Chapter 726: Echo 3: The Line of Causality

"As for that intruder, the God of Hundred Battles also attempted to cast a line of causality upon him, but without success. We infer this may be related to the Great Great Great Fanghu." The moment the three words "Great Great Great Fanghu" were uttered, the hall fell instantly silent.

The Chief Envoy of Douyun felt a tightness in his chest and had to cough twice before he could continue: "Furthermore, during the pursuit of the intruder, Qingyang and the Heavenly Venerable of Hundred Battles discovered that he had utilized primordial power."

The crowd was shocked: "What?"

"Although it was only for a brief moment, State Preceptor Qingyang sensed the presence of primordial power; it was quite dense," the Chief Envoy of Douyun added. "The Heavenly Venerable of Hundred Battles has also confirmed this claim."

State Preceptor Qingyang had dealt with primordial power her entire life; her verification was almost never wrong.

"Are you saying the intruder is hiding among the Wang Ting and the army, perhaps even protected by an official rank?" The Demon Emperor was burning with rage. "Hmph, it is not impossible, not impossible at all!"

Thinking back now, the information regarding the formation eyes and the Great Great Great Fanghu was top secret; how could it have been stolen by an outsider so easily?

The existence of an inside traitor was the most logical explanation.

Bai Bai Ziqi also said: "The sky has been overcast for days, yet the intruder was still able to accurately calculate the location of the formation eyes!"

"Being able to calculate the location of the formation eyes means he understands the connection between the Tianluo Star and the Spirit Gathering Grand Array, and he also understands how the angles of the Spirit Gathering Grand Array are calculated. Normally, even our own officials do not check them daily; they rely on the star charts on the spider molts to operate automatically!" The Demon Emperor said in a deep voice, "How many people in the entire Spirit Void City know this secret and possess such a level of skill?"

Several secret ministers immediately listed four or five names, and the Dean of Tongshan Academy, Nie Nie Xiaolou, was also named.

The Demon Emperor closed its eyes, a wave of tightness in its chest.

Even at a time like this, they still could not let go of their petty self-interests... weren't they just trying to investigate the person recommended by State Preceptor Qingyang? But the Demon Emperor had no energy to say anything more, only managing: "Investigate, investigate them all!"

It pointed at the Map of Mountains and Rivers: "Since the line of causality has taken shape, then send Yuan Shou to pursue!"

Catch him first; if he cannot be caught... then conduct a thorough investigation!

Court Commandant Huo Ji'an coughed lightly: "General Yuan sustained heavy injuries three hours ago while desperately blocking the Thunder-Striking Beast."

"Then send Fan Long and Jin Jiao! They are still alive, aren't they?"

"Commander Fan was ambushed by an immortal; his physical body is destroyed, and only his primordial spirit remains."

Right, that had already been reported. The Demon Emperor was silent for a moment before saying: "Do everything possible to preserve him. Send Jin Jiao and Shuang Ye to pursue the intruder."

"Yes!"

"Although the spider demon stole the immortal molt, it cannot necessarily exert its full power, let alone control it for long. Calling it 'half-immortal power' is giving it too much credit. The God of Hundred Battles and State Preceptor Qingyang have already experienced this," the Demon Emperor said coldly. "Catch it, bring back the person who destroyed Xushan and stole the divine object! I want to grind his flesh and blood into ash, bit by bit!"

Blood-red characters appeared on the Heavenly Book:

"Capture immediately, no errors allowed!"

The Heavenly God and the Emperor were furious; the crowd knelt across the floor.

Bai Bai Ziqi, standing to the side, also lowered his head and let out a secret sigh.

He understood the pressure weighing on the Emperor and the Tiangong. Xushan and Spirit Void City had nearly been turned upside down, and countless eyes inside and outside the city were staring fixedly at the Wang Ting and the Tiangong, waiting to see when they would bring the intruder to justice.

