Rong Jiaojiao could no longer sense any bloodlust. Looking at everyone's depressed state, she thought of Zi Ling, wondering if Zi Ling could sense it.
He sent a telepathic message to Zi Ling: "Zi Ling, wake up, your master needs your help."
Within the secret realm, Zi Ling slowly awoke, shook her fur, and replied to Rong Jiaojiao, "Master, take me out."
With a sweep of her divine sense, Rong Jiaojiao summoned a sable in her arms.
Everyone else immediately became wary, but Leng Muya glanced at it and said, "This is your spirit pet? Why did you bring it out at this time?"
Su Yuqing and the others lowered their guard when they heard that it was a spirit pet.
Rong Jiaojiao explained, "Master, Zi Ling is particularly sensitive to blood-fiend energy; perhaps it can help us."
Leng Muya nodded: "Then let's give it a try."
Everyone else looked at Zi Ling with anticipation.
Zi Ling snuggled closer to Rong Jiaojiao, then perked up her ears, her amethyst-like eyes gleaming in the night.
Its tiny nose twitched constantly, and suddenly it darted out from Rong Jiaojiao's arms, transforming into a purple streak of light that rushed into the depths of the abandoned factory.
"Follow her!" Leng Muya shouted, and the group immediately chased after Zi Ling into the darkness.
The abandoned factory was covered with cobwebs, and moonlight slanted in through the broken glass windows, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Zi Ling nimbly weaved through the rusted machinery, finally stopping in front of a brick wall covered in moss, its front paws constantly digging at the soil at the base of the wall.
Rong Jiaojiao squatted down, gathering spiritual energy at her fingertips and tracing it across the wall.
The moss crumbled away, revealing several dark red lines on the wall—a blood-red talisman in dissipation, with tiny black crystals still remaining at its edges.
"It's a Blood Fiend Guiding Curse set up here beforehand!" Su Yuqing stomped her foot angrily. "No wonder the tracking always gets interrupted..."
With a flick of her sword finger, Leng Muya drew the copper coin sword, which hummed as it was drawn and hovered three inches above the talisman.
The golden light projected from the sword completely imprinted the rune patterns, and those seemingly chaotic lines formed a hideous ghost face in the golden light.
Rong Jiaojiao asked Ziling, "Is there still any bloodthirsty energy?"
Zi Ling shook her head: "Master, there aren't any more."
Leng Muya turned around: "Get in the car and go to the places we followed earlier to see if they used the same method to mislead us."
Everyone got into the car. Although they all had their own guesses, they still had to check it themselves.
Once in the car, Chen Pengfei asked, "Team leader, where are we going first?"
Leng Muya said, "Check them one by one, from the nearest to the furthest."
"yes!"
Chen Pengfei started the car, turned it around, and sped away.
Leng Muya then asked Rong Jiaojiao, "What was the outcome of that phone call you made last time?"
Rong Jiaojiao looked at the others, and Leng Muya said, "They are all from the Xuanmen Group, but feel free to speak. Let them learn something too."
Rong Jiaojiao then told everyone everything about the powerful demon spirit. After listening, everyone was a little worried, wondering if this incident was also caused by the demon spirit.
Leng Muya said, "Regardless of whether it was the evil spirit that did it, we must investigate it to the end."
Everyone nodded, and over the next night, with Zi Ling's assistance, they tracked down all the relevant locations one by one, and the result was as expected: in each place, they found the same Blood Fiend Guiding Curse.
As the eastern sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, the group returned to their car, exhausted.
Su Yuqing rubbed her temples, her tone tinged with helplessness: "It seems the other party was prepared in advance and deliberately set up these illusions."
Zhang Zekai flipped through the notebook, his brows furrowed: "The seven locations, when connected, form a pattern resembling the Big Dipper."
Upon hearing this, Rong Jiaojiao immediately leaned over to take a look, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes: "It's true! Each point corresponds to a star position."
She suddenly remembered something and hesitated, "Wait, I remember Master said that the Big Dipper governs death, and the Southern Dipper governs life..."
Leng Muya sat up abruptly, her gaze sharp as a knife: "What day is it on the lunar calendar today?"
Chen Pengfei quickly calculated, his voice tinged with tension: "The eighth day of the seventh lunar month, there are only seven days left until the Ghost Festival!"
A hush fell over the car. Everyone understood what this meant—the Ghost Festival, when the yin energy was at its peak, was the perfect time for evil cultivators to perform blood sacrifices.
"We must find their hideout as soon as possible," Leng Muya said in a deep voice. "Zhang Zekai, give me the map."
The group gathered around to study the map. Rong Jiaojiao noticed that the Big Dipper pattern formed by the seven locations had its handle pointing directly at Luofeng Mountain on the outskirts of the city.
"Senior Aunt, look here." She pointed to the map, her tone urgent. "If we take the orphanage as the starting point and extend the line along the handle of the spoon..."
A glint flashed in Leng Muya's eyes: "The Japanese once established an underground experimental base on Luofeng Mountain. Although it has been destroyed, many people have died there, and the yin energy is extremely heavy. It is indeed a good place to set up an evil formation."
Chen Pengfei immediately started the car, ready to leave: "Shall we go now?"
“No,” Leng Muya shook her head, her tone firm, “Since the other side has made such a meticulous plan, they must have set up many traps. We need reinforcements and more thorough preparations.”
"Let's go back to the inspection team."
Upon returning to the inspection team's base on Pujiang Avenue, Leng Muya immediately called headquarters to report her findings in detail.
After hearing the report, Tian Shu ordered Leng Muya: "Do not act rashly. I will send a powerful Earth Master and a powerful Celestial Master to assist you."
"Yes, Captain Tian Shu," Leng Muya replied respectfully before hanging up the phone.
Rong Jiaojiao, listening from the side, found it rather strange. Didn't Master say that Tian Shu was the leader of the Xuanmen Group? Why is he being called the captain now?
What Rong Jiaojiao didn't know was that the Xuanmen Group's Correction and Inspection Team had been reorganized, and Tian Shu had been appointed as the team leader, while people like Leng Muya were called team leaders.
"Everyone, go and rest first. We'll move out when the reinforcements arrive." Leng Muya glanced at everyone. At this moment, everyone's eyes were tired, but there was no sign of relaxation in their gazes.
"Okay, I'm going to get some sleep. I haven't slept for days. Now that things are starting to look promising, I need to rest and recharge." Su Yuqing yawned and got up to leave first.
The others nodded in agreement and went back to their rooms to rest.
Leng Muya led Rong Jiaojiao out of the conference room and said, "Let's go, there's a post office not far from the door. I'll take you there to send a telegram to your master and family."
Rong Jiaojiao nodded and put the somewhat tired Zi Ling into the small secret realm.
As Rong Jiaojiao walked out of the inspection team's door, she asked, "Senior, is there only four people in your team?"
Leng Muya nodded: "Originally, each group should have at least five people, but now that all the capable people have been assigned, we haven't been able to recruit enough."
Rong Jiaojiao nodded and asked again, "Where did those senior brothers and sisters at the Mage Realm who came down from the Immortal Mountain go?"
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