Madam Yan didn't do anything after she received the information. Instead, she waited. She needed further and more accurate information.
"Report!"
Not too long afterwards, a Hall Patriarch told a news that neither Madam Yan nor Bai Qiuxue wished to hear – after the two Royal Family Patriarchs teleported to the Heaven Martial City, they went to the Yu Emperor City with the Family Patriarch of the Zi Family and their warriors.
"Buzzing!"
Without any hesitation, Madam Yan at once took out a jade talisman and broke it.
This jade talisman was a warning kind. When hers was broken, the corresponding one that Bai Xi had would be broken as well. Bai Xi took with him several of this kind of jade talismans. They had agreed on how to use this. If Bai Xi was still alive, he should know that the three Royal Families made a move now.
"Where is our forefather at the moment?"
Madam Yan looked at the map of the Northern Desert after she broke the jade talisman and asked. That Hall Patriarch glanced over to the map, pointed to an area and said, "They should be at the Haunted Hollow now. The powerful warriors of the Yu Family all entered this place. Our forefather chased them afterwards."
"No, this is a trap!"
Madam Yan sighed as her facial expressions turned gloomy.
Bai Qiuxue thought for a while and asked in confusion, "This is not right. Even though our forefather does not have many years left in his life, but his fighting capacity is not weaker than when he was at the peak. Why do the three Royal Families think they can win? There is no warrior in the three Royal Families that have reached the Human Sovereign Realm. Otherwise, they wouldn't have to make a trap and they could just kill their way into the Thousand-island Lake."
Madam Yan could not figure this out either. The Bai Family had been probing about the fighting capacity of the three Royal Families and the Bai Family didn't find they were onto some big breakthroughs.
The three Royal Family Patriarchs were all at the peak of the Noble Lord Realm, same as the Old Man of Heaven Prison. But the kind of Profound Meaning that they perceived were different. The most powerful of the three was the King of the Heaven Frigid Kingdom, and he had perceived a Fourth-rank Profound Meaning.
However, the Old Man of Heaven Prison had known a Sixth-rank One, the same level of that of Lu Renhuang. That was why the Old Man of Heaven Prison could fight against the three on his own and wounded two of them.
Profound Meaning had a great impact on fighting capacities. For example, even though Ming Yu had only perceived a Second-rank one, but he could win over all the Noble Lord Realm warriors that had not perceived any Profound Meaning. This was where the differences lay.
Profound Meaning was the truth in heaven and earth. Usually, if a warrior had understood one kind of Profound Meaning, it would be hard to understand another.
Of course, this was the understanding of the warriors of the Northern Desert. It was said that over at the Central Plains, there were some extremely powerful warriors at the Central Plains that perceived several kinds of Profound Meanings. However, at the Northern Desert, even the Dragon King could understand only one.
In other words – unless the three Royal Family Patriarchs had reached the Human Sovereign Realm, otherwise, their fighting capacities could not have been elevated greatly.
If so, why the trap?
If they were not confident that they could kill the Old Man of Heaven Prison, then the deeds were meaningless and they would antagonize the Old Man of Heaven Prison. Many people could die for no avail this time.
Madam Yan and Bai Qiuxue said nothing. The Old Man of Heaven Prison had entered the Haunted Hollow
with all the powerful warriors. Warriors from the Yu Family and the three Royal Families also went in.
There was nothing Madam Yan and Bai Qiuxue could do. They couldn't offer help even if they wanted to. They had to wait for the ultimate result.
"Send a message to Bai He and Bai Lu and ask them to send people to the Haunted Hollow. Let them report back as soon as they get anything. At the same time, mobilize our spies in the three Royal Families. We must find out the inside information of the three Royal Families moves at all costs."
Madam Yan gave out the order after some consideration. After that, she became agitated, pacing up and down in the pavilion and looking very awful.
