Volume Eight: Forced to Act

Luo Feng left the cave abode of the Hall Master Wei Yang.

"He's a piece of trash too!" Luo Feng had already anticipated this meeting, after all, the Insect Nest, the Strange Workshop, and the Myriad Shadow Pavilion all belonged to the same faction Hall Master Wei Yang. This meeting completely confirmed Luo Feng's judgment.

Hall Master Wei Yang is nothing but scum!

"It's understandable to maintain a city's operation by relying on trade and receiving a share of the profits from housing and rent," Luo Feng thought. "But it's still not enough, so they start stealing, robbing, and even using the pretext of screening suspected Xing Zhe ... to continue to exploit them."

"Hall Master Wei Yang, you are truly a piece of trash."

"Fortunately, you haven't obtained the City Builder's authority yet. If you had, who knows how many more things you would have done."

The Hall Master Wei Yang is different from Luo Feng.

Hall Master Wei Yang had long since reached the level of Half Primal Chaos Enlightenment Seeker, and had accumulated enough knowledge and experience at that level that it was difficult for him to make any further progress. He only wanted to acquire more resources easily and was no longer willing to work hard. Naturally, he valued Rain Ripple City highly.

Luo Feng is different!

Luo Feng's cultivation soared to new heights, Rain Ripple City in the Nine Rivers Holy World was merely one stop on Luo Feng cultivation journey.

"Once I've accumulated enough experience and broken through the Life-Death Path, I'll gain the authority of City Builder. Then I'll expel Hall Master Wei Yang," Luo Feng thought.

"Hall Master Yuan Xiang!"

Luo Feng walked through Rain Ripple City and sent a message to the Hall Master Yuan Xiang: "I am now preparing to search for any lurking Lowly Primal Chaos Lifeform throughout the city."

"Investigating now?" The Hall Master Yuan Xiang was pleasantly surprised and transmitted his voice with a smile, "Brother Luo Feng, you are much faster than the other elders. You just took over as the Sky Patrol Palace Commander and you have already screened all the suspected Xing Zhe. Now you have started a city-wide investigation."

"Every cave abode within the city is concealed by an array, so the Xing Zhe cave abode cannot be investigated for the time being," Luo Feng transmitted.

Those Xing Zhe outside the cave abode ultimately constitute only a small fraction of all Xing Zhe in the city.

"You investigate first. After you've finished, I'll make arrangements to close the cave abode formations in batches throughout the city," the Hall Master Yuan Xiang transmitted.

"Good."

Luo Feng responded.

He naturally opened the Imitation Life-Death Eye between his brows and began to observe the surroundings. Luo Feng could vaguely see the souls of Xing Zhe numerous Xing Zhe on the surrounding streets.

"Huff." "Huff." "Huff." "Huff." "Huff."

Five cave abode of Luo Feng also flew out from Luo Feng's cave.

Each Luo Feng opened the Imitation Life-Death Eye.

There were six clones of Luo Feng, each responsible for a part of the area, and they began a carpet-like exploration.

At this moment, a light rain was falling in Rain Ripple City. The Xing Zhe in the city had all sorts of appearances. Luo Feng, with only an extra eye between his eyebrows, was inconspicuous in the city. His six clones flew leisurely, looking at one place after another.

"A lurking entity has been discovered, Bewitching Heart Worm."

"A second one has been discovered: a clone of the Bewitching Heart Worm."

"Ninth discovered, Soul-Devouring Serpent clone."

Even after discovering the cultivator, Luo Feng didn't alert him. Instead, he silently noted down the Xing Zhe's identity. Based on the detailed database of Rain Ripple City, he could easily determine the Xing Zhe's identity and the location of their cave abode dwelling.

It took half a day for Luo Feng's six clones to travel all over Rain Ripple City, and the six clones finally reunited.

"Hall Master Yuan Xiang, I have searched the entire city. I have checked every Xing Zhe outside the cave abode," Luo Feng reported. "A total of twenty-two lurkers have been discovered."