That the intruder could wreak havoc in the Tiangong and still remain at large—this humiliation was something the Heavenly God and the Demon Emperor could never tolerate! They could not tolerate it for even a moment.

The intruder must be dragged back to the Tiangong immediately, right now. The shame suffered by the Heavenly God and the surging rage of the Emperor could only be washed away with the intruder's blood!

Bai Bai Ziqi could well imagine how the gods on the other side of the Divine Realm must be arguing.

Yet, he had a premonition that this capture would not end well.

The intruder was too bizarre; the Tiangong knew nothing of his appearance, identity, background, or how he escaped Xushan.

Up to this point, they knew nothing about the enemy.

This was truly not a good sign.

However, he could not and dared not say it out loud.

Where exactly did things go wrong? Why was the peace that the Imperial Capital had maintained for six hundred years broken in a single day? Why could one person, single-handedly, turn the Tiangong upside down?

At this moment, Wang Ting officials arrived to report the losses of Spirit Void City to the Demon Emperor.

This was only a preliminary count.

The divine attendants of the Tiangong could not help but take a few steps back, sensing that the Emperor was about to erupt in fury again.

Its rage would eventually turn into a bloodbath for Spirit Void City.

But the Emperor laughed in extreme anger instead, letting out two chuckles: "Spirit Mountain! Very well, having lain dormant for so long, it finally cannot hold back anymore?"

The giant painting of mountains and rivers that appeared in the sky during the chaos in Spirit Void City was a brazen signal sent by the opponent: That's right, we did this!

￥￥￥￥￥

The spider demon suddenly woke the two of them: "Wake up quickly, someone is coming!"

It had planted many eyes and ears within a ten-mile radius of the cave, and it had just received intelligence that outsiders were approaching.

He He Lingchuan opened his eyes with a start, and Dong Rui had already jumped up: "Let's go!"

This place was clearly in the middle of nowhere, without a soul in sight; why did someone suddenly arrive while they were sleeping? It was ninety percent likely to be pursuers.

The two men and one spider didn't even think about scouting; they jumped into the Mud Palace, boarded the Snail Toad, and left Peishan without looking back.

Only then did Zhu Zhu Xiuer say: "My scouts saw that two groups of people had just ascended the mountain from the east and south of Peishan, totaling two or three thousand. The leading great demons were very sharp; my scouts only looked at them a few times, and they sensed it. Also, there were birds circling in the sky, likely sent by the opponent." It was fortunate that the campfire had been extinguished last night.

"I also saw them setting up large battle formations near Peishan, likely to forbid escape techniques and prevent us from fleeing."

It was fortunate they had already run before the formation was completed.

Dong Rui couldn't help but say: "Fang Fang Canran doesn't know our whereabouts, right?"

He He Lingchuan shook his head: "You chose this place; how could Fang Fang Canran know?"

"Uh..." The three of them felt very heavy-hearted.

The location chosen by the Snail Toad for the night was random, yet Spirit Void City could still find them.

What did this mean? The opponent had the ability to track them. If there was no distance limit, they would not be safe even if they fled to the ends of the earth.

After all, there is no such thing as guarding against a thief for a thousand days.

Dong Rui coughed and stole a glance at his two companions: "Who are they tracking?"

It couldn't be him, could it? He hadn't even entered Xushan!

If Spirit Void City was tracking these two guys, he had better part ways with them.

He He Lingchuan saw through his hidden agenda at a glance and was about to speak, but the Snail Toad had already crawled onto the surface.

Zhu Zhu Xiuer was displeased and moved two steps closer to Dong Rui: "What are you doing?"

Was this fellow trying to ditch them and run off on his own?

"Doing what, doing what?" Dong Rui was annoyed. "We're leaving the rain belt ahead; the ground is dry, and the Snail Toad can't move!"

The premise for the Snail Toad to move freely for hundreds of miles was that the underground was very moist. If it were in dry underground soil, it could go at most a few miles.

