Chapter 404: The Rift Disappeared? |
Xuan Che had, of course, noticed the subtle shift in Mo Ran’s expression, and he understood the frontier City Lord’s mood at this moment.
He coughed twice, drawing her attention: “Ahem, that is roughly the situation. From what I know, the recent cases of cultivators falling into Qi deviation and the disappearances have all concentrated in Mo City. Otherworld in Sentinel Silence there have been few such reports. So if all of this is truly the work of that ‘Yun Qing Zi,’ then there must be something in this city that concerns him. One way or another, he must have a reason for making this place his target.”
Mo Ran frowned, her tone grave as she shook her head after a brief silence: “But what in Mo City is worth an ancient great cultivator’s intervention? Mo City is the largest city in Sentinel Silence only because this planet once had the greatest spirit?ore mine. The veins have long since run dry, and there are no special blessed grounds or spirit treasures in the city. He cannot have taken a fancy to abandoned lodes, can he?”
Xuan Che also furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, then shook his head: “For now we cannot know. But what ‘Yun Qing Zi’ seeks is vast, and he has very likely been lurking and planning on the frontier for centuries. Any action he takes in the short term may be only a small piece of a longer and larger scheme. What has happened in Mo City is likely the same.”
Mo Ran listened with a pensive look on her face. After a slight pause, Xuan Che continued: “Do not worry. A matter this great will not be left to Mo City alone. The Grand Void Spiritual Axis is also making preparations. Once our investigation here yields progress or Yun Qing Zi shows himself, support from the capital star will arrive at once.
“Also, I will contact Sentinel Silence’s Star?Guardian Elder. For a menace this great to be lurking on the planet under his watch while the local Star?Guardian Elder remains unaware is, in itself, rather strange.”
Hearing this, Mo Ran seemed to exhale in relief and gave a small nod with a quiet assent.
As if reminded of something, Xuan Che added casually: “Speaking of the Star?Guardian Elder, if I have not misremembered, the one guarding Sentinel Silence should be… Elder Dao Heng? I do not know him well. I only know he was once an expert of the Tianyan Sect. Later, by decree of the Immortal Alliance and with a joint nomination from Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain and Youming Valley, he became the Star?Guardian here. How has he done in this post?”
Mo Ran nodded: “As you said, Elder Dao Heng was assigned here a century ago by the Immortal Alliance to guard this star on behalf of Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain and Youming Valley. Over this hundred years Elder Dao Heng has been diligent and conscientious, shielding an entire star and earning respect from all sides.
Xuan Che asked in a measured tone: “No abnormalities?”
Mo Ran replied calmly: “None.”
“Mm.” Xuan Che stroked his chin and nodded, thoughtful. Just then, a faint humming sounded, cutting across his thoughts.
He reached into his robe and took out a Lingxi Mirror that was flashing with light. A new message had arrived. The sender was Yu Sheng.
Xuan Che’s expression straightened at once as he lifted a hand to open the message.
What he read made him turn serious in an instant.
Mo Ran saw his change in demeanor and tensed as well: “Immortal Envoy, you look so grave… has something else happened?”
After reading the message and thinking for a moment, Xuan Che looked up at the City Lord opposite him and spoke evenly: “Steady yourself.”
Mo Ran: “…”
[The sky might be falling.]
Xuan Che was not about to coddle her. Once he saw the City Lord sitting firmly, he cleared his throat and began: “My Grand Senior Uncle went with others to investigate the city outskirts and ran into an attack by Yun Qing Zi’s black?robed cultivators at the edge of Mo City. The enemy were numerous and had trained large numbers of demonic beasts. There was also an outsider master of unknown origin presiding there, a cultist of the Sacred Hermitage. In addition, a massive spatial misalignment was discovered on site. Its coverage remains unmeasured. Two immortal foxes from the Grand Void Spiritual Axis were also ambushed; one was in critical condition, but fortunately the rescue…”
Halfway through, he noticed the City Lord’s eyes beginning to glaze. He promptly fished a medicine gourd from his robe, flicked a pill straight into her mouth, and then continued speaking: “Fortunately, the rescue was timely…”
[To be fair, the rescue had indeed been timely.] One pill down, and Mo Ran jolted back from the brink of a shattered Dao heart.
[The sky finished collapsing.]
Xuan Che let out a soft sigh, glanced once more over the newly received message, adjusted his posture in the chair, and said: “Next, let us speak about the Sacred Hermitage. The cultist who appeared on the city outskirts is at least a ‘Sage,’ possibly even of ‘Great Sage’ caliber.”
Mo Ran: “…”
[It had not finished collapsing; it was collapsing sustainably.]
…
A crack of thunder split the sky. Lightning flared across the rainy night as the rolling roar echoed between heaven and earth without end.
