Chapter 2202: Natural Disaster or Man-made?

Chief Steward Du Yun still remembered his first meeting with State Preceptor Shuangye ninety years ago. Back then, Shuangye looked much the same as he did today: incredibly handsome, but with eyes so cold and profound, like black holes. Anyone who met his gaze for too long would feel a creeping dread, a chill rising uncontrollably up their spine.

Time, it seemed, had no power over him.

However, the current State Preceptor Shuangye’s gaze had become gentle and composed, and he treated people with far more kindness.

Chief Steward Du Yun, on the other hand, was now white-haired and clearly showing his age. While the resurgence of spiritual energy could strengthen living beings and prolong their lives, for him, it had come a little too late.

He knew Shuangye’s true nature, knowing him to be a monstrous being, yet outwardly, he continued to treat him with all due respect, showing no hint of surprise — just as he had for all these years.

“State Preceptor Shuangye.”

State Preceptor Shuangye and his faction served as a crucial balancing force within the Lingxu Royal Court. Without him, the exalted Heavenly Palace would find it difficult to directly intervene in the practical affairs of Lingxu City.

Shuangye’s role had become even more prominent after Qingyang’s dismissal.

Shuangye returned the bow. “Chief Steward, what grave matter brings you here?”

The Heavenly Palace rarely sought him out in the middle of the night.

“News has arrived from the south: the volcanoes in the Southern Tao Archipelago have suddenly erupted, and the Thousand-Eyes Cave has been destroyed.”

Even with Shuangye’s composure, he showed a flicker of emotion. “How can that be? The Southern Tao Archipelago consists of dormant volcanoes that have been quiet for four or five millennia.”

“There were indeed some unusual tremors at the Southern Tao volcanoes. The last report I received from Thousand-Eyes Cave mentioned slight activity, but nothing severe. It shouldn’t have erupted so soon.” Thousand-Eyes Cave submitted reports to the Heavenly Palace every three months. “Thousand-Eyes Cave was actually planning to complete its relocation within three years. Did you receive any abnormal reports, State Preceptor?”

Shuangye shook his head. “The last time I sent people to deliver supplies was a year ago. Are there no survivors from Thousand-Eyes Cave?”

“A few bird-demon scouts, and four or five human survivors. They were all outside Thousand-Eyes Cave that night, conducting business on the outer islands, which allowed them to escape death. Oh, and a few water demons as well.”

Shuangye pondered, “Since it is a volcano, an eruption is certainly possible.”

The unique, pockmarked landscape of Thousand-Eyes Cave itself was etched out by ancient volcanic eruptions long, long ago.

“But demons and demon puppets have senses far keener than humans. There are often signs before a volcanic eruption; how could they have been oblivious or insensitive?”

“The sea demons reported that a hurricane struck that day, and the reefs were battered by giant waves. They couldn’t operate in shallow waters and had to dive into the deep sea to seek shelter. And with the stormy conditions on the surface, the bird demons had no choice but to land and rest.”

A hurricane is a formidable force of nature, before which most creatures must retreat. Moreover, many unusual celestial phenomena precede a hurricane, which could have, to some extent, obscured the perception of danger for all living beings.

“Is it merely a coincidence, then, that the hurricane and the volcanic eruption occurred on the exact same day?”

A volcanic eruption in the Southern Tao Archipelago, an event unseen for thousands of years, just happened to coincide with a hurricane?

Something was amiss.

Chief Steward Du Yun said, “One of the sea demons mentioned that before it dove into the deep sea, it thought it saw a stonefish ram into Thousand-Eyes Cave’s main reef fortress. At the time, it didn’t think much of it, assuming the stonefish was also caught in a strong current and couldn’t control itself. But reflecting on it now, it seems rather peculiar.”

The turbulent waves and strong currents stirred up by a hurricane in shallow underwater areas were also quite terrifying.

“Why peculiar?”

