Chapter 200: The Seventh month II

The Seventh month II

Outside the Underground City — Surface Wilderness

"Born in the seventh month?" Renhao Salaze repeated the words, his brow furrowing into a deep crease.

His flowing white-and-red robes brushed against the damp fern leaves as he navigated the dense forest path alongside his two brothers.

"Yes," Renjun Salaze confirmed, his tone analytical as he reviewed a jade scroll. "I believe Eldest Brother has reached the exact same deduction."

Renhao turned toward the tallest of the three walking in the lead. "Eldest Brother, what’s your take?"

The three young men possessed striking, remarkably similar facial structures, but they had intentionally applied subtle illusion paste to alter the contour of their cheekbones and brows before entering Country B.

The Salaze family had too many enemies lurking across the continent’s higher realms. Carelessly parading their true countenances in a sovereign territory was an invitation for an ambush.

They had crossed the border three days ago with a single goal: tracking down their missing younger sister.

Unfortunately, despite combing through refugee settlements and border trade hubs, they had found no trace of Seana Salaze. They couldn’t post public bounties or shout her name through the streets—doing so would immediately alert the hostile factions hunting their bloodline.

The eldest brother, Renyu Salaze, remained completely composed, his stride steady and silent.

"Calm down, Hao," Renyu said, his voice deep and reassuring. "Think about it logically. The fact that Country B has zero records of a ’Seana Salaze’ is the best news we could have hoped for. It means our little sister had the brains to conceal her true background."

Renhao sighed. "True, but it leaves us searching for a ghost in a burning forest."

"Not necessarily," Renyu countered with a faint, knowing smile. "Instead of finding her directly, we found a high-priority investigation being conducted simultaneously by the Four Great Sects. Why did we decide to follow this specific trail?"

Renhao blinked. He thought for a second, and then his eyes widened in sudden realization.

"Because... because knowing our sister’s personality, if she caught wind of innocent children being kidnapped for dark rituals or anything of sort, she wouldn’t hesitate for a single second to jump straight into the fire!"

Renyu patted his brother’s shoulder with a grin. "Exactly. She never could ignore someone crying for help. Wherever this child-trafficking trail leads, our sister won’t be far behind."

Renjun tucked his scroll away, his eyes narrowing. "Which brings us back to the pattern. All the kidnapped children were born in the seventh month."

"A sacrifice," Renhao spat, disgust flashing across his face. "Or a battery for an ancient soul-refining array."

"Likely both," Renjun replied. "Furthermore, the Heavenly Thunder Sect’s recent behavior has been completely abnormal."

Renyu glanced back. "What did our scouts report?"

"While Sect Master Lemo dispatched his son Justin with a public detachment to investigate the outer villages, Lemo himself secretly mobilized forty elite inner disciples three nights ago," Renjun reported, his voice dropping into a whisper.

"After that private assembly, those disciples completely vanished from the mountain. No supply requisitions, no border patrol logs. Nothing."

Renhao’s jaw tightened. "You think the Heavenly Thunder Sect is behind the abductions?"

"Its possible," Renjun said coldly. "But the Sect Master is playing a double game. He is keeping the public eye focused on the missing children while conducting an entirely separate operation in the dark."

Renyu stopped walking, gazing through the dense forest canopy. "Then we keep our distance and watch their elders move, only acting if it involves sister."

Rustle.

A sudden, sharp disturbance came from the canopy behind them.

The three brothers didn’t flinch.

Three figures draped in blood-red hooded cloaks dropped silently from the branches, landing on one knee without disturbing a single blade of grass.

"Young Masters," the leading scout whispered, keeping his head lowered.

Renyu turned calmly. "Report."

"Just as you anticipated, our surveillance teams monitoring the Three Sects intercepted an urgent high-frequency spiritual flare. An emergency transmission from Elder Rowan of the Glacial Spirit Sect broke through the subterranean threshold."

The scout looked up, his eyes sharp. "The elders of the Myriad Sword Sect, the remaining leaders of Heavenly Thunder, and the Azure Cloud Sect have abandoned their sector searches. They are mobilizing all available Foundation Establishment realm Cultivators to converge on a single coordinate."

