As night fell, in the early morning hours.
Ye Kunlun left quietly, and two black shadows, one fat and one thin, quickly followed.
In the early morning of Kanda Town, the streets were already deserted, appearing extremely desolate.
However, Kanda Town, deep in the northern frontier, had very high visibility. The sky full of stars illuminated the not-so-large Kanda Town, giving it a more dreamlike quality.
There was a thin layer of mist, like sand, in the air, which was the condensation of the night's chill. It did not affect visibility.
"Sir, it's still half an hour before two in the morning, what should we do?" Sasha whispered.
"There!" Ye Kunlun pointed at a sand building in Kanda Town, which was the highest point in the town.
With that, Ye Kunlun leaped and, in a few flashes, had already reached the sand building.
Sasha and Yuan Shuo did not have such skills and only managed to reach the sand building a few minutes later.
Yan Shuo was a bit out of breath, "Boss, why are we climbing so high?"
"Idiot, of course, to observe the surroundings. This place overlooks the entire Kanda Town. We can spot any sleepwalkers at a glance!" Sasha cursed.
Ye Kunlun ignored the two of them. He spread out his divine sense, enveloping Kanda Town, waiting for the sleepwalkers to appear.
Time passed.
As it was almost two o'clock, Ye Kunlun's divine sense fluctuated. His gaze sharpened, and he looked towards the north.
A strange aura was approaching Kanda Town and then entered his divine sense range.
In less than a minute, that strange power had engulfed the not-so-large Kanda Town.
Ye Kunlun's heart stirred. It was clear that the sleepwalkers were very likely related to this strange aura.
Two o'clock in the morning!
The first sleepwalker appeared, the owner of a fruit shop. With vacant eyes, he woodenly left his small shop, muttering as he walked towards the Sand River to the north.
A few minutes later, the second sleepwalker appeared, a young female tourist.
"Boss, they've appeared." Yan Shuo couldn't stand not talking for long. "These two are the sleepwalkers, you see, their direction is exactly towards the Sand River!"
"You fatso, if you don't talk, no one will think you're mute." Sasha was startled by Yan Shuo's sudden speech.
Yan Shuo chuckled awkwardly.
Five minutes later, the third sleepwalker appeared, a middle-aged man who looked about forty.
The moment they appeared, Ye Kunlun's divine sense had already entered their sea of consciousness.
The result was exactly as Ye Kunlun had predicted: their seas of consciousness had been eroded by that strange aura!
But it wasn't just the erosion of their seas of consciousness; the strange aura further eroded their souls, absorbing the power within their souls and manipulating them.
"It's not simple sleepwalking, it's soul-walking!" Ye Kunlun spoke, his face filled with solemnity.
"Soul-walking?"
Sasha and Yan Shuo looked at Ye Kunlun with confusion, not quite understanding the difference between sleepwalking and soul-walking.
Seeing their lack of understanding, Ye Kunlun slowly explained, "Sleepwalking refers to the symptom of automatically getting out of bed during sleep, leaving the house, and performing various actions."
"Soul-walking, on the other hand, is the manipulation of human souls by certain powerful mental forces, causing patients to uncontrollably leave their bodies during their sleep. Under the control of some spiritual force, soul-walking patients are like puppets."
After hearing Ye Kunlun's explanation, Sasha and Yan Shuo's faces showed horror.
"Boss, so, someone is deliberately controlling them?"
Yan Shuo swallowed and asked somewhat fearfully.
"Who could control the people of Kanda Town so silently? This is simply unbelievable," Sasha asked with equal shock.
Ye Kunlun thought for a moment and replied in a low voice, "It may not necessarily be a person controlling them. As long as the mental force is strong enough, it can manipulate weaker individuals or objects."
Yan Shuo felt a chill run down his spine.
"Boss, could there be some terrifying monster hiding in Kanda Town?"
Ye Kunlun did not answer his question. He leaped down from the sand building and rushed towards the direction of the three soul-walkers.
Seeing this, Sasha quickly followed.
The fat man shivered at the height of the sand building and began to descend the stairs.
The three soul-walkers converged at an intersection, muttering the same words.
Ye Kunlun listened carefully and recognized that the words they were speaking were the same as Xiaoyu's, ancient script.
"Could the one controlling them be the same as Xiaoyu?" Ye Kunlun guessed in his heart.
After all, Xiaoyu was the only person he had ever met who knew ancient script.
While guessing, Ye Kunlun followed the three, observing if they would make any other strange movements.
They followed all the way to the Sand River. The three did not make any other moves until they reached the riverbank. They all knelt down and bowed towards the north.
As the three knelt, faint streams of power were released from their bodies, converging towards the north.
"What is this..." Ye Kunlun narrowed his eyes, looking surprised. "It's faith power."
"Could it be that the strange aura's purpose is to manipulate humans to absorb their faith?"
Pure faith and faith generated after manipulation are two entirely different results.
Forcibly manipulating human souls to make them have faith in someone or something consumes the human soul.
Over time, soul depletion leads to lethargy, physical decline, and shortened lifespan!
This method of seizing faith was considered heretical by Ye Kunlun.
With this thought, Ye Kunlun's divine sense followed the faint faith power of the three towards the north.
He wanted to see who was causing trouble!
At this moment, Sasha and Yan Shuo also caught up.
They watched as the three knelt and finished their worship, then drew something in the sand, which was the ancient script, like scribbles.
Unfortunately, neither of them could recognize a single word.
Ye Kunlun's expression was solemn. Just as Yan Shuo was about to speak, Sasha gestured for him to be quiet and stopped him.
Ye Kunlun's divine sense followed the faith power of the three, heading north for nearly two hundred miles, directly to the border between Huaxia and the Barbarian tribes.
Suddenly, the strange power became extremely strong, instantly engulfing the faith power of the three.
Ye Kunlun's divine sense condensed and directly attacked the suddenly surging strange power.
However, that strange power disappeared into thin air. No matter how Ye Kunlun's divine sense searched, he found nothing!
Ye Kunlun frowned, reluctantly withdrew his divine sense, and his gaze fell on Sasha.
Sasha felt as if she were being stared at by a fierce beast, and a chill ran through her. "Sir."
"These three people were manipulated by a strange power, and their faith power was forcibly generated. I followed their faith power all the way to the border between Huaxia and the Barbarian tribes."
Upon hearing this, Sasha's face turned pale. How could she not understand the implication in Ye Kunlun's words?
"Sir, are you saying this matter is related to the Barbarian tribes?" Sasha asked with some difficulty.