Seeing the elders so confident, the City Lords finally felt at ease.
"Seniors, we’ll order our men to build the sacrificial altar immediately," one of the City Lords said. "By the way, there’s something we’d like to ask. The direction Lord Beigong just took didn’t seem to lead back to the Main City... Does he have some business to attend to?"
An elder replied coldly, "Is the business of a Main City Lord something you are allowed to pry into? Still, it doesn’t hurt to tell you. City Lord Beigong went to the perilous zone discovered by the Tuoba Family. It’s been several months, and none of those who entered have come out. He went to back them up."
"Ah, just as I suspected. Seniors, do you know what kind of place it is? Lord Tuoba and his group still haven’t emerged."
The perilous zone discovered by the Tuoba Family was located right within the territory of Hero City. Several months had already passed, yet the people who entered had yet to return. Perhaps because it had dragged on for too long, Beigong Fengxian had also come to provide support.
"There is no need for you to worry," the elder said. "Before we set out, the Celestial Calculation Mansion divined the fortune of this matter. Beigong Fengxian’s trip bears no ill omens. All of them will return safely."
"Your methods are brilliant, Seniors. We are truly in awe."
"Enough flattery. Go and find people to build the altar."
Two days later, in the Big Mountain.
Ye Xuan had already begun breaking through to his eighth Mountain Range. Four days ago, he successfully broke through to the 7th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm. He spent those four days consolidating his cultivation before consuming a Grade Six, Rank One Beast Pill.
The energy contained within a Grade Six, Rank One Beast Pill was ten times that of a Grade Five, Rank Nine Beast Pill. A single one successfully elevated Ye Xuan’s cultivation to the peak.
Push, push, push. He forged ahead relentlessly, completely unafraid of the pain.
A day later, the eighth Mountain Range was successfully cleared. Ye Xuan’s strength tripled, and his connection with the heavens and the earth grew clearer by the second.
He thought, "A single Grade Six, Rank One Beast Pill elevated my cultivation to the 8th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm. That means the resources I have on hand are enough to push my cultivation to the 9th Layer!"
A smile appeared on Ye Xuan’s face. Just days ago, he had been worried that he didn’t have enough Beast Pills. After all, the further he progressed, the greater his consumption became. But now, reaching the 9th Layer with Beast Pills would be a breeze.
A Grade Six, Rank Two Beast Pill would be more than enough!
The advantage of being able to absorb one hundred percent of a Beast Pill’s energy was simply terrifying. Where others might need a hundred Grade Six Beast Pills, he only needed five or six at most.
"Time to consolidate my cultivation!" he muttered. Reining in his wandering thoughts, Ye Xuan closed his eyes and began the process.
Meanwhile, in Hero City.
A towering sacrificial altar had been erected in the central square, and the area around it was already packed with Cultivators. Today was the day the ritual would be performed.
"Everyone, you probably don’t recognize us. Allow me to introduce ourselves. We are from the Celestial Calculation Mansion," the toe-picking elder announced, his voice ringing out across the square.
"The Celestial Calculation Mansion? Have you ever heard of it?"
"No, this is my first time hearing about it."
The crowd shook their heads, looking utterly bewildered.
The toe-picking elder continued, "This is likely your first time hearing about the Celestial Calculation Mansion, so you don’t know what we do. Let me give you a simple explanation. You all know the Celestial Secret Pavilion, right?"
"The Celestial Secret Pavilion? Of course we know it. It’s the number one academy in the Kingdom! Could the Celestial Calculation Mansion be a branch of it?"
"A branch? Are they even worthy?" the elder scoffed. "Since our Celestial Calculation Mansion has emerged into the world, we aim to become the number one in the Kingdom. Whatever the Celestial Secret Pavilion can do, we can do as well. And whatever they cannot do, our Celestial Calculation Mansion can still achieve."
With just a few sentences, the elder made the situation clear to everyone. The Celestial Calculation Mansion was directly targeting the Celestial Secret Pavilion.
"Today, we will show you what true power means," the elder declared. "You all know that the Sub-City Lords are searching for Ye Xuan’s whereabouts. Right here and now, I guarantee all of you that within three days, Ye Xuan will have nowhere to hide."
As the toe-picking elder spoke, someone brought over a basin of water. The elder picked up a sheep’s skull and placed it into the basin. Then, he bit his finger, squeezed a drop of blood into the water, and began chanting a cryptic, obscure Spell.
Before long, he started singing and dancing, hopping left and right. The crowd below the altar watched his bizarre performance in stunned confusion.
"What is this senior doing?"
"Is he putting on a song and dance for us? If so, it’s absolutely awful!"
Even the fifty City Lords wore grave expressions. Why did this senior from the Celestial Calculation Mansion seem more like a traveling charlatan? His Inference Technique felt far less reliable and dignified than those of the Celestial Secret Pavilion.
However, while amateurs looked for a spectacle, experts saw the true skill. In the crowd, an old man frowned slightly. It was Man Tian!
Man Tian watched more intently than anyone else. After a long while, he murmured in amazement, "The Sacrificial Inference Technique... He is a Priest."
In this world, there were far too many capable people and Abnormal Warriors. Priests were one such kind. They wore accessories made of animal bones, and every single piece could be used to execute an Inference Technique.
The toe-picking elder danced for an unknown amount of time, to the point where the crowd below grew impatient. Suddenly, he hoisted the basin into the air and tilted its mouth toward the onlookers.
"This... the water isn’t pouring out!"
"Look quickly! There’s a drop of blood floating in the middle of the water. His blood didn’t dissolve!"
Amidst the astonished gasps of the crowd, the toe-picking elder suddenly shouted a phrase they could actually understand.
"Lend me the grand momentum, reveal Ye Xuan’s position!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he launched into another string of complex Spells. He then pulled out a mirror. It was not smooth in the slightest; instead, it was pitch-black.
He brandished the mirror in the air a few times, and an astonishing scene unfolded before everyone’s eyes. Visible gas abruptly materialized in the surrounding air. However, this was not Spiritual Qi, but "momentum"—the lingering momentum Ye Xuan had left behind in Hero City.
The elder was using this momentum to track him down.
"Fascinating. This elder is truly a master." The entire audience watched with rapt attention.
"Look, it’s moving! The bead of blood is moving!"
Suddenly, the still drop of blood in the basin began to swim. At first, it moved sluggishly, but as time passed, it began to spin at a blistering pace. Finally, it shot into the sky, dragging a curtain of water up with it. Ascending alongside it was the sheep’s skull. The skull’s pitch-black eye sockets suddenly burst with a radiant glow as it turned to face the western side of the city.
The toe-picking elder immediately declared, "The root of the grand momentum originates from the west! This brat is hiding in the west."
Upon hearing this, all fifty City Lords were taken aback. The Hurricane City Lord frowned and said, "Senior, we have already scoured thousands of miles to the west, but we found no trace of that brat. Could he truly be hiding underground?"
"No matter. Allow me to calculate further and deduce his exact location," the elder said.
He resumed his singing and dancing. As he moved, he chanted a Spell, and the Wild Beast necklace hanging from his chest began to shine brightly.
In the crowd, Man Tian’s expression returned to normal as he muttered, "He does have some skill. What a pity. How could a place like that be something you can accurately pinpoint?"
Sure enough, as time passed, sweat began to bead on the elder’s forehead. The drop of blood in the sky started darting around erratically, moving without any discernible pattern.
After struggling to maintain the technique for half an hour, the toe-picking elder suddenly spewed a mouthful of blood. The sheep’s skull plummeted to the ground, and the bead of blood dissipated into the air.