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"Disappeared?"

The Beiyu Imperial Consort had almost immediately left the Imperial Palace to return to the Beiyu Family, without even taking the time to seek His Majesty’s permission, and of course, this included the Empress.

At the Beiyu residence, Shen Qi heard the news brought back by the Imperial Consort and was somewhat stunned, not quite able to process it.

Because that statement was somewhat incomprehensible.

A second before, the Imperial Consort had planned to make a bold move to take down the dark lantern, a rather audacious probe, naturally not daring to truly touch it, but merely wanting to see the reaction of the person inside.

If it could provoke an unusual response and expose a slip, the Empress and others would be justified in dispatching the troops openly.

It must be said that at that moment, the Imperial Consort was indeed ready to take risks, fully trusting in the defensive array that Chen Qing had set up for her.

But the outcome was something that nobody had anticipated.

Qi Long indeed had a problem. Provoked by the Imperial Consort’s move to take down the dark lantern, his emotions underwent a drastic change, and he even rushed out, but then...

"He disappeared right in front of you?" Chen Qing pressed.

"Yes!" the Imperial Consort nodded shakily: "Right in front of us, without a sound, he just vanished..."

To be honest, she had never seen such a bizarre sight in her life; a living person, just like dust wiped from a mirror, vanished into thin air...

"This is..." Shen Qi frowned, as he hadn’t considered such an outcome. The dark lantern must have been of the utmost importance, hanging there unwaveringly, and Qi Long’s purpose was to use his identity to dissuade the Empress and the Imperial Consort.

The Imperial Consort’s feigned attempt to snatch the lantern was a good provocative strategy, and the other party was indeed provoked, but to vanish into thin air? What Chapter was that in?

It certainly couldn’t be that he used a technique right there on the spot to transform a living person, just to frighten the Imperial Consort and the Empress, right?

"At that time... did you feel anything else?" Chen Qing suddenly asked.

"Anything else?" The Imperial Consort was baffled: "What does the senior mean?"

"Did you have a feeling... that there was something around you?"

The Imperial Consort looked up sharply at Chen Qing: "Does the senior know what happened?"

She indeed had that feeling, and she didn’t even dare to mention it.

When Qi Long disappeared, she could distinctly feel that something was by her side, although she could not see or hear anything, and couldn’t even smell the slightest odor.

But she could feel that there was something there, something very. .. very terrifying!

"Does Your Majesty know what it is?" Shen Qi looked to Chen Qing.

"I can probably guess a little, but I need to confirm it first. If it really is that thing... this time it would truly be difficult to handle."

"What could it be?" Shen Qi was a bit curious.

"Can’t say..." Chen Qing shook his head.

Shen Qi was taken aback; it wasn’t that he didn’t know, but rather... he couldn’t tell?

"Was the Empress going there today a coincidence?" Chen Qing looked at the Imperial Consort and asked.

"This... I didn’t have the time to inquire, but it probably wasn’t a coincidence..." the Imperial Consort shook her head: "I feel like she seemed to intentionally assist me in seeing the Empress Dowager, evidently also looking for something."

"What about the Empress, has she left the palace?"

The Imperial Consort was bewildered: "How does the senior know that the Empress would leave the palace?"

"Take me to see Elder Yun Madam..." Chen Qing demanded without hesitation.

"Ah?"

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"So it is His Highness the King of Qin who graces us with his presence. Forgive my lack of preparation to welcome you!"

Elder Yun Madam greeted Chen Qing with courtesy, utterly surprised by the appearance of such a prestigious person suddenly coming to visit.

The King of Qin, a figure who rose to power five years ago, forced the powerful Great Jin to acknowledge the position of a king with a different surname for the first time since the founding of the dynasty.

The name of Jiangnan Academy was known throughout the world and now even His Majesty declared allegiance to Jiangnan.

The man before her, in actuality, could be considered the ruler of Northern Yan.

"Madam Yun need not be so formal..."

Chen Qing hadn’t initially reached out to the Yun Family or the Murong Family because the intelligence was unclear and he feared startling the snake by hitting the grass; after all, with so many sects hidden and numerous guild players likely already having won over these families, even the Murong Family might not be fully on his side.

