Chapter 349: Gathering Anomalies, Shrouded in Mist

Lin Xuan stood at a high point in the eastern mountainous region, quietly observing every move of the young martial artist in the small town below. Chen Ye, this seemingly ordinary young man, was currently practicing a set of basic fist techniques in the town's martial arts hall.

"It has already been three days, and he still hasn't noticed the anomaly on his body," Lin Xuan said in a low voice to the Qingbai Jushe beside him.

The giant snake slithered around Lin Xuan, emitting a faint hiss: "The fluctuations of the mark on his body are getting stronger. Especially at night, that blue light can almost be seen directly with the naked eye."

Lin Xuan nodded. The previous two nights, he had indeed seen the mark on Chen Ye's arm emit a faint blue glow under the moonlight, and what surprised him even more was that this glow seemed to have a certain rhythm, as if it were engaged in a tacit exchange with some unknown existence in the distance.

"The strangest thing is his pattern of movement," Lin Xuan frowned. "He clearly possesses no cultivation, yet he can precisely avoid all potential dangers. Yesterday, that drunkard's blade almost hurt him; he didn't even turn his head to look, yet he just happened to dodge it by turning sideways."

Just at this moment, Lin Xuan noticed several black shadows swiftly flashing across the east side of the town. Wearing black masks and dressed in black, the figures moved between the rooftops like ghosts, clearly targeting Chen Ye.

"People from the Mysterious Organization are here!" Lin Xuan's expression changed, and he immediately prepared to intervene.

At the same time, in front of an ancient mountain gate in the south, Li Yan was confronting an old man wearing a Daoist Robe.

"Please step aside. Zheng Xuan is a disciple of our Yinxian Sect; outsiders are not permitted to interfere." The old man's expression was stern, and his eyes flashed with a vigilant light.

Li Yan remained calm: "I have no intention of disturbing your sect's cultivation; I only wish to have a few words with fellow Daoist Zheng Xuan."

"Impossible!" the old man refused flatly. "Especially now that the strange phenomena within his body have just appeared, there must be no interference from external forces."

The Huo Fenghuang chirped softly on Li Yan's shoulder and transmitted a message: "The Qi Luck fluctuations within Zheng Xuan have increased again, and the direction is very clear—it points directly to the southeast."

Li Yan's heart stirred; that was the exact location of the fishing village youth, Liu Yang. Two days ago, he had just confirmed that although these two were one cultivating on a mountain and the other fishing by the sea, their daily routines, movement trajectories, and even the times they ate were completely identical, as if they were being manipulated by the same invisible hand.

"Interesting," Li Yan said softly. "The Qiyun Zhipi of these two indeed present a complementary state, but are they two sides of one person, or two completely independent individuals?"

Just as Li Yan was contemplating a strategy, the figures of several Green-Robed Persons suddenly appeared in the distance. They stood atop a mountain peak, seemingly observing the movements of the Yinxian Sect closely.

"The time is not yet ripe; please do not act rashly," the voice of a Green-Robed Person transmitted directly into Li Yan's mind.

Li Yan raised an eyebrow: "What do you know?"

However, the Green-Robed Persons only watched silently and did not answer.

On the snowy plains of the north, Ling Bo was traveling rapidly while carrying a woman dressed in white. Mo Yun, this seemingly fragile woman, was currently closing her eyes, being carried on Ling Bo's back.

"Hold on a little longer; we will be safe soon," Ling Bo comforted her in a low voice while vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

Behind them, a team of Black-Clothed Persons was in hot pursuit. The weapons in their hands flashed with an eerie light, clearly special equipment specifically designed to deal with Qi Luck Power.

"This is truly troublesome," Ling Bo gritted her teeth. "I intended to gently undo the Seal in her mind, but I didn't expect that even a touch would cause such a commotion."

The phantom of the Xuanwu appeared around Ling Bo, blocking several hidden weapons for her. "The Seal within Mo Yun is extraordinary; it was likely left behind by the guardians back then. Once triggered, it releases powerful Qi Luck fluctuations, which naturally attracts those enemies."

Ling Bo nodded, feeling even more certain of Mo Yun's importance. When she had briefly entered Mo Yun's memory space, she saw a blurred scene. It seemed to be a massive Array, with numerous figures surrounding a central pillar of light, collectively resisting some kind of dark invasion.

"The strangest thing is that there are blurred figures of Lin Xuan and Li Yan in her memories, yet they have clearly never met," Ling Bo pondered as she ran. "Could these be memories from the future?"

Suddenly, Mo Yun's body began to tremble violently, and the Extraterrestrial Civilization Mark on her arm flashed with a dazzling blue light. Ling Bo felt a powerful energy fluctuation erupt from within her, surging toward the southeast.

At almost the same moment, in the eastern town, Chen Ye suddenly stopped his fist techniques, and the mark on his arm began to glow; at the southern mountain gate, Zheng Xuan sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his entire body enveloped in blue light; in the fishing village, Liu Yang was dragging a fishing net toward the sea, his body also flickering with a faint light.

Lin Xuan, Li Yan, and Ling Bo immediately exchanged information through their Guardian Spirit Beasts.

"All the Houxuanzhe have shown abnormal reactions!" Li Yan said in surprise.

"And all at the same moment!" Lin Xuan quickly deduced. "This is definitely no coincidence."

Ling Bo sent back an even more important discovery: "Through the sensing of the Xuanwu, I confirm that these lights are sketching out a massive Array. If the locations of all the Houxuanzhe are marked on a map, they will form a complete pattern."

"What is even more terrifying," Lin Xuan added, "is that their movement trajectories are converging toward a certain center point, as if being attracted by some force."

The three quickly synthesized the information and were shocked to discover that these Houxuanzhe were moving along specific routes, and the location where these routes converged was none other than an Ancient Altar that had been abandoned for many years!

"That is..." Ling Bo's voice trembled, "the location of the 'Tianmen' mentioned in the Parents Scroll!"

"Tianmen?" Lin Xuan and Li Yan asked simultaneously, puzzled.

"It is said to be a passage from the ancient era that connected Diqiu with outer space," Ling Bo explained. "The guardians once set up heavy Seals there to block the invasion of extraterrestrial civilizations."

"So this is the true purpose of the extraterrestrial civilization?" Li Yan's expression was grave. "To use these Houxuanzhe to reopen the Tianmen?"

Lin Xuan, however, shook his head: "No, if the extraterrestrial civilization wanted to open the Tianmen, they wouldn't need such a complex arrangement. This looks more like the guardians' plan; they are using the power of the extraterrestrial civilization to do something..."

The three fell into deep thought, vaguely feeling that they were on the edge of a massive mystery. The abnormalities of the Houxuanzhe, the pursuit by the Mysterious Organization, the attitude of the Green-Robed Persons—all clues pointed to the place known as "Tianmen."

"Regardless, we must protect these Houxuanzhe," Lin Xuan decided. "I will first deal with the Black-Clothed Persons here, then take Chen Ye to the location of the Tianmen. You two should also rendezvous with the Houxuanzhe you are responsible for as soon as possible."

"No problem," Li Yan and Ling Bo replied simultaneously.

The phantoms of the three great Guardian Spirit Beasts shone brilliantly in the air, as if they too sensed that a major upheaval was about to arrive.