Chapter 109: First Exploration of Red Moon City

"When we found them, they were already like this. After some speculation, we believe it was the work of that rogue cultivator who ambushed us." Jiao Jiu, wearing a ram-head mask, withdrew his gaze from the corpses on the ground and said.

"After learning about your situation here, Jiao Ba and I also arrived at our respective destinations. As expected, every single person who had infiltrated earlier has gone missing." Jiao San said in a deep voice.

"Along the way, aside from some cities being empty—reportedly because the residents had gone to the Holy City on pilgrimage—we didn't notice anything else unusual. As for the pilgrimage, our investigation results are similar to Jiao Jiu's; it's likely a method Gongshu Hong uses to collect faith power." Monkey-faced Jiao Ba said after a moment's hesitation.

"Did you notice that among these pilgrims, it's said that some so-called devout believers are selected and do not return to their original cities after the pilgrimage?" Han Li suddenly said.

"Indeed, there is such a thing. It's said they are relocated to more prosperous cities, probably just a means for Gongshu Hong to enhance the believers' conviction... By the way, Jiao San and I did not encounter an ambush, which suggests that this person has long been wary of our Wuchang Alliance. The accuracy of the information we received earlier is also worth questioning." Jiao Ba said dismissively, changing the subject.

"That's right. The other side may have already tracked some of our movements and deliberately set a trap with false information, though they underestimated our strength. Regardless of other matters, Gongshu Hong is definitely not in those six or seven places mentioned earlier. Instead, it's more likely he is in the so-called Holy City, Red Moon City. Why not go there and take a look? We might find something." Jiao Jiu gave a bitter smile and then proposed.

"Speaking of which, this Red Moon Island has twenty-eight prefectures, and it seems each prefecture has a city called Red Moon City." Jiao Ba shook his head upon hearing this.

"Is that true?" Jiao Jiu was slightly startled.

"Although the map we obtained earlier marked a place called Red Moon City, when we passed by a certain city, we inadvertently discovered that the so-called Red Moon City they mentioned was in a different location. At first, we didn't pay much attention, but later we realized that wasn't the case. Although we only passed through a few prefectures, upon careful observation, each prefecture has a Red Moon City." As Jiao Ba spoke, he waved his sleeve, and five jade slips flew toward Han Li, Jiao San, and the other three.

After catching the jade slips, Han Li and the others extended their divine sense into them.

The maps in the jade slips had many more markings than the previous one. Besides the original Red Moon City, another Red Moon City was赫然 marked in several other prefectures.

Each of these prefectures was vast in territory. If high-level cultivators deliberately concealed this, mortals and even low-level cultivators would never discover it.

"In the cities we passed on the island, only maps of a certain area were sold, never a full island map. Now it seems this was intentional by Gongshu Hong. Moreover, the cultivators under him must have been placed under some special restriction, preventing them from revealing this, or else their souls would burst and they would die. Even the map we obtained earlier was deliberately leaked to us by the other side." Jiao Jiu nodded and said slowly.

At these words, everyone fell silent.

After all, based on the clues obtained so far, the whereabouts of their target, Gongshu Hong, had become a mystery, which was indeed troublesome.

Han Li suddenly thought of something and pressed the jade slip he had just put down against his forehead again, a strange look flashing in his eyes.

"Since we have no other leads now, let's start investigating from those Red Moon Cities. All of you will act together and investigate each Red Moon City one by one." Jiao San suddenly spoke.

"Jiao San, aren't you coming with us?" Jiao Jiu was taken aback.

"I'll act alone. When you find something, send me a message." Jiao San glanced at everyone, then a red light flashed on his body, and he shot into the sky without concealing his aura, flying off in a certain direction.

"It seems Jiao San intends to confront Gongshu Hong openly. Let's follow his instructions. This is Lan Prefecture, and the Red Moon City here is not too far away." Monkey-faced Jiao Ba coughed lightly and said.

The others immediately changed their appearances and left the courtyard, mingling with the crowd as they headed out of the city.

"Everyone, please wait a moment. I have some trivial matters that will delay you a bit." As they passed a street, Han Li suddenly spoke.

Without waiting for a response, he quickly walked into a shop selling various books by the roadside.

The others were slightly startled, but after exchanging glances, they said nothing.

Before long, Han Li came out with several books in his hand, which seemed to be about the geography of the island.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Han Li nodded to the others and put the books away in front of them.

The group soon left Longhu City and arrived at a secluded spot, then each used their own methods to soar into the sky.

Jiao Jiu once again summoned the blue crystal flying boat, carrying Jiao Shiliu, whose spiritual power had not fully recovered, and Han Li, drawing sidelong glances from Jiao Ba and the others.

