Dr. Wang, who is over two hundred years old, must have some kind of miraculous bloodline in his ancestry.

His neck is now longer than his head, and sometimes when he dozes off during meetings, his turtle shell accidentally peeks out from his back.

Despite this, in recent years, everyone has noticed that his reactions have become slower and his movements more sluggish, like an old clock gradually losing its power and ready to stop at any moment.

Therefore, everyone silently takes care of him, fearing that one day he will disappear.

But how has Old Lady Yu, who is seven or eight hundred years old, not changed at all in so many years?

Facelifts are definitely not the answer, and even a top-tier hospital cannot keep someone alive for eight hundred years.

"Well, now that you mention it...I do recall something," with a furrowed brow, Xiao Zheng spoke up. "Back when I was in charge of security, I always accompanied the old bureau chief to the Penglai Conference. I don't think I ever saw Old Lady Yu use any special abilities."

"Someone as socially inept as you aside, even someone like me who goes to greet her all the time has never seen it," said Wang Ze.

He continued, "A few years ago, during the Penglai Conference, they organized a few martial arts competitions to train young people. I led the Wind God team and at that time, Little Gu Yuexi had just joined and was very shy. Captain Yan asked me to take care of the newbies. I thought even if we couldn't make friends with the old lady who had such a high status in the martial arts world, it would be good to take the kids to broaden their horizons.

"As a result, we went to visit her several times, but never saw her. She was either receiving guests or resting. After a few days, there was an urgent mission in the team that required the use of the X-ray vision. When Gu Yuexi left, Old Lady Yu immediately called me over to talk... I felt something was off at the time, but I didn't dare to think about her hiding from the X-ray vision."

Chief Huang pondered for a moment before putting down his pen.

"If Old Lady Yu has been able to survive until now by devouring the life force of other special individuals, known as 'True Pills,' then it's very likely that the history of the True Nature Sect is longer than we imagined. Old Lady Yu herself has a deep connection with the True Nature Sect, and may even be the instigator. Let's assume she is, then what is the purpose of this recent series of events?"

Xuan Ji glanced at Sheng Lingyuan and carefully considered his words. "This is going to be a long story..."

It was impossible to keep the situation with Chiyuan hidden from the authorities, but how to reveal it and keep their identities concealed while also making it sound plausible was something he hadn't figured out yet.

Sheng Lingyuan interrupted him with a wave of his hand, capturing everyone's attention.

He then opened a bottle of mineral water and poured it onto the conference table.

The people sitting across from him instinctively leaned back, but they saw that not a drop of water spilled from the bottle onto the table.

The mineral water suspended in mid-air and condensed into a small fish, made entirely of water.

The little fish swam leisurely as if it were in water, and a woman's voice came from inside its belly: "The heavenly demon is only recorded in the ancient scrolls of the Qingping Division. I used to think it was just a legend."

Xiao Zheng asked, "This is..."

"Dialogue from when Yan Qiushan and his team infiltrated the seabed. They accidentally overheard a few sentences," Sheng Lingyuan leaned back on his chair and said calmly, "The one who spoke just now was the wooden puppet that self-immolated."

Next, the conversation between Yan Qiushan and the wanted criminals about rekindling Chiyuan in the underwater tomb was replayed in full detail. The information in the dialogue was immense, and everyone in the conference room, from the most powerful to the ordinary, was stunned into silence, their eyes wide open in amazement.

After the replay, the small fish made of mineral water bubbles spat out a bubble, and Sheng Lingyuan casually pointed at it.

The small fish "gurgled" and dispersed into countless tiny water droplets, shattered by a wisp of black mist, scattering throughout the dry conference room.

The air suddenly became more moist, and there seemed to be a hint of refreshing fragrance mixed in.

For a long time, Wang Ze could only pick up his tongue from the ground and stutter, "I...I'm afraid I'm just a fake water user."

"Don't interrupt," Xiao Zheng kicked him under the table.

