Eating bizarre things in public upgrades my status; the Special Affairs Bureau wants me to join them

Gazing at the blood-red light shooting into the sky in the distance, He Li and his two companions stealthily approached the scene of the incident. As they drew closer, they finally saw the situation clearly.

"Is that the calamity monster that others were talking about?"

"It does look somewhat different!"

Leaning against the corner of the building shrouded in the array, Mu Lan gazed at the sky diagonally in front of her and murmured to herself.

Following her gaze, one could see a figure in the distance whose body was covered in blood-red threads resembling tree roots, with crimson eyes and countless twisted golden tentacles extending from its back...

A strange-looking Qi cultivator.

This Qi Refiner's appearance was quite different from the changes Mo Kong had undergone before their eyes due to the calamity.

Of course, it wasn't just a difference in appearance. At this moment, whether it was Mu Lan, Yu Qingge and He Li, or the other Qi cultivators who had come closer to watch the spectacle...

They could all clearly sense the distorted Qi emanating from that strange Qi cultivator.

That energy contained more than just violence and murderous intent.

There is also an extremely strong life fluctuation.

It was as if the monster before them was not a calamity monster.

Rather, it is like a spiritual plant, a powerful medicine that can easily heal others' injuries and restore them to health.

However, this is rather strange.

Calamity monsters are negative creatures that have been distorted and transformed by unknown calamities, becoming irrational and driven only by the instincts of beasts to kill. Their aura is also dark.

A rich, positive life force...

How could one possibly possess such a thing?

After all, those who can possess this Qi...

Only those spiritual plants, or other extraordinary natural creatures in the world.

But now the facts are undeniable: the calamity monster truly does emanate an extremely strong aura of life force, forcing everyone present to consider the monster's nature...

"What's wrong with this monster?"

"His life force is far too strong!"

"Has the calamity taken another turn?"

"The calamity has undergone other changes? I don't think so, after all, the calamity has existed for quite some time."

"Countless Qi cultivators and even other creatures in my Middle Realm have been affected by the calamity and turned into monsters, but I have never heard of a calamity monster of this type."

"Furthermore, nothing major has happened recently."

"No matter how you look at it, it's unlikely that a calamity that has already existed will suddenly change."

"That's right, I also think that the appearance of this monster isn't due to any change in the calamity. Rather than saying the calamity has changed, I suspect that the Shu royal family did something!"

"After all, they haven't been behaving quite normally lately..."

The onlookers around were talking about it.

It should be noted that those who still dare to approach and watch at this time are basically individuals with some background and considerable strength. These individuals know a lot and have their own judgment on many things.

Therefore, upon seeing that calamity-causing monster, they all had different opinions and speculations.

Especially the suspicion surrounding the Shu Kingdom.

They already harbored suspicions about the situation in Shu.

Now this monster has appeared again...

This undoubtedly intensified their already heightened suspicions about the Shu royal family.

However, they were only speculating and could not be certain that the Shu royal family was indeed plotting something in secret. But He Li, who was watching from the sidelines, was a different story.

He could be 100% certain...

The strange, calamity-causing monster in the sky is inextricably linked to the Shu Kingdom's royal family and even the upper realm.

As for why he was so sure?

The reason for this is because...

Others could only see that the monster looked strange and that its aura was different from other calamity monsters, but He Li, influenced by supernatural powers, could directly see through the souls of living beings.

At this moment, in He Li's eyes, the monster's soul was no longer that of an ordinary human.

Ultimately, the calamity monsters were transformed humans.

No matter how you look, your soul will never change.

But this monstrous monster before us...

In He Li's eyes, the other party's soul was not human but bloated and twisted, like a tangled plant formed by countless intertwined vines.

Within this twisted plant body, one can vaguely see the humanoid soul of the other party, dominated by the plant.

Seeing this bizarre, twisted soul...

He Li wasn't surprised; instead, he frowned, a bad feeling creeping into his heart.

Especially after seeing this soul...

He also connected the image of Yu Ji's soul to this.

Yu Ji's soul is the product of her own soul and the Fusang Divine Tree's symbiotic union, but Yu Ji's soul does not appear to be as distorted as the monster's soul before her.

However, Yu Ji's soul was still growing.

Heaven knows if, if this continues, Yu Ji's soul will eventually become like that too.

