The Array

The silver butterfly fluttered its wings, leading Sang Ying all the way to Myriad Phenomena Mountain. The Myriad Phenomena Mountain under the night sky revealed a completely different landscape from that during the day.

Just as Auntie Chen had said, the silver butterfly eventually stopped near the Tuyao Flower and showed no further inclination to go any further.

"It seems that ordinary tracking Method Formula cannot locate Chen Liu. We need higher-level tracking Law Technique, and perhaps we will even need Chen Liu's blood," Cang Lian said, watching the butterfly slowly disappear.

Looking at the cluster of glowing Tuyao Flower in the night, Sang Ying had a sudden thought, "Why don't we see what's beneath this sea of flowers?"

She always felt that Chen Liu's sudden disappearance wasn't so simple. Why did that person's whereabouts suddenly stop near the flower field?

Sang Ying and her group were the kind of people who got things done, and her sudden idea was immediately approved by Jiang Zhuoxue and Cang Lian.

The ice dragon broke free from Sang Ying's wrist, shimmering in the moonlight. Cang Lian slightly flicked her fingers, and large swathes of Tuyao Flower were forcefully separated by an invisible force, revealing the dark brown earth beneath.

The moment the land was revealed, Sang Ying sensed a strange fluctuation of Spiritual Power.

She immediately tensed up and hurriedly said to Cang Lian, "Cang Lian, take me up to the sky to have a look!"

Cang Lian naturally wouldn't refuse her. When Sang Ying was lifted into the air by Cang Lian's grip on her shoulders, what she saw reflected in her eyes as she looked down at the ground was a magnificent scene brimming with Spiritual Power.

On that dark brown earth, there was clearly a massive array carved with Spiritual Power!

"What's wrong? What did you see?" Cang Lian's voice rang out at the right time, seemingly puzzled by Sang Ying's stunned expression.

Sang Ying paused, then retorted, "Didn't you see it? Didn't you see what was on the ground?"

Jiang Zhuoxue was the first to answer her, "We only saw you staring blankly at that dark mud; we didn't really see anything else."

Cang Lian nodded, indicating that this was indeed the case.

Sang Ying fell silent instantly; she hadn't expected that she was the only one who had seen the formation.

But why is that? And who set up this formation?

The array on the ground was probably left behind a long time ago, and Sang Ying couldn't discern its function or origin at all. She dared not touch it rashly, so she had no choice but to return to the Jimo Household first and then make further plans.

Before leaving, they made sure to restore the Tuyao Flower to their original state; otherwise, if someone came to admire the flowers tomorrow and saw the messy state, who knows how much trouble it would cause.

It seemed that Jimo Qing had already made arrangements with the guards in the manor, because Sang Ying returned to her courtyard without any trouble. After washing up briefly, she quickly resumed her cultivation.

The next morning, Sang Ying went out again, but this time she didn't bring Yinhuan with her. Instead, she asked Yin Huan to watch over the yard for her.

She left Green Vine and Gu Shu in the room, and only took Sang Ying Jiang Zhuoxue and Cang Lian with her when she went out.

This time, she used the simplest method, running almost the entire mortal city, before finally finding all the missing people.

Leaving aside those who fled Rizhao City after causing trouble, twelve ordinary young people in the prime of their lives mysteriously disappeared.

Some of their families contacted the city lord's mansion to investigate, while others gave up the search for various reasons.

These missing persons all share a common characteristic—their families are small and lack influence.

Ordinary people living in a large town like Rizhao City will more or less have some connection with cultivators, not only for protection but also to pave a better path for their descendants.

However, none of these families with missing members had ever met any cultivators, not even those at the Qi Refining Realm.

Sang Ying tapped the Jade Slip, her unease growing stronger than before.

She never imagined that such a seemingly minor missing person case would uncover so much more. It seems she has no choice but to go and find Jimo Qing.

Sang Ying returned at just the right time; Jimo Qing, who had been so busy these past few days that he was rarely seen, happened to be home. Without a second thought, Sang Ying sent him a message, and after receiving his permission, went directly to his study to find him.

Perhaps because she was at home, Jimo Qing's attire today was very casual, with a touch of laziness.

Upon seeing Sang Ying, he couldn't help but smile, "It's rare that you still remembered to look for me?"

His words made Sang Ying feel a little embarrassed, since after he brought her to Rizhao City, she had indeed put him out of her mind for various reasons.

Fortunately, Jimo Qing wasn't a petty person, and he quickly changed the subject. "Did you come to see me today because of something important?"

Sang Ying nodded, glancing at the servants behind him.

Jimo Qing immediately understood Sang Ying's meaning and quickly dismissed the group with a random excuse.

Once they were alone in the room, Jimo Qing lazily sat back down in his chair. "Speak, what is it that you need to be so serious about, hiding it from everyone?"

His attitude towards Sang Ying seemed excessively intimate.

Sang Ying handed him the Jade Slip, which contained information about the missing persons she had discovered, as well as their last known locations. "I found this by chance these past few days, and I think you should take a look."

Jimo Qing casually took it, his expression initially calm, but the more he read, the more serious his expression became.

Finally, he gently put the Jade Slip down. "How did you discover these?"

"I went to Myriad Phenomena Mountain a few days ago and accidentally bumped into Chen Liu's mother, which made me a little curious." She temporarily concealed the matter of the formation.

Knowing that she was hiding something, Jimo Qing didn't press her for details. Instead, he got up and took out a Jade Slip from the shelf behind him.

"Actually, I knew a little about this matter, but I didn't expect so many mortals to go missing." He handed the Jade Slip to Sang Ying. "Because I thought those people only wanted cultivators."

The Jade Slip was unfolded, revealing several rows of densely packed characters.

With a quick glance, Sang Ying could tell that the people listed were all cultivators, and most of them were low-level Rogue Cultivator.

"After all, Rizhao City is under the jurisdiction of our Jimo Household, so we are naturally aware that some people have gone missing in the city. All cultivators who have entered Rizhao City have been registered in the City Lord's Mansion. However, since three months ago, the people in the City Lord's Mansion have discovered that some cultivators have come to our Rizhao City and then disappeared without a trace."

"They neither left nor found work in the city. Some monks' rented rooms had long expired, but they neither renewed their leases nor sublet them elsewhere."

Jimo Qing's voice was somewhat ethereal. "It's as if they've never been to Rizhao City; they've completely vanished from this city..."