The learnings from the meeting were a mess, and his speech was getting faster and faster.

"In other words, they believe that Chiyuan is a sealed source of abnormal energy. The recent increase in the birth rate of special abilities and the frequent abnormal energy events are all due to the loosening of this seal? This...this is too..."

"No, he's right about the statistical data," Chief Huang said suddenly. He was the only calm one in the room, despite being the only ordinary person present.

"I've been tracking the issue of exceptional fertility rates, and it's indeed highly correlated with the frequency of abnormal energy events. High birth rates often accompany natural disasters and human calamities, which is why ancient people always said 'chaotic times breed monsters and demons.'

"In major historical events with detailed records in modern times, the more people who died, the higher the exceptional fertility rate was from that year to the next. When this birth rate reaches a certain level, about greater than one in ten thousand, there will be a cliff-like drop, and it will remain low for several years until the next turbulent period.

"This situation has occurred exactly thirty-five times since recorded history, which matches their claims."

Although there were some with a bad temper and others who liked to act cute, everyone present had enough common sense to focus their attention on Chief Huang.

It was the first time they had heard about the hidden details of how an ordinary person like him had been "parachuted" into the position of bureau chief.

Xiao Zheng curled his finger and asked tentatively, "Chief Huang, is this information recorded in the ancient documents donated by the Qingping Division?"

"At the establishment of our bureau, people from all over the country showed their support by donating a large amount of precious literature, talismans, and spell books. He Cuiyu also contributed many antique scrolls from the Qingping Division. However, this part of the collection happened to be missing," explained Chief Huang slowly and deliberately.

"Throughout history, rulers of our country have always placed great importance on conducting a census. As an ancient organization responsible for managing special individuals, it is unacceptable for the Qingping Division to have such important information missing. Therefore, we have conducted extensive research and made some guesses and hypotheses about it privately."

"'We' are...?"

"Your old Bureau Chief Xiang Zhang, Dr. Wang from the Research Institute, a few of us old guys who used to handle the affairs and logistics of the Bureau, and my wife," Chief Huang chuckled.

"Oh, by the way, my wife is also a special person, but she doesn't have any major abilities. Besides not needing a calculator when she's with me, she's just like an ordinary person in everyday life. She's been working in logistics and has left the bureau for a long time, so you don't know her, and I didn't mention her earlier."

Given Chief Huang's age, his wife may have already retired and since she's not with the bureau, she's just a family member. Chief Huang brushed over this fact and Xiao Zheng didn't ask too many questions.

"Have you known the old Chief for a long time?"

"Old Xiang was an old friend of mine. When he left, he asked me, an ordinary person, to sit in this position without budging. I think he may have foreseen the current situation and the possible rift between ordinary people and those with special abilities in the future. He even suggested that the root cause might be Chiyuan," Chief Huang sighed. "Alas, heroes grow old, and time waits for no one."

Sheng Lingyuan looked at Chief Huang in surprise. Before sealing Chiyuan, he had forbidden anyone from speaking or writing about the humanoid race, demon race, or Chiyuan.

All related words, writings, and objects were to be burned.

This artificially created a gap in inheritance, and even the last generation of fire-keepers was confused. Who knew that this truth would be discovered by a few mortals who using some data.

"Mr. Sword Spirit, I apologize for the inconvenience, but in these extraordinary times, we need your assistance," said Chief Huang, turning to him. "You are a historical artifact spirit, correct? What should we call you?"

Sheng Lingyuan and Xuan Ji spoke up at the same time.

Xuan Ji said, "Ling..."

Sheng Lingyuan said, "Sheng Xiao."

Chief Huang:"..."

This name is too familiar!

Xuan Ji almost choked, but then the Emperor calmly added, "The previous owner's surname was Sheng, and my sword is inscribed with 'Xiao.' As weapon spirits, our inscriptions are predetermined. Even if it violates the taboo of an esteemed person, there is nothing we can do about it. Just don't call us by that name."

