Chapter 276: Chapter 222: Divine Power and Fruit Position, The World’s Unusual Undercurrents (Middle)

「At the same time.」

Inside the snack shop.

"Hm?"

Yi Beidou paused. He sensed something, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

’Has my plan to lure the snakes from their holes finally worked?’

’Have some of those lurking in the shadows finally slipped up?’

"My apologies."

Just then, Shintani Norika returned from the restroom. An apologetic smile graced her features as she walked gracefully toward Yi Beidou.

But at that exact moment...

FWOOSH!!

Fierce Blue-White Demon Flames suddenly erupted around Yi Beidou. The terrifying power that burst forth in that instant drained the color from Shintani Norika’s face, and she retreated instinctively.

Then, Yi Beidou’s aura abruptly retracted. The Demon Flame distorted the magnetic field around him, clouding the senses of everyone nearby. Just like that, his figure vanished before their very eyes. The onlookers could only perceive an indistinct blur darting out of the snack shop before losing all trace of it.

"This..."

Seeing this, Shintani Norika froze on the spot, a terrible premonition rising within her.

Who knew what kind of trouble Yi Beidou would stir up with this latest disappearance?

’Could I have somehow offended him without realizing it?’

"Quick, Yi Beidou has vanished! Report this to the higher-ups immediately!"

Shintani Norika rushed out of the snack shop, shouting at several of her aides.

「Meanwhile.」

Yi Beidou couldn’t have cared less about the psychological strain his sudden disappearance from public view would cause Japan’s leadership. He followed the faint sensation he had felt, which led him to a dimly lit alley off the side of the food street.

At the end of the alley, atop a wall about three meters high, he saw the source of the sensation that had set him on edge.

A stray cat was perched on the wall. On its forehead was a red dot, like a thumbprint. The small cat’s eyes were startlingly sentient as it gazed down from its high perch in his direction.

’A cat? Able to sense my presence?’

Yi Beidou’s eyes narrowed.

’I’m still concealed by the Demon Flame. While an animal’s senses are far superior to a human’s, it should still be difficult for it to detect my presence so quickly.’

The small cat gave him one last look before turning and leaping to the other side of the wall.

’It’s not running away. It’s more like an invitation to follow.’

’Interesting,’ Yi Beidou thought. With a light push of his foot, he took off in the direction the cat had vanished.

Following the cat’s nimble paws, he entered a dark, wooded park nearby.

"You truly live up to your reputation—the man who single-handedly challenged an entire nation’s Martial Arts Realm, forced the government of Japan to bow its head, and is so feared that even the ’Domain Lord’ hesitates to act against you. You detected me before I even got close."

The small cat stood on the ground, casually licking its paw as the voice emanated from it, as if it could speak.

But the sound was strange—muffled and indistinct.

Yi Beidou knew the sound wasn’t being produced by the cat’s vocal cords. Instead, a magnetic field was controlling its body, causing its chest and abdominal cavities to vibrate just enough to form syllables and produce sound.

"Reincarnation? You can possess an animal? Your true body isn’t even in the vicinity. How can you achieve this level of control from so far away?"

Yi Beidou’s eyes narrowed.

’This is different from any method of Reincarnation I’ve ever encountered. Most are limited by distance, require a human host, or rely on a chip implanted in the Brain Realm.’

Possessing an animal and controlling it remotely from such a distance—this was a technique Yi Beidou had never witnessed.

After all, animals weren’t human. Their brains and physiological structures were too different, making long-range possession and control exceedingly difficult.

Yi Beidou was quite certain of this point. He had, after all, once spent a period of time researching how to teach cats to box.

He observed the small cat closely. It was rather grimy, clearly a stray and not a specially bred animal. ’It’s highly unlikely that it’s being controlled by an implanted chip.’

"This isn’t Reincarnation. We are simply borrowing from nature’s affinity. We are not your enemies; we’ve come to help you. You must be searching for the Pioneer Group’s headquarters in Japan, as well as the Ancient One who stands behind them. Perhaps there is room for cooperation between us."

"We even know many secrets that you are unaware of—secrets unknown to the nations of this era. Secrets about the Ancient Ones, about this world, and about the ancient legends and Myths of humanity."

The stray cat spoke again.

Yi Beidou’s eyes narrowed.

"You hide your faces and conceal your identities. What makes you qualified to discuss cooperation with me?"

Yi Beidou stated coolly.

"Apologies. Our identities are rather... special. And since we cannot be certain of your true allegiances, we could only approach you in this manner. We have taken a great risk by entering Japan. We can offer a show of good faith—for example, intelligence regarding Japan’s ’Domain Lord’."

The stray cat said.

"That’s fine. If you won’t show yourselves, I’ll just have to come find you myself."

Yi Beidou said with a smile. He extended an arm, and in the next moment, the stray cat was in his grasp, unable to move.

"Don’t be foolish. If you proceed, we will have no choice but to cease contact. Besides, you cannot possibly pinpoint our exact location."

The stray cat spoke once more.

"Is this red mark on its brow... blood from your true body?"

Yi Beidou touched a finger to the mark on the stray cat’s forehead. It was indeed an insignia made of blood.

’With blood as a medium, it should be simple for my Celestial Demon Sensing to trace the connection back to its source. But this time, it’s not so easy.’

From that smear of blood, he could actually sense an aura of nature itself.

It was fused with the natural world, extending in all directions, making it fundamentally impossible to trace.

Just as the Caucasian woman controlling the stray cat had implied, she was using the "Power of Nature." By merging with nature, and with the added protection of the powerful, aura-concealing Barrier laid by the tall Asian man, it was nearly impossible to pinpoint their location.

This was the "Divine Power" and "Fruit Position" that belonged to a "Green Elf."

This was precisely why they had chosen this method to contact Yi Beidou.

It was to ensure that even if Yi Beidou had malicious intent, their location would not be exposed, preventing them from being put in danger.

"But even nature suffers tribulations, does it not?"

Yi Beidou remained completely unmoved by their warning. Their words, and the methods they had demonstrated, had only piqued his interest.

Since they were unwilling to reveal themselves, he would just have to flush them out himself.

The next moment.

BOOM!!

A surging wave of Evil Qi, thick with killing intent, erupted from his body. A blood-red star materialized in his palm, and ominous tendrils of its crimson light snaked around the stray cat.

Stimulated by the sudden surge of killing intent and suffused with the power of Tribulation Qi, an infinitesimally fine, blood-red thread appeared in Yi Beidou’s vision, stretching off into the distance.

’When I harbor killing intent, tribulation is sure to descend upon my target. Had this been a dead object, they might have hidden from my senses. But what I hold is a living creature, and one connected to their consciousness. How could they possibly maintain a perfect disguise?’

"So that’s where you are... Controlling a creature and projecting consciousness from kilometers away. I’m very curious to see just what lofty figures you are."

Yi Beidou’s gaze shifted toward the horizon.

「Meanwhile.」

Within the Array operated by the tall Asian man, the Caucasian woman sat cross-legged, enveloped in a swirling green light.

In the glow of this light, her skin appeared even more fair and jade-like. As the light settled upon her, her ears seemed to grow longer and more pointed, just like the ears of a legendary Elf.

The very moment Yi Beidou mobilized his Tribulation Qi to taint the spiritual connection, the pair watched in horror as a blood-red thread materialized from the Void, pierced through their Array, and wrapped itself around the Caucasian woman.

Nothing under heaven can escape its tribulation.

"This is bad!!"

The Caucasian woman’s eyes flew open as she severed her connection to the stray cat.

’We made every possible preparation! How could he possibly still find me under these conditions?!’

’This is going to be a huge problem.’