Chapter 325: The Sleeping Evil Spirit
The sloppy man could sense residual Demonic Qi in the tea house because the Snake Demon had previously used demonic arts to change her appearance there, leaving behind a trace of Demonic Qi. This residual Demonic Qi was precisely what the sloppy man sensed. However, this Demonic Qi was very faint, almost imperceptible.
Earlier, inside the tea house, not only had the Snake Demon used Demonic Power, but Yang Haoran had also used Spirit Power to set up a restrictive barrier. Although it was just a very ordinary sound-proofing restriction, it was inevitable that some Yin Qi would linger.
However, the sloppy man did not sense the Yin Qi left by Yang Haoran; he only sensed the Demonic Qi left by the Snake Demon.
This situation arose because the man possessed a unique sensitivity to Demonic Qi, much like a Night Watcher has a keen sense for Yin Qi. That was why he only detected the Demonic Qi left by the Snake Demon and not the Yin Qi left by Yang Haoran.
Not sensing the Yin Qi left by Yang Haoran didn't mean the man completely lacked the ability to sense Yin Qi. It simply meant his perception of Yin Qi wasn't as acute as his perception of Demonic Qi. If the Yin Qi in this place had been stronger, the sloppy man would certainly have discovered its lingering presence.
“She clearly sealed her own Demonic Qi, yet I sensed its presence here. That means she used demonic arts in this place. Perhaps she hasn't left the tea house yet and has merely concealed her Demonic Qi, making it almost impossible to detect. ”
With this thought, the sloppy man gulped down the beer in his hand. Then, as if performing a magic trick, another can of beer appeared in his grasp.
Opening the beer, the man stepped into the tea house. He needed to confirm if the Snake Demon was still inside, as he suspected. If she truly was, then in his eyes, the matter would be easy to handle.
The reason he deliberately entered the tea house pretending nothing was amiss was to avoid "beating the grass to startle the snake," lest he draw the other party's attention. However, he overlooked one problem: with his pervasive smell of alcohol and disheveled appearance, it would be difficult *not* to attract attention.
After his careful inspection and sensing, he found no trace of the Snake Demon in the tea house. The almost imperceptible Demonic Qi inside was merely residual; the Snake Demon had long since departed.
Nevertheless, his half-hour wasn't entirely fruitless. Using a photo of the Snake Demon, he still managed to glean some information from the tea house's waitstaff.
When Yang Haoran and the Snake Demon had entered the tea house, the attendant who served them had been deeply impressed by the Snake Demon. After all, it would be difficult for a woman as stunningly beautiful as the Snake Demon not to leave a lasting impression on others.
The sloppy man learned from the attendant that the Snake Demon had indeed appeared, booked a private room, but left shortly after. Because the shop was too busy, the attendant didn't know exactly when the Snake Demon departed.
Besides this information, the attendant also told the sloppy man something else: the Snake Demon wasn't alone; there was a man beside her.
Of course, the attendant didn't know the Snake Demon's true identity. When recounting the matter to the sloppy man, she simply referred to the Snake Demon as "the beautiful woman."
Naturally, the sloppy man didn't reveal the Snake Demon's true identity to the attendant either. He claimed to be the Snake Demon's cousin, but the attendant didn't believe him and impatiently chased him out of the tea house. After all, the sloppy man's presence inevitably had some negative impact on their tea house's business.
The main reason the attendant provided the sloppy man with this information was primarily to get rid of him quickly, to prevent him from lingering in the tea house.
Taking a swig of beer, the sloppy man pulled out his phone and reopened the video.
In the video, besides the Snake Demon, there was indeed a man beside her. However, from the beginning to the end of the video, this man only appeared in one fleeting shot; the rest of the time was dedicated to the Snake Demon.
At the time, the streamer hadn't given Yang Haoran many shots during the live broadcast to begin with. Furthermore, this video had been edited to focus entirely on the Snake Demon, so Yang Haoran's screen time was naturally even shorter.
When the sloppy man had repeatedly watched this video earlier, all his attention had been focused on the Snake Demon. How could he have paid any mind to whether there was anyone else beside her? After all, Stone Forest Town was a tourist destination, and people coming and going was normal; an extra person beside her was nothing to find strange.