Most Chinese names consist of two or three characters, and four-character names are rare. "Xiao" is not a particularly difficult character, and it's normal to have people with the same name.

This explanation makes sense.

However, for some reason, when Chief Huang referred to the him as "Mr. Sheng," Xuan Ji suddenly felt uneasy.

"Sheng... Sheng..." Although Chief Huang accepted his explanation, he had some difficulty pronouncing his full name. "Mr. Sheng, do you know much about the Yin Sacrifice ritual? If the suspect is this He Cuiyu, why do you think she chose to act now?"

With a name like "Cuiyu" and being associated with water, she sounded like a mixed-blood snake demon.

This was a task that Sheng Lingyuan would not have paid attention to before his death. What kind of storm could a mixed-blood little demon from the last Qingping Division stir up?

There are too many ancient secrets involved here. Even if this snake demon who shamelessly calls herself "Old Lady" and hasn't lived in vain for seven hundred years, reading all the scriptures of the Qingping division worth five thousand years of knowledge, she still may not know as much as she claims.

But the emperor has always been one to think ten things in his heart and say only one, so he's not one to waste words with Xuan Ji, the troublesome descendant of the fire-keeper.

Since Chief Huang has already made a hypothesis, he's too lazy to correct it and just goes along with it, saying, "As long as the seal of the Chiyuan is not loosened, the demons summoned by the Yin Sacrifice cannot awaken. Also, I think her time is running out, and she's getting desperate - although I don't understand why she hasn't had enough of life yet."

Xiao Zheng asked, "Can the Yin Sacrifice only summon heavenly demons? How many ancient heavenly demons were there in total? Can we narrow down our future investigation direction?"

Wang Ze pondered and replied, "When we were at sea, Captain Yan mentioned that heavenly demons are connected to the laws of fate and calamity, and 'there is a limit to fate and calamity.' Therefore, he believes that the world can only accommodate a limited number of human demons, and each clan may only have one. If we destroy one, there will be one less..."

Sheng Lingyuan nodded in agreement, "That's right. The fate and calamity of a clan can only produce one demon, but not every clan can produce a heavenly demon. As the name suggests, a heavenly demon cannot be a 'hairy, feathered, scaled, or horned' creature. It is a gift of the human race, and the demon heart comes from the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance. In other words, before the sealing of the Chiyuan, heavenly demons could only come from the human race and humanoid races."

"What, what kind of people? What does 'humanoid' mean?" Wang Ze suspected that the boss was not speaking Mandarin, every word sounded strange and he didn't understand the sentence.

"The ones with fur, feathers, scales, and horns, referring to those who fly in the sky, run on the ground, and swim in the water, and lay eggs instead of giving birth," Sheng Lingyuan had already named the key information using Yan Qiushan, and Xuan Ji took the opportunity to take over the conversation.

"Humanoids refer to the three major races that looked very similar to humans in the past, the witch people, the Mountain people, and the Shadow people. In ancient times, there was also a saying that the three major humanoid races represented the three poisons of 'greed, anger, and ignorance' in humans..."

Sheng Lingyuan sneered lightly, "Humans are too self-important."

"This is not the point. It's just a folk rumor," Xuan Ji quickly pulled him back from the edge of dangerous speech, searching his mind for the inheritance and reciting to the crowd what the three major categories of human races were.

He continued, "There are four branches in total when you add up the human and humanoid races, so the demon clan can have up to four members. Now, the opponent has already failed three consecutive Yin Sacrifice rituals, so it should only be the 'Shadow people' left."

Wang Ze asked, "Who is the heavenly demon of the Shadow people? It seems like this race has also been extinct. How did they go extinct?"

"Um...it's very difficult for Shadow People to reproduce. Minors don't have the ability to give birth, and the conditions for becoming adults are to recognize their masters...the relationship between Shadow People and their masters is similar to that of a husband and wife, or at worst, a favoured mistress. But the offspring produced in this way will follow the master's race, not the Shadow People's. Only a pair of purebred Shadow People can give birth to Shadow People, who would be willing to send their lovers out for 'breeding'?"

