Fire Persimmon Forest.
"Where’s the Shadow Demon Cultivator?! Where did he go?!"
Chi Dun searched all around, mirroring the movements of the golden core cultivators from the three major clans.
Fei Si's face darkened, never expecting such an outcome, and he ordered sharply, "Find him! Search everywhere, dig three feet if you have to—just find that demon cultivator!"
Under the gaze of countless onlookers, the Shadow Demon Cultivator had vanished without a trace!
Fei Si was both furious and humiliated.
The task had been botched!
The entire city knew that the City Lord's mansion had been outwitted, and after all their meticulous planning, they’d ended up empty-handed.
"This isn’t how it was supposed to be, it’s just not right!" Fei Si gritted his teeth, casting a look toward Zhu Xuanji.
After a moment of thought, Fei Si approached Zhu Xuanji directly.
Previously, Zhu Xuanji had ordered him to activate the formation, saving Yuan Dasheng’s life and putting Fei Si in an awkward position.
But now, the disappearance of the Shadow Demon Cultivator was far more serious than Fei Si’s personal pride.
Understanding the greater importance of the situation, Fei Si set aside his grudge against Zhu Xuanji, forcing a smile as he inquired, "Lord Zhu, you observed everything. Did your Heaven-Piercing Eyes see anything unusual?"
Zhu Xuanji shook his head. "Nothing at all."
"If anyone was hiding, they would have been exposed under my Heaven-Piercing Eyes."
"From start to finish, there wasn’t a single suspicious person. My only conclusion is that the Shadow Demon Cultivator had already left Fire Persimmon Forest before this."
Fei Si frowned deeply, instinctively rejecting this. "No, he must still be here!"
Zhu Xuanji’s conclusion was highly disadvantageous to him.
After all, he was responsible for Fire Persimmon Forest.
He was like a jailer, yet the prisoner had escaped without him knowing.
For this Fire Persimmon Festival, Fei Si had gone to great lengths, only to come up empty, turning the City Lord's mansion into a laughingstock.
At that moment, Chi Dun flew over, berating him harshly. "Fei Si, if you hadn’t stopped me back then, I would have hunted down that demon cultivator and eliminated him that very night!"
"It was all because of your insistence on handling things calmly to avoid losses. Now look—he’s escaped! How on earth are you managing Fire Persimmon Forest?"
Fei Si snorted coldly, "Putting that aside, the Fire Persimmon harvest was successful. Tell me, did this massive fortune remain secure?"
"Besides, the formation was active throughout, recording everything. It can withstand any scrutiny."
"If it’s proven that the Shadow Demon Cultivator escaped due to my negligence, I’ll take the blame and personally apologize to the City Lord!"
At this, the golden core ancestor of the Zhou family arrived, his expression equally displeased.
Though the City Lord's mansion was the main target of ridicule, the three clans’ golden core cultivators had also failed miserably, losing face in the process.
The Zhou family ancestor continued, "The pressing question now is whether the Shadow Demon Cultivator escaped before the formation was activated or slipped away right under our noses today."
"From my experience with formations, the Fire Persimmon Forest formation is tightly connected to the Immortal City Grand Formation, meticulous and airtight."
"If I were that Shadow Demon Cultivator, even if I managed to break the formation, it would cause quite a commotion. Escaping so quietly—could a golden core cultivator truly accomplish this?"
Silence fell upon Fei Si, Zhu Xuanji, and Chi Dun as they all considered a terrifying possibility—
If the Shadow Demon Cultivator had indeed left early, perhaps someone had secretly opened the formation to release him!
The highest authority over the Immortal City Grand Formation lay with the City Lord, but Fei Si, in his role as overseer of Fire Persimmon Forest, also had partial control over its complex layers of formations.
Beyond that, several formation pillars of the Immortal City Grand Formation were located in the residences of the three major clans, so they too had the capability to control the formation and release the Shadow Demon Cultivator in secret.
If that were true, then the implications were grave.
After all, a lone golden core demon cultivator was hardly comparable to an entire cultivation clan!
Zhu Xuanji looked toward the Zhou family ancestor, thinking, "It’s almost impossible for the City Lord's mansion to be involved. They have no motivation whatsoever."
"As for the three clans, each one is a suspect."
"On one hand, the City Lord's mansion has consistently held the upper hand in the competition for the Lava Immortal Palace."
"On the other hand, the three clans would certainly oppose the City Lord gaining control of the Lava Immortal Palace and allowing the Meng family to establish a foothold in Fire Persimmon Immortal City!"
"If any of the three clans are involved, the Zhou family is the most suspicious."
"Among the three, the Zhou family excels in formations, the Zheng family in weaponry, and the Ning family in talismans."
The Zhou family ancestor, however, appeared open and straightforward as he continued, "Let’s set aside the possibility of the Shadow Demon Cultivator having escaped beforehand for now."
"There were peculiarities during the Fire Persimmon harvesting process today."
"Exactly!" Chi Dun immediately nodded, understanding what the Zhou family ancestor was referring to.
Earlier, several mechanical monkeys suddenly went berserk, slipping out of the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ control and attacking the current leader of the Monkey Head Gang, Yuan Er.
This strange incident had been witnessed by all the golden core cultivators.
They held back their reactions, while Fei Si handled it efficiently, activating the formation to destroy all the mechanical monkeys.
The Zhou family ancestor continued, "What caused those mechanical monkeys to go berserk? Who exactly was controlling them?"
"After the mechanical monkeys were destroyed, the old ape of the Monkey Head Gang made an error, triggering a self-destruction of a large section of the millennium-old Fire Persimmon Forest."
"Was it truly a mistake? Or was it influenced by some technique or magical artifact?"
"Could the Shadow Demon Cultivator have used the explosion to divert our attention and escape?"
At this, Fei Si waved his hand, activating the formation and summoning the recorded images.
The golden core cultivators reviewed them multiple times, but no hidden anomalies were discovered.
Fei Si said, "I will conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the Mechanical Fire Explosive Monkeys’ malfunction."
Zhu Xuanji added, "I monitored the situation with my Heaven-Piercing Eyes and can confirm that the old ape indeed made an error."
Chi Dun frowned, "It’s peculiar. That old ape is the foundation of the Monkey Head Gang and has harvested Fire Persimmons for many years."
"Initially, it made some mistakes, but in recent years, it has always completed the task flawlessly. Why would it err this time?"
After considering for a moment, Fei Si replied, "A creature of flesh and blood is prone to error."
"The Monkey Head Gang has faced numerous targeted attacks recently, and Yuan Er himself was ambushed. It’s quite possible the old ape was unsettled, leading to mistakes."
At this, Fei Si thought of Ning Zhuo.
Then he recalled his own 40% share of the earnings.
He began to feel that this 40% share was somewhat burdensome.
The Zhou family ancestor then suggested, "What if the Shadow Demon Cultivator hid inside the old ape?"
"Whether it was the mechanical monkeys going berserk or the old ape’s mistake, these events triggered a chain reaction of explosions."
"The flames obscured our vision, and in that instant, the Shadow Demon Cultivator could have killed the old ape and hidden within its body."
Saying this, the Zhou family ancestor turned his gaze toward Zhu Xuanji.
"I have one question I must ask—Lord Zhu, why did you save that old ape?"
All eyes turned to Zhu Xuanji, and a glimmer of schadenfreude appeared in Fei Si's gaze.