Lin Luochen and Leng Yueshuang didn't even bother with breakfast and hurried to the City Lord's Mansion.
The Murong sisters didn't understand why, but they still followed.
The group of four arrived at the morgue, only to see that the body of the demonized person was shriveled like dry wood, completely devoid of any blood.
Leng Yueshuang said in disbelief, "What exactly is going on?"
Xu Zhen also said with an incredulous look, "We guarded outside all night, and when we came in this morning, it was like this."
"This person was able to sneak in without us knowing, at least a Soul Emergence cultivator!"
Leng Yueshuang's expression changed slightly; she and Lin Luochen had been guarding here last night and were certain no one had entered.
Let alone a Nascent Soul cultivator, even a Soul Emergence cultivator wouldn't be able to do anything under her nose.
Could it be that the demonic creature here had a higher cultivation than her?
Lin Luochen stepped forward and weighed it, finding that this person was not completely shriveled like other corpses and still had some weight.
"Leng Xianzi, is there any residual blood in his body?"
Leng Yueshuang used her magic to investigate and said in surprise, "There's still a little bit left, but it's negligible."
Lin Luochen recalled the buried victims, who also had their essence blood sucked dry without any signs of disturbed earth, and a glint flashed in his eyes.
"City Lord Xu, please send people to check if there are any similar situations with dead animals in the city."
Xu Zhen didn't expect this kid to dare to order him around, but he still instructed his subordinates to investigate.
After all, didn't Leng Xianzi obediently listen to him?
This kid has some ability!
Not only was he not sucked dry, but he also made Leng Xianzi so compliant. Does he have a special talent in some area?
Soon, a subordinate hurried back to report that there were indeed strange occurrences in Qing Shi City where chickens, ducks, fish, and meat left overnight became unusually shriveled.
However, because it didn't happen often, and most livestock were killed and cooked on the spot, it didn't attract much attention.
Lin Luochen immediately understood, and his expression became even more serious.
"It seems this person didn't personally act but used special means to absorb blood qi from a distance."
Leng Yueshuang hummed, muttering, "To be able to do this, it's either a massive formation or a special magic treasure!"
She looked at Xu Zhen and instructed, "City Lord Xu, send people to catch some livestock, kill them, and place them around the city to observe the situation."
Xu Zhen understood her meaning and hesitated, "Leng Xianzi, how wide should this range be?"
Leng Yueshuang said without hesitation, "The wider, the better!"
Xu Zhen complied, but the few people gathered around the killed chickens didn't see any blood qi loss.
Murong Xiazhu speculated, "Could it be that it only takes effect at night? If it worked during the day, everyone would have discovered it long ago."
Leng Yueshuang agreed deeply and said indifferently, "City Lord Xu, you stay here and watch. I'll go out and see if I can find that formation!"
Xu Zhen responded, and Leng Yueshuang led Lin Luochen and the others out of the city, trying to find the possible formation.
After all, a magic treasure can be put away, but such a large formation is not so easy to hide.
The group of four walked through the streets, noticing that there were even fewer pedestrians than yesterday.
Although Xu Zhen tried his best to block the news, paper couldn't wrap fire, and people kept fleeing.
Seeing Leng Yueshuang heading purposefully out of the city, Murong Qiuzhi couldn't help but feel a little curious.
"Lin Gongzi, aren't we looking for a formation? Why are we leaving the city?"
Lin Luochen shook his head and said, "The formation isn't necessarily in the city; it could be outside!"
Murong Qiuzhi was stunned for a moment, and Lin Luochen explained, "Those victims weren't buried in the city, yet they were still sucked dry."
"If it really is a formation that's doing the sucking, and this formation can cover the entire Qing Shi City, it's very likely set up outside the city."
Murong Qiuzhi suddenly understood, "So that's how it is, Lin Gongzi, you're so smart!"
Lin Luochen said helplessly, "Qiuzhi Guniang (Miss Qiuzhi) overpraises me; anyone who knows a bit about cultivation could think of this."
Murong Xiazhu, who had completely failed to think of it due to insufficient information, felt offended.
The group quickly left the city, and Leng Yueshuang rode her flying boat into the sky, overlooking the entire Qing Shi City.
Qing Shi City was located in a basin, surrounded by mountains, mostly composed of bluestone.
Many places had been mined, exposing blue soil and rocks.
If there was any formation, the greatest possibility was on the surrounding mountains.
But the four searched around and still found nothing, no trace of any formation.
Lin Luochen couldn't see any clues, so he could only ask for external... internal help.
"Qu Lingyin, have you noticed any clues?"
Qu Lingyin's tone was somewhat solemn, "Ask Leng Yueshuang if she can investigate the situation underground."
Lin Luochen asked Leng Yueshuang as instructed. Leng Yueshuang randomly found a place to land, released her divine sense, but frowned.
"The soil here is a bit strange; my divine sense can only penetrate about ten zhang, but there are no traces of formation patterns within ten zhang."
Lin Luochen was deep in thought. At this moment, Rat crawled out of his embrace and squeaked a few times, pointing at the ground.
Lin Luochen looked at its tender little paws and hesitated, "Rat, can you still burrow?"
Rat nodded, jumped down from him, and with its tiny paws, it dug into the ground and disappeared in an instant.
Lin Luochen and the others watched dumbfounded, and Murong Qiuzhi worriedly said, "Will Rat be okay?"
Lin Luochen hesitated, "It should be fine, right?"
The group curiously gathered around the hole, and Leng Yueshuang said strangely, "When did you get a spirit beast?"
Lin Luochen confessed, "I picked it up in the Broken Moon Mountain Range; thanks to this little guy, I got out."
Leng Yueshuang suddenly understood and smiled, "You are quite fortunate!"
Lin Luochen smiled and didn't reply, just quietly watching the pit.
Half an hour later, just as Lin Luochen was burning with anxiety, even suspecting that Rat had met with some misfortune.
Rat ran back from a distance, panting, covered in green mud and grass clippings, looking disheveled.
Lin Luochen breathed a sigh of relief, "Rat, are you okay?"
Rat shook its head, vigorously shaking its fur, then pointed at the green mud on the ground, squeaking incessantly.
Lin Luochen and the others exchanged glances, and Leng Yueshuang curiously asked, "What is it saying?"
Lin Luochen smiled awkwardly but politely, "I don't know either!"
Seeing that he couldn't understand, Rat began to draw on the ground, sketching out thin pipelines.
Everyone was puzzled, and Murong Qiuzhi hesitated, "Is there an underground river below?"
Rat nodded repeatedly, apparently it had swum in the underground river for a while before coming up from another place.
Everyone looked at the part of the underground river it had drawn, but they couldn't see any clues.
It was intricate and complex, not at all like a formation; instead, it resembled meridians.
But this was clearly not a formation, which greatly disappointed Lin Luochen and the others.
Just as they were about to continue expanding their search, they saw Murong Xichen rushing over on his sword with an anxious expression.
He visibly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them, and as he flew towards them, he shouted.
"Leng Xianzi, several people in the city have suddenly become demonized, and we are truly exhausted. Please, Xianzi, lend a helping hand!"
