Crowds surged around Duanhai Waterfall; the proximity of the Wanxiang Sect lent this natural spectacle a distinct aura.
There were young lords from prominent families sightseeing, literati and refined scholars composing poetry while taking in the views, and impoverished families who had dragged along their entire households hoping to try their luck at entering the sect.
The former two mostly gathered in taverns and pleasure houses along the shore, while the latter congregated upon the embankments.
Yet this bustling commotion was cleaved apart by the chasm of the waterfall. On one side stood the lively, thriving throngs; on the other lay a magnificent yet austere expanse of palace halls.
Because it bordered the waterfall, and low-ranking disciples possessed meager cultivation, the palace materials were either made of water-repelling materials or inscribed with water-warding array patterns to keep moisture from seeping into their bodies, keeping the grounds crisp and dry to walk through.
Along the long corridor leading to the sect's vital grounds, two sets of footsteps echoed, just as they had over a month ago.
"Old Fifth, were those bastards still bickering at yesterday's sect council?"
The full-bearded middle-aged man sounded a little weary.
Old Fifth glanced at his old friend beside him. "I was just about to ask you. Turns out you didn't go either?"
"..."
Hearing this, both men fell silent. After a long moment, the bearded man heaved a deep sigh.
"Bickering back and forth every single day, trading blame, dodging responsibility, without making a shred of progress. Going is no different from staying away. How are things on your end?"
At the question, Old Fifth slowly shifted his gaze toward the distance.
The scenery here was splendid, offering an unobstructed view of the entire waterfall.
After watching it for several breaths, Old Fifth spoke slowly: "That fool, Second Elder, keeps nagging me to send people over to investigate right away. How am I supposed to investigate? How could I dare to? Ji Wencheng and the other two haven't sent back any word in so long—something most likely happened to them. Sending people over now would be walking right into a trap. Wouldn't that just be confessing our guilt outright?"
The bearded man cracked his knuckles with a pop.
"Three Grandmasters, vanished without a whisper... An Origin Realm expert?"
Old Fifth shook his head. "That's not the issue right now. We have to find a way to deal with the fallout immediately. Half a month ago, the sleeper agents we planted in neighboring commanderies and counties sent word that troops were being mobilized and rushed toward Shengshan County. And yet, after all the deliberations up to now, we haven't made a lick of progress."
The bearded man nodded. "True enough."
Pausing, he seemed to recall something and asked in a low voice, "I remember that when the incident occurred, Xiaohe and that blockhead named Li were in Shengshan County. How are the two of them?"
Old Fifth shook his head upon hearing that.
"Xiaohe is fine, though she took a heavy blow. The Sect Master has likely placed her under house arrest by now, but she should come around eventually. As for that blockhead Li, he's probably dead by now."
"Dead?"
The bearded man frowned.
A twenty-year-old fourth-rank Body Integration cultivator—if this Li Erzhu gained enlightenment into the Dao within two years, the Sect Master would in all likelihood have groomed him as a son-in-law.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have let Xiaohe spend all her time running around with him.
Old Fifth narrowed his eyes and said quietly, "On the way back to the sect, he told me he wanted to return to Shengshan County to slay demons."
The bearded man raised an eyebrow, his tone strange. "Slay demons in the middle of a beast tide?"
Pausing,
A flicker of complexity entered Old Fifth's eyes as he recalled what Li Erzhu had said, kneeling before him:
"Fifth Elder, I won't be able to repay the sect's benevolence in this lifetime, but could you let me go back to slay demons? Or you could just run me through with your sword right here, Elder.
"My conscience just can't bear it."
Narrowing his eyes with an inscrutable look, Old Fifth said softly, "You watched him grow up too; you know his temperament."
"..."
The bearded man paused. Recalling the lad's nature, he gave a soft snort. "He asked you to kill him?"
"Mm."
"Utterly foolish."
"So I let him go slay demons." Old Fifth smiled.
Hearing this, the bearded man frowned. "Weren't you afraid he'd leak the truth?"
Old Fifth smiled coldly.
"The sect's benevolence toward him is as monumental as a mountain; with his nature, he wouldn't forget that.
