146: Chapter 146 The Hound in the Wind, and the Chess Player in the Carriage

Outside the carriage, the air was saturated with a highly compressed scent of damp earth and a faint, lingering trace of Evil Qi.

Inspector Feng Xingyun stood as immovable as a mountain, his dark cyan Daoist robe flapping violently in the crosswinds of the valley, his hawk-like eyes locked onto the patch of yellowish-brown mire that was beginning to solidify.

The secret techniques of the Sky Patrol Division swirled deep within his pupils, capturing the strange, lingering remnants of Shadow Corrosion that had not yet fully dissipated into the air.

It was a type of Death Qi that was bone-chillingly cold and seemed capable of draining away all vitality, instinctively causing one's Divine Soul to recoil in intense aversion.

A trace of sternness flashed in Inspector Feng Xingyun's eyes. He turned abruptly, his gaze piercing through the surrounding dust and smoke as if it were physical, landing on the seemingly dilapidated yet unfathomably profound flying beast carriage ahead.

He stood firm and said in a deep voice, "Clan Chief Lin, I am Inspector Feng Xingyun. It seems your prediction was correct."

The heavy carriage curtain was slowly lifted by a hand with distinct, bony knuckles.

Lin Chen's expression was as calm as still water, his deep eyes resembling two ancient wells, showing not the slightest ripple from having just experienced a life-or-death assassination attempt.

He stepped out first, the hem of his cyan robe brushing against the rough carriage shaft, while the layer of Spiritual Qi fluctuations around him, heavy as the earth, was retracted back into his body in an extremely subtle manner.

Following him, Lin Haoyu also stepped out of the carriage.

Although the youth tried his best to suppress his emotions and pressed his lips tightly together, his slightly hurried breathing still echoed through the empty valley, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, veins bulging on the backs of his hands.

Clearly, the moment the dark blue dagger, carrying the Aura of death, had neared his brow, still left him with lingering fear.

Lin Chen cupped his hands in a salute towards Inspector Feng Xingyun, his tone gentle yet carrying an imperceptible note of scrutiny: "Fellow Daoist Feng arrived just in time; otherwise, my unworthy son might have met a cruel fate. The prestige of the Sky Patrol Division is renowned even in the Southern Region, and seeing it today, it truly lives up to its name." He was smiling, but the corner of his eye landed squarely on the token hanging at Inspector Feng Xingyun's waist, which was neither gold nor jade, bearing the inscription 'Sky Patrol'.

The surface of the token lacked intricate carvings, featuring only two archaic Seal-script characters. Its material was iron-like yet not iron, exuding an Aura of the Heavenly Dao order that brooked no defiance.

Lin Chen knew very well that this token represented not only high-level cultivation but also an admission ticket to the vast power network of the Central Continent.

The moment he paused on this token was for assessment, as well as to measure the true weight of the inspector before him in the upcoming grand chess game of the Central Continent.

Inspector Feng Xingyun casually formed a hand Seal, gathering all the remaining sharp wind blade Aura in mid-air into his sleeve.

His brow furrowed, his chiseled face bearing obvious gravity and warning. He took a few large strides forward, pointing at the mire that was losing its spiritual properties, and said, "Clan Chief Lin, there is no need to be humble. The Earth Domain technique you used just now was exceptionally profound; even without my intervention, that assassin might not have fared well against you. However..." Inspector Feng Xingyun's tone shifted, becoming extremely stern, like clashing metal and stone, "This person was one of the 'Shadow Guards' of the Ink Abyss, specializing in lethal assassinations. Their methods are extremely treacherous, and they never leave survivors. They are like maggots on a bone; once they target prey, they will not stop until death. Clan Chief Lin, do you know that the trouble you have provoked is far greater than you imagine? The Southern Region is a corner of peace where you might be able to command the wind and rain with the strength of a single Family, but the waters of the Central Continent are a hundred times deeper than those of the Southern Region. The whirlpools here are complex and intertwined; a single misstep, and even a Nascent Soul expert will be smashed to pieces." Inspector Feng Xingyun's warning was largely a well-intentioned reminder born of his duties as a member of the Sky Patrol Division, but it was also mixed with a hint of the condescension characteristic of the Central Continent's core elite.

