I became the demon of the female devil

Chapter 277 Empress: My Little Thief is the Best! The excited Princess!
Faced with Sun Chongli's ardent gaze, Chen Mo silently withdrew his hand and said, "Thank you for your appreciation, Chief Clerk Sun. As a second-class retainer of the Demon Suppression Division, I naturally have an obligation to assist in breaking the formation. However, I have been very busy with the affairs of the division recently and have been unable to spare the time. Once I have resolved my current matters, I will come to the Formation Department to help..."

"So good."

"With Lord Chen's words, I am relieved."

Sun Chongli's smile grew even brighter.

Although he was oblivious to what was happening around him, the recent commotion had been so great that he had learned a little about it.

Chen Mo was at the center of the vortex and naturally couldn't spare the time to deal with it all.

However, we've already endured so many years, so there's no rush.

With Chen Mo's deductive abilities and his unreasonable and powerful "intuition," he even surpasses this Grandmaster of Array Dao in breaking formations! With Chen Mo's assistance, the Array Dao Department will be even more powerful, and breaking the Eight Desolate Demon-Slaying Formation will be just around the corner!

“I know that Lord Chen has encountered some difficult circumstances. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.” Sun Chongli leaned closer, lowered his voice, and said, “I do have some influence with Her Majesty the Empress.”

"Oh?"

Chen Mo asked curiously, "Does Director Sun have connections in the palace?"

"I suppose so. We have a long time ahead of us, you'll find out eventually." Sun Chongli smiled, looking rather mysterious.

Chen Mo did not press the matter further. He got up from the bed, cupped his hands, and said, "I have official duties to attend to and cannot stay any longer. I will take my leave now."

"I'll see you off."

"Lord Chen, please."

Sun Chongli and Yuan Junfeng accompanied him out of the bedroom.

The members of the Array Dao Department followed silently behind him, their eyes filled with awe and worship as they watched his back. They were just like the group of alchemy fanatics in the Alchemy Department.

Ling Ningzhi, who was waiting outside, quickly came forward to greet everyone as they came out, and asked with concern, "Lord Chen, you're awake? Are you feeling better? Why don't you stay here and rest for a few more days before you leave?"

The room was packed with people; there wasn't even a place to stand.

Fortunately, Chen Mo was only short of soul power and was not seriously injured, otherwise she would have already asked her grandfather to come out.

"It's alright, I'll just go back and cultivate for a few days," Chen Mo said with a smile.

Upon hearing the word "cultivation," Ling Ningzhi's face inexplicably flushed. She gripped the hem of her dress with her slender hand and whispered, "Then when you cultivate with others, don't be too vigorous. Be careful not to overdo it. Your body is still weak; be careful not to leave any hidden injuries..."

"..."

I was talking about meditation. What was this girl thinking?

It seems that his image as a lecherous thief has been deeply ingrained in people's minds... Chen Mo's lips twitched. There were still people around, but he couldn't explain himself.

As they passed the front hall, they stopped in their tracks, only to see that the collapsed chariot had been restored to normal.

The buildings of Tiandu City are perfectly replicated, with its streets and alleys crisscrossing, as if nothing had ever happened.

A purple-gold light flashed in Chen Mo's eyes, and the ground gradually became transparent, revealing a winding earth vein that ran from north to south across the entire Tiandu City, with purple energy flowing continuously within it.

He not only broke the third formation, but also located the dragon vein.

The entire Eight Desolations Demon-Slaying Formation is built around the dragon vein. Finding the dragon vein is equivalent to finding the core of the formation, which will greatly reduce the difficulty of breaking the formation.

"But the progress of the [Breaking the Formation] event is only 50%. If someone else breaks the remaining formation, won't the reward not be mine?" Chen Mo pondered, then suddenly thought of something. He flipped his wrist, and a disc appeared in his palm.

Its texture is as clear as glass, and its surface is engraved with the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, with two yin-yang fish connected end to end in the middle.

Inside the disc, starlight of various colors swirled and danced, trailing fiery tails. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the light contained mysterious seal script characters.

Life, death, misfortune, concealment, yin, yang...

Some of the characters were so obscure that even Chen Mo couldn't recognize them.

The Heavenly Evolution Array Plate, an ancient wonder, also known as the Zhou Tian Evolution Array Plate.

As the name suggests, its main function is to deduce and decipher formations. The formation that needs to be deciphered is entered into the array, and the array plate will automatically analyze it.

As long as sufficient spiritual essence is provided, it can continue indefinitely until the formation is completely dismantled.

The reason it is called a rare item and has no grade is because this array plate has the potential to grow.

