Chapter 55: Her Efforts Need Recognition
Deep in the cave of Peach Source, strange cavities woven from vines hung beneath the twisted giant tree, resembling clusters of fruit and cocoons formed by insect larvae.
In the oppressive silence, accompanied by a sticky sound, Yuan Ye emerged from his dormant state, breaking free from the decaying vines, opening his eyes to the rich smell of bl**d.
What happened? Why does it smell like bl**d?
As doubts arose in Yuan Ye’s mind, a thick liquid dripped onto his forehead. He touched it with his hand, finding it dark red.
He looked up, and his pupils instantly contracted to pinpoints.
There, hanging from the withered, twisted giant tree, were numerous corpses, and skulls scattered on the branches; there were faces of fire crows, livestock like cows and sheep, as well as spiritual ability users and urban legends.
The bodies piled upon each other, limbs entwined with limbs, twisted and stuck together, covering all the branches of the giant tree, resembling a dense canopy of flesh and bl**d sprung from thin air.
Desecration!
This word flashed into Yuan Ye’s mind.
To stack filthy flesh and bl**d upon the sacred tree, which the people of Peach Source have worshipped and believed in for generations, is undoubtedly a blatant act of desecration.
Under the influence of such an act filled with sacrilege, the Fushang Sacred Tree had almost completely lost its former extraordinary qualities, emanating a foul and distorted aura from within and without.
Suddenly, the canopy of flesh on the giant tree began to move slowly, emitting indescribable sounds, a mix of a heartbeat, breaking bones, and the rebirth of flesh, but it also seemed to contain something else.
It sounded like whispers.
“On the Tang Valley there is Fushang, the tree high as ten thousand zhang; a day appears, a day departs…”
Amidst the chilling sounds, Yuan Ye felt a strong spiritual energy fluctuation, as if it condensed into substance, surging in from all directions, crashing against his body.
What… What is happening?
Why did the decaying spiritual energy break through the East Master’s suppression?
This is bad; something big is about to happen!
In a mixture of fear and dread, he stared at that familiar yet strange giant tree, as if a hallucination occurred, seeing a massive shadow rising from the treetop.
Immediately, golden light burst forth from the shadow, enveloping everything.
In a dazzling pale light, a figure silently approached Yuan Ye and swiftly sent forth the blade in hand…
———
Tangcheng, Peach Blossom Road, Antique Street.
After discussing some details of their operation, Jumeng hurriedly left Chunfeng Residence, heading towards Peach Source.
Although Luxianbei’s plan greatly relieved her pressure from external invaders, she still had many preparations to make to survive the night before the city barrier activated.
Watching Jumeng’s figure fly away, Jiang Li sighed silently.
As an official operative of the Siye Society, collaborating with Jumeng, who ranked high on the wanted list as a major urban legend, was undoubtedly one of the craziest things she had done since joining the Siye Society.
Another insane thing was attempting to destroy the journey of making dreams come true.
And both of these crazy matters were related to Luxianbei.
She turned to Luxianbei, rubbed her aching forehead, and calmly said, “It’s almost time; you should contact that Inspector General.”
“And you?” Luxianbei frowned and asked.
“I’ll wait here for Jumeng’s people to merge with us,” Jiang Li replied, giving Luxianbei a sideways glance, adding, “I’m not familiar with that Inspector General.”
Luxianbei, “…”
That’s right; she is Miaomiao Sauce now…
Only the leaders know Xing Yuan, so how could Miaomiao Sauce know her?
Fine, whatever you say.
Luxianbei thought inwardly, staring intently at Jiang Li’s eyes before suddenly saying, “Miaomiao Sauce, look into my eyes!”
As she spoke, her charm ability silently released.
Jiang Li looked at Luxianbei, and for a brief moment, she felt a sense of bewilderment, her forehead throbbing slightly.
Then…
Nothing happened.
She tilted her head, her expression confused and disdainful as she regarded Luxianbei. “What are you doing? If you have something to say, just say it quickly.”
“…” Luxianbei was stunned for a moment, then shook her head at Jiang Li. “Nothing, just wanted to see.”
That shouldn’t be; why did it have no effect?
Clearly, the charm ability could cause a slight effect on Stinky Sister, but it seemed to have no obvious effect on the leader…
Could it be that her willpower is even stronger than that ancient creature, Stinky Sister?