"Twenty-two?" The Hall Master Yuan Xiang was overjoyed. "Once they are killed, we should be able to capture another group of lurkers by following the cause-and-effect relationship."

Luo Feng nodded.

In terms of observation Secret Method, I am unparalleled in the entire city! But when it comes to cause and effect, there are still quite a few who are better than me.

"I will arrange for the elders to split up and take action. They will kill these twenty-two infiltrators. And following the cause and effect, they will capture more infiltrators," the Hall Master Yuan Xiang transmitted. "You don't need to worry about this small matter."

"Okay," Luo Feng replied.

The veterans can make arrests based on cause and effect.

******

Luo Feng's Imitation Life-Death Eye could see the entire city, but as the observation range expanded, the level of detail decreased significantly, allowing him to only discern the vague auras of many Xing Zhe. He could barely perceive even their physical bodies, let alone their souls.

"They've made their move." Luo Feng's Imitation Life-Death Eye had already locked onto the twenty-two suspected lurkers.

He could see clearly that the twenty-two elders acted at the same time, instantly killing the twenty-two lurkers.

Then, based on cause and effect, they quickly captured the other related clones.

Inside an ordinary cave abode in the Rain Ripple City.

A Red Robe Cultivator lived alone.

"Your Majesty, our low- and middle-ranking clansmen who were lurking in Rain Ripple City have been killed one after another." A voice resounded in the mind of the Red Robe Cultivator. "At least thirty clan avatars have been killed, and the number is growing rapidly."

"Lower-middle class avatars being killed one after another?" the Red Robe Cultivator wondered. "How could so many have been exposed?"

"This operation is known only to the leaders. Our main focus is on restraining the core members. As for the lower and middle-ranking ethnic groups... the restraints are not strict," the voice said.

"Of course, these lower and middle-class ethnic groups are unaware of the importance of this operation; their true forms are still outside the city. Those inside the city are merely avatars of insects," the voice continued.

"Then we don't need to worry about it."

The Red Robe Cultivator replied, "Wait patiently; it's not time to launch it yet."

"Yes," the voice replied.

In Rain Ripple City, following the twenty-two lurkers identified by Luo Feng, another 76 lurking clones were captured along the causal lines. Furthermore, a large number of Xing Zhe suspected of being connected to them were sent to the Sky Patrol Palace.

Hundreds of these suspected Xing Zhe committed suicide during the arrest process.

"Brother Luo Feng has truly made a great contribution. This round of screening has forced out about two hundred lurking individuals." The Hall Master Yuan Xiang was very satisfied. They guessed that there were quite a few Lowly Primal Chaos Lifeform lurking in the shadows.

In the past, it was extremely difficult to find out.

Now it's much more enjoyable.

Luo Feng, undeterred by the hardship, stayed at the Sky Patrol Palace to inspect all the suspected Xing Zhe! Those Xing Zhe who were arrested and released on the same day, without being exploited for their treasures, caused a stir among the Xing Zhe throughout the city.

"Your Majesty, we have lost 205 clan avatars this time. These avatars belong to 23 different clans, and are all from clans with the strength of God Emperor Mid-Stage or God Emperor Early-Stage," the voice reported.

"Ignore it." The Red Robe Cultivator didn't care.

The few clans with the strength of God Emperor Mid-Stage are insignificant compared to a true 'city annihilation operation'.

"Taking this opportunity, I have ordered all members to lie low and not to act on their own," the voice said. "After so many losses, they have all obeyed obediently by lying low."

"Wait patiently, and when the time is right, that's when you'll act." The Red Robe Cultivator remained composed.

The Red Robe Cultivator gazed towards the core area of Rain Ripple City.

"The elders of Rain Ripple City have no idea how many races have infiltrated. In the entire Nine Rivers Holy World, roughly half of the core members of all the branches of the Bewitching Heart Worm and Soul-Devouring Serpent have gathered here," the Red Robe Cultivator thought.