In its initial state, its analytical ability is roughly equivalent to that of a fourth-grade array master. As more arrays are recorded and the deduction time is longer, its ability will gradually improve, and there is almost no upper limit!
"Theoretically speaking, with enough attempts, there is no formation in the world that cannot be broken."

"It's all just a matter of time."

"The Eight Desolations Demon-Slaying Formation is no exception."

Chen Mo infused his true essence into it, and the yin-yang fish instantly began to swim.

The crystal-like fish eyes gazed at the Eight Desolations Demon-Slaying Array. At the same time, nested rings formed inside the array plate, and the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams on the surface quickly rearranged. In just a moment, the array diagram and array pattern were perfectly imprinted.

The entire process was silent and without any fluctuation of energy.

Sun Chongli and Yuan Junfeng remained calm, seemingly unaware of what was happening.

"Everyone, please stay."

Chen Mo walked out of the gate of the Array Dao Department, turned around and bowed, while Ling Ningzhi stuck to him like a shadow.

"Take care, Lord Chen. Please come visit often when you have time."

Sun Chongli naturally didn't want to disturb the young couple's time together, so he stood in front of the door waving goodbye, while the other worshippers also looked reluctant to part.

"When Lord Chen comes again next time, I must ask him for some advice."

"The Nine Netherworlds and Ten Earths Formation just now was quite profound. If you can figure it out, your mastery of formations will definitely reach a higher level."

"Such a genius should stay in the Array Formation Department. It's such a waste to have him working with those idiots in the Alchemy Department making mud balls!"

"..."

Once the two figures disappeared from sight, Yuan Junfeng's expression turned serious, and he whispered, "Elder Sun, Chen Mo just used a magic artifact to copy the great formation. Could there be any problems?"

"no need to worry."

Sun Chongli stroked his beard and shook his head, saying, "Since Ling Yishan could get Chen Mo to come here, it means that this person is not a problem. Besides, what he recorded was only the 'form'. Without this array and array diagram, it cannot pose any threat to the great array."

“That’s true.” Yuan Junfeng clicked his tongue and said, “It’s one thing for his cultivation to be unmatched among his peers, but I didn’t expect him to have such skill in array formation. Such talent is simply unreasonable.”

"Perhaps it's not just about talent..."

Sun Chongli narrowed his eyes slightly.

Can one find the dragon vein simply by intuition?
If it were anyone else, he would only think they were talking nonsense, but it seemed perfectly reasonable when it came to Chen Mo.

"The Three Powers establish the foundation, the Five Elements transform Qi, the Eight Trigrams lock the dragon, and the Nine Palaces conceal the killing force..."

"That's right, it really was him! Ling Yishan really made a brilliant move; this should be the only way out in a seemingly hopeless situation!"

Sun Chongli, though his mind was in turmoil, remained composed and said, "This matter should be reported to Her Majesty the Empress first. After all, there has been no progress for so long, and Her Majesty is already very dissatisfied with us."

“What Elder Sun said makes sense.” Yuan Junfeng nodded.

"besides,"

Sun Chongli glanced at him meaningfully and said, "Chen Mo has made great contributions many times before, and now he has even found the location of the dragon vein. Isn't the position of second-class retainer a bit inappropriate?"

Yuan Junfeng paused for a moment, then asked, "Does Elder Sun have any better ideas?"

Sun Chongli cleared his throat and said, "In my opinion, it would be most appropriate for him to be assigned to the Array Dao Department as a deputy director."

"..."

Yuan Jun's lips twitched slightly.

Your abacus beads are practically hitting my face...

“He has already been promoted from third class to second class, so it would be against the rules to promote him to a higher class again.” Yuan Junfeng pondered, “After Elder Ling comes out of seclusion, I will inform him of this matter and try my best to put in a good word for Elder Sun.”

"Alright, then I'll wait for your news."

Sun Chongli walked away with his hands behind his back.

Yuan Junfeng curled his lips. Like Ling Yishan, Sun Chongli seemed approachable on the surface, but was actually very arrogant at heart. Most so-called geniuses were not worthy of their attention.

It seems they've truly taken a liking to talent this time.

"Back then, I was once at the top of the Azure Cloud Ranking, but all I got in return was Elder Ling's 'so-so.' Elder Sun even taught me formations for two days before he got so angry that he overturned the table and scolded me as 'dull-witted and hopeless'..."

"But when it comes to Chen Mo, everyone is so enthusiastic, it's no exaggeration to say they're practically throwing themselves at him."

Yuan Junfeng sighed softly and muttered, "The difference between people is even greater than the difference between people and dogs."

