Chapter 413

Chapter 414: Dire Omen Approaches

Immortal Yuan Ling frowned as he studied the many words and images projected by the Jade Jue.

They were fresh reports from across the territory of Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain: unusual passenger flows heading from Grand Void Spiritual Axis to Sentinel Silence in recent days, and suspicious signs on the Axis and nearby planets after the Demon Suppression Tower lost control.

Immortal Yuan He stood to the side, face equally grave as he watched the phantom in midair. A hazy shadow drifted behind him, like a hidden beast lazily curling beside its master.

“From all fronts, many people did suddenly set out for the Border these past few days, nearly twenty percent more than normal,” Immortal Yuan Ling said in a low voice, “we can’t say for sure they were all influenced by Yun Qing Zi, but some cases must be like Ling Long and Shang An.”

“We blocked everyone we could, and I’ve warned the local Control Bureau to hold any Celestial Ship that needs to dock and transfer on planets around Sentinel Silence, using ‘route risk’ or ‘facility failure’ as reasons,” Immortal Yuan He said slowly, “they’re checking the passengers now, and any news should arrive soon.”

Immortal Yuan Ling nodded slightly: “Thankfully Sentinel Silence is remote. Most routes don’t go there directly. Ordinary civilian Celestial Ships have to transfer on planets like Yaomen and Shiting, unlike the ship Otherworldly Hotel, which can go straight through. That gives us time to react.”

Immortal Yuan He sighed: “Even so, some reached there before we responded. We were still a step slow. Who knows how many victims like Ling Long and Shang An are already trapped on Sentinel Silence.”

Immortal Yuan Ling stroked his beard and said: “Xuan Che has other duties and cannot move lightly. The situation on Sentinel Silence is unclear. Even the stationed disciples and the Youth Form Warden may already be affected by Yun Qing Zi. In the worst case, the entire planet could be compromised. I’ve dispatched nearby Yaomen Youth Form disciples to go at once: they’ll assist Xuan Che and track those ‘travelers’ on the list who might already be under Yun Qing Zi’s sway. We cannot let his power grow further. I only hope we aren’t too late, and that those drawn to Sentinel Silence can still wake up like Ling Long and Shang An. If we can bring back even a few, it might help us understand Yun Qing Zi’s true nature.”

A sharp sound cut the air outside the hall. A figure strode in from the doors, a body driven entirely by machinery and almost no different from an Automaton. It was Immortal Qian Ji.

“Yuan Ling! My arrangements are in place!” Immortal Qian Ji called from afar, “Reclining Cloud Ten Halls and Hengxu have sealed all the routes to Sentinel Silence. Outside the portion you Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain folks control, nothing gets close to Sentinel Silence unless another ‘Fellow Daoist Yu’ performs a Door Opening. Not even a fly.”

He stopped, suddenly looked up at Immortal Yuan He, and asked carefully: “You don’t have flies on your mountain that can shatter the void, right?”

Immortal Yuan He’s face went green: “No.”

“Good,” Immortal Qian Ji relaxed and continued, “the Remote Mist Sect’s Cloud Yao Immortal Maiden wrote back. She’ll send a batch of files on Sentinel Silence’s exploration and mining over the past century. Nethergloom Valley will also send early development records. If Yun Qing Zi has been hiding on Sentinel Silence for a thousand years, there may be traces left in those records.”

Hearing him, Immortal Yuan Ling’s expression finally eased a little, and he nodded.

Among the five great Sects of the Grand Void Spiritual Axis, Remote Mist Sect and Nethergloom Valley excel at mining and frontier development. Though mining on Sentinel Silence has declined now, centuries ago that planet was dotted with mining stations and fortified settlements run by these two. In fact, of the twelve giant Refining Towers reaching into the clouds around Ink City, eight were built by Remote Mist Sect.

The two sects hold vast archives on Sentinel Silence’s geology, environment, and development history. Sharing them now comes partly from years of Five Sects co-rule that built some trust, and partly because they too feel the pressure of the Yun Qing Zi incident.

Immortal Yuan Ling’s face turned solemn again. His gaze passed over Immortal Qian Ji, through the Grand Hall’s roof and the great formation dome of Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain, as if staring into the pale starry void beyond the planet.

A formless, substance-less terror hung over Grand Void Youth Form. You could not see or touch it, but in the senses of cultivators that shadow pressed so thick and dark it felt like ink, as if to wrap and swallow the whole world.

He could not name it, but he felt it: just one maddened Yun Qing Zi would not cast such a strange shadow, not even with a cabal of hostile cultists.

