is that? Those countermeasures are all powerful trump cards that took us and Senior Mo over 100 years to devise; surely there won't be any issues with them," the elderly woman asked.
"This is most likely a decision that Fellow Daoist Mo made after meeting the Grand Ascension Stage fellow daoists of the other races. I presume he must've identified some fallacies in the original countermeasures that had been prepared through his communication with those fellow daoists. Rest assured, this doesn't require everything to be torn down and redone anew; only two or three of the countermeasures will need to be adjusted; I'll disclose the specific details to all of you later. Coincidentally, one of the adjustments that need to be made makes the Pipe Dream Stone Spirit redundant as Fellow Daoist Mo has already decided to substitute it with something else. This substitute will only produce a better effect than what it originally would've been, and I've brought the substitute along with me." Patriarch Ao Xiao flipped a hand over as he spoke to produce a jade vial, which he tossed toward the white-haired elderly man.
The elderly man caught the box before removing the lid in a befuddled manner, upon which a stunned look appeared on his face. "This is..."
Patriarch Ao Xiao raised a hand to cut the elderly man off. "If you know what it is, then keep it to yourself; it's best to have as little people know about this thing as possible for now."
The other holy island elders were quite curious about what was in the box, but it was naturally inappropriate for them to pry into such matters.
The elderly man hurriedly gave an affirmative response before carefully stowing the jade box up his sleeve.
The elderly woman hesitated momentarily before asking, "By the way, Senior, have you heard that there's a chance the three devilish patriarchs could descend into our Spirit Realm?"
"I have indeed heard of this, and it was Fellow Daoist Mo who informed me of this in person," Patriarch Ao Xiao replied in a calm manner.
His calm display instilled everyone in the hall with a lot of confidence, and a hint of elation appeared in the elderly woman's eyes as she asked, "Does this mean you've already thought of a countermeasure against them, Senior?"
As opposed to giving a definitive response, Patriarch Ao Xiao waved a hand, and replied in a nonchalant manner, "Hehe, even the average Sacred Ancestor has to expend a vast amount of power to get their true body to descend into the Spirit Realm, let alone the three devilish patriarchs; it won't be that easy for them to make their way into this realm. It's still too early to be discussing something like this; we can consider it after we deal with the current threat posed by the devilish army."
All of the Body Integration Stage beings present were left exchanging befuddled glances upon hearing this.
The white-haired elderly man cleared his throat and gave the red-haired man a meaningful look.
The red-haired man seemed to have been reminded of something upon seeing the elderly man's silent signals, and he hurriedly changed the subject. "Indeed, it's still too early to be discussing the three devilish patriarchs. Would you like to hear about some of the specific measures we've prepared on the holy island, Senior Ao Xiao? There are some issues that we're unable to resolve, and we'll require a verdict from you."
A hint of a smile appeared on Patriarch Ao Xiao's face as he nodded in response. "Sure, go ahead."
"Firstly, in order to deal with those low-grade devilish beasts, we've been nurturing an army of spirit beasts, and that army is basically complete. We've also begun breeding some ferocious insects with shorter lifespans, and they should just about reach maturity once our final battle against the devilish army commences. Also, in order to refine those Profound Heavenly Holy Artifacts, we've moved all of the tool refinement masters of our human race onto the island, and they should be able to begin refining the treasures in about half a year. The only matter of concern is that there are several types of materials that are still yet to be delivered to the island, and they'll only be able to get to us after passing through several areas currently controlled by the devilish beings. Hence, we have to decide on someone to send out to receive the materials. I suggest..."
The red-haired man seemed to be responsible for taking care of all general matters on the island, and Patriarch Ao Xiao listened in silence to his report. His expression remained completely unchanged, but the contemplative look in his eyes suggested that he was considering all of the matters that were being raised.
After the red-haired man finished, some of the other people in the hall also stepped forward to report some other matters.
Only after two hours had passed did everyone finish delivering their reports.
After hearing what everyone had to say, Patriarch Ao Xiao didn't make a single decision. Instead, he suddenly rose to his feet with a smile, and said, "It sounds like you've all done quite well. These are all matters that you can take care of on your own; there's no need for an old geezer like me to go around barking orders. I'm rather weary from my journey to get here, so I'll be going to rest now."
Everyone else exchanged a few wide-eyed glances upon hearing this.
The red-haired man was the first to react, and he hurriedly rose to his feet before extending a respectful bow. "In that case, please allow me to organize a place for you to stay, Senior."
Patriarch Ao Xiao nodded before making his way out of the hall in an unhurried manner, followed closely by Silvermoon.
Only then did everyone else in the hall react to the situation, and they all stood up to bid Patriarch Ao Xiao farewell.
Just as Patriarch Ao Xiao had made it to the entrance of the hall, a thought seemed to suddenly occur to him, and he turned back before pointing at two of the people in the hall as he said, "By the way, you two, come and see me later; I have something to discuss with you."
The people that he had pointed to were the white-haired elderly man and a tall and thin man who had barely spoken at all.
The two of them faltered slightly before hurriedly giving an affirmative response.
Patriarch Ao Xiao nodded before departing from the hall, and as soon as he left, a middle-aged woman who appeared to be in her forties turned to the tall and thin man before asking, "Do you know Patriarch Ao Xiao, Fellow Daoist Xu?"