……

……

Ling Ningzhi escorted Chen Mo all the way out of the Demon Suppression Division.

"That's enough for now. As for your grandfather, don't worry too much. I'll find the rest of the immortal materials." Chen Mo stopped and said.

"Ah."

Ling Ningzhi nodded and said softly, "I believe you."

"Okay, I'll leave first."

"Ah."

"I'm really gone."

"Ah."

The two stared at each other, and Chen Mo said helplessly, "So, shouldn't you let me go first?"

Ling Ningzhi gripped his robe tightly with her two slender fingers, blinked, and remained silent, refusing to let go. "..."

Chen Mo found it somewhat amusing, took a step forward, cupped her delicate face in his hands, and lowered his head to kiss her.

"Well……"

Ling Ningzhi gave a soft snort and subconsciously closed her eyes, letting Chen Mo do as he pleased.

The lips parted for a long time.

Ling Ning's soft breasts heaved, her breathing became rapid, and her watery eyes were unfocused.

She felt as if all the bones in her body had been removed, and she leaned weakly against Chen Mo's chest.

"Lord Chen, I really... really like you." She murmured softly, her face flushed.

Chen Mo was somewhat surprised. The Taoist priest was very shy. Even though the two knew each other well, he rarely expressed his feelings so directly.

“I also really like Zhi’er baby.” He said seriously.

Hearing such a mushy address, Ling Ningzhi lowered her head, her ears burning, and snuggled into his arms as if she wanted to hide inside him.

“But you always call me Lord Chen, which sounds a bit distant,” Chen Mo said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Ling Ningzhi's eyelashes trembled as she asked, "Then what should I call you?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you call me 'brother' and let me hear it?"

?

Ling Ningzhi paused for a moment, then gently bit her lip. "Isn't this a bit inappropriate..."

On the one hand, the term of address was too intimate, and besides, she was actually a few years older than Chen Mo, so she should be called "younger brother."

On the other hand, this is Shen Zhixia's "exclusive nickname". She has already stolen the other party's fiancé, and now she wants to steal even the nickname?

This inevitably made her feel guilty and immoral.

Faced with Chen Mo's persistent gaze, Ling Ningzhi had no choice but to say, "Then this time..."

Her face flushed red, and she stammered, "Brother Chen... Brother Chen Mo~"

He didn't dare to look up after saying that, and turned and ran away.

Chen Mo admired the swaying figure, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"The Taoist priest is as adorable as ever!"

Just then, a line of tiny print flashed before my eyes:
[Ling Ningzhi's favorability rating has increased.]

Current progress: 90/100 (Unwavering Commitment).

[The favorability rating has reached the threshold, unlocking the third stage reward.]

[Obtained special item: Dao Essence Crystal *2.]

[Obtained a rare item: Heavenly Mystic Substitute Death Talisman.]

?

Chen Mo was somewhat confused.

He had connected with Ling Ningzhi so many times, but their affection level had always been stuck on the edge of the third stage, and he could never break through.

Now, all I did was call him "brother," and it immediately jumped by more than ten points?
"A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; it's truly unfathomable..."

"How about we try asking Dad next time?"

Chen Mo shook his head and turned to head towards the city.

Inside the Demon Suppression Division, Ling Ningzhi leaned against the wall, her hands covering her pounding heart, a blush spreading from her cheeks to her neck.

"If you call me 'brother' now, won't you have to call me 'husband' later?"

"Zhixia, I'm so sorry..."

……

……

royal palace.

In Zhaohua Palace, the Empress sat before her desk, rubbing her temples with her fingers.

Before her lay a mountain of memorials, and she knew their contents without even looking at them.

"Your Majesty, we humbly report that Chen Mo, the Deputy Commander of the Tianlin Guard, has detained the Crown Prince in the imperial prison without imperial decree or following the law. This is an act of utter disrespect, disregard for the emperor, and disruption of the court..."

"To impeach Chen Mo for disrespecting his relatives, overstepping the law, arbitrarily detaining the crown prince, and undermining the foundation of the state..."

"Tsk tsk, there's even a joint petition from the ministers below. I bet half the cabinet is in there, right?"

Chu Yanli pressed her pert buttocks against the imperial desk, casually tossing the memorial aside, and sneered, "It seems that with the Jiang family backing him up, Zhuang Jingming is getting bolder and bolder. Is he trying to turn the cabinet into his personal fiefdom?"

The Empress looked somewhat tired, leaned back in her chair, and said, "Back then, in order to keep Lü Huaiyu in check, we had no choice but to give him power. Now that he's become too powerful to control, there's nothing we can do about it."

