Chapter 302: Star Gazing Tower
Xia Ziyang thought that Hua Changxi would inevitably engage in combat while pursuing the shapeshifted demon race, and once a battle ensued, it would surely affect others. By following behind and rescuing people, they could conveniently gain a wave of reputation.
“Yuchuan, we’ve brought too few people. Quickly send a message to Qingyao and have her bring some people over.”
Meng Yuchuan had always wanted to accumulate reputation for Meng Qingyao, and with such an opportunity, he naturally wouldn’t miss it. He swiftly sent out the message.
“I hope Hua Changxi is reliable and doesn’t let that demon race escape.”
Thus, Xia Ziyang, along with Meng Yuchuan and a few others, followed the Demon Suppressing Army, swiftly weaving through the streets and alleys of the Capital City.
On the other side, the Snake Demon knew that the human cultivators did not want to harm ordinary citizens, so it deliberately fled towards crowded areas.
Hua Changxi, due to her reservations, did not dare to press the Snake Demon too closely, fearing that the demon would suddenly erupt and attack the civilians.
Furthermore, after activating the Diagnostic Technique, she could quickly identify the Snake Demon amidst the crowd. Therefore, all along, she carefully avoided disturbing the pedestrians on the street, merely following at a moderate distance, searching for a suitable opportunity to strike.
“Move aside, move aside!”
The Demon Suppressing Army was not as composed as Hua Changxi. They could only rely on the Demon Revealing Jade to absorb demonic energy and track the locations of the Snake Demon and Hua Changxi. Seeing the light on the Demon Revealing Jade growing dimmer, they pursued with increasing urgency.
When passing through bustling markets, they were often in a frantic rush, arriving with great momentum. Coupled with Xia Ziyang’s group following closely behind, their passage caused the pedestrians on the street to panic.
“Did something happen?”
“Look, that’s the Demon Suppressing Army. When the Demon Suppressing Army mobilizes, it means there’s either a demon race involved or a cultivator has injured someone.”
“Stop watching the excitement, hurry home.”
As night fell, the number of pedestrians on the street gradually decreased.
“Centurion, the Demon Revealing Jade is no longer reacting.”
Outside the East City area, Hua Da Lang and his Demon Suppressing Army had lost track of Hua Changxi and the Snake Demon.
Not far away, Xia Ziyang and Meng Yuchuan’s group also stopped.
Seeing that the Demon Suppressing Army was no longer pursuing, Meng Yuchuan frowned, “The renowned Demon Suppressing Army is nothing special; they actually lost track of them!”
Xia Ziyang’s expression was also grim. It wasn’t just because they had lost Hua Changxi, but also because no one had been affected along the way, rendering his goal of accumulating reputation unfulfilled.
Tonight, they had all been busy for nothing!
“Centurion!”
The Demon Suppressing Army soldier responsible for observing from the rooftops suddenly called out to Hua Da Lang.
Upon hearing this, Hua Da Lang immediately leaped onto the rooftop. Following that, his own sister’s striking red figure came into view.
With the bright moon in the sky, more than ten marketplaces away, Hua Changxi was speeding across the rooftops. Every few rooftops she passed, she would jump down and disappear for a moment, then reappear on the rooftops, disappear again, then reappear and disappear again.
Seeing this, Hua Da Lang immediately led the Demon Suppressing Army towards that direction, and Xia Ziyang’s group also hurried to follow.
When Hua Changxi reappeared, she was standing on the rooftop of a five-story inn, where the sounds of people inside were boisterous.
“Damn it, I let that Snake Demon escape!”
Hua Changxi stomped her foot in frustration.
“Never mind, that Snake Demon was struck by my Spirit Needle, so it shouldn’t be able to cause trouble for a while.”
After muttering in dissatisfaction for a moment, Hua Changxi summoned her Spirit Cloud and quickly vanished from the rooftop.
Not long after Hua Changxi left, Hua Da Lang and the Demon Suppressing Army hurried past the inn, followed by Xia Ziyang’s group.
With the Demon Suppressing Army mobilized, the civilians around the inn no longer dared to loiter on the streets and quickly returned home, bolting their doors.
Soon, the street was empty.
Time flew by until midnight. In the profound silence, a foot-long Green Snake crawled out from the inn’s woodshed.
