Chapter 2333: The Power of Destiny

Everyone could only suppress their grief and quickly ran out of the treasury.

Seeing them stream out one after another, the captured captain of the guards stared intently at everyone, determined to memorize the appearance and characteristics of each person.

Losing the treasury this time was a capital offense. He had to find a way to mitigate his punishment. What could appease the Demon Lord more than providing information about the intruders?

Why do these fellows look like humans? When did our demon world get invaded by humans?

As he pondered suspiciously, a silver light suddenly flashed before his eyes. To his horror, he found himself staring at his own back, and then knew nothing more.

Sorensi withdrew her bloodied scimitar. She knew they couldn't leave any witnesses alive, lest the Demon Lord trace them.

Meanwhile, Pei Mianman casually unleashed a wisp of black flame, burning the guards' bodies to ashes.

Ji Xiaoxi felt a twinge of reluctance: “Sister Pei, they are already dead…”

Pei Mianman explained: “Demonic methods are countless and strange. Who knows if someone might be able to read memories from these corpses?”

Ji Xiaoxi looked a bit embarrassed: “Sister Pei is always so thoughtful.”

The others silently admired her foresight.

Zu An wasted no time. With a flick of his sleeve, an invisible burst of energy enveloped the women, carrying them away swiftly. At the same time, he masked their presence.

Barely had they left when the screech of a three-headed monster bird echoed above the palace. Immediately after, the Demon Lord appeared at the treasury entrance.

Seeing the treasury wide open and the guards reduced to ashes, the Demon Lord's eyebrows twitched. He hastily entered the treasury.

Several palace demon envoys also arrived from behind at this moment. Just as they were about to follow him in, they were stopped by a powerful force blocking the entrance. From inside, the Demon Lord's voice boomed: “Guard the outside! The rest of you, search thoroughly for any traces of the thieves!”

“Yes, Master!” Soon, the palace demon envoys split into two teams and dispersed.

The Demon Lord entered the treasury. Seeing the empty shelves and chests everywhere, his face grew ashen.

Naturally, he couldn't let his subordinates see the true state of the treasury. If the people of the underground city knew that resources were nearly depleted, great chaos would ensue.

He didn't linger for a moment, continuing deeper inside. He made no stops along the way, heading straight to the deepest part, to a certain cabinet. Seeing that the defensive array on it was intact and that the jade slip containing the ‘Secret Art of Resurrection’ was still housed within, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he still wasn't completely at ease. He took out a key to deactivate the array, removed the jade slip, and inspected it thoroughly, to ensure it hadn't been replaced.

Next, he activated the mechanism inside, and seeing that the strange stone was still there, he finally felt completely relieved.

Although he didn't know what the stone was, it had been passed down through generations in the demon world and must be something extremely important. It surely contained a great secret.

After returning the jade slip to its place and reactivating the defensive array, he finally exited the vault and re-secured the treasury door.

“This treasury's array can no longer be used; it must be replaced,” the Demon Lord commanded. “During this time, you will guard this spot and allow no one to approach.”

“Yes, Master!” His numerous subordinates saluted one after another, not daring to breathe loudly, for fear of incurring his wrath.

Still, a trusted palace demon envoy bravely spoke up: “Those thieves were extremely cunning. Before leaving, they not only killed all the guards but also burned them to ashes, making it impossible for us to read the guards' memories.”

In the demon world, there was a soul-searching technique that could read a target's memories. However, it had significant side effects on the target, often leading to mental derangement or even idiocy.

The Demon Lord snorted: “Destroying bodies and erasing traces doesn't necessarily mean no clues were left. The flame ability they used is somewhat peculiar. Investigate in that direction.”

The palace demon envoy also sensed the lingering flame elements in the air: “Your sagacity, Master! This flame seems somewhat similar to certain abilities of the True Demon Clan, yet also subtly different.”

“The True Demon Clan…” The Demon Lord mused, lost in thought after hearing this. After a moment, he continued, “The thieves stole a batch of array formations, medical texts, and medicinal herbs. Most races don't need these things. Combine these two clues for your investigation.”

“Yes, Master!” The palace demon envoys saluted in unison.

