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Chapter 125: Chapter 110: The Impostor (Please Subscribe)
Early morning.
The fog is dense.
A hazy red sun slowly rises in the east.
Dong Dong....
Two clear and distant bell sounds resonate, spreading throughout the mountains and ridges.
Atop the Chen Bell Platform.
Li Qian, holding Sword Eighteen, is cultivating the Heartless Sword Technique. This sword technique is already ingrained in his bones, like an instinct, every action full of profound mystery.
Streams of sword-shaped airflow follow the movement of the sword tip, endlessly moving about.
Only after completing a Grand Circulation does Li Qian start to reel in the sword moves, returning the Sword Intent to his body. The surrounding Sword Qi gradually dissipates as well, like raindrops merging with the water, disappearing silently without a trace.
He can now basically synchronize the increase in cultivation with the comprehension of Sword Intent to improve the efficiency of his training.
Li Qian jumps down from the bell tower and sees Chen Yong playing with Xiao Hei.
But Xiao Hei is rather fierce.
"Brother Qian, what breed of animal is this Xiao Hei?"
Chen Yong asks curiously.
He’s been hanging around the Chen Bell Platform lately, freeloading food and drink.
"I don’t know."
Li Qian shakes his head.
He is not very familiar with the birds and animals of this world.
While there are many similarities with his previous life, there are still some differences.
"Senior Brother Chen, this is a Mongolian Eagle, a small type of eagle...."
Liu Ming comes over and says.
"A Mongolian Eagle? This small type of eagle? It obviously looks like a medium to large one, right?"
Chen Yong looks at the proud and fierce Xiao Hei and finds it hard to believe it’s a Mongolian Eagle, especially since he often saw Mongolian Eagles in the wild back in his hometown.
Mongolian Eagles are very small and weigh only a pound or two when fully grown.
But Xiao Hei... probably weighs nearly ten pounds already, several times larger in size.
"It really is a Mongolian Eagle, I found it in an eagle’s nest and brought it back, but... it then grew this big."
Liu Ming says.
He knows Xiao Hei’s size must have something to do with Senior Brother Li—who, rumor has it, fed it a special Feeding Pill intended for abnormal beasts and birds.
It must be said, Xiao Hei is indeed given high treatment.
"So it’s a Mongolian Eagle, no wonder it’s so fierce."
Chen Yong laughs.
He just tried to touch Xiao Hei’s feathers and nearly got scratched by its claw.
Chen Yong has recently come to the mountain, and Xiao Hei is wary of him.
Only Li Qian and Liu Ming can get close to it.
Every time Pang Bai comes, he has to have a battle with Xiao Hei.
At this moment, Master Zhou Buping comes up from the foot of the mountain.
"Master, what brings you so much joy?"
Li Qian sees the uncontrollable smile on Master Zhou Buping’s face and immediately asks out of curiosity.
"Luo Royal Mansion has been eradicated."
Zhou Buping says with a smile.
"That’s really great."
Li Qian says.
After all, it has been dragging on for so long.
The eradication of the Luo Royal Mansion means that the situation in Tai Xing Tao has basically stabilized.
"Old master, does this mean the war is completely over?"
Chen Yong asks.
"Of course not... it’s still early."
Zhou Buping shakes his head.
Right now, it’s only the Luo Royal Mansion that has been eradicated. The rebellions in other places are still escalating, and no one can predict whether they will eventually spread to Tai Xing Tao and the sealed country.
Moreover, within Tai Xing Tao itself, there are still two Martial Arts Sects involved in the rebellion—Xuanming Sect and Purple Cloud Sect—that have not been eradicated.
With the fall of Luo Royal Mansion, these two sects cannot escape either.
....
More than ten days pass.
Divine Sword Hall.
About a dozen high-ranking members of the Divine Sword Sect are gathered, discussing important matters.
"Our elder has sent a message by carrier eagle, instructing us to send people to surround and annihilate Xuanming Sect. The Imperial Family has already promised that as long as we take down Xuanming Sect, we can have its territories."
Sect Leader Feng Shaoyu says.
With the Heavenly Person of Xuanming Sect fallen and most of their forces lost in Luo City... Xuanming Sect is extremely vulnerable now, and it’s the perfect time for a total annihilation.
"That’s wonderful."
Everyone in the room becomes excited.
Surrounding and annihilating Xuanming Sect is the greatest benefit for the Divine Sword Sect.
The territory of Xuanming Sect is not much smaller than that of Divine Sword Sect.
Once Xuanming Sect is incorporated, the territory of the Divine Sword Sect can be greatly expanded. With more people and resources, even with the heavy losses in this war, a few decades of management not only will everything be restored, but we can also make further progress.
"However, before this, our Divine Sword Sect should also clean up internally to avoid any leaks of information."
Sect Leader Feng Shaoyu suddenly says with a heavy tone.
Everyone present was stunned.
" Sect Leader, are you saying we still have spies from the Xuanming Sect within our ranks?"
Dishui Peak Master Yun Lei asked in surprise.
The recent incident where Elder Yuan contacted a spy from the Luo Royal Mansion, got captured, and confessed the impending attack on Divine Sword Sect was still fresh in their minds.
"A few months ago, our plan of lineage succession was leaked, and our Divine Sword Sect’s lineage was pursued by a large number of Xuanming Sect experts, nearly leading to their annihilation... Eventually, we caught a spy hiding among our lineage from the Xuanming Sect."
Sect Leader Feng Shaoyu said solemnly.
