The three of them showed a hint of surprise in their eyes. It was their first time seeing a human brain in such a state.
"The starlight shining above represents human memories," the old man explained. "The brighter the light, the deeper the memory."
"Old man, can you access it?" Chen Shu licked his lips, feeling a touch of apprehension. If one could truly browse people's memories at will, wouldn't his status as a cheater be exposed?
"No." The old man gave Chen Shu a deep look, guessing his thoughts, and smiled. "Human minds are too fragile. If I lose control even slightly, the least it could cause is amnesia, and at worst, immediate death!"
"Is that so..." The three of them breathed a sigh of relief. The ability to browse memories was indeed a bit terrifying.
"Alright, let's get down to business!" The old man changed the subject. "Look closely!" As he spoke, he moved his right hand, like a small drifting boat, heading towards the depths of Wang Yichen's mind.
After a while, the three who were quietly observing Wang Yichen's mind were suddenly shocked! The initially pure and flawless sea of stars was now filled with streams of black mist, like shackles sealing the entire mind.
"What is this?!" Chen Shu furrowed his brow, vaguely sensing that this was the source of the trouble!
"An unknown soul force," the old man stated. "Not strong, but quite troublesome!"
"Old man, even you can't deal with it?" Chen Shu asked with a serious expression. Based on the old man's own strength, his contracted spirit must be a top-tier legendary creature, yet it couldn't resolve this?
"It's not that I can't deal with it." The old man shook his head. "As I just told you, human minds are extremely fragile. If my contracted spirit were to go all out, it could erase this force in just one second, but that one second would be enough to destroy his mind dozens of times over!"
"..." The three fell silent, understanding the difficulty.
"Actually, this isn't the most important thing!" The old man sighed. "The biggest problem now is that no one knows how many minds have been invaded."
Chen Shu asked, "Can't we check them one by one?"
"No!" The old man shook his head. "Only when the host's sanity is disturbed will the black energy appear, allowing me to easily detect it. But if the host shows no symptoms, the black energy will hide in the depths of the star sea. Even I would need half a day to find it, as the mind is too fragile."
Now that Silver, Gold, and even King-level cultivators had issues, and there were so many people with these three beast-taming levels, if they were to check them one by one, the battle would likely be over before they could find anything.
"Is there no other way?!" Chen Shu's brow furrowed. He hadn't expected such a situation to arise.
"There is one way!" The old man's eyes were deep as he spoke. "Kill the source!"
Chen Shu quickly asked, "Can we find it?"
"We have a slight guess..." The old man looked at the three of them, hiding nothing. "This soul force didn't invade suddenly, but rather accumulated over the years. This is why so many hosts haven't noticed anything."
"Over a long period?" Chen Shu nodded. "Could it be people close to them?"
"Highly likely!" The old man nodded. "At least people they come into frequent contact with."
"So it's an insider?" Ning Bufan's brow furrowed. "Someone who can contact King-level beast tamers must have a considerable status and strength!"
"That's right." The old man nodded. "Most likely a powerful individual from Hua Country."
"Isn't that simple?" Chen Shu said. "Gather all beast tamers with soul-contracted spirits and conduct a thorough investigation!"
"It failed." The old man shook his head. "We've already checked all King-level beast tamers with soul-contracted spirits; it wasn't any of them."
Chen Shu's brow furrowed. "What about Gold-level beast tamers?"
"Still none." The old man rubbed his head. "I've even checked Silver-level beast tamers."
"Hidden so deeply?!" Chen Shu couldn't help but feel a headache and began to ponder seriously. If this matter wasn't dealt with quickly, the humans on the main battlefield wouldn't last much longer.
After a moment, Chen Shu asked, "Has anyone left Hua Country during this period? Or gone out on missions?"
"No." The old man shook his head. "Except for the three of you, everyone else has returned to the country, and no high-level beast tamers have gone missing."
"It seems this person hasn't left yet." Chen Shu stroked his chin. "Is there a possibility that the person is some reclusive expert?"
"No." Li Lao, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. "Someone who can have long-term contact with Silver, Gold, and King-level beast tamers must have a very wide range of interactions. How could they be reclusive?"
"..." Chen Shu nodded. "That makes sense."
"These are all the clues I have at the moment," the old man sighed. "To find the source, we'll probably need everyone to brainstorm some ideas."
"..." Ning Bufan and Li Lao exchanged glances, a hint of helplessness on their faces. They were good at causing destruction, but thinking was quite difficult for them.
Just then, Chen Shu was muttering to himself, "Options, come quickly... Options, come quickly... Come to big brother..."
Ning Bufan looked bewildered. "Chen Pi, are you acting up again? Don't tell me you've been invaded too?"
Upon hearing this, the old man's expression shifted, and he subtly became wary.
"..." Chen Shu, who was praying for an option to appear, suddenly sensed three terrifying auras and immediately woke up.
"What are you doing?!" he asked, looking at the three with caution. Instinctively, he took a tactical step back and summoned his rabbit.
"We wanted to ask you!" Ning Bufan said. "You've been acting all weird."
"Uh... I'm just trying to think of a solution, aren't I?" Chen Shu shrugged, sighing inwardly. Despite his fervent prayers, no system options had appeared.
"Alright, you're probably tired. Go back and rest for a bit," the old man said. "As for a solution, we'll think of one eventually."
"Okay." The three nodded and prepared to leave the command center.
"Oh, right, Chen Shu!" The old man called out again. "The situation is special these days, so try not to act up too much. Otherwise, people will really think your brain has been invaded too."
"..." Chen Shu's mouth twitched. What did he mean by "acting up"? When had he ever acted up...