Zhu Zhu Xiuer looked up and saw that, sure enough, they had temporarily run out of the rain belt; not a drop of rain had fallen on the ground, and the sky was cloudless for ten thousand miles.

The warm winter sun shone on them, dispelling the darkness of the underground.

But this was not a good thing for them.

With pursuers behind them, this was the time to flee a thousand miles, yet the Snail Toad could not move.

If the enemy could set up a net and block the roads, could they run faster than the pursuers of Spirit Void City on foot? Moreover, after the great battle in Xushan, Zhu Zhu Xiuer was exhausted, and the immortal molt was already a heavy burden for her. Could she still control the immortal molt to sprint a thousand miles? He He Lingchuan frowned, but his gaze suddenly froze when he looked at Zhu Zhu Xiuer the next second.

Zhu Zhu Xiuer didn't care at first, but this kid had been staring at her for a bit too long, long enough to make her curious:

"What are you looking at?"

Even in the morning mist, a cave spider was still a cave spider; she wouldn't suddenly turn into a beautiful maiden.

Why was he looking at her with such a studious and surprised gaze? "There is a thread behind your head, a golden thread." He He Lingchuan reached out to brush it away, but his fingertips passed through the golden thread without any physical sensation.

Was this thread an illusion? "Can't you see it yourself?"

Zhu Zhu Xiuer had an eye growing on the back of her head; logically speaking, her field of vision was two hundred and seventy degrees, with almost no blind spots.

But she said: "I don't see it."

"Uh..." He He Lingchuan pointed under a tree. "Come here."

There was no sunlight under the shade of the tree.

Zhu Zhu Xiuer walked over, and the golden thread behind her head disappeared.

"This golden thread seems to be visible only in sunlight."

Zhu Zhu Xiuer walked back into the sunlight, and He He Lingchuan examined the golden thread carefully, seeing it extend infinitely backward as if it had no end.

Looking at its direction, it seemed to come from Xushan as well as the sky.

"Do you feel any discomfort?" He He Lingchuan stroked his chin. "You are knowledgeable and experienced; do you not know what this is?"

Zhu Zhu Xiuer was also deep in thought, and after a long while, she said: "Perhaps it is a tracking spell secretly placed on me by the God of Hundred Battles? The Heavenly God still possesses some divine power; it is not easily dispelled."

Dong Rui walked over upon seeing this and stared for a long time: "I don't see anything. You mean the Heavenly God placed a divine ability on Zhu Zhu Xiuer that will expose our whereabouts? Can it be removed?"

If it couldn't be removed, he would have to propose a breakup with Zhu Zhu Xiuer.

It was just a ray of light, formless and intangible; to put it bluntly, the Heavenly God had placed a cursor on Zhu Zhu Xiuer—how could it be removed? He He Lingchuan was about to shake his head when he suddenly remembered something.

When Shao He Jian first arrived at Panlong City, General Red, or rather Lady Mitian, also had him stand under the sun and cast a divine spell to reveal the black thread on his shoulder.

Although that was a black thread and Zhu Zhu Xiuer had a golden one, the essence should be about the same, right? What did Lady Mitian say at the time?

Was it a thread of fate, or was it called a thread of causality? She had easily pinched that black thread and snapped it, saying that Shao He Jian had been targeted by some wild god. That pinch had severed the passive connection between Shao He Jian and the wild god, making it unable to track him ever again.

Now, had Zhu Zhu Xiuer encountered the same trouble? As expected of a Heavenly God, what an insidious method. They had tried every means to escape Xushan, but they hadn't escaped the gaze of the Heavenly God. As long as the thread of fate was not broken, even if they fled to the ends of the earth, the Tiangong could send people to find them.

Should he part ways with Zhu Zhu Xiuer and let her shoulder the trouble alone?

His side had no Heavenly God capable of breaking the thread.

Was there really no solution?

He had come this far; he did not want to fail at the final step.

(End of chapter)