Chapter 1366: Investigation Results

Chapter 1366: Chapter 1366: Investigation Results

"How did the capture go?" Pei Yan sat down on the chair, skipping the pleasantries and directly inquiring.

Xiang Zixiong was accustomed to Pei Yan’s way of speaking and directly replied without any formalities: "Mr. Pei, as per your instructions, we immediately began capturing everyone associated with Zhou Yinnong. Although we caught quite a few, the results weren’t significant."

"Hmm? Why is that?" Pei Yan furrowed his brow, questioning back without rushing to anger.

"Those we caught were mostly servants working for Zhou Yinnong’s shops. Their positions are generally low, and although we are still interrogating them, we might get some answers, but I don’t think we can touch upon the core of what Zhou Yinnong was doing. As for the shopkeepers and other key figures you instructed us to capture, they were our primary targets. Unfortunately, aside from a few who received information in advance and fled, most of the others chose to commit suicide when we surrounded them for capture." Xiang Zixiong paused, recalling the capture scene, and added, "To say they committed suicide is somewhat incorrect. It seems they triggered a certain restriction, being forcefully silenced. Those surrounded would begin corroding from the inside out, with their souls disintegrating first. We couldn’t save them in time, and ultimately, they turned into a pool of blood mud, making it impossible to gather their souls for interrogation due to severe soul dissipation."

"It seems these people indeed touched on the core of what the Candle Dragon was doing; otherwise, there wouldn’t be such an extreme reaction. Even the disciples of White Deer Institute didn’t receive such treatment." Pei Yan murmured with a hand on his forehead, "Are there any other clues?"

"Based on the testimonies of these servants and the analysis of the investigation team’s agents, we have begun outlining their activity trajectories. Once we determine the range, we’ll send people for detailed exploration in hopes of finding some clues. The other planes, after receiving our message, are also taking this matter seriously; they are clearing out anyone associated with Zhou Yinnong and interrogating those who traded with him. This will take some time, and there hasn’t been more detailed information yet." Xiang Zixiong truthfully reported the information obtained in recent days.

"Are there any leads on Zhou Yinnong’s escape location?"

"Not yet, but according to several top experts of the Heavenly Dao using the method of retrospection, inspecting the spatial barriers across a vast surrounding area, Zhou Yinnong has likely left the Daoist Plane. It’s initially speculated that he escaped to the Blood Fiend Plane. Of course, we haven’t given up on capturing him; his appearance and source energy characteristics have been sent to all planes for a comprehensive manhunt."

"Continue." Pei Yan leaned back in the chair, tapping the armrest with his fingers.

"Hmm, and we have also started interrogating the disciples of White Deer Institute. Those elders are quite stubborn, not willing to speak easily, making it difficult to obtain useful information. However, those disciples are willing to abolish their own cultivation techniques and confess everything they know in exchange for their lives. From their mouths, we learned about several sects secretly recruited to work for Blood Fiend under the guise of White Deer Institute. The sects supposedly exterminated by Ding Zhiyi and the other two are among them, only being absorbed and split into various sub-institutes by White Deer Institute. Moreover, we raided several secret bases of the Underworld’s eighteen institutes; they apparently didn’t have time to receive the news of White Deer Institute’s destruction, allowing us to gain quite a lot from this capture." Xiang Zixiong reported with some excitement.

"Is there any news of the Devouring Demon?" Remembering the scene of that day’s great battle, Pei Yan immediately asked.

At the mention of this question, Xiang Zixiong’s expression turned somewhat awkward. He hesitated before speaking, "Mr. Pei, based on your judgment during the battle, we quickly verified regions around White Deer Institute where space teleportation fluctuations occurred. Soon we identified problematic areas and discovered targets during the search, yet by the time we arrived, the place was deserted. Although they left hastily, with most facilities at the base destroyed, we could still deduce the progress of their research from the damaged artifacts. The most gratifying result, however, is that we captured some unfinished Devouring Demons that they couldn’t take with them."

"You only found this one base?"

"During the subsequent searches, we discovered three more similarly suspicious areas, with results similar to above. The responsible people at these Devouring Demon bases have already fled, leaving behind a large number of Devouring Demons they couldn’t take. We had to deploy an army to surround and attack them. Fortunately, without human control, these Devouring Demons became dull and dispersed, unable to effectively resist; they would only attack any non-Devouring Demon organisms around them or passively counter. Under such circumstances, with talismans and exorcism techniques added, we easily captured them all. This is one of their weaknesses, I suppose."

"Needing to deploy an army for encirclement, the numbers aren’t small; you found four! What about the ones you didn’t find? Assuming each research base has a thousand people, adding the two thousand supporting the White Deer Plain base, there are five thousand of them. Surely these five thousand didn’t voluntarily convert into Devouring Demons? With so many people missing, haven’t you noticed anything?" Pei Yan pressed his hand to his forehead, feeling a headache. In his understanding, the disappearance of a small number of people in the real world might not attract much attention, but such a large group of people disappearing in a normal environment would not go unnoticed, which was why Du Guangyuan only dared to seek out external migrant workers when he prepared a sacrificial population for Little Vlad. The disappearance of over twenty people was enough to attract the authorities’ attention, leading to the involvement of the investigation team, let alone over five thousand. These five thousand were only the number found to be successfully converted into Devouring Demons; how many died during these experiments? Pei Yan dared not even think of this number.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, ridiculed by Pei Yan, Xiang Zixiong noted that His Majesty the Spirit Emperor raised similar questions, chastising not only the Embroidered Robe Envoys but also the Sect Leaders of the Sixteen Guard Army and renowned sects near the incident sites. It wasn’t that they hadn’t noticed the problem; initially, they suspected some remnants of ancient sects using human blood or soul flesh for their advancement were causing havoc, so they, too, dispatched personnel to investigate and clear out. To cover their tracks, these research bases linked to the Underworld’s eighteen institutes left behind some clues, intending to guide the matter into an already-prepared disguise. After killing some who voluntarily admitted it was their doing, supposedly evil cult disciples, the major sects assumed the situation was resolved and gleefully reported their achievements to the Immortal Palace. Hence, the subsequent occasional occurrences of mundane disappearances received less frequent inquiries.

Having been reprimanded by his superior upon returning, naturally, he would take it out on his subordinates. Xiang Zixiong was one of those scolded and could only defend himself with, "The opposing side was really cunning and disguised too well."