"A direct disciple of the Sect Master dying in battle for Shengshan County clears away some of our suspicion. That's far more valuable than cutting him down with my sword."
The bearded man rubbed the space between his brows. "A pity. If handled properly, such a person could have been a decent tool."
Old Fifth glanced at him, lowered his eyes, and said with profound meaning, "Perhaps. Or perhaps none of it matters anymore."
"..." A bewildered look appeared in the bearded man's eyes.
Without another word, the two reached the end of the corridor, where the doors to the council hall came into view.
Pushing the doors open and stepping inside,
Unlike the solemn, heavy atmosphere of last time, the hall was currently in an uproar.
The voices of a dozen or so people mingled together, making it resemble a miniature vegetable market far more than an important council of sect leadership.
One old man pointed right at the nose of a brocade-robed young man opposite him and cursed: "He Jigu! All you care about is that Fenghai Chamber of Commerce of yours! With a plan as massive as the sect's, does the whole pot in Shengshan County even add up to fifty thousand taels?! You just had to pull them back ahead of time! If an investigation began, there wouldn't have been a clear lead. Fine, now that you pulled this stunt, hasn't a target been painted right on us?!"
The brocade-robed young man gripped a folding fan and slammed it hard onto the table.
"Drunken Madman, stop barking nonsense here! Isn't the greatest responsibility for this failure yours?! You were the one who coordinated the arrays and inspected them! If nothing went wrong with the arrays, how could we have possibly failed?!"
"Bastard! It is absolutely impossible for anything to have gone wrong with the arrays!"
"Then tell us how the thing was broken! The Illusory Mist Grand Array was crafted by Xu Xinyao, a grandmaster of arrays! Speaking of which, Old Drunkard, the array research you oversee has been truly disappointing. The sect pours so much into it every year, yet not only could you not produce something like the Illusory Mist Grand Array, but in the end, we even had to buy the Ghost-Capturing Grand Array from outside! Do you know how much silver that cost?!"
"The core of the Ghost-Capturing Grand Array was researched by this old man personally! Just because we bought a few peripheral inscriptions, you yellow-mouthed brat turn it into the whole—"
"..."
"..."
Listening to the chaotic arguments in the hall, Old Fifth and the bearded man exchanged a glance as they crossed the threshold, both seeing helplessness in the other's eyes.
Seeing the two enter, the Wanxiang Sect Master, who had been resting with closed eyes on the main seat, suddenly opened them and spoke clearly: "Old Fifth and Youngest are here. Stop it, all of you."
"..."
His voice was resonant and forceful, ringing directly into everyone's mind.
At this, the bickering leadership fell quiet, though they continued to glare daggers at one another.
One might disobey the Sect Master's commands, but face still had to be given.
The Wanxiang Sect Master let out a breath and asked in a steady voice, "What progress has there been on your end?"
The two were in charge of information and intelligence. At this stage for the Wanxiang Sect, they were practically the two most critical figures.
The troop movements of local commanderies and counties, the mobilization of armies in other prefectures, and even the contents of memorials submitted to the court all relied on the two of them to ferret out.
Much of the leadership's current bickering stemmed from the fear born of an intelligence blackout.
They did not know the current state of the three responsible for the arrays, nor whether the people inside Shengshan County were all dead, nor how much of their plot had been exposed, nor even what attitude the imperial court held right now.
At present, all they knew was that the court was dispatching troops toward Shengshan County.
Beyond that, they knew nothing.
Ants on a hot pan.
Old Fifth cupped his hands in a salute, bringing a piece of useful yet grim news: "Sect Master, the sleeper agent I dispatched followed the relief army into Shengshan County. Word arrived just today: the demonic beast tide was held back. The reinforcements cleared more than ninety percent of the demonic beasts, and over two hundred thousand people died inside the city."
The Wanxiang Sect Master asked the most crucial question: "Did you find out who in the city helped Shengshan County?"
This matter held the key to their subsequent response.
"..."
Hearing this question, Old Fifth walked over to a seat, sat down, and said in a low voice, "All we know is that two people went there, personally received by a colonel in Shengshan County named Wang Jiadian. One of them is a Grandmaster, while the other's cultivation is unknown, though that Grandmaster appeared to be their attendant."
