Chapter 568: Exchanging Information

"What are you avoiding? People don't even know you exist." He Lingchuan laughed and scolded. "That guy Mai is also hiding well. In such a big Lingxu City, who could find him?"

The trip to Xushan still required a plan and helpers; he shouldn't scare Dong Rui away.

"Besides, the Tiangong only has clues about the Anti-Aging Pill case. If they want to investigate, they'll investigate that first; they have no time to worry about that guy Mai for now." He Lingchuan looked at Dong Rui. "Have you found out where Zhu Erniang's remains are hidden on Xushan?"

Xiang Yan, a retired official of the Chiyan State, had said that only by placing an ancient wonder inside the formation eye could one trigger the interaction between heaven and earth.

At the time, he felt that this sounded very much like Zhu Erniang's remains, after all, the star map on its abdomen was unique. But he had to be certain before proceeding with subsequent actions.

Dong Rui shook his head and sipped his wine: "There are nine main peaks on Xushan, seven of which have buildings on them, not counting the other small peaks. I've visited them all, even the scenic spots on the mountains and hillsides, and found nothing."

Both knew that Lingxu City opened the immortal sect ruins on Xushan to the general public for sightseeing, and didn't even charge admission, to show their magnanimity.

"Could it be in a cave?" Immortal mountains had many caves, after all.

"I've finished walking through the immortal medicine fields and the immortal caves, nothing."

He Lingchuan asked him: "Did Zhu Erniang not give you a magic tool to find the remains?"

"She did, but the induction is too weak." Dong Rui pointed to his own eyes. "You have one too, right?"

He Lingchuan knew from this gesture that he was talking about the Eyeball Spider.

Sure enough, Zhu Erniang had also equipped Dong Rui with this little spy. No wonder he had counted Zhu Erniang's eyes back then and always felt the number was wrong, missing one.

The Eyeball Spider reacted after entering Lingxu City, confirming that Zhu Erniang's remains were in the direction of Xushan, but the specific location was hard to determine; he estimated he would have to get closer.

"You even went to the Tiangong?"

"I even went to the Star-Plucking Tower and paid respects to the Heavenly Gods." Dong Rui chuckled. "The Eyeball Spider told me that something was blocking its perception; it should be a barrier."

When He Lingchuan accepted this mission, he didn't know much about Lingxu City, nor did he know what kind of place Xushan was; but now he knew that the floating islands were where the wealthy and powerful of Lingxu City lived, and their practice of hiding the remains on Xushan sounded very unreasonable.

But the Eyeball Spider confirmed that the spider remains were indeed there.

"Can you determine the specific location of the barrier on Xushan?"

"Of course... not!" Dong Rui said irritably. "Do you think that place is really a tourist attraction? It's possible the Heavenly Gods' gaze is fixed on us. I don't dare to be ostentatious everywhere; you know, my Ghost Ape embryo was obtained from Lingxu City."

He Lingchuan said "oh." This guy's most powerful thug, the Ghost Ape, was originally the offspring of a general in Lingxu City. That was also the reason he was wanted, although the wanted notice had been canceled, but once the victim knew the demon puppet master had entered Lingxu City, there was no guarantee they wouldn't take action against him...

"So you didn't bring the Ghost Ape?"

"No!"

"Then what model—uh, I mean, what demon puppet did you bring?"

Dong Rui glared at him: "Didn't they all get broken by you?"

"You're a demon puppet master; having no demon puppets around is like a tiger without claws or teeth. How can that work?"

Were demon puppets so easy to make? Dong Rui sneered.

"Don't hold back. We're on the same side now; we might need them in a few days."

Dong Rui was unmoved: "How could it be such a coincidence that I have whatever I need?"

"Looks like you really do have one?" He Lingchuan pondered. "What did you make? Another flying demon puppet?"

"No!" Dong Rui denied it flatly.

Pfft, that meant he had one. This guy said the same thing in the Demon Nest Swamp, only to ride out two spider puppets later. He Lingchuan changed the subject: "Try to inquire about the Xushan barrier, or where the remains are, from Mai Xuewen."

Dong Rui looked at him as if he were a lunatic: "How could a wanted criminal like Mai Xuewen know?"

"Before you knew he was also a wanted criminal today, didn't you think he was omnipotent?"

Dong Rui didn't make a sound, tacitly agreeing.

Someone who could obtain rare treasures collected by the Green Palace, who could help him escape Beijia back then, and who could now drive powerful figures like the Minister of Agriculture to distraction, and almost single-handedly uncover the mystery of the Anti-Aging Pill, truly deserved the word "omnipotent."

"Such a person didn't just pop out of a crack in a rock; he must have his own connections and sources of information." He Lingchuan said lightly. "Guiding the clues of killing demons for pearls to Baishaju, year after year—someone with this kind of patience is either because of deep-seated hatred, or because this is his assigned job, so he can persevere."

He paused: "Mai Xuewen is very likely part of some organization, at least not a lone wolf. Don't the two guards in your courtyard prove this?"

From Wan Song to Wu Kai, from Wu Kai to Cen Boqing, and then to the forces behind the Qingfu Temple—that was layer upon layer upward. What kind of difficult task was it to topple the black hand behind the Anti-Aging Pill case?

If it were group against group, it would be much easier.