He intended to use these words to knock this "local tyrant" from the Southern Region down a peg, making him understand the rules of keeping one's head down in the Central Continent.

Listening to Inspector Feng Xingyun's oppressive words, Lin Chen not only showed no trace of panic or retreat, but instead lowered his head, his fingertips, which had been stroking the stone ring, pausing slightly.

The cold wind in the valley lifted the black hair at his temples. He suddenly let out a low, short laugh, a sound that was extremely light, even somewhat nonchalant, yet it carried a sharp edge that could not be ignored.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze meeting Inspector Feng Xingyun's oppressive eyes without the slightest evasion, and responded calmly, "Fellow Daoist Feng, your words are incorrect. Only when the water is deep is it good for catching fish. If this world were everywhere a pool of clear water where one could see to the bottom, containing only a few shrimp unable to stir up any waves, why would I bother bringing my son on a journey of thousands of miles to this Central Continent, risking life and death?"

As this light remark fell into his ears, Inspector Feng Xingyun's pupils contracted sharply, and the muscles on his face twitched ever so slightly.

This sentence was like a soft nail hidden in the shadows, piercing with pinpoint accuracy through the oppressive Aura he had deliberately cultivated just moments before.

This Southern Region Cultivator, who possessed only Early Stage Golden Core cultivation, had actually, in the face of the dual desperation of an Inspector from the Sky Patrol Division's pressure and an Ink Abyss assassination, brazenly elevated himself from a "passive seeker of help" who should have been trembling and seeking protection, to a "collaborator" capable of equal dialogue, or even an "active player" prepared to make a big catch in the murky waters.

Inspector Feng Xingyun took a deep look at the man in the cyan robe standing before him, swallowing the few words of admonition he had originally prepared.

He keenly sensed that this Lin Chen before him possessed a level of intelligence and depth that far exceeded the cultivation he displayed, and he must absolutely not be judged by conventional logic or the arrogance used towards ordinary lower-Realm Cultivators.

"Since Clan Chief Lin knows what he is doing, then I shall say no more. This place is not suitable for staying long; let us set off. Tianshu City is still waiting for us."

For the remainder of the journey, with Inspector Feng Xingyun, representing the highest law enforcement agency of the Central Continent, leading the way, the originally treacherous and unpredictable journey became surprisingly smooth.

Those prying eyes hidden in the shadows, upon encountering Inspector Feng Xingyun's unmasked Middle Stage Golden Core Aura and the cyan escape light symbolizing the Sky Patrol Division, all quietly retreated as if avoiding a poisonous snake or scorpion.

Five days later, as the two Wind-Feather Horses, already showing signs of fatigue, pulled the beast carriage through a vast sea of clouds that never dispersed throughout the year, a magnificent, colossal city that could not be described in worldly language suddenly came into Lin Chen's view.

That was the absolute heart of power in the Xuanling World, the Holy Land that countless Cultivators dreamed of—Tianshu City.

Unlike those massive Sect cities in the Southern Region that were often built near mountains and rivers with towering walls hundreds of feet high, Tianshu City had no physical walls visible to the naked eye.

Its territory was so vast that even at the limits of a Golden Core Cultivator's Divine Sense, it was impossible to reach its edges.

In its place was an ancient Formation inverted over the firmament, as if it connected to the stars of the Nine Heavens.

Outside the carriage, the scent permeating the air underwent an extremely strange qualitative change.

The scent of damp earth common in the wilderness disappeared, replaced by a strange fragrance of cosmetics, the lingering aroma of high-grade sandalwood incense burning, and a mixture of extremely dense yet stagnant Spiritual Qi that felt like a pool of dead water.

Lin Chen raised his head, looking through the narrow gap of the carriage window towards the high and distant firmament.

Deep within those thick clouds, countless golden runes, as massive as rolling mountain ranges, were slowly swirling, appearing and disappearing.

Each flicker of the runes was accompanied by an extremely low-frequency rumble that could not be heard but could reach directly into the depths of the Divine Soul.

