Chapter 391: Shadows in the Rain Curtain

Silence fell over Mocheng as several figures hurriedly passed through the rain curtain.

Thanks to the advance preparations of Qianfeng Lingshan, and after a brief rest at the hotel, Yu Sheng and his party changed into outfits less conspicuous in this city—

Zheng Zhi, following local style, wore a dark-colored coat resembling a straw rain cape but made of some advanced composite material, topped with a conical hat bearing silver-gray patterns. This attire was clearly ideal for Mocheng's weather: a faint force field formed around the hat's rim completely blocked wind and rain, while the rain cape itself was light, warm, and insulated against the damp chill of the rain.

Yu Sheng and Zheng Zhi were dressed similarly, except a bulge appeared beneath Yu Sheng's rain cape—Eileen hung from under his clothes like a koala, with only her head poking out from his chest, looking as lazy as one could possibly be.

True Immortal Yuan Hao hadn't changed his style much; his cultivator attire from the "Capital Planet" was actually quite a popular "trend" in this border city. He had simply removed all ornaments revealing his identity as part of Qianfeng Lingshan, so his simple, plain robes made him look no different from an ordinary passerby (if one ignored that old handsome man's face).

Hu Li, meanwhile, changed into a flowing moon-white long skirt adorned with light-blue water patterns along the hem. The jade pendants at her waist chimed softly with each step. Holding a dark-blue oil-paper umbrella, she walked obediently beside Yu Sheng—half of her nine tails were left outside in the rain, shaking vigorously once soaked, while one hand without an umbrella held a chicken leg she gnawed on from time to time.

By the way, she deliberately let her tails get rained on—because shaking off the water was fun.

Luna was the most unique among those beside Yu Sheng: the "features" of an Artificial Saintess were simply too conspicuous, not just her perfect, cold, pale face and metallic-shelled exterior, but also her full two-meter height. Considering that wearing local clothes would only make her stand out even more, Qianfeng Lingshan had simply arranged a completely different style of outfit for her in advance:

A black robe-skirt dotted with silver-white stars and featuring religious-style ringed-star patterns, combined with the black veil she had always worn, made her look entirely like a nun. According to True Immortal Yuan Hao, this outfit was actually quite close to the "Star Maidens" attire of the Arglede people.

That was the general term for Arglede women who listened to the stars and excelled in astrology.

The border region where Shu Ji was located was very close to Arglede territory; a large star gate directly leading to the Arglede deep star domains existed just one light-year away. Thus, the people of this city were not unfamiliar with "alien visitors" of similar style. Moreover, since most "Star Maidens" were inherently mysterious and had many unique personal dressing habits, even if Luna revealed some non-human traits, as long as she wore this "nun's robe," it wouldn't cause much surprise or attention from the locals.

The rain at this moment was lighter than when everyone first landed, yet it still fell continuously from the sky. Fine rain threads were repelled by an invisible force field around Luna as they approached her, forming a hazy, gauze-like curtain beside her. Peering through this curtain, she raised her head, her multi-frequency radar rapidly and continuously scanning the surrounding environment.

"Multiple, high-energy units," she said slowly, "no hostility."

"I have also sensed it," True Immortal Yuan Hao nodded. "It must be cultivators passing by nearby. Although this place is far from the city center, it is close to an ancient refinement tower. The spiritual energy is dense, making it a good place for cultivation."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then turned to look at his big nephew beside him: "Have you seen or sensed anything?"

Zheng Zhi adjusted his conical hat with one hand and shook his head: "No, everything seems quite normal here."

No sooner had he spoken than Eileen, who was just poking her small head out from Yu Sheng's collar, blurted out: "Can you even distinguish what is 'normal' from what is 'abnormal'? Maybe you've already seen something weird but haven't realized it yet?"

"Ah, well... in most cases I can tell," Zheng Zhi said, slightly embarrassed, but quickly explained, "Based on experience, abnormal things definitely have obvious dissonance with the surrounding environment. One can actually judge from the 'atmosphere'..."

As he spoke, he suddenly froze, then pointed sharply across the street: "Wait! Those two people over there seem a bit off..."

True Immortal Yuan Hao immediately looked up, then quickly pushed Zheng Zhi's hand back down: "Daoist Zheng, do not make a fuss. Those are just children dressed as characters from a play. I checked before arriving; there is a comic convention nearby..."

Eileen, listening nearby, was greatly surprised: "... You cultivators have such events in your realm?!"

But as soon as she said this, True Immortal Yuan Hao became puzzled instead: "Why couldn't there be?"

"How unserious," the little doll blurted out. "It doesn't match your ethereal, fairy-like style at all..."

Hearing this, True Immortal Yuan Hao laughed: "That is a stereotype. Gathering in groups dressed as strange beings has existed since ancient times. Miss Eileen, have you never heard of 'Divine Plays' or 'Shaman Dances'?"

Eileen wore a face full of question marks: "...?"

