98: The forbidden flower reappears

Li Dong sat on the not-too-hard wooden chair in his new residence, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table.

The title of Shadow Guard Commander was finally more than just a mere decoration.

"He Tianzheng, oh He Tianzheng, you put me in such a prominent position, aren't you just trying to keep an eye on me?" he muttered to himself, a smirk playing on his lips, "Too bad for you, now I can legitimately examine the things in this yamen."

He rose and went directly to the Demon Suppression Headquarters' archives.

He hadn't been qualified to enter and exit this place freely before.

"System, filter all the archives in the capital from the last thirty years related to 'abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations,' 'unexplained disappearances,' and those 'godforsaken abandoned areas,'" Li Dong ordered the System in his mind.

【System: Currently accessing relevant archives in the capital. The data volume is immense; estimated filtering time is one quarter of an hour.】

"A quarter of an hour? Alright, I'll wait." Li Dong leaned against a bookshelf, casually pulling out a dust-covered booklet.

He blew on the cover. "Tsk, thirty years. These secretive fellows really can drag things out."

The archives were filled with a peculiar scent of decaying paper and dust, but Li Dong paid it no mind.

His head was currently filled with thoughts of that Soul-Devouring Demon Flower.

Soon, the System prompted that the filtering was complete.

【System: 【Environmental Analysis】 function initiated. Performing city-wide scan and comparison based on 'spiritual essence' characteristic data within the 【core experimental data chip】... Scan complete. Seven abnormal 'spiritual essence' accumulation points detected within the capital.】

Li Dong's spirits lifted: "Seven locations? That many? Where are they? Mark them for me, and use the most conspicuous color for the highest concentration."

A three-dimensional map of the capital seemed to appear before his eyes, with seven glowing points of varying sizes flickering on it.

【System: Marked. Among them, the location with the highest 'spiritual essence' concentration is in the northwest corner of the Imperial City, at the ruins of an abandoned palace named 'Cold Moon Palace'.】

"Cold Moon Palace?" Li Dong raised an eyebrow, "Inside the Imperial City? Good heavens, these bastards are truly bold! Planting flowers right next to the Emperor's Dragon throne? Aren't they afraid the Emperor might step on them during a stroll?" He found the situation absurd.

"What about the other locations?"

【System: The other six locations have relatively lower concentrations and are distributed in abandoned districts or around mass graves in the east, south, and west of the city.】

"It seems to be a main base plus satellite mines configuration," Li Dong stroked his chin. "The one in the Imperial City isn't easy to touch for now. I need to find a few reliable people to scout it out first."

He was now the Shadow Guard Commander, nominally in charge of many people.

But he needed to know who He Tianzheng's informants were, who were fence-sitters, and who he could actually use.

Returning to his "Commander's Residence," Li Dong called in a few Shadow Guards who usually seemed quite sharp and, according to the System's discreet analysis, had fewer ties to He Tianzheng's faction.

"Old Zhang, Old Wang, and you, Little Liu," Li Dong pointed out three people. "The capital hasn't been peaceful recently; in some areas, evil Qi is stirring.

You few, work hard these next few days, go out in plain clothes, walk around a lot, and observe."

He roughly told them about the suspicious locations in the outskirts and the perimeter of the Cold Moon Palace in the Imperial City.

"Remember, only use your eyes to see and your ears to listen.

Don't alert anyone, and don't make inquiries.

If anything seems amiss, report back to me immediately.

Especially that Cold Moon Palace, just observe it from afar; absolutely do not get close," Li Dong specifically instructed.

"Commander, rest assured, we understand!" The three acknowledged the order and departed.

Li Dong watched their retreating figures, musing: "I hope these lads are sharp and don't mess things up for me.

Sigh, if only I had a group of trustworthy people like Inspector Zhou under me.

In this situation, everyone looks like an internal spy."

Two days later, Old Zhang and Old Wang returned first, both looking solemn.

"Commander," Old Zhang lowered his voice, "those few points in the outskirts you mentioned are all peculiar.

Especially that abandoned ancestral hall next to the mass grave in the west of the city.

It's fine during the day, but at night, chilling winds sweep through, and occasionally, we can smell a... a cloyingly sweet, strange fragrance."

Old Wang chimed in: "Right! The old dock warehouse by the Blackwater River in the south of the city is similar.