The moment the beast carriage completely crossed the invisible boundary of the Formation and drove into the area covered by Tianshu City, Lin Chen immediately felt his shoulders sink heavily, as if at that moment, thousands of invisible hands had pressed down on his back, burdening him with a mountain of ten thousand jun.

This was not the simple gravity suppression of an ordinary Formation, but a "power of order" that stood above all individual living beings.

The Chaos Spiritual Qi within his body, which had originally been surging through his Meridians like a great river, instantly became extremely sluggish and slow under this irresistible suppression of order, becoming as viscous as mercury.

Even his Divine Sense, which he could usually control with ease, was forcibly compressed back to within three zhang of his body surface; any attempt to extend it even an inch further would result in excruciating pain, as if pricked by needles.

Lin Haoyu, sitting opposite him, let out a painful muffled groan, his face instantly turning bloodless. He had to close his eyes and clench his teeth, running his Family Cultivation Technique with all his might to resist this terrifying pressure acting directly upon his Soul, and a fine layer of cold sweat soon seeped out on his forehead.

Just as Lin Chen was silently feeling this pressure, attempting to adjust the circulation of Spiritual Qi within his body to adapt to the environment of Tianshu City, the coarse stone ring on his left thumb suddenly transmitted an extremely faint warmth.

This stream of heat was extremely weak, like a glimmer of light in winter, yet it carried a supreme resilience capable of embracing all things and bearing all living beings.

The heat flow flowed upstream along his fingertips, silently merging into his Meridians, instantly dispersing a little of that sluggish, obscure feeling of Spiritual Qi stagnation.

Lin Chen's heart stirred. Without any hesitation, he instinctively activated [Earth Pulse Perception] in his Sea of Consciousness.

As his perception spread, a scene that shocked him slowly unfolded in his mind.

He was astonished to discover that the vast Spiritual Veins beneath Tianshu City were not in a state of natural flow at all, but were forcibly restrained by someone using a great Divine Ability.

These crisscrossing underground Spiritual Veins, together with the ancient Formation covering the firmament, and the Aura of tens of millions of Cultivators and Mortals in this massive city, were perfectly intertwined to form a vast and unparalleled "Luck of Humanity" that felt almost tangible.

This Luck was heavy and complex, filled with worldly greed, anger, ignorance, and hatred, yet it contained the great power to change the world.

And the stone ring on his thumb was like a long-dried sponge, under the washing of this extremely dense Luck of Humanity, it was breathing with a slight expansion and contraction at an extremely greedy and secretive frequency.

With every breath, a trace of extremely faint golden luster would appear deep within the stone ring.

Sensing this change, Lin Chen lowered his eyelids slightly, concealing the sharp glint that flashed across his pupils.

This seemingly extremely dangerous whirlpool of power in the Central Continent, for him, a Clan Chief of an Immortal Family harboring a System, was indeed the right place to come.

However, Inspector Feng Xingyun did not, as Lin Chen had expected, take them directly into the main hall of the Sky Patrol Division, which was suspended in the central area of Tianshu City, radiating blinding light, and impossible to look at directly like a scorching sun.

The flying beast carriage shuttled for a long time over a bustling and noisy marketplace on the outskirts of Tianshu City, finally landing slowly in front of a relatively quiet seven-story wooden building with a plaque bearing the three gilded characters "Tingfeng Pavilion".

This wooden building had a simple and elegant exterior, and those entering and leaving were all in a hurry, mostly dressed in dark clothing, their eyes vigilant.

Inspector Feng Xingyun led Lin Chen and his son into the building, passing through several dim corridors filled with soundproofing and anti-peeping Restrictions, arriving at a side hall exuding a cold, deep incense scent.

The layout of the side hall was extremely luxurious yet oppressive everywhere, with carved rosewood chairs and animal-hide carpets on the floor that could absorb Spiritual Qi fluctuations.

At this moment, on the main seat at the head of the side hall, a deacon dressed in wide civil official robes was slumped.

This person was fair-skinned and beardless, his eyelids swollen like two water blisters. Although his body radiated the Spiritual Qi fluctuations of the Late Stage Foundation Establishment, his Aura was extremely floating and unstable, and his Spiritual Qi was mottled and impure, clearly a Realm forcibly piled up by relying on a large amount of low-grade Medicinal Pills, possessing no combat ability.