The Wanxiang Sect Master narrowed his eyes. "Can we investigate further?"
Old Fifth shook his head, looking helpless. "The highest-ranking sleeper agent we have is only a chiliarch. Besides, the trail has gone cold."
***
Shengshan County, the county yamen.
A man with a cold, sharp countenance stood in the somewhat disheveled county yamen, looking with a faint smile at Adjutant Li, who sat upon the dais.
After Colonel Wang's departure, Adjutant Li had taken over his duties. He wore a hesitant expression.
"Mr. Yi, what you mean is... not to erect a living shrine for Young Master Zhou? And even erase any record of his visit here?"
Yi Tian cupped his hands. "I ask for Adjutant Li's understanding. In our line of intelligence work, we generally cannot afford too much fame."
Adjutant Li pondered for a moment and said, "Yet many of the common folk have seen them."
Yi Tian smiled and replied softly through narrowed eyes: "We will handle those people.
"You only need to erase Zhou Chen from your reports to the commandery seat. Would that be acceptable?"
***
Silence filled the council hall.
"The trail went cold?" The Wanxiang Sect Master frowned.
Old Fifth's voice was firm. "Someone is interfering with our investigation into this matter."
Pausing,
Old Fifth looked around the room and spoke in a slow, deliberate tone: "However, we can narrow the scope."
With that,
He held up three fingers, curling one down with each point he made: "Breaking the array, besieging and slaying three Grandmasters, and directly contacting high-ranking ministers at the imperial court. I believe everyone here knows who in this province is capable of achieving all three."
As soon as he said this, the hall erupted into a flurry of clamor.
"Is it Tianyin Temple? Or Fengqing Sect?"
"Unlikely. Those two sects have always been on good terms with us, and our regional interests largely align."
"Then who could it be?"
"There are too many possibilities."
"..."
Amid the noisy chatter, the brocade-robed young man holding the folding fan suddenly chimed in: "I think it's the Qin family of the provincial capital, or the Nangong Clan of Anxi Commandery. Both of those prominent clans have had conflicts with us over market shares in this region. When our disciples ventured out to travel before, we lost quite a few hands to them. Had the provincial administration not stepped in to mediate, we would already be mortal enemies."
Hearing this, the Drunken Madman opposite him suddenly cut in: "Market conflicts? Mortal enemies? He Jigu, don't just pick pretty words! They originally registered their businesses under our name to evade imperial taxes, and yet you tried to swallow them whole! If it really is them, this whole mess started with you!"
At that, veins bulged on the young man's forehead. Source Qi surged around him, and his fan creaked under his grip as he ground out between his teeth: "Old Drunkard, wash your filthy dog mouth! That was the sect's decision—"
"Silence, all of you!"
The Wanxiang Sect Master suddenly barked in a low reprimand.
He felt tired; if he didn't intervene, those below would start fighting again.
Suppressing the crowd, he looked toward Old Fifth, who sat frowning in his chair.
"Old Fifth, how do you see this matter?"
Old Fifth lifted his eyes, his tone complicated. "Sect Master, Elders, all of your points are reasonable. But if they truly were behind it, we would still have room to maneuver."
"..." Silence.
The shrewd minds present pondered the meaning of his words, and those quick on their feet soon revealed looks of shock and dread in their eyes.
Yet Old Fifth continued: "However, you overlooked two factions in your discussion just now."
At this point,
Old Fifth pointed toward the ceiling, leaving the rest unspoken.
Though he did not say it outright, everyone present understood what he meant.
The Chancellor's Manor. The Great Yan imperial family.
In the dead silence,
Old Fifth sighed, stood up, looked at the Wanxiang Sect Master, and bowed solemnly. "Sect Master, Wenlin formally requests that we immediately begin executing our worst-case contingency—"
*Thump!*
Before his words had finished, a dull crash rang out and dust billowed. A large fissure tore through the palace's specially crafted floor.
Then,
The old man seated at the head of the left side stood up. "Xia Wenlin, we have no leak, no concrete evidence. Even the reigning Emperor would not dare touch us without cause."