Just then, another palace demon envoy rushed over: “Reporting to Master, Salome rescued Mogad from the Heavenly Prison with her subordinates. They have just left the palace. If we pursue them now, we can still intercept them all…”

The Demon Lord raised a hand to interrupt him: “No need. Let them go. However, don't make it too obvious that you're letting them escape, lest they suspect something.”

“Yes, Master!” The palace demon envoy hastily bowed and left.

Meanwhile, Salome, accompanied by her elite subordinates, rescued Mogad from the palace. They fled all the way to a safe location. Seeing that they had successfully shaken off their pursuers, Salome couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief: “Today was truly perilous! It’s a great fortune that we managed to rescue Uncle Mo.”

Mogad, bruised and battered, couldn't help but look back toward the palace, his brow deeply furrowed: “Something isn't right!”

“What isn't right?” Salome paused, taken aback.

“Just as we rushed out of the palace gates, we clearly heard the cry of the Demon Lord's three-headed monster bird mount. He had obviously returned. How could we still escape?” Mogad's eyes suddenly widened as he spoke, “Could it be that he deliberately let us go?”

“How is that possible?” Salome burst into laughter. “With a chance to capture us all in one fell swoop, how could he deliberately let us go? He must have been preoccupied with something else.”

At that moment, a trusted expert nearby said: “It seemed another force was raiding the treasury just now. The Demon Lord most likely rushed to the treasury.”

Salome instantly felt relieved: “That must be it.”

Mogad's expression instantly turned crestfallen: “To think that back then, the Demon Lord and I served together in the same court, hailed as the peerless twin geniuses. I never imagined that now, a mere treasury would be more important than me. He doesn't even consider me worth bothering with anymore.”

Salome comforted him: “Uncle Mo, your prestige is known throughout the entire demon world. It's just that after that fellow rebelled and gained control of the world's resources, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. This is not your fault, Uncle Mo.”

His other companions also offered words of encouragement, and Mogad regained his confidence: “Hahaha, you're right! This is actually a good thing. His arrogance is precisely our opportunity to turn the tide in the future.”

In contrast to their boosted morale, Zu An and the others in the True Demon Clan's cave dwelling were utterly silent.

In truth, the day had gone quite smoothly overall. All the items they had initially sought—array formation texts, medicinal records, herbs, and various special materials for constructing arrays—were now in their possession.

If it weren't for Xie Daoyun's disappearance, everything would have been perfect.

“Ah Zu, what exactly is that Creation Jade Plate?” Jiang Luofu finally couldn't help but ask.

“Back then, Chu Chuyan also disappeared into a spatial-temporal tunnel because of this item…” Only then did Zu An recount the related events.

Many of the women were hearing about Chu Chuyan's experience for the first time, and their expressions subtly changed.

“There's actually such a miraculous item in the world? Does that mean Miss Xie is now in another dimension?” Yun Yuqing was somewhat horrified.

Zu An nodded bitterly.

“Then how can we find her?” Jiang Luofu asked anxiously. Xie Daoyun was the Master's personal disciple, and also an old acquaintance from Brightmoon City. Their relationship had always been very good.

“We can only find another fragment of the Creation Jade Plate, and we also need to know which dimension she ended up in.” As he spoke, Zu An's voice grew softer and softer. He knew the chances were even slimmer than finding a needle in a haystack.

They had only just established their relationship, yet now they had to face such a separation, akin to death.

If he had known this, he shouldn't have been so cold to Sister Ling'er back then. He should have accepted her sooner.

Zu An crouched to the side, despondently burying his head in his knees.

Just then, a pair of soft hands rested on his shoulders. Pei Mianman said softly: “Ah Zu, you don't need to be so disheartened. As the saying goes, 'those destined to meet will find each other, even across a thousand miles'. I believe the power of fate will surely reunite you with Sister Xie, just like with Chu Chuyan before.”

Zu An lifted his head, a glimmer of light returning to his eyes. That's right, Chu Chuyan had disappeared because of the Creation Jade Plate fragment, and later the Snow Maiden's identity vanished, but in the end, they were reunited…

As his cultivation grew higher, especially after his prior contact with the world's origin, he could clearly sense the power of fate. Though unseen and intangible, he suddenly had a strong premonition that he would most likely reunite with Sister Ling'er, and it wouldn't be long!