Inspector Feng Xingyun walked up and handed over a cyan Jade Slip that recorded the assassination attempts encountered along the way and the preliminary investigation briefing.

Although his attitude followed the official protocols of a subordinate towards a superior agency, his back remained straight, not showing much cringing or obsequious respect.

That civil official deacon merely raised his eyelids slightly, slanted a glance at Inspector Feng Xingyun, and extended a fat hand adorned with several exaggerated jade thumb rings, lazily taking the Jade Slip.

He did not even intend to sit up straight, merely probing a thread of extremely weak Divine Sense into it, scanning it carelessly twice.

Afterwards, he flipped his wrist and tossed the Jade Slip onto the hard rosewood tabletop, emitting an extremely harsh "clack" sound.

The Deacon ignored the slight frown on Inspector Feng Xingyun's brow. Instead, he slowly lifted the celadon teacup beside him, scraped the premium spiritual tea leaves floating on the surface with the lid, and took a slow, deliberate sip.

Only after swallowing the tea did he turn his somewhat turbid gaze toward Lin Chen, who had been standing silently in the hall the entire time.

His eyes undisguisedly revealed the arrogance and scrutiny unique to the Tianshu City elite when dealing with Cultivators from the rural periphery, as if he were looking at a piece of cheap merchandise.

"So you are that... what was it, Clan Chief Lin from the Black Wind Valley of the Southern Region?" The Deacon tugged at the corners of his mouth in a fake smile, dragging out the last syllable in a nauseating tone, his voice filled with contempt. "I just read the report submitted by Inspector Feng Xingyun. An ambush? Murders for treasure happen all the time in the cultivation world; it's unavoidable. However, matters in the Southern Region have their own rules, and this Tianshu City has its own regulations. Not every trivial vendetta can be brought to the inner office to annoy the Division Lords. Clan Chief Lin, having traveled from afar, must be weary from the journey and still shaken. You should withdraw for now, stay in the guesthouse behind this building, and get some good rest. As for this case... it involves too much, and its veracity remains to be verified. It will require further deliberation."

Following these words, the side hall fell into a deathly silence.

The air was so heavy it felt as if it could drip water, broken only by the faint scraping sound of the porcelain base touching the table as the Deacon set down his teacup.

That airy phrase, "further deliberation," was like a wad of cotton soaked in muddy water—soft, yet it firmly blocked every path they had to proceed further.

This was blatant bureaucratic posturing, a naked display of power, and an undisguised act of contempt and deliberate stalling.

Lin Haoyu stood behind his father, his fists clenching tightly until his knuckles popped. Anger flickered in his eyes, and the suppressed Spiritual Qi within his body threatened to spiral out of control, but Lin Chen took a slight step back and used an extremely subtle gesture to forcefully suppress it.

Inspector Feng Xingyun's expression darkened instantly.

Lin Chen remained silent. His expression had not changed in the slightest from start to finish; there was neither the rage born of being slighted nor the obsequiousness and humility of one begging for a favor.

He simply and calmly, with slow movements, produced a pitch-black Jade Slip from his wide sleeve, its surface devoid of any luster.

Then, with a slight drop of his wrist, he placed the Jade Slip beside the teacup in front of the Deacon with a crisp "clack," neither too hard nor too soft.

The moment the Jade Slip touched the table, the rich scent of agarwood in the side hall seemed to be instantly frozen by a sudden, descending chill of Death Qi, and the temperature in the room plummeted by over ten degrees.

What was sealed within the Jade Slip was a wisp of core Aura he had forcibly extracted in the Earth Vein Meditation Room, taken from the remnants of Sect Master Tie Kuang's devilish blood, which was still writhing and struggling to survive even after being repeatedly scorched by the true fire of the Chaos Golden Core.

"What is this? A local specialty from the Southern Region?" The Deacon frowned with extreme dissatisfaction, a hint of annoyance creeping into his tone. He released a wisp of Divine Sense quite casually, probing carelessly toward the black Jade Slip that radiated an ominous Aura.

