Chapter 637: Longxing Temple (2)

The shrill alarm caused a tense silence to fill the room. Some of the personnel in the room silently helped the fainted researcher back to his feet, while others simply stared at the screen. The blinding scarlet blip on the screen was like a lump that stifled all the words in their throats. Even breathing was difficult for them right now.

Nobody said a word.

However, the earlier number had blasted past any Yin energy readings that they had ever seen in their entire lives.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

In fact, it wasn’t just the Insignia Province.

Apart from these duties of theirs, they were no different from mere mortals in the face of such absolute power.

His voice thundered throughout the otherwise silent room, “Haven’t you ever considered the possibility that a day like this would come when you first joined the Special Investigations Department? Which one of us doesn’t face death everyday when we fight against the supernatural forces? Don’t you know how many of us perish each year in these encounters? This outbreak simply means that… our turn has finally come.”

One by one, he named the key personnel holders and dished out his instructions to them. Meanwhile, the investigators who were called immediately stood at attention and responded at the top of their voices, “Understood!!”

“So long as we can get these things done before this madness befalls us… perhaps we might still have the time to pen down our final words or our wills…”

“Chief Mo! Please--...” Just then, he suddenly paused.

“What’s the matter?” One of the investigators paused and probed cautiously, “What instructions did the upper echelons relay? Protect the important sites at all costs?”

……………………………………………….

An Abyssal Prefect and a Yama-King were here. Even if they might be Emissaries of Hell, it was part and parcel of their duties to remain behind.

How powerful… How insanely powerful!

Yin energy that gave rise to physical changes in the mortal realm. This was the first time a Yama-King had made its appearance in the mortal realm in recent times. Moreover, Fengyang County - a place that had never witnessed any supernatural outbreaks, had suddenly fallen prey to one of the most intense outbreaks in the history of Cathay. No matter how one looked at it, this was an incident of historical significance.

The dark clouds of Yin energy had already obscured the moon and the stars from their vision. Meanwhile, a hole opened up right in the middle of the swirling clouds in the sky. Green lightning arced menacingly within the hole that had opened up, and if one looked closely enough, they could even see the illusory appearance of a dragon hidden within.

“What exactly does Fengyang County hide that requires the attention of a Yama-King?”

SSSS!!! The Bones of Eternity in the lake screamed madly as soon as the Harken’s Yin energy erupted.

Meanwhile, the Puppets of Ten Extinctions turned around stiffly, but they didn’t fire any arrows at all. Instead, a wave of Yin energy emerged from their bodies, coalescing into a boundless, material curtain of Yin energy that slowly unraveled itself just like a blooming lotus flower.

It was a military formation!

Whoosh! It opened its two golden eyes as it spoke! At once, with a terrifying howl, the cloud of Yin energy concealing the Harken suddenly exploded, revealing the Harken’s true form.

The Harken’s golden scales gleamed like the sea under the radiant sum, shimmering softly with fine golden light. A long mane of white fur ran straight from its head all the way to its tail, flowing about like majestic ocean waves, even in the absence of wind.

That said, the Yin energy in the surroundings were still roaring and rumbling as they poured straight into it. Meanwhile, the ball of light was accruing more and more energy, almost as though it were a singularity that contained the universe. The extent of its might was easily apparent to anyone watching the terrifying sight. Even Qin Ye who was hiding some distance behind couldn’t help but feel his footing grow slightly unstable, as though he could easily be swept away at any time.

It had no spiritual intelligence, but it still had its instincts.

Sss… SSS!!! Its scales trembled violently as it flailed about within the lake. However, the Harken simply squinted its eyes and murmured softly, as though declaring the onset of a law, “Hell’s Art, First Style - Divine Dust.”

Light.

An intense light erupted from the Harken’s mouth, filling the heavens and the earth, and then the realms beyond. It was almost as though the sun had been compressed to the point of a singularity, before exploding with a big bang. An astonishing shockwave swept through the lands. Qin Ye immediately crossed his hands in front of his body, shielding himself desperately even as his clothes fluttered wildly. In that instant, he even had the absurd sense that the Harken’s strike spelt the end of the world.

He could tell that the ocean of light was filled with the primordial powers of the universe, and he could hear the rumbling sounds of destruction around him

No change?

And the Puppets of Ten Extinctions were still standing right where they were.

The surface of the lake was still sloshing about with waves. However, Qin Ye could tell that the Bones of Eternity had vanished without a trace.

It was a sensation of realization that was difficult to express. Put differently, it was almost like a beautiful maiden clad in a thin veil, yet nothing could be seen. But now, it was like the last bastion of defences had been removed.

“Hell’s Art?” Qin Ye surveyed his surroundings intently, before sighing with uncertainty as he turned to the Harken, “With that earlier strike of yours, did you… sever all of the Longxing Temple’s connections with the runes of Yin Talismans within? I can’t tell exactly what you’ve done, but my intuition tells me that there’s no longer any danger.”

It coldly raised its front paws, “After all, I, too, wish to see what kind of treasures one of the Eight Great Clans would consider important enough to include as part of their contingency plan for their future generations.”

It took Qin Ye several deep breaths to calm his mind down. And then, he picked the Harken up like a well-oiled machine, gulped nervously, before rushing forward in a violent stream of nethergale.

Qin Ye didn’t even glance at them. Each of these statues were precious works of art in their own right, but even then, it didn’t matter. After all, how precious could the statues in the front courtyard be as compared to the treasures hidden within the Longxing Temple?

“There’s nothing much to see below. Most of the items here are merely collector’s items in Hell. Just grab a handful of them, and you should have enough to placate the merchant ships that will be coming in the opening of the sea port. We’ve no need for Hell's artwork for now. After all, these are things that only the nobles and royals have a use for.” The Harken’s eyes remained transfixed at the top of the temple, “Head to the very top. That’s where the most precious things here are kept.”

Qin Ye ascended the tower floor by floor. As soon as he arrived on the eighth floor, Qin Ye could already sense soft fluctuations of Yin energy from the artifacts stored there. However, he didn’t even bother pausing to take a closer look.

There weren’t any other obstacles that stood in Qin Ye’s way. The Zhu Clan probably knew that so long as someone could breach the Longxing Temple’s external defenses, they would be able to clear any hidden traps within as well. Thus, rather than conceal or hide the treasures, everything within the tower was laid out openly and without restrictions.

Treasures… Treasures everywhere!!

It was absolutely astonishing.

The visual impact was simply too stunning.

Wealth was great. But there was something else in the room that clearly stood out to him like the moon among the stars.

Each of them was wrapped with a golden sleeve, and bound up with a luxurious vermillion band. Beyond that, each scroll emitted terrifying fluctuations of Yin energy.

These were hands down the most beautiful things in the room.