Only now, reminded by the tea house attendant, did he re-watch the video and discover Yang Haoran's presence, finally noticing him.
“Could this man be a prey enchanted by the Snake Demon? ”
The sloppy man thought this to himself, then put away his phone and continued to inquire with nearby shopkeepers and tourists.
To his speechlessness, he inquired with several shopkeepers and numerous tourists in a row, all of whom claimed not to have seen the Snake Demon and shooed him away as if he were a beggar.
This situation was easily explained: the Snake Demon had already changed her appearance when she left the tea house. Although she was still wearing the same sportswear, such attire wasn't exclusive to the Snake Demon; others also wore similar sportswear.
And the tea house attendant hadn't noticed the Snake Demon's departure, so naturally, she wouldn't have discovered the change in the Snake Demon's appearance.
Furthermore, even if she had noticed the Snake Demon after her appearance change, the attendant would have simply mistaken her for someone else and wouldn't have connected her to the Snake Demon.
Thus, what the tea house attendant didn't know about the Snake Demon changing her appearance, the sloppy man naturally knew even less.
Not knowing the Snake Demon had changed her appearance, yet going around asking shopkeepers and tourists with her photo, of course, yielded no results.
Meanwhile, Yang Haoran and the Snake Demon had arrived at their ultimate destination for this trip: the place where the Evil Spirit was sealed.
This place was strewn with shattered rocks of varying sizes, and the cracks and large craters on the ground indicated that a great battle had once taken place here.
Though scattered with debris everywhere, the area didn't feel crowded, for this space was vast, far larger than Yang Haoran had anticipated.
“Brother Night Watcher, this is the place,” the Snake Demon said, leaping over a shattered rock. She then pointed towards the sky diagonally ahead of her. “The Evil Spirit is sealed there. Do you see it? ”
In the direction the Snake Demon pointed, a mass of Yin Qi floated motionless in the air. It remained perfectly still, without changing shape, and if one wasn't careful, they might mistakenly believe it was just a dark rock.
However, Yang Haoran and the Snake Demon certainly weren't foolish enough to mistake it for a rock.
Even before the Snake Demon spoke, Yang Haoran had noticed the floating mass of Yin Qi.
Not only had he noticed this mass of Yin Qi, but through the special ability of his Ghost Eye, he had also seen many things the Snake Demon couldn't. He simply hadn't vocalized them.
As for why the mass of Yin Qi, formed by the Evil Spirit, remained as still as an inanimate object, it was because the prolonged sealing had forced the Evil Spirit into a deep slumber.
“Brother Night Watcher, look there. ” The Snake Demon pointed below the Evil Spirit, where a skeleton sat cross-legged.
“Is that the Array Master you mentioned? ” Yang Haoran asked.
“It must be him, no doubt. Don't let the emptiness around him fool you; he's actually within a formation. Our current position is at the edge of the formation's barrier. If we move any closer, the restrictive barrier released by this formation will certainly reveal itself. ”
To prove she wasn't lying, the Snake Demon extended a finger and gently tapped the space in front of her, as lightly as a dragonfly touching water. A finger-sized ball of green light coalesced, emitting faint Demonic Power, and floated forward.
Yang Haoran didn't stop the Snake Demon. He knew what she intended, so he merely watched in silence.
In the blink of an eye, the floating green light orb seemed to collide with an invisible barrier. The barrier shimmered into existence, and the green light orb, radiating Demonic Power, was shattered, dissolving into scattered specks of green light.
The barrier appeared quickly and vanished just as fast. The moment the green light shattered, the barrier disappeared.
In truth, even if the Snake Demon hadn't done this, Yang Haoran's Ghost Eye could still perceive the barrier's existence. The reason he didn't stop her was simply to see if he would make any other discoveries once Demonic Power interacted with the barrier.
And indeed, he did make a discovery: the green light was instantly shattered by the barrier, not merely pushed away. This indicated that the barrier possessed a certain destructive power. Attempting to forcibly break through it without absolute strength would not only fail to breach the barrier but would also cause self-harm.
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