Will she also turn into a monster?

The most important point is...

Is the monstrous monster that has appeared before us related to the fact that the Shu Kingdom in the Middle Realm summoned Yu Ji from the Lower Realm? If it is not related, then so be it; but if it is, then the problem is much bigger.

"Although I knew long ago that the purpose of the Shu Kingdom in the Central Realm summoning Yu Ji away, backed by the Demon Court, was definitely not simple."

"But looking at the current situation..."

"It's possible that the Shu Kingdom and the Upper Realm Demon Court are using Yu Ji to research something terrifying, and this special calamity monster might be the product of that failed attempt."

"In any case... we need to find Yu Ji as soon as possible."

"Then find out the purposes of the Shu Kingdom and the Demon Court."

"Otherwise, who knows what else might happen?"

Shaking his head inwardly, He Li had no intention of getting involved in the battle between the bizarre calamity monster and the Qi cultivators of Shu. After making a simple guess about the situation, he looked at Yu Qingge...

"Alright, we've seen the monster."

"While the capital of Shu is in a bit of chaos right now, let's quickly check if your Life-Smelling Gu has reacted."

"If not, then we'll..."

Before He Li could finish speaking, Yu Qingge raised the Wen Sheng Gu in her hand with a look of delight and said, "There's a reaction, although it's not strong, but at least we know the general situation."

"If only the distance could be shortened further..."

"Its response is stronger and its positioning is more precise."

"Oh?" He Li was delighted upon hearing this.

He hadn't expected that the Wen Sheng Gu was so powerful that it knew Yu Ji's location so quickly.

Suppressing his joy, He Li was about to ask Yu Qingge about the direction Wen Sheng Gu had pointed out when Yu Qingge spoke up first: "The direction Wen Sheng Gu pointed out is roughly this way."

"Let's go, let's take a look ahead!"

As she spoke, she had already started walking forward.

He Li and Mu Lan quickly followed, but Mu Lan looked suspicious after only a couple of steps...

"The direction ahead, it looks like..."

"Is it next to that quarantine zone we saw outside the city before? Is Yu Ji there? That's a quarantine zone, so it's probably not easy for us to get close!"

Quarantine zone? He Li frowned upon hearing this.

Yu Ji is actually in the quarantine zone?

Despite having many guesses in his mind, He Li calmly said, "Keep moving forward!"

But no sooner had he finished speaking than...

boom!!!

Suddenly, a towering black cloud, exuding a chilling aura, burst forth ahead, instantly obscuring the sky for miles around. This sudden turn of events startled the three of them, causing them to stop in their tracks.

At first, they thought that this sudden change was because the Shu royal family had their eyes on them...

They even considered attacking them directly.

But they soon realized they were wrong.

As the black mist appeared, numerous Qi cultivators and guards dressed in Shu Kingdom uniforms quickly flew out and surrounded the location where the black mist had appeared.

"What's going on?" Seeing this, Yu Qingge and Mu Lan were both dumbfounded and didn't react.

But He Li had roughly figured it out.

"It seems another monstrous monster has appeared!"

He squinted and spoke.

Mu Lan frowned: "Again? How could that be?"

"There's a probability of calamities appearing, right? How come calamity monsters are suddenly appearing one after another? And judging from the Qi fluctuations, the monsters that just appeared probably aren't weak either."

"It might be a special calamity monster."

"This is too much of a coincidence!"

Mu Lan's tone was somewhat worried; she suspected that there might be some troublesome trap hidden within.

It's no wonder she was so suspicious. After all, from what those people were saying before, it was clear that the capital of Shu was protected by the upper realm, although it couldn't completely withstand the effects of the calamity...

However, it can somewhat reduce the impact.

Furthermore, in this royal city, there have been no Qi cultivators who have turned into monsters due to the calamities for a long time.

As it turned out, these people had just arrived in the capital of Shu...

Here, calamity monsters appear one after another.

Or an even more powerful special monster.

In such a situation, not to mention Mu Lan, anyone else would feel uneasy, but compared to her worries, He Li seemed much calmer and more composed.

"Never mind whether it's a coincidence or not!"

"The Wen Sheng Gu's reaction seems to be even stronger now."

"Let's go, let's find Yu Ji first!"

After He Li spoke, the other two, though hesitant, could only nod and quicken their pace...