He Lingchuan had to encourage him: "How do you know it won't work if you don't try?"

Dong Rui hesitated before saying: "Actually, I have inquired, and there are two pieces of news."

He hadn't come to Lingxu City without any achievements.

"First, the guy who stole Zhu Erniang's remains back then made a big mistake and only avoided death by offering the spider remains to the Emperor, but his whole family was driven out of Lingxu City." He paused. "That was 160 or 170 years ago; no one knows where they are, and I'm too lazy to check."

The right to live in the floating city wasn't permanent; moving out symbolized a fall in class.

"I also asked about the location of the remains." Dong Rui scratched his head. "People said, don't ask blindly if you don't want to die! The words 'Earth Cave Spider remains' shouldn't even be mentioned in Lingxu City!"

He Lingchuan looked at him suspiciously: "Who did you ask?"

Dong Rui chuckled: "Can't say!"

"Then..."

Dong Rui interrupted again: "Anyway, this person has a high status and reliable information; what he says is definitely correct."

He Lingchuan said lightly: "You say he has a high status, so can he get close to the remains?"

"This..." Dong Rui thought for a moment. "I'm not too sure, perhaps?"

"Then you tell him that the next demon puppet to be built must be made from those Earth Cave Spider remains."

"My next demon puppet has nothing to do with him! Why would he help me?" Dong Rui was disdainful. "Aren't you a smart guy? Why give me such a bad idea?"

"I just arrived in Lingxu; I have to get familiar with it for a while." He Lingchuan looked at him. "What's the second piece of news?"

"Ten-plus years ago, Xushan and the entire Lingxu City erupted in a violent earthquake; old buildings collapsed in large numbers, and civilian casualties were heavy. It's said that the rescue and cleanup after the earthquake lasted for more than half a month, and the reconstruction after the disaster took several years."

"So serious?" He Lingchuan frowned. "How powerful is the Yuan power possessed by Lingxu City? How could it not coordinate even an earthquake?"

Wasn't one of the important roles of Yuan power to ensure favorable weather and fewer disasters? In the ten to thirty years after the founding of the Yuan State, the national power was at its peak, and the Yuan power also reached its peak. Even if floods, droughts, or earthquakes occurred in various places, they were suppressed in an instant, or their intensity was greatly reduced, and there were no situations that couldn't be cured.

Lingxu City was known as the world's number one city and a world-famous place favored by the gods; how could such a high-intensity natural disaster occur?

"One of the two boys watching the door for me originally lived in the northern suburbs of Lingxu City, at the foot of the Tianshu Peak of Xushan. He still remembers that there were occasional earthquakes in Lingxu City when he was a child, but they were just the ground shaking a few times, nothing major. It wasn't until the big earthquake he experienced ten-plus years ago that it was truly tragic. That night, there was thunder and lightning on Xushan to the north, Tianshu Peak erupted with ten thousand rays of blazing light, and the sky was filled with rolling dark clouds, with gray fog and white steam covering the sky and sun."

"Ten thousand rays of blazing light?" This description wasn't common. "Was it a volcanic eruption?"

"Yes." Dong Rui ate a piece of food. "Tianshu Peak erupted in the evening; his family didn't even roll up their bedding and immediately fled into the city. Thanks to leaving in time, they returned to the town a few days later and found that the townspeople who hadn't left, along with the chickens, cows, dogs, and sheep, were all dead."

The toxic smoke, toxic gas, and haze from a volcanic eruption were seriously harmful to living things.

"Later, no one dared to live under Tianshu Peak anymore; it seems it was turned into a barracks." Dong Rui added. "I asked, and no one remembers when the last eruption on Xushan was."

That meant Xushan was usually very stable. "The Tiangong is the earthly residence of the gods; how could a volcanic eruption occur?"

Dong Rui sipped his wine: "It is widely rumored among the people that the Heavenly Gods are raising a great demon inside Xushan. The volcanic eruption was the monster throwing a tantrum. I think this saying makes a lot of sense."

"How so?"

"Hey, you go to Xushan once and see for yourself, and you'll understand." Dong Rui kept him in suspense. "Anyway, you'll go, right?"

"Yes." That was one of the key points of He Lingchuan's trip to Lingxu this time. He switched the subject: "By the way, I remember you have already been pardoned by Lingxu and are no longer a wanted criminal."

"Hmm, yes."

"Then why are you still hiding in the house, not daring to go out and see people all day?"

Who wouldn't want to go out openly? Dong Rui said irritably: "I have many enemies; Lingxu City has pardoned me, but my enemies might not necessarily spare me."

He Lingchuan stretched: "You should go back, right?"

Dong Rui said "hmm" and stood up, only to see He Lingchuan reaching out to him.

"What now?"

"Where's the Turtle Pearl?" This guy had taken He Lingchuan's Turtle Pearl when he left the Demon Nest Swamp; he didn't know if it was intentional or unintentional. "Shouldn't it be returned to me by now?"

Dong Rui rolled his eyes, intending to take out the Turtle Pearl to return it to its owner. He Lingchuan suddenly added: "By the way, almost forgot an urgent matter: do you have—"

He lowered his voice even further: "Divine Bone?"

Dong Rui's heart jumped, but fortunately, his face couldn't make any expression: "What is Divine Bone?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 569 =====