“In the waters near the Southern Tao Archipelago, stonefish only migrate through in spring, and then only briefly passing through.” Chief Steward Du Yun had questioned this in detail. “Furthermore, that stonefish was nearly thirty feet long, an enormous creature. It was very likely a demonic beast, not likely to have panicked and accidentally blundered into the narrow reef area.”

The reef fortress where Thousand-Eyes Cave was located was like an underwater alleyway, full of solid rock and sharp corals. Large creatures like giant stonefish or whale sharks would find it difficult to even turn around there and usually avoided the area.

State Preceptor Shuangye frowned. “Was there no evidence left within Thousand-Eyes Cave?”

“The volcanic eruption destroyed the entire Thousand-Eyes Cave. Most of the bodies found afterward were incomplete, and many of the marks were caused by the reef itself, making analysis very difficult.” Chief Steward Du Yun said with a grim expression. “But we did find a dozen bodies afterward that clearly showed signs of struggle. One headless body had neck injuries caused by sharp teeth and brute force. Liu Zhushi, the overseer of Thousand-Eyes Cave, suffered a severe blow to the chest, likely from a halberd-like weapon, and his heart was gouged out. We also found half a charred body, and the cause of death was determined to be a three-foot stab wound behind the neck, with blood and fat extracted and internal organs dissolved. In other words, he was already dead before the lava consumed him.”

State Preceptor Shuangye voiced a reservation: “Begging your pardon, but the experimental demon puppets in Thousand-Eyes Cave were themselves quite bizarre, were they not? Could it be that some of them escaped during the hurricane and went on a rampage?”

“Thousand-Eyes Cave has multiple 'dragon-breaking stones' in place. If demon puppets were to accidentally escape, they would lower these stones to prevent them from fleeing or harming people.” Chief Steward Du Yun shook his head. “I sent people to inspect them. Out of seventeen dragon-breaking stones, three are missing due to reef collapse, but none of the others were ever lowered.”

Seeing State Preceptor Shuangye unwilling to agree, Chief Steward Du Yun had no choice but to be direct. “The Heavenly Venerate believes this was the work of the Mou Kingdom.”

“The Mou Kingdom?” There were no outsiders present, so Shuangye directly objected. “There’s no direct evidence to suggest that the Mou Kingdom did this.”

“This was a meticulously planned act of sabotage, handled with extreme precision, so how could they leave direct evidence?” Chief Steward Du Yun said. “The Mou Kingdom’s southern waters contain two sea tribes, and they are only about two hundred li from the Southern Tao Archipelago.”

A giant stonefish and a halberd? It did sound like the work of a sea tribe.

“Furthermore, Mount Ling and the Mou Kingdom have been trying to uncover the secrets of demon puppets for years, and they have previously damaged two of our other experimental sites.” Chief Steward Du Yun stated gravely. “Thousand-Eyes Cave is isolated in the sea and its location is concealed. The local Southern Tao natives are unaware it’s an experimental site; they believe sea gods reside in the cave.”

State Preceptor Shuangye immediately interjected, “There is another faction that is also very interested in demon puppet research.”

“Are you referring to Cang Yan?”

“Cao Wendao and Honglu were destroyed by He Xiao and his group, and there was a demon puppet master among them.”

“You make a valid point, but similarly, there is no direct evidence to prove this was Cang Yan’s doing.” Chief Steward Du Yun cleared his throat. “The Holy Venerate’s opinion is that the Mou Kingdom is more likely.”

Since the Holy Venerate had already made a determination, what good was it for their subordinates to argue? State Preceptor Shuangye dropped the matter.

“Chief Steward, why have you sought me out in the middle of the night?”

“After Cao Wendao’s death, Thousand-Eyes Cave had finally achieved significant breakthroughs in demon puppet research. Now, it has been invaded and damaged, with a great deal of valuable data and experimental subjects destroyed. Much of the work must be restarted. You know how difficult it is to rebuild such an experimental site and resume the previous research. Therefore, the gods are enraged.” Chief Steward Du Yun’s face was grim. “It is the Holy Venerate’s will: Mount Ling and the Mou Kingdom must pay the price!”