Chapter 244: The Parties Affected (1)
As the scorching sun set in the west, halfway up the mountain, several disciples carrying baskets were searching for spiritual herbs. Suddenly, one of them looked up and exclaimed, "Third Senior Sister, look! It's a meteor in broad daylight!"
Everyone looked up, and the girl known as Third Senior Sister smiled and said, "You're ignorant. Those are the star tracks left by the Sword Master of the Exorcist Sword Sect."
Several people smiled kindly, but one of the older boys sounded a little worried: "Master has lived in this mountain for a long time. He usually only holds the position of leader in name only. It's rare for the leader of the alliance to come in person. I'm afraid something big has happened in the alliance again."
The laughter gradually died down, and several people looked at each other. Someone shrugged and said, "That has nothing to do with us. The alliance will handle it."
Having said that, they still looked upwards, trying to penetrate the swirling mist and see the conversation between the two most powerful people in the six alliances above the sea of clouds.
Amidst the swirling mist, the rolling mountain ranges had already sunk into the clouds, leaving only one still towering peak. Its summit was strangely jagged, formed from three massive rocks stacked atop each other, each as massive as a palace. The wind blew through the rocks, and the mountain was constantly lingering with the faint music of the wind.
Twisting through the cracks of a boulder, an ancient pine tree emerged. No one knew how many millennia it had lived. Its branches coiled like a dragon, requiring dozens of people to wrap their arms around it. Its leaves formed a fan-like pattern, casting shadows across the sea of clouds, shadows large enough to cover a small city.
Among the winding branches, there was a person wearing a moon-white robe sitting cross-legged. She was the powerful Ning Peixian, who was one of the only two people in the alliance who had reached the great perfection of the transformation of the spirit and was the nominal leader of the six major alliances. Her Taoist name was Hui Xizi.
A dark blue star streak streaked across the sea of clouds, transforming into a figure dressed in a navy blue robe, a dark blue giant sword slung across his waist. It was none other than Tsan-kun-zi, the head of the Exorcist Sword Sect. His eyes flickered with rage beneath a pair of broken brows, yet he remained silent out of respect for Hui-xi-zi.
Hui Xizi's brows remained calm, but she could see through Tsan Kunzi's thoughts. She closed her eyes and said, "If it's about a robbery, we can discuss it in the Internal Affairs Hall."
"If it were just an evil spirit, I would never bother you."
Hui Xizi, who lived in seclusion here, and Fu Ya Shangren, who lived in Yifengyin, were both just one step away from initiating the great tribulation of ascension. Hui Xizi's inclusion in the alliance was merely to intimidate the three southern sects, while ordinary matters were discussed by the six sect leaders and the Internal Affairs Hall. But Tsan Kunzi had no choice but to make this trip.
Hearing the solemnity in his tone, Hui Xizi finally opened her eyes, her eyes clear and bright: "Is there any change in this matter?"
"That's right." Cankunzi took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I originally thought that my two disciples, Yuzhi Laimian and his sister, were killed in the battle, but Dingjing has recently sent me news that Yuzhi Laimian has reappeared with 160,000 refugees, twenty miles west of Longlan City."
"At the same time, in twelve of the seventeen towns under Longlan City's jurisdiction, the food and grass in twelve cities are contaminated and inedible, the farmland in twelve cities has become a dead zone and may not be able to be cultivated for a hundred years, and all the trading houses within the alliance in eight cities are completely empty of treasures, magic tools, elixirs, talismans, and other materials."
Upon hearing this, even Hui Xizi, with thousands of years of experience and extensive knowledge, couldn't help but gasp. The looting of the convoy had already drained the alliance's blood, and these additional losses were like a blow to the six major alliances' thighs.
The destruction of grain fields was a disaster for Dayan. The Dayan Dynasty bordered Xuancheng Prefecture, a vast land stretching tens of thousands of miles from east to west and north to south, yet only a small portion of it was suitable for growing crops. The northern border was freezing cold, with a frost dragon dormant there, and even the scorching sun of Fei Yi could barely melt a speck of ice and snow. The western border lay close to a natural chasm. Although demonic energy had never crossed it, the land was still ravaged by the Daowang Sect's great war a thousand years prior, making it barren and difficult to cultivate. The eastern border, ruled by Fei Yi, was crisscrossed by mountains, and only those residing in Zhatian City could survive, making even leaving the city difficult.
Despite the vast expanse of land, only the southern border cities of Longlan, Baicheng, and Fanghui are capable of cultivation. Baicheng, however, is occupied by the Baiyu Tower, which either supplies its own needs or sells it for a high price. The grain produced by Longlan and Fanghui alone is barely enough to feed the entire nation. The truly fertile land lies south of the Zhongqu Mountains, which is why Dayan has always sought to march south to capture the three small kingdoms protected by the three major factions.
Now, most of the food in Longlan City has been contaminated, and the most basic farmland has turned into a century-old dead zone. Dayan is bound to set off a famine and chaos that will sweep across the country.
"How did it come to this? Why didn't the monks in the Tianjie of each city stop it?" Hui Xizi's tone suddenly became stern, as if he was scolding a junior.
Tsan Kunzi could only lower his head and said in shame, "Because all the supplies were provided by the trading houses themselves, the Tianjie monks never noticed anything unusual. It was Yu Zhilaimian who entered the city with a law enforcement order, claiming it was an urgent matter to be dealt with quickly. In fact, it was the demon cultivator Shen Ranming who threatened the lives of thousands of people."
Yu Zhilaimian was extremely talented, and he was personally taught the Great Sword Sect, practicing the Way of Protection, so he would never rebel. It was precisely because of this that such a huge loss was caused.
"Have you searched their souls?" Although