257: Chapter 257's statement was somewhat inappropriate.

Sun Boyong raised his hand at the control console with a relaxed posture. "Fellow Daoist Duanmu, what a coincidence."

Duanmu Bei nodded, his gaze sweeping across the deck.

He recognized Su Cheng; they had met last time in Tongbao City. A young man at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, he hadn't changed much.

He also recognized Zhou Changgeng, Sun Boyong's Disciple at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, who had also been there last time.

Then, his gaze fell upon the fourth person.

Su Chengyuan stood by the right railing, wearing a set of grey Loose Cultivator robes without any identifying marks or Magical Artifacts hanging from his waist. The cangwu sword and Golden Toad Armor were all tucked away inside his Storage Pouch; he never displayed valuable items openly.

He was also at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage, a middle-aged man with an unfamiliar Face whom he hadn't seen in Tongbao City last time.

Duanmu Bei's gaze lingered on Su Chengyuan for two breaths longer.

"This is..."

Sun Boyong answered for Su Chengyuan, "A friend of a junior. He was worried about the dangers on the way back to the Prefecture City, so I'm escorting him."

Duanmu Bei uttered an "oh" and did not press further.

However, his gaze did not move away from Su Chengyuan; instead, he naturally turned toward Su Chengyuan himself.

"This junior has quite a lot of Face to have Fellow Daoist Sun escort him personally. I wonder where he hails from?"

The question was not rude and the tone was peaceful, seemingly asked in passing.

But Su Cheng heard the underlying meaning. Last time in Tongbao City, Sun Boyong said they were leaving Tianlan Province to return to Canghai Prefecture, yet now they had turned back, and there was a stranger on the Spirit Boat who wasn't there before.

The contradiction was obvious. Duanmu Bei didn't press Sun Boyong but instead turned to question Su Chengyuan, clearly starting to be suspicious.

Su Chengyuan showed no extra expression and cupped his hands.

"Answering Senior, I've come from the direction of Canglan Prefecture. I do a bit of small business and am grateful to Senior Sun for giving me a ride."

Duanmu Bei nodded and asked no more.

After a few polite exchanges, according to the normal process, they should have gone their separate ways.

But Duanmu Bei did not leave.

He hovered in place, his left hand casually reaching into his sleeve, his fingertips fumbling inside to grasp something.

That hand stayed in the sleeve for two or three breaths, then Duanmu Bei slightly closed his eyes, his lips twitching as if silently chanting some formula.

An extremely fine and obscure fluctuation of spiritual power spread from his sleeve, silently diffusing into the surroundings.

Sun Boyong's expression changed slightly; he naturally sensed the other party's actions.

Although he didn't know exactly what Duanmu Bei was doing, his perception as a Late Golden Core Stage Cultivator told him...

...that whatever the other party intended, it was certainly not benevolent.

Without a second thought, Sun Boyong channeled his magic power and pushed his right palm forward.

A streak of golden spiritual light surged from his palm, transforming into a thin barrier of magic power. It instantly stood three feet in front of Su Chengyuan, blocking the spreading attraction force.

The ripple-like fluctuation struck the golden barrier, shattering into a fine mist of spiritual light ripples and silently dissipating.

Su Chengyuan only felt his brow twitch, as if something had grazed past his scalp but was separated by some force.

His right hand subconsciously tightened around his cuff, then relaxed again.

A slight stinging pain also came from Su Cheng's Sea of Consciousness.

The moment that attraction force spread over, the creation furnace deep within his Sea of Consciousness trembled slightly. The Dao Rhyme on the furnace body operated on its own, and a layer of extremely faint green light seeped from the furnace walls, blocking that sliver of attraction fluctuation at the edge of the Sea of Consciousness.

The area where the Nether Abyss Exotic Fire was sealed also shook. That deviant fire had ultimately been fed with the flesh and soul essence of Xuanyin Sect Disciples, leaving behind a trace of their faint aura. Fortunately, the green light from the creation furnace suppressed this agitation, instantly restoring peace.

Su Cheng frowned and suppressed this brief reaction in his Sea of Consciousness.

Duanmu Bei's gaze landed on the golden barrier in front of Sun Boyong's palm, then slowly moved away to settle on Su Chengyuan behind the barrier.

At this moment, the suspicion in Duanmu Bei's heart grew even deeper.

When they met at the gate of Tongbao City last time, he had used his Divine Sense to probe Su Cheng and Zhou Changgeng, and Sun Boyong hadn't stopped him, so those two had no issues.

But this time there was an extra person, a middle-aged Cultivator at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage who hadn't been present last time.

He was also probing now. Although the method was different from last time, Sun Boyong had acted before it even touched the man.

He wasn't using any offensive means, just a Soul-Blood Attraction for investigative purposes.

Even if such a thing landed on an ordinary Cultivator, it would at most cause their brow to swell for a moment—it was inconsequential, let alone harmful.

Yet Sun Boyong chose to block it.

The problem lay with this newcomer.

Sun Boyong's attitude toward him was far too strange. For a mere junior at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage catching a ride, was it worth a Late Golden Core Stage great Cultivator taking action to protect him in front of a peer?

"I was only investigating, not trying to kill him."

Although Duanmu Bei was puzzled, he didn't show it on his Face.

After several breaths of silence, he pulled his hand out of his sleeve, revealing a dark red jade talisman in his palm.

The jade talisman was only half the size of a fingernail, its surface carved with extremely fine patterns, the dark red luster flickering on his fingertips.

This time, he didn't hide it anymore and held the jade talisman directly in front of Sun Boyong.

"Fellow Daoist Sun, I have a matter here for which I must ask you to do me a favor."

"It's not convenient. Our journey has already been delayed for a long time. After dropping off this junior, we must hurry back to the Sect."

"What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist?" Duanmu Bei's tone was calm, his Face showing a deliberate confusion. "Why must you leave as soon as we meet? I only wanted to greet that junior. Why are you so tense, Fellow Daoist?"

Sun Boyong smiled and cupped his hands. "Fellow Daoist Duanmu must be joking. We have a journey to continue. If there's nothing else, please take your leave. We can catch up another time."

Duanmu Bei shook his head and brandished the dark red jade talisman in his palm toward Su Chengyuan.

"This jade talisman was refined by my Junior Brother using the soul-blood left at the Sect by fifteen deceased Disciples. It can attract those who have had close contact with the deceased."

He glanced at Su Chengyuan. "I would like to ask him to cooperate and verify something. It won't take long, just a moment. If it has nothing to do with that matter, I, Duanmu Bei, will certainly apologize in person."

Verify? A chill ran down Su Cheng's spine.

He wasn't sure what specific method Duanmu Bei's so-called verification entailed. Soul searching? Or a deeper soul-blood comparison?

Regardless of which one, as long as Duanmu Bei touched Su Chengyuan's Sea of Consciousness or Meridians, even if no hard evidence was found, he would discover a large amount of things that shouldn't be seen.

What was in Su Chengyuan's Storage Pouch? The cangwu sword, Golden Toad Armor, Wind-Chasing Plume—three supreme grade Magical Artifacts, along with a large number of Medicinal Pills and Talismans.

If any of these were uncovered, it would be enough for Duanmu Bei to increase his suspicion.

Sun Boyong didn't look at the Su father and son; his calm gaze fell on Duanmu Bei.

"Fellow Daoist Duanmu, these words are somewhat inappropriate."