Chapter 2964: An Unusual Calm and Lurking Anomalies

But people simply cannot defy heaven.

Sun Fuling then asked: "Regarding the descent of the gods, have you two grasped any new developments?"

Xiao Hanzi shook his head: "Before, there were still fragments of information leaking from the heavenly realm, but after the battle on the Earth Mother Plains, this plan has not stirred even a ripple. The Lingxu crowd seems to have collectively entered a period of silence; whoever asks gets a tight-lipped response, and no one mentions it at all."

Xin Wuhuan also said: "Our agents planted in the heavenly palace have recently uncovered no information either. The heavenly palace seems to be maintaining only its daily operations, with no large-scale movements of personnel or funds—at least none that they have detected."

This final addition is made more cautiously. After all, some major schemes of the demons are known only to the very core few in the heavenly palace; spies would try to inquire but find nothing.

Since the information about the 'Ji Ji' secret medicine leaked, the heavenly palace has tightened its secrecy protocols and internal personnel controls by several notches. Sun Fuling is not optimistic at all:

"This is dangerous."

"Indeed. Before the giant crocodile launches an attack, it always first sneaks underwater." Xiao Hanzi said in a solemn tone, "Given our understanding of the Lingxu Holy Venerable, the fall of the three great immortals and demons has dealt too heavy a blow to the Lingxu faction, especially since its second-in-command, Jia Lou Tian, died at the hands of the Red General. Doubts about the gods' descent plan in the heavenly realm have already risen to a clamor. This time, the Lingxu Holy Venerable choosing silence as a response, no longer appearing to soothe or explain, may simply be because there is no longer any need—the advancement of this plan is already a foregone conclusion."

Xin Wuhuan took a sip of tea: "On the contrary, the heavenly realm is in even greater chaos; just the day before yesterday, two true gods even died."

He Lingchuan immediately asked: "Not from the Lingxu faction, then?"

"No."

Sun Fuling suddenly asked: "Who killed them?"

"The Lingxu Holy Venerable."

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a glance. Could it really be that the Lingxu Holy Venerable personally took action?

In the heavenly realm, such a being is also a towering existence, comparable to the Dragon God in the mortal world. One with such status and position usually conducts themselves with restraint, rarely descending personally.

Therefore, this is indeed a signal well worth pondering.

Xiao Hanzi said: "The specific circumstances remain unknown for now."

Lingshan also very much wants to know about this, but since the incident occurred only two days ago, detailed intelligence remains out of reach.

"By the way," speaking of this, Xin Wuhuan recalled another matter: "Do you still remember Ling Yun Palace? That is the secret base where the heavenly palace manufactures bodies for the descent of the gods?"

"Who could forget. What happened to it?"

The demons secretly hid the body of Rui Yin Shenjun in the Liuli Sea of Ling Yun Palace in Yunxia Bay, and even invited the Sea Emperor Xuandu to guard it, but He Lingchuan unreasonably stole it away. Afterwards, the body of Mi Yin Shenjun became crucial material for the Red General and the spirit of Panlong Yingling to break through the void and enter substance.

After that incident, the heavenly palace relocated the entire Ling Yun Palace, seeking another secret site to build the experimental base. However, the divine form "Yuntai" of Helu Tian, which was originally the core of Ling Yun Palace, remains left in Yunxia Bay.

Because "Yuntai" has already been materialized, and Helu Tian's avatar was taken by the Da Great Great Fanghu, no one in the mortal world can control "Yuntai," nor can it automatically return to the heavenly realm's true form.

For this matter, Helu Tian has nearly vomited out all his old blood, and in the heavenly realm, he has lost all face.

"The problem lies here," Xiao Hanzi said, "Three months ago, the people of Lingshan went again to inspect Yunxia Bay, only to find that Yuntai had already disappeared, no longer in its original position."

He Lingchuan and Sun Fuling exchanged a glance: "How often are inspections conducted?"

"Hard to say, but the last one was a year ago." After all, the Yunxia Bay battle ended long ago, Ling Yun Palace has moved, and Lingshan would not constantly dispatch people. "Could it be that Helu Tian has also descended to the mortal world? The divine form is still bound to Helu Tian; only his true self arriving in person can take away Yuntai. This great demon is powerful in strength, versatile in means, and must be guarded against in the future."

Indeed, for the purpose of seizing the Da Great Great Fanghu, the Lingxu faction could dispatch over a hundred demons including Jia Lou Tian and Bai Zhan Tian; sending down another Helu Tian would hardly be surprising.

"The gods' descent plan has not yet truly entered the large-scale descent phase; the Lingxu Holy Venerable sending people down to the mortal world should be purposeful and standard." Sun Fuling pondered, for example, in the Earth Mother Plains battle, the Lingxu Holy Venerable chose Jia Lou Tian and Bai Zhan Tian precisely because he valued their high burst power in combat, which could just match the formidable strength of Jiuyou, so, "The Lingxu Holy Venerable deliberately sent the true form of Helu Tian down to the mortal world to retrieve Yuntai, certainly because the subsequent plan can make use of the pool." Although the Earth Mother Plains battle saw He Lingchuan and Sun Fuling jointly defeat the Lingxu faction's ambition to seize the Da Great Great Fanghu, it would not change the Lingxu Holy Venerable's resolve to execute the gods' descent plan.

This plan is surely progressing step by step, and Helu Tian's descent to the mortal world will be one of its links.

As of today, we do not know how many demons and great demons have already silently descended to the mortal world. Just thinking about it makes one's heart feel heavy. "By the way," Xin Wuhuan shifted the topic again, "Has Jiuyou ever discovered in Cangyan that some places have residents whose temperaments have greatly changed, or who have generally become more irritable and easily angered, sometimes also sinking into gloom and despair?"

"Commoners?" He Lingchuan tried to recall, "The predecessor of Cangyan, Shijin Plains, twenty years ago generally had such people. However, in recent years, the folk customs have gradually become peaceful."

Poor mountains and evil waters produce cunning folk. As Cangyan becomes increasingly prosperous, the mindset of the commoners has clearly improved.

Xin Wuhuan narrowed the time frame: "Not twenty years ago, but the past year and a half."

"Over the past year and a half..." He Lingchuan propped his chin with one hand, then glanced at Sun Fuling. Seeing her imperceptibly shake her head, he immediately said: "No, I have not received any such reports."

He filed such minor details under unimportant information, buried deep in his sea of consciousness, temporarily having no time to look into them. But the Da Great Great Fanghu surely knows, and thus Sun Fuling surely knows as well.

The soul-capturing mirror in his arms also confirmed again: "No, there are no such reports within the borders of Cangyan."

"Since some unknown time, security incidents in various places of Mouguo have gradually increased—killings, brawls, robberies occur frequently, and there are also all sorts of strange events. In Ducheng, a man who had always been honest and simple suddenly drew a knife, stabbed his wife and three children to death, then smeared their blood all over his face. When officials came to arrest him, three or four well-trained constables could not subdue him alone. But after an hour had passed, he suddenly awoke as from a dream, staring at the corpses of his wife and children, wailing bitterly, saying he did not remember going mad at all, nor did he know why he killed people."

"Among the officials who arrested him, there was one who had been his neighbor for over ten years, knew his character well, and found his behavior hard to believe. This man, after killing, was filled with remorse; taking advantage of the officials' inattention, he slammed his head into a pillar and died, his skull split open. Afterwards, the constables discovered that the brain fluid flowing on the ground was actually light green in color."