Xuan Ji was not very sure and turned to look at Sheng Lingyuan. "So it's natural extinction, right?"

Sheng Lingyuan replied, "No."

Xuan Ji: "..."

"In the past, shadow slaves were highly valued. There were specialized shadow slave dealers who bred a group of adult shadow slaves specifically for breeding purposes. In the third year of the Qi Dynasty, the court issued a decree prohibiting the buying, selling, and gifting of shadow slaves. Within a year, over a hundred shadow slave dealers were executed. In the mid-fifth year, the Qingping Division issued the 'Shadow Slave Law,' which required that all shadow slaves belonging to a deceased owner must be buried with them. Anyone who harbored shadow slaves belonging to a deceased owner would have their entire family executed."

He spoke casually, but the bloody atmosphere between his words made people shudder. He painted a picture of an era forged by blood and fire for these people three thousand years later.

"As for who the heavenly demon of this clan is," Sheng Lingyuan furrowed his brows lightly, and after a moment, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, I have never heard of them before, and I don't know either."

Xuan Ji became puzzled. After the sealing of Chiyuan in the sixth year of the Qi Dynasty, although the fire did not go out, there was definitely no longer any energy to create demons.

Therefore, if the Shadow People had produced demons, it must have been before the sixth year of the Qi Dynasty.

Sealing demons is a major event that would shock the heavens and the earth. Whether it was sealed by himself or by others, Sheng Lingyuan would not be "unaware of what is happening."

So... could it be that the heavenly demon of this Shadow People was never sealed?

Could he watch Chiyuan being sealed, his source of power disappearing, and remain indifferent?

Unless this unknown and nameless demon, like His Majesty, had grown tired of life.

So far, there are only four known ancient heavenly demons, out of which two were uninterested in causing trouble in the human world. They only have one thing on their minds: to rest in peace. Their suicide rate is as high as fifty percent.

What kind of spirit is this?

Are the local heavenly demons specifically born to protect world peace?

Just then, Wang Ze's phone suddenly vibrated.

He was about to hang up, but when he saw that it was Gu Yuexi calling, he answered, "Sorry, leaders, I have to take this... Hello, Yue'er, is it Captain Yan... really?!"

Veins and blood vessels popped out on Wang Ze's forehead as he became excited and his expression turned fierce.

"You... what's going on with you guys? Our investigation is going pretty fast. Let him rest and recover properly. Don't pressure him, and don't tell him about Zhi Chun's situation, got it? He still... ah?"

After a moment, Wang Ze hung up the phone. "Captain Yan is awake," he said.

Xuan Ji snapped out of his thoughts and asked, "What happened? Did someone leak the information about Zhi Chun to him? Team Leader Gu doesn't seem like someone who would be so careless."

"He knows," Wang Ze murmured. "He was still conscious at the time and he saw everything, he remembers it all."

"Just now, Captain Yan asked Gu Yuexi to tell me that he had infiltrated the True Nature Sect for three years and had collected all the information, which he kept in a rented apartment under a false identity. He was thinking that if he died, we would definitely investigate his false identity and find it that way," Wang Ze cleared his throat.

"He will return to headquarters as soon as possible to cooperate with the memory retrieval and point the finger at Old Lady...He Cuiyu."

Chief Huang couldn't help but ask, "What about his injuries?"

"The metal element is known for its toughness and strong self-healing ability," said Xiao Zheng. "As long as they have a breath left, they can temporarily use various metal objects to enter their body, filling injured organs and tissues without rejection. He... "

He was even willing to fight to maintain his consciousness, to face the reality of his fleeting life.

Until this matter is resolved, he refuses to give up.

Xuan Ji couldn't help but be stunned, even Sheng Lingyuan was slightly surprised. Suddenly, he felt a little less inexplicable disgust towards Yan Qiushan.