Neither Wind God nor Storm had any "deputies".

Under Wind God Captain Wang Ze, there were ten team leaders who usually acted independently, wandering around the country.

Except for Zhang Zhao, who often stayed at headquarters, and Gu Yuexi, who mainly operated in the eastern region, no one paid much attention to them.

Storm was a professional disaster relief team, and Storm's leader Dan Lin rarely appeared at headquarters.

The team members were usually scattered in several stationed points, ready to take up their tools and rescue various disasters caused by supernatural powers. Except for the New Year's gathering, they didn't look forward to seeing each other - once Storm joined forces across regions, it was bound to be a big mess.

Only Thunder usually needs to play various roles, and has fewer opportunities to go to the front line than the other two departments. Instead, there are more reception and security tasks, and countless trivial matters.

Even if Li Chen is skilled in many areas, he still can't take care of everything alone, so the bureau assigned him a special assistant as a deputy.

The deputy's surname is Yu, and he is handsome and highly educated. He has won third-class honors in Thunder and his resume is as bright as a star. They say he is the next Xiao Zheng.

Moreover, when he assists Li Chen, he is always humble and polite to everyone, and his people skills are ten times better than Wang Ze, who is always causing trouble.

Li Chen broke out in a cold sweat.

He had been working with his partner for three or four years, and his partner knew almost everything he had handled.

No one could help but rely on such a reliable and thoughtful person.

If...if even this kind of person had a problem, wouldn't Thunder become a sieve?

At this moment, a researcher suddenly exclaimed, pointing to his colleague's hand, "Why are your fingernails black?"

The researcher with the blackened fingernails stared blankly at his hand, wanting to say something but his lips froze.

He widened his eyes in horror, and all kinds of memories flashed through his mind involuntarily - when he heard the "divine oracle," how the target sealing box was covered with a blindfold leaf among the researcher team...

Someone...someone was rummaging through his mind!

When did the invasion happen?

No...he clearly had a dozen protective gear for mental attacks on him, why aren't they working?

"What are you training for all day, you young ones in the bureau?" Sheng Lingyuan shook his head, his fingers wrapped in black mist as he controlled him like a puppeteer.

He remotely scanned the unfortunate victim's mind who had caught his attention for 3S*001, the sealing box that he had left heavenly demon energy residue on. As long as someone touched the box, the energy would slowly seep into their skin. He was like a shadow puppet master, manipulating the mist from afar.

The spiritual protective gear was useless because all protective gear has a "threshold". For example, being scolded by someone is actually a form of mental attack, but it certainly wouldn't trigger a reaction from the protective gear.

Similarly, the demonic energy he picked up on the box was like a few specks of dust, very small and far from reaching the threshold to activate the protective gear.

Once the demonic energy infiltrates the body, it feeds on the person's own desires, anger, and ignorance, gradually growing and devouring until it reaches the sea of consciousness. The more restless one's mind is, the faster the invasion speed.

It's called the "sea of consciousness", but in reality, it's a chaotic mess that hasn't even been organized. It's clear that the owner doesn't have the habit of meditation, and their consciousness has never sunk to this level.

Sheng Lingyuan flipped his sea of consciousness upside down like an old warehouse and found a silhouette of a strange beast that was unlike anything else deep within.

He branded it like a seal in that spot.

"Found it," he said.

Countless strands of black mist poured into the imprint of the beast, quickly creating an exact replica. Sheng Lingyuan placed his hand, covered in the mist, in front of Xuan Ji.

"Here, lend me your tongue and speak a phrase in the language of the demon race."

The overflowing mist of heavenly demon energy brushed past Xuan Ji like a mist of poisonous water, immediately infecting the "Fire-keeper," who was immune to all poisons.

Starting from where the black mist had touched him, he was paralyzed all over, his hair standing on end, and he was immediately half-frozen. Xuan Ji almost bit his tongue.

"What... cough, what do you want me to say?"

