< Chapter 73: Disappearance of the Demon Cultivator >
Huoshi Forest.
“Shadow demon cultivator, where did the shadow demon cultivator go?!” Chi Dun searched everywhere.
The same action was being performed by the Golden Core cultivators of the three great families.
Fei Si’s face was ashen. He had never anticipated this outcome and sternly ordered, “Search! Dig three feet into the ground if you must, but find that demon cultivator!”
Under the eyes of the public, the shadow demon cultivator had vanished without a trace!
Fei Si was furious with shame.
This task was botched!
All the city’s citizens knew that the City Lord’s Mansion had been fooled. After meticulously setting up such a grand plan, in the end, they caught nothing.
“This shouldn’t have happened, it shouldn’t have!” Fei Si gnashed his teeth, looking towards Zhu Xuanji in the distance.
After thinking it over, Fei Si flew towards Zhu Xuanji.
Previously, Zhu Xuanji had ordered him to activate the formation, saving Yuan Dasheng’s life, which had put Fei Si in an awkward position. But now, the shadow demon cultivator’s disappearance was a matter far more significant than Fei Si’s personal dignity.
Fei Si understood the gravity of the situation and immediately set aside his grievances against Zhu Xuanji, forcing a smile as he inquired, “Lord Zhu, you were observing the whole time. Did your Celestial Golden Eyes see anything?”
Zhu Xuanji shook his head. “No discoveries at all.”
“If someone were hiding, they would have shown themselves under my Golden Eyes.”
“Throughout the whole process, there were no suspicious individuals. I can only infer that the shadow demon cultivator had already left Huoshi Forest before all this.”
Upon hearing this, Fei Si’s brows furrowed deeply, and he instinctively denied it vehemently, “No, he’s definitely still here!”
Zhu Xuanji’s inference was the worst possible news for him.
Because he was in charge of the Huoshi Forest, he was akin to the warden, but the prisoner escaped without him knowing anything.
For this Huoshi Festival, Fei Si went to great lengths, but ended up with nothing, making the entire City Lord’s Mansion a laughingstock.
At this moment, Chi Dun flew over and severely rebuked, “Fei Si, if you hadn’t stopped me at the time, I would have chased down that demon cultivator and eliminated him that night!”
“It was all your insistence on maintaining calm and minimizing losses. Now look, the Shadow Demon Cultivator has escaped! How exactly did you manage the Huoshi Forest?”
Fei Si snorted coldly, “Setting other matters aside, the Huoshi Forest’s successful harvest—tell me, has this vast wealth been preserved?”
“Furthermore, the formation has been active throughout, recording everything, and can withstand any inspection.”
“If it is indeed found that the Shadow Demon Cultivator escaped due to my negligence, I will accept the punishment and voluntarily plead guilty to the City Lord!”
At this moment, the Zhou family’s Golden Core Patriarch also flew over. “The formation’s records, of course, need to be checked.”
The Zhou Patriarch’s expression was also grim.
Although the City Lord’s Mansion was the biggest laughingstock at the moment, the three major families and their Golden Core cultivators were also left empty-handed and disgraced.
The Zhou Patriarch continued, “The key issue now is whether the Shadow Demon Cultivator escaped from the formation earlier, or if he slipped away right under our noses today.”
“From my understanding of formation principles, the Huoshi Forest formation is intricate and tightly connected with the Immortal City’s grand formation, exceedingly thorough and rigorous.”
“If I were the Shadow Demon Cultivator, even if I could break the formation, it would certainly cause a commotion. Escaping so quietly—is this really something a Golden Core cultivator could achieve?”
For a moment, Fei Si, Zhu Xuanji, and Chi Dun all fell into silence. The three of them were struck by a terrifying possibility—
If the Shadow Demon Cultivator had indeed left earlier, perhaps someone had secretly opened the formation and let him escape!
The highest authority over the Immortal City’s grand formation rested with the City Lord, and Fei Si, who guarded the Huoshi Forest, also had control over this complex formation.
