Chapter 548 - 352: Worsening

At this very moment, somewhere in South Mansion.

A colossal Evil Spirit, nearly fifteen meters tall, was roaming the city. The Evil Spirit had a bloated body and disheveled hair, and its entire form was covered in bizarre eyes that constantly swiveled, peering at its surroundings.

BOOM!! BOOM!!

It possessed terrifying strength. The ground sank wherever its massive body passed, and vibrations shook the area. Buildings collapsed with a crash as it brushed against them, causing immense destruction to the urban area of South Mansion. If the nearby citizens hadn’t already been evacuated, the death toll would have been astronomical.

Of the thirty-five Evil Spirit outbreaks in the city, six had reached Grade A. This meant the Evil Spirits were capable of threatening Innate Martial Artists. However, Evil Spirits were still just Evil Spirits. If the goal was simply to stall them for a short time, control their area of movement, and minimize damage, an Innate Expert wasn’t necessarily required. With the enhancement of the Power of the City God, an elite team of Sensing Realm experts could handle the containment.

But among the six outbreaks, three were special. Their threat level had surpassed Grade A. Ordinary Sensing teams and even some Innate Experts would struggle to deal with them; they required experts from among the Innate Realm to be matched.

This Evil Spirit, provisionally codenamed "Multi-Eye," was one of them.

"Our attacks can’t restrict its movements. Its body has extremely high defense, and any injuries it sustains heal almost instantly. Even severed limbs regenerate in moments. Furthermore, Sealing Techniques are ineffective; it transfers them by severing that part of its Flesh Body."

"This damn thing seems to ignore our attacks completely. We can’t draw its aggro. It just keeps moving toward populated areas."

"Also, it seems to have some sort of growth ability. Its size has increased dramatically since it first appeared. If we let it continue, the situation will become dire."

"Sir, what are your orders?"

A team from the Celestial Net Department was positioned near the Evil Spirit. Their leader was a tall figure from the Department, dressed in a black robe and wearing a Dragon Form mask.

Chen Long, one of the Twelve Earthly Branches of the Celestial Net Department.

Watching the Evil Spirit continue its rapid advance toward the crowd, Chen Long frowned deeply. Evil Spirits with such bizarre properties were the most difficult to handle. If they couldn’t figure out its pattern, its threat was terrifying, reaching at least a Grade A-plus level.

’This Evil Spirit cannot be left unchecked, or it will become a catastrophe. There seems to be turmoil all over the city. The orders were to contain this Evil Spirit as quickly as possible and then reinforce other areas, but it looks like that won’t be possible anytime soon.’

Chen Long muttered to himself.

The situation was the same at two other locations. In one, bizarre phantoms released from ninety-nine lotus lanterns were causing havoc. Within a certain area, if a lantern’s light went out, it would unleash a terrifying corruption upon its surroundings, simultaneously proliferating by creating Clones. The affected area was enormous, covering several thousand meters. With lotus lanterns now scattered all over South Mansion, it was practically the enemy’s home turf. This threat was even harder to contain than the multi-eyed Evil Spirit and had completely tied down "C," one of the Ten Celestial Stems of the Celestial Net Department. Meanwhile, Yin Hu, another of the Twelve Earthly Branches, was trapped by a different Evil Spirit incident.

The forces sent to preside over South Mansion this time included Marquis Xuanping and Marquis Wei Lie, as well as seven Innate Experts from the Celestial Net Department—three from the Ten Celestial Stems and four from the Twelve Earthly Branches. Among them, Si Snake had been sacrificed during an intelligence-gathering mission. In addition, twelve of Marquis Wei Lie’s thirty-six Clones were within the city walls, three of which had reached the Innate Realm. Thus, not counting the Innate Experts stationed at the Nine Altars of Suppression outside the city, the number of Innate Martial Artists within South Mansion’s walls had reached as many as twelve.

This should have been a formidable number, but now, the various Evil Spirit incidents across the city had already tied down three Innate Martial Artists.

Meanwhile, in the areas near the Twelve Pillars within the city.

Following intelligence provided by Zhu Xie, twelve black-robed individuals each sought out their respective targets.

The three Innate Clones of Ten Thousand Laws Inference, as well as the remaining six Innate Experts, were each simultaneously approached by one of the black-robed figures.

Meanwhile, the remaining Clones of Ten Thousand Laws Inference at the Sensing Realm were also targeted by elite Sensing teams from the Yin Tower Organization.

Inside the South Mansion Garrison Command.

"A large number of Yin Tower Believers have appeared around the Twelve Pillars, launching surprise attacks on our undercover teams. It seems they’ve somehow learned our exact deployments. Most importantly, the Innate Experts stationed at various locations, as well as Marquis Wei Lie’s Clones, have all been tied down by experts who suddenly appeared on the enemy’s side."

"Their ranks include nine Innate level fighters and three at the Peak of Sensing, all of whom are extremely powerful."

A subordinate appeared beside Yang Zhongyuan, speaking in an urgent tone.

"What?"

Yang Zhongyuan’s pupils contracted. ’Besides summoning Evil Spirits, the enemy actually has this many Innate Martial Artist-level combatants?’

"What is the situation at the Twelve Pillars? The people manning the main Arrays should be able to achieve Innate Level combat power by relying on the formations. They should be fine for a short while."

Yang Zhongyuan asked quickly.

"There are no signs of attack on the Twelve Pillars for now. And according to our intelligence reports, it seems the enemy’s target isn’t the location of the Twelve Pillars."

The subordinate reported.

’Not the location of the Twelve Pillars? What are they trying to do?’

Yang Zhongyuan’s eyes narrowed as a bad feeling welled up inside him. He looked toward the outskirts of the city.

’Haven’t Marquis Xuanping and Marquis Wei Lie dealt with their opponents yet? Even figures of their caliber are being held up?’

The ominous premonition grew stronger. As a Peak of Innate Martial Artist, he was supposed to remain at the command center to direct the overall situation and couldn’t act rashly. But at this point, he felt he could no longer afford to just wait.