And we saw from afar that someone seemed to be secretly transporting things inside at night, acting furtively."

Li Dong nodded: "Hmm, I understand.

What about Cold Moon Palace?"

Old Zhang looked troubled: "Commander, that Cold Moon Palace... it's too eerie!

We only dared to take a glance from a high vantage point several hundred zhang away using Qi observation techniques.

That place is covered by a very powerful barrier.

During the day, it looks like a dilapidated courtyard, but at night, faint red light flickers within, and that strange fragrance is a hundred times more intense than in the outskirts!

Moreover, there are many experts secretly guarding the palace walls, each with formidable Qi, definitely not ordinary palace guards."

"Red light? Strange fragrance? Barrier? Heavily guarded..." Li Dong's eyes flickered. "No mistake, it's probably one of the Soul-Devouring Demon Flower's lairs."

He waved Old Zhang and Old Wang away to rest, and then began pacing in his room.

"To create such a grand spectacle within the Imperial City, the people behind it must have considerable power.

He Tianzheng alone probably doesn't have the ability or the guts for this.

This Cold Moon Palace is likely an important stronghold of the Shadow Council in the capital, and it might even be directly related to a high-ranking individual within the Council."

He brought up the System map again.

【System: Based on the energy characteristics around Cold Moon Palace and the information reported by the Shadow Guards, performing data reverse-deduction.

The ancestral hall in the west of the city and the dock warehouse in the south of the city have been preliminarily identified as small 'Soul-Devouring Demon Flower' cultivation points or experimental sites.

Their scale is much smaller than Cold Moon Palace, and their defensive capabilities are relatively weaker.】

"Smaller is always easier to deal with than larger," a fierce glint flashed in Li Dong's eyes. "Let's start with these two points in the outskirts.

Firstly, I can collect more direct evidence; secondly, it's a good opportunity to test whether my Spirituality truly has the restraining effect on that demon flower that the System mentioned.

If it doesn't work, I can figure out a solution beforehand."

Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

He didn't want to rashly charge into that Dragon's den in the Imperial City.

Just as Li Dong was contemplating how to act, the System suddenly issued a warning.

【System: 【Urgent Alert】: Detected abnormal frequency of He Tianzheng's faction personnel activity in the outer perimeter of the capital.

Data flow analysis indicates he is organizing the secret transfer of a batch of 'Special Selection' plan failures, with suspected destinations pointing to the ancestral hall in the west of the city and the dock warehouse in the south of the city.】

"What? 'Special Selection' failures?" Li Dong slammed his fist on the table. "It's 'raw bodies' again!

He Tianzheng, that old dog, is moving so fast!

He wants to use those people as nourishment for the demon flower?"

A surge of anger rose from the depths of his heart.

Those so-called "failures," in his eyes, were nothing but vibrant lives!

"Can't wait any longer!" Li Dong's eyes turned cold. "Delaying even one more day means countless innocent people will suffer.

I must beat He Tianzheng to it and take down these two strongholds!

Save the people, destroy the flowers!"

He immediately began to inventory the resources at his disposal.

"System, how many Merits points do I still have accumulated from the Hidden Dragon Guard and this promotion?

Convert all of them into cultivation; raise it as much as possible!"

【System: Merit points conversion in progress... Host's current cultivation: Late Foundation Establishment Stage.

Expected to advance to the peak of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, just one step away from the Core Formation Realm.】

"Peak of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, huh? Better than nothing." Li Dong felt the subtle increase in spiritual energy within his body while pulling items out of his Storage Pouch.

"Invisibility Talismans, Concealment Talismans, Barrier-Breaking Talismans... these are essential for infiltration.

I'll also need some heavy-duty stuff; I should prepare more Thunderfire Talismans for clearing areas.

Oh, and those few high-grade defensive Talismans I swiped from He Tianzheng's old man's secret base last time should come in handy too."

He meticulously checked each item, rapidly envisioning various possibilities for infiltration and combat in his mind.

"Ancestral hall in the west of the city, dock warehouse in the south of the city... Hmph, He Tianzheng, and that 'Shadow Council' whatever, your young master is coming to deliver you a big gift!"

The night outside the window seemed even deeper than usual.

A surprise attack targeting the forbidden flower was about to unfold silently in the darkness.