Chapter 497

Chapter 497: Seeking the Enemy

Outside the Sand Guard, the Sand Locusts swarmed in relentless waves, their numbers seemingly endless.

Atop the Seven Star Pavilion, Wang Chen sank into deep contemplation.

Having grasped the origins of the locust disaster, he was eager to take on this critical mission.

The challenge lay in Daying City, home to millions, where buildings stood densely packed and streets twisted like a maze.

In such a unique and intricate environment, uncovering a “locust (bait)” was no simple task!

The Sand Tribe would not have sent this individual to Daying as bait unless they were skilled in concealment; otherwise, it would have been a futile and foolish endeavor.

Though Wang Chen believed no one in Daying City was better suited for this task than himself.

The Global Mode of the Cultivation Panel was indeed formidable.

Yet, the Virtue points he had left were insufficient to sustain a city-wide search!

Kou Shihai, noticing Wang Chen’s predicament, produced a golden talisman and handed it to him, saying, “Take this Wish for guidance talisman.”

The Wish for guidance talisman!

Wang Chen was momentarily stunned.

Though he no longer relied on Talisman Making to earn spirit stones, his expertise in the art remained intact. He recognized the significance of the talisman Kou Shihai had given him.

This was a third-grade treasure symbol!

The Wish for guidance talisman’s purpose was to locate individuals, capable of performing a “fuzzy search.” Once activated and a wish made, it would inevitably yield a response.

The more detailed the target’s identity, the more precise the information obtained.

No one knew whether the Sand Tribe’s “locust” was male or female, old or young, or what guise they had taken to infiltrate the city.

But the Wish for guidance talisman could aid in the search, though the results would be imprecise.

Still, Wang Chen only needed a general area.

This treasure symbol was the perfect complement to Global Mode!

Regrettably, it was too precious; as the Grand Commander of the Sand Guard, Kou Shihai could only spare one for Wang Chen.

No more were available.

“I will give it my all!”

Wang Chen solemnly stored the valuable treasure symbol, then turned to Kou Shihai, “Shixiong, what about the Seven Star Pavilion…”

To search for the “locust,” he would have to leave the Seven Star Pavilion and could no longer remain as its guardian.

“Leave it to me,” Kou Shihai said with a decisive wave. “The Wish for guidance talisman lasts only for the duration of an incense stick. If you cannot find the locust, return at once, and we will face these insects head-on!”

The Wish for guidance talisman was not omnipotent; its duration and effectiveness were limited. Even if the target was found, capturing them would be no easy feat.

Kou Shihai entrusted this daunting task to Wang Chen for two reasons. First, as a celestial guardian, Wang Chen had the authority to act freely, even to fly during the “city purification” period.

Second, Kou Shihai trusted Wang Chen but had no such faith in Luo Han or his allies!

This, however, he did not explicitly state.

However, Wang Chen understood completely!

The locust disaster could not destroy Daying City, but if the damage was too great, then Grand Celestial Guardian Luo Han could use that as an excuse to report Kou Shihai to the sect.

After all, he was the Grand Commander!

Luckily, Wang Chen had not yet returned to the Celestial Guardian’s pavilion; otherwise, it would have been difficult for Kou Shihai to ask for his help.

Disasters like this were fierce, allowing no delay or hesitation.

Having obtained the Wish for guidance talisman, Wang Chen shot forth a beam of sword light, racing toward the direction of the main city in Daying.

At that moment, Daying City had already entered a state of “strictness.”

All the shops were closed, and no pedestrians could be seen in the streets and alleys; only squads of fully armed battle cultivators patrolled back and forth, guarding against any unexpected events.

With so many people in Daying City, it was impossible to prevent spies from infiltrating. Every time a major calamity occurred, there would always be some specters stirring up trouble.

As Wang Chen flew above the main city, he immediately activated the Wish for guidance talisman in his hand.

A burst of spirit light suddenly erupted, instantly enveloping him before vanishing quietly within his body.

A profoundly mysterious sensation surged in Wang Chen’s Sea of Consciousness.

He swiftly thought, “I want to know the hiding place of the Sand Tribe’s locust.”

Once the wish was made, it seemed as if a force instantly flowed into Wang Chen’s divine essence, illuminating his awareness.

Found it!

This third-level treasure symbol was not in vain; the Sand Tribe’s locust had indeed infiltrated Daying City.

The coordinates were in the east of the city!

It was hidden in the east of the city?

Wang Chen’s gaze sharpened as he flew in the direction indicated by his divine essence.

The time granted by the Wish for guidance talisman was short. Once the duration was over, there would be no chance of discovering the source of the locust disaster.

Therefore, he could not waste a single second.

It seemed the “search conditions” were too limited, as the feedback Wang Chen received from the talisman was vague at first, giving only a general direction.

But as he flew into the eastern area of the city, the location became clearer and more precise.

After a moment, Wang Chen landed on top of a tall building.

Below him were luxurious and grand estates.

As the saying goes, wealth was in the east while the west was for the rich, poverty in the south and low status in the north. Though Daying City did not strictly follow this rule, the environment in the eastern part, far from the Sand Guard, was undoubtedly the best, with many ancestral homes of various families located here.

Wang Chen narrowed his eyes.

In his divine essence, the target did not remain fixed but moved within a small area.

The range could be narrowed down to about a mile!

It was not that the power of the Wish for guidance talisman had reached its limit; rather, the other party possessed some ability to disrupt the talisman’s effect, impacting its function.

This was quite normal. If Kou Shihai had a talisman to search for enemies, the Sand Tribe could not be unaware of it, especially since they had the Western Buddhist Sect backing them.

It made perfect sense that the “locust (bait)” had some special items for defense.

A mile is neither large nor small, but this area was quite special.

This “locust (bait)” really knew how to choose a location!

If it were another cultivator, they would probably be at a loss by now—after all, they couldn’t search house by house, could they?

Even if they had the energy and capability, they wouldn’t have enough time.

Wang Chen took a deep breath and opened the Global Mode of the panel.

His view suddenly expanded, with dots of light appearing like stars.

This time, Wang Chen fully activated his divine sense and even invoked the destructive power of the Qing Qian Kun Mirror to enhance his detection abilities.

At the same time, his Virtue points rapidly dwindled.

But at this point, Wang Chen could not care less about the consumption of Virtue; he focused entirely on finding the target.

【Virtue: 12674】, 【Virtue: 10295】, 【Virtue: 9236】…

When his Virtue points fell below 8000, a blood light suddenly entered his vision.

Found it!