I have to get lucky right away.

Chapter 538: The Investigation Yielded "Results"
"What the hell is this thing?" Qin Lan unleashed three sword beams, slicing the mercury-like monster into several pieces. However, the monster reassembled itself in the blink of an eye and continued to swarm towards her at an undiminished speed.

Although Qin Lan considered herself invincible among those of the same level, she did not want to test whether this monster, which could instantly kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator, could cause damage to a Core Formation cultivator.

As he quickly retreated, he formed a hand seal with his left hand, and immediately a bright orange-red fireball the size of a washbasin was launched.

boom!
The flames and the silver monster collided, and a wave of heat instantly rolled out.

Qin Lan dared not be careless in the slightest and flew straight into the sky.

Almost immediately, a silvery-grayish-black substance burst forth with flames, striking the spot where Qin Lan had been standing, startling him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat while he was already in mid-air.

"Thank goodness! My divine sense couldn't detect the slightest spiritual fluctuation. If I had been ambushed without warning, anyone below the Yuan Dan realm would almost certainly die, and even those in the Ling Dong realm would likely fare poorly!"

Qin Lan made a judgment about the monster in her mind. Not daring to lower the altitude, she could only use a wind manipulation technique to roll up the scattered "dog cultivator" skeletons on the ground and stuff them into her storage bag as evidence.

The flames caused by the fireball spell quickly died down, and the silver-gray monster returned to its mercury-like form. After jumping around at Qin Lan in the sky a few times with its claws outstretched, it finally seemed to give up. With a twist of its body, it transformed into a canine-like monster and ran off to the southwest with its short legs.

"What... exactly is this thing?"

Qin Lan, who witnessed the whole process, felt her scalp tingle. She could hardly imagine how terrible the casualties would be if this thing were to take the form of a cultivator and infiltrate the alliance.

but……

"It seems this monster isn't very intelligent, otherwise it wouldn't have let me, the witness, go unpunished. And mimicry must have its limits, otherwise it should have transformed into a bird-like monster and flown away..."

Thinking through the various monster illustrations she had learned, Qin Lan analyzed the possible characteristics of this monster—

"It didn't take off the whole time. Either it couldn't transform into a flying monster, or even if it did, it couldn't fly. In my observation, this thing transformed into two different monsters. There's no reason it couldn't transform into a flying monster, unless there's some condition like it had to have seen or eaten a related monster. As for the latter, it should only be able to change its shape but not its weight, which is why it can't fly."

Qin Nan took out his law enforcement notebook and copied down all his findings using coded language that only the Shadow Division of Tianwu Hall could decipher.

Not only Qin Lan, but at this moment, everyone in the entire Western Continent who was focusing their attention on the rogue cultivators who had not yet disappeared began to notice, sooner or later, this monster that actively attacked cultivators and, once successful, left them with nothing but bones.

While the Guangbu branch of Tianwu Hall was still conducting its investigation step by step under the guidance of the Xizhou branch's elder, the Yingbu branch had already regrouped.

"Jiang Chunlin, your hand?"

Although all twelve people were present, Qin Lan immediately noticed the problem. Upon hearing his question, Jiang Chunlin replied with a grim expression:

"During the investigation, I was attacked by a strange monster. The monster was really bizarre. The moment I touched it, it burrowed into my body through my skin, so I had to cut off my arm to survive."

"It's alright, it's good that you're alive. I'll apply for a Life-Giving Fruit for you when we get back," Qin Lan reassured him. Before Jiang Chunlin could finish thanking her, she looked at the others.

"When Jiang Chunlin mentioned the strange monsters earlier, your expressions changed. Did you encounter them too?"

"Yes, Captain, what I encountered was a silvery slime that could devour a Foundation Establishment cultivator in just a few breaths." "What I encountered was also slime, but it could change color and looked just like soil. Once you got close, it would suddenly attack. Just a graze would cause it to burrow into your body through your pores. If you couldn't cut off the injured area in time, it would quickly devour you from the inside out."

"I don't know what I encountered. When I first saw it, it was a tiger-like demon beast fighting with two rogue cultivators. The moment one of the cultivators beheaded it, the demon beast's body suddenly transformed into a leopard, and its head turned into a cat. The two rogue cultivators didn't have time to react and were quickly killed. By the time I made my move, the demon beast had already transformed back into a giant tiger, swallowed the two cultivators whole, and then ran away."

……

The Shadow Cultivators recalled the strange monsters they had encountered. Although they sounded varied and diverse, upon closer examination, they could still discern some similarities.

"It can shapeshift and will actively ambush cultivators, but it will not approach places with a relatively large number of cultivators, such as markets. Its actions are relatively covert, only attacking lone cultivators. When it is not moving, even divine sense cannot detect it, and the attacked cultivators are often completely destroyed..."

After summarizing, Qin Lan was almost certain that the recent drop in the spirit stone exchange rate was definitely related to this kind of monster. Those rogue cultivators probably did not find any substitute for spirit stones, but became food for this kind of monster.

only……

Where did this strange and bizarre beast come from? Why have I never heard of it before?

The moment this question arose in his mind, Qin Lan quickly dismissed it. What did it matter to him how the demon beast came to be? Once the risks of this thing were confirmed, the person in charge would naturally come to investigate. He only needed to send the message back!
Thinking this, Qin Lan took out a jade talisman and directly reported what had happened to the alliance leader...

……

"How can you still have the mind to go into seclusion?"

In a closed-off area of ​​a certain market town in Xizhou, the celestial beings were complaining anxiously.

Hearing his complaint, the cultivator, known in this world as the Extraterrestrial Demon, slowly rose and said leisurely:

"what happened again?"

"What's wrong? Have you forgotten why we came to the market?"

The celestial beings looked quite unwell, but the cultivators were already used to it:
"Didn't you say you'd find a larger market town to live in seclusion for a while? What? Another problem? If it's about urging me to assassinate the leader of the righteous alliance, then forget it."

"Who told you that! Haven't you noticed that there are fewer and fewer people in the market lately?" The celestial being was so anxious that blisters appeared at the corner of his mouth, but the cultivator said slowly and deliberately:
"I've been in seclusion cultivating, how would I know this?"

"Now you know! In short, for reasons unknown, the readings of this world are fluctuating wildly at a bizarre speed, and the number of cultivators in this market has plummeted!"

The celestial being was already getting impatient and started circling around. Although the cultivator also realized that something was wrong, he still maintained a leisurely demeanor, trying to make the celestial being break down.

It can only be said that they were partners who had worked together for a long time; the celestial being had indeed lost his composure and spoke in a hysterical tone:
"Do you even know why we sent you to hide in the market? It's because there are so many people! Have you forgotten that your karma is locked on? With so few people around, wouldn't the enemy recognize you at a glance if they flew over? Besides, the readings for this world are about to explode! Don't you think we should act quickly? Are you planning to stay here forever?"

(End of this chapter)