Meng Qi almost burst into laughter. Frankly speaking, after confirming that the Demon Emperor’s will intended to encourage him to become a Legend as soon as possible, entering the Demon Emperor Hall didn’t seem dangerous anymore, and agreeing to accompany Chui Yizi wasn’t a big deal.
However, they were merely old acquaintances without any real friendship, so the principle of cause and effect had to come first.
“Poor Daoist calculated with a finger, and today is not suitable for entering again,” Meng Qi said solemnly.
Chui Yizi let go of his robe corner and asked in confusion, “When did you calculate with your finger?”
Before he could continue, Meng Qi decisively replied, “In my mind!”
“When you meet Xiao Hu Li, the Fox Heir of the Demon Sage, tell her that I have something to discuss with her, and then contact me to accompany you into the Demon Emperor Hall.”
“Tsk, no sight, no action. We always thought you were someone special back then. Fine, once I meet Xiao Hu Li, I will contact you. Uh, how should I contact you?” Chui Yizi flapped his wings.
Meng Qi casually took out another Myriad World Universal Communication Talisman and gave a few instructions on how to use it: “…As long as you are not inside the Demon Emperor Hall, you can contact me.”
At this point, his expression turned serious: “In the future, if I encounter you harming the human race, I will personally eliminate the threat!”
Chui Yizi’s lips trembled: “Can’t I just be vegetarian? What about eating fish? Or beef…”
He fired off a string of questions, but Meng Qi had anticipated this. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and stepped into the spring, returning to the East Sea.
…
Inside the Jade Emptiness Palace on Kunlun Mountain, Meng Qi had just sat cross-legged, taking out a shard of the Heaven Mirror, preparing to use the “Thunder God Other Self” characteristics from the Hegemon to sense the “A-nan Other Self” imprint, thus shortening the time required to leave his own “Other Self Mark.”
Just then, the Myriad World Universal Communication Talisman suddenly made a sound—it was a call request from Chui Yizi.
“Did you meet Xiao Hu Li so quickly?” Meng Qi asked casually.
Chui Yizi’s tone was quite excited: “Not yet! I just found the Myriad World Universal Communication extremely interesting—forums, live streams, the Myriad World Mall, all especially fun, perfectly suited for a divine beast like me who excels at communication. I replied to every post on every forum earlier and got banned for spamming. I can’t talk anymore. Can you help me lift the ban? Also, how do I get Yuanhuang Coins? I’ve got my eyes on quite a few good items…”
He chattered on endlessly, a classic chatterbox. Meng Qi’s expression remained blank, once again wanting to slap himself. Why had he given this guy the Myriad World Universal Communication Talisman, along with his contact information? Wasn’t that actively inviting noise attacks?
Once he got in touch with Xiao Hu Li, he would immediately block this guy!
“Hold on a moment. This poor Daoist will find a professional to assist you.” Meng Qi cut off Chui Yizi mid-sentence and decisively redirected the communication from Chui Yizi to the Myriad World Talisman connected to the gatekeeper Da Qinggen.
“Da Qinggen, from now on, handle Chui Yizi’s calls—the descendant of the Kunpeng. Only forward to me when there’s concrete news about Xiao Hu Li, the Fox Heir of the Demon Sage, or other useful clues,” he instructed.
Da Qinggen immediately stood straight: “Yes, Reverend Master!”
A descendant of the Kunpeng? What a treasure! His mind stirred, and his tone instinctively turned cordial: “Hey, Chui Yizi? This is your great-uncle. We used to be on equal footing with the Demon Sage!”
Meng Qi let out a sigh of relief, withdrew his divine sense, calmed his mind, and a single point of spiritual light naturally emerged, entering the Dao Yi Glazed Lamp. It rotated with black and white radiance, burning with the characteristics of the “Thunder God Avatar.”
The glow of the Dao Yi Glazed Lantern spread, illuminating the shard of the Heaven Mirror, unveiling layers of darkness and the illusion of a cosmos.
After an unknown amount of time, Meng Qi softly uttered, “Hmm?”
…
A kerosene lamp sat on the table, emitting a much brighter light than candles or oil lamps, with an excellent structure that shielded against wind. The only annoying aspect was the smell produced while burning, although some people had peculiar preferences and especially liked this scent—Gu Liang was one of them.
He leaned back on his bed, deeply inhaling the smell of burning kerosene, his gaze shifting to the deep blue wool police uniform on the chair. In three days, next Monday, he would finally shed his probationary status and become a full officer of the Far East Police Department, also known as the “New Scotland Yard.”
He wondered which department he would be assigned to? Hopefully, the Criminal Investigation Division or the Organized Crime Investigation Section… Gu Liang imagined his future, feeling both excited and anxious.
Regardless, once he became a full officer, his salary would double to thirty silver dollars, allowing him to no longer live so frugally.
