Hearing this, Tu Yao narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't respond. Instead, he changed the subject and asked, "Elder Sheng, our Floating Boat City obtained the Qilin Blood through an extremely fortuitous opportunity, but we're not clear about the origin of the Qilin Blood."
"You just said that Qilin Blood appears in the world almost every sixty years. So where does this thing actually come from? Does the divine beast Fire Qilin truly exist in the world?"
The gray-robed old man Sheng Shi'an shook his head, "Does the divine beast Fire Qilin truly exist? No one in the martial world has seen it with their own eyes, but most people speculate that it should exist. Otherwise, how could Qilin Blood have continuously appeared in the world all these years?"
Tu Yao showed a contemplative expression, "Then has no one tried to find the Fire Qilin?"
"Naturally, people have searched for it in the past, but over hundreds and thousands of years, no one has found it. Gradually, people stopped searching for that ethereal divine beast."
Sheng Shi'an said with lowered eyes, then his tone shifted, "However, every time Qilin Blood appears in the world, it triggers a wave of searching for the divine beast Fire Qilin. The martial world will probably be quite lively in the coming days."
Hearing this, Tu Yao slowly nodded. After a moment of silence, he didn't continue asking about this matter.
His gaze once again looked toward the wooden boat below where Li Musheng was, "The martial Dao expert who just seized over a hundred jade tokens from afar, what does Elder Sheng think of their strength? If they make a move, can Elder Sheng stop them?"
The gray-robed old man Sheng Shi'an was silent for several breaths. His aged face showed a thoughtful expression, "That person's method of seizing jade tokens earlier was somewhat similar to the sword-controlling technique in the martial world's sword Dao. However, perhaps because it was too far away, this old man didn't detect the presence of sword qi."
As he spoke, he slowly turned his head to look at Tu Yao, "This old man has never crossed hands with the other party, so I don't have an accurate understanding of their strength. But without a doubt, the other party must be a Heaven-Human Realm expert, and moreover, their method of concealing their form is also extremely strong. We must pay sufficient attention to them."
Tu Yao nodded lightly, "With Elder Sheng and me personally keeping watch over this matter, there shouldn't be a big problem. However..."
His gaze looked toward Li Musheng on the wooden boat below, squinting, "Has Elder Sheng never suspected that the person who made the move earlier might be him?"
"This old man has wandered the martial world for most of my life. What kind of person haven't I seen? He's just a young lad. You surely don't think there truly exists in the world a martial Dao genius who could reach the Heaven-Human Realm at such a young age?"
The gray-robed old man Sheng Shi'an directly negated Tu Yao's speculation, "Since the jade tokens were seized on a large scale, this old man has been watching him continuously. I can confirm that he has no fluctuations of true qi whatsoever, nor any traces of making a move."
"Furthermore, this old man has observed that this person is not wearing a disguise. Therefore, there's probably only one possibility, the two of them definitely have significant backing with an expert helping them."
Hearing this, Tu Yao didn't speak. Actually, he also felt this matter was unlikely. He had just asked casually.
Then, he spoke softly, "There's still some time before the last trial begins. That should be enough to find out their identities."
...
Before long, as the whirlpools in the center of the underground lake stopped, the sound of a gong like a great bell suddenly rang out from the darkness above.
Immediately after, a resonant voice drifted over, "The time has arrived. All honored guests, please cease snatching jade tokens."
At the same time, the whirlpools on the entire lake rapidly disappeared, and all the wooden boats gradually came to a complete stop.
Two hundred and ten wooden boats floated around the lake's center, some bright and some dark, like dim stars.
At this moment, ten pitch-black iron chains suddenly descended from the darkness above.
The iron chains connected accurately to the iron clasps of ten wooden boats with lit candle flames among the many boats. Immediately after, they dragged these ten boats at extremely fast speed, sliding rapidly toward the lake's center.
The wooden boat that Li Musheng and Li Yuanling were riding was naturally among these ten boats. The two let the iron chains pull them, and before long, they arrived at the lake's center.
Soon, as rumbling tremors came from the bottom of the lake's center, the lake water before them suddenly split open rapidly. The bottom gradually revealed a sliding track constructed of stone and wood.
The slide led toward the bottom of the lake's center. There was a giant hole about ten feet in circumference. The hole was pitch black without any light, and the sound of rushing water occasionally came from within.
"The top ten honored guests will enter the final trial from here."
The resonant voice rang out above the ten wooden boats, then continued to announce, "Boat Number Twenty-One, with an accumulated pattern count of one hundred ninety, is in first place!"
As the words fell, the iron chain originally hooked to the wooden boat where Li Musheng and his companion were rapidly moved. It immediately pulled the boat and was the first to rush into the slide.
At the same time, everyone on the nine wooden boats floating and stopped around them all looked toward Li Musheng and Li Yuanling in unison.
Quite a few people showed expressions of wariness, especially three women on one wooden boat. After seeing the pile of jade tokens on the boat, they already knew that the culprit who had seized their jade tokens earlier was right before their eyes.
"It's actually her!"
The three women, Shu Wan'er and her companions, naturally also recognized Li Yuanling on the wooden boat. They clearly hadn't expected that the person whose jade tokens they had completely plundered earlier had now become the overwhelming first place with the most jade tokens obtained.
Li Yuanling naturally also noticed the three women looking at her. She immediately held up a pile of jade tokens and directly faced the three to show off mercilessly.
Then, her gaze looked at the pitiful less than ten jade tokens in their hands. She curled her lip disdainfully, turned her head away without even looking at the three, full of mocking intent.
The expressions of the three women, Shu Wan'er and her companions, immediately became extremely ugly. However, they still looked at Li Musheng and his companion warily, then turned their heads away without saying a word.
The scene of jade tokens being seized from afar earlier was still vivid in their memories. The martial Dao strength of the person who made the move was too astonishing. They simply didn't dare confront Li Yuanling and her companion.
In a corner among the remaining nine wooden boats, on an inconspicuous-looking boat, Zhang He squinted and watched Li Musheng's boat enter the slide. Only after it disappeared from view did he quietly look at Han Meiyan before him, "Saintess, guess who I saw?"
Han Meiyan naturally noticed his gaze. She then looked toward the slide and said in a deep voice, "Those two have ordinary martial Dao cultivation. To obtain so many jade tokens, they must have someone helping them from behind. Unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to provoke them."
Zhang He quickly cupped his hands, "Saintess, rest assured. I naturally have this in mind. However, the Saintess may not know that I have actually seen this person before."
"Moreover... he is that Eighth Prince recently acknowledged by Emperor Yuanwu."
Hearing this, Han Meiyan's expression suddenly moved. Her eyes rippled as she looked directly at Zhang He, "Are you certain?"
"I confirmed it with Song Shanyue. Absolutely no mistake!" Zhang He nodded.
For a moment, Han Meiyan's eyes narrowed slightly as she murmured, "Then this is an excellent target for defection."