"Where?" Renhao demanded.

"The old iron mining rift south of the Dead Forest," the scout answered. "The abandoned underground factory."

Silence fell over the clearing.

Renhao let out a breath that was half-laugh, half-growl, his knuckles cracking with crimson Qi.

Renyu met the gazes of his two younger brothers. Renjun nodded once, his eyes cold and analytical.

Renhao’s grin widened, sharp and predatory.

"We have our lead, brothers," Renhao chuckled, his aura flaring beneath his disguise. "Let’s go find our sister."

—————————

Caelan’s expression changed.

"The seventh month," he murmured.

His mind immediately returned to the reports they had examined earlier.

"Right. Every report mentioned that the children were born in the seventh month."

"What does that have to do with the case?" Darian asked.

"Everything," Zhao Meiyun replied, his expression unusually serious. "Think about it. Children between the ages of five and seven were taken from different villages and settlements."

He paused briefly.

"News of their disappearance would inevitably spread. Reports would be submitted, and eventually the Four Great Sects would become involved. Yet the Zombie Lord proceeded with the kidnappings anyway. That tells us two things. Either he doesn’t take the Four Great Sects seriously, or he was confident that no matter what we did, we would never discover this underground city."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"But what he might not have anticipated was that someone would see through the Compassion Devouring illusion and make it this far."

"So that’s the name of the illusion," Lothe remarked. "It suits it."

"Yeah." Zhao Meiyun nodded. "And that brings us to another possibility. Perhaps the Zombie Lord anticipated that someone might eventually recognize the illusion and break through it. If that happened, they would immediately enter the underground city. So he made preparations beforehand."

He glanced at the distant blue light.

"There’s also the possibility that we would never discover the connection between the children. Without examining the reports carefully, we might simply conclude that this was an ordinary case of child abduction. We might not even realize that the disappearances were connected to a place like this."

"But now that we’ve discovered the similarity in their birth months, we have to examine the entire case from another angle," Elder Rowan said.

"Why would the Zombie Lord kidnap children in the first place?" Darian asked. "What does he want with them?"

"Obviously, it has something to do with a ritual," Oren answered.

"That still brings us back to the same questions." Zhao Meiyun’s expression turned solemn. "Why children? Why those particular children? And more importantly, why those born in the seventh month?"

Seana’s expression changed. "Then the children are in danger right now."

"The blue light!" Oren suddenly exclaimed.

Lothe’s gaze sharpened as he examined the distant glow. "It should be whatever formation or ritual the children have been placed in. Judging by the light, it’s probably already been activated."

"Then we must hurry!"

Caelan immediately shot forward.

His white robes fluttered behind him as he landed lightly on a nearby rooftop before pushing off again. His figure crossed the distance with several swift leaps.

Elder Rowan followed, his staff appearing in his hand. Nyren, Oren, and Darian quickly pursued them.

Zhao Meiyun watched their departing figures before clicking his tongue.

"At their current speed, Elder Rowan will probably reach the destination first. But even he might arrive too late."

He didn’t follow them.

Instead, he turned toward Lothe and Seana.

"We need another way. Something considerably faster."

"Yeah." Lothe nodded.

Having reached the Core Formation Realm, his [Spatial Art: Void Step] had undergone a significant improvement. Although he had yet to comprehend its second form, the technique was considerably faster and more efficient than before.

His gaze settled on Zhao Meiyun.

"I believe you have a way of keeping up."

"Of course. Thanks for asking, though."

Zhao Meiyun brought his hands together and began forming a sequence of intricate seals.

Pale-white Qi flowed between his fingers, weaving into delicate threads that gradually gathered before him.

A moment later, a cluster of white clouds materialized beneath his feet.

He stepped onto them casually, adjusted his robes, and glanced back.

"See you later."

The cloud surged forward.

With a blur of white mist, Zhao Meiyun disappeared into the distance.

Seana couldn’t help chuckling.

"What’s funny, love?" Lothe asked.

"Nothing."

"Alright. Hold on tight."

Before she could respond, the space around them rippled.

Both figures vanished from the rooftop.?