The very instant his Divine Sense, completely off guard, touched the extremely fragile Seal and Restriction on the outer layer of the Jade Slip— "Boom!"

Without any warning, a terrifying will—extremely cold, insane, and filled with an absolute desire for destruction and a nauseating, bloodthirsty craving—surged along that wisp of Divine Sense like a bursting black torrent, slamming violently into the Deacon's fragile Sea of Consciousness!

In that brief moment, the Deacon seemed to see an indescribable, terrifying phantom hidden deep within an endless sea of blood, roaring from the deepest part of his Soul, tearing everything apart.

His originally bloated, ruddy face turned paper-white in a ten-thousandth of a second, devoid of color like an ancient, dried corpse.

"Ah—!" The Deacon let out a half-strangled, miserable scream like a dying beast, snapping off that wisp of Divine Sense as if electrocuted.

Due to the violent movement, he convulsed heavily and fell backward. The heavy rosewood armchair beneath him was shoved by his fat body, screeching against the floorboards as it slid several feet back before finally coming to a halt.

With a crisp "clang," the celadon teacup he had been holding was swept to the floor by his violently trembling arm, shattering into pieces.

Scalding tea splashed everywhere, mixed with sharp shards of porcelain. It soaked the hem of his expensive official robes, and a few pieces even cut his ankles, drawing blood.

Yet he was completely unaware of this, merely collapsing in his chair in an extremely twisted, terrified posture. His eyes were locked onto the black Jade Slip on the table, his pupils unfocused, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for air, while beads of cold sweat as large as beans poured down his forehead like a waterfall.

An eerie and terrifying sense of oppression permeated the side hall.

Inspector Feng Xingyun's right hand had instinctively pressed against the Magical Artifact at his waist, his gaze darting vigilantly between Lin Chen and the Jade Slip.

Only then did Lin Chen speak, unhurriedly.

His voice was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent side hall. His tone remained calm, but every word was like a rusty, dull knife, slowly and cruelly cutting through the Deacon's taut nerves: "This object is the final result of what you, Deacon, just called 'further deliberation.'"

Lin Chen looked down condescendingly at the Deacon, who was slumped in the chair like a pile of mud. Deep, unsettling, dark light surged in his profound eyes.

The smile at the corner of his mouth had long since vanished, replaced by an absolute coldness and the sense of control befitting a superior.

He leaned forward slightly, hands pressed against the edge of the table, the pressure pouring out like Mount Tai bearing down: "If Your Excellency feels that the waters of the Central Continent are not murky enough, and that this case can be suppressed for another ten days or half a month to be 'deliberated' slowly, I, Lin, would not mind at all taking what is sealed in this Jade Slip to the busiest Central Avenue of Tianshu City right now and opening it in front of ten million people. When that time comes, we shall see whether the order of the great Formation in the sky can suppress such evil things, or if the Division Lord of the Sky Patrol Division is quick enough to come and take your head before the living are plunged into misery and suffering."

These words were spoken slowly and casually, yet they struck the Deacon's already crumbling mental defenses like a thunderbolt from the Nine Heavens.

To detonate a source of such high-concentration, highly infectious, and terrifying Devilish Qi pollution in the core area of Tianshu City?

This was an unforgivable crime that would absolutely lead to the extermination of his entire clan, where even his Divine Soul would be extracted to be used as a sky lantern!

But looking at this madman from the Southern Region before him, who radiated an internal, restrained Evil Qi, he dared not gamble—not even in the slightest.

Because he knew his own worth well; once this thing leaked even a fraction, he, the person in charge of receiving and suppressing the file, would absolutely be the first scapegoat pushed out by the higher-ups to appease the rage and pay for the crime with his life.

The Deacon's mental defenses were completely shattered.

He frantically wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and cheeks with his ornate sleeves, the condescending, pretentious arrogance from just moments ago vanishing instantly.

