Chapter 378: Chaos Subsides

With the seals of the Demon-Suppressing Tower repaired, the channels leaking from the containment zone to the outer space were finally completely blocked, and no new black fissures appeared above the sky of Qianfeng Xianshan.

Battles of all sizes continued in various places, and the "prisoners" who had already escaped were being dealt with rapidly.

Outside the Queyun Palace, smoke rose; the mountain-guarding disciples, assisted by Lei Ting and the Kingdom's army, held the defense line under the greatest pressure. After killing a large number of demonic beasts and ferocious creatures charging the mountain path, Xuanche began leading people to search the mountain for the scattered containment subjects who had fled.

Near the Shifang Pavilion, Zhenren Yuanhe guarded the giant mechanical device named "Mountain-Suppressing Pass" with hundreds of inner sect disciples. The "Mountain-Suppressing Pass," which controlled the entire formation of Qianfeng Xianshan, resembled a giant bell, standing tall on a stone platform. Spiritual light floated on the device's surface, and a low, solemn ringing sound constantly emanated from within. On the square surrounding the "Mountain-Suppressing Pass," hundreds of ferocious beast corpses lay dead. Many still-living demons and activated entities that could not be directly destroyed had been re-sealed and chained, waiting to be returned to the Demon-Suppressing Tower.

In the half-mountain bamboo forest thick with spiritual energy, black wolf packs shaped like phantoms moved through the shadows, coordinating with the mountain-patrolling guards in white Taoist robes to search every suspicious hidden corner.

The reconnaissance drone swarm controlled by Dorothy crossed the mountains, confirming whether any hidden leaks remained in the sea of clouds. Xianshan cultivators flying on swords passed through the swarm, inspecting the mountain-guarding barrier covering the entire sky above Qianfeng Xianshan.

On the mountain path between the Guanyun Terrace and the Queyun Palace, although many scattered battles had not yet ended, the BGM for victory settlement had already sounded.

Additionally, ethereal celestial music descended from the clouds, echoing through all the forests and mountains—

"Transmitting the order of the Acting Vice Sect Master: The Demon-Suppressing Tower is secure. Cultivators everywhere must search carefully, ensuring the mountains and forests are thoroughly scoured...

"The mountain closure continues; the opening time will be notified separately.

"……All ferocious beasts and Class-A containment subjects that have broken free are to be killed without mercy.

"……Intelligent demonic creatures, Class-B containment subjects, or prisoners who surrender or are unable to resist are to be captured and returned to the Demon-Suppressing Tower. Those who still resist stubbornly are to be killed without mercy.

"……If any strange entities or unknown 'variants' are discovered, cultivators must not make direct contact. Report them and wait for the Demon-Suppressing Tower to recover them.

"……Submit the lists of names of demons, prisoners, and entities that have been killed or recovered to the Queyun Palace..."

Yu Sheng rode on the back of Hu Li, with one Erin on each shoulder, heading toward the Queyun Palace where Xuanche was located.

Luna walked beside him and Hu Li like a loyal knight.

A flying pumpkin carriage floated low outside the mountain path. Cinderella sat inside the carriage, leaning out to gaze at the distant forests where thick smoke was still rising. Zheng Zhi sat in front of the carriage, his eyes wide as he scanned everywhere.

Rapunzel also sat on Hu Li's back. She sat next to Yu Sheng, looking up at her big nephew on the pumpkin carriage: "Hey, how is the situation with the fissures?"

She was certainly not referring to the leakage fissures appearing above the sea of clouds just now, which led to the containment zone of the Demon-Suppressing Tower, but rather the huge black crack that seemed to have split the entire Qianfeng Xianshan, which Zheng Zhi had seen at the very beginning.

Hearing this, Zheng Zhi widened his eyes, observing the direction of the Demon-Suppressing Tower. After a long while, he spoke with some worry: "It can still be seen. A huge black line, sticking there like it split the whole mountain in half. But the good news is it looks stable now—originally, many spiderweb-like branches spread out around it, but now those branches are gone."

The great fissure remained.

Hearing Zheng Zhi's words, Yu Sheng did not speak, only frowning thoughtfully. The Erin (Rebar) on his shoulder, however, immediately looked up and chirped: "Hey, big nephew, your 'vision' is somewhat heaven-defying. How do I feel your symptoms can no longer be described as just 'Gao Min'?"

Zheng Zhi scratched his head: "I don't know. I just finished basic training last week..."

"To be honest, it is indeed a bit weird," Rapunzel, sitting next to Yu Sheng, nodded solemnly after hearing Erin's complaint. "I've been a Spirit World detective for several years. I've seen Gao Min cases, even seen people grow tentacles just by glancing at an abnormal entity, but I've never heard of a 'Gao Min Low Stability' patient in your situation. Your eyes are practically like having X-ray vision... Hey, do you usually see people with frames around them?"

Zheng Zhi was stunned by what he heard. It took him a while to realize what the other party meant by "with frames," and he immediately wore an expression of helplessness: "I don't. That's too exaggerated... But my current situation is indeed more serious than before. Before, at most I could see some strange shadows, and occasionally I would get lost and end up on some nonsensical fork in the road. But since that incident with my uncle..."