"Standing here, it's hard to tell who's who," Sheng Lingyuan thought for a moment. "Let's have them kneel down first."

At this time, the only entrance and exit to the back of West Mountain was blocked off, and the guards could see from afar that Vice Captain Yu, with a few people, was walking towards them with great strides.

They immediately stood up straight and saluted, "Vice Captain Yu!"

Vice Captain Yu, who usually had a model-like smile on his face, looked serious today.

He seemed to have urgent matters to attend to, and he reached out to put his arm around the guard's shoulder, lowering his voice to say, "There's a big problem. Captain Li has asked me to report to Chief Huang. You guys must be careful!"

The guard's face changed, and he quickly nodded solemnly.

Vice Captain Yu quickly asked a few more questions, such as "Are your protective gear on?" and "Is the energy detector working properly?"

The guard responded seriously to each one, trying to appease his superior.

Finally, he patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, we're here guarding the place. Not even a fly can get out."

Vice Captain didn't seem reassured and gave him a doubtful look before leaving with his team silently.

"Did you hear that?" The leader of the guards tightened his belt and stood tall, scolding the guards on duty. "Stay alert!"

One of the guards wanted to say, "Those people who just passed through security didn't go through proper procedures," but he felt it was inappropriate to be clever in such a serious situation.

He kept his mouth shut and swallowed his words.

However, at that moment, a group of Thunder agents who had just passed the entrance and hadn't gone far yet suddenly knelt down in unison and performed a grand ceremony, displaying some kind of performance art.

The guards on the back mountain were startled and all drew out their mithril guns.

One of the Thunder agents accidentally knocked into something invisible while kowtowing, making a muffled "thud" sound.

Before the guards could react in shock, a sealing box appeared out of nowhere and fell to the ground, with a bright red label reading "3S*001".

A sharp whistle echoed through the back mountain, with a trailing sound that was almost mournful, and then abruptly stopped.

Zhang Zhao happened to have just arrived with Wind God from the headquarters building, and upon hearing the commotion, ran over and saw that the guards at the entrance had all been frozen into ice sculptures by an ice-based special ability.

"What's going on? The guards are like this and they didn't notice? Are they deaf?" Zhang Zhao's post-traumatic stress disorder from the time turbulence had not yet subsided.

He couldn't sleep without sleeping pills and had developed a breakout of acne on his forehead, making him particularly irritable.

He waved his hand, "Leave two people here to guard, call the special abilities doctor, notify Captain Yan - the rest of us will chase after them! Damn it, what a mess!"

Xiao Zheng and the others were slow to react, not because they were deaf, but because just now, people in the Research Institute, logistics, patrol team, Thunder... even the general dispatch office, for some unknown reason, had their nails turn black and then collectively knelt down as if possessed by ghosts.

The number of people who did this reached two-fifths of the people present.

The entire back mountain was silent, with some people standing in shock and others kneeling with faces ashen.

The scene resembled a mural full of metaphors from some ancient secret religion.

Suddenly, the kneeling people collectively spoke in the language of the demon race, as if being controlled by some unknown force, and confessed their sins together.

A gust of evening wind swept by, causing Xiao Zheng to shiver uncontrollably.

In the forest of the West Mountain Nature Reserve, Vice Captain Yu carried a heavy sealed box on his back and ran through the pine forest like a bereaved dog amidst thunder and lightning. He knew he had been exposed and there was no good outcome.

After nearly a decade of hard work, all his efforts were in vain.

At this point, he had no choice but to fight back and desperately send out what the master wanted at 'any cost'.

As long as they could succeed, as long as the Chiyuan was reignited in their generation, and their power was returned to them, even if he was arrested and persecuted by mortals today, it would only be temporary.

Soon, he would emerge as a founder of the new world, shining brightly!

The old branches and withered leaves brushed against him like tiny knives. The only sound in the forest was the howling of the northwest wind, with no crows or sparrows in sight. Layers of defensive formations were buried under the thick layer of humus, even regular field agents dared not trespass without special clearance.