The matter of the lineage being hunted down was always kept secret, known only by the lineage themselves, and by people like the Sect Leader Feng Shaoyu, Xiao Heavenly Person.
The purpose was to lure the snakes out of their holes.
"What?"
"The lineage was hunted down by the Xuanming Sect?"
"Who leaked the information?"
"Not many people knew about the lineage plan, right?"
"Damn it, could there be a spy from the Xuanming Sect hiding amongst us?"
Everyone present was flabbergasted.
They had been unaware of this message until today when the Sect Leader revealed it.
"Sect Leader, who is this spy?"
Guiyi Peak Master Hou Shuwen hastily asked.
"After months of covert investigation... the spy has finally revealed themselves."
Sect Leader Feng Shaoyu’s icy gaze swept over the crowd, "Moreover, it is one of you."
There was an uproar among those present.
A spy among them?
Was the spy of such high rank?
They were either Peak Masters or elders with real power; how could the Xuanming Sect have planted a spy of such high ranking? That’s too outrageous.
At the rank of Peak Master or powerful elder, each individual’s background was basically clean and there could be no false identities.
Ordinary Inner Sect Disciples might not be vetted so strictly, but Core Disciples, elders, True Inheritors, powerful elders, Peak Masters, Sword Masters... each one would undergo strict background checks.
Previously, having an ordinary Elder Yuan involved was already astonishing.
But now, to have a Peak Master or powerful elder as a spy of the Xuanming Sect was even more unbelievable.
"Murong Peak Master, what do you say?"
Sect Leader Feng Shaoyu suddenly turned his attention to Xuanyang Peak Master Murong Hai and asked.
Shush!
Pairs of eyes fell on Xuanyang Peak Master Murong Hai, all showing disbelief.
This Xuanyang Peak Master had assumed his position after the rebellion in Jade Capital.
"Sect Leader, I have been loyal to Divine Sword Sect and have never done anything to harm its interests. I do not understand why the Sect Leader would suspect me?" 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
Xuanyang Peak Master Murong Hai spoke calmly, "Moreover, my Murong family has been part of the Divine Sword Sect for fifteen generations, with my ancestors being registered disciples of the founding ancestors of the Sect. My grandfather, my father, and several of my brothers have all died in battle for Divine Sword Sect. If I am suspected of betrayal, then I fear the likelihood of betrayal amongst everyone here is no less than mine."
"Yes, I too find it hard to believe that it would be you, Murong Peak Master."
Sect Leader Feng Shaoyu sighed, "Unfortunately, what you don’t know is that we have our own sources within the Xuanming Sect as well..."
He paused for a moment, then pointed to a candle stand nearby, saying, "Do you know what is burning in that lamp?
"That is Heavenly Moth Fragrance.... These past few months, whenever you all attended a meeting together, this incense would be lit. Its fragrance, once on a person, does not fade for half a month, and anything that comes into contact with it will also be imbued with the Heavenly Silkworm Fragrance. Our spy within the Xuanming Sect has bred Hidden Moths specially to detect this fragrance within the Xuanming Sect, meaning... someone amongst us has been passing information to the Xuanming Sect.... Then, I began narrowing down the suspects."
Feng Shaoyu continued, "Of course, this is not conclusive on its own... However, the biggest flaw for you, Murong Peak Master, is your identity. You have lived so long under the guise of Murong Hai, perhaps you have even begun to believe you are Murong Hai, haven’t you?"
Everyone was dumbfounded. Was this Murong Hai an imposter?
If so, that would make sense.
"Sect Leader, you say I’m an imposter, do you have any evidence?"
Xuanyang Peak Master Murong Hai asked in a deep voice.
"Of course, even though you have used various means to nearly destroy the Murong family to completely cut off any possibility of exposing your identity, if one were to scrutinize the past events carefully, there are still many trails that have been left behind."
Feng Shaoyu then picked up a stack of documents, handing them to the people present for them to examine.
After reviewing the documents, expressions of shock spread across their faces as they looked at Murong Hai without any doubt left.
This Murong Hai was not the real Murong Hai.
He had already been replaced by someone else.
Xuanyang Peak Master Murong Hai’s brows furrowed slightly, then he said, "Even if these are suspicious, it does not prove that I am a traitor."
"Indeed, it is not enough to prove your guilt, but this suspicion is sufficient to temporarily imprison you until after we have eliminated the Xuanming Sect when we can compile more evidence to determine your innocence or guilt."
Sect Leader Feng Shaoyu spoke indifferently.
His goal in taking down Murong Hai was to prevent further leaking of information.
After all, whether they could completely annihilate the Xuanming Sect was crucial.
Otherwise, their own actions could be completely known to the Xuanming Sect, rendering the plan to eliminate them a joke.
Under the suppression of the Sword Intent of many Divine Sword Sect high-level members, Murong Hai, only a mid-stage Great Grandmaster, had almost no power to resist and was subdued, then his cultivation was sealed, and he was imprisoned.
After all this, Sect Leader Feng Shaoyu began to arrange the plan to eliminate the Xuanming Sect.
....
At the Chen Bell Platform.
Li Qian was holding a magic stone, using the embryo of the Qi Blood Sacred Realm to grind it down.
Since he was bored, he continued to work on deciphering the energy membrane on several of the Demon Jade stones during this time.
Suddenly, the stone in his hand seemed to melt away, revealing its true form.
When he probed it with his Spiritual Perception, a stream of strange information surged into his mind.
"Lion Camel Ridge Array Solution."
.....
PS: Second update, seeking a wave of double monthly tickets, last day, don’t waste it, hurry up and vote!!!
