Otherworldly Affairs Office

The "them" Pei Yan referred to were the initial first batch of Daoist Plane cultivators and those strange individuals who passed through the dimensional rift. Surprisingly, the three remaining cultivators managed to catch their breath and cling to life by hiding afar when the investigation bureau was too preoccupied with the battle against Li Songtao to bother with them.

As for those strange individuals, even after being blown away by their original master's indiscriminate attacks, eight of them survived. However, these eight seemed to truly become zombies with no one to command them, incessantly banging their heads and bodies against the surrounding protective formations as if trying to escape from that place.

Pei Yan, along with Xia Yu, Ye Jiumu, and Zhao Yuanhu, who had all recovered well physically, stood up and approached cautiously. Just as they were about to put an end to these creatures that had given them so much trouble, Gu Shenghui interrupted them again after dealing with Li Songtao.

"Leave these strange individuals to us. They hold more research value alive," Gu Shenghui said.

Hearing this, Xia Yu stopped in her tracks and reminded, "After they die, a plume of black smoke can spew from their bodies and contaminate others' internal sources, ultimately aiming to destroy people's will and spirit."

"That makes it even more important to capture them and conduct research to devise countermeasures. This will reduce casualties when our comrades encounter such monsters again," said Zuo Huaxian, already approaching the strange individuals. At the sight of someone nearing them, these creatures stopped their foolish wall-banging, rolled their eyes, and spun around to fixate on Zuo Huaxian, then charged at him with arms flailing, growling fiercely.

"Meng Die!" Zuo Huaxian calmly clasped his hands together. A multicolored inner source surged out from his body as thick mist. As soon as the creatures came into contact with the mist, their charging slowed drastically, eventually stopping a short distance from him, arms drooping and standing still on the spot.

After completing this, Zuo Huaxian signaled to a chubby old man accompanying him. The elder slowly stepped forward, and dozens of silver rods flew out from his storage ring, piercing between the limbs of the strange individuals. Finally, eight discs floated out, hanging behind the eight creatures before settling down.

Pei Yan then observed the function of these objects. He saw them circling behind the creatures before attaching to their shoulder blades. Once securely fixed, they extended over a dozen tentacle-like appendages from their edges, which pierced vital points on the creatures' bodies. The skin and muscles, previously appearing iron-hard in Pei Yan's eyes, were effortlessly penetrated by these tentacles, boring into their insides.

Once the chubby elder had fully subdued the creatures, Zuo Huaxian withdrew his ability. The moment the multicolored mist left the creatures' bodies, all eight of them collapsed to the ground, lying disjointedly.

With Zuo Huaxian and the chubby elder handling the creatures, on the other side, Gu Shenghui swiftly approached the cultivators edging towards the dimensional rift, blocking their path. He activated the translation device and said, "Leaving like this doesn't seem appropriate for you all."

The three cultivators exchanged glances and sighed. One of the elder Daoists stepped forward, bowed deeply, and responded, "This master, we have no allegiance with that demon. We were also caught off guard and swept here unintentionally, not deliberately trespassing. Many of our fellow disciples were injured or killed; we hope you could allow us to report this news back to our sect elders."

Gu Shenghui first glanced at Xia Yu behind the three. Xia Yu nodded to him, "Gu Chu, they indeed never engaged with us from the moment they appeared."

With confirmation from his subordinate, Gu Shenghui returned the Daoist's bow and replied, "Immortal Master, regardless of what actually happened, you all saw the scene today. Since you are here, you owe us an explanation of the circumstances."

"We from the Daoist Realm don't need to explain to others!" Before the Daoist could respond, a few glimmers of light passed through the dimensional rift, and an arrogant voice emerged from within.

Standing aside, Pei Yan listened to the incomprehensible chatter with increasing anxiety. He spun around and ran to Wang Wenze, who was again with Liang Qian. Ignoring Wang Wenze's disdainful look, he extracted the translation device from his ear and wore it. When he returned, he caught the sharp-sounding remark.

Soon after, he saw the person who said those words stepping out of the light screen. Over a dozen elegantly dressed cultivators appeared in front of him.

Although this group varied greatly in age, compared to the earlier motley group of cultivators or the sinister black-robed man, they most closely matched Pei Yan's image of transcendent immortals, with an aura of otherworldliness untouched by earthly concerns.

At that moment, Ye Jiumu at Pei Yan's side nudged his waist with an elbow and whispered, "Did you see their clothing? Those are people from the Immortal Palace."

"Oh!" Upon hearing this, Pei Yan nodded in sudden realization. His previously relaxed vigilance tensed up again.

"May I ask what role and position you hold in the Investigation Bureau?"

A young man stepped out from the crowd and softly posed the question to Gu Shenghui. From afar, Pei Yan scoffed softly through his nose, finally understanding why Hu Wenjun and others described the people of the Immortal Palace as haughty. Although there was nothing to fault in his words, the young man's demeanor and posture were arrogant and ungracious, standing pridefully before Gu Shenghui, one hand holding a sword behind his back, head held high and looking disdainful, as if asking for trouble with his attitude.

"I am Gu Shenghui of the Otherworldly Investigation Hall. May I ask which Law Enforcement Envoy of the Immortal Palace you are?" Despite the young man's demeanor, Gu Shenghui still respectfully bowed in greeting.

Upon hearing the name Gu Shenghui and seeing his signature black teeth, the young man recalled some rumors within his sect about the foundational plane. Restraining his arrogance, he sheathed his sword into his storage pouch and returned the greeting, "I am Yang Xiujin, Law Enforcement Envoy of the Immortal Palace's Infinite Thunder Sect. So you are Director Gu Shenghui; I've heard much about you."

No matter how contemptuous he felt of these opportunists from the foundational plane, Gu Shenghui's identity would rank as a sect leader in the Daoist Realm, so returning the courtesy would not dishonor his sect. Yang Xiujin consoled himself with this reasoning after his speech.

"I don't deserve such praise. May I ask the reason for Law Enforcement Envoy Yang's visit?" Gu Shenghui inquired affably after straightening his back.

Yang Xiujin glanced at Gu Shenghui, then scanned everyone present before fixing his gaze on Li Songtao, who lay restrained on the ground but gave him a wicked smile. Nodding slightly towards him, Yang gestured to himself and the three cultivators and several strange individuals, speaking through gritted teeth, "I have come at the Hall Master's command to escort these individuals back to the Immortal Palace for interrogation!"

"On what grounds?"