Unexpected Delight

Southern Continent, Xuanwu Kingdom.

Yuzhou City.

Xu Linglong, wearing a veil, swept her gaze over the surroundings within Yuzhou City: the hawking street vendors, the patrolling bailiffs occasionally passing by.

Bai Bo followed at Xu Linglong's side. Black clothing concealed almost his entire body, and he wore a strangely shaped hat on his head. However, Bai Bo's proportions, unlike those of a human, still made him somewhat conspicuous on the street.

He always attracted curious stares.

Bai Bo did not like these scrutinizing gazes—ants should not cast looks of curiosity and doubt upon a god.

All they should be capable of is terror and reverence.

"Must we come to the city?"

Seeing Xu Linglong acting like a young girl out for a stroll, Bai Bo couldn't help but ask.

"Naturally. After investigating so many leads, they all ultimately trace back to this place. If we don't investigate carefully now, then what was the point of expending so much effort?"

Xu Linglong's tone was somewhat playful. Her eyes fell on a street vendor selling candied hawthorns. A slender, jade-like hand lifted slightly, and in the next instant, a stick of candied hawthorn appeared in her grasp out of thin air.

"The Western Continent likely can't buy us much more time."

"Chu Xingchen is truly troublesome. He wants to throw the Buddhist affairs back into our hands, while also forcing us to keep an eye on the developments in the Western Continent."

"If that so-called Bright Buddha truly enters the Great Thunderclap Monastery through the Mahayana path, then we might as well pack up and bury ourselves."

"After all, if things come to that, even I would probably consider selling you all out to ensure my own safe survival."

"One can only say it's worthy of being Heavenly Fortune. Even at such a moment, he can find a Mahayana Buddha to draw fire for him."

"Oh, and there's worse news I haven't told you yet."

The more Bai Bo listened, the more his head ached. So, when Xu Linglong mentioned there was still worse news, his emotions became quite peculiar. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.

"What other bad news is there?"

Xu Linglong lightly bit into a candied hawberry, chewing it, her voice slightly muffled.

"Several days ago, my little Winter Melon that I placed in the Central Continent was caught. Not killed, nor seemingly interrogated under duress. Now, it's heading straight for the Western Continent."

"In a few more days, it will likely fall into who-knows-whose hands."

"Who knows what they plan to do with my poor little Winter Melon."

Bai Bo frowned. "It certainly won't be anything good for us. Why not just eliminate Winter Melon directly?"

"My, what a ruthless heart you have." Xu Linglong pointed at Bai Bo with the candied hawthorn stick. "That child must be useful. Otherwise, even if she were torn into a hundred pieces, not a single piece could have escaped from the doorstep of the Tianyan Sect."

Bai Bo said, "This could be a diversionary tactic."

"A diversion is still information. Better than having no information at all." Xu Linglong casually tossed away the half-eaten candied hawthorn; it didn't suit her taste. She then continued,

"The world these days is becoming increasingly... orderly."

"In the past, if you were unhappy, you just fought. Now, even with our cultivation at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, we have to gather information like mere mortals."

Bai Bo let out a soft sigh. "You don't need to test me further. I naturally understand that impatience can ruin great plans."

A crisp laugh escaped from beneath Xu Linglong's veil.

"See? After spending some time with me, your brain has become more useful."

Bai Bo snorted coldly, a hint of displeasure in his tone.

"Spare me your teasing. Chu Xingchen made his start here, but finding his weakness in this place won't be easy. His key disciples have already been taken to the Tianyan Sect. Those who remain aren't crucial figures."

Xu Linglong gave a slight wave of her hand.

"How much do you really know about Chu Xingchen? Ruthless when striking? Unknown origins? What do you think is the more crucial information?"

Bai Bo turned his head away.

"Just say what you want to say directly. I know my mind isn't as sharp as yours."

Xu Linglong stopped walking, her gaze fixed on the main entrance of the Yuzhou City Demon Suppression Bureau ahead.

