Coincidence

Not long after Yaoguang departed this stretch of sea, lightning flashed and thunder roared as a torrential gale and rainstorm, born of a violent meteorological disturbance, engulfed over ten thousand li across the waters. The tempest raged without end, casting the entire expanse into an apocalyptic gloom. Had there been towns populated by low-level cultivators anywhere nearby, countless lives would undoubtedly have been snuffed out by the terrifying climate. The rain poured down in torrents. An hour later. Ripples stirred across the void as three streaks of light manifested simultaneously above the sea. The instant the three figures appeared, the spatial power radiating ceaselessly from their chaos caverns—or rather, their grotto-heavens—surged in every direction, violently driving back the surrounding meteorological chaos. In a breath, the deluge ceased, and the clouds parted to reveal the sky. Such a display terrified every living creature across the entire sea into dead silence. "Elder Tongming, Elder Hou Feng, according to my retracing, True Disciple Xuan Shuang perished right here." Among the three, a man dressed in elder robes and bearing the insignia of the Dao Lineage spoke. "We trouble Elder Tushan, then." The other two nodded. From the violent shifts in the weather that they had just calmed, both could tell that a fierce battle had taken place here. "To dare slaughter a true disciple of our Heaven Lineage—what reckless audacity!" Tongming's expression was frosty. "Just how far is the Sea of Chaos from our Heavenly Dao Sect? It is virtually our sect's outer periphery, yet a true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect has perished here?! It seems none of the forces in the Sea of Chaos have any reason to exist anymore." Hou Feng spoke with murderous intent. "It likely wasn't done by any force from the Sea of Chaos. For one, they lack the nerve; for another... Xuan Shuang's strength was by no means negligible, ranking thirty-fourth among the true disciples. No one in the Sea of Chaos has the power to kill him," said Elder Tushan of the Dao Lineage. Within the Heavenly Dao Sect, the Immortal Lineage had always held the orthodox seat of sect master and oversaw sect operations; the Battle Lineage possessed the greatest combat strength and was deployed for external conquest; and the Heaven Lineage had the largest headcount, though their quality was uneven. The Dao Lineage, on the other hand, remained somewhat detached from worldly matters, focusing entirely on refining the Great Dao and transmitting techniques and teachings, rarely involving themselves in sect administration. Yet although the Dao Lineage rarely intervened in sect development, none dared withhold the resources due to them. This was because the Dao Lineage accounted for half of the Supreme Elders in this generation of the Heavenly Dao Sect. "Whether it was done by people from the Sea of Chaos or not, the fact remains that a true disciple of our Heavenly Dao Sect fell in these waters. That makes this expanse of sea a land of sin! And since it has become a land of sin, it must be cleansed!" Elder Tongming tossed a pouch straight into the void. The pouch swelled against the wind, rapidly expanding to a hundred meters across. From the mouth of the pouch, predatory avian beasts resembling crows yet burning from head to talon with black flames rushed forth in endless swarms. Numbering in the tens of thousands, they soon blotted out the sky like a dark canopy. "Within a radius of a hundred thousand li, leave no living creature alive! Offer them as a sacrifice to the departed spirit of our Heaven Lineage's true disciple!" At his command, the tens of thousands of fierce crows churning with demonic flames let loose piercing shrieks. Resembling rolling storm clouds, they scattered in every direction at blinding speed, every single one matching a Radiant Sun Golden Core in might. "It is indeed time the Sea of Chaos was disciplined. Stirring up trouble every few days is utterly disgraceful. Having Elder Tongming's Heavenly Fiend Crow Cloud sweep through the area is no bad thing," Hou Feng remarked indifferently. Beside them, Elder Tushan felt some distaste for this method upon hearing it, but he would not go so far as to defy the wills of two elders from the Heaven and Immortal Lineages over such a minor matter. "We must trouble Elder Tushan to see if any more clues can be uncovered." Having released his flock of crows, Elder Tongming cupped his hands toward Elder Tushan once more. Elder Tushan nodded slightly and soon brought out a Dao artifact that resembled a compass. An intangible Dao charm