Chapter 376: Sinister Biological Warfare

"This is illogical. Shouldn't this land have self-healing capabilities?""Ever since the catastrophe?""Yes, it does. I heard that spiritual energy recovered very quickly in the early Middle Ages. From destruction comes new life; it was supposed to be that way. But then, for some unknown reason, it stopped again."

He Lingchuan recalled the theory proposed by Tian Shengzi of the Tianyan Sect."Within the Tianyan Sect, there was once an immortal named Tian Shengzi. He put forward a hypothesis that the appearance of the Emperor's Dew coincided precisely with the demise of gods in the heavens."

Sun Fuling's eyes flickered. "Interesting. That's a truly obscure theory. I've never seen it written in any book, nor have I heard any of Panglong City's powerful figures mention it in the Hall of Immortals. How did this Tian Shengzi elaborate on it?"He Lingchuan recounted the memories from the Soul-Snatching Mirror.Sun Fuling sighed. "The theory is compelling, but without evidence, it's just a mirage. No wonder this doctrine didn't spread."

"So, if we know when gods die, we can predict when the Emperor's Dew will erupt?" He Lingchuan looked at her. "I remember Panglong City always gives advance notice before an Emperor's Dew outbreak."Sun Fuling chuckled. "Divine power is unpredictable. You should ask Lady Mitian. She's a deity; she'd have the answer.""If I went to ask it, it would ignore me, I'm sure," He Lingchuan sighed, dispirited.

"Why do you seem to be putting on a brave face today?" Sun Fuling examined him closely. "Oh, that reminds me, I met Commander Xiao the day before yesterday. He said you've been exceptionally recruited into the Great Gale Army?""Yes, I carried out my first mission today.""Didn't it go well?""It went very smoothly, a mere trifle." He literally meant it was a mere trifle, just beheading someone."Then why are you downcast?" Sun Fuling clearly had some understanding of the process. "The first mission for promotion to the Great Gale Army is usually very difficult. I've heard some people can't complete it and have to go back to further improve themselves.""It seems the superiors are quite fond of me." He Lingchuan pulled back the curtain and looked out. "Ah, we've arrived."

They had arrived at the Alchemist Bureau.He Lingchuan usually obtained elixirs from the Pengcheng Bureau, or bought them directly from A'Luo or apothecaries to save military merits. This was his first time at the Alchemist Bureau.Before getting out of the carriage, Sun Fuling suddenly grabbed his arm:"You need to learn to focus and let things go. You are a citizen of Panglong City now." She gestured towards the plaza ahead. "Everyone here has it tough, but everyone works hard."He Lingchuan was taken aback, then nodded. Before he could grasp her hand back, she had already withdrawn hers and jumped out of the carriage.

As one of Panglong City's important institutions, the Alchemist Bureau wasn't ostentatious, but a rich aroma filled the air. The small river beside it was planted with color-changing lotus flowers, some half white and half pink, others half purple and half red. In front of the bureau, various flowers and plants grew, and He Lingchuan could only recognize a few, such as the pure white bellflowers and the wild yet beautiful dendrobium orchids.While other institutions, like the Pengcheng Bureau, adorned their courtyards and corridors with green plants, the Alchemist Bureau, of course, was filled with medicinal herbs everywhere, along with tall racks holding round winnowing baskets, layer upon layer, used for drying herbs.

There were countless small rooms here, usually with their doors closed, their purpose unknown.As He Lingchuan passed one of the small doors, he seemed to hear faint roars, like... beast roars? And they were filled with terror.These alchemists certainly knew how to entertain themselves.He stopped to listen closely, but couldn't hear clearly. Sun Fuling nudged his arm. "Hey, what are you doing?""I think I heard some kind of little monster," He Lingchuan rubbed his nose. "Isn't this the Alchemist Bureau? Why does it feel like a biochemical lab?"

"Those are raccoon dogs." A'Luo appeared out of nowhere and suddenly interjected. "A while ago, a litter of raccoon dogs outside the city consumed the Emperor's Dew and turned into demons, causing destruction everywhere. The patrols caught more than twenty of them alive in a single net. It would have been a shame to just slaughter them, so the Alchemist Bureau took them for experiments.""Isn't that worse than death?" He Lingchuan asked him, "Have you revised the formula for me?""I intended to do it myself, but my master is also at the bureau this afternoon, so I asked him to take a look."He Lingchuan was overjoyed. "Mr. Helian agreed?"A'Luo's master, Helian Chen, was a renowned Grand Alchemist in Panglong City. When Wen Xing was injured by the Jindu Imp, Wen Daolun immediately sought out Helian Chen."He agreed. Follow me."

The two followed A'Luo to the back. The further they went, the fewer people and buildings there were, but the more medicinal herbs they found.Finally, A'Luo entered a square pavilion.It was actually similar to a house, but without walls or windows, only six bare pillars with curtains hung on all four sides to control the light intensity.Several long tables were arranged end-to-end in the vast space, topped with numerous glass covers.Several alchemists were placing plants into the covers: millet grass, wheat grass, and even sweet potato vines. He Lingchuan glanced over and noticed that the glass covers contained tiny insects, some with wings, some without.Clearly, this was another laboratory, specifically for insects.