Standing on the spirit boat, Han Li glanced at the large river near Longhu City below, then sat cross-legged, took out the books one by one, and carefully flipped through them.

Jiao Shiliu found Han Li's actions somewhat strange but paid no attention, focusing on his own cultivation to recover.

Han Li quickly finished reading the books. After a moment's thought, he took out the jade slip that Jiao Ba had given him earlier and extended his divine sense into it.

The sky was gradually darkening, and stars began to appear.

The group of seven flew swiftly. After half a day, they stopped their遁光 before a large city.

This city was the Red Moon City of Lan Prefecture. It was extremely large, far surpassing Longhu City, and a river several hundred zhang wide wound through it.

The entire city was covered by a huge blue restriction, which occasionally shimmered with watery ripples, appearing quite mysterious. Through the blue light, only the vague outline of the city could be seen.

However, at the four city gates—east, west, south, and north—the blue restriction had four openings to allow people to enter and exit.

At each of the four gates, some cultivators in blood-moon blue robes stood guard, inspecting the passersby.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the famous Thousand Light Illusory Wave Restriction. Its defensive capability is average, but it is extremely sensitive to divine sense." Jiao Ba murmured as he looked at the blue restriction.

"With such tight defenses, could this be the headquarters of Red Moon Island?" Jiao Ershiyi, following behind Jiao Ba, said with joy in his eyes.

Hearing this, the others' eyes also lit up.

"Whether it is or not, let's go in and take a look first. Everyone must be careful, try to restrain your divine sense, and avoid touching the formation restriction." Jiao Ba instructed solemnly.

Hearing Jiao Ba's commanding tone, Jiao Jiu showed a hint of displeasure in his eyes but said nothing.

The seven landed in a secluded spot outside the city and mingled with the crowd entering the city.

Although there were cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage guarding the city gates, they naturally could not see through the disguises of Han Li and the others. The seven entered the city smoothly.

The ground inside the city was paved with wide blue stone slabs, clean and tidy. Shops lined both sides of the streets, making the city look very prosperous.

Two wide avenues connected the four city gates, dividing the city into four parts. In the center of the city was a huge square, with a giant statue standing in the middle.

The city was now packed with people. The central giant square was densely crowded, and the streets were similarly filled, with at least several million people.

At this moment, everyone was reverently bowing to the earth deity statue in the center of the square, and the entire city was filled with a solemn atmosphere.

"This is..." Seeing this scene, Han Li was startled.

The others were also somewhat surprised but quickly understood.

This scene before them was probably the so-called pilgrimage.

Han Li's eyes flashed with blue light as he looked around, frowning slightly.

Although there were many people in the city, most were mortals without magical power. There were some cultivators, but they were only low-level Qi Condensation and Core Formation cultivators.

There were also some cultivators in blood-moon blue robes in the city, but their cultivation levels were not high, similar to those guarding the gates—only at the Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation stages, not a single Void Refining cultivator.

This place did not seem to be what they were looking for.

The others had apparently noticed this as well, their expressions darkening.

"Regardless, let's thoroughly investigate this city first. We might find some clues." Jiao Ba said.

The others nodded in agreement. After a brief discussion, they decided to split up.

The city was too large, and they could not use divine sense extensively. Moreover, since everyone was inside the city, even if there was an ambush, they could still support each other in time.

With the plan set, they soon separated.

Han Li walked along a street, his eyes flickering with blue light as he examined everything around him.

His figure now seemed faint, blending into the surrounding environment.

Since the crowd on the street was quietly worshiping, walking around alone would attract attention, so he simply cast a spell to conceal his form.

After a moment, Han Li appeared before a shop on the street, which was a bookstore.

At this time, the entire city was engaged in the pilgrimage. Although the shops were open, there were few customers inside. Only a middle-aged shopkeeper was in the store.

Han Li flickered and flew inside, then came out again shortly after.

He did not delay any further and began to carefully investigate various parts of the city.

This Red Moon City was quite large. It took nearly half a day for the seven to thoroughly investigate every part of the city and gather at a secluded spot inside.

Unfortunately, none of them found anything unusual.

This Red Moon City seemed to be just an ordinary large city, with no special features.

"It seems this is not the headquarters of Red Moon Island. In that case, we don't need to waste any more time here..." Jiao Ba began.

"Fellow Daoist Jiao Ba, wait a moment. There's something strange underground." A voice suddenly interrupted Jiao Ba's words. It was Jiao Ershiwu.

He was now half-crouching on the ground, emitting visible yellow ripples from his body that sank into the earth.