All the evil beasts in the world, I feed on demons and monsters

Chapter 353 The Search for Xi Guan

crossroads.

The orange-yellow streetlights cast a gentle glow, creating a dreamy, dim halo on the soft snow.

Lu Zaiye, with his curly hair, stood by the roadside, looking like a still-childish high school student. His handsome face was like that of a boy straight out of a novel, and he was waving goodbye to a girl who had approached him with a smile.

The surrounding shopping malls had dimmed, with only the large screens still flashing neon advertisements. Pedestrians on the streets were gradually thinning out, and vehicles were only passing by intermittently.

Ji Ran's tall figure met Lu Zaiye's gaze across the zebra crossing.

call--

A car sped past, and Ji Ran appeared beside Lu Zaiye.

"Well?"

Lu Zaiye was not surprised by Ji Ran's physical changes; anything can happen during a cultivator's journey.

But his eyes were filled with shock as he asked, "You've leaped over the dragon gate?"

"Oh?"

Ji Ran's eyes flickered slightly, somewhat surprised.

He hadn't sensed the change in his own strength even when facing Zhang Han, a level 5 sorcerer. Yet Lu Zaiye had noticed it immediately.

"Can you tell?"

"of course."

Lu Zaiye was shocked. He couldn't understand why Ji Ran was only level 3 a few days ago, but now he had jumped over the dragon gate in the blink of an eye.

However, Lu Zaiye was, after all, from a family of wanderers, and knew what he should and shouldn't ask.

He didn't press Ji Ran about the changes in his strength, but instead explained, "If all the walkers can't see the changes in spiritual power, why would those cults and wanted walkers in the real world stay obediently in the spirit realm and not come out?"

Lu Zaiye smiled, reached into his storage space and took out an oval-shaped piece of white jade, on which were exquisitely carved green mountains and ridges.

The life-giving object is a jade pillow.

"Captain Xie asked me to find you so we can work together to solve a case here."

"Don't go back to Yashan Base tomorrow. Captain Xie sent the Jade Pillow to me through the Spirit Realm. But you bought a lot of ordinary equipment for your Special Operations Department, and Captain Xie doesn't want it to go through the Spirit Realm. Go to Yashan to get it after you're done here."

"it is good."

Ji Ran reached out and took it, his face filled with joy. With the Jade Pillow in hand, his breakthrough in the Path of Cause and Effect was just around the corner.

Along with the jade pillow, a small incense stick was also handed over. It was very small, probably less than a third of the offering Tang Yao had made.

"Su Su asked me to tell you that she needs incense recently, so she can only make room for this little bit for you. It can probably enter an ordinary person's dream twice, but if it involves spiritual matters, it can only be once at most, and you may even wake up in the middle of the dream."

"Thank you very much."

Ji Ran didn't intend to use the incense. He knew its value, and he had plenty of it himself; he would return it to Su Su later.

"So, let's talk about our case?"

Lu Zaiye's eyes shimmered with color, his pupils resembling shimmering amber.

He pointed to a spot in the air—the middle of the road.

"What we're investigating is the bus incident that happened here this morning. You must have heard about it, right?"

"know."

Ji Ran nodded. He had talked to Cai Lan about it during dinner that evening, and he had even watched the video himself.

He had already made a judgment at the time, seeing that half of the side of the carriage had been torn off in the video, which was clearly not something an ordinary person could do.

"Yes, I'm now certain that the pilgrim was behind this case."

Lu Zaiye looked at Ji Ran and said, "The skill of the second-tier Xiguan is [Spiritual Perception]. This skill effect gives us an extremely sensitive perception of spiritual power and elements. Even when we are sleeping, we will be exceptionally sensitive to the fluctuations of spiritual power around us."

"At the same time, the skill's [Spiritual Vision] allows us to see extremely subtle spiritual energy and elemental residues while detecting any elemental and spiritual energy fluctuations."

"Spiritual energy dissipates quickly, but elements do not."

Da da da.

