Hong Lingtong's face was ghostly pale because the act of divination was very demanding on him. But even beside that, what he saw filled his eyes with shock. "I never expected it to be Brother Qin Yun! Perhaps the world would never even expect that the person who killed Fiend Sovereign Jadeface and Palatial Lord Black Dragon is a Connate Golden Core sword immortal. Brother Qin Yun has not even cultivated for forty years but he has already reached such a stage?"
"Could he have had a similar experience to mine?"
"Im…Impossible!"
Hong Lingtong shook his head gently. "He cultivates in the sword immortal lineage. They lack a Dharmic formulation that can condense an Essence Soul. In addition, Sword Immortal Quintessential Essence is too overbearing. It prevents them from converting their cultivation! Choosing the sword immortal lineage only limits one's future prospects. They are unable to become immortal. Therefore, he must have cultivated normally."
"But that means...a mortal sword immortal that cultivates normally managed to slay two Essence Soul experts?"
"Isn't his talent a little too terrifying?"
Hong Lingtong could not help but sigh.
Due to the cultivation system he adhered to, he did not like to owe karma.
However, throughout his long growth process, he had indeed received Qin Yun's help numerous times. He naturally thought Qin Yun as a good friend. They were even in-laws! He did believe that Qin Yun was a peerless genius in the way of the sword, but he still only considered Qin Yun an ordinary sword immortal that had stepped into the Dao. As such, Hong Lingtong did not pay much attention to Qin Yun despite him being a genius.
However, what he divined today left him astounded.
"Such talent, such perception is truly stunning." Hong Lingtong shook his head. "Unfortunately, he is of the sword immortal lineage."
It was impossible to convert from the top Dharmic formulations such as the Divine Firmament Lightning Dharma or sword immortal lineage.
Instead, it was the weaker lineages that had a chance of conversion.
Therefore, the sword immortal lineage in history might have produced some powerful sword immortals that had stepped into the Dao, and that Dao realm was sufficient to condense an Essence Soul. Unfortunately, they were unable to convert their cultivation. When their end came, they were still reduced to dust.
"He silently killed two Essence Soul experts. His strength is far above Elder Sword's. In that way, Brother Qin Yun is of great use." Hong Lingtong nodded slightly.
He consumed a pill as he sat in his chamber and regulated his condition for a long while.
Only when he recovered most of his mental strength did Hong Lingtong wave his hand. Six tokens flew out and swirled around him. He began another round of divination.
Hum!
The ancient turtle shell phantom appeared behind him. In it was a cosmic microcosm.
As he continued divining, illusions of a gigantic continent and oceans surrounding it appeared in the chamber! The land and sea were the Great Chang empire's nineteen prefectures, the northern lands' demons, and the vast Four Seas.
At different points in the illusion of land and sea, there were red spots suffusing evil auras.
"The last time I made a divination, there were a total of nineteen sources of the world's catastrophe." Hong Lingtong scanned around as his expression changed slightly. "Oh? Why are there twenty spots now? One more has appeared?"
"The wreaking of havoc by ordinary great fiendish demons is not a threat to the world at large. They are unable to harm its foundation. The things that I divine are true catastrophes." Hong Lingtong frowned. "This world has Human Emperor, Numinous Treasure Mountain's Patriarch Bai, Divine Firmament Chapter's Ancestral Master Zhang, and Mahākāśyapa Bodhisattva. They have held back many dangers. Nineteen are left but the most dangerous ones are being suppressed. Why would there be a new one now?"
"Typically, it would be rare for even one new catastrophe to appear every thousand years."
Hong Lingtong felt a sense of foreboding.
The eruption of a catastrophe had unpredictable consequences.
Just like the Scenic Mountain Sect of yesteryear. It had been destroyed during the last catastrophe when the world was in chaos! It was only rebuilt by the remnant disciples that lived. Even to this very day, they were far from fully recovering.
"This new catastrophe appears to be in Cloud Prefecture's Qiyang County's Zhangfu Province." Hong Lingtong looked at the location of the new catastrophe source he divined. Following that, he took out his Inspect Heavenly Token. "The Inspector Heavenly Alliance surveys the world. Let's see if there has been any special news regarding the area around this catastrophe source."
Hong Lingtong browsed through the news from the Inspector Heavenly Alliance.
He was also at the Connate Golden Core realm and enjoyed a high standing. The Inspector Heavenly Alliance prioritized sending him important information! However, Hong Lingtong could not be bothered to read ordinary pieces of information. He continuously received all sorts of information on a daily basis and there was just too much of it. Furthermore, the Inspector Heavenly Alliance highlighted the truly important matters.
"Qiyang County's Zhangfu Province really does have something going on." Hong Lingtong's expression changed. "Just yesterday, three villages villagers were slaughtered, making for 11,000 dead. All their bodies were dessicated as though they had their flesh and blood sucked dry. It is suspected that they were slaughtered by fiendish demons."
