The thing sniffed sharply, then inhaled hard. Several wisps of pale white vapor were drawn out of the fragments and sucked into it.

The fragments vanished in an instant, not even a trace of them left behind.

The grotesque head itself let out a long, blissful “Ahhh,” as though it were a starving vagrant who had just had their first full meal in seven days, or someone plunging into a hot spring in the dead of winter. Comfort was nowhere near enough to describe it.

Anyone who did not know better would have thought it was taking a hit of something illicit. He Lingchuan gave it a sidelong glance. “You’re enjoying yourself that much?”

The grotesque head sniffed twice more, seemingly still not satisfied. “Back then, this little bit of power had to be shared among more than a hundred faces. How could that compare with me enjoying it all by myself? Anyway...”

“Anyway what?”

“There’s a strong smell of smoke and fire on this idol. What happened?”

And so, He Lingchuan told it how he had snatched the idol out of the flames.

“I thought something was off earlier, so Cheng Yu was trying to burn the idol!” The grotesque head flew into a rage and snarled viciously, “Good, very good! Since he broke the pact first, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

He Lingchuan blinked, then broke into a grin. “So you don’t have to honor your contract with him anymore?”

“The contract is gone.” The grotesque head gave a nasty little laugh. “If he dared burn my idol, then he made himself my enemy. I can move against him now!”

He Lingchuan rubbed his nose.

With the true Hundred-Faced Nightmare swallowed by the giant red figure, Cheng Yu had probably assumed the idol was now useless and casually left it behind in the fire instead of taking it with him.

Who could have guessed that one of the nightmare’s avatars had still been left behind here?

So by casually burning the idol, Cheng Yu had gone against the agreement he had originally made with the nightmare.

That was some truly rotten luck.

Or perhaps he had simply been too shocked, his mind too disordered in the moment.

“Now that you’ve had your fun, it’s time to work, right? Otherwise, that oath you swore...”

“Fine, fine!” the grotesque head agreed at once, and then it added hesitantly, “But I should remind you of one thing...”

He Lingchuan just stared at it without answering, already feeling a bad premonition.

The grotesque head, unnerved by the look, gave a dry laugh before continuing. “I can try tracking him, but Cheng Yu may not be asleep. If he isn’t in a dream, I won’t be able to find him.”

“You can only find him if he’s asleep?”

“Exactly.” The grotesque head sighed. “I’m a nightmare, after all. If he isn’t dreaming, I can’t get close to him.”

He Lingchuan said flatly, “Why didn’t you mention that sooner?”

This thing had been playing tricks with him, first deceiving him into letting it absorb the idol’s power, only then mentioning its limitations.

He had never dealt with nightmares before, and his lack of experience was now costing him.

Sensing the sudden rise of killing intent from the other party, the grotesque head hurriedly said, “But you don’t need to worry too much, people have to sleep eventually.”

“Cultivators often use breath regulation instead of sleep.” He Lingchuan did the same himself.

“For short periods, yes. But whether monster or human, in the end, they still need real sleep from time to time,” the grotesque head replied. “In Beijia, many monster kings spend long periods in slumber, and one example of this is the Baoshu King. And besides, Cheng Yu suffered backlash and sustained serious injuries. He urgently needs to sleep and restore his yang.” Its conclusion was simple: “He won’t be able to hold out much longer.”

He Lingchuan looked at it. “You really are confident when it comes to your own trade.”

Still, the grotesque head was not wrong. Sooner or later, people had to sleep.

* * *

In the silent night, the Tianluo Star in the eastern sky flared again.

At the Heavenly Palace in Lingxu City, the altar flickered red once more.

This time, the strange movement of the Tianluo Star was brief, only flashing quickly twice, but far brighter than the last time. This was enough to draw the lamp guardian’s notice.

Ever since the previous disturbance of the Tianluo Star, Star-Plucking Tower had assigned extra personnel to guard the altar.

So these two brief flashes were immediately treated as a matter of the highest urgency and reported upward that very night.

And so, the Monster Emperor arrived in person soon after.

“If there’s a first time, there’ll be a second. I expected as much.”

“The Lord Emperor is most wise.” The Cloud Envoy then conjured a sand-table model with mountains, valleys, terrain, and landforms laid out in vivid detail. “This time, the location of the Generous Pot has changed.”

North of Zhitian Township, south of Mount Xiang.

“The six northern counties of the State of Chiyan?” The Monster Emperor’s tone carried amusement and interest. “So this thing has grown legs now? It can run around on its own?”

“Narrowing the range down to six county cities is good news.” The Cloud Envoy analyzed, “The disturbance from the Generous Pot just now was very strong, which made our monitoring more precise.”

“It wasn’t like this before, was it?”

“Before, the fluctuations of the Generous Pot had a very clear location, sometimes even being as precise as a single county or city. We could capture it with ease.” The Cloud Envoy lowered his voice. “But this time, it’s shrouded in confusion and impossible to pin down, which has made things much more difficult.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than another line of text appeared on the Heavenly Tome: Unknown threads of karma are gradually unfolding—not in this realm, not in the divine realm.

“A line of unknown karma connected to the Generous Pot is unfolding?” the Monster Emperor murmured. “If it’s neither in the mortal realm nor the divine realm, then where could it be?”

Karma, cause and effect. There must first be a cause, then there can be an effect. There must first be a stone dropped into the water, and only then can ripples spread outward.

If one cannot find the water or the stone, how can one possibly see the ripples?

Clearly, the all-knowing gods were troubled by this unknown chain of karma, or they would not have specially ordered Lingxu City to investigate it.

Did they perhaps sense something unsettling... and threatening?

“The gods fear causes, while living beings fear consequences.” The Monster Emperor gave a snort. “What new progress is there on Bai Ziqi’s side?”

