Television, livestreams, and news stations—over the past half month, nearly all dia had been dominated by one topic.
In a video, the howling cold wind kept slamming against the microphone in the hands of a field reporter. The man held a microphone, seated inside a helicopter with its cabin door open. The cara was pointed toward the thick fog below.
“...Right now, I am at the outer edge, more than 230 kiloters away from the epicenter of the fog outbreak. As you can see from the footage, the density of this ongoing fog…”
Not just dostically—foreign countries were also closely following the developnts.
In a riverside hotel along the Danube in Europe, a black-haired man in his thirties was wiping down gun components while watching the live broadcast from the far eastern nation.
At that mont, a younger man ca in with a bag of food and asked in sowhat broken Chinese, “Mr. Ye Yan, lunch is ready… What are you watching?”
The man—Ye Yan—swiftly reassembled the parts. A silver pistol was soon pieced together and holstered into his vest. “The fog incident.”
Ye Yan glanced at the young man before him, Yegor, a partner he had brought back from the Siberian Plateau.
Yegor had once been a low-ranking agent in Moscow, never imagining he’d one day join Interpol. Over the past six months, he had undergone several missions with Ye Yan and had grown trendously in experience and courage.
Biting into a baguette, Yegor asked thoughtfully, “This is your holand, right, Mr. Ye Yan? You must be worried.”
Ye Yan calmly said, “My holand has the world’s best rescue teams and a governnt that prioritizes the lives and property of its people. What concerns … is what’s behind this fog.”
Yegor frowned, “Mr. Ye Yan, could it be… you have family in the disaster zone?”
Ye Yan shook his head. “No, they’re far in the south. They shouldn’t be anywhere near it. It’s just that this fog is too strange. I’ve heard it contains a special magnetic field that renders all electronics useless—and it’s still spreading. If it can’t be contained…”
Yegor imdiately realized the severity of the situation.
The fog had already spread over a 200-kiloter radius—larger than the total land area of so small countries.
He tried to comfort Ye Yan. “Just like you said, your country has the best rescue efforts and governnt. Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll resolve it.”
“Let’s hope so.” Ye Yan nodded and reached for his coat.
“Where are you going?” Yegor was startled.
“Just taking a walk.”
“You’re not eating?”
“I already did.”
Door closes.
Yegor blinked, then suddenly rushed to the suite’s dining area—on the table were several empty plates.
Trembling, Yegor looked at the receipt pinned beneath the plates… charged to his account.
“Oh God… he’s a devil… my salary…!!”
Back on the open laptop livestream, the helicopter reporter received a breaking update.
“...According to the latest data, the fog’s expansion has currently stopped. Whether it will remain this way or begin spreading again remains unclear. For ongoing updates, stay tuned to our coverage…”
---
For two consecutive days, Mr. Blind had not shown up—still calculating the precise location of the seventh Jade Dragon Pillar.
After brief recuperation, Firecloud Evil God had recovered and remained at the residence, forbidding anyone from entering. Even Yan Xiaoxi could only converse outside the courtyard.
Then ca news that greatly excited the Daoist World—Daoist Baijie had returned!
Over the past two days, a large number of Daoists and Demons had returned to the fog-affected region and were gathering at Croaching Dragon Estate.
So of these hadn’t even participated in the Penglai Grand Gathering—disciples of various sects and mbers of Demon clans who rushed to the scene after hearing of the fog outbreak.
At this mont, within Croaching Dragon Estate—excluding Managent Bureau personnel—the number of Daoists and Demons had surpassed one thousand, and they were all capable combatants.
Hanyang Zhenren, having left the Penglai Treasure Vault earlier with Ming Tushan and others, had arrived at the estate even before Daoist Baijie.
Now, led by Daoist Master Huanyang, many figures from the Daoist World stood at the gate, welcoming the president of the Daoist Association.
(Note: Changed Hanyang Zhenren to Doaist Master Huanyang)
“President! It’s truly great to see you return safely!” Hanyang Zhenren said excitedly.
Because of his age, Daoist Baijie had watched generations of Daoists grow up. Though belonging to different sects, he had long taught selflessly at Kunlun Mountain, making him a respected teacher to more than half the Daoist community.
“Yes, President!”
“President! So glad you're safe!”
Surrounded by greetings, Daoist Baijie couldn’t help but feel emotional—but this was no ti for reunion.
Only then did people notice Daoist Baijie hadn’t co alone.
Behind him was a young man, carrying on his shoulders a black-clad figure wearing a bronze mask.
“President, this is…?” Hanyang Zhenren quickly noticed the unconscious masked man.
Daoist Baijie’s expression turned serious. “Fellow Daoist Hanyang, please gather everyone. I have sothing important to discuss.”
Seeing his grave deanor, Hanyang Zhenren did not delay.
Soon, Yan Xiaoxi, Daoist Association elders, Zi Xing, Cang Jinshui, and other key Demon clan mbers all gathered. Only Huang Baifu of the White Tiger Clan and Xiao Shengmo of the Ghost Clan were absent. The White Tigers sent a representative; the Ghost Clan had none present.
This was understandable—due to their unique nature, Ghost Clan mbers rarely appeared during the day or left Fengdu City. For this gathering, only Xiao Shengmo had co from Fengdu.
