Chapter 175

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This night, the evening breeze brought many clouds and mist.

Above the canal basin.

The curtain of darkness enveloped everything, the great night was vast, and the moon revealed half its face from behind the clouds, its mottled light scattering over the surface of the river. Beneath the cover of night, the waters of the canal flowed quietly like black silk adorned with specks of starlight.

On both sides of the canal, ancient trees towered to the sky, lush and dense. Beneath the shroud of night, their full shapes were indiscernible, resembling distorted phantasmal creatures struggling and crawling through the shadows.

Upon the canal, fishing boats, passenger boats, and cargo ships—all brightly lit—could be seen. People on board were chatting idly, singing, or drinking alone, all enjoying the tranquil and beautiful night.

The river breeze was gentle, carrying with it a hint of moisture and the fragrance of earth, brushing against people’s faces, refreshing them.

Suddenly, a series of hoofbeats from afar disrupted the serene night.

A group of constables from the Bureau of the Lamp rode swiftly on their horses, galloping towards the scene.

Dressed in black brocade uniforms, they had stern faces, and the weapons in their hands flashed with a cold light under the moon. It seemed they were responding to some urgent matter, speeding along the canal.

“Are those the people from the Bureau of the Lamp?”

“To see so many constables from the Bureau of the Lamp gathered together is indeed a rare sight. What could they be doing here at the canal?”

“Who knows! But with that formation, it seems like something significant has happened.”

“No, look up at the sky, there are many people floating up there as well!!”

“Hiss! Don’t those people look like the Emperor Zhou and Cheng Zhihai from the Bureau of the Lamp??”

“Not just them, it seems that a considerable number of court officials have followed behind as well…”

“They have actually come…”

The appearance of this group immediately filled the originally calm canal with a tense atmosphere.

The people on the boats hid themselves, daring not to make a sound.

All they were just ordinary fishermen of the canal, unable to bear such a fright.

Usually, just a regular constable from the Bureau of the Lamp could scare them half to death, but now, almost the entire Bureau of the Lamp from the capital city was in action, and even Emperor Zhou himself had come along.

Who could this person be, to warrant such a substantial commotion from both the Bureau of the Lamp and Emperor Zhou?

The fishermen couldn’t figure it out, each shrinking their heads down, not daring to reveal themselves, while at the same time, quickly urging their boats to leave this area of the river.

Above the canal, Emperor Zhou and Cheng Zhihai stood on the water’s surface, their feet treading upon the shadowy and formless river, eyes intently peering into the depths below.

“Is it here?”

Emperor Zhou’s majestic gaze was fixed on the water beneath him, as if he too could not see clearly through the chilly and deep blackness, the hidden demons lurking underneath.

Cheng Zhihai nodded slightly, without any hesitation, “It should be right here.”

In fact, Cheng Zhihai was also unable to see through what was hidden beneath the canal, though he had passed over this section of the canal basin several times but had never detected any anomalies.

Had it not been for the warning from Cheng Guang, he would never have imagined that the Devil Clan’s covert route would be hidden within the canal so close to the capital city.

Emperor Zhou did not say much more. After nodding his head in agreement, the overwhelming Power of the Primordial Spirit, as vast as an ocean, surged forth from within him.

Like a storm sweeping across, the black waters of the river began to churn violently, raising towering waves—the canal was no longer at peace.

The search lasted only a breath’s time when Emperor Zhou’s originally casual expression abruptly turned solemn.

He softly uttered, “Huh,” his gaze fixed on the river below, “It really is hidden here. Such a method of concealment is not like any ordinary restriction. Zhihai, it seems you were right, the Devil Emperor must be involved…”

Emperor Zhou’s authoritative eyes continued to stare at the river’s surface, addressing Cheng Zhihai with a comment, and then suddenly reached out his hand, which was enveloped in strange light, as if grasping at something, then clenched tightly.

“Crack, crack…”

Below the silent night, suddenly there was a sound like glass breaking.

That shattering sound, like falling dominoes, triggered a chain reaction, growing more and more dense, the noises louder and more intense.

Eventually…

Boom!!!

A column of eerily blood-red light burst forth from beneath the canal, shooting into the sky!

Suddenly, the river water surged, waves roiling violently, raising huge swells.

The previously calm surface of the river instantly became tempestuous and restless; the water thrashed like a giant dragon, struggling uncontrollably, crashing against the banks with deafening sounds.

Waves danced through the air, crashing into each other; the river rolled and tumbled, wave after wave, as if it sought to devour the entire world.

Above the canal, boats that had sailed some distance away were now pitching and tossing in the water, like small vessels struggling in the giant waves, at any moment at risk of being engulfed.

The wind howled, dancing wildly over the river’s surface along with the waves.

A powerful shockwave spread outward in all directions, and many of the constables from the Bureau of the Lamp along the bank struggled to keep their footing against the force of the wave, swaying side to side, nearly toppling to the ground.

At the same time, underneath the canal, a series of panicked and inhuman howls erupted.

A dense Devil Qi, so thick it almost materialized, spread as the blood-red pillar of light exploded into the air.

Many constables from the Bureau of the Lamp, having just felt that almost tangible Devil Qi, all changed their expressions.

“How many of the Devil Clan could be hiding beneath this canal!?”