16: Chapter 16 Cooperation

"You are now watching the Jiangcheng Evening News. At around 3:00 PM today, on Linkang Road, a twenty-year-old woman riding an electric scooter was suddenly scratched on the thigh by an unidentified sharp object. Fortunately, the wound was shallow, and after being taken to the hospital by passersby, she is in no serious danger. After receiving the report, the Security Bureau immediately launched an investigation. As of now, the object involved in the incident has not been found, and related search efforts are still ongoing."

"News from Beiqiao Road. This afternoon, while 64-year-old Grandpa Zhao was picking up his grandson from school, he scolded the boy for his recent decline in academic performance. Unexpectedly, the grandson talked back. In a fit of anger, Grandpa Zhao slapped the locust tree by the side of the road and actually snapped it in half with his bare hand. Afterward, road administration personnel arrived quickly, cleared and removed the broken tree, and gave Grandpa Zhao a stern lecture."

"Several hikers climbing Longquan Mountain at night claimed to have witnessed a bizarre celestial phenomenon above the distant Yunfeng Mountain, stating they saw a giant snake over forty meters long engaged in a fierce battle with a mysterious weapon. The individuals insisted they had captured evidence but were unable to provide any video or photographic material. After an investigation by the Security Bureau, it was preliminarily determined that the hikers had mistakenly ingested hallucinogenic fungi, resulting in a collective hallucination."

Bizarre news stories were broadcast one after another, quietly seeping into the daily conversations of ordinary people.

The commotion from that battle at Yunfeng Mountain was simply too great, naturally catching the attention of those with ulterior motives.

However, the higher-ups clearly did not want to spread the news so suddenly; they only wanted to guide people slowly, allowing them to gradually accept the changes occurring in this world.

Gu Xiao entered Yunfeng Mountain without concealing his aura; therefore, he was able to meet Li Xiuyuan quite smoothly.

"You don't need to look at me with such heavy hostility."

Facing this colossal creature once again, Gu Xiao still felt pressure like a mountain.

He stood not far away, trying his best to appear composed.

Li Xiuyuan watched him quietly, neither moving nor making a sound. Those brown, vertical pupils were deep and calm, as if waiting for an explanation.

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Gu Xiao, and I am from the Xia Kingdom's Jiantian Bureau. You might not fully understand what the Xia Kingdom means, but this land we are on is the territory of the Xia Kingdom."

Worried that Li Xiuyuan might not grasp these concepts, he deliberately slowed his speech, explaining things as simply as possible.

Li Xiuyuan still did not interrupt, nor did he show any impatience, just watching him quietly like that.

Just from this gaze alone, Gu Xiao felt the pressure increase by a few notches. Those snake eyes were too deep, deep enough to seemingly see through the human heart.

He continued, "Twenty years ago, the Xia Kingdom detected signs of the spiritual energy resurgence. From that time on, the higher-ups secretly established a special department: the Jiantian Bureau."

This department is independent of all other agencies and reports only to the highest decision-making level. Their duty is to monitor the extraordinary Rising Beingss appearing across the country, record changes in spiritual energy concentration, and assess the threat level of each creature.

"When necessary, for instance, if certain Rising Beingss are bloodthirsty and cruel, posing a significant threat to humanity, extreme measures must be taken to eliminate them."

At this point, Gu Xiao noticed that Li Xiuyuan's gaze was gradually turning cold, and a glint of chill flashed through those vertical pupils.

He quickly explained, "But the person who wanted to kill you was not from the Jiantian Bureau, but from another department. I still don't know why he would suddenly attack you."

Ever since he reported Li Xiuyuan's situation, he had become the person specifically responsible for monitoring Li Xiuyuan. In his report, his assessment of Li Xiuyuan was that his temperament was relatively stable, his intelligence had awakened, and it was unlikely he would kill innocent people indiscriminately.

Since the resurgence of spiritual energy, various Rising Beingss have appeared successively within countries across the globe. Some nations, in pursuit of absolute safety, chose the simplest and crudest method: carpet bombing with missiles and artillery saturation.

Even though those Rising Beingss possessed astonishing power, in the face of the overwhelming rain of steel and fire, they ultimately had no possibility of survival.

The Xia Kingdom initially had similar thoughts; after all, the population on this land is too dense, and any uncontrollable factor is a huge hazard. But after the highest decision-making level convened several meetings with various personnel, they finally issued a secret directive:

"For those Rising Beingss that are cruel and impossible to communicate with, do not waste time; eliminate them directly with heavy firepower."

"As for those who are gentle in temperament, have awakened intelligence, and are capable of communication, spare them for now, continue to observe, and see how things develop."

The intention behind this was actually not hard to guess.

After all, no one knows what a world where spiritual energy truly exists looks like. Only in those long-sealed ancient texts are there fragmented, vague records.

