Chapter 30 – Missing

Yun Xiguang’s prediction was spot on. When he passed through the black mist to reach the reality where the Spirit Beast Codex resided, it was like someone leaving the confidential archive without using the main entrance. This triggered the array that protected the confidential archive.

From the moment he left the confidential archive, people from the outside knew something had occurred.

Of course, Chi Qiong had also exited the confidential archive via the “illusory reality,” but since Chi Qiong existed outside the rules, his departure didn’t alert anyone on the outside.

The Special Affairs Bureau had dedicated personnel watching over the array. Upon noticing something amiss, they immediately reported to Li Zheng.

Li Zheng led a group to the archive room and swiftly dismantled the maze outside the confidential archive. This was a spatial distortion skill, one that Ruan Shu had materialized from the spatial distortions in the case records around the perimeter of the archive.

This move primarily sealed the space internally. Once the spatial distortion was broken from the outside, the power maintaining the distorted space quickly dissipated.

After regrouping, Zhao Yu and the others recounted the events inside the archive with concise words. Zhao Yu particularly emphasized Yun Xiguang’s crucial role in the incident.

It was Yun Xiguang who deduced Ruan Shu’s spirit beast form, Yun Xiguang who devised a plan to stall Ruan Shu, and Yun Xiguang’s spirit beast that discovered Ruan Shu’s location. After Ruan Shu broke into the confidential archive, it was again Yun Xiguang and his spirit beast who followed closely behind, risking their lives in an attempt to prevent Ruan Shu from destroying the confidential archive.

“Director, Yun Xiguang is a promising prospect. Although he doesn’t have a spirit root, his analytical skills, logical thinking, and mental fortitude are all excellent. Moreover, his spirit beast isn’t as weak as it appears. That bird has exceptional sensory abilities; I believe Yun Xiguang would make a great Spiritbond Master,” Zhao Yu said.

Li Zheng responded, “The most important ability for a Spiritbond Master is self-preservation. Rushing into the confidential archive recklessly was a risk.”

“Director Li, you must save him,” Zhao Yu implored.

“It depends on whether he can hold out until reinforcements arrive,” Li Zheng said, frowning.

The secrets within the confidential archive couldn’t be divulged to others, even Zhao Yu lacked the authority to know.

Li Zheng ordered someone to escort Zhao Yu and the others away. They had just endured a fierce battle, and the interns were utterly exhausted. Zhao Yu still had some energy left, but he was disabled. In a past battle, he was hit in the spine, rendering his lower body numb, unable to stand ever since. That’s why he had retreated to desk work. Although Zhao Yu and White Tiger still had strength, his body couldn’t sustain the effort.

As they were led away, Zhao Yu kept urging Li Zheng to do everything possible to save Yun Xiguang. After the battle, the interns had developed a comradely bond with Yun Xiguang and were deeply worried about him. Only Wu Ailang, who claimed to be Yun Xiguang’s best friend, remained calm, even snoring softly as he rested on Snow Wolf.

Xue Lan was infuriated by his demeanor and slapped Wu Ailang awake, asking, “Aren’t you worried about Yun Xiguang?”

“Not at all,” Wu Ailang said matter-of-factly.

Xue Lan was taken aback by his attitude and questioned, “Aren’t you supposed to be good friends?”

“You don’t understand,” Wu Ailang shook his head mysteriously. “My Brother Yun is very strong. His spirit beast is a divine beast; Ruan Shu can’t beat him.”

Everyone was speechless.

They had all seen Chi Qiong’s inability to fly, and they completely disbelieved Wu Ailang’s words, assuming he had been knocked silly by Snow Wolf. The wolf did have eyes similar to a husky’s, so perhaps its intelligence matched as well.

Recalling the peculiar combat style during the fight, with Snow Wolf leaping off Wu Ailang and Wu Ailang lunging at Ruan Shu, everyone felt that this pair had lost their minds.

After sending away those uninvolved, Li Zheng immediately requested backup through internal channels, specifically asking for assistance from a Spiritbond Master who had contracted with The Mirage.

The confidential archive was of utmost importance, and higher-ups promptly contacted the Spiritbond Master Hai Ruobo through the Spiritbond Master Association. This Spiritbond Master mostly resided in Jing City and arrived at the Special Affairs Bureau by helicopter quite swiftly.

Hai Ruobo arrived at the Special Affairs Bureau just as Yun Xiguang created the illusion of the Crimson Chi. The timing was uncannily precise.