His fat body appeared somewhat hunched from extreme fear, and he didn't even care about his image as he struggled to scramble up from the chair, agreeing repeatedly. His voice trembled with uncontrollable shaking, and he spoke so fast it was like spilling beans, terrified that Lin Chen's fingers would actually crush the Jade Slip: "Clan Chief Lin, please calm your anger! You absolutely must not! This matter... this matter is of too great importance. It is I who was blind, my heart clouded by greed! Such a major case, I will personally go and open the Formation right now and immediately use the highest-level urgent Red Cloud Talisman to report directly to the inner office's confidential department! Please, Clan Chief Lin and Inspector Feng Xingyun, wait a moment—half an incense stick of time! No, within three breaths, I will absolutely not delay for even a moment!"

Having said this, the Deacon, as if his eyebrows were on fire, scrambled to grab the documents from the table and stumbled toward the hidden inner chamber behind the side hall, not even bothering to pick up the jade thumb ring that had fallen to the floor.

Watching the Deacon's wretched figure disappear behind the heavy stone door of the inner chamber, Lin Chen did not stop him, but unhurriedly tucked the black Jade Slip back into his sleeve.

He turned around and gave a slight nod to Inspector Feng Xingyun, who was still wearing an expression of astonishment and had not yet fully recovered. His gaze was so calm it was as if the person who had just threatened the Sky Patrol Division Deacon was not him at all, simply conveying one message: the obstacle had been cleared, and the goal had been achieved.

The two of them walked one after the other, taking Lin Haoyu, who had been in a state of extreme tension, and turned to walk out of the main entrance of the Listening Wind Tower.

It was now sunset. The flowing runes of the great Formation above Tianshu City, illuminated by the blood-red rays of the setting sun, appeared even more profound and inscrutable, like a single eye covering the sky, coldly watching the sentient beings below, who were like ants.

Just as Lin Chen raised his right foot, about to step over the high red-wood threshold of the Listening Wind Tower, his "Earth Pulse Perception," which he had kept active at the minimum level, suddenly caught a trace of an extremely faint, counter-intuitive anomaly.

It was not a fluctuation of Spiritual Qi from the Cultivators around him, but rather originated from deep beneath his feet, within the defensive Spiritual Vein Formation of the Listening Wind Tower, where an extremely abrupt and rhythmic pulsation had appeared.

Lin Chen's footsteps did not falter in the slightest; he did not turn his head, and even the frequency of his breathing and the rhythm of his movement did not change by a fraction. He appeared completely oblivious.

But his Divine Sense, like an invisible spider web quietly cast out, instantly extended toward the shadows inside the building behind him.

In his perceived image, a bizarre scene was presented with extreme clarity: in an extremely remote, inconspicuous, dark corner on the left side of the main hall of the Listening Wind Tower, a low-level clerk responsible for recording incoming and outgoing files, who possessed only Qi Refinement Stage cultivation, was bowing his head, appearing to be respectfully and attentively organizing the thick books on the desk.

However, hidden beneath his wide sleeves, the clerk's right index and middle fingers, pressed against the surface of the desk, were tapping the air in an eerie frequency that no ordinary person could ever see.

With the slight movement of his fingertips, a ripple of information—a hundred times finer than the hair of a newborn, with extremely hidden properties that blended perfectly with the chaotic Spiritual Qi fluctuations around it—flowed out from the clerk's fingertips.

This fluctuation did not fly upward to transmit to any intelligence node of the Sky Patrol Division, but instead, like a slippery venomous snake, silently submerged into the intricate and complex Formation network deep beneath the Listening Wind Tower.

The information followed the hidden tributaries of the Spiritual Vein, bypassing all overt surveillance, and flowed straight toward another completely unknown, bottomless abyss within Tianshu City.

Walking out of the Listening Wind Tower and into the bustling market streets, Lin Chen's eyes instantly became as dark as an abyss in the shadows, like a bottomless, cold pool.

His left hand, which had been hanging naturally, pressed his thumb slightly, leaving a pale mark on the rough stone ring.

He knew very well in his heart that this Central Continent Sky Patrol Division, which appeared to dominate the world and be impregnable, had long since been riddled with holes by people like wood-boring insects.

The behemoth beneath this deep water, that one giant eye hidden in the dark, had not only noticed them, these uninvited guests, but with the message just transmitted, this all-encompassing net had already begun to quietly tighten.