Even Director Xiao always followed the rules and entered through the secret passage with his access card.

Except for Thunder.

At the headquarters of the Bureau of Paranormal Control, there were 53,624 different sized formations that required daily maintenance and inspection.

Vice Captain Yu was known for his dedication to his work, so much so that he could identify each and every one of the 50,000+ magic circles with his eyes closed.

People even called him the "second Xiao Zheng," but who was Xiao Zheng anyway?

Did he even compare to Vice Captain Yu?

Xiao Zheng was just a spoiled rich kid who used his family's connections to buy his way into the top ranks of the Thunder-fire types.

Did he know about the secret tunnels in the back mountains?

Did he know which formations were vulnerable to rain, lightning, or fire?

Vice Captain Yu was like a nimble deer, silently breaking through layer after layer of defense. Finally, he arrived at another dry well not far from the entrance and jumped right in, popping an ice bead into his mouth.

In the next moment, his entire body was covered in a layer of ice, tightly stuck to the stone bricks of the well that had been frozen all winter.

The surface of his body took on a pattern that was identical to the well's stone bricks, like a chameleon, he became a part of the well.

Neither infrared nor spiritual scans could detect him, and the Wind God who had chased after him hurriedly arrived and then hurriedly left.

After the sound of footsteps disappeared, Vice Captain Yu also did not act rashly.

He patiently held his breath and counted his heartbeats one hundred times in place, making sure that the pursuer had truly left before exhaling a cold breath and kneeling down.

He touched his head to the ground and murmured in their native language, "Nine nines return to one, our lord is the true god."

He recited this sentence and bowed his head. He bowed over a hundred times, causing his brain to shake and his eyes to lose focus. Only then did the moss-covered well wall begin to move.

Soon, a tall figure emerged from the stone bricks and stood firmly, looking down at him with a greenish glow.

The handsome and jealous Thunder agent, who was just filled with resentment, suddenly changed his gaze. His eyes even contained tears of fanaticism, and his whole body trembled.

"A true god," he thought, "I have actually seen a true god!"

Like a devoted follower holding his life and fortune, Vice Captain Yu lifted the sealed box high above his head.

"Master... Master, I have finally seen you," he said incoherently. "This is what you wanted. Although many of our people were exposed, we succeeded in the end..."

The figure on the stone bricks did not respond.

He tilted his head and looked at Vice Captain Yu for a moment before coldly interrupting him, "Your emblem has been contaminated by evil spirits."

Vice Captain Yu was stunned and knelt in place, raising his head in confusion. His moss-colored "divine god" protruded from the stone wall, looking at him with pity and sighing, "What a pity..."

"What a pity?" he didn't finish his sentence, but the figure on the stone wall had already silently retreated. It seemed as if the figure had never existed on the collapsed well wall.

"Wait!" Vice Captain Yu panicked and threw himself forward, frantically searching the dry well wall.

He could hardly believe it as he only touched the mud covered in moss.

"Master, wait, I really got it, look at me! Look at me again!"

He scrambled to pick up the sealed box, not caring if he was seen, his nails growing into sharp blades of ice. With three quick movements, he broke the invisible seal on the box and then clawed and bit at the lock until it opened.

As he lifted the lid, a blinding white light shot out of the box and exploded into a beautiful flower in mid-air, leaving the man stunned.

The Wind God agents searching nearby and the others on the back of the mountains all saw the spectacle. It had been years since fireworks were allowed, but this one burst was enough to startle the entire city of Yong'an.

Li Chen startled and cursed before quickly chasing after the others.

Wang Ze instinctively wanted to follow, but Yan Qiushan pulled him back and ordered him to detain the suspects.

"Boss, this is too weird. What's going on?" Wang Ze asked.

Yan Qiushan was about to answer when he suddenly felt something and turned his head to meet the gaze of a sparrow perched on a nearby tree branch. Whether it was his imagination or not, the sparrow's posture was particularly elegant, and it even nodded at him before flying away.