He suddenly paused, then sighed softly.

"Since that incident with my uncle, I came into contact with the 'Angel Umbilical Cord,' and my symptoms suddenly worsened. The things I see are getting clearer and clearer, and getting lost isn't just about taking the wrong path anymore; I can even end up in other realms."

"What did the bureau's experts say?" Rapunzel asked with great curiosity.

"What else could they say? Express surprise, mostly surprise that I'm alive and grew up this big, and surprise that my symptoms were so severe since childhood and have now worsened further. They said they witnessed the possibilities of humanity," Zheng Zhi said with a frown. "But later they also said my case actually makes sense—essentially, it's a change produced after contact with Angel contamination."

"According to the experts, this change is very abnormal, but because it relates to the Dark Angel, it is also normal."

"Additionally, they said I'm actually considered lucky. Most ordinary people who come into contact with Angel contamination don't just get increased spiritual vision; basically, no one retains their human form."

Listening to the other party's rambling, Rapunzel couldn't help but look at Zheng Zhi with deep sympathy, then confirmed: "That fissure is still there? Has it changed compared to just now?"

"... No change," Zheng Zhi raised his head and glanced toward the Demon-Suppressing Tower again. "It's completely stable—if that can be counted as good news."

"Let's count it as good news for now," Yu Sheng finally broke the silence at this moment. He sighed, his brows tightly furrowed. "As long as that thing doesn't expand, at least no new leakage points will appear inside the Demon-Suppressing Tower."

Zhenren Yuanhao's voice came from the side: "What exactly is that fissure? Do you have any ideas?"

"No ideas, but at least I feel that thing isn't just an ordinary 'spatial rift'," Yu Sheng shook his head. "I've seen spatial rifts, even touched them. I can feel that thing without looking. But the fissure that Zheng Zhi 'saw'... should be something more complex, more abstract."

As he spoke, he looked up at Zhenren Yuanhao.

This number one hunk of Qianfeng Xianshan (Xuanche ranked second) was currently flying on a sword, drifting behind Cinderella's pumpkin carriage.

To be honest, Yu Sheng didn't find flying on a sword strange. After all, he had been dealing with this group of "immortals" from Qianfeng Xianshan for some time. Although Xuanche and his master mostly transformed into rays of light to fly back and forth, Yu Sheng could occasionally see Xuanche or other Xianshan disciples flying on swords to save effort. Having seen it often, it was just so-so, at most making him a bit envious of this skill for showing off.

But flying on a chainsaw sword was definitely a different matter...

Yu Sheng's eyes couldn't help but drift to the feet of Zhenren Yuanhao. He looked at the hard-lined casing of the flying sword, at its chain teeth, at the trigger structure on the hilt, and the faintly visible steel stamp. After holding back for a long time, he finally couldn't resist: "... That sword of yours doesn't look like it's from around here, does it?"

Hearing this, Zhenren Yuanhao laughed: "This sword is indeed not a product of Qianfeng Xianshan. It was obtained by chance when I traveled outside the realm in my early years. At that time, my Immortal Vessel malfunctioned..."

Yu Sheng waved his hand immediately after hearing the beginning: "Okay, we know the rest."

Zhenren Yuanhao clicked his tongue, somewhat reluctant to let go: "Hey, I still have a very long part I want to tell."

While talking like this, the group had already left the mountain path connecting to the back mountain. After circling a broken platform emitting green smoke, Yu Sheng saw the towering main hall of the Queyun Palace.

The previous "leakage" caused chaos in many areas of Qianfeng Xianshan. Walking all the way from the Guanyun Terrace, Yu Sheng saw destruction caused by escaped entities and demonic beasts everywhere. Fortunately, as one of the five major sects on the Taixu Lingshu, all important facilities of Qianfeng Xianshan had independent and powerful protection systems. Besides the overall "Mountain-Guarding Formation," every palace and every pavilion in this Xianshan had its own separate "shield." These shields protected the low-level disciples with weaker combat power at critical moments, holding up defense lines from top to bottom, and preserving many key buildings, including the Queyun Palace.

So at this moment, although the surrounding squares, mountain paths, and pavilions were in ruins, the towering main hall of the Queyun Palace still shone brilliantly under the daylight.

Hu Li took small steps across the edge of the broken square, arriving in front of Xuanche, who was organizing junior brothers and sisters to clean the battlefield. Yu Sheng poked his head out from Hu Li's head, looked down at Xuanche, and asked: "How is the situation here?"

"Mr. Yu, and Eldest Senior Master," Xuanche clasped his fists, a smile on his face. "Thanks to the assistance of several Divine Might Giants and many mages, the defense line in front of the Queyun Palace remained completely safe until the end. We suffered many casualties, but thanks to the shields holding them off, there were no deaths. This is truly fortunate."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Sheng heard a voice of ghostly wailing and wolf howling from a corner of the square: "You guys didn't die—so can I die? Let me die! Ah! You bunch of ragged old Taoists are all so bad..."

Hearing this commotion, Yu Sheng was stunned. He looked up and saw a seven-headed giant snake, more than ten meters long, tied in a dead knot by someone, lying on the square cursing the street...

(End of Chapter)