High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

When the two arrived in the demon realm, it was already dawn, and the forest was still shrouded in darkness.

Murong Yan took out the map of the demon realm that he had left behind, and with the help of the faint light from his fingertips, he confirmed the location of the nearby mountains and rivers, and then turned his gaze to the north.

"Chang'an and Du Yue have already gone to Beiming, so we won't go around to the royal court; we'll go directly there to take a look."

Murong Qing moved closer and glanced at the route marked on the map: "From here?"

"First, head north along this road. Once you reach the northern border, ask the garrison for the location of the main city. I still have the credentials I left behind when I accompanied them last time; that should be enough to contact the people there."

Murong Qing nodded, having no objection. Murong Yan noted the direction and put the map away. The two didn't linger, concealing their presence as they sped out of the forest and headed north.

......

Beijing, Gu family.

In the early hours of the morning, most of the lights in the mansion had been turned off, but one side courtyard was still lit. The gate opened from the inside, and several cultivators came out one after another, clearly ready to set off.

Gu Tianyang stood under the eaves, listening to Xiang Shutong explain the news he had just received.

"Zhang Hai was not found in Cangjiang, and the place where he stayed in Qingzhou was empty. All we can find is that they packed their bags and left, and there are still no clues about where they went afterward."

Gu Tianyang frowned slightly. It was unacceptable that the Gu family had been able to investigate an ordinary person who had simply changed residences, and they still couldn't even determine which city he had gone to.

It's obvious that someone had taken precautions beforehand.

"Leave a few people to continue the search, the rest go to Yaodu first," Gu Tianyang said.

Xiang Shutong looked at him: "Who will lead the team this time?"

"Father will go in person; I will stay behind."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Chengyue walked over from the other end of the corridor. Several waiting cultivators immediately stood up straight, and Gu Tianyang and Xiang Shutong also turned around to greet him.

"Father, the arrangements have been made."

Gu Chengyue nodded: "Shen Chang'an has demons around him, so sending only subordinates might not be enough to see him. I'll go check first, you stay home and continue investigating Zhang Hai's whereabouts."

Gu Tianyang agreed and accompanied him down the steps.

Outside the courtyard, a car without family markings had been waiting for some time. Gu Chengyue led several cultivators into the car, and before leaving, he added, "Take good care of Mingzhao as well. We'll talk about the rest when I get back."

The car drove out of the Gu residence through the side gate and quickly disappeared at the end of the dimly lit street. Gu Tianyang and Xiang Shutong watched the car leave before turning back.

In another courtyard, several older monks also packed up their belongings.

They did not travel with Gu Chengyue, but later they left the capital separately and headed south.

......

That same night, the lights in the Zhou family's inner hall were also kept on.

Zhou Rong placed the results of his investigation on the table. After reading them, Zhou Chongxuan's finger paused for a moment on the words "Demon Capital".

"Where are the people from the Xuan Shu Academy?"

"The mission has been accepted, and they are on their way to the Demon Capital. They will first verify Xu Mingjing's whereabouts before entering the realm to pursue him."

Zhou Rong paused briefly, then continued, "Zhou Jingyue knows that his family is investigating Shen Chang'an. Xu Mingjing searched his soul, so he may already know about this."

Zhou Chongxuan gripped his wooden cane, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly stood up.

"Get the car ready, I'll go myself."

Zhou Rong looked up: "You've only been awake for a short time, and your body hasn't fully recovered yet. It's fine to let others go first."

"It's different. The demon realm isn't as simple as you think."

Zhou Chongxuan looked at the documents on the table: "I originally wanted to wait until he returned to Donghuang to talk, but now that Xu Mingjing has also gone to the Demon Realm, things may change at any time, so we can't wait any longer."

Seeing that he had made up his mind, Zhou Rong did not try to persuade him further.

Zhou Chongxuan looked at the clansmen below and said, "Pack your things and come with me to the Demon Capital."

The men accepted the order and went out to prepare. Before long, they all came out of the inner hall.

At the same time, many families in the capital city took action.

Investigating trade routes, visiting old friends, and delivering belated gifts to the Demon Emperor on his coronation... One after another, travel applications and letters of communication were sent to the Demon Capital, each with different reasons, but the accompanying lists all included several elders who rarely appeared on ordinary days.

While the paperwork was still awaiting approval, everyone's personnel and belongings were already prepared. Before dawn, convoys had already left the residences, and some people were traveling light, heading south ahead of time.

While no one informed each other, they were all secretly keeping an eye on the movements of others. It was unclear how many people had received the anonymous information, but it was obvious that Shen Chang'an was not being watched by just one party.

Shen Chang'an is still in the Demon Realm, and Xu Mingjing has also gone after him. Whether they want to investigate the past or find the person first, it's bad news, so they can't fall behind.

......

Early morning in the demon capital of South China.

When the traffic control office began processing the day's applications, it discovered that there were significantly more applications than usual the previous night. Documents for exploring trade routes, letters to visit old acquaintances, and lists of people going to the royal court to deliver congratulatory gifts were all piled up on the desk.

Initially, the staff assumed it was due to increased travel after the Demon Emperor's ascension to the throne. However, upon checking the entourage, they discovered that many of them were eighth-realm cultivators, as well as several family elders who had not left the capital for many years.

These applications were quickly compiled separately and sent to Li Xu.

He flipped through the papers one by one, his brows gradually furrowing.

Gu Chengyue, Zhou Chongxuan...

The appearance of several names on the same list made him stop writing, which he was about to put down.

Looking at the paperwork alone, none of them had any obvious problems. Some had long-term travel permits, some had been in contact with the demon race for many years, and some had received invitations from them. But the fact that so many high-level cultivators decided to enter the realm overnight was clearly not just a coincidence.

"Have all the people on the list been verified?"

The staff member nodded: "Those who have arrived have had their identities verified, and the other families have also confirmed their itineraries. The Gu family is led by Gu Chengyue, and Zhou Chongxuan also arrived in Yaodu this morning. They are currently waiting to cross the border."

Li Xu put down the document, asked no further questions, and contacted Li Baichuan directly.

"Commander, I need you to take a look at today's entry list in person. Many families in the capital submitted their applications last night, and Gu Chengyue and Zhou Chongxuan have both come. There are also quite a few eighth-realm experts in other teams."

He sent all the information over together and instructed the staff to continue verifying it, while waiting for the headquarters' reply on several special applications.

What each party was planning to do was naturally not explicitly stated in the documents.

Soon, Li Baichuan replied, instructing him to approve all the applications, not to obstruct them, and not to spread the news, but to pretend he hadn't seen it.

Meanwhile, deep within the passage, the four members of the Xuan Shu Academy had already completed their verification using special procedures issued by the headquarters in the capital. Their mission was separate and not included in the applications from the other organizations.

A light appeared ahead, and the four people entered the passage one by one.

Later, as verification and approval were completed, other waiting queues began to pass through in batches.