"Three villages were decimated at once?"
Hong Lingtong frowned.
"I'll go and take a look." He immediately got up and left the chamber.
The matter was tied to the appearance of a new catastrophe so Hong Lingtong naturally paid full attention to it. He immediately flew out of Grand Dominance City and headed for Cloud Prefecture.
Cloud Prefecture, Qiyang County's Zhangfu Province.
Hong Lingtong flew all the way at an extremely fast speed that could match certain Essence Soul experts. He also knew that no one was watching him. In fact, Qin Yun before he stepped into the Dao could not match Hong Lingtong's speed even with his Beam Transformation Art.
"I've arrived."
Hong Lingtong gradually descended as he looked over the area.
There was a dead and silent village beneath him. It was one of the three massacred villages.
Hong Lingtong's eyes emitted a faint golden light as he looked beneath him. He could see different auras churning in different spots in the village beneath him. They were either green, mud-yellow, or red in color… All sorts of auras were billowing.
"Fiendish demons massacre humans and suck the power from their flesh and blood so that they can sacrifice it to Other Realm Fiendcelestials." Hong Lingtong frowned. "This is very common! Before Brother Qin Yun purged the world of fiendish demons, it was common for those great fiendish demons to massacre humans."
The sacrifice of the power of flesh and blood could be used to buy the aid of Other Realm Fiendcelestials. In exchange, the fiendish demons would receive treasures or have their strength enhanced.
After all, there were some fiendish demons who were stuck at cultivation bottlenecks and were incapable of breaking through! However, if they sacrificed to the Other Realm Fiendcelestials, their strength could undergo a fast breakthrough! Naturally, many fiendish demons engaged in this pattern of slaughter and sacrifice.
"I'll visit the other two villagers."
Sou!
Moments later, Hong Lingtong saw the other two villages. What he found puzzled him greatly.
"It looks like they have only been massacred and had their flesh and blood sucked dry. Why would this be considered a catastrophe?" Hong Lingtong was baffled. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with my divination. This is a warning from the Heavenly Dao!"
"Catastrophe…"
Hong Lingtong felt very vexed.
If he could figure out what the catastrophe was, he could immediately inform the imperial government or the three sacred lands. They could be implored to quickly resolve the matter!
But clearly, his investigations had proved futile.
On the other side of Cloud Prefecture.
Thousands of villagers from another village collapsed silently. All of their bodies were dry, leaving only skin and bones.
"Whoosh."
Above the village was a purple-robed youth. He took a deep breath as the billowing blood-colored streams flew into his mouth, and then swallowed them into his belly.
"Boom!" The clouds in the sky rumbled as lightning accumulated.
"Oh?" The purple-robed youth, He Qian, immediately cast a Dharma spell to conceal his body as he rapidly departed the area.
After the dark clouds in the sky gathered, they slowly dissipated when they failed to find their target.
After flying hundreds of kilometers away, He Qian looked up at the sky and said with a scoff, "This Heavenly Dao is not a sentient being after all. Now that I've borrowed a local body of this world, and with the aid of mystic arts, I'm able to easily fool these stupid Heavens."
"Heh heh, I have been preparing for the past few years. Now that my preparations are almost done, the darn Heavens have discovered my identity right as I begin slaughtering these ants to amass their blood and flesh?" He Qian scoffed. "So what if it discovers me? I chanced upon Nine Mountain Island Lord's body and abandoned my original body to forcibly descend into this world. I spared at no expense and paid such a huge price. How can I not reap the benefits?"
"Soon."
"It's almost time for the harvest." He Qian left quietly.
Grand Dominance City.
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao were having breakfast together.
"Oh?" Qin Yun flipped his hand and took out the Inspect Heavenly Token before frowning.
"What is it?" Yi Xiao put down her utensils.
"The Inspector Heavenly Alliance has important information for me. I have to read it carefully." Qin Yun frowned as he read it and soon, his expression changed. "Who is it that dares act so blatantly? Over the past seven days, tragedy has befallen five areas. The number of humans massacred ranged from a few thousand to thirty thousand an area. In just seven days, nearly eighty thousand humans have been massacred."
"That many?" Yi Xiao was alarmed as well. "Brother Yun, you have been slaying fiendish demons all across the world. Haven't they been hiding in fear? It has been so long since fiendish demons dared act this blatantly."
"The humans have been sucked dry of their flesh and blood. Clearly, they were killed for the power contained within their flesh and blood so that it can be sacrificed to Other Realm Fiendcelestials." Qin Yun's expression turned nasty. "Perhaps it's a great fiendish demon that has reached a bottleneck. He's risking it all, going on a killing spree so that he can sacrifice to the Other Realm Fiendcelestials and obtain a breakthrough. The imperial government and the Inspector Heavenly Alliance have been investigating but they have failed to discover anything. That's why they have requested my help."