immediately rippled forth from this supreme treasure. At the sight of the treasure, heat flared in the eyes of both Elder Tongming and Elder Hou Feng. Yet neither dared reveal any greed. This was the Myriad Immortals Compass, a Dao artifact belonging to the Dao Lineage. Void Piercing elders were only permitted to use it when executing related missions; most of the time it remained in the hands of the Dao Lineage Master, and its ultimate authorization was governed by the Golden Book of the Great Dao. Who would be so tired of living as to covet such a Dao artifact? "Nothing can be found," Tushan said, shaking his head. "The perpetrator deliberately wrecked the scene after the deed, leaving no traces behind. However, judging by the degree of destruction inflicted upon this area, the culprit should be a Void Piercing Battle Immortal. We can direct our efforts in that direction." "A Void Piercing Battle Immortal? There are only three factions with Void Piercing Battle Immortals in the Sea of Chaos. One is backed by Defense Envoy Bai Ya of Haizhou, another is covertly supported by Elder Ouyang Yan, and neither of these two has any conflict with True Disciple Xuan Shuang of our Heaven Lineage. That leaves only Panlong Island as the culprit. I shall head over and wipe out Panlong Island shortly," Elder Tongming said. Annihilating a mere Panlong Island was nothing to speak of. As for whether an innocent might be killed by mistake... It did not matter. Daring to establish a force in the Sea of Chaos without handing over their profits was, in itself, a crime in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao Sect. At that moment, Elder Hou Feng suddenly asked, "Can you truly not find a single clue?" "It is exceedingly difficult. The opponent rocked the void here with a single blow, virtually erasing every trace. If we were to truly search, I fear it would consume a great deal of time," Elder Tushan said. Although the Heaven Lineage had lost a true disciple, he remained unwilling to expend too much time and energy here for that reason. Wouldn't that time be better spent studying the Great Dao? At the very least, taking on a few more disciples and collecting several more offerings would be far better than wasting time here over a dead true disciple. "From Elder Tongming's words, it seems he would rather kill by mistake than let anyone escape. If that is the case, could anyone who happened to be in this region and possessed the strength to slay True Disciple Xuan Shuang be considered a suspect?" Hou Feng said with a smile. "Naturally. Xuan Shuang was a true disciple of our Heaven Lineage; his strength was beyond question. How many could possibly possess such prowess while happening to be in this region? If not them, who else could the culprit be? We shall round them up and interrogate them one by one, and the true murderer will inevitably be found." Having said this, Elder Tongming looked toward Hou Feng. "Do you know something?" Hou Feng nodded slightly. "Has Elder Tongming heard of the bounty of one million Pure Yang Great Pills posted in high circles by Jiang Tianzun, a true disciple of the Taiyi Immortal Sect?" "Naturally." Tongming nodded. The Heavenly Dao Sect bordered the Great Shang Celestial Dynasty on one side and sat adjacent to the Taiyi Immortal Sect on the other. They might not pay much heed to other true disciples from that sect, but for a personal disciple of a Void Shattering Supreme Elder, he naturally had people keep a close eye on him. "Not long ago, I received word from this very Jiang Tianzun that the villain who destroyed True Disciple Jiang's homeland had fled to Beihai Star and even joined our Heavenly Dao Sect as an inner disciple. What matters most is that this villain's strength seems to have grown considerably, to the point where he possesses the power to slay an Azure Blue Golden Core..." Hou Feng explained. Yet before he could finish, Tongming cut him off: "Wait. If I recall correctly, didn't Jiang Tianzun say that villain was merely a Radiant Sun Golden Core? How could he have the strength to slay an Azure Blue Golden Core?" "Presumably, he concealed his true ability. Moreover, his prowess at the Azure Blue Golden Core level has already been confirmed. Xi Liu, a second-rank high official of the Great Shang Celestial Dynasty, even brought his complaint straight to our Immortal Lineage. He claimed an inner disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect had premeditated a plot, probed the chaos cavern frequencies of the Xi family's two Void Piercing Battle Immortals, slaughtered two Azure Blue Golden Cores of the Xi family, and swept clean a century's