Not far away, someone was hunched over the edge of a table, with his rear facing everyone.A'Luo walked over and said respectfully, "Master, Broken Blade is here."The person quickly stood up and turned around. It was Helian Chen.A'Luo helped him straighten his robes and brushed off some debris. Helian Chen's gaze swept over the two of them, then settled on He Lingchuan. "You're Broken Blade? I think I've... where have I seen you?""At Mr. Wen Daolun's home.""Yes, that's right!" Helian Chen slapped his forehead. "You were standing right beside Wen Xing's sickbed then! Ah, what a pity, what a pity."A'Luo clarified, "Master means it's a great pity that Young Master Wen passed away." He paused, then added, "My master and Mr. Wen have been close friends for many years."He Lingchuan's expression turned serious. "If I had arrived a step earlier, perhaps I could have saved Young Master Wen."Helian Chen waved his hand repeatedly. "It has nothing to do with you. Our adversaries never hesitate to use every unscrupulous means!"

"A'Luo told me you're a good boy, and you've just been exceptionally promoted into the Great Gale Army." He examined He Lingchuan from head to toe. "Tell me about your cultivation progress, especially from the last Emperor's Dew outbreak until now."He Lingchuan explained in detail.During this time, Helian Chen also took his pulse and used his true energy to thoroughly examine his physical condition."Good, yes, very good. Let me think for a moment." After saying this, he took out paper and a pen and began to ponder deeply.His contemplation lasted quite a while, and He Lingchuan dared not disturb him.

Sun Fuling, meanwhile, walked over to the glass covers and examined them one by one, sometimes even feeding the insects with vegetable leaves.He Lingchuan quietly asked A'Luo, "What are these for?""These are pests collected from various farmlands around the Red Plateau. Didn't you receive missions like this when you were a patrol guard?""Huh? Yes, there really were." He Lingchuan remembered.Once, Liu Tong received a mission for the entire patrol squad to collect hornet nests from places like White Cotton Lake. The mission wasn't difficult, but the number of nests required was large, and they had to be gathered from four or five designated areas, making the journey and collection process quite challenging. Menban's bee suit tore, and he was stung, getting two large bumps that made his face swell up like a pig's head.These were typical missions: tedious and poorly rewarded. Liu Tong would be complained about every time he received such a task.Panglong City issued all sorts of strange missions daily. He Lingchuan later learned that these were essential requirements from various departments and bureaus.It truly wasn't easy for this city to maintain healthy operations.

A'Luo walked up to one of the glass covers and called them over. "Look at this."He Lingchuan approached and saw the label on the glass cover read: "Unique, Green Thread Moth Borers."Inside the glass cover, however, there were two kinds of creatures:Worms as thick and long as earthworms, but with greenish-blue bodies, light blue segments, and over ten pairs of prolegs;And small, pale yellow moths, less than half the size of a human pinky finger.Sun Fuling flicked the glass cover with her finger, producing a light 'ding.' The green worms inside were startled, suddenly arched their bodies and sprang up, jumping an astonishing distance, directly hitting the glass cover.Over a dozen green worms simultaneously hit the cover, creating a chaotic scene, and even the moths flew frantically around the enclosure in fright.Both looked at Sun Fuling. She sheepishly withdrew her finger. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. I used to scare them like this when I was little. But these ones reacted a bit too strongly."

A'Luo pointed to the glass cover. "Not long ago, you reported the warning about the Qianling Mountain Marsh, and the city took it very seriously. Most of the foreign demons that infiltrated Qianling have been captured; the majority were bird demons. According to their confessions, they came from the Northern Demon Kingdom."He Lingchuan frowned. "What's the Beijia Kingdom meddling in?"Qianling Mountain Marsh? He thought for a long time before remembering that on the day General Nanke temporarily conscripted patrol guards, they encountered a giant sika deer demon while on a mission on the plateau. That deer demon was the one who conveyed the intelligence about the Qianling Mountain Marsh.Liu Tong reported it upon returning to Panglong City. Following those leads, Panglong City had been taking action ever since.

Sun Fuling was not surprised and explained to him, "The Beijia Kingdom has always pressured Baling and Xianyou to expand into the Panglong Wasteland. Beijia is largely to blame for the current state of affairs among the various nations." She scoffed, "That demon kingdom loves to stir up trouble and instigate wars; they've never been any good."

A'Luo continued, "The mission for several of those bird demons was to spread these borers into the rice fields of the Red Plateau as quickly as possible.""What's their purpose?""The Green Thread Moth Borers are different from the native species on the Red Plateau. A single female moth can lay over a thousand eggs at once, and the hatched borers have enormous appetites and exceptional jumping abilities. They infest rice seedlings three to four times faster than other species, and they are also toxic, so birds won't eat them. Once this plague spreads, it could lead to a large-scale reduction in food production on the Red Plateau."

"Damn it!" He Lingchuan couldn't help but curse. "How insidious!"The fertile Red Plateau was Panglong City's foundation for resisting foreign aggression. If food production here plummeted, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"At that point, if we wanted to offset this damage, Panglong City would have to allocate more primordial energy there."One of the wondrous effects of primordial energy was its ability to regulate climate and ensure bountiful harvests.This effect was naturally excellent, but a city only had so much primordial energy. If a large amount was expended here, the allocation for combat would naturally decrease.In any case, Panglong City's overall strength would be weakened.The enemy was insidious, escalating from siege warfare to biological warfare. He Lingchuan murmured, "It's hard to guard against hidden attacks."