Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Chapter 291 Shadows in the Abyss

A grand celebration banquet was held in the palace, with bright lights and singing and dancing. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui dressed in gorgeous clothes and accepted toasts and congratulations from all sides. The stars and the moon also became the focus of the banquet. Their heroic deeds were widely praised by people and became role models for the younger generation.

"From now on, there will be no more war in Chang'an City, and the people can live and work in peace." Hu Bugui raised his glass and said with great passion.

"Cheers to the hero!" everyone shouted in unison and drank it all in one gulp.

However, behind the lively banquet, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui always felt a little uneasy. Although the Night Demon Clan had been eliminated, the mysterious organization was still hiding in the dark. They were like a time bomb, and no one knew when it would explode, bringing new disasters to Chang'an City.

"Tao'er, what's wrong?" Hu Bugui noticed something strange about Wu Tao and asked with concern.

Wu Tao shook her head and forced a smile: "It's okay, I'm just a little tired."

Hu Bugui did not ask any further questions, as he knew that Wu Tao had his own thoughts.

After the banquet, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui returned to their own palaces. Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere was somewhat dull.

Suddenly, a paper crane flew in from the window and landed in Wu Tao's hand. Wu Tao unfolded the paper crane and saw a line of beautiful words written on it: "Be careful, they haven't given up yet..."

The paper crane slowly burned, turning into a wisp of green smoke and dissipating in the air. Wu Tao's face suddenly became solemn. She stood up suddenly and said to Hu Bugui: "It's not good, they..."

Hu Bugui took the ashes from Wu Tao and his expression became serious: "It seems that we still underestimated their ambitions."

"We must find them as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous." Wu Tao said anxiously, "Where are Xingchen and Yueying?"

"I have sent them to investigate, and I believe there will be news soon." Hu Bugui comforted.

At this time, Xingchen and Yueying were in an abandoned temple in Chang'an City. According to intelligence, this place was once a stronghold of a mysterious organization.

"Brother, look!" Yueying pointed to a piece of cloth on the ground with a strange pattern embroidered on it.

Xingchen carefully identified it and said, "This is... the symbol of obsidian!"

Obsidian, an extremely rare and precious mineral, is said to possess powerful dark power. The name of this mysterious organization is called "Obsidian Society".

"It seems that we are getting closer and closer to the truth." A gleam of light flashed in Xingchen's eyes.

However, they did not notice that not far behind them, a pair of cold eyes were watching their every move...

The next morning, Li Xiaoyao returned to Chang'an City, exhausted. He went outside the city to gather information, but he brought back disturbing news...

Li Xiaoyao staggered into Hu Bugui's study. His clothes were torn in many places and stained with blood, and his face was frighteningly pale.

"Xiaoyao, what's wrong with you?!" Wu Tao was shocked when he saw this and hurried forward to support him.

"Cough cough..." Li Xiaoyao covered his chest and coughed violently a few times, with a trace of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. "I... I'm fine, just a minor injury."

"You said you were fine. You still call it a minor injury!" Wu Tao scolded distressedly, and turned to Hu Bugui and said, "Bugui, go get a doctor!"

Hu Bugui nodded solemnly and walked out quickly. Li Xiaoyao, supported by Wu Tao, slowly sat down on the chair. He took a deep breath and said intermittently: "I... When I was gathering information outside the city, I met... I met the remnants of the Obsidian Society. They... They wanted to kill me to silence me..."

"What?!" Wu Tao was shocked when he heard this. "Are you okay? How many of them were there? Did you see their appearance clearly?"

Li Xiaoyao shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I was outnumbered at the time and could only barely escape. They... they were all masked, so I couldn't see their faces clearly..."

“Damn it!” Wu Tao was so angry that he punched the table, his delicate face full of frost, “These damn guys actually dared to come out and cause trouble!”

"Tao'er, don't worry. Wait until Xiaoyao recovers and then we can make a long-term plan." Hu Bugui comforted her, and at the same time signaled Wu Tao to tell the details of how Li Xiaoyao was injured.

Li Xiaoyao endured the pain and told Hu Bugui and Wu Tao everything that had happened. It turned out that he went out of the city this time to track down the remnants of the Black Obsidian Society. According to the tip-off, he learned that the Black Obsidian Society was secretly gathering in a valley outside the city, so he went alone to investigate.

However, he didn't expect that this was a trap! When he arrived at the valley, a group of remnants of the Black Obsidian Society had already ambushed there. Although Li Xiaoyao was a martial arts expert, he was outnumbered and eventually escaped with serious injuries.

"It seems that the remnants of the Black Obsidian Society are not as simple as we thought." Hu Bugui frowned after listening to Li Xiaoyao's story. "They are not only powerful, but also cautious. We must be more careful."

"That's right, we must not let them succeed!" Wu Tao's eyes were firm and cold, "Xiaoyao, you take good care of your injuries, and leave the rest to us."

"But..." Li Xiaoyao wanted to say something but was interrupted by Wu Tao.

"Don't worry, we will definitely seek justice for this matter!" Wu Tao's tone was unquestionable.

As night fell, Chang'an City was shrouded in an eerie silence. Hu Bugui stood on the city wall, gazing into the distance with deep and dark eyes.

"Your Highness, what are you worried about?" the guard beside him asked in a low voice.

"I'm wondering," Hu Bugui retracted his gaze and said slowly, "What exactly do the remnants of the Black Obsidian Society want to do?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a dazzling red light suddenly appeared in the distant sky, and then a powerful energy wave descended from the sky, and the entire Chang'an City began to shake violently...