“When the Tianluo Star moved last time, two visions appeared in succession before and after the ruins of Qianxing City on Twilight Plains. Witnesses say they had never seen the second vision before. It showed Qianxing City as it once was before war touched it, with the entire city peaceful and undisturbed.”

“A second vision?” The Monster Emperor was immediately attentive. “What was special about it?”

“Caravans moved in and out, and nothing seemed abnormal. It looked like an ordinary city asleep at night. The streets were empty, with only the occasional soldiers patrolling.”

“If it resonated with the Generous Pot and caused the Tianluo Star to flash, how could there be nothing abnormal about it?” The Monster Emperor’s low laugh echoed through the great hall, making the flames of the eternal lamps tremble precariously once again. “And that’s all Bai Ziqi found?”

“There is no more confirmed information for the moment.”

“Tell him to head for the new location.” The Monster Emperor turned to return. “The more often the Generous Pot stirs, the more clues there will be, and the easier they’ll be to find. Oh, and—” The Monster Emperor paused suddenly. “Is it possible that this disturbance, like the one more than a hundred years ago, is only a false appearance?”

“A false appearance?” The Cloud Envoy thought for a moment, then understood what the other party meant. “You mean the Dragon Punishment Pillar?”

“Mm.” The Monster Emperor said plainly, “Back then, my imperial father fell for Mitian’s deceitful scheme, and it caused no end of turmoil.”

That was not something the Cloud Envoy could comfortably respond to.

“Tell Bai Ziqi to be careful. Also, send people to the Panlong Desert in Yuan at once. Find out whether anything unusual has happened there, and see whether there will be another season of mad sand this autumn.”

* * *

The next morning, He Lingchuan opened his eyes and stretched lazily.

His abdomen still gave a faint ache, but compared with last night, it was much improved, at least as long as he did not cough.

That was the effect of the Hundred Virtues Pills, albeit an imperfect batch, he had swallowed before regulating his breath. Although that furnace batch of imperial nectar pills had been spoiled, the tiny pills still contained abundant vitality, enough to rapidly mend his internal injuries.

The damage now was only residual, and another two or three days of recovery would settle it.

He had barely finished washing up when the door was shoved open.

The tiger came charging in. “The inn’s surrounded!”

He Lingchuan had also heard the confused pounding of footsteps below. At least a hundred people had come. Some guests cried out in alarm, only to be shouted back down, “Sit back down! Don’t move!”

He Lingchuan went to the window and looked down. More than ten mounted riders were turning the corner into the street and heading this way.

Even the local civilians, merchants, travelers, and officials all hurried aside to make room for them.

There were only a little over ten riders, but they carried themselves with the sort of arrogance that treated everyone else as beneath notice.

The leader was striking in appearance—handsome, imposing, and openly swaggering.

He Lingchuan took one look and said, “Let’s go.”

He had no intention of staying.

The tiger was puzzled. “Go where?” Yesterday, this guy had openly challenged the Touring Commissioner and fought the Fan brothers without a trace of fear, so why is he running the moment some unfamiliar men come stomping in with bad tempers?

“To eat breakfast, of course, and have some morning tea.” Even as he spoke, He Lingchuan was already climbing out the back window.

The men below had not yet fully surrounded the inn. With his agility, slipping away was easy.

The tiger had no choice but to follow after him.

To think that it, a dignified Royal Palace General from Mount Bai, a veteran of open battlefields where it had cut down scores of enemies, was now climbing walls and darting through alleys behind this special envoy. Without much effort at all, it found itself leaping onto the roof of the silk shop next door.

Man and tiger continued sneaking forward.

As He Lingchuan passed a small upper room, he thought he caught sight of a young girl inside just about to change clothes.

At that exact moment, the tiger stepped on a loose tile.

Clack!

The wooden window of the room flew open at once. He Lingchuan jerked his head back in alarm and instantly flipped himself over the far side of the roof ridge.

The girl leaned out and looked around, but seeing nothing unusual, she shut the window again.

He Lingchuan smacked the tiger on the head. “Be careful. Don’t expose us.”

The tiger’s hide was thick, and its skull even thicker. It did not care in the least. Licking its lips, it said, “They’ve dismounted.”

It was naturally referring to those ten riders.

He Lingchuan stuck his head out and saw that all the men and horses had stopped outside the inn. They had made quite the spectacle, and there was a large crowd gathered to watch, but the riders paid them no attention at all. The leader strode into the inn with his hands clasped behind his back, and the rest followed him in.

Soon, movement appeared in He Lingchuan’s room. The leader came to stand by the window, looking out with obvious displeasure on his face.

By then, man and tiger had already crouched behind the roof ridge.

A tall gable wall blocked the line of sight here. Once they got over it, nothing happening on this side could be seen from the room.

“Who’s that peacock with his nose in the air?”

Jiao Yu answered honestly, “No idea.”

The tiger was not familiar with Baishajue.

“Judging by the way he looks down on everyone, I’d guess he’s from Lingxu City.”

Jiao Yu still did not understand. “Why avoid meeting him?”

“There’s no need,” said He Lingchuan with a smile. “He came storming over looking like that, so he’s obviously here to pick a fight. Why waste time arguing with him? It’s such a lovely morning, and we’ve got better things to do.”

The man had come all this way only to find the room empty. He was probably not feeling very good about it.

Jiao Yu looked at him strangely.

“What?”

The tiger licked its lips. “You’re not angry? They’ve gone after the Crown Prince’s special envoy again and again. They’re really pushing it.” If it were the Crown Prince himself, he’d probably be furious by now.

“What good would being angry do?” He Lingchuan shrugged, unbothered. “It’s not like I can just march up to Zhongsun Mou and cut him down with a single slash.”