Otherworldly Affairs Office-Chapter 725 Sudden Change (Subscription Requested)

"It's truly laughable!" Pei Yan stood up after hearing Mei Simiao's explanation, slamming the table. He now understood the source of Jiang Feiyang's discontent and couldn't help but sneer, "Treason? Clearly, there's an internal issue, and yet they want to pin this on our investigation department?"

"The other party may not necessarily mean it that way. When they informed us, they seemed afraid of us overthinking it. They specifically clarified that this restriction applies not only to us, but also to the other three Plane Envoys, and all major sects in the city, prohibiting anyone who is not an Immortal Palace Disciple from moving around freely. When they verified the number of people present and found you and Elder Lin absent, we repeatedly assured them that you were in closed-door training inside, and they leniently refrained from forcibly entering to investigate." Gu Shenghui quickly comforted Pei Yan as he saw his face full of anger.

Hearing it wasn't specifically targeting the investigation department, Pei Yan's anger subsided a bit. He sat back down, questioning, "But why is the Immortal Palace doing this? To keep family scandals from going public?"

"That might be part of it, but I think it's more likely that something significant enough to shake the Daoist Realm's status has occurred within the Immortal Palace. The Palace's lockdown isn't just about catching the attackers; it's also to prevent this news from leaking." Mei Simiao speculated after a moment's thought and then looked up at Pei Yan, adding, "That's also why we're anxious to see you. Ah, you don't know how worried we were when you and Elder Lin mysteriously disappeared at this critical juncture! Luckily, you're okay. Now, only you can gather external information undetected—can you try and see if you can collect any intelligence?"

After hearing this, Pei Yan didn't respond immediately. He closed his eyes for a long time, and when he finally opened them amidst the anticipatory gazes of everyone, he sighed regretfully, "I can't do it. The messages transmitted back indeed show that the outside world is under lockdown by the Immortal Palace and others, as Director Mei said. Besides the Immortal Palace disciples, I saw many soldiers in armor patrolling the streets. Shops are all closed, and there are no idle people around. As for the Immortal Palace, I don't know what technique they've used, but whenever my nanomechanical insect approaches its boundaries, it loses connection with me, unable to convey any images. From the perimeter, the black cloud above the Palace hasn't dispersed, and there are still flashes of fire and sounds of battle from within, indicating the fight is still ongoing."

Following Pei Yan's words, the atmosphere in the room grew even more tense. Everyone looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what to do. Just then, a deafening explosion suddenly sounded in the distance. They all turned pale, jumped out of the window, and landed in the courtyard outside. Just as Pei Yan's feet hit the ground, he felt a slight tremor, then looked up to see dozens of red lights flashing within the black clouds in the distant sky. The red lights fell to the ground one after another, each accompanied by a tremendous explosion. The shockwaves made the ground shake more violently.

"It's a Forbidden Technique from the Magic Realm! Someone's using a Forbidden Technique inside the Immortal Palace!" Mei Simiao exclaimed in shock at the apocalyptic scene.

"Magic Realm? Are you sure it's the Magic Realm?" Unable to stand solidly, Pei Yan suspended himself in mid-air, questioning Mei Simiao.

Faced with this question, Mei Simiao hesitated, staring at the distance and observing carefully before uncertainly saying, "Eight or nine chances out of ten. I'm responsible for intelligence in the department, and every Plane's most powerful trump cards are at least somewhat recorded. That scene fits the description of the Magic Realm's Celestial Fall Technique—a forbidden technique that can only be cast by a witch of at least Saint Violet level, equivalent to our ninth-level awakening. Once cast, everything within a five-mile radius will be engulfed in flames, with nothing left growing."

"Celestial Fall Technique? Witch? So the attack on the Immortal Palace is from the Magic Realm or perhaps the Dark Council?" With these thoughts, Pei Yan flew higher to try and use his mechanical eye to magnify the view infinitely and see what was happening inside the Palace. However, as soon as his sight approached the outer boundary, it was blocked by a thick fog, which even his mechanical eye couldn't penetrate. Disappointed, Pei Yan descended back to the ground and asked Gu Shenghui, "Could it be Candle Dragon acting personally?"

"No way!" Before Gu Shenghui could answer, Lin Junzhao in his mind refuted, "Currently, there's no sensation of Candle Dragon's original aura in the city, and I can responsibly tell you, I don't know how strong Candle Dragon is, but if he dared to appear with his true body in the Daoist Realm, Lin Ruxue absolutely wouldn't miss the chance to crush or even destroy him. Don't underestimate Lin Ruxue; as one of the four original person's heads for all these years, she's not just anyone. If Candle Dragon dared to provoke her on her territory, he would only be met with failure and death."

"But now, the situation at the Immortal Palace is dire, with both internal strife and external threats. What exactly could this all-powerful Lin Ruxue be doing, so much so that she can't even attend to a fire in her backyard?"

Pei Yan's doubt was Lin Junzhao's doubt as well. Looking through Pei Yan's eyes towards the horizon, she murmured, "Everything has two sides. From another perspective, perhaps what Lin Ruxue is doing hits Candle Dragon's weak spot, forcing him to employ the strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, to divert her attention. However, this time Candle Dragon struck hard, indeed hitting Lin Ruxue's seven-inch point. His target turns out to be the Divine Artifact of the Immortal Palace."

"Divine Artifact?"

"That's right, a Divine Artifact. At least nine Divine Artifacts are clashing above the Immortal Palace. Looks like Candle Dragon really means business this time." Feeling the distant disturbances in the sky, Lin Junzhao, who had suffered great losses before, said with a lingering fear, "A single Divine Artifact may not be harmful to an original person, but several Artifacts in the hands of top-tier Plane experts working together can only be avoided, even by Lin Ruxue in a foreign setting, unable to meet them head-on."

Similarly, the term "Divine Artifact" reminded Pei Yan of the power displayed by the fake Artifact during his battle with the Sword Stand Man. His eyes lit up with excitement, "I see now, the attack on the Celestial Prison was just a ruse; stealing the Immortal Palace's Divine Artifacts was the real deal." Saying this, Pei Yan and Gu Shenghui exchanged a knowing smile, "It's that old trick of attacking the east to hide the west, likely a ploy suggested by Mu Fanchen to Candle Dragon."

Just as they finished speaking, both seemed to realize something, their expressions changing drastically. A puzzled Mei Simiao watched on and asked, "What's wrong with you two?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Hmph, they figured out Mu Fanchen's real intention." Since coming to the Daoist Realm, the usually reticent Xie Chujun replied on behalf of the two, "Mu Fanchen loves to muddy the waters, catching his real target while the enemy is distracted. The last attack was ostensibly on the Secret Prison, secretly targeting the investigation department's headquarters, but in the end, the real aim was Pei Yan's sister, Pei Jin. So, who is their real target this time?"

After speaking, Xie Chujun gave Gu Shenghui a meaningful glance.