Lu Zaiye walked to the middle of the road, raised his hand amidst the swirling snow, pointed ahead, and said, "Joy!"

hum!
In the middle of the road, which was originally empty, a faint green hue suddenly "squeezed" out from nothingness.

"Vision captures elements, joy amplifies elements."

Lu Zaiye turned to Ji Ran and smiled, saying, "Any traveler is better off not taking action in reality. Once they do, Xi Guan will inevitably catch them red-handed."

"Even if there is not a trace of element, we can summon a wandering spirit official. As long as there is a trace of spiritual power remaining, we can find the target."

The reason Lu Zaiye explained to Ji Ran was naturally because after the battle at the Ice City shopping mall, he had thoroughly investigated Ji Ran's background and learned that Ji Ran had only joined the Special Operations Department less than three months ago and was unaware of many things. *Slap!*
At that moment, Lu Zaiye snapped his fingers crisply.

The ability to rejoice stirs the elements.

That faint touch of green, like a sparse, intermittent thread, like strands of hair floating in the night sky, lingers around the city.

"what?"

Lu Zaiye noticed that Ji Ran's gaze was also fixed on the elemental threads and asked in surprise, "You can see them?"

"Yes, the purpose of the props."

What allowed Ji Ran to see the traces was the Life Tool [Alchemy Iris]. Although this Life Tool possessed the ability to capture elements, the elements had to be sufficiently obvious, such as during combat.

If Lu Zaiye's excitement hadn't amplified the elemental traces, the alchemical iris itself wouldn't have been able to detect that tiny residue.

"Shall we go take a look now?"

"Okay, let me make a call first."

Ji Ran nodded and called his mother. The reason was simple: he, Deng Zhihe, and Cai Lan had been playing games all night. In fact, if Lu Zaiye hadn't sent the message, the three of them really intended to do so.

……

"Here we are."

Because the distribution of elements was not continuous, it took Lu Zaiye about twenty minutes to find a place where the elemental aura was most concentrated.

Ji Ran frowned slightly.

Behind him was the beer house where he had bought beer just a few hours earlier, and opposite them was the [Heavenly Garden].

The traces of the elements, like fluorescent light in the dead of night, extended onto the unfinished buildings in the neighborhood.

For no apparent reason, Ji Ran thought of the man in the black sweater.

It's him?

At this moment, Ji Ran did not believe that the thought was unfounded, but rather a premonition.

However, he did not notice anything unusual at the time.

Without spiritual vision, one cannot perceive the traveler suppressed by the cycle of birth and death. Ji Ran himself cannot always maintain a causal perspective.

but……

Ji Ran frowned.

That makes sense, but setting aside the possibility of spiritual power, that person was highly suspicious. Yet, at the time, I clearly saw him, but I didn't pay any attention.

Looking back now, I recall the heavy snow, the thin sweater, the old schoolbag, the Louis Vuitton suitcase... and the unfinished building.

These permutations and combinations would have been enough for even a passerby to take a second look, but I completely ignored them at the time.

"go!"

Lu Zaiye's voice carried a hint of excitement as he said, "The elemental aura here is very strong. Using the clues here, I can directly locate the enemy."

"If we're lucky, we can catch that guy tonight!"

"Be careful."

Ji Ran suddenly spoke up, saying, "I suspect that the other party is a Taoist alchemist, someone who can modify and obscure memories."

"Ok?"

Lu Zaiye was taken aback, and Ji Ran immediately offered an explanation.

At this moment, Ji Ran thought of the bus video Cai Lan had shown him during dinner—the backpack that the humiliated old man was carrying was exactly the same as the one that the man was carrying.

The goal has been set.

"understood."

Lu Zaiye nodded, his expression serious.

A Lingtai Daoist who can influence a Level 5 Five Organs Immortal is at least Level 5.

"When fighting against Lingtai Dao, always remember to think thrice before you act."

Lu Zaiye gave a word of advice, clearly showing his extensive knowledge of various professions: "Otherwise, you'll be easily misled by your memories when you're about to take action."

"Ah."

The two looked at the sparsely lit, unfinished building and walked together into the darkness overgrown with weeds.

(End of this chapter)