Chapter 335: Nightfall (9/10, for the Alliance Leader

Clouds do move.

But the black clouds overhead clearly did not.

They were like ornaments fixed above Jiangyun Temple, constantly flickering with lightning, shrouding the sky.

With such an abnormal phenomenon, coupled with a large-scale casualty incident, reports and news about Jiangyun Temple should have long since made headlines across every major news outlet and become known to the world.

But now, everything was calm.

All of it, only because Qiu Dugu had used his authority to lock down the information.

"So if everyone at Jiangyun Temple is dead, how will you handle the aftermath?"

Looking at Qiu Dugu's hair wrapped around him and forming a ball shape, Fang Yue couldn't help but ask.

"This place will be sealed off, and we'll announce to the outside that it's under renovation. For those who died, we'll cover it with excuses where we can, call it accidental death where we can. In short, we'll downplay it to avoid arousing suspicion."

Now round and plump like a fluffy ball, Fang Yue raised an eyebrow: "Isn't this just deceiving people and dragging things out? What if it blows up someday?"

"…That's not my concern, nor is it yours. I only care how many more people I can save, and how much more I can still do for this world."

Fang Yue shrugged. In Qiu Dugu, he saw a kind of limitation similar to that of a soldier.

He might be a fine executor, but he would never be a good leader.

But then again, what did that have to do with a nobody like Fang Yue?

When the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up. A behemoth like the 【United Front】 that possessed a massive stockpile of anomalous objects was something Fang Yue truly didn't want to provoke.

If the problem could be resolved through the rules by way of Qiu Dugu, then everything would turn out beautifully, and he could return to a peaceful life.

Just as the two reached this point in their conversation, Bai Xiaoya walked over carrying her nine bone spears on her back.

She looked at Fang Yue and said directly: "I'm going too."

"Miss?! Think this through!!" A Ming cried out in alarm.

Fang Yue frowned slightly and shook his head: "Stay here. Wait for me to come back."

Ever since that incident, the woman had developed a somewhat self-destructive tendency, rushing toward wherever the danger was.

Seeing Bai Xiaoya still seemed about to say something, Fang Yue spoke first: "If you die, Yuan Jie will be heartbroken, and I'll be in a lot of trouble. So just stay put down here. If something happens and I fall, I'm counting on you to catch me and save my life."

Hearing this, Bai Xiaoya finally said nothing more.

But "saving Fang Yue's life" — she had taken that to heart. She began rummaging through the temple for something that could provide a soft landing, leaving Fang Yue not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"You've saved me so many times. I'll repay the kindness," Bai Xiaoya said earnestly.

Fang Yue didn't bother with her further, as long as she didn't follow him up.

That lightning — for an ordinary person, a direct strike meant certain death.

Qiu Dugu's ancient costume was an anomalous object; his hair was an anomalous object.

Even with double protection, he had still come down earlier spitting blood from his mouth.

Swap in Bai Xiaoya, and she'd probably drop dead on the spot.

As for Fang Yue, he too was only waiting until nightfall, bolstered by 【Night's Breath】, before daring to go up and see what was really going on. Otherwise, even with Qiu Dugu's hair protecting him, he wouldn't have gone up.

Fully equipped, Fang Yue gave Bai Xiaoya and A Ming a few more instructions. Then Fang Yue and Qiu Dugu rode the "Automatic Elevator" of the "Hair Tree" upward, and soon vanished from sight.

Boom.

Before long, thunder sounded from within the black clouds.

Lightning filled the entire black cloud, racing and churning within it, illuminating the Jiangyun Temple below.

It was at that moment that a puff of smoke drifted over from afar, drifting toward Jiangyun Temple.

When the smoke reached Jiangyun Temple, it quickly coalesced into a human form, a man's shape, gradually shifting from illusion to solidity.

When all this was complete, at the entrance of Jiangyun Temple, there was already one extra man, smoking a cigarette.

People generally called him Yan Nan, or… Ma Shaoku.

Ma Shaoku glanced up at the black clouds crackling with thunder and lightning above, frowning slightly.

Then he stepped into Jiangyun Temple.

Soon, he saw a giant tree of hair resembling a pagoda piercing the sky — unmistakably the handiwork of his old partner.

Walking toward the Hair Giant Tree, he saw from afar two people standing guard beside it.

"Ordinary people?"

Stunned for a moment, Ma Shaoku immediately realized that those two people had nothing special about them — they really were just ordinary people.

"Survivors of the Jiangyun Temple incident…"

Although Ma Shaoku hadn't seen any corpses along the way, the bloodstains on the road were extremely obvious. Clearly, many people had died — a great many.

And in such a massive wave of death, only two had survived. That death ratio was absurdly, almost ridiculously, off the charts.

It also indirectly indicated one thing: the source of this surge in the 【Anomaly Index】 was probably… extremely dangerous!

Ma Shaoku, who had originally been preparing to go straight up the Hair Tree to find his old partner, didn't rush into action, and instead prepared to first approach these two survivors to understand the situation.

However, as he walked toward them, halfway there, he suddenly jerked his head up.

Boom!

High above, thunder and lightning raged in the black clouds. A bolt of lightning suddenly struck down, hitting the ground not far from him.

A hole instantly appeared in the ground, with black smoke rising from it.

The sight nearly scared Ma Shaoku into shifting straight into his Smoke Man form. Fortunately, after just that one strike, the black clouds calmed down a little.

Continuing forward, his arrival finally drew the attention of Bai Xiaoya and A Ming.

"Who are you?" A Ming asked nervously.

"Qiu Dugu said this place is sealed by his authority — no entry, no exit. The only one qualified to enter here is his partner, Ma Shaoku! Am I right?" Bai Xiaoya said coldly as she stood up.

Ma Shaoku felt slightly surprised.

"Qiu Dugu even told you lot about this? That's rare. He usually doesn't leave loose ends."

Ma Shaoku had now arrived beneath the Hair Giant Tree.

After inspecting the Hair Giant Tree and feeling its texture, confirming it was indeed the product of the Old Companion's hair phantom, Ma Shaoku calmed down and turned to Bai Xiaoya.

"He's already gone up? What's the situation above?"

Bai Xiaoya looked at him calmly: "Black Cloud flashes a powerful lightning strike once every Great Cycle. Normally, it's only minor lightning—harmless. Qiu Dugu went up after confirming the end of a Great Cycle, about ten minutes ago. The Great Cycle repeats every two hours."

Great Cycle: every two hours.

Qiu Dugu has been up only ten minutes…

Ma Shaoku fell into thought, then glanced at A Ming beside him.

He asked the same question from a different angle—the answers matched exactly.

Ma Shaoku was reassured. What remained was testing the lightning's strength during the Small Cycle, and investigating the events at Jiangyun Temple.

But according to this girl, Qiu Dugu had ascended without any lightning protection—not even hair armor—relying solely on the defensive power of his ancient costume phantom. Clearly, the Small Cycle's lightning was negligible.

(End of Chapter)