Chapter 277 - 275: Searched Far and Wide in Vain

"This guy named Xiao sure knows how to hide, doesn’t he?"

"And who knows how much longer we’ll have to go before we can see him..."

Group Leader Qi grumbled as he walked.

At this moment, he was deep within the dense forests of the southwest border.

Due to the unique terrain of the forest, they couldn’t use any vehicles, so the emergency response team he led had to follow Zhenyuan on foot.

After trekking hours of mountain paths, he was almost exhausted from the effort.

Next to him, Captain Meng was also dripping with sweat, panting heavily.

Initially, he hadn’t planned to come along, but fearing something might happen to Group Leader Qi and the others, he stubbornly joined the team.

But what he didn’t expect at all was that once they entered the mountains, they’d have to walk for most of the day.

His calves were aching, sweat drenched his body, and his lungs felt like they were on fire as he gasped for air.

If they couldn’t find the person soon, he might just collapse here from exhaustion.

As they walked, under the guidance of Zhenyuan, they passed through the forest and arrived at a place filled with cliffs and precipices.

"Daoist, there’s no path ahead!"

Group Leader Qi gasped for breath as he spoke.

"My old friend should be right around here!"

Zhenyuan gently stroked his long beard and spoke slowly.

"What? Here?"

Upon hearing this, Group Leader Qi was both pleasantly surprised and amazed.

The surrounding area was full of sheer cliffs, surely not a place a person could live in!

Captain Meng and the others were equally curious.

Everyone looked around, but no matter how they examined the area, it didn’t seem like anyone lived here.

At that moment, Zhenyuan called out loudly, "Old Daoist Zhenyuan here to visit, may Younger Brother Xiao please show himself!"

His voice echoed layer by layer in the mountains.

Group Leader Qi and the others kept looking around, but even after a long while, they saw no trace of anyone.

Just as Zhenyuan’s echoes were fading, a voice suddenly followed.

"So it’s the old Daoist!"

As soon as this voice sounded, everyone suddenly felt the temperature rise a bit.

"Look over there, what is that?"

A member of the emergency response team suddenly stretched out his hand, pointing to the distant sky.

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gazes toward where he was pointing.

Although the sunlight was dazzling, they could still see a silhouette flying toward them.

"This... how is this possible?"

Captain Meng and the others were only dispatched to assist with the investigation, so they were unaware of Zhenyuan’s identity or the Spiritual Qi Revival.

Thus, when they saw this figure flying through the air, they couldn’t help but open their mouths wide, filled with disbelief.

"An... an Immortal?"

Captain Meng rubbed his eyes vigorously and pinched himself several times.

After the series of small actions, it fully confirmed that everything he saw was real and not a dream.

At this moment, he felt his entire worldview had collapsed.

In contrast, Group Leader Qi had an expression of delight on his face.

"Finally met this alchemy expert, Xiao Yan!"

"If I could persuade him to join the Religious Affairs Bureau, then who else could be the future Director?"

As Group Leader Qi thought about it, he became more and more excited.

He was eager to rush to Xiao Yan’s side, using his eloquence to persuade him effortlessly!

"Old Daoist, long time no see!"

The second persona Lu Heng assumed, "Xiao Yan," slowly descended from the sky, landing in front of the crowd.

"You...you..."

When Group Leader Qi saw Xiao Yan’s appearance, he was momentarily stunned.

Xiao Yan was dressed in modern clothing, with even the tags on his clothes still attached.

Clearly, this Senior Xiao had been mingling in society for some time.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have put together such an outfit.

More importantly, the white mask on Xiao Yan’s face looked very familiar.

But for the moment, Qi couldn’t remember where he had seen it before.

"Leader, the mask he’s wearing is the same as the Flame Man’s that suddenly appeared in the Yan Family cemetery that night!"

At this moment, a team member immediately stepped forward to whisper in Group Leader Qi’s ear.

"That’s great!"

Upon hearing this, Group Leader Qi was nearly jumping for joy.

The primary goal of this emergency response team assembled by the Religious Affairs Bureau was to eliminate the vampire-like zombie that had suddenly appeared.

Once the vampire-like zombie appeared before the public, it would surely cause societal unrest.

So the current Director had tasked Group Leader Qi with doing everything possible to eliminate the vampire-like zombie.

For this, both the military and the police would fully support this operation.

Of course, capturing it alive would be even better.

Besides eliminating the vampire-like zombie, the second task was to investigate the Flame Man’s situation.

The Flame Man was the second extraordinary cultivator to appear after Zhenyuan.

They needed to understand the Flame Man just as they did Zhenyuan and ensure he didn’t pose any threat to society...

Group Leader Qi accepted these tasks with confidence.

In his view, could vampire-like zombies or cultivators stand up to modern firearms?

A few artillery shells would blow them to pieces, let alone the vampire-like zombie, even the Silver Armor Corpse or Golden Armor Corpse would be shattered.

But what he didn’t anticipate was how quickly reality would contradict him.

When he led his team to Taiping Town, the vampire-like zombie had already vanished.

No matter how hard they investigated, they couldn’t find a trace of it.

The same disappearance happened with the Flame Man.

At once, Group Leader Qi and the others were dumbfounded.

If the vampire-like zombie can’t be found, how can it be eliminated?

If the Flame Man can’t be found, how can they understand him?

Feeling helpless, Group Leader Qi pinned his last hope on Zhenyuan.

Old Man Song’s report had emphasized Zhenyuan’s fortune-telling abilities.

It was said that as long as Zhenyuan desired, he could ascertain anyone’s past and future.

This ability was unbelievably powerful!

For this reason, Group Leader Qi had watched many of Zhenyuan’s live broadcasts.

He was greatly amazed by the miraculous fortune-telling abilities.

So, he wanted to meet Zhenyuan, hoping to use his all-seeing fortune-telling skills to find the whereabouts of the vampire-like zombie and the Flame Man.

But, alas, things didn’t go as planned!

After days of toil, he finally met Zhenyuan.

But his plans didn’t go as expected.

Even someone as strong as Zhenyuan couldn’t deduce the location of the vampire-like zombie.

Just when he was filled with despair, thinking he’d never find the vampire-like zombie or the Flame Man, surprise came unexpectedly!

The Xiao Yan before him was most likely the Flame Man who had suddenly appeared that night, saving Yan Ya and the others.

And that night, the Flame Man had chased after the vampire-like zombie.

This meant that Xiao Yan might know the whereabouts of the vampire-like zombie...

"Searched for it with no result, and found it without effort!"

With that thought, Group Leader Qi’s face beamed with a smile, nearly breaking into song.