Only those with the strength of God Emperor Late-Stage are qualified to be called core members.

Only those at the God Emperor Completion-Level) are leaders of a certain branch of a race.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the entire Rain Ripple City trembled violently, and a terrifying aura erupted.

The Red Robe Cultivator was somewhat surprised. His gaze pierced through the formation and looked outwards, where he could see a dense purple light enveloping the entire city.

"Boom!" Another loud noise rang out, and the drizzle throughout Rain Ripple City turned into mist, with an invisible force spreading to every corner of the city.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Various loud noises.

The hidden formations throughout Rain Ripple City erupted continuously! The power of heaven and earth that they drew upon surged and raged! The energy above the city resembled a turbulent ocean, with constant rumbling sounds.

Normally, the elders only spare a little attention to maintain the various defensive systems of Rain Ripple City. However, in critical moments such as siege battles, the elders will go all out to activate the formations, causing their power to surge rapidly.

That's exactly what's happening now! The city's formations are being activated one by one, their power surging continuously.

This gradual activation suggests that Rain Ripple City is not in a hurry.

"What's going on? Why is the formation in Rain Ripple City operating at full power?" The Red Robe Cultivator was startled. "Has our operation been exposed?"

"Impossible."

"All core members involved in the operation have been restrained, and even the details of the operation are known only to the leaders." The Red Robe Cultivator was somewhat uneasy.

After several dozen breaths, all the arrays in Rain Ripple City activated, their terrifying power enveloping every corner of the city. This made the Xing Zhe within the city somewhat nervous.

"I am Yuanxiang." A gentle voice resounded throughout the city. "Xing Zhe of Rain Ripple City, there is no need to panic! Rain Ripple City has methods to detect Lowly Primal Chaos Lifeform forms lurking in the shadows. From now on, we will close the formations of all cave abode in batches! After the Xing Zhe of your cave abode are closed, please take the initiative to close the formations you have set up so that it will be easier to verify your identity."

"The entire inspection process can be completed within one day." The voice of the Hall Master Yuan Xiang resounded throughout the city.

"Can we survey the entire city now?"

"Very good!"

"It's long ago that all the lurking Lowly Primal Chaos Lifeform should have been wiped out."

Throughout the city, the vast majority of Xing Zhe cheered. This was because over 90% of the city's Xing Zhe were below the God Emperor level, and they were virtually powerless against the lurking Lowly Primal Chaos Lifeform. To them, it was a nightmare!

If we conduct a one-time inspection and expel them all, then with regular screenings in the future, the safety of Rain Ripple City can be greatly improved.

"Your Majesty! The entire city must be searched!" the voice said urgently.

The Red Robe Cultivator naturally heard the sound that echoed throughout the city, and his face turned ugly.

He was the leader of the "Destroy Rain Ripple City" operation and was the first to arrive. Not all the other "Kings" had arrived yet, as the scheduled operation time had not yet arrived.

"The forces within the city need to remain hidden, so they all arrived ahead of time, and they're all there. But only 30% of the forces outside the city have arrived! The rest are still on their way," the Red Robe Cultivator said angrily.

"Never mind, even if we launch the attack ahead of schedule, my Lowly Primal Chaos Lifeform race may suffer many more casualties. But the chance of destroying the city is still over 90%."

The Red Robe Cultivator had icy eyes.

He knew he couldn't wait any longer.

If we wait any longer, we'll have to search the entire city!

"Pass on my order: proceed according to the pre-arranged plan!" The voice of the Red Robe Cultivator suddenly resounded in the minds of all the Lowly Primal Chaos Lifeform lurking within the city. This invisible mental fluctuation caused all the lurking beings to naturally submit.

P. S.: I'll take a day off tomorrow. The battle for Rain Ripple City will begin the day after tomorrow!