This day, everyone in Lyuzhou knew that a major event had occurred.

Since Lord Chen took over, Lyuzhou’s port had only suspended operations three times, each time for a significant event.

This time, the scale was even more severe, with flames soaring into the sky from the seaport, illuminating the entire night sky.

The scene was extraordinarily spectacular, not to mention the locals of Lyuzhou, even people living far away in Nanming Prefecture could see the soaring flames and the dark clouds dyed red!

This made every household feel a sense of panic. Jiangnan had also experienced major events before, but never with such a grand display.

"Minister Shen, all systems have been activated, but the scope is too large, and the power usage is so high, the consumption might be immense..."

The magician in charge was none other than Shen Yuan, who had just returned from Yun City, and his assistant was Yunke’er, gifted in magical arrays. Unlike the extremely excited Yunke’er handling several great formations, Shen Yuan appeared rather worried.

Lady Ziyue had just set out on a campaign, and Lord Chen Ying was still in closed-door cultivation, such disruptive events happening at home were indeed unsettling.

"Don’t worry about the consumption..." Shen San said in a low voice as he looked out to sea, trying to reassure, "For now, just leave the West Sea aside. Once Lady Ziyue returns, things will be much easier to handle."

"Rest assured, my lord!" Yunke’er said excitedly, "Before Lady Ziyue returns, I will definitely guard this steadily for you!"

"Good..." Shen San suddenly smiled and said, "My Ke’er is formidable!"

Yunke’er beamed with pride, and Shen Yuan watched this, a flicker of concern crossing his eyes.

Shen San, among the Shen Family members, apart from Shen Qi, had the closest relationship with him. Compared to the gloomy and cold Second Master Shen, Shen San’s gentle nature was always warmly received. Although Shen San’s voice was as gentle as ever, it seemed somehow different from before.

For some reason, just standing beside this man gave him inexplicable goosebumps, a creepy feeling that strangely felt familiar, yet he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was...

"My lord..." After some thought, he hesitated and said, "I heard that Second Master Shen... is still responsible for the investigation at the Dragon Palace?"

This remark was clear; directly initiating the Flaming Sun Array meant that they were locking out Second Master Shen, didn’t it?

"The situation is urgent..." Shen San glanced at the West Sea Dragon Palace and said softly, "We can’t wait any longer. Second Brother is adept at seizing opportunities; he will be alright..."

The words seemed like self-reassurance, filled with an impartial attitude, but for some reason, Shen Yuan felt a freezing chill in his heart, feeling that something was... off...

"I understand now, Third Master, you’ve been guarding all night, go rest. I can handle things here," Shen Yuan said respectfully.

"No need..." Shen San smiled briefly, "How could I let you younger ones take the forefront? Just focus on maintaining the great formation; leave the rest to me."

"If that is the case, then I’ll trouble you, my lord..." Shen Yuan bowed, then quietly moved to the core of the array, beginning to carefully inspect the conditions of each segment of the Flaming Sun Array.

Shen San’s gaze softened somewhat at the sight of Shen Yuan fully dedicating himself to the task.

In Shen Yuan’s heart, the chill deepened.

There’s a problem...

I’m not mistaken, there’s definitely something wrong with Third Master Shen!

Although he had no concrete evidence, Shen Yuan felt that Shen San was on guard against him, and the reason for this caution was that he had mentioned Second Master Shen.

But there should be nothing wrong with his concern for Second Master Shen’s safe return, so what reason would there be for suspicion?

The only one deserving suspicion should be him, right?

Locking out Second Master Shen, why rush to activate the Flaming Sun Array? What for?

Talking about safety precautions might fool outsiders, but he is all too familiar with the situation in the Dragon Palace. The Western Sea Dragon King has always been a major concern for Lady Ziyue; he has been her top deputy at the Dragon Palace Academy and knows much about the Dragon King.

Even if the Dragon King planned an escape, it would be impossible to gather enough Blood Essence Stones in a short time.

Even with enough Blood Essence Stones, given the Dragon King’s size, it would take at least two days just to absorb these stones, not to mention the frozen members of the Aquatic Race.

Activating the Flaming Sun Array so early, is it really for guarding against the Dragon King?

-----------------------------------------

"Flaming Sun Array?"

From his position in the Northern Wasteland, Chen Qing also saw, for the first time, the soaring flames erupting from Jiangnan. It was probably the largest launch ever from Jiangnan.

Similarly, from the Southern Sea, there was the same disturbance. Both Ziyue and Jiangnan had used their ultimate trump cards.

What exactly happened?

Chen Qing frowned; Ziyue seemed to have been schemed against by some people, but what was happening in Jiangnan? Could it be that the Western Sea Dragon King has escaped from confinement?

Who is behind this?

"You have quite the trouble on your side..." Old Liu said softly.

"It seems so..."

"The same here, I can’t help you much for now; my forces need to stay hidden, otherwise, they might be eradicated prematurely."

"Can you help me?" Chen Qing frowned and turned to Old Liu: "The Shenwu Guild is so active, you should have a considerable military power, right? How many King-level Heaven Pythons have you controlled?"

"Not a single one..." Old Liu said with a bitter smile and a shake of his head.

"What?" Chen Qing was stunned. He had always felt the Shenwu Guild was the most active, with Kagura’s incarnations arranged everywhere.

In the battle of Yundu, it was Kagura leading the charges, with the other four major guilds just symbolically sending a few people.

He had thought the Shenwu Guild held a dominant position in the Celestial Serpent Palace.

"I just found out the news..." Old Liu bitter-smiled: "From Outer Space... the few Celestial Serpents that had the deepest cooperation with our Shenwu Guild all died unexpectedly!"

"Eh..." Chen Qing looked at him: "Such valuable resources died unexpectedly? Were you farming them or what?"

"We can only farm them..." Old Liu shook his head and sighed: "In an era before the world had opened up, when resources were scarce, how could we keep feeding them? We indeed had enough safety measures to protect them, theoretically speaking, outsiders couldn’t threaten them, but..."

"There was an internal problem?"

"You could say that..."

"Do you know who did it?"

"Not known for now, but whoever did it is no longer important, the situation is now as you see it. We’re out of troops, and your Jiangnan cannot be lost!"

"I see..." Chen Qing suddenly smiled: "I wonder why you suddenly came to me, it turns out you are at your wit’s end."

"Originally sending you back to this world was keeping a way back." Old Liu said indifferently: "Unless absolutely necessary, I of course do not like collaborating with someone as indecisive as you."

Chen Qing: "........"

"But it seems you can’t be relied on." Old Liu peered at the flames rising to the sky in Jiangnan: "The forces within your domain don’t seem so united."

"But that’s reasonable too..." Old Liu looked at Chen Qing somberly: "The human forces have always been the most unstable; the Human Race...is also the least reliable. In comparison, though demons may be brutal in nature, they possess a higher degree of stability."

"Old man, you still hold a grudge about what happened back then." Chen Qing bitterly smiled.

"All those who followed you through life and death back then, each one holds a grudge." Old Liu scoffed: "If those people regained their memory, guess... would they still want to follow you?"

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