Revealing his identity rashly would bring no benefits.

But having roughly confirmed that it was that "thing," Chen Qing was no longer as cautious because if it really was that creature, by now any guild player would probably have already gone into hiding!

"May I know why you have traveled from afar, my lord?" Elder Madam Yun looked at Chen Qing with a hint of wariness.

Her Majesty’s announcement to side with Jiangnan had come too abruptly; it must have involved some tactics of the people of Jiangnan, and given that this man had come in person, his intentions were likely not simple.

In these troubled times, not to mention with the old master in seclusion, she honestly didn’t want to become entangled with the man before her.

"The situation is urgent, so I must ask the Elder Madam to answer a few questions."

The Elder Madam frowned; the other party’s words were a bit too overbearing, but she didn’t argue since his status was clear.

"I humbly request instruction from Lord Wang of Qin."

"Beiyu Jing is a student of the terrestrial court at Jiangnan Academy. She returned to the Northern Wasteland with a group of classmates a while ago to visit relatives. Now... where is she?"

Elder Madam’s heart skipped a beat: "Isn’t she supposed to have gone back to Jiangnan to continue her studies?"

Chen Qing looked at her, that expression... didn’t seem feigned.

Gone back... at this time, how could Beiyu possibly have made it back?

"When did she go back?"

"Right after His Majesty announced our allegiance to Jiangnan, Jing’er returned from the Imperial Palace and hastily took her leave, saying something about her academy tutor having a significant project for her and asking her to return early.

I was reluctant to let her go, after all, the child had been so busy ever since she got back, without a chance for a proper chat; but thinking of Jing’er’s prospects in Jiangnan, I didn’t feel it was right to stop her. .."

"Did the Elder Madam personally see her leave the city?"

"That... I did not." The other party was taken aback: "Right at that moment, the old master came back and was in a rush to begin his seclusion. I was busy preparing for him..."

"Seclusion..." Chen Qing murmured to himself, then raised his head and said, "May I be allowed to see Old Master Beiyu?"

"Ah?" The other party was stunned: "Not... my lord, the old master is still in seclusion..."

"If the Elder Madam trusts me, go and inquire within. If there is a response from inside, I will not disturb further, how about that?"

"My lord... what do you mean by your words?" Elder Madam’s heart sank.

"I mean exactly what I said..." Chen Qing didn’t hide his suspicion: "I suspect that Beiyu Jing hasn’t returned, and I also doubt that Old Master Beiyu is in seclusion."

"Do you not trust this old woman?"

"No..." Chen Qing shook his head: "I mean, they didn’t tell the Elder Madam..."

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The answer was revealed soon enough. Although Elder Madam Beiyu couldn’t believe that the old master would hide something even from her, the reality was that when they came to the place of seclusion and tried calling out, there was no response from inside.

Determined to break through the sealed-off sanctuary, they entered and were met with a macabre scene that nearly caused the elder lady to faint.

The room was filled with a foul stench, scattered with human bones, and the food that had been brought in was overturned on the ground. Inside... there was not a single living person to be found.

"Old Master!!" Elder Madam screamed, while the guards quickly took up defensive positions in front of her.

Chen Qing observed the runes around the confines of the secret chamber; there were clear traces of an Array, and it looked very familiar...

"Master, it’s the Tianyang Formation!"

Shen Qi recognized it immediately. Over the past few years, he had studied Formation techniques the most. As a Magician who had lived for two hundred years, his learning ability was far greater than that of ordinary students, and he had mastered many Arrays.

"The Tianyang Formation, designed to expel evil and avoid darkness... it was used during the battle with the infernal court, a countermeasure developed by Jiangnan Academy to fend off invasive Evil Spirits."

"This Formation can’t stop that thing..." Chen Qing said solemnly, "Now it’s certain that when Qi Long disappeared, it wasn’t because of any Technique, he was simply... devoured!"

"Devoured?" Shen Qi swallowed hard and looked to Chen Qing...