“The Crown Prince should’ve arrived before …” Daoist Baijie frowned. “Perhaps sothing held him up. But with such a major event, I believe he’ll appear soon. White Tiger Clan, please be patient.”
“President Baijie, may I ask why we were summoned so urgently?” Ming Tushan, the most senior Demon clan representative, spoke up. “I heard you captured a masked man?”
“Everyone, please listen.” Daoist Baijie pulled a dark red orb from his sleeve.
A strong wave of life force burst from the orb—but it was accompanied by a deeply disturbing evil aura.
“What is that? Such sinister energy…” Hanyang Zhenren’s face changed.
Daoist Baijie’s tone grew heavier. “This is a Soul Orb… To create even one requires the sacrifice of tens of thousands—possibly hundreds of thousands—of lives. I seized this from a group of black-robed figures while en route to Croaching Dragon Estate. They were manufacturing these on site. ”
“What?!”
The words caused an uproar—both Daoist and Demon representatives stood in shock.
But Daoist Baijie continued, “This is just one of them… many more Soul Orbs have already been successfully forged and transported. Their ultimate goal is to create an evil artifact called the Million Soul Orb.”
“A million?!”
Everyone gasped in horror—one million souls… one million lives!
At almost the sa mont, as they finished drawing in that sharp breath, many of them instinctively glanced toward Yan Xiaoxi.
The Daoist and Demon worlds had long established an agreent with the state—and that agreent wasn’t just so piece of paper.
One million souls—one million lives—this had far exceeded the bottom line of that accord. Worse still, no matter what the 71st Generation of Heavenly Heart was planning, no matter what those black-robed people were doing, the reality remained: they were part of the Daoist and Demon factions.
Perhaps the Daoist and Demon communities could see it as internal strife, but in the eyes of the nation… they were all one and the sa.
In the thick silence and stifling tension, Yan Xiaoxi finally spoke. “Daoist Baijie, can you confirm the truth of this matter?”
Daoist Baijie nodded. “The black-robed man I brought back has had his mind sealed. You may question him yourself later.”
Yan Xiaoxi nodded, then looked around. “Everyone, once the Managent Bureau verifies everything, a decision will be made. For now, the situation has escalated. I ask that you all remain calm. The location of the seventh Jade Dragon Pillar is about to be confird. The 71st Generation of Heavenly Heart has clearly gone mad… so I urge all of you not to waver.”
He had already sensed the unease among the Daoist and Demon factions. Though his words attempted to stabilize them, the reality was—no one had the heart to be pacified by empty reassurances.
The ergency eting dispersed not long after.
---
anwhile, several Demon clan leaders gathered privately in a remote corner of Croaching Dragon Estate: Cang Jinshui, Qu Xinghe, Zi Xing, Ming Tushan, and a commander from the White Tiger Clan.
“One million souls… one million lives. No one can bear the bla for that,” Ming Tushan said gravely. “The fact that you’ve all co here tells you already understand the gravity of this. Instead of thinking about how to stop Heavenly Heart, we should be thinking about how to survive.”
Qu Xinghe nodded, her voice elegant but chilling. “Exactly. Elder Ming is right. Whether the spiritual energy revival succeeds or not, the deaths of a million people will surely provoke the court. To prevent this tragedy from repeating, the court will act. I fear… I fear—”
“Fear what?” the White Tiger commander growled, scratching his head in frustration. “Spit it out already!”
“Hmph, the kind of leader always reflects on their soldiers.” Cang Jinshui sneered. “Your clan leader Huang Baifu is brainless, and his n are just as dense.”
“Cang Jinshui! Don’t forget how your father ended up hanging from the gates! Don’t think I won’t beat you just because you’re the Azure Dragon clan chief!” the commander roared.
Ming Tushan couldn’t take it anymore. He snapped, “Enough! Is this really the ti for infighting? Priest Qu's aning is clear. Though the culprits are Heavenly Heart and his group, they are still from the Daoist and Demon worlds. To the court, we are all the sa! Once this is over, the court may truly unsheath its blade and purge both Daoist and Demon factions from Divine Land!”
“Let them try!” the White Tiger commander barked, exploding with rage. “The court constantly demands tributes and conscripts from us Demon clans! So many of our White Tiger cubs could’ve matured, but we forced them to 'starve to death' just to et quotas! They claim to give us space to live—but in truth, they’re caging us! If they dare raise their blade—I’ll raise mine! I’ve had enough of being treated like livestock!”
“Enough!” Cang Jinshui growled coldly. “You think your White Tigers are the only ones who’ve suffered?”
“Then what do you suggest we do?!” the White Tiger commander shouted, slamming back down into his seat, eyes wide with frustration.
Everyone fell silent.
Finally, Qu Xinghe said softly, “If the spiritual energy revival fails, not only will Heavenly Heart be executed, but we may not escape death either… If that’s the case, perhaps it’s better to let the revival succeed. At least then, we’ll have a fighting chance.”
“You an…” Zi Xing looked at Qu Xinghe in shock.
And not just Zi Xing—all the others turned to her as well.
Qu Xinghe gave a bitter smile. “The 71st Generation of Heavenly Heart likely calculated this all along… He’s forcing us to stand on his side. One million souls… a million lives… What a vicious sche. And worst of all, we no longer have a choice.”
(End of Chapter)
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