If he could sense it, then the leaders of the other four Sects should sense it too. [What is that thing?]

…

Huge Demon-Suppressing Pillars stood in a vast underground cavern. The glow of the Earth Veins crisscrossed the walls, flowed around the chamber, and drifted in silence above. The Runic Chains, reforged and quenched in spiritual power, trembled slightly and hissed as they rubbed. In that sound, a massive stone sphere with a horrifying “face” lazily turned and looked toward a corner.

A strange giant serpent with seven heads was coiled around one of the pillars not far away. It was bound with a Demon-Binding Rope far thinner than the Runic Chains wrapping the Dire Omen Roaming Youth Form, and it was snoring loudly.

The stone sphere slowly cracked its mouth. Jagged stone fangs opened. It rose, and the two black hollows where eyes should be seemed to mirror chaotic shadow. It floated to the serpent, bared its teeth, and deliberately shook the chains on its body.

The serpent jolted awake. Seven heads opened their eyes at once. Fourteen pupils filled with the terrifying image of the Dire Omen Roaming Youth Form.

“Aaaah, oof, woof, awroo!”

In one instant it let out a jumble of screams that three or five people together could hardly make. It shot off the pillar, but the seven heads yanked in different directions, especially the dog head that clearly had its own plan. Before it could flee, it tied itself up on the spot and rolled around among the Runic Chains like a wobbling ball.

The Dire Omen Roaming Youth Form gave a hoarse, chilling laugh.

“Are you sick in the head, scaring a protected animal?” Serpent Princess stuck one head out of the knot and glared at the stone sphere: “I’m already unlucky enough being sent down here!”

“I’m curious why you were ‘sent’ to the lowest level,” the Dire Omen Roaming Youth Form drifted in front of her, looking down on this weak, low creature, “with your ability, you don’t qualify for the bottom tier. Besides, look at these pillars around you. You nap on them and they barely react.”

“That’s because Yuan He that old rascal took it personal,” Serpent Princess exploded at once, “that pus-hearted, mangy old daoist! I cursed him a little as they dragged me in, he happened to hear, then tossed me straight down here and told me to reflect. Reflect my foot. Did I even curse that hard? I still have worse words I didn’t use!”

The Dire Omen Roaming Youth Form listened to her rant. Its terrifying face showed no emotion a Human mind could read. After a long moment, a rasp came from between its jagged teeth: “I think you asked to come down here.”

Serpent Princess shrank several heads back into the coil: “W… why would you say that?”

“You’ve often cursed Yuan He before. Sometimes I could hear you from the very bottom. He wouldn’t throw you down just for that unless you asked him to.”

“I asked him? I asked him for…” Serpent Princess flushed red, then under the empty stare of those awful eyes, she looked away and muttered, “Fine, I was scared I’d get beaten to death up there. A bunch of idiots said they were caught because I snitched at the end. If I hadn’t, they would have escaped the mountain.”

“Did you snitch?”

“I did.”

For the first time, the Dire Omen Roaming Youth Form understood what Humans call “speechless.” [Unbelievable.]

“What else could I do?” Serpent Princess still sounded righteous, “given the situation, anyone who didn’t bow was the idiot. The old daoists of Thousand Peak Spirit Mountain are ruthless. I saw Yuan He set a great cauldron at the foot of the mountain with Samadhi True Fire below and spicy butter hot pot inside. When they caught a fleeing beast, they tossed it in. Some were sliced and thrown, some tied into bowknots and thrown, some flattened and cross-cut, then thrown in. Was that snitching? That was me knowing the times and helping others know the times too!”

She ranted nonsense for a long while, stuffing her curses with random bits her muddled minds had pieced together from who-knows-where. Then she suddenly went quiet, as if none of that was her, and she looked carefully at the “stone sphere.”

“Why did you come talk to me?”

“Boredom, and curiosity,” the Dire Omen Roaming Youth Form’s mouth split as if smiling, “listen, little creature. A Dire Omen is coming to this planet. I can feel it. The day I’ve long awaited, the day of release, draws near. I like to watch how so-called ‘intelligent species’ react during times like this. And you are an interesting case.”

Serpent Princess stared at the huge stone ball. After a long moment, her eyes widened slowly: “So what?”

The Dire Omen Roaming Youth Form: “…”

A moment later, the stone sphere spun away and floated upward. At the critical height where the Demon-Suppressing Chains and pillars would flare, it stopped and yelled up the cavern:

“Yuan Ling! Yuan He! Whoever, get this fool out of here right now! Swap her for something with a brain! Do you hear me? Someone with a brain!”

No one answered.