Upon Hai Ruobo’s arrival, the special operations team, already prepared, opened the door to the confidential archive under Li Zheng’s lead.

Simultaneously, Hai Ruobo worked together with The Mirage to conceal the “illusory reality” within the confidential archive, folding up the layers of space inside.

Once the “illusory reality” was retracted, the confidential archive was simply a vast, empty space.

Upon entering the confidential archive, the first thing they saw was the floating illusion of the Crimson Chi and Ruan Shu frozen into an ice statue on the ground.

The special operations team, ready to clear out pests, almost failed to identify the enemy for a moment.

Seeing everyone rush in, Yun Xiguang, lying in a remote corner pretending to be unconscious, secretly urged the illusion forward.

The massive Crimson Chi illusion pounced toward the crowd fiercely. The special operations team unleashed their ultimate moves in defense, each feeling the impact of the Crimson Chi’s colossal body, leaving an impression in their minds that it was tangible.

The Crimson Chi illusion made a symbolic collision, then before Hai Ruobo and Li Zheng could intervene, raised its head and emitted a long, resonant dragon’s roar. Subsequently, it charged towards the open door with force.

A Crimson Chi suddenly appearing in the confidential archive was entirely different from their anticipated scenario. They couldn’t allow this Crimson Chi to escape.

Li Zheng spread his arms wide, and a large Peng bird appeared behind him.

The Peng bird spread its wings, with a span reaching nearly a hundred meters. Even with one wing not fully extended, it blocked the entrance to the confidential archive.

However, the Crimson Chi didn’t dodge or retreat. It rammed straight into the Peng bird’s wing, transformed into ice crystals and vanished into the air, leaving behind only a piece of red, crystal-like scales.

Hai Ruobo picked up the scale and examined it, saying, “A Crimson Chi can grow up to a hundred meters long and shrink to the size of an earthworm. We’ve been tricked. It must have used the ‘Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell’ technique, using this illusion to confuse us while its true form shrank. While our attention was drawn to the illusion, its true form had already escaped.”

“Chase after it. Look for a red snake that can change size,” Li Zheng instructed.

Several members of the special operations team immediately pursued the nonexistent Crimson Chi.

With no danger present, Li Zheng let the uninformed special operations team guard the door while he and Hai Ruobo stayed inside the archive to investigate.

Li Zheng approached the ice sculpture of Ruan Shu, squatted down to check his condition, and shook his head. “His brain has been eaten by the bookworms, and his body is frozen into an ice sculpture. Even if we can save him, he’ll be a brain-dead vegetable.”

Ruan Shu, originally an outstanding student, had become a puppet due to encountering the bookworms, committing grave mistakes, and losing his life in vain.

The world of Spiritbond Masters was fraught with peril.

“Senior Hai, how did that Crimson Chi appear?” Li Zheng asked.

Hai Ruobo, with his blue hair and skin so pale it was almost translucent, seemed like he could turn into sea foam and vanish at any moment.

He was already in his fifties, but due to his peculiar appearance, his age was indiscernible. People might believe he was in his early twenties, or that he was a centenarian with a youthful appearance.

These changes were brought about by bonding with The Mirage.

Hai Ruobo possessed unique abilities and held a special status in the world of Spiritbond Masters. Everyone addressed him as Senior.

“There’s only one place in the confidential archive where spirit beasts can be summoned, and that’s right here, in the recording space of the Spirit Beast Codex,” Hai Ruobo said.

“Could it be that Ruan Shu mistakenly entered the Spirit Beast Codex, opened a spatial channel between reality and the codex, released the Crimson Chi, and ultimately met his own demise?” Li Zheng pondered. “Senior Hai, can you recreate what happened here?”

Hai Ruobo glanced at Yun Xiguang, lying in the corner, and said, “No rush. Let’s go see that person first.”

Upon hearing Hai Ruobo mention him, Yun Xiguang immediately manipulated the Heavenly Fire in his heart to wreak havoc within him, causing his blood and qi to surge, and he genuinely passed out.

Li Zheng came to Yun Xiguang’s side and checked him, saying, “Looks like he’s fainted. It seems he didn’t encounter Ruan Shu and wasn’t attacked by the Crimson Chi. He’s really lucky, isn’t he?”

Yun Xiguang’s good luck was something Li Zheng had witnessed firsthand during the temporary competition at the Zhuzhao Academy.

Strange phenomena descended from the heavens, and all his opponents were assaulted by the True Sun Fire, except for him and Wu Ailang, who emerged unscathed. They won without shedding a drop of blood and smoothly became C-grade Spiritbond Masters.

Li Zheng believed that Yun Xiguang’s luck could be used as a weapon.

“Is it really just luck?” Hai Ruobo squatted down, flipped over Yun Xiguang, who was lying face-down, and instructed Li Zheng, “Search his body and see if the Crimson Chi is hiding on him.”

“Senior suspects that the Crimson Chi made us think it escaped, but is actually still hidden on someone in this room, waiting for us to take that person out so it can escape smoothly?” Li Zheng asked.

“There’s a possibility,” Hai Ruobo replied.

According to procedure, Li Zheng should search Yun Xiguang. He rummaged through Yun Xiguang’s clothes and saw the small spirit bird cradled in Yun Xiguang’s palm, protected close to his heart. He sighed softly.

This child was still so kind-hearted, despite being in dire straits, he still had the energy to care for others. In such a perilous environment, Yun Xiguang’s first reaction before fainting was to protect this weak spirit beast, truly a kind and good child.

Li Zheng pressed his hand against Yun Xiguang’s clothing, overlooking the Crimson Chi and Phoenix Feather tied around Yun Xiguang’s wrist as if he were blind.

Yun Xiguang had the Crimson Chi tied around his wrist, and the Phoenix Feather was coiled around the Crimson Chi. The two-meter-long Phoenix Feather was wrapped around his wrist many times, glaringly visible, yet Li Zheng didn’t notice it.

While Li Zheng searched Yun Xiguang, Hai Ruobo also observed Yun Xiguang, similarly ignoring the Phoenix Feather.

The Crimson Chi, hidden within the Phoenix Feather, breathed a slight sigh of relief.

After completing the search, they found nothing on Yun Xiguang.

“It seems I was wrong. I didn’t expect the Crimson Chi to really escape under The Mirage’s watchful eye. It’s indeed strange; did it gain some new power?” Hai Ruobo wondered.

Li Zheng analyzed, “Based on the available intelligence, the bookworm may have obtained one of the nine portions of spirit energy from the day of Awakening Thunder. The bookworm fought the Crimson Chi and lost. Is it possible that the Crimson Chi seized the bookworm’s spirit energy, thereby gaining new powers?”

“It’s possible,” Hai Ruobo nodded slightly. “But to find out exactly what happened, let’s see it for ourselves.”

He flipped his palm, revealing a small, shimmering clam in his hand.

The mirage was a type of clam, a giant clam, with a water dragon inside when the shell was opened. Now, in Hai Ruobo’s hand, it was the miniature version of The Mirage.

He gently tapped the shell, which opened, revealing a tiny water dragon that poked its head out and spewed countless bubbles.

These bubbles filled the entire room, and as Li Zheng watched them, the scene before his eyes gradually transformed.

The mirage utilized light refraction to recreate the “illusory reality” that had occurred in this room.

Li Zheng saw Ruan Shu barge into the confidential archive, wander around several spaces within the archive, pass through various dimensions, and finally stop in the space of the Spirit Beast Codex, getting sucked into the black mist.

Subsequently, a Crimson Chi appeared out of thin air, freezing Ruan Shu, and the bookworm vanished into the air.

On the other side, Yun Xiguang also traversed several spaces within the confidential archive, eventually collapsing in exhaustion before a terrifying spirit beast with numerous tentacles.

The “history” presented by The Mirage was consistent with Yun Xiguang’s expectations, concealing the existence of the Phoenix Feather and Chi Qiong.

It wasn’t so much a concealment as it was a shielding.

In fact, if Yun Xiguang and Chi Qiong had watched this “illusory reality,” they would have seen that when Ruan Shu and the Crimson Chi were fighting, Yun Xiguang and the little spirit bird were standing nearby. They would have also seen Yun Xiguang using Heavenly Fire to attack the bookworm.

They would have seen Yun Xiguang taking the little spirit bird and the Crimson Chi away from this space.

But just like the previous Crimson Chi, Li Zheng and Hai Ruobo were blind to this scene. Their vision was shielded by something, preventing them from seeing Yun Xiguang.

After the replay concluded, Hai Ruobo put away the clam, looked at Yun Xiguang, who was unconscious on the ground, and wondered, “He really didn’t encounter Ruan Shu and faced no dangers. Could his luck really be that good?”

Li Zheng nodded. “Indeed, it is that good.”