Chu Yanli narrowed her eyes and said, "Should I step in?"

"No need. With your temper, you'll only make things worse." A cold glint flashed in the Empress's eyes as she said in a deep voice, "They won't be able to keep up this for long. Let's stall for time, and after the Emperor's birthday celebrations, I will settle accounts with them one by one!"

Over the years, in order to maintain stability in the court, she has generally played the role of mediator and rarely used drastic measures.

Not using it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Many people seem to have forgotten how she once took control of the court and firmly held the position of Crown Prince!
"Don't you find it strange?" Chu Yanli frowned and said, "Qianji Palace seems a bit too quiet this time."

The Empress nodded and said, "Something is indeed not right."

Regardless of the circumstances, Chu Heng is a member of the royal family and Wu Lie's nephew. He has been arrested for two days now, but there has been no movement from the palace.

This seems rather strange.

"I sense a storm brewing; I have a feeling something big is about to happen," Chu Yanli whispered.

The Empress shared the same sentiment. After a moment's contemplation, she said, "We must speed things up. Only once the Eight Desolations Demon-Slaying Formation is broken can we truly unleash our full potential; otherwise, we'll be held hostage forever..."

Chu Yanli sat on the table, her long legs crossed, and sneered, "Easy for you to say. Several years have passed, and you're still only at the third level. Breaking the formation is a distant dream. Those useless things from the Demon Suppression Division..."

The Empress looked somewhat helpless.

There is nothing we can do about this.

The Eight Desolations Demon-Subduing Formation was personally set up by the deceased "Buddha" before his death, and it embodies almost all of his life's power. How could it be so easily broken?
Moreover, with the array missing, it's even more difficult than climbing to the sky!
"If you ask me, we should just lead our troops to conquer the Western Regions and slaughter all those monks without handing over the battle formation tokens," Chu Yanli suggested.

The Empress rolled her eyes at her and said irritably, "The fate of the Great Yuan Dynasty is in their hands, and you still dare to take this risk? Anyway, it's only a matter of time, so let's wait and see."

"How many more years will we have to wait..."

Before Chu Yanli could finish speaking, a knock sounded on the door, and Sun Shanggong's voice came from outside:
"Your Highness, I have something important to report."

"Come in."

Lady Sun entered with light, quick steps, bowing respectfully. "Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress, and Your Highness the Princess."

The Empress asked, "What happened?"

Lady Sun replied, "Your Highness, news has come from the Demon Suppression Division that the third layer of the formation has been broken, and the approximate location of the dragon vein has been pinpointed!"

"What did you say?"

"The dragon vein has been found?!"

Upon hearing this, the Empress stood up abruptly, her expression somewhat agitated.

Chu Yanli's eyes were also filled with excitement. She had just been complaining, but she didn't expect the good news to come so suddenly!
Once the location of the dragon vein is found, the key to the formation can almost be found, which means that the time to completely break the Eight Desolations Demon-Slaying Formation will be greatly shortened!
"good very good!"

The Empress repeatedly praised, "The Array Formation Department has made a great contribution this time! Sun Chongli did a good job and should be richly rewarded..."

"that……"

Sun Shanggong swallowed hard and interrupted, "Actually, this time breaking the formation has nothing to do with the Formation Department; it's entirely thanks to Lord Chen."

?

The Empress didn't react for a moment, "Which Lord Chen?"

Lady Sun truthfully reported, "Lord Chen Mo of the Tianlin Guard went to the Demon Suppression Division today and broke the 'Nine Luminaries Eclipse Formation' in just half an hour. He also seized the dragon vein by instinct. No one else participated..."

Upon hearing this, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

The Empress and Chu Yanli exchanged a glance, their expressions blank.

They recognized each word individually, but why couldn't they understand it when they were put together?

The entire Array Dao Department, consisting of dozens of people, had been studying it for over two years without finding a solution, yet Chen Mo broke it in just a quarter of an hour? Moreover, he even managed to seize the dragon vein "casually" based on his "intuition"?

Are you kidding me?
"Is this true?"

The Empress came to her senses and asked hesitantly.

Even though she knew the thief was very capable, she still felt that this was a bit too surreal.

Lady Sun said solemnly, "It is absolutely true, this servant would not dare to speak nonsense."

Just as the Empress was about to say something, she suddenly noticed slightly rapid breathing beside her.

Turning her head, she saw that Chu Yanli's cheeks were flushed, her eyes were filled with tears, and she murmured to herself, "It seems he's quite capable. No wonder he's the male concubine I've chosen..."

Empress: ?
(End of this chapter)