Moreover, several formation pillars of the Immortal City’s grand formation were located within the residential areas of the three major families. Therefore, the three major families could also manipulate the formation and secretly release the Shadow Demon Cultivator.
If this were true, the situation would be serious.
A lone Golden Core demon cultivator compared to a cultivation family was an entirely different matter!
Zhu Xuanji looked at the Zhou family’s Patriarch, thinking to himself, “The City Lord’s Mansion is almost impossible. They have no motive.”
“As for the three major families, each one is suspicious.”
“On one hand, the City Lord’s Mansion has always held the upper hand in the competition for the Lava Immortal Palace. On the other hand, the three major families definitely do not want to see the Lava Immortal Palace acquired by the City Lord, thereby allowing the Meng family to settle in Huoshi Immortal City!”
“If it is indeed one or several of the three families, then the Zhou family is the most suspicious.”
“In terms of formations, the Zhou family; in terms of weapons, the Zheng family; and in terms of talismans, the Ning family—the Zhou family is the most skilled in formations.”
The Zhou family’s Patriarch appeared forthright as he continued, “Let’s temporarily set aside the possibility that the Shadow Demon Cultivator escaped earlier.”
“There were indeed some questionable points during today’s Huoshi harvest.”
“That’s right!” Chi Dun immediately nodded, understanding what the Zhou Patriarch was referring to.
Earlier, a dozen Mechanical Apes suddenly went berserk, breaking free from the control of the Foundation Establishment cultivators and all attacking the current leader of the Monkey Head Gang, Yuan Er.
This anomaly was witnessed by all the Golden Core cultivators. They held back, while Fei Si handled it decisively, immediately activating the formation and exterminating all the Mechanical Apes.
The Zhou family’s Patriarch continued, “Why did those Mechanical Apes riot? Who exactly controlled them?”
“After the Mechanical Apes were destroyed, the old ape of the Monkey Head Gang made a mistake, triggering the self-destruction of a section of the millennium-old Huoshi Forest.”
“Was it really a mistake? Or was it influenced by some spell or magical artifact?”
“Did the Shadow Demon Cultivator use the explosion to distract us and escape in the chaos?”
Fei Si immediately waved his hand, activating the formation and calling up the recorded images of the event.
The Golden Core cultivators watched the footage several times but found nothing suspicious.
Fei Si said, “I will conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the Mechanical Apes’ loss of control.”
Zhu Xuanji added, “I monitored the situation with my Celestial Golden Eyes and confirmed that the old ape indeed made a mistake!”
Chi Dun frowned. “It’s a bit strange. This old ape has been the foundation of the Monkey Head Gang, harvesting Huoshi for many years. Initially, there were indeed some mistakes, but in recent years, it has always completed its tasks perfectly. Why did it make a mistake this time?”
Fei Si pondered for a moment before speaking, “Being of flesh and blood, mistakes are inevitable. The Monkey Head Gang has faced numerous targeted attacks recently, and Yuan Er was even ambushed before. The old ape might have been unsettled, leading to the mistake. It’s quite possible.”
As he said this, Fei Si thought of Ning Zhuo. Then, he remembered the forty percent profit share. He began to feel that this profit share was becoming slightly burdensome.
The Zhou family’s Patriarch then said, “Do you think the Shadow Demon Cultivator might have hidden inside the old ape?”
“Whether it was the sudden riot of the Mechanical Apes or the old ape’s mistake, it all led to a chain explosion.”
“The flames obscured our vision, and in that moment, the Shadow Demon Cultivator could have killed the old ape and hidden inside it.”
At this point, the Zhou family’s Patriarch turned his gaze towards Zhu Xuanji.
“There is one thing I don’t understand. I dare to ask, why did Lord Zhu save that old ape?”
For a moment, the others also turned their eyes towards Zhu Xuanji.
A hint of schadenfreude flashed in Fei Si’s eyes.