The plan to cheat with charm ability to boost Miaomiao Sauce’s favorability was a complete failure.
———
At the Siye Society in Tangcheng, plans to activate the city barrier were underway and had been charged.
Although Xing Yuan had already heard whispers of this news, she only confirmed the details when they were less than fifty kilometers away from Tangcheng.
“d*mn! What’s wrong with people nowadays? They turn on the city barrier at the drop of a hat, thinking it’s a child’s toy?”
Gold Horn reminded her, “Ma’am, the Tangcheng city barrier is special; under certain circumstances, it can be activated without reporting, and even if they wanted to report, the message might not get out.”
“I’m well aware of that!” Xing Yuan shot a fierce glare at Gold Horn. “But do they think they can k*ll Jumeng just by relying on the Tangcheng barrier? If that were possible, why didn’t those who constructed the barrier just k*ll Jumeng directly instead of going through so much trouble?”
She was not worried that the spiritual ability users and urban legends invading Tangcheng would, in terms of numbers and combat strength, overwhelm the incoming Siye Society members.
What really worried her was that if Jumeng were to be enraged after the barrier was activated.
A disaster-class urban legend’s counterattack when on the brink of d*ath would be extremely terrifying.
If it were Jumeng, the entire Tangcheng might end up in a river of bl**d, resulting in a primeval forest rich with residual spiritual energy.
“Isn’t it said that, considering Jumeng’s protection of the land, they let her off?” Gold Horn asked weakly. “That’s what everyone says.”
“Fool, that’s just surface talk,” Xing Yuan rolled her eyes at Gold Horn.
“While among those who constructed the barrier, there were indeed some who thought that way, as far as I know, at least one with the Spirit Pattern of the Mythological Species: Wuzhiqi would be eager for all urban legends to d*e; do you think they would hold back from killing Jumeng in this scenario?”
“Then how come…” Gold Horn hesitated.
Since the Tangcheng city barrier couldn’t really k*ll Jumeng, what was the point of constructing it? Gold Horn thought inwardly.
“Of course, it’s to make fools like you feel at ease! If you knew that there was an urban legend like Jumeng that we can’t handle, wouldn’t that frighten you?”
Of course, it would… Gold Horn and Silver Horn thought together.
Xing Yuan sneered, waving her hand dismissively. “Forget it; why am I telling you all this? You just hear what I say, and if you dare to talk about it outside after hearing it, I’ll make sure to tear your mouth.”
There are many existences similar to the Tangcheng city barrier. Although most people believe that those barriers, seals, or stationed special action teams of high-level spiritual ability users can control target urban legends, once a conflict arises, the chances of winning are often only fifty-fifty or even thirty-seventy.
Yet even so, the Siye Society could only claim to have a hundred percent confidence in controlling the situation.
After all, if the existence of those urban legends incited panic and caused people to conjure various terrifying speculations, it would only make them stronger and accelerate their corruption.
“Understood,” Gold Horn twitched his lips slightly and weakly said, “Then does this mean, ma’am, we need to go to the control center of the Tangcheng city barrier to stop the Siye Society from activating the barrier?”
“…” Xing Yuan opened her mouth, about to say something to Gold Horn, when her phone vibrated lightly.
Taking out her phone to check, seeing the contact labeled “Calamity,” she couldn’t help but frown.
Quickly reading through the message sent by Luxianbei and deleting it in one smooth motion, she glanced at Gold Horn and said indifferently, “The situation has changed; we won’t be going to the control center. Instead, we’ll go directly to the abandoned distillery on the eastern outskirts of Tangcheng. I need to meet an old friend.”
Gold Horn suppressed his confusion and nodded, “Understood.”
But…
An old friend? Does the Inspector General have old friends in Tangcheng?
If they are friends, wouldn’t it be better to meet directly at the control center of the city barrier?
Gold Horn thought silently while sitting in the car, and then, twenty minutes later, upon seeing the silver-haired girl in front of the abandoned distillery, his doubts were answered.
The Inspector General’s old friend turned out to be the King of Urban Legends from Huacheng—Calamity.
This was Gold Horn’s first time seeing Calamity in her witch form. He previously thought that those who filed over seventy anonymous tips were exaggerating.