The sects were loosely allied, but attempting to slaughter an entire sect on trumped-up charges would trigger a collective revolt.
For if they did not resist, the next victim might well be themselves.
The sects understood this better than anyone.
Having said this,
The old man fixed his gaze on the bowing Xia Wenlin. "Raise your head. Do you know what the worst-case plan entails?"
Old Fifth slowly raised his gaze, his expression unchanging. "Naturally, I do."
The worst-case plan: raising a rebellion.
Yet everyone knew that the outcome of rebellion was simply death; after all, the example of the Xuanqing Sect was right before them.
No one believed they could fare any better than the Xuanqing Sect had.
They could only abandon everything they held within Great Yan's borders, use the lives of outer disciples to stall for time, and transfer as many core disciples as possible into the Wanxing Mountain Range.
However, the preparations for such an endeavor would create massive ripples. Stockpiling supplies, mobilizing personnel, and liquidating assets—moves on such a scale could never be hidden from watchful eyes.
In other words,
Once this began, there would be no turning back.
Pausing, Old Fifth's voice was calm. "Moreover, Grand Elder, we do have a leak."
"What?" The Grand Elder frowned.
"Ji Wencheng and the other two have not sent a single message to this day."
"If things went south, they would end their own lives."
"And if they failed to commit suicide?"
"..."
Source Qi swirled around the Grand Elder, warping the surrounding air under pressure. "The three of them hold the life-gate to one another. If the situation is unsalvageable, a single thought from any one of them can trigger suicide for the other two. Even a second-rank Origin Realm cultivator has no certainty of subduing all three at once. Are you trying to suggest a Transcendent Realm expert just so happened to be near Shengshan County?"
Old Fifth was unfazed, continuing: "There are too many methods in this world: soul-bewitchment arts, poisons, illusions, and special Dao Charms can all achieve this end."
The Grand Elder sighed, his tone softening slightly. "Little Fifth, the likelihood of what you describe is infinitesimally small. We cannot gamble over such an off chance."
Old Fifth clenched his fists slightly, looking at the Grand Elder with eyes filled with utter complexity. "Grand Elder, it is not a gamble. It is too quiet..."
"What?" Confusion surfaced in the Grand Elder's eyes.
At this point, Old Fifth's body trembled slightly from tension. "Grand Elder, have you ever fallen into the sea?"
"..." The Grand Elder frowned.
Old Fifth chuckled and sighed. "When I went to sea as a boy, I once fell overboard. Everything around was pitch-black, I couldn't breathe, and only the dull bubbling of water echoed in my ears..."
Here, Old Fifth sighed in deep helplessness. "Right now, the sect guards under my charge are just like I was back then—fallen into the sea, unable to hear a single useful sound.
"Only that dull, bubbling murmur.
"I truly hope this sea is a real sea, and not a pool someone built for us.
"Yet it is too quiet.
"No one has gone to Shengshan County to investigate. No one has come to Wanxiang City to investigate. In fact... not a single person has come to call upon our Wanxiang Sect, the prime suspect."
A dead silence descended.
Amid the silence,
The Wanxiang Sect Master asked in a deep voice: "Why was this matter not reported sooner?"
Old Fifth tilted his head slightly, staring up at the dark vaulted ceiling, and let out a long breath. "Sect Master, conveying intelligence takes time. Personnel traveling takes time. And compiling confirmed information takes even more time."
Saying this, Old Fifth held up a finger. "However, upon realizing this, I dispatched many more eagle riders to scout around Wanxiang City. Do you know what results I received today?
"Some returned. Some did not.
"Sect Master... to the east of Wanxiang City is now a forbidden zone."
Old Fifth lowered his finger and let out a low, trembling chuckle. "It really, really is too quiet..."
As his words fell,
Drifting clouds veiled the sun, instantly plunging the hall into silence and darkness like the ocean floor.
No one spoke up in agreement, yet neither did anyone refute Xia Wenlin's proposal any longer.
Who knew how much time had passed;
The darkness lingered, but the silence was shattered by an eagle's cry. Then, a vast, booming voice reverberated through the entire sect:
"Wanxiang Sect Master, come out and speak."
Chapter 176