The silver-haired woman with the ice-cold expression walked into the great hall as well, paying no heed to the surprised looks from the others. She slowly came to a stop behind Ancestor Ao Xiao.
"Who might this fellow daoist be…?" The white-haired elder swept the woman with his spiritual sense and naturally saw that she was a demon-beast cultivator with late-stage Void Refinement cultivation. He couldn't help but ask in puzzlement.
"This is my granddaughter, Linglong. Though none of you have met her, you should have heard something of her," Ancestor Ao Xiao replied casually.
"What — so this is Fairy Linglong! What an honor," the white-haired elder said with exceptional courtesy, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
This woman was none other than Silver Moon, who had parted ways with Han Li a thousand years ago in the human world.
Of course, the "Silver Moon" of today was not quite the same Silver Moon from back then. She had fused with her split-off soul and now possessed a truly complete Primordial Spirit.
Once the others in the hall learned the silver-haired woman's identity, surprise flickered across their faces as well.
The Holy Island occupied a unique position among both the human and demon-beast races, and the elders had naturally kept a close watch on the Seven Great Demon Kings who led the demon-beast clans.
Fairy Linglong, consort to the Heavenly Demon Wolf King, had been sealed away in the human world for many years. After her return to the Spirit World, there had been word that she had grown estranged from the Wolf King. The Holy Island elders had all heard something of this, at least in passing.
Now that they suddenly found themselves face-to-face with the legendary consort of the Wolf King, quite a few of them wore peculiar expressions.
Silver Moon paid all of this no mind. She simply stood behind Ancestor Ao Xiao, her exquisite face slightly lowered, not saying a word.
"Ancestor Ao Xiao, what brings you so suddenly to the Holy Island? Might I ask whether your qi, depleted during your tribulation, has fully recovered?" The feathered man bowed his head respectfully toward Ancestor Ao Xiao.
"Though I did suffer some loss of qi during my tribulation, after so many years of recuperation, it is no longer a concern. Otherwise, I would not have appeared. As for why I've come to the Holy Island — it was at Fellow Daoist Mo's invitation," Ancestor Ao Xiao said with a faint smile.
"You've already met Ancestor Mo! Wonderful. After he departed the Holy Island all those years ago, his whereabouts became as much a mystery as yours. We've been terribly worried," the fair-skinned man said, his face lighting up with delight.
"Heh heh. He's not even as old as I am — what's there to worry about? Enough with the pleasantries. This time, I've come to the Holy Island on Fellow Daoist Mo's behalf — partly to relay a few words from him, and partly to station myself here for a time," Ancestor Ao Xiao said with a low chuckle.
"We are at the Ancestors' command! What orders do you have for us?" The fair-skinned man's heart tightened, and he asked respectfully.
"Fellow Daoist Mo has recently received word that the Holy Island's location may have been discovered by the demon race. Although the demons currently lack the strength to take the Holy Island by force, we should still exercise every precaution. After all, given the Holy Island's prestige among the two races, any disaster here would be a devastating blow to morale," Ancestor Ao Xiao said, a grave expression appearing on his refined features.
"The Holy Island's location has leaked again? Impossible — it was only recently that the Island teleported and shifted its hidden position. It cannot be moved again for some time." Several people's faces changed drastically at once, and someone blurted out in alarm.
"With me here, what are you afraid of? If the demons learned our location in so short a time, then there must be a spy lurking on the Island. This should not be difficult to uncover, however. We need only focus on everyone who has entered or exited the Holy Island recently, and we will find the traitor eventually." Ancestor Ao Xiao's expression darkened, his voice dropping several degrees.
"Yes, Senior! I will dispatch personnel at once to investigate all envoys who have recently come and gone from the Island." The white-haired elder's heart jolted, and he quickly bowed his head in assent.
The rest of the assembly felt a chill run through them as well.
"The other matter Fellow Daoist Mo asked me to convey is that several of our preparations for countering the demon race will need to be adjusted," Ancestor Ao Xiao nodded, paused in thought for a moment, and then spoke words that left everyone stunned.
"Why is that? These contingencies were devised by Ancestor Mo and the rest of us after over a century of painstaking deliberation. They were meant to be our trump cards for defeating the demon army — surely there is no flaw in them?" the old woman murmured.
"This change of heart appears to have come after Fellow Daoist Mo met with the Spirit Clan and several other races' beings of the same rank. Presumably, through his exchanges with these foreign Mahayona powers, he discovered shortcomings in our original preparations. But don't worry — not everything is being scrapped. Only two or three measures need to be reworked. I will find time later to give you the details. And as it happens, one of them no longer requires the Yellow Millet Stone Spirit. Fellow Daoist Mo has decided to replace it with a different heaven-and-earth spirit material. With this substitution, the item prepared for the purpose will be no weaker than before — only stronger. And I have already brought the replacement spirit material with me." Ancestor Ao Xiao arched a brow, flipped his palm, and a jade case suddenly materialized in his hand. He flicked it toward the white-haired elder.
"This is…?"
The white-haired elder opened the case in confusion and swept his gaze inside. His expression changed in shock.
"Good. You know what it is now — put it away carefully. The fewer people who know about this thing, the better for now." Before the white-haired elder could say another word, Ancestor Ao Xiao waved his hand dismissively, cutting him off mid-sentence.
The other Holy Island elders, seeing this, were brimming with questions but found it difficult to press any further.
The white-haired elder agreed at once and carefully tucked the jade case into his sleeve.