Sheng Lingyuan snapped his fingers and dispelled the puppetry. He was a considerate guest and had no intention of helping with the dishes.

After finishing his meal, he wiped his mouth and said, "Looks like you'll have another vacation soon..."

As if by chance, the moment he stood up, Xuan Ji grabbed his wrist.

Perhaps it was just Xuan Ji's imagination, but the slight ambiguous physical contact made the Emperor shiver lightly and he quickly pulled his hand away.

The atmosphere became a bit strange for a moment.

The Emperor was not a conservative person and would not move unless necessary. He could confidently ask someone to wash his hair even when he was naked. Why would he care about this level of touch?

Sheng Lingyuan immediately realized this and ignored his wrist, which was almost burning, and smiled as if nothing had happened.

"What's wrong?" Xuan Ji stared deeply into his eyes, gathered his courage, and spoke in a clear and confident demon language, "Do you know how much I've missed you these years?"

Sheng Lingyuan stared at him blankly for a moment, his expression unreadable.

Without a heart, his pulse, driven by demonic energy, remained constant and eternal. Xuan Ji couldn't detect any changes in his pulse.

After what seemed like three thousand years of silence, Xuan Ji suddenly saw him smile.

Sheng Lingyuan reached out and snapped his fingers, saying, "Wake up, we're back to normal now. I'll borrow a phrase from you, why do you keep chirping like a bird? Are you teasing me because I lost my demonic bloodline?"

He hadn't understood.

Xuan Ji felt Sheng Lingyuan gently pull his arm, so he obediently let go and placed his hands on his knees.

He sat up straight and looked at Sheng Lingyuan with an indescribable expression, saying, "Give me a moment to adjust. I almost lost my voice when I was almost hit by the temporal turbulence that day. I think I have some after-effects."

Sheng Lingyuan patted his head absentmindedly and walked straight to the small pavilion in the corner of the living room, ordering, "Prepare the writing materials. He Cuiyu has been working on the White Jade Palace Gate for 800 years and has made some progress. While the bureau is closed for this round of clean-up, I'll see which 'shortcut' she's taking."

Xuan Ji followed his orders and prepared a set of tablet computers and styluses - no ink needed.

Money, food, transportation, industrialization, and writing tools - these were the few things that could pique the Emperor's curiosity.

As soon as the stylus appeared, Sheng Lingyuan's attention was immediately drawn to it.

For a moment, he even forgot about the sacrificial text he hadn't finished reading and eagerly began playing with his new toy.

Xuan Ji silently retreated to the kitchen to clean up the dishes.

With the sound of rushing water, he stood expressionless, holding a plate under the faucet.

He let it run for five minutes without moving, then with a "crack," he broke the porcelain plate in two with his bare hands.

He lost his bloodline, so he can't understand? What a load of crap!

Abandoning his demonic bloodline only means that his demonic language has become a "foreign language" based on knowledge, not that he suddenly became deaf overnight.

That little demon hostage from the Bifang clan that was placed by his side years ago... that bird-brain had such a low intelligence level that even after studying human language for several years, he still couldn't speak fluently.

Whenever he had to report something slightly complicated, he had to mix human and demonic language, and occasionally even let out a few bird calls.

Has Sheng Lingyuan ever not understood him?

He even speaks a few simple demonic phrases without any special pronunciation to that flat-haired idiot - like "get out."

Even though it had been twenty years since he last heard the language of the demon clan, he could still easily distinguish when they were off-key.

After all, someone who had passed the English proficiency test would still understand basic phrases like "hello," "thank you," and "I love you" even if they hadn't used the language in twenty years.

How could he not understand such a simple phrase?

He was pretending as if it was a matter of life and death!

Xuan Ji's hand holding the broken porcelain plate trembled with anger, his veins bulging as he gritted his teeth, looking as if he wanted to devour someone.