Bai Qiuxue was the same. She had been thinking about the worst situation. Once anything went down, the entire Thousand-island Lake and the Bai Family would be gone from the world. The Thousand-island Lake was located in the middle of the three Kingdoms so there was no escape.
The more she thought about it, the more Bai Qiuxue was weighted down by anxiety. She was just a sixteen-year-old girl after all. Naturally, she could not keep calm in this kind of situation.
Time went on but no new messages were sent back. The night had come. Madam Yan waved her hand and said, "Qiuxue, go to bed now. I will send somebody to get you if I receive any news."
"No!" Bai Qiuxue shook her head stubbornly and said, "I will wait with you."
Madam Yan was about to persuade her when a pretty girl walked over from the distance. She looked relaxed and at ease. She shouted from afar, "Sister, Auntie, I am back."
Looking at Bai Xiashuang's innocent face, Madam Yan and Bai Qiuxue hid away their anxieties. Bai Xiashuang was a simple-minded girl. They didn't want Bai Xiashuang to know too much about the actual situation or let her think too much. They would prefer that she could continue her simple life.
When Bai Xiashuang left Lu Li's place, she could not stay at one place. She toured around at several other islands before she went back to the Bai Emperor Mountain.
Even though Bai Qiuxue knew where Bai Xiashuang went, she still asked, "Shuang-er, how many days did you spend at Lu Li's? How are you getting along?"
"What are you saying?"
Bai Xiashuang got angry, "Sister, how can I live alone with a man? What do you think I am? I want to the Peach Blossom Valley. I have had my fun and I am ready to be here to help out auntie."
"You?"
Madam Yan was in a bad mood and she had not time to chitchat with Bai Xiashuang. Waving her hand, Madam Yan said, "Go back to the Peach Blossom Valley and play. Leave me alone."
Bai Xiashuang was not happy. She pouted and said, "Auntie, don't look down on me. My sister can help you so why can't I. Whatever my sister can do, I can do as well."
Seeing that Madam Yan was about to go mad, Bai Qiuxue thought of an idea and said, "Shuang-er, if you really want to help, then bring someone with you to look around the Thousand-island Lake. All the powerful warriors left. I am afraid that someone will create disturbance. Bring some Fate Wheel Realm warriors with you and look around. Help us stabilize the rear area."
"Alright"!
This kind of mission was the most suitable for Bai Xiashuang. She was born to be restless and she would find it fun to tour around with a group of warriors.
Madam Yan nodded and said, "Right, ask Bai Ding to arrange some men to follow you around. If anybody dares to make trouble, just teach them a lesson directly."
"Okay, auntie and sister, you will see."
Bai Xiashuang patted her bosoms and left in excitement. Madam Yan and Bai Qiuxue looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
The two sat in the pavilion for a night without receiving any information. All the powerful warriors from the Thousand-island Lake and the three Royal Kingdoms had gone into the Haunted Hollow but it seemed that all of them vanished. None of the scouts that entered later on came out.
By daybreak, Bai Qiuxue could not hold on any longer. She fell deeply into sleep in the pavilion. Madam Yan sat in silence, waiting.
Madam Yan waited and waited for another day but no information came. It was as if the Haunted Hollow was connected to another world and anyone that entered could not get out.
Bai Qiuxue looked very awful. She didn't sleep well nor did she eat. She was looking quite pale. With time passing on, she looked more and more sickly.
The night, came, quietly.
Madam Yan and Bai Qiuxue sat in the pavilion. They hadn't spoken for a whole day. The air in the pavilion was particularly depressing.
"Report –"
By midnight, a sharp voice came which startled Madam Yan and Bai Qiuxue. After they heard what was to report, they could not stand and fell to the ground. No a trace of blood could be seen in their faces.
Finally, scouts from outside of the Haunted Hollow sent back news. Two hours ago, warriors of the Thousand-island Lake came out from the Haunted Hollow. But only Bai Leng who had a broken arm and five other warriors of the Eternal Realm.
Bai Leng said, the others all...fell in battle!