As night fell, Chang'an City was shrouded in an eerie silence. The hustle and bustle of the past seemed to be wiped out by an invisible giant hand, leaving only an unsettling silence. Hu Bugui stood on the city wall, looking into the distance, his eyes deep and dark, as if he could see through the many conspiracies behind the night.

"Your Highness, what are you worried about?" the guard beside him asked in a low voice, with a barely perceptible tremor in his tone.

"I'm wondering," Hu Bugui retracted his gaze and said slowly, his voice low and powerful, "What exactly do the remnants of the Black Obsidian Society want to do? The assassination that Li Xiaoyao encountered is probably just the tip of the iceberg of their plan."

As soon as he finished speaking, a dazzling red light suddenly appeared in the distant sky, like a huge blood-red eye opening in the night sky, with a frightening evil aura. Then, a powerful energy wave descended from the sky, like an invisible giant hammer smashing hard on Chang'an City, and the entire city began to shake violently.

"Oh no! It's magic!" Wu Tao's voice rang out from the tower, her tone hurried and solemn. She looked up at the sky, and saw that the red light was getting brighter and brighter, and finally turned into a huge vortex, and violent magic energy poured down like a flood.

"Boom——"

With a loud bang, the outer walls of Chang'an City collapsed in an instant, turning into ruins. The wind was howling, sand and rocks were flying, and the buildings were crumbling under the ravages of the magic storm. People on the streets were panicked and fled in all directions, crying and screaming.

"Protect the people! Defend the city!" Hu Bugui drew the sword from his waist, pointed the tip of the sword at the sky, and shouted loudly. His voice was particularly clear and powerful in the strong wind, as if it injected a shot of adrenaline into the panicked people.

Led by Hu Bugui, the soldiers fought hard against the invasion of the magic storm. However, the power of the storm was too strong, and even the battle-hardened soldiers could not resist it. The city walls kept collapsing, the houses kept falling down, and Chang'an City fell into an unprecedented crisis.

"We can't go on like this! We must find a way to stop the magic storm!" Wu Tao said anxiously, his eyes sweeping across the crowd around him, finally landing on Xingchen and Yueying. "Xingchen, Yueying, do you have any ideas?"

Xingchen and Yueying looked at each other, and saw a trace of solemnity in each other's eyes. They had been learning magic from the elders of the Night Demon Clan since they were young, and had an understanding of magic that ordinary people could not reach. At this moment, they also felt the power and weirdness of this magic storm, and their hearts were filled with uneasiness.

"Let's try it!" Xingchen and Yueying said in unison, then turned and ran down the city wall and ran into the city.

"Where are they going?" Wu Tao looked at their backs, his heart full of confusion and worry.

"Trust them, they will definitely find a way." Hu Bugui held Wu Tao's shoulders and said in a firm tone.

However, just as he finished speaking, a deafening roar suddenly rang out from the distant sky. The huge vortex of magic suddenly became more violent, and its color changed from blood red to a strange dark purple, as if a giant beast from the abyss had opened its bloody mouth and was about to swallow up the entire Chang'an City...

Xingchen and Yueying ran all the way, knowing that the safety of Chang'an City was in their hands. "Xingchen, do you remember what Master said? When magic gets out of control, only by finding its source can it be calmed down." Yueying said as she ran, with a hint of anxiety in her tone.

"I know," Xingchen nodded, "but this magic circle is so huge, where could its source be?"

Yueying stopped and looked up at the sky. "The direction of the flow of magic energy is the direction of the source. Follow me!" After that, Yueying ran towards the tallest tower in the city. Xingchen followed closely behind, with a glimmer of hope in his heart.

Meanwhile, on the city wall, Wu Tao and Hu Bugui were anxiously waiting for news from Xingchen and Yueying. The magic storm was getting more and more violent, and the city wall was already shaky and could collapse completely at any time.

"They've been gone for so long, why is there still no news?" Wu Tao was extremely anxious, she wished she could do something.

Hu Bugui clenched the sword in his hand, his eyes firm, "Trust them, they will definitely find a way."

At this moment, Xingchen and Yueying came back panting. "We found the source!" Yueying pointed to the tallest tower in the city, "The source of the magic circle is at the top of the tower!"

"Great!" A glimmer of hope ignited in Wu Tao's eyes, "Then we should now..."

"Wait!" Xingchen interrupted her, "This magic circle is very complicated. In order to destroy it, you and your father need to inject your energy into the two core nodes of the formation at the same time."

"Two core nodes?" Wu Tao asked puzzledly.

"That's right," Yueying explained, "One is at the top of the tower, and the other is under the city gate. You must inject energy into it at the same time to destroy this magic circle."

Time was running out. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui had no time to think. They immediately followed the instructions of Xingchen and Yueying and rushed to the top of the tower and the city gate respectively. After they arrived at the designated location, they simultaneously injected their energy into the formation. A powerful force surged out of their bodies, following the lines of the formation and quickly flowing to the center of the magic circle.

As they injected energy, the magic vortex in the sky began to tremble violently, and the color gradually faded. The strong wind gradually died down, the flying sand and rocks slowly disappeared, and the shadow over Chang'an City seemed to have dissipated a little.

However, at this moment, a colder atmosphere came from afar, with a suffocating sense of oppression, shrouding everyone's heart. Wu Tao and Hu Bugui looked at each other, and saw a trace of uneasiness in each other's eyes...