How could there be an urban legend that simultaneously possesses two high-level powers?
After all, the higher the level of an urban legend, the stronger the conflict among different types of urban legend cores, and it was rare to find urban legends with two type C powers.
People like Calamity, Gold Horn had not only not seen, but he hadn’t even heard of, let alone the mysterious person; even if he had just heard of Calamity’s existence, he might have reported it.
“Oh! I see! Is she the one who brought a bunch of homemade bombs to meet the Inspector General last time…?” Silver Horn suddenly seemed to react slowly, exclaiming softly, but before he could finish, Gold Horn pulled him aside.
“Don’t say anything stupid, or she might get mad and stuff two bombs in your mouth,” Gold Horn warned in a low voice.
Silver Horn rolled his eyes at Gold Horn, “What are you afraid of? Didn’t the Inspector General say they are already old friends? Have you ever seen old friends meet while carrying bombs?”
Gold Horn glanced at Xing Yuan, walking towards Luxianbei, and curled his lip, “That’s hard to say.”
From a distance, Luxianbei watched as Xing Yuan approached, stopping right in front of her, glancing over her figure to momentarily rest on Gold Horn and Silver Horn before quickly retracting her gaze.
“Godmother, long time no see! Your subordinates are here, so I won’t greet you.”
Xing Yuan looked at Luxianbei affectionately, showing a faint smile. “No worries; I’m not one to care for such formalities, and besides, time is pressing. It’s not the time for old stories; let’s get straight to the point.”
“You mentioned in the message that you wanted to cooperate; tell me the details. I’ll listen first, but if it involves illegal matters, I can’t help you.”
“Won’t, won’t!” Luxianbei said repeatedly, “You don’t know me? I have always been a law-abiding citizen. Here’s what happened…”
In the next two or three minutes, Luxianbei omitted Jumeng’s plan to regain new life through the city barrier and narrated her plan in detail.
After listening, Xing Yuan frowned and said, “So you mean to say you are confident you can infiltrate the enemy’s ranks, successfully gain their trust, and when chaos erupts in Tangcheng, lead them to the ambush point I’ve already set up to eliminate them in one fell swoop?”
“Exactly, that’s the idea,” Luxianbei nodded.
“…” Xing Yuan stared at Luxianbei, her gaze lingering on her for a moment before breaking into a knowing smile. “So, what are your conditions?”
The proposal made by Luxianbei was beneficial not only for Jumeng but also quite tempting for the Siye Society, which could significantly reduce losses and free up more personnel to guard against potential anomalies in Peach Source.
Overall, only those coveting Jumeng and Qunyang’s “inheritance” would be harmed.
However, when Luxianbei refused to sign the Moonlight Plan’s contract, Xing Yuan realized that she wasn’t one to intentionally curry favor with the Siye Society, and wouldn’t support the action of the Siye Society just because the leader was her godmother.
Moreover, her parents were both opportunists; it would be uncharacteristic not to bequeath such outstanding traits to their child. Xing Yuan thought.
Can she propose conditions? That’s something I hadn’t considered before… Luxianbei thought inwardly, then said with a serious expression, “Can you think of a way to remove me from the Siye Society’s wanted list?”
I haven’t done anything wrong, yet my ranking goes up every two to three months; it’s pretty scary, and if this continues, it will be a big problem.
What if one day those disaster-class spiritual ability users of the Siye Society decide to hunt me down? Luxianbei wondered.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Xing Yuan shook her head, rejecting Luxianbei’s request. “Changes to the wanted list are not something a small inspector like me can decide.”
“This…” Luxianbei frowned, pondering for a moment, “How about this: just give me all the bonuses from this support operation.”
I’m in need of money right now.
“I can make a decision on that,” Xing Yuan smiled and nodded. “However, are you not worried about inciting public outrage? More than a hundred operatives are coming to support this time.”
“So what?” Luxianbei shrugged.
I didn’t intend to propose any conditions; you made me propose, and then you refuse to accept any of them. Is this a game to you?
“About that…” Xing Yuan thought for a moment, smiling wryly. “Honestly speaking, I’m not sure. If you were a spiritual ability user, I could help you with a spiritual pattern advancement, or if you signed the Moonlight Plan’s contract, I could provide you with alchemical materials to enhance the core of your urban legend.”
