As if an invisible soul had left its body, she ghostly "shifted her head," turning her vision 180 degrees in an attempt to discern the true appearance of the old mansion behind her...
However, Liu Yi’s hitherto unbeatable Spiritual Eyes met their match here.
Lion guardians at the gate, warding against ominous signs, banyan trees reaching for the heavens, shutting out all prying eyes, a hazy fog of fire and smoke filled the air above the courtyard, as if something was burning, cutting off all sensations.
The Spiritual Eyes completely lost their function, and even with all her might, the view of the courtyard she could see remained indistinct.
Except for... the few black crows perched on the courtyard wall.
Wait a minute... Crows?
Liu Yi’s expression changed slightly.
She realized... that a significant "spiritual entity" was missing from the mansion; the information indicated that Song Ci had always stood guard in front of the old mansion, loyally ensuring the peace of Lion Alley. He was an existence more formidable than any of the three officials, and the foremost obstacle in this mission.
This was also the reason why Mr. Zhao had sent her on this mission.
To enter the mansion... one must rely on the power of the Spiritual Eyes. Because of Song Ci’s presence, storming in here had almost become an impossible task, even with a powerful sealing artifact at hand, his location would need to be pinpointed beforehand.
Liu Yi took a deep breath.
She first took out a small copper bell from her bosom, covered with ancient talismans, which remained eerily silent even when jostled during the extraction.
This copper bell was an A-grade sealing artifact prepared by the Sincere Heart Association for this operation, the Soul-locking Bell, which after the user completed a spiritual power lock, would forcibly pull the selected Transcendent into the Dream realm.
Next, Liu Yi took out a tattered piece of cloth... a remnant from Crow’s clothing.
In fact, it didn’t have to be clothing; any item retaining an Extraordinary Aura could be used to activate the Spiritual Eyes’ locking function.
Every Transcendent had a unique aura.
The Spiritual Eyes could lock onto a strand of Extraordinary Aura across a vast area... if it existed within this range, it could not evade detection.
Noises from afar began to sound.
Liu Yi knew that these were the sounds of the team members she had dispatched, who had successfully been discovered, causing an uproar... the patrolling officials and the Transcendents of the Sincere Heart Association would all have their attention drawn.
And now... was the moment to lock onto Crow’s spirit and activate the "Soul-locking Bell."
The blackness of her forehead was torn apart by a streak of light.
Liu Yi’s expression grew solemn, the piece of torn clothing in her palm suddenly split apart, disintegrating into ash under the intense light, and the vision of the Spiritual Eyes began to whirlwind, as she seemed to ascend to the heavens in an instant, like a god looking down upon the entire old district, a profound sense of macroscopic view, because every street and every detail was etched into her mind.
Immediately after, her vision plummeted rapidly.
This was the Spiritual Eyes locking onto the Extraordinary Aura, beginning to adjust the focus distance!
Liu Yi’s complexion turned pale; first, she saw a gigantic crow, screeching as it took flight from the night sky, then she saw an overwhelming tide of black, flapping its wings and charging towards her field of vision—and after a tide of blackness washed over—
The Spiritual Eyes found the owner of that piece of cloth and locked the viewpoint.
The final vision rested above her own head; she saw an overhead view of herself leaning against the wall.
She had wanted to see Crow.
But she saw... herself.
A cold sweat seeped from Liu Yi’s back as she slowly lifted her head to look towards the direction of the Spiritual Eyes’ focus.
Above the wall, a shadow that had been crouching for a long time slowly stood up, speaking lazily.
Song Ci looked down expressionlessly at Liu Yi.
"Sister Liu, it’s really been... a long time," he said.