Chapter 135: The Hidden Conspiracy Beneath the Lights?
Fei Wu, who had been appearing relaxed just a moment ago, suddenly shivered from head to toe.
“Who’s there!”
In an instant, cold sweat drenched his back.
Though he looked calm, chatting idly with the others, Fei Wu had been a Six Gates constable for many years. Now, standing in this perilous mountain forest where dangerous demonic beasts might appear at any time, he had never truly lowered his guard.
Yet the figure before him had appeared without warning—even while he was fully alert.
A master!
Almost instinctively, Fei Wu reached for the sword case at his back, ready to draw his weapon. The others behind him, though reacting a heartbeat slower, were also preparing to act.
“Don’t move!”
At that moment, a powerful repulsive force surged into being, enveloping all of them.
The force locked everyone in place—including Fei Wu—rendering them unable to move even a finger.
Terror flashed across Fei Wu’s eyes.
Earth Rank, Middle Grade!!
And definitely not an ordinary Earth Rank, Middle Grade!
He himself had one foot already stepping into the threshold of the Earth Rank, Upper Profound Grade. Given time, he would have become a mainstay of Yongzhou’s Six Gates.
Yet even so, this invisible force had immobilized him instantly.
The person before him was undoubtedly a formidable enemy!
With that thought, Fei Wu finally saw the true appearance of the enemy.
Before him stood a serpent demon over a hundred meters long, its twin pupils glacial and its head covered in scales resembling a human face.
An anaconda demon!
Upon recognizing it, a trace of despair flickered in Fei Wu’s heart.
He knew this serpent.
The “Locust” Operation had begun because two beloved disciples of Six Gates Master Zhu Dongfeng were slain by the Mountain Lord—the only Earth Rank demonic beast within a hundred miles—while on a mission nearby.
In his rage, Master Zhu and Jingchen from White Horse Temple had fought a fierce battle against the Mountain Lord, the regional demonic overlord.
Later, when Six Gates gathered intelligence, they discovered that apart from the Mountain Lord, another Earth Rank anaconda demon had been sighted in that area.
That Earth Rank, Lower Grade anaconda demon was suspected of devouring Wuzhen—their mission’s target—after killing him, and of destroying the Child-Giving Temple where he had been residing.
In other words, there were two recorded Earth Rank demonic beasts in this region: the Mountain Lord and the anaconda demon.
After the “Locust” Operation began, Zhu Dongfeng had focused on tracking the Mountain Lord, leaving little opportunity to deal with others of lower rank.
Thus, the only creature capable of inflicting heavy losses upon Profound Rank disciples was the recently sighted Earth Rank anaconda demon.
However, based on Six Gates’ intelligence, that anaconda demon had supposedly only just advanced to Earth Rank. Even if encountered, a group of disciples working together could still flee with minimal losses.
Furthermore, the anaconda’s movements were rarely seen; Six Gates concluded it likely preferred to remain in seclusion for cultivation rather than fight humans.
Yet now, standing before Fei Wu was clearly that same Earth Rank anaconda demon described in their reports!
And it was not a newly advanced Lower Grade—it was an immensely powerful Earth Rank, Middle Grade!!
Everyone trapped by Mo Lin’s power silently cursed in their hearts.
Who the hell compiled these Six Gates reports?!
They hadn’t even figured out the demon’s true strength—did they not realize that intelligence work was the most crucial part of any battle?!
Six Gates had dared to cooperate with the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring in launching the “Locust” Operation precisely because they believed they had mapped nearly all demonic activity within Yongzhou.
Through targeted hunts, they were confident they could force the demons to pay dearly.
And indeed, the early stages of the campaign had gone smoothly. But a single intelligence mistake had now thrown Fei Wu’s entire squad into dire peril!
They were doomed. Eight of them had fallen into a demon’s hands—there was no way this would end well.
Just as despair was spreading among them—
“Cough, cough.”
Fei Wu suddenly felt the constraining force around him loosen slightly, allowing him to at least speak freely.
It wanted to talk?
Snapping out of his shock, Fei Wu recalled that when this anaconda had first appeared, it had said something.
What had it said again?
It seemed to want him to repeat the gossip they had been chatting about earlier?
A jolt ran through him.
Wait—if it had heard their idle gossip, didn’t that mean it had already discovered them long ago and had been eavesdropping all this time?
Could it be that when they killed the Frog Demon and Rabbit Demon, it had been watching them the whole time?
Yet it had neither intervened to stop them nor struck preemptively.
Could the Six Gates intelligence have been right after all?
Maybe this anaconda demon truly had no interest in meddling in the ongoing human-demon war—at least at first.
Then what made it change its mind so suddenly and strike at them now?
There was only one reason—
The gossip it had just asked about.
Realizing this, Fei Wu almost wanted to drag his team up and thrash them all on the spot.
He had told them not to chatter—now look! Their gossip had brought trouble right to them!
They had been perfectly fine, but somehow managed to provoke a giant serpent with their loose tongues.
And this serpent was an odd one too—why so curious about mere gossip?
If Six Gates or the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring got wind of it, forget gossip—its life would be the next to go!
But inwardly complaining was one thing; Fei Wu knew full well that if he didn’t answer properly, his life would end here long before the Bureau or anyone else arrived.
So he quickly replied,
“I’m not particularly interested in this matter, so I don’t know much. I only heard our master mention it briefly.”
“It seems that a Heavenly Demon from the Yin River in the Western Regions has shown signs of disturbance. Rumor has it it’s about to travel the river and ascend to become an Innate Being.”
“Such an event—a Heavenly Demon traveling the river—is rare. If one’s strength is sufficient, they might even benefit from it. Many demons and humans have already begun heading to the Western Regions.”
“To ensure that the event doesn’t damage the infrastructure of the Western Regions when the Heavenly Demon truly travels the river, the local Six Gates is cooperating fully with the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring.”
Yin River?
Heavenly Demon?
Traveling the river?
Mo Lin’s expression shifted unpredictably.
Those three familiar words struck directly at his mind.
Half a month ago, after resolving matters with Jingyue and Qudeng, he had learned from Qudeng about the vital secret of the Yin Flood Dragon Heart’s Blood—
In the Western Regions’ Yin River, there dwelled a Flood Dragon named Yinrong, of Heaven Rank, Upper Grade, said to travel the river within three years.
And now, from the mouth of a Six Gates officer, he learned that a Heavenly Demon in the Yin River was about to travel the river.
Connecting these two events, Mo Lin felt not joy, but growing wariness.
A conspiracy?!