worth of treasures from the Xi family's ancestral home... And this person is none other than Yaoguang, the disciple Jiang Tianzun placed a bounty on." After finishing his explanation, Hou Feng swept his gaze across this stretch of sea once more. "Through certain means, Jiang Tianzun traced clues to Yaoguang's whereabouts, finding that he was hiding north of the Sea of Chaos—right in this very region." "You mean to say Xuan Shuang was killed by this inner disciple named Yaoguang? Wouldn't that mean he possesses strength surpassing Xuan Shuang, a true disciple?" Elder Tongming frowned slightly. In other words, could he soon be promoted to a true disciple? Should they perhaps evaluate his potential first? "Whether he possesses superior strength cannot be said for certain; he may well have employed other underhanded methods. After all, before Xuan Shuang met his end, his most treasured younger brother, Xuan Mo, perished first. There may well have been some insidious scheme behind it," Hou Feng said. An insidious scheme? Hearing that, Tongming set aside his other thoughts. The sect's rules had to be upheld. "I cannot say for certain that Yaoguang is the culprit, either; I merely wished to offer a train of thought for Elder Tushan." Hou Feng turned his gaze to Tushan. "If we could obtain Yaoguang's disciple imprint and verify it on this battlefield using the Dao artifact, could you determine whether he is the culprit who murdered True Disciple Xuan Shuang?" "I can," Elder Tushan nodded matter-of-factly. "Furthermore, because he is merely an inner disciple, once it is confirmed that he murdered a true disciple like Xuan Shuang, the information can be submitted to the Golden Book of the Great Dao. As long as the Golden Book grants authorization, the Myriad Immortals Compass can swiftly lock onto his location through his disciple imprint, allowing us to bring the perpetrator to justice and face punishment." "Then we shall trouble Elder Tushan." Hou Feng took out a token. "Out of courtesy to Jiang Tianzun, I have been investigating this inner disciple named Yaoguang recently, and I happened to copy his disciple imprint from the Record of All Immortals, which records the auras of inner disciples." Seeing this, Elder Tushan frowned. He had also heard of Jiang Tianzun offering a million-pill bounty for Yaoguang. Elder Hou Feng had likely taken an interest in the reward of a million Pure Yang Great Pills, hadn't he? Yet wasn't this method akin to selling out a sect disciple's information in exchange for personal profit? Still, considering that Jiang Tianzun was a disciple under Supreme Elder Yuhuang of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, and that Yaoguang was ultimately just an inner disciple after all... He could hardly say anything. Taking the token with an expression of displeasure, he said, "If he is not the culprit, I will not search for Yaoguang on your behalf without authorization from the Golden Book of the Great Dao—nor do I have the ability to do so." "Naturally, I understand. Regardless of the outcome, I believe Jiang Tianzun will appreciate your goodwill, Elder Tushan, and will certainly prepare a generous gift to express his gratitude when the time comes," Hou Feng said with a smile. "This Yaoguang's growth rate is exceedingly swift; Jiang Tianzun surely feels like he has thorns in his side because of him. Anyone who lends a hand in this matter will earn the heartfelt gratitude of this personal disciple of a Void Shattering expert." Hearing these words, Tushan's demeanor softened slightly. "Then I shall take a look. If that Yaoguang truly dared to slaughter a true disciple of our sect, no outsider will need to say a word—our Heavenly Dao Sect will be the first to show him no mercy, and we will spare no effort in bringing him to justice." As the Dao Lineage elder spoke, he set about earnestly operating the compass-like Dao artifact. He knew very well. How could things possibly be so coincidental? Xuan Shuang had died, and the culprit just so happened to be the very Yaoguang that Jiang Tianzun wanted to deal with? Hou Feng's speech was merely an attempt to have him use the Myriad Immortals Compass outside of regulations, searching for clues on Yaoguang through the disciple token. Yet Yaoguang was merely an inner disciple in the end. Since he stood to receive a gift of thanks, and the one making the request was a Void Piercing elder of equal standing, he still set about operating the Dao artifact with utmost care. However, when the Myriad Immortals Compass truly activated and finally manifested a red light signifying "danger," he was left stunned on the spot. "This..."