Zhu Yanyi approached the powder, observing it closely. She then took out a seed and slowly catalyzed it. The seed sprouted instantly, growing rapidly into a vine. The vine seemed to have consciousness, skillfully prying open the drawer. Unfortunately, aside from some jewelry, the drawer was empty. However, the center was hollow, indicating a book had once been stored there.
"It seems she hid the book," Zhu Yanyi thought. She then catalyzed a red spider lily. The petals pointed in a specific direction. Zhu Yanyi followed that direction and stopped beside a vase as tall as a person.
Her heart skipped a beat. She catalyzed another seed, dropping it into the vase. Soon, a book box was lifted out by the vines.
Wearing gloves, Zhu Yanyi took the book box. She inspected it carefully to ensure there was no danger before slowly opening it. Inside lay a soul. Strangely, it was not Yu Qingyun’s.
"Another soul?" Zhu Yanyi noticed the soul was very faint and incomplete. Frowning slightly, she threw a Soul-Attaching Pill to the soul and handed the book to Yan Aohan for handling.
Finding nothing else, it meant Yu Qingyun’s soul was not here. Although worried about Yu Qingyun, Zhu Yanyi carefully restored everything to its original state and left quietly. Before leaving, she dropped the antidote.
Back at their lodging, Zhu Yanyi sighed, "We have alerted them."
Yan Aohan nodded, "But alerting them was inevitable in this situation. You couldn’t just let the soul vanish."
"Is your soul a living soul or a dead soul?" Zhu Yanyi asked Yan Aohan.
Yan Aohan replied, "It is a living soul, but it is currently recovering. It should be back to normal by tomorrow. Then we will know his identity."
"Since that’s the case, why don’t we search all of Ming Chuan Yunzi’s houses?" Zhu Yanyi thought. Since they had reached this point, perhaps the simplest method would yield some clues.
Yan Aohan nodded slightly, "Ming Chuan Yunzi has twenty-three properties. Let’s start with the nearest ones."
Zhu Yanyi considered this and said, "Why don’t we split up? It will be faster."
"That works too." Yan Aohan nodded. He took out a laptop and displayed the map to everyone.
"We have five people, and there are twenty-three properties. Considering Sikong and the others are not familiar with the area, each of you will handle three locations. Each location has four houses, totaling twelve. The remaining eleven will be split: I will handle six, and Ani will handle five. Ani, how does that sound?"
"Okay." Zhu Yanyi nodded. She took out the pills she had refined and distributed them. She also gave each of them a red spider lily to help find souls.
"Be careful. It is 10:10 now. We must return here before 3:00 PM."
"Understood." As cultivators, safety was generally not an issue. However, since Sikong Xuran was executing a solo mission here for the first time, caution was necessary.
Once everyone had their assignments, they left separately, looking as if they were all going to work.
The five houses Zhu Yanyi searched were spaced apart, but the distance meant nothing to her. Among these five houses, she found two more books trapping souls. Seeing these books, Zhu Yanyi felt heavy-hearted, sensing a conspiracy.
When Zhu Yanyi returned to the lodging, it was just past 1:00 PM. Sikong Xuran and Yi Yunfei had already returned. Their search areas were closer. Sikong Xuran produced two books, and Yi Yunfei produced one. Yan Aohan and Ouyang Tianyun returned shortly after. Ouyang Tianyun also found one book, and Yan Aohan found two. Including the one from the original room, they now had nine books.
"Nine soul-trapping books. Plus the one missing Yu Qingyun, that makes ten. There might be even more. I feel this Ming Chuan Yunzi is executing a very large conspiracy," Zhu Yanyi said, sharing her intuition.
Yan Aohan seemed to realize something. He opened his computer, typed rapidly, and said, "These are the houses we searched. Tell me which houses you found the books in."
Zhu Yanyi went first, pointing at the map, "This one. And this one."
Yan Aohan marked them. He asked the other three to do the same and marked their locations. Then he marked his own findings. He spoke slowly, "As I suspected."
Zhu Yanyi looked at the map and frowned slightly, "The pattern looks like an array. It’s suspicious."
"It is suspicious. If I am not mistaken, this is the first half of the Nine-Nine Returns to One array," Yan Aohan explained.
"Nine-Nine Returns to One uses the power of nine inner and nine outer souls to concentrate all energy in one place. Therefore, besides the nine books we have and the one missing Yu Qingyun, there should be nine more books trapping souls."
Zhu Yanyi was slightly stunned, "Nine more? Where are they?"
Yan Aohan said, "Based on the pattern of these nine books, the other nine should be in these locations." He drew nine circles in a different color.
"Yamamoto Library, Jinghe Cinema, Royal Park, Anhe Department Store,极乐 Amusement Park, Mingchuan Hotel, Heavenly God Church, Liuchuan Noble Academy, and Aiso Bridge. These are all quite representative buildings," Zhu Yanyi evaluated slowly after looking.
Yan Aohan nodded, "Indeed. Now, we must find the books. Ani, catalyze three more red spider lilies for Sikong, Ouyang, and Yunfei."
"Sikong, take the red spider lily to Aiso Bridge and Heavenly God Church. These two are close. Use the flower to guide you, but be careful. This is not our territory."
"Understood." Sikong Xuran had no objections. He noted the locations and left with the red spider lily.
"Ouyang, go to极乐 Amusement Park and Royal Park. Yunfei, go to Anhe Department Store. Be careful."
"Ani, you go to Yamamoto Library and Jinghe Cinema. I will go to Mingchuan Hotel and Liuchuan Noble Academy. Let’s split up and find these books as quickly as possible." Yan Aohan’s tone was serious, indicating there were unknown dangers ahead.