Yu Sheng lifted his head to stare at the heavy clouds and the misted curtain of rain, and he felt something not right, nine parts out of ten.
He was standing on a newly conjured fox tail, hovering at the place where he had fought that Sacred Hermitage cultist earlier. Beside him, Immortal Yuan Hao had his hands free at last and stood in midair with a chainsaw sword underfoot, its engine thrumming.
“I pushed the ‘door’ open right here before,” Yu Sheng said as he reached out to feel the air in front of him, then frowned and looked back, “but now the tactile sense is gone.”
Immortal Yuan Hao, holding a brick as smooth and white as jade, swept it back and forth through the air like a demon?revealing mirror as he examined the area. Hearing Yu Sheng, he turned his head: “The space here is very calm. I cannot detect any hidden secret?realm entrance or spatial interlayer. Fellow Daoist Zheng has also examined the ground and found no anomalies.”
“But that makes no sense. I clearly opened a passage this wide just now,” Yu Sheng said, incredulous. “You saw it too, right? The sky looked like it was collapsing, the whole thing turning into a tilted mirror full of cracks. On the other side was a scene like another world. It was quite the spectacle.”
“Yes. I was occupied treating Shang An at the time, but I did see the marvel in the sky,” Immortal Yuan Hao nodded. “Judging from what we saw then, there should indeed be another layer of space concealed here. And with a ‘secret realm’ on that scale, and a gap that large torn open by you, it should not be something that can simply hide itself again at will.”
Yu Sheng’s frown did not ease. He spoke no more, but rode the fox tail in several directions across the sky to check every angle.
Immortal Yuan Hao followed on his chainsaw sword, cradling the brick and continuing to scan the air.
On the ground, the two Irenes craned their necks to watch the figures flying loops overhead. After a while, they could not help speaking in unison with a sighing awe: “This vibe is so damn bizarre.”
Zheng Zhi blinked: “Huh?”
“One’s riding a fox tail and one’s riding a chainsaw sword, flying circles in the sky… you don’t get it,” said Irene (Pika), waving her hand impatiently halfway through her explanation. “Nope, when I get back I need to binge a few more games, novels, and dramas to cleanse my eyes. These two just shattered what was left of my xianxia fantasies…”
“Replacing reality with fantasy is wrong,” Foxy said solemnly to the little doll. “You should cut back on that nonsense. It damages the brain.”
Irene promptly planted her hands on her hips and replied righteously: “I don’t even have a brain, what would I be afraid of?”
Silence fell around them. Even Foxy did not know how to respond. A few seconds later, Luna, who had been in standby mode, suddenly rebooted. She lifted her head and slowly offered: “Mm, right.”
Irene thought for a moment, sensing that the C?clip might not be acting in good faith this time. Before she could sort it out, two streaks of light flashed as Yu Sheng on the fox tail and Immortal Yuan Hao on the chainsaw sword descended from the sky.
The little doll promptly forgot what she had been pondering and dashed toward Yu Sheng with glee: “Hey, you finally came down!”
This time Yu Sheng dodged Irene (Pika)’s lightning?bolt tackle at once, grabbed a fox tail from beside him, and used it to block the little lightning sphere that was arcing wildly all over. He wiped a bead of cold sweat from his forehead and sighed: “I’m down. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find where the previous rift went.”
Irene, still a little miffed at having her midair collision blocked, froze at his words before she could start complaining: “Huh? There’s a door you can’t open?!”
“It wouldn’t be the first time. There will always be some weird exceptions in this world. What can I do?” Yu Sheng spread his hands. “Besides, you saw what lay beyond those cracks. That was clearly more than some hidden pocket?space. The scale was much larger than the space the Sacred Hermitage opened when they hid the ‘Pillar of Order.’ I suspect this thing has some new concealment or transfer mechanism I haven’t figured out.”
Irene listened in a daze. She did not really understand, but she was quite practiced at the state of ‘I heard it, yet did not understand.’ Stroking her chin, she put on a contemplative face, then looked up after a few seconds of pretending: “Ah, so what then?”
“What then? For now we go back. Standing here in the rain achieves nothing,” Yu Sheng waved, then turned to look at the gloomy sky not far away and the towering ancient refining tower. After a moment of silence, he exhaled. “We now have a pile of new clues, but the whole matter has grown even more perplexing. I need to go back and think. Also…”
As he spoke, he drew back his gaze and looked in front of him.
Irene (Rebar) had run out of the abandoned factory and was standing before him.
She had fallen into a mud pit earlier and had then been rained on. The mud had not really washed off, and she looked even more bedraggled. She, however, seemed to have forgotten all that, standing there full of swagger.
She seemed perpetually full of swagger.
Yu Sheng took a beat, then said matter?of?factly: “And I should give you a proper wash. You’re almost beyond saving.”
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