Seeing this, Yu Sheng coughed twice and, following True Immortal Yuan Hao's lead, made up a story on the spot: "From the perspective of free form, ancient shamans dancing could be seen as the earliest 'comic conventions'..."

The little doll thought for a moment, then looked utterly shocked: "Yes, yes, that's true?!"

This little thing was far too easily fooled; seeing her expression, Yu Sheng felt too embarrassed to continue deceiving her...

While they were talking, the group had already passed another intersection. As they continued walking toward the city outskirts, passersby in the area clearly became increasingly scarce.

True Immortal Yuan Hao began to frown occasionally, as if carefully using his divine sense to perceive fluctuations in the surrounding aura. He would sometimes slow his pace and look up toward the direction of the ancient refinement tower standing in the rain curtain, which from this distance already looked quite oppressive.

"Something is strange," the old handsome man suddenly spoke, muttering to himself. "Why has it disappeared again..."

Eileen poked her head out from Yu Sheng's arms once more: "Huh? What disappeared?"

"The places where I previously sensed spiritual energy stagnation and sluggish flow," True Immortal Yuan Hao slowly said, deep in thought. "When we descended earlier, I roughly scanned the surface with my divine sense and indeed detected several irregularities. Even not long ago, when we were on 'Meeting Immortals Continent,' I could still sense anomalies in those directions. But now, as we approach, that feeling has vanished."

"They ran away upon sensing our approach?" Eileen blurted out without thinking.

"... What I sensed were changes in the earth veins and spiritual energy, not living creatures. How could the natural environment run?" True Immortal Yuan Hao immediately shook his head. "If forced to say, they must have been hidden."

Pausing here, he spoke again, somewhat uncertainly: "But such changes, to hide from my divine sense, is not something an ordinary person could achieve..."

Yu Sheng did not speak, only looking thoughtfully into the distance.

The rain curtain was misty. The spiritual ore refinement tower at the city's end pierced the cloud base. Two traffic tracks rising from the edge of Mocheng connected that ancient, magnificent, mountain-like mechanical giant structure like thick blood vessels. Lights flickered on the tracks and the tower, yet everything appeared hazy due to the rain curtain's obstruction. Occasionally, lightning suddenly slashed across the sky; in the instant bright light, the towering giant tower was outlined prominently, then, amidst the flashing light, presented an oppressive sense as if it were about to collapse and fall.

The fox girl beside them, who had been vigorously shaking water off her tail, suddenly stopped, frowned in confusion, then sniffed in the rain as if smelling something.

"Benefactor," she said, tugging at Yu Sheng's sleeve, "I smell blood."

"Blood?" Yu Sheng instantly jolted upon hearing this. "Where?!"

"It's hard to judge in the rain," Hu Li said while sniffing around in the air. Her large silver-white fox ears twitched from time to time, as if capturing faint sounds in the wind and rain. "But it appeared suddenly just now, so it should be not far away."

No sooner had she finished speaking than True Immortal Yuan Hao beside her immediately frowned slightly. He then raised his hand and lightly tapped the air, speaking in a deep voice: "Quiet—"

A ripple as faint as a gentle breeze suddenly spread from the half-space where his finger had tapped. An invisible, formless power instantly covered every inch of the surrounding space. Immediately after, a clear ringing sound came from the air, and the vast rain curtain briefly ceased, freezing in mid-air as if time and space had stagnated.

The next second, he and Hu Li both raised their heads and pointed in a certain direction: "Over there!"

Yu Sheng didn't have time to marvel at the old handsome man's stunning move, because during the brief moment the rain curtain stopped, he too sensed something unusual—not the smell of blood, as he didn't have a nose as good as Hu Li's.

What he sensed was the flow of life force fading, the aura of some powerful creature nearing death.

The group immediately rushed toward the direction perceived by Hu Li and True Immortal Yuan Hao, running toward a dimly lit, desolate-looking district near that towering giant tower.

The briefly halted rain curtain began to fall again. Deep thunder occasionally rumbled in the distance through the continuous rain curtains. The silhouettes of city buildings, amidst repeated thunder and the hazy rain curtain, became blurred at some point, as if all structures had turned into abstract outlines within the gaps of light and shadow, becoming fake backgrounds projected onto a spatial screen. For a few brief moments, all buildings in the distance seemed to vanish at once, turning into a barren wilderness of jagged rocks, resembling the state of this planet before it was ever developed or even discovered by humans.

Zheng Zhi simply couldn't keep up with the superhuman pace of the others around him. But just as he was about to fall behind, True Immortal Yuan Hao glanced back in his direction. Immediately, Zheng Zhi felt a clear wind surround his ribs—he felt as if he had briefly taken flight, easily catching up with the team. At the same time, amidst this momentary ease, he looked up and forward once more.

The massive ancient refinement tower standing on the city's outskirts had vanished.

In its place was a pitch-black rift resembling ultimate void, slicing through the entire space from sky to earth, as if it were about to split the whole planet.

(End of Chapter)