The Missing Prodigy

Everything on Dark Shadow Island was proceeding in an orderly manner.

However, great challenges still lay ahead of them, with many settings yet to be discovered and refined.

But across the various regions of Cloud Star, unrest had begun to stir.

For half a month straight, despite the clear skies, not a single ray of sunlight could be seen. The entire planet was shrouded in a gray haze, as if an invisible barrier loomed overhead, suffocating the people of Cloud Star with an oppressive weight.

Coincidentally, during this time, the young elites and prodigies of each region had also begun to vanish or meet their demise.

Logically, these young talents were all nurtured by major factions—destined to be the future pillars of their sects.

Such individuals would never lack life-saving trump cards, yet they still disappeared or fell. Everyone sensed something unusual in the air.

Moreover, the black mist connecting the various regions had also shown frequent disturbances. From time to time, powerful auras leaked out, as if something monstrous was awakening within.

The World Society immediately took action. First, they intensified their efforts to investigate the disappearances and deaths of these prodigies. Second, they ordered all regions under their jurisdiction to closely monitor the black mist, listening for any signs of movement, so they could react swiftly to any sudden developments.

Additionally, they instructed the Saints of each region to remain vigilant.

On Celestial Island, Qin Lan, the Saint of the Qin family, set down the letter in his hand, his expression grave.

Though he was not a member of the World Society, he would still cooperate in such matters.

"The world is growing unstable these days," he murmured.

"If only we could find that senior..."

The mere thought of that figure gave Qin Lan a sense of reassurance.

He took out a jade slip, attempting to contact Qin Nan and Qin Zhiyu, who were out searching for that very person.

First, he wanted to urge them to hasten their search.

Second, he wished to remind them to stay cautious—given the recent disappearances of prodigies across other regions, he too had sensed something amiss.

Yet...

There was no response from the jade slip.

"What's going on?"

A bad premonition gripped Qin Lan's heart. He immediately stood, releasing his Saintly aura as his divine sense swept across the entire Celestial Domain, searching sector by sector for traces of Qin Zhiyu and Qin Nan.

Sensing Qin Lan's divine sweep, Qin Yi, the Qin family head, and the other elders hurried over, their expressions tense as they awaited his findings.

After a moment, Qin Lan opened his eyes, his face dark.

"Zhiyu and Nan are missing."

"What?!"

The words struck like a thunderbolt, draining the color from everyone's faces.

Qin Nan and Qin Zhiyu were the future of the Qin family—both were strong candidates to inherit the position of Saint.

"Ancestor, what exactly happened?" Qin Yi asked urgently. "Nan and Zhiyu left with the Divine Blade you gave them. With their own strength and the blade, unless a Saint intervened, even a Half-Saint wouldn’t be able to make them vanish without a trace!"

Qin Lan’s voice was heavy. "It was likely a Saint. My divine sense swept the entire Celestial Domain—there’s no trace of them."

"A Saint?!" Qin Yi nearly jumped in fury. "What kind of shameless Saint would attack juniors? And our Qin family has always kept a low profile—we’ve never had any deep-seated grudges with other Saints!"

"This likely has to do with the Dark Domain," Qin Lan said, passing down the letter from the World Society.

"Other regions have also seen many prodigies disappear or die?" Qin Yi’s face twisted with anxiety as he read. "Is this the Dark Domain’s doing? They’re trying to sever the roots of humanity, to cut off our future! How despicable!"

"Hmph. In a war between races, they won’t care about honor or shame," Qin Lan said coldly.

"Ancestor, what do we do now? We must save Nan and Zhiyu!"

"Yes, Ancestor! Those children have always been obedient—we’ve watched them grow up. We can’t just let them..."

"We have to save them!"

"Given that this involves the Dark Domain, it won’t be easy," Qin Lan said with a frown. "The World Society is already investigating this matter thoroughly. For now, we may have to wait for their updates."

"At least their soul lamps haven’t gone out yet."

The others clenched their fists, nodding silently.

They understood Qin Lan’s words—even as a Saintly family, rescuing anyone involved with the Dark Domain would be no simple task.

For now, the only comfort was that their soul lamps still burned.

But the feeling of helplessness was unbearable.

Days passed in the blink of an eye.

The disappearances of Cloud Star’s prodigies continued, drawing even greater attention from the World Society and spreading unease across the planet.

On the calm sea, a large ship bearing a red flag floated motionless on the water.

"Brother, the guards are all dead."

On the deck, Qin Zhiyu approached Qin Nan with a grim expression. "Less than one in ten remain on this ship. If this drags on, forget finding the senior—we’ll die here ourselves."

Qin Nan slammed his fist against the cabin wall, his face pale and eyes bloodshot, exhaustion etched into his features.

Following Qin Lan’s orders, they had scoured the Celestial Domain for the senior’s whereabouts. But ever since their ship entered these waters, they had been trapped in a bizarre loop.

No matter which direction they sailed, they always returned to the same spot.

But that wasn’t the worst of it.

From the moment they entered this sea, an inexplicable force had been draining their cultivation and vitality.

It was like being infested with parasites—no matter how hard they struggled, they couldn’t shake them off. They could only watch as their lifeblood was siphoned away, inch by inch, until death claimed them.

And as Qin Zhiyu had said, the guards had fallen one by one.

Now, apart from the two of them, fewer than ten people remained on the ship, barely clinging to life.

"No matter what, we have to try again. We can’t just die here," Qin Nan said through gritted teeth.

With that, he strode into the cabin and took the helm himself.

The ship, its red flag fluttering, sounded its horn as it cut through the waves, sailing forward once more.

In truth, they had repeated this attempt countless times over the past days—each ending the same way.

This time was no exception.

No matter how hard they fought, they couldn’t escape this sea. Their cultivation and life force continued to drain away with every passing moment.

"Ah!"

"AHHHHH—!"

"Whoever is behind this, show yourself! Fight me like a man!"

On the verge of breaking, Qin Nan roared wildly, swinging his sword. Explosions erupted, sending towering waves crashing around the ship, rocking it violently.

But when the waves subsided, the sea returned to its eerie calm.

No answer came.

Beside her, Qin Zhiyu, her face pale as paper, clenched her jade-like fists, biting her bloodless lips with pearly teeth, her eyes filled with utter despair.

This feeling was truly unbearable.

She would rather fight fiercely and then be struck down by a single sword stroke—anything would be better than this slow, torturous existence, where she could neither grasp nor see any hope, forced to watch herself wither away in helpless agony.

Yet, just as the two sisters teetered on the brink of despair, a faint figure appeared on the distant horizon of the sea…