Chapter 27: The Cunning Lurker

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Miss Vilyric and her two companions had been residing in Yangyuan City for nearly ten days.

The matter of the holy beast Qilin had spread throughout Yangyuan County and its surroundings. People were flocking in from all over the Western Spirit Kingdom to inquire about the news, and there was no sign of the recruitment efforts slowing down; instead, they intensified, leading to a bustling scene at the recruitment site.

The recruitment lasted for over seven days, and when they finally filled the quota and announced the end, many individuals who had traveled from far away, only to miss the best opportunity, expressed their dissatisfaction. However, fearing the authority of the officials, they had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

According to the information provided by Governor Wen Fu, the main forces of the Ling Wei Army and the patrol squad led by Princess Ling were moving slowly and were still some distance from Yangyuan City. It seemed they would need at least a few more days to arrive, but the Chaoqi Deep Valley, located at the center of the incident, seemed impatient to invite guests to visit.

“It has already started to ebb? So soon?”

In a stone pavilion in the courtyard, the black-haired girl, sitting across from Ling Feng and enjoying a tea chat under the bright sunlight, turned her head and looked at Bai’er, who had just brought the latest news, and couldn’t help but voice her slight surprise.

With only one day left until the last day of the Fourth Sacred Era 999, it had been about half a month since Murong Yun last entered the Chaoqi Deep Valley and witnessed the holy beast Qilin. Although according to the earlier claims, this ebbing period was not strictly defined to last for a month…

But this was a bit too early.

She exchanged glances with Miss Ling Feng, who was sitting opposite her, and the latter nodded thoughtfully.

“When things go awry, there must be something amiss… it seems the situation isn’t optimistic…”

Bai’er came to her side and slightly cupped her hands in a respectful gesture.

“Ma’am, what should we do next?”

“Naturally, we must go investigate. Regardless of what kind of anomaly has appeared within the Chaoqi Deep Valley, this matter is quite extensive. Since such a grand exploration cannot be stopped, at the very least, we should be present to be safe.”

With a smile, Miss Vilyric glanced at the serious-looking Ling Feng but didn’t appear particularly tense.

“You seem quite worried. Is it because of that incident a few days ago?”

On the night they first arrived, the Priestess and Bai’er had caught a sneaky little mole spirit. It was by no means a malevolent demon.

Just as it had pleaded for mercy, this little demon had only a couple of hundred years of cultivation, and its transformation skills were still quite undeveloped. By demon standards, it could only be considered a rookie.

The real problem was that it unwittingly dug in the wrong place and stumbled upon a piece of “meat” buried underground.

That was a piece of “spirit meat.”

Spirit meat, in simpler terms, is meat infused with spiritual energy. It sounds straightforward, but in reality, this type of meat cannot be produced by ordinary people or demons; it can only be obtained from celestial beings who have reached the upper four realms, or from holy beasts that have transcended the realm of demons and are inherently blessed.

For example, the Qilin they were planning to seek was a source of spirit meat.

Spirit meat, nourished by spiritual energy, does not rot and is equivalent to a miraculous elixir. It is somewhat less appealing to humans, but for demons, it possesses an irresistible allure.

Thus, when that little mole spirit—without a name, so Miss Vilyric decided to call her Little Mole—discovered this piece of spirit meat buried underground by chance, she was genuinely thrilled and astonished.

As a demon by nature, she naturally wanted to devour the spirit meat immediately. But regrettably, Little Mole’s cultivation was too shallow. As the saying goes, “excess is as bad as deficiency,” and “the void cannot be filled.” If she tried to swallow such a substantial chunk of spirit meat all at once, her tender little core would surely be overwhelmed and bursting with spiritual energy.

In desperation, Little Mole could only resist the urge to drool, eat a small part of the spirit meat, wrap the remaining part up, and hide it away, trying to digest what was in her belly before sneaking back into the area a few nights ago to enjoy this rich and delicious spirit food again.

As a result, she was caught by two women who picked up on the scent.

As for why Little Mole didn’t simply take the spirit meat away but chose to bury it after eating, the reason was straightforward.

Spirit meat is a precious treasure akin to divine materials for demons, and Yangyuan County wasn’t home to just Little Mole. If she took the meat away and buried it elsewhere, it was quite likely to be discovered and stolen by other ground-dwelling demons.

Keeping it on her person was even more unthinkable; for such a little demon as Little Mole, it would be almost like inviting death.

Thus, after pondering, she concluded that the initial discovery spot, with its strict defenses and numerous experts, was the safest place to bury it, which is likely why the meat had remained undiscovered for so long.

Of course, to prevent the previous meat-burying culprit from suddenly coming to retrieve it or catching her, the mole spirit also actively racked her not-so-smart little brain and changed the burial spot to another location.

In a nutshell, after clarifying the details, Ling Feng kept her promise and let the honest Little Mole go.

However, that piece of spirit meat was not returned to the little mole spirit.

It wasn’t that they wanted to hoard the treasure; it was because… the item itself was problematic.

The spirit meat was indeed spirit meat, but this particular piece had actually been tampered with.

In the Ancient Spirit Realm, various sects flourished, with eccentric individuals and countless clever spells. Among them, there were righteous sects aiming to uphold justice, as well as those who prioritized profit and adopted unscrupulous means.

Among them existed a large-scale cultivation sect known as the “Demon-Suppressing Sect.”

As the name suggests, the Demon-Suppressing Sect focuses primarily on subduing and controlling demons, conjoining various types of demon beasts to fight on their behalf.

However, the reputation of the Demon-Suppressing Sect isn’t particularly good; one could say it’s quite terrible.

This is because their method of controlling demons is far harsher than the relationships known to the Priestess—more akin to coercion and forcibly turning demons into puppets, or even seizing the spirit pets and companions of other cultivators, without any ethical boundaries.

They are abhorred not only in the demon world but are also widely despised among the vast majority of human cultivators.

As for that piece of spirit meat… it was actually an exceptional bait used by the Demon-Suppressing Sect to capture demons, amplifying the allure of the spiritual essence within while adding some special “seasoning.”

Of course, it wasn’t meant to lure in a novice like Little Mole; the spirit meat’s concoction wasn’t complete yet—it was more like half-finished materials that were coincidentally dug up and consumed by some mole spirit ahead of time, which is why she didn’t exhibit any adverse symptoms.

Though Little Mole’s incident was an accident, the presence of such an item in the official mansion of Yangyuan City signifies a clear message.

A powerful individual from the “Demon-Suppressing Sect” has infiltrated the exploration team, waiting for the right moment, and naturally, as a sect, their goal can only be one.

That would be the holy beast “Qilin” in the Chaoqi Deep Valley.

   

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