The Green Snake crawled at an extremely fast speed, its form completely hidden in the shadows.
When the Green Snake reached a relatively open street intersection, several flashes of fire, like lightning, suddenly appeared from the darkness, heading straight for the Green Snake.
“Ah~”
A piercing scream tore through the silent night sky.
Hua Da Lang, who had found nothing, was about to lead his subordinates back to the Heavenly Department for handover. Upon hearing the scream, he jolted and quickly led the Demon Suppressing Army towards the direction of the sound.
Following behind the Demon Suppressing Army, Xia Ziyang and Meng Yuchuan, who had been circling the Capital City for several hours, exchanged a bewildered glance.
Meng Yuchuan hesitated, “Should we still follow?”
Xia Ziyang gritted his teeth, “Yes!”
On the other side, Hua Changxi was surprised that the Snake Demon could still escape after she had shattered its Demon Core, and could only chase after it quickly.
As she chased, she began to sense something was wrong.
The direction the Snake Demon was fleeing was actually towards Central Street, where the Heavenly Department was located!
The Heavenly Department, the base of the Demon Suppressing Army. Was this Snake Demon rushing to its death?
Upon reaching the intersection of Central Street, the foot-long Snake Demon suddenly stopped and spoke in human tongue, “Hua Changxi, if you are willing to spare me, I am willing to pledge my allegiance to you.”
Hua Changxi was stunned for a moment, then said, “I don’t want demon beasts that have eaten humans!” Spiritual energy swirled in her hand, and the Fire Spirit Divine Needle rapidly condensed.
Upon hearing this, the Snake Demon gritted its teeth and said, “Hua Changxi, you are relentless! The Demon Race and you are irreconcilable enemies! Even if I die, I will not let you have my body.” With that, it shot into a tall building on Central Street like lightning.
The moment the Snake Demon moved, the Fire Spirit Divine Needle from Hua Changxi’s fingertip also shot out.
“Bang~”
The Snake Demon was hit by the Fire Spirit Divine Needle but also rushed into the tall building. Moments later, the building suddenly shook, as if struck by a heavy object.
Then, a brilliant light illuminated the rooftop of the building, radiating for several miles and illuminating the entire Central Street.
Hua Changxi quickly caught up to the front of the building and discovered that the Snake Demon had rushed into the Qintian Tower.
The Qintian Tower, a place for astrology and divination, was very mysterious even before the Spiritual Energy Revival, only obeying the Royal Family. After the Spiritual Energy Revival, it became even more mysterious, with even the Emperor not allowed to enter freely.
Hua Changxi looked at the light on the rooftop, her eyes flashing with curiosity.
It was said that this Qintian Tower was connected to the Zhou Tian Star Chart. She wondered if it was true.
If she hadn’t encountered it, it would have been fine, but now that she had, she really wanted to go in and take a look.
Hua Changxi’s eyes gleamed with eagerness. The Snake Demon should have died inside. She could go in to collect the demon beast she had hunted; this reason should be quite acceptable, right?
Thinking this, and seeing that the Qintian Tower had been broken open by the Snake Demon, Hua Changxi hesitated for a moment before cautiously stepping into the Qintian Tower.
The brilliant light from the rooftop of the Qintian Tower was too conspicuous, causing Yan Zhenzhen, Jing Le, and Tong Yao, who were patrolling North City, West City, and South City respectively, to notice.
Upon seeing this, the three of them unhesitatingly rushed towards this direction.
In ancient times, the Qintian Tower was called the Star Gazing Tower. Its treasure was the Zhou Tian Star Chart, which could manipulate the stars. The movement of the stars could reveal the trend of the Four Spirit Realm’s situation.
An anomaly in the Star Gazing Tower must mean something had happened.
At the same time, in the Heavenly Department next to the Qintian Tower, Wei Zhenjie looked thoughtfully at Yuan Qi, the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, who was sitting inside drinking tea, and asked with a smile.
“A demon race appeared on Central Street, and the Demon Suppressing Army should have been mobilized for suppression, yet you stopped me from interfering, and now you’re letting Hua Changxi enter the Qintian Tower.”
“Did you divine something?”
Yuan Qi smiled without speaking and continued to drink his tea.
