Dimensional Hotel
Chapter 394 Shadow in the Rain Curtain

Chapter 394: Chapter 394 Shadow in the Rain Curtain

Shuji, Mo City, a few figures hurriedly passed through the rain.

Under the advance preparations of Qianfeng Ling Mountain, after a brief rest in the hotel, Yu Sheng and his group changed into attire that wouldn’t attract much attention in this city—

Zheng Zhi wore a coat with a dark color, styled like a straw raincoat but made from some advanced composite material, along with a hat with silver-gray patterns. This outfit was clearly suitable for Mo City’s weather; the weak force field around the hat could completely block wind and rain, and the raincoat was lightweight and warm, shielding against the wet cold.

Yu Sheng was dressed similarly to Zheng Zhi, but there was a bulge under his raincoat—Erin was clinging to his clothes like a koala, with only her head poking out from his embrace, looking as lazy as could be.

Master Yuan Hao didn’t change his style much; his cultivator attire originating from the "Capital Planet" was quite popular as a "trend" in this border city. He simply put away all decorations that could indicate his identity as from Qianfeng Ling Mountain, and his simple, clean clothes made him look like an ordinary passerby (not taking into account his handsome face).

Hu Li changed into an ethereal moon-white long dress, with pale blue flowing patterns on the hem, and ornaments lightly swaying at her waist. She held a dark blue paper umbrella in her hand, walking obediently beside Yu Sheng—half of her nine tails were outside, getting soaked, and she’d vigorously shake them dry once full of water. In her other hand, which wasn’t holding the umbrella, she grasped a chicken leg, biting it occasionally.

Incidentally, she intentionally let her tails get wet—because shaking off the water is fun.

Luna was the most unique among Yu Sheng’s group: the "characteristics" of the Artificial Saintess were too conspicuous, including not only her perfect yet cold, pale face and metallic shell but also her height of a full two meters. Considering that wearing local garb would make her stand out more, Qianfeng Ling Mountain simply arranged for her a different style of attire:

A black robe with silver-white starry patterns and religious star-ring decorations, along with the black veil she always wore, making her completely resemble a nun. According to Master Yuan Hao, this attire is akin to the Algredians’ "Star Maidens" garb.

These are Algredian women known for listening to the stars and skilled in astrology.

The border region where Shuji is located is very close to the Algredians’ territory. One light year away, there’s a large Star Gate directly leading to the deep star domain of Algred, so the city’s people aren’t unfamiliar with "alien visitors" of similar styles. Moreover, most "Star Maidens" are inherently mysterious, with many unique personal costume habits, so even if Luna revealed some non-human characteristics, as long as she wore this "nun outfit," she wouldn’t attract much amazement or attention from the locals.

The rain was lighter than when everyone first landed, yet it still continuously fell from the sky. The fine raindrops near Luna were scattered by the invisible force field around her, forming a hazy, veil-like curtain beside her—lifting her head behind this veil, she rapidly scanned the surroundings with multi-frequency radar.

"Multiple, high-energy units," she said slowly, "no hostility."

"I also sensed it," Master Yuan Hao nodded, "likely cultivators passing nearby—though distant from the city center, this area is close to an ancient refining tower; it’s rich in spiritual energy, an excellent place for cultivation."

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then turned to his nephew beside him: "Have you seen or felt anything?"

Zheng Zhi adjusted his hat and shook his head: "No, it’s quite normal here."

Just as he finished speaking, Erin popped her head out from Yu Sheng’s collar and said: "Can you tell what’s ’normal’ and what’s ’abnormal’? Maybe you’ve already seen some bizarre things but haven’t realized it?"

"Ah, well... most of the time, it’s distinguishable," Zheng Zhi felt a bit awkward but quickly explained, "From experience, those abnormal things definitely have obvious discord with the surrounding environment, it’s actually discernible from the ’atmosphere’..."

At that moment, he suddenly froze, then sharply pointed across the street: "Wait! Those two over there seem a bit off..."

Master Yuan Hao immediately looked over and then quickly pressed Zheng Zhi’s hand down: "Don’t be alarmed, Zheng Dao You, those are just kids dressed as characters from a show; I checked beforehand, there’s a convention nearby..."

Erin was quite surprised: "You cultivators have such events here?!"

Then her remark caused Master Yuan Hao to wonder instead: "Why not?"

"So unseemly," the little puppet blurted out, "it doesn’t match your ethereal image at all..."

Master Yuan Hao found it amusing: "That’s a stereotype—gathering in unusual attire is an ancient tradition. Erin, haven’t you heard of ’god plays,’ ’shaman dances’?"

Erin had a puzzled face: "...?"

