Volume 1, Chapter 26: Shen Lü, He Really Turned Green!

When the car arrived at Fengquan Township, the last traces of twilight vanished from the horizon, and the prelude to the night began to unfold.

Wang Juan, who had been sitting in her seat in a daze, jumped up from her chair in shock upon seeing the visitor. She greeted him in surprise, "Director... Director Lin! What brings you here?"

When he sat back down in the chair, he could clearly see the legs of the chair reflected in the mirror. He leaned back against the chair and stared into the mirror, but the chair remained perfectly still.

In other words, the time was somewhere between midnight and four o'clock; let us assume for now that it was midnight.

Lin Xueqin wore a black short-sleeved sweater, a black leather skirt, and long black boots, singing and dancing to the rhythm of the music like a sprite of the night. If Chu Wanyu was like a graceful oriole emerging from a valley, then Lin Xueqin was like a bat flying in the dead of night—mysterious and ethereal.

Next, a series of rapid, fine pops echoed in succession. The Blood Wanderer’s body suddenly swelled before returning to its original size, but in the process, every scrap of clothing had vanished from his frame, and his skin gradually faded from its crimson hue to a deathly grey-white.

Yuan Zhenxia thought to himself that while the world assumes the wealthy live in comfort, they naturally have their own hardships to bear.

After settling some matters and finishing lunch, Zhang Shouzhi and the investigative team packed up local produce and left the island, heading to the Sang Family Fish House in the provincial capital to continue their investigation. At the village ferry, Reporter Wang specifically told Ding that he would return to Sangjiawu every year, while the cameraman, Old Lu, was even more extreme, shortening the interval to once a quarter.

Qi Lenghan said, "Beyond these things, there are those large boulders on the slope. Who could be secretly plotting to kill us?" Gephi Yan shook her head. Their arrival at Black Poison Valley was meant to be a top-secret mission, and they had not spotted anyone suspicious along the way, nor had they been followed. It made no sense for boulders to come rolling down without cause.

The sound waves dispersed the dense moisture before him, and he lowered his head at just the right moment, meeting a face that was stunningly beautiful yet expressionless.

"Why is Master suddenly praising me?" Lang Ri scratched his head and laughed, his smile childlike and devoid of any guile.

With one kilometer left to reach Height 170, Long Xiaotian, who was clearing the path ahead, suddenly let out a miserable cry and collapsed to the ground. Yi Yang was shocked and growled, "Ambush! Take cover!" Having said this, Yi Yang rolled on the ground and immediately ducked behind a large tree.

"I was so scared, too—scared that something would happen to you. Why were you so foolish? Why did you disregard your own safety to save me? Why?" As Mo Wushuang was moved by everything Han Mingchao had done for her, she felt an even greater sense of lingering fear after the recent palpitations.

Walking into the massive castle, Tang Cheng suddenly realized that while the structure looked magnificent from the outside, the interior was—damn it—like a tower, a hollow tower with a single hall and a spiral staircase reaching all the way to the top.

At this moment, Daoist Nun Ziyun had already rushed forward, her hands weaving a spell as she attempted to forcibly control the Demon-Exterminating Dust.

Bai Yin possessed a kind of demonic charm; perhaps it was her rare beauty, or perhaps it was something more than just her looks—every smile, every glance, every turn of her head revealed a bewitching quality that ordinary people could never possess.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from that thing? It seems you don't understand," Xuan Bing's cold voice rang out from behind.

The brown-robed cultivator was alarmed and immediately summoned a white handkerchief. Infused with his true essence, the handkerchief instantly erupted with countless silver-white rays of light, quickly forming a protective barrier that enveloped his entire body.

The more Tang Cheng thought about it, the more he felt like he had been swindled by this master blacksmith. That smile had been too sinister, but it didn't matter now; this quest was already strange enough, so a sinister smile from a blacksmith was only to be expected.

For instance, this time, who could have guessed that the Rain God would channel the world's destructive power, bringing a torrential downpour upon the world?

Seeing a few grey figures push a crack into the gate, the Japanese lieutenant didn't hesitate; he snatched a machine gun from beside him and opened fire violently toward the bottom.

After a moment of reflection, Xiong Ti immediately dismissed the thought, because even if a master of profound internal energy were hiding in the shadows without being detected by him, he would certainly have noticed if Guan Muxue had been abducted.

Merlin avoided the wave containing the most battle aura and used the shield in his right hand to block the rest. This shield, linked to his own will, was truly remarkable; it had taken many hits yet remained unscathed, causing him only slight discomfort from the impacts.

Apart from the casualties inflicted during the initial surprise attack, Zhou Yu and his men found it difficult to deal effective damage to the Japanese soldiers who had gone into hiding. Furthermore, in the sporadic exchanges of fire, the Third and Fourth Platoons, along with the supporting underground armed forces, lost four men killed and three seriously wounded.

In desperation, Long Di had to dissipate the "Green Dragon Kill" star seal, causing the star-powered serpent to dissolve.

However, this formation was too peculiar. If the tower climber failed, they were simply sent out—what was the point of the tower then?

"Fine! Since you insulted my Gusu Murong first, don't blame me for being discourteous. Take this!" Murong Fu unsheathed his sword, intending to settle the score with Lin Tao. Last time at Apricot Forest, fearing that Wang Yuyan would recognize him, he hadn't used his full strength when sparring with Lin Tao.

This thing was a legendary spiritual essence; many believed it could not possibly exist, so one could imagine how difficult it was to find.

A reclusive sect like this surely held many secrets, but Hua Tian had no intention of prying. Acting separately would also make it easier for him to secretly dispose of the items left behind by Tang Xiaotian.

The takeout had gone cold, and Jiu Tian could barely force it down, though it wasn't actually that bad. He was already considering dismantling the structural room to restore the original kitchen, but he wondered if all this back-and-forth was a bit excessive.

However, he had no choice. With so many people in China, and even internationally, keeping a close watch on the location of China's special forces, they could not use military vehicles to pick up Qin Zhao in order to maintain operational secrecy.

On the night Princess Yunjing was assassinated, the news spread outside the palace. Any nobles or officials with connections learned of the incident immediately! It was impossible to keep such a thing hidden; such a massive commotion had occurred within the inner palace, and the Imperial Guards had searched throughout the night. Even if no one had sent word out, those on the outside would have known regardless.