"The more crucial thing is to understand what kind of person he ordinarily is, what his operational logic is like. No matter how erratic a person's thoughts may be, there's a general pattern."

"From what I know, for beings like humans, much of their logic is established during their initial, weakest period."

"To change that foundational logic requires a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering transformation."

"Merely wanting to know who Chu Xingchen knows is useless. We must learn to understand him."

"And then... prepare ourselves to capture him!"

"Whether it's the Buddhist turmoil or the grand schemes of the Central Continent."

"We lost to the Heavenly Mandate last time. We should learn well and absorb the lesson."

"First, deal with the Heavenly Mandate. Otherwise, everything is just empty talk."

"This is a crisis, but also our final opportunity. For this, we can pay a heavy price."

Bai Bo also looked towards the Demon Suppression Bureau and asked,

"Then how do you know Chu Xingchen's true nature isn't that of the True Dragon?"

Xu Linglong's tone grew calm.

"Because the True Dragon is just a fool who knows how to bare its fangs and claws, thinking it can solve everything."

"While Chu Xingchen is a chess player who understands how to borrow momentum and arrange everything."

"Until victory is secured, I will not underestimate Chu Xingchen in the slightest."

Bai Bo looked at Xu Linglong, once the proudest of them all, now facing an individual with such gravity.

Even willing to personally gather information.

Bai Bo adjusted the hat on his head.

"I'll follow your lead. Let's go."

Upon hearing this, Xu Linglong stopped and looked Bai Bo up and down, arms crossed, saying nothing.

Bai Bo looked at Xu Linglong with a puzzled gaze and asked,

"What is it?"

Xu Linglong's tone was gentle.

"You should just wait for me here."

Bai Bo asked, confused, "Why?"

"Because you don't look very much like a person."

After saying this, Xu Linglong gave a slight wave of her hand and then walked alone towards the entrance of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Bai Bo stood in place, watching Xu Linglong's departing figure.

For a moment, he wasn't sure if that comment counted as praise—because he truly didn't like humans.

Never mind. Less work also means less teasing from Xu Linglong.

When working with Xu Linglong, one could originally leave their brain behind, as not using it was merely out of disdain. But if one did start thinking, Xu Linglong would cast a 'you poor thing' look your way.

The most infuriating part was that she insisted on making you use your brain from time to time.

Otherwise, she'd start teasing and mocking.

Xu Linglong, her aura completely restrained, swaggered directly through the main gate into the Demon Suppression Bureau.

The two Qi Refining stage members at the entrance showed no reaction whatsoever.

Once inside, Xu Linglong didn't rush to reveal herself. Instead, she began observing the Demon Suppression Bureau inside and out.

She extended her divine sense, beginning to monitor the entire bureau.

She also located her destination—the Archives.

Xu Linglong similarly swaggered into the Archives. With a casual gesture, she plunged the archive officials into an illusion while simultaneously setting up an illusion formation outside the Archives.

Every sealed case file within the Archives floated into the air.

Xu Linglong's divine sense rapidly swept over these files.

Chu Xingchen had handled matters related to the Evil Spirit Sect alongside the Demon Suppression Bureau personnel. As long as it was properly filed, there would definitely be a case file on the event here.

Through the files, she could naturally learn who had worked with Chu Xingchen on this matter.

With a starting point, everything that followed would proceed logically.

In just a few breaths, Xu Linglong's eyebrows lifted—she had found it.

With a slight raise of her hand, the dossier fell into her grasp. Just as she was about to examine it more closely, her monitoring divine sense overheard someone utter a name—Chu Xingchen.

Xu Linglong directed her divine sense to search carefully. She discovered it was a physician. The female physician seemed to be brewing medicine, her mouth still moving:

"Did you hold back when teaching me? It still feels like something's missing."

A slight curve touched the corner of Xu Linglong's lips.

Teach?

Master and disciple?

A most welcome surprise.