From the beginning of the spiritual energy resurgence until now, there are six powerful Rising Beingss recorded by the Jiantian Bureau. They are classified by strength; Li Xiuyuan is currently preliminarily assessed as Level 3, the level referred to as "Demon."

Entities that can be listed at this level are almost all extraordinary. Once Li Xiuyuan's complete observation data is fully reported, he should become the seventh powerful creature recorded by the Jiantian Bureau.

After listening to Gu Xiao's explanation, Li Xiuyuan gradually organized many scattered clues into clarity.

Lu Hong's attack was indeed unrelated to Gu Xiao.

The spiritual energy concentration in Yunfeng Mountain was unusual and had long been eyed by others. Jin Shouyi, under the guise of developing Yunfeng Mountain, wanted to claim this territory for himself, but he didn't expect the people of Lin Family Village to stubbornly refuse to relocate. Thus, he sent those thugs.

The result was that bloody incident in Lin Family Village.

Ordinary people only assumed the bloody incident that night was caused by wild beasts, but that man named Lu Hong clearly saw some clues, which is why he made Jin Shouyi act as bait to lure him out.

Furthermore, he himself had never really hidden that well.

During the flash flood that day, he appeared in full view of everyone to save that old man. There were actually not a few people who had truly seen him.

Gu Xiao sensed that Li Xiuyuan's gaze was gradually becoming less cold, and he felt a slight relief in his heart.

He knew that there was a possibility for negotiation.

"Lu Hong's identity is not simple."

"Since he died, it will definitely attract more trouble."

Gu Xiao's voice dropped, "But I can help you block these troubles. As long as the Jiantian Bureau issues an order, no one will investigate Lu Hong's death any further."

He looked directly into those huge vertical pupils.

The reason Gu Xiao had rushed over overnight was because he could feel Li Xiuyuan's uniqueness.

Lu Hong was from the Mysterious Investigation Bureau. Since he died, the Mysterious Investigation Bureau would definitely intervene. Once those people used heavy firepower, no matter how strong Li Xiuyuan was, he would not survive.

In the face of modern war machines, with a round of missile carpet bombing and a round of artillery saturation, Li Xiuyuan would only be putting up a desperate, futile struggle.

The resurgence of spiritual energy sounds very frightening, as if one could ascend to the heavens or dive into the earth and be omnipotent. But what kind of era is this? One missile, and you'd be blown to dust.

It is still far too early to cultivate to the realm of being impervious to swords and guns.

Li Xiuyuan was silent for a long time.

In the end, he chose to believe Gu Xiao.

No, to be precise, what he believed in was that faint, elusive aura on Gu Xiao's body.

That was the aura belonging to a Rising Beings.

Gu Xiao was not a pure human, or rather, on this person's body, there was something hidden that did not belong to humans.

One man and one snake, under the moonlight of Yunfeng Mountain, reached a silent contract.

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away, in the mountain hollow where Lu Hong died, two figures appeared in the remains of the tragic battlefield. One tall and one short.

The short one looked around, observing the mess everywhere, the broken ancient trees, the shattered mountain rocks, and the deep gullies in the ground, unable to help but click his tongue: "What a brutal battle. What kind of thing did Lu Hong provoke?"

The tall one did not answer, lowering his head to carefully photograph every trace with his mobile phone, his voice low: "Reptilian, very large size."

"Heh." The short one sneered, his schadenfreude undisguised. "This arrogant, stupid dog, wearing sunglasses all day and pretending to be some expert. He died, right? Serves him right."

The tall one did not answer and searched carefully again. A moment later, he frowned slightly: "I didn't find his family's heirloom ancient coin. It's probably lost somewhere; it's like looking for a needle in a haystack, hard to find."

The short one dusted off his pant legs, unconcerned: "We can look for it if we get a chance. With such a brutal battle, Yunfeng Mountain probably has a Level 3 Demon-grade Rising Beings. No wonder Sixth Uncle and Qiu Qian and the others went missing; they're probably long dead."

He paused, then suddenly turned his head to look in another direction, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes. "By the way, Brother, there is an aura of a supreme treasure at Phoenix Mountain. Did you sense it?"

The short one licked his lips: "I feel like it might be an heirloom from our ancient ancestors."

The tall one finished taking the last photo, raised his head, and glanced coldly at his younger brother: "Don't get any crooked ideas. I'm going back to report, and you go to Phoenix Mountain to keep watch."

"Alright, alright, I'll go watch." The short one chuckled, but the greed in his eyes grew even stronger.

He looked again in the direction of Phoenix Mountain, his voice filled with undisguised desire, "This region is truly a blessed land. It just went through a fierce battle, yet the spiritual energy content hasn't decreased at all. And the neighboring Phoenix Mountain even has the aura of a supreme treasure."

The tall one also raised his head, looking toward the mountain range bathed in moonlight, his gaze far-reaching: "Yes, it is truly a blessed land."

If only they could claim this place for themselves, renovate it, and turn it into a paradise belonging exclusively to the Qiu Family, how wonderful that would be.