Chapter 479: Chapter 479: Celestial Beings Everywhere

Zhang Yuan fully understood the frustration and sense of oppression in Mo Huai’an’s heart.

Imagine a teenage prodigy first stepping into the bustling world, filled with heroic zeal, determined to eradicate demons and defend the Dao.

Suddenly doused with a bucket of cold water, how could one maintain a calm and composed state of mind?

Most importantly, Zhang Yuan saw significant issues in the talisman mailed to him.

The Drought Fiend emerging caused chaos in the world; as one of the main veins of the Daoist Sect, eliminating deceitful monsters and demons was part of their duty.

So why use an almost reproachful tone to tell Mo Huai’an not to interfere?

And even command him to train in seclusion at Qingfeng Temple!

This clearly defies common sense.

Zhang Yuan faintly felt that behind this great drought in Yongzhou, which supposedly hinted at the emergence of a Drought Fiend, some hidden secrets might be lurking.

The water runs deep indeed!

He handed the talisman back to Mo Huai’an and asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

Mo Huai’an smiled wryly and said, "The decree of the Sect cannot be defied."

This young mage was born, raised, and cultivated in Upper Scenic Celestial, and the mark of the Sect was already engraved deeply in his bloodline and divine soul; thus, no matter how dissatisfied or puzzled, he had to obediently obey commands.

Mo Huai’an’s decision did not surprise Zhang Yuan, and he nodded, "That’s fine."

Setbacks can make one grow; if this young mage could learn through this that not everything in the world goes according to one’s wishes and sometimes one needs to adapt and blend in with the dust, this experience wouldn’t be wasted.

Mo Huai’an’s smile became more bitter, as he sighed, "But the millions of common people in Yongzhou..."

Zhang Yuan felt moved and said, "How about this, you stay put in Qingfeng Temple, and I’ll wander around outside, gather some information, and if it’s possible..."

He left the latter part unsaid; it didn’t need to be explicitly articulated.

The talisman sent back by Upper Scenic Celestial only contained decrees pertaining to Mo Huai’an.

Zhang Yuan was not mentioned at all.

This meant Zhang Yuan was completely free.

Mo Huai’an’s eyes lit up immediately.

The young mage suddenly bowed to Zhang Yuan: "Thank you, senior brother!"

Zhang Yuan smiled, "I’ll do my best."

He had a faint feeling that accompanying Mo Huai’an to Yongzhou this time was a significant opportunity for him.

The Fire Demon Stone he had previously acquired was the best proof of this.

But intuition told Zhang Yuan that the suspected emergence of the Drought Fiend was his biggest opportunity!

This kind of direct feeling didn’t have a particular cause or reason, yet it was often very accurate.

That was why Zhang Yuan had the urge to investigate.

After all, Mo Huai’an staying at Qingfeng Temple was very safe and didn’t require his protection as a guardian.

But before leaving Yong’an City, Zhang Yuan first took a stroll around the city.

On one hand, he wanted to see the current state of this state capital, hoping to stumble upon some useful clues.

On the other hand, he also needed to replenish some living supplies.

Because of the delay due to matters concerning Mo Huai’an, by the time Zhang Yuan arrived in Yong’an City, it was already brightly lit with thousands of homes illuminated.

The streets were bustling with people coming and going, shops and stalls were wide open along the street, brilliantly lit, boasting a lively and prosperous scene, showing no apparent signs of drought disaster or crisis.

It was almost no different from when Zhang Yuan first arrived in Yong’an.

However, as Zhang Yuan mingled among the crowd, he quickly noticed something unusual!

Celestial Beings.

With the Divine Nest advancing to tier six, Zhang Yuan’s perception ability had increased significantly, granting him a much keener instinct towards unusual things, far surpassing those of the same tier martial artists.

Thus when the first Celestial Being appeared near Zhang Yuan, he immediately sensed it.

Initially, Zhang Yuan did not pay much attention to it.

As Yong’an City is the Yongzhou State Capital, serving as the economic, political, and military center of the region with a massive population of over a million people, seeing Celestial Beings here is quite normal.

No need to make a fuss!

But when the second one, third, fourth...

As more and more Celestial Beings entered his line of sight, Zhang Yuan’s indifference would be the real mystery.

Walking half a mile down a long street, Zhang Yuan encountered more than twenty Celestial Beings!

And they were all young, usually in small groups, not alone.

In fact, the speech, mannerisms, and aura of these Celestial Beings were markedly different from the local Yongzhou natives, discernible to those experienced in the martial world with just a glance.

However, a few of them hid very deeply, or rather had already completely adapted to the environment of this world.

If it weren’t for Zhang Yuan’s exceptionally strong perceptivity, it would indeed be hard to see through their true nature.

Then the question arises.

Why did so many Celestial Beings come to Yongzhou?

Zhang Yuan didn’t think these Celestial Beings originally lived in Yongzhou, as many of them had the demeanor of tourists, chattering and commenting, similar to foreign visitors.

Yet Yongzhou doesn’t have any outstanding scenery to boast about, and it is facing an unprecedented drought.

The appearance of these Celestial Beings became quite suspicious.

For a moment, Zhang Yuan felt the urge to capture one of them and force out the truth.

Because he suspected these Celestial Beings were related to the appearance of the Drought Fiend!

In Zhang Yuan’s understanding, Celestial Beings were a race that wouldn’t come without profit, they must have come for some sort of benefit.

But he still suppressed this impulse.

Yong’an City, at present, was not the right place to take action.

Thus Zhang Yuan retracted his aura, mingling among common people, visiting various shops to purchase supplies.

He also traveled through all the main, bustling streets of Yong’an City.

Finally, he sat for a while in a night market tavern.

By the end of his midnight wandering, Zhang Yuan discovered the number of Celestial Beings reached as high as fifty or sixty.

Among them, two Celestial Beings raised strong vigilance in him.

Their strength was at least tier six, or even above!

These were just the ones Zhang Yuan encountered; there must be much more that didn’t appear. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Such a convergence of Celestial Beings in Yong’an City surely suggested some hidden agenda!

The water in Yongzhou was getting deeper and deeper.

The next morning, Zhang Yuan quietly left the unsettling Yong’an City.

Half a month later, the scene outside this state capital remained heart-wrenching, with the number of refugees escalating several times, a dire human tragedy as far as the eye could see.

However, dozens of porridge stalls were set up along the official road outside the city gates.

Each stall had extremely long queues in front of them.

Despite the big cauldrons in the porridge stalls being empty without a grain of rice,

these refugees still pinned all their hope for survival on them!

Zhang Yuan watched with a cold eye, hurrying towards the northwest.

This time, he did not utilize the vehicle fostered at Qingfeng Temple for his exploration.

When he reached a remote, uninhabited location, Zhang Yuan summoned the Gray-toothed Lynx residing in the Divine Nest.

When he first entered Yong’an City, he had found an opportunity to "release" his beast companion to the outskirts of the city,

which essentially meant reclaiming it into the Divine Nest.

Now, releasing it again, this big cat had risen to Level 4.

It had become a basic-level Profound Beast!