Seeing this, Yu Sheng coughed twice and seamlessly improvised along with Master Yuan Hao’s words: "In terms of freedom of form, ancient people performing shamanistic rituals could be seen as the earliest ’conventions’..."

The little puppet thought for a moment, then looked shocked, "Is it, really?!"

This little thing is just too easy to deceive, Yu Sheng felt embarrassed to keep fooling her...

Meanwhile, the group had already passed another intersection, and as they continued walking towards the outskirts of the city, the pedestrians nearby became noticeably fewer.

Master Yuan Hao started frowning occasionally, as if carefully using his Divine Sense to perceive the changes in the surrounding aura. He also occasionally slowed his steps and looked towards the direction of the ancient refining tower standing in the rain, which appeared oppressively large at this distance.

"Something’s odd," the old handsome fellow suddenly spoke, muttering to himself, "Why is it gone again..."

Erin poked her head out of Yu Sheng’s embrace once more: "Huh? What’s gone?"

"The concentration of Spiritual Energy and the stagnation in the ley lines that I sensed before," Master Yuan Hao said thoughtfully, "Earlier, when we descended, I scanned the surface with my Divine Sense and indeed detected a few anomalies. Even not long ago when we were on the ’Immortal Gathering Continent’, I could still sense these oddities in those directions, but now that we’re close, that feeling is gone."

"Noticed us approaching and ran away?" Erin said offhandedly without thinking.

"...What I sensed were changes in the ley lines and Spiritual Energy, not living creatures. How could the natural environment run away?" Master Yuan Hao shook his head immediately, "If anything, it must have been hidden."

At this point, he paused and then said somewhat uncertainly, "But for such changes to be concealed from my Divine Sense is not something an ordinary person can accomplish..."

Yu Sheng remained silent, merely looking thoughtfully into the distance.

The rain misted the air, and the spirit ore refining tower at the city’s edge stretched into the base of the clouds. Two transportation tracks rising from Mo City’s edge connected the ancient, majestic mechanical structure like thick veins. The lights flickered along the tracks and the tower, and all of it seemed hazy due to the rain curtain. Occasionally, lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the looming giant tower’s silhouette with oppressive presence, as though about to collapse, swaying precariously in the flashing light.

The fox girl who was vigorously shaking water off her tail suddenly stopped, furrowing her brows in confusion before sniffing the air as if she smelled something.

"Savior," she tugged at Yu Sheng’s sleeve, "I smell blood."

"Blood?" Upon hearing this, Yu Sheng was instantly alert, "Where?!"

"It’s hard to tell with the rain," Hu Li said, while sniffing around in the air, her large silver-white fox ears twitching occasionally as if catching subtle sounds in the wind and rain, "But it appeared suddenly just now, it shouldn’t be far."

Her words fell, and Master Yuan Hao immediately furrowed his brow, then raised his hand to make a gentle gesture in the air while speaking in a low voice, "Serenity—"

A ripple, light as a breeze, suddenly spread from where his finger pointed in mid-air, and some invisible force instantly covered every inch of space around. Following that, a clear sound echoed in the air as the rain temporarily halted, suspended in mid-air like stasis in time and space.

In the next second, he and Hu Li both raised their heads, pointing in a direction, "Over there!"

Yu Sheng couldn’t help but marvel at the old handsome guy’s impressive feat because, during the brief pause in the rain, he felt something unusual—not the smell of blood, as he didn’t have Hu Li’s keen nose.

What he felt was the loss of life force, an aura emanating from some powerful creature on the brink of death.

The group immediately rushed towards the direction pointed out by Hu Li and Master Yuan Hao, heading to an area near the towering giant tower with dim lights, appearing desolate and forlorn.

The temporarily halted rain resumed its fall, with distant, low thunder occasionally interrupting the veil of rain. The silhouettes of city buildings became obscured, blurred amidst the thunderous echoes and hazy rain curtain, as if all the buildings had turned into abstract outlines squeezed between light and shadow, transformed into a false background projected onto a spatial screen. For a few fleeting moments, buildings in the distance seemed to vanish into rugged, barren wilderness, returning to the planet’s appearance before human development, untouched and undiscovered.

Zheng Zhi struggled to keep up with the group of extraordinaries around him, but just when he was about to fall behind, Master Yuan Hao glanced back, and he immediately felt a gentle breeze enveloping him by his side—it felt like he was briefly airborne, easily catching up with the group. Amid this momentary ease, he looked ahead.

The enormous ancient refining tower standing at the city’s periphery had vanished.

In its place was a pitch-black rift, like ultimate void, threatening to cleave the entire planet, spanning from sky to earth and piercing through the entire space.