Chapter 702: Chapter 702. Using the Demon Revealing Talisman

Among the soldiers who participated in the guerrilla warfare inside Saint’s Rest, Amon was the most skillful in remaining stealthy while still dishing out enough havoc.

Amon didn’t join this operation personally to stoke his soldiers’ spirits, so they were more willing to take part in this suicide mission. He did it to increase the chances of success for the mission. Even if all his guerrilla soldiers were found and exterminated, he believed he alone should still be able to last long enough until Zhang Daofeng completed the talisman. The question was whether he could still cause enough chaos if he was alone.

Zhang Daofeng stated that he required three to four hours for the task. That should be around one or two more hours, but Amon understood that there was always a chance a task would require a longer time than estimated.

Amon called Lin Li out to assist him with this mission. Her camouflage ability was perfect for such a mission. She disguised herself as one of the temple priests and mingled with the crowd. She started a fire when no one was looking. Amon warned her not to go anywhere near where Mu Qin was. None of them knew whether her disguise could fool a Peak Lord Stage.

After slaying a hundred infiltrators, Mu Qin was getting even more vexed. Despite her power, she learned that being alone remained a limitation. She couldn’t be everywhere at once. She also couldn’t use her art that hit a large area because it would hit her people.

The hunt continued for some time. After roughly one hour, the Martial Realm warrior priests who departed with her earlier returned. They immediately joined the search. Echos and Kazhan Soldiers were slain at a more rapid rate as the search intensified.

Amon was almost discovered on several occasions by the warrior priests, but they were the ones who got jumped. He left a trail of dead warrior priests as time passed.

“Where the hell is Zhang Daofeng!” Mu Qin asked curtly. When she arrived, she had asked someone to fetch the Hierophant. The warrior priest whom she asked was surprised by her tone. He had never heard her speak with such impatience.

“Forgive us, Holy Mother. The… The Hierophant refused to leave his room,” the warrior priest answered.

Mu Qin turned to where the temple was located. She couldn’t believe that Zhang Daofeng still refused to leave the temple even with so much chaos in the city. She truly must demand an answer from him. Actually, she thought about going there now to ask. Her irritation had grown so much that she no longer cared about this cat-and-mouse game with the enemy. She left the remaining search to her minions and flew toward the temple.

Just then, she saw the Hierophant coming over.

’Oh, so he decided to come out now?’ She thought crossly.

She stopped flying, folded her arms, and stayed where she was while Zhang Daofeng flew over. She wasn’t going to dignify him by going to him after what he had done.

“Why do you not do anything while our city is on fire?” Mu Qin asked once he was near.

Zhang Daofeng gave her an apologetic expression. “Forgive me, Holy Mother. I’ve received some concerning news regarding our temple that I cannot ignore.”

“Even more concerning than the heretics killing our followers and ransacking our city?” Mu Qin asked with sarcasm.

“Even more so,” Zhang Daofeng confirmed.

Mu Qin’s scowling face turned into a curious frown. She was still angry with him, but she knew he was a serious person. This quality was why she elected him as the Hierophant. If there was an issue he deemed grave enough to ignore even the enemy at their front gate, then there probably was.

“So, what is this concerning news?” Mu Qin asked.

“This matter concerned our followers, so I must address them as well,” Zhang Daofeng answered. He turned to the side and bellowed loudly. “Everyone! Listen up. This is your Hierophant speaking!”

His aether-enhanced voice reached the edge of the city. Everyone in Saint’s Rest could hear him. Unless they were fighting the enemy infiltrator, they stopped what they were doing and looked at the sky where the Holy Mother and the Hierophant were floating.

“A terrible concern has come to my attention. Our temple has always been the paragon of purity and holiness, but it seems that a taint has infiltrated our sacred hall.”

The citizens who heard the statement were confused, and so was the Holy Mother. “What exactly are you trying to say?” She asked.

“I have been made aware that a demon had infiltrated our ranks,” Zhang Daofeng announced. His voice remained loud so everyone could hear him.

Loud murmurs were heard from the city. Almost everyone was surprised by this revelation.

“A demon, you say…?” Mu Qin asked Zhang Daofeng. “How outrageous. How can a demon be among us without us being aware of it? Does it pretend to be someone without cultivation? From where exactly did you acquire this news? Do you have proof? We don’t have the time to deal with hearsay. If you haven’t forgotten, we are in the middle of a war.”

“Of course, I’m aware of that. In fact, I have intel from a reliable source that if we settle this issue regarding the demon within our ranks, we can end this war.”

“… How does that even work?” Mu Qin asked.

“Because the demon’s existence might be why the other countries attack us,” Zhang Daofeng answered.

“Is that so…? Do you know where this demon is hiding, then?”

“I believe the demon is close by, and I intend to reveal it now.”

Mu Qin raised her eyebrows. “Oh? How do you plan to do that?”

“With this,” Zhang Daofeng replied. He revealed a talisman in his hand. When the talisman was exposed, the words of power inked upon its surface also shone. It soon erupted into a bright flash.

*

When Mu Qin and Zhang Daofeng were conversing up there, Amon peeked at them from the ground. He stopped sabotaging the buildings. Now that Zhang Daofeng had shown himself, his task of keeping Mu Qin in the city was over.

“You might want to move away.” He heard Bo Wu’s voice in his mind.

“Why? They are pretty far up there.”

“Not far enough,” Bo Wu said.

“Have you seen a Demon Revealing Talisman in action before?” Amon asked.

“Not personally, but one of my ancestors did. I have its memory in my bloodline. If you don’t want people to learn your secret, you’d better move.”

Amon decided to heed Bo Wu’s warning. The hell beast might be pretending to be his ally, but he didn’t see any benefit for it to lie about this matter. He ran in the direction away from the two in the air.

At first, he maintained his stealth so as not to draw Mu Qin’s attention. Then, he saw Zhang Daofeng reveal the talisman, and it shone. That’s when he broke into a full-speed flight.

An orb of light radiated from the talisman in Zhang Daofeng’s hand. It expanded at a breakneck speed. The orb of light reached the ground and continued to expand. Those who were brushed by its light were at first alarmed. They thought it was some kind of arcane art that might hurt them. But after the light passed them by, they found nothing had changed. They didn’t even feel anything.

The orb continued to expand. Its light washed over everyone within its scope, as if scanning them.

“Shit!” Amon cursed. The speed of the orb’s expansion exceeded his expectations. Even when he had a head start, the orb almost caught up to him. He used Invisible Sky Steps to boost his flight. He also flew in a straight line. He no longer cared if this city’s citizens noticed him.

Luckily, the orb started to dim just when he used up the last dashes of his movement art, and the light was about to touch him. After the dim, the light quickly faded and vanished.

Amon stopped his flight. The nearby citizen was now aware of his presence. Yet, they didn’t do anything. That was because their attention was elsewhere. Every citizen of Saint’s Rest was currently looking up at the sky with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

*

There were many things Mu Qin didn’t expect. She didn’t expect Zhang Daofeng to suspect a demon among their ranks. She didn’t expect the demon he suspected was her. She didn’t expect him to possess a Demon Revealing Talisman, and she also didn’t expect him to immediately activate the talisman upon revealing it.

All these unexpected factors affected what happened next. When the orb of light began to expand, Mu Qin acted late. She was still in a state of disbelief when the light almost touched her, then she disappeared. The burst of her movement art allowed her to outrun the speed of the radiating orb. However, that burst was only momentary. She couldn’t do it constantly.

Her normal movement art failed to carry her outside the talisman’s scope before it ran out of power. Just before the light started to dim, it washed over her.

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