Living alone in the most prosperous city of the Far East District was indeed no easy feat!
Ending his daydreaming, Gu Liang picked up the book beside him and started reading. It was a copy of “Strange Tales of the Spirit Cultivation World,” compiled by the Western Spirit Cultivation Society, borrowed from a colleague. He was particularly drawn to ghost and horror novels, especially those that presented absurd stories with a straight face.
“In the spirit cultivation world, there are seven acknowledged Demon Lords,” the opening line immediately caught Gu Liang’s attention. This was the first time he had heard of such a concept.
“The Core of Chaos, the eldest Demon Lord, is the origin of all sins, the source of corruption, and the chief of all devils…”
“The Gate of All Gates, the Evil Sage, the Lord of the Labyrinth of Time and Space—all are titles of the same Demon Lord. He appeared relatively late, no earlier than thirty years ago, but possesses the most bewitching power, the most maddening knowledge, and connects countless gates to all demonic realms and outer domains…”
“The Dark Mother, the Creator of All Beings, the mother of all demons and demon kings…”
“The Great Demon of Fear, the oldest and strongest emotion of all living beings is fear…”
“The One Who Returns All, the apocalyptic Demon Lord who returns everything to chaos…”
“The Faceless Pharaoh, the Demon Lord who emerged from the Black Continent, the only one to ascend to Demon Lord while still in human form. He was the culprit behind the deaths of countless beings on the Black Continent, leaving its civilization stuck in a primitive and savage state to this day…”
“The Fallen God, once the protector of humanity, the creator of civilization, the supreme deity for thousands of years, who fell from his throne, became tainted with evil, and transformed into the craziest and bloodthirstiest Demon Lord. The reason for his fall remains unknown, but it is suspected to be related to the lost three hundred years of history in the Far East…”
Just reading the introduction of the Seven Demon Lords gave Gu Liang a thrilling and heart-pounding sensation, and the description of the Fallen God especially evoked a sigh from him.
Indeed, it was precisely because the Far East civilization had regressed, its history shrouded in darkness and ignorance, leaving behind only written records and a few ancient texts, that it had become a mere district of the West, its culture completely overshadowed. Even the Far East Police Department had adopted the name “New Scotland Yard” to show its connection with the Western Scotland Yard.
There were no gods to worship, not even folk tales of demons and ghosts—this aspect was completely blank, easily occupied by Western spirit cultivation societies and various divine churches, filled with legends like those of the Seven Demon Lords.
Every time Gu Liang thought about history, he felt a deep sense of nostalgia and lament.
Quietly reading until bedtime, he slept through the night without incident. The next day, Gu Liang put on his blue wool police uniform, fastened the armband bearing only a sword-shaped symbol, his name, and his probationary officer number, picked up his baton, exited his room, descended the stairs, and stepped onto the street.
Morning mist was thin on the street, with people coming and going—horse-drawn carriages with four or two wheels, rickshaws pulled by men, and occasionally a novel sight of bicycles. Overhead in the center of the road ran rows of electric wires.
After waiting for a while, Gu Liang saw the trolley approaching from afar. He adjusted his wool coat collar, preparing to board, when he spotted a large, fat officer in the same uniform stepping down.
“Good morning, Chief Huang,” Gu Liang instinctively stood up straight and saluted.
Chief Huang Yuanbo glanced at Gu Liang: “Good. No need to go to New Scotland Yard. There’s a murder nearby. You can come along and observe. The others will arrive shortly.”
Gu Liang felt a surge of excitement but also nervousness, as murder scenes inevitably meant corpses!
Sure enough, upon arriving at the crime scene at Sanchuan Inn, Gu Liang saw a charred corpse, the smell nearly making him vomit.
Chief Huang instructed Gu Liang not to touch anything recklessly while putting on white gloves to examine the body and surrounding objects.
Gu Liang’s eyes shifted from the corpse to the side, where he noticed an open suitcase filled with exquisite and beautiful pocket watches.
“A watch merchant?” he speculated about the victim’s identity.
“Very wealthy…” Chief Huang added, as he opened the briefcase beside the body, revealing golden bars that emitted a dazzling glow, making both men’s eyes widen.
Swallowing hard, Chief Huang glanced at Gu Liang, suddenly regretting bringing the young man along.
Once the others arrived, he would have enough time to manipulate the scene!
He composed himself and carefully examined the body, puzzled: “Why does it look like he was struck by lightning?”
“There hasn’t been any thunder these days…” Gu Liang blurted out instinctively.
“That’s exactly why it’s strange. He has lightning strike marks on his body.” Chief Huang noticed that one of the victim’s hands was tightly clenched and opened it, revealing a silvery thin plate with strange patterns and buttons, exuding an eerie beauty.
“Is this a clue?” Gu Liang stared intently.
In weather without thunder or lightning, this watch merchant had actually been struck dead by lightning?
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