“But now… I can only decide after I return, but I can assure you, you’ll definitely receive a return.”
Luxianbei, “…”
That sounds just like saying nothing; you’re trying to trick me into signing a contract again, right?
However, spiritual pattern advancement…
Luxianbei suddenly thought of something, her eyes brightening. “Can this opportunity for spiritual pattern advancement be given to someone else?”
“Of course,” Xing Yuan nodded. “Who do you want to give it to? Your dependent?”
“Not exactly…” Luxianbei scratched the back of her head and said, “Actually, it’s Jiang Li, an operative of the Huacheng Siye Society.”
Jiang Li had reached the current limit of her spiritual energy fluctuation level over a year ago, and based on her excellent performance during her years in Huacheng, she had already met the conditions to apply for spiritual pattern advancement.
However, limited by her past as a subject of the Solar Eclipse Society, Jiang Li had never applied, knowing that even if she did, she would likely not be approved.
So far, no one had been able to break the unique Black Sun Totem of the Solar Eclipse Society, meaning that once burdened with that mark, it couldn’t be removed for life.
In a scenario of limited resources and equal capability, it was understandable for the Siye Society to prioritize spiritual pattern advancement opportunities to operatives with lower uncertainties rather than one burdened with the Solar Eclipse Society’s totem.
But…
Luxianbei knew that Jiang Li was so driven that even if she didn’t say it on the surface, she must feel a bit unwilling in her heart. She must want a chance for spiritual pattern advancement—not in pursuit of strong power, but as recognition of her efforts.
Moreover, as an operative of the Siye Society, she must fight against urban legends; being stronger is always better, right?
Even though I now have enough strength to protect her, what if some sudden incident occurs and I can’t get to her in time?
Given her personality, she wouldn’t want to be a “caged canary” that can only survive under someone else’s protection, would she?
While Luxianbei was lost in thought, Xing Yuan’s laughter suddenly interrupted her.
“Pfft—!” She covered her mouth as she laughed softly, muttering, “Little Bai was right; you really have taken a liking to that girl.”
Giving away such a precious chance for spiritual pattern advancement so casually to someone else, unless it was affection, it must be because you owe someone money and can’t pay it back.
“What did you say?” Luxianbei tilted her head, looking at Xing Yuan in confusion.
Xing Yuan shook her head. “It’s nothing; I agree to your conditions. Let’s proceed as you’ve said. You can contact those members of the illegal spiritual energy organizations soon. Successfully afterward, contact me, and I will set the ambush point.”
“Rest assured!” Luxianbei replied confidently.
Even if I don’t have a hundred percent confidence in gaining their trust, I still have PLAN B!
To some extent, Luxianbei had a deep understanding of herself. She was sure that she could confidently make those guys want to k*ll her quickly.
If it’s just about leading them to specific places and gaining their trust or wanting to k*ll me, the differences are negligible, right? Luxianbei mused.
———
After concluding her discussions with Luxianbei, as Xing Yuan prepared to lead Gold Horn and Silver Horn away, she noticed they were standing beside Luxianbei’s truck, with Silver Horn looking somewhat pale and trembling slightly.
“What’s wrong with you two? Caught a cold?” Xing Yuan asked in confusion.
Silver Horn pointed at the truck’s cargo compartment but was quickly pulled back by Gold Horn, who lowered his voice and scolded, “What did I tell you? I told you not to look…”
As he spoke, his gaze glanced meaningfully towards Luxianbei, filled with vigilance.
Is there something in the truck? Xing Yuan furrowed her brows and walked up, lifting the oilcloth over the cargo box to peek inside. She quickly retracted her head, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
Inside the pitch-black cargo compartment, she saw a multitude of points of light, flashing like small eyes. If she wasn’t mistaken, those were the homemade alchemical bombs Luxianbei had shown her before.
The truck was full!
Why does she have all these bombs and still want to work with me?
Wouldn’t it be easier to just blow up those guys? Or does she know something I don’t, sensing something formidable has entered the illegal spiritual energy organizations?
As Xing Yuan pondered, she silently adjusted her previous plans, deploying a certain number of spiritual ability users for the ambush…
