Chapter 298 - 163: The Inseparable Method of Artifact Refining

Chapter 298: Chapter 163: The Inseparable Method of Artifact Refining

Yang Deyong was the one he used to select members for the secret investigation team, and Kong Yu was the man he had chosen to lead it. Although he trusted them both implicitly, some procedures were unavoidable. His opponent was a Third Realm Taiyan Cultivator, after all. The first order of business was to rule out the possibility that their memories had been modified or that they were mere puppets.

When Liu Min brought Kong Yu and Yang Deyong into the office, Yang Wenqing had just finished signing the last urgent document. He closed the folder, stood up, and walked toward the door. As he passed Yang Deyong and Kong Yu, he left them with a single phrase, "Follow me," then pointed to Liu Min and said, "You don’t need to come."

Yang Deyong had an honest face and a steady gaze, while Kong Yu showed a hint of weariness that hadn’t quite faded. They exchanged a look, suppressed their confusion, and silently followed in Yang Wenqing’s footsteps.

The trio left the main building, crossed an internal skywalk, and came to a shorter, adjacent annex. Its outer walls were covered in dark green, vine-like runes. This was the home of the Folklore Department.

The department head, Wu Quan, an elderly man with white-streaked hair, was already waiting at the first-floor entrance. Upon seeing Yang Wenqing, he gave a slight nod, then turned to lead the way toward a dedicated elevator that went to the top floor.

The elevator ascended silently, finally stopping at the top floor.

The heavy metal doors slid open to reveal a straight, narrow, windowless corridor. At its end stood a massive door that appeared to be forged from dark gray metal.

Wu Quan led the trio to the door and extended a skeletal finger. He pressed a series of runic nodes in a specific sequence within an inconspicuous recess on the side of the doorframe.

CLICK... CLACK... WHIRRR...

A low mechanical grinding and the hum of activated Spiritual Qi sounded in succession. The runes on the door’s surface lit up one by one with an ethereal blue light, which flowed along the engraved channels. The light finally converged in the center of the door, forming a complex, rotating Array. With a deep thud, the door slid apart to reveal the room within.

Beyond the door lay a completely sealed, hemispherical chamber, roughly a hundred feet in diameter. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all made of an unknown, deep black material that seemed to absorb all light. In the center of the room, two fist-sized Crystal Stones floated in mid-air, emitting a faint, cold white glow that barely illuminated the core area.

The most striking feature was on the curved wall directly opposite the entrance. Embedded there were three enormous metal heads. They depicted some sort of abstract, monstrous beast, with indistinct features, eye sockets like bottomless voids, and gaping mouths that revealed intricate, complex gearworks and layers of nested, miniature runic discs within.

The surfaces of the heads were also covered in a dense network of hairline-thin, silver-white runic circuits. As the main door opened, an ethereal blue Spiritual Light began to flow through these circuits like blood in veins, emitting an almost inaudible hissing sound.

After the door opened, Wu Quan silently retreated into the shadows by the doorway, becoming as still as a lifeless statue.

Yang Wenqing led Yang Deyong and Kong Yu into the room. The metal door slid shut behind them without a sound, completely cutting them off from the outside world. The frigid air felt sharp enough to freeze the breath in their lungs.

"Uncle Deyong, Captain Kong, I’ve brought you here for a mandatory procedure. We need to use this memory space to conduct a probe and consolidation scan of your memories."

Yang Deyong looked slightly confused upon hearing this, but his expression was overwhelmingly one of compliance.

Kong Yu’s pupils, however, constricted. His experience with the Major Case Team allowed him to instantly grasp the implications. He took a deep breath and straightened his posture.

"Understood," the two responded quietly, without a word of protest.

"On the platform."

Yang Wenqing gestured for the two men to stand on the circular platform in the center of the room.

They complied, standing firm. The platform glowed faintly, and several gentle yet unyielding, invisible fields of force rose from below, holding them softly in place.

Yang Wenqing stepped back, formed a Spell with a hand gesture, and nodded to Wu Quan. Wu Quan raised his withered hand toward one of the metal heads on the wall and executed a series of complex hand seals.