The cultivators sensed his presence and immediately turned around. Upon seeing that it was Ye Lingtian, they were immediately in an uproar.
"Nine Heavens Emperor! You've returned!"
An older monk strode forward, his voice tinged with urgency.
"Great! Some strange things have been happening in the city lately, and we were just wondering what to do!"
"explain!"
Ye Lingtian uttered a single word, his gaze fixed coldly on the other person.
"My lord, several spirit medicine pavilions and weapon refining workshops in the imperial city have recently been burglarized!"
The monk said anxiously.
"Moreover, each time it leaves no trace, not even divine sense can track it!"
"Stolen?"
Ye Lingtian frowned slightly.
What were you stealing?
"All top-quality materials!"
The monk hurriedly answered.
“Things like Nine-Star Purple Gold, Blazing Flame Essence, and several ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs are almost impossible to find on the market!”
"Master, this sounds like the method of extraterrestrial demons!"
Little Fire jumped onto Ye Lingtian's shoulder and muttered softly.
"Are they short of materials, which is why they resort to such petty theft?"
"Maybe!"
Ye Lingtian said calmly, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings.
Have any suspicious individuals been seen coming or going recently?
"No!"
Another monk quickly replied.
"The teleportation arrays in the city are under strict surveillance, and the lists of cultivators entering and leaving the city have been checked one by one, but we can't find any clues at all!"
"That's strange, how did they do that?"
Xiao Huo scratched his head, looking puzzled.
"Master, why don't we go check out the Spirit Medicine Pavilion? Maybe we can find some clues there!"
"lead the way!"
Ye Lingtian raised his hand, signaling the cultivators to lead the way.
"Yes, sir! Please follow me!"
The older cultivator immediately led the way, with Ye Lingtian and Xiao Huo following behind him. They soon arrived in front of a huge spirit medicine pavilion.
The entrance to the Spirit Medicine Pavilion was covered with various sealing runes, but judging from the fluctuations of spiritual energy inside, these runes did not play a significant role.
"Master, look at these runes, they seem to have been tampered with!"
Little Fire pressed itself against the doorframe and sniffed carefully.
"There's a lingering evil aura, but it's very faint, as if it's deliberately concealing its presence!"
"interesting!"
Ye Lingtian smiled coldly and waved his hand casually. The evil energy on the rune instantly appeared, turning into a faint purplish-black light.
"My lord, it was indeed the work of a demon!"
The older monk exclaimed in surprise.
"They were able to break through our protective formations without us even noticing!"
"This is just a smokescreen!"
Ye Lingtian said calmly.
"The real secret lies deep within the Spirit Medicine Pavilion!"
After saying that, he strode into the Spirit Medicine Pavilion, with Little Fire following closely behind, muttering to himself.
"Master, if I encounter those demons this time, I'll definitely spit fire in their faces first, and see if they still dare to be arrogant!"
Ye Lingtian quickly arrived at a closed storage room. The entrance to the storage room was covered with complex array patterns, but those patterns had been completely destroyed, indicating that someone had forcibly broken in.
"Master, this place must be hiding a great secret!"
Little Fire excitedly jumped to the door and pushed it with its paw.
"How about we just go in and take a look?"
Ye Lingtian did not answer, but simply raised his hand and gently pushed, and the door to the storage room slowly opened.
The light inside was dim, but it was clear that all the medicinal herbs and materials had been removed, leaving only a few traces of their presence on the ground.
"It's completely empty!"
Little Fire gritted its teeth and patted its tail on the ground.
"These demons are too rampant! They won't even spare a spiritual herb!"
Ye Lingtian's gaze swept around, then stopped on a piece of floor in the corner.
He raised his hand and waved it, and the floorboards slowly rose, revealing a hidden compartment containing a strange talisman.
"Master, what is this?"
Little Fire came closer and gently touched the talisman with its paw.
"There seems to be something sinister about it, but it doesn't seem to be a complete thing!"
Ye Lingtian took the talisman in his hand, examined it carefully for a moment, and his gaze narrowed slightly.
"These are array symbols used by extraterrestrial demons to mark teleportation points!"
"What! They actually used such methods!"
Xiao Huo's eyes widened immediately.
"Could they still be hiding nearby?"
"No!"
Ye Lingtian shook his head.
"The purpose of these array symbols is to allow for immediate evacuation after completing the mission; they've already left!"
"So what do we do next?"
Xiao Huo scratched his head, looking unwilling.
"Are we just going to let them get away like this?"
"Keep chasing!"
Ye Lingtian said coldly.
"They think they can escape my pursuit by hiding in the shadows? How naive!"
Ye Lingtian held the array talisman.
The marks on the talisman appeared disordered, but in Ye Lingtian's eyes, they outlined a faint trajectory.
"Master, is this... the trajectory of a teleportation array?"
Little Fire approached Ye Lingtian's hand and pointed with its paw at the lines on the talisman.
"Did they escape from here to somewhere else?"
"good!"
Ye Lingtian nodded, his gaze coldly fixed on the symbol at the very center of the talisman.
"This is a hidden stronghold. These demons used this array to return to their gathering place!"
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's chase after them!"
Little Fire jumped up excitedly, its tail whipping out a trail of flame in the air.
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