Chapter 453 312: Expansion
The station, in the main hall of the Dianmao Office.
At this moment, the main hall was brightly lit. Many of the sect's disciples were gathered there—not just those at the Blood Strengthening realm, but also the stronger disciples of the Refining the Internal Organs realm, along with a number of powerful sect Stewards.
HISSS! HISSS! HISSS!
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!
Unsettling, strange cries echoed from within the main hall, where eight Blood Strengthening disciples of the Red Heart Sect lay tightly bound on the floor.
Their current state was terrifying to behold.
One disciple was sprouting green fur, his eyes bloodshot and crimson, his teeth grown terrifyingly sharp, his face twisted and savage.
Another's entire body was a bluish-black hue. A strange, crazed smile was plastered on his face, and with his mouth gagged by a cloth, he could only let out muffled whimpers.
Yet another had bone spikes erupting from his body and was wailing in agony.
...
Evil Transformation.
This was the change that occurred when a living being was corrupted by Evil Spirits, their body invaded by Yin Qi. Unlike a common possession, a person undergoing an Evil Transformation often displayed extremely aggressive tendencies and was more prone to causing great destruction.
Just then, a middle-aged man in plain white robes, his hair fastened in a high topknot and a handlebar mustache gracing his lip, was squatting beside the eight transformed disciples, inspecting their conditions one by one.
He wasn't drawing any Techniques, yet a faint golden light enveloped his palm. Whenever he pressed his hand on one of the transformed disciples, no matter how frenzied they were, they would instantly fall still, their bodies rigid, as if struck by an Immobilization Spell.
After inspecting each of the disciples' conditions, Qiu Qing slowly rose to his feet, his brows furrowed.
"Elder Qiu, what is their condition?"
Several Stewards nearby immediately gathered around him to ask.
"The Evil Transformation is absolute. The Lifebound Primordial Qi within their bodies has been entirely replaced by Yin Qi. There is no chance of survival. In a sense, they have already been completely supplanted by Evil Spirits."
"As for the cause… I have no leads yet. This incident is likely related to the one three days ago. Moreover, I have a premonition that its scope is far wider this time. Has anyone contacted the Government Office? I fear similar incidents are erupting all over the city."
Qiu Qing said, shaking his head.
Hearing this, the faces of the others grew grim.
The Red Heart Sect had six Elders under the Sect Leader. Since the last incident, however, the Sect Leader had been gravely injured and gone into seclusion, and two Elders had perished. This made Qiu Qing arguably one of the most powerful figures in the sect. If he couldn't find any clues, it was doubtful anyone else could.
This meant the incident was far from simple.
"Keep these few disciples restrained for now. Don't let them die. The Red Heart Sect's own investigative techniques are lacking in this area; we may need to seek help from other Schools."
Qiu Qing said thoughtfully.
Just then, a commotion came from outside. Soon after, He Xijun made her way through the crowd and entered the main hall, her expression grave and her steps hurried.
"Xi Jun, what's happened? Why do you look like this?"
Seeing He Xijun, Qiu Qing asked, his expression softening.
He Xijun was the daughter of an old friend and his personal disciple. Her talent was exceptional, second to none of the male disciples in the sect, and he valued her greatly. With no children of his own, he had always treated He Xijun as his own kin.
"Master, I have something to report."
He Xijun cupped her fist and bowed to Qiu Qing. As she did, her gaze fell upon the tightly bound, transformed disciples at the side, and her expression flickered.
"Oh? Go on."
Qiu Qing frowned slightly, and the crowd of Stewards nearby also wore looks of curiosity.
"I… I'm afraid I was just caught up in that incident as well."
He Xijun said in a low voice, her eyes glancing toward the transformed disciples, which made her meaning instantly clear to everyone.
At her words, Qiu Qing's expression tightened. He immediately stepped forward and grasped her wrist, a golden light surging from his body as he began to inspect her condition.
Only after discovering that she had merely exhausted a large amount of her Primordial Qi and was otherwise unharmed did he let out a small sigh of relief. He released her wrist and asked in a low voice, "What exactly happened?"
"I'm not entirely sure. The memories seem to be gone. All I know is that I was resting when I suddenly fell into a daze and lost consciousness. When I came to, I found my Primordial Qi was completely depleted, and my Spirit felt utterly exhausted…"
He Xijun relayed what she had discovered and felt truthfully.
"Memory loss? A sudden lapse in consciousness?"
Hearing this, the others frowned deeply.
If she couldn't recall her memories of the event, the intelligence she could provide was severely limited.
"At least one thing is certain: this incident involving Evil Spirits is almost certainly related to dreams."
"Her consciousness was dragged into some dream, and then her Primordial Qi was fed on by an Evil Spirit?"
"We can't be sure. There's too little useful information."
"…"
The Stewards couldn't help but break into a flurry of discussion.
On one hand, they had no information about the source of the Evil Spirits; on the other, the one survivor involved in the incident had memory loss. This put them in a very passive position. The event had happened, right before their eyes, yet they had failed to obtain any useful information.
Without proper intelligence, it would be incredibly difficult to mount an effective response against such an ethereal and elusive Evil Spirit.
"As for her memory, once dawn breaks, we'll ask the experts from other Gates or the Government Office to see if there's a way to restore it."
"Also, compile and analyze every detail about all individuals involved in both incidents. We must figure out how they became entangled in this. If we can at least understand that much, we might regain some small measure of initiative."