The night was tranquil!

Ye Qiu hadn’t taken action; he could perceive that the guards here were all feigning sleep, their spiritual power constantly monitoring the area as if waiting for prey to take the bait.

Ye Qiu could only hope that the descendant of the Du Gu clan wouldn’t arrive too early.

Otherwise, they might truly fall into others’ hands.

Of course, to prevent exposure, Ye Qiu had to rescue these descendants of the Guardians as soon as possible.

For others, achieving this quietly would indeed be difficult.

But not for Ye Qiu, as he possessed the Taisho Bell, which could easily contain people and swiftly escape thereafter; even if discovered by the Palace, they wouldn’t be able to locate him.

According to Ye Qiu’s estimation, neither the white-clothed man nor the servant elder by his side had reached the level of All-Heavens; the possibility of them discovering the Taisho Bell was nearly zero. As long as the Taisho Bell wasn’t exposed, Ye Qiu was willing to give it a try.

And so, in the dead of night, Ye Qiu began his move.

Activating the Taisho Bell, he entered one of the iron cages, which contained a robust middle-aged man. However, due to severe injuries, he was diligently cultivating to recover.

Out of nowhere, a hand emerged, not attracting the attention of any guards.

The hand aimed at the middle-aged man’s head and knocked him unconscious, then immediately grabbed and pulled him into the Taisho Bell, vanishing without a trace.

Looking at the unconscious man before him, Ye Qiu touched his nose, acknowledging it was a helpless action. Offending him first was necessary; explaining and then rescuing would waste time and attract attention, so Ye Qiu opted for the simple and quick approach.

Having secured one, Ye Qiu continued to knock out the second one. In an instant, Ye Qiu had knocked out five people, when suddenly a cry of alarm rang out.

"The people... the people have disappeared..."

An immediate shout erupted from a Palace disciple guarding the area. Ye Qiu promptly activated the Taisho Bell and vanished from the scene, just as two figures subsequently appeared.

One was the white-clothed man, the other the servant elder.

Ye Qiu brushed past them; however, neither would notice a grain of dust seemingly carrying several people inside.

Ye Qiu didn’t flee immediately but returned to the inn.

The most dangerous place is the safest place; the white-clothed man would never suspect that the disappeared individuals were within the inn.

Of course, Ye Qiu did not release the five, allowing them to remain unconscious for now.

Behind the inn, the servant elder inspected the iron cage and reported to the white-clothed man: "Master, there is no damage to the cage whatsoever, yet the people inside have vanished into thin air—it’s truly bizarre."

"I instructed you before to keep a close watch here, didn’t I?" The white-clothed man was apparently angered. Clearly, the descendants of the Guardians were excellent bait; with the affectionate nature of the Du Gu clan descendant, they couldn’t ignore them, inevitably risking themselves, which is why surveillance was intentionally loosened here.

Now, not only were the people not found, but even the bait had escaped.

It’s pretty much a case of losing both the lady and the soldiers.

No wonder the white-clothed man was angry; anyone would be upset to see the cooked duck suddenly fly away.

The servant elder repeatedly bowed in apology, but it didn’t salvage the situation.

"To rescue people so quietly, it’s not something ordinary people can accomplish. That Du Gu clan descendant couldn’t have such skills." Rather than blaming the elder further, the white-clothed man began analyzing who the rescuer might be.

"Could there be another person involved?" the servant elder asked. "Could it be that this person sought the help of some expert?"

The white-clothed man pondered for a while: "That possibility can’t be ruled out. Of course, there’s also the possibility that someone from the Du Gu clan, whom we are unaware of, made a move."

"Are you saying that as we boldly entered Wan Shou City, someone from the hidden Du Gu clan spotted us? Moreover, they were quite powerful, so they took the chance to act?" The servant elder, not being foolish, comprehended the idea after the white-clothed man’s suggestion.

"If that’s the case, then Wan Shou City is truly a place of significance, having witnessed the reappearance of several Du Gu descendants," the white-clothed man spoke with a smirk rather than anger.

"Master, since there is more than one descendant of the Du Gu clan here, we must be cautious. The Du Gu clan harbors deep hatred for our Palace; if they were to target you, it could be very dangerous," the servant elder expressed concern.

The white-clothed man scoffed, smiling: "Since the Du Gu clan lost their central figures, most were either killed or captured by our Palace, with only a handful surviving now. As for the strong ones, they won’t be beyond the Saint Realm; there won’t be any at the All-Heavens level."

"But the Du Gu clan once had several Supreme Saints, and there might be some remnants among them, advancing to the All-Heavens level. We must not be careless," the servant elder remained worried.

"If such a person existed and dared to kill me, my father would surely find and slay him," the white-clothed man assured, having full confidence in his father’s immense strength, proven by the numerous Du Gu strongmen who fell by his hand.

"Alright, enough talk. Send people to search immediately, and cover all the cages here," the white-clothed man ordered.

The servant elder immediately began taking action. Covering the cages was intended to continue attracting Du Gu descendants. If it wasn’t the Du Gu descendant earlier, they would certainly appear again.

Such a tactic is indeed impressive.

Ye Qiu refrained from using spiritual power to probe, knowing it would attract attention and expose him to the white-clothed man.

Seeing the cages getting covered, Ye Qiu frowned slightly but soon understood the white-clothed man’s intentions.

"That Du Gu descendant can’t be that foolish to get caught this way, right?" Ye Qiu couldn’t help but worry. Having rescued the people, if the Du Gu descendant came, and uncovered an empty cage, they’d truly become a laughingstock.

The servant elder left the inn with his men, and indeed did not search the inn, proving Ye Qiu’s choice effective. The principle of hiding in plain sight was true indeed.

However, keeping those five unconscious for too long isn’t viable; they can’t stay in the Taisho Bell indefinitely.

To avoid detection, Ye Qiu produced a Spirit Stone and began arranging formations in the room. First, he set up an invisibility Formation, then a soundproof Formation within, followed by an energy isolation Formation. After ensuring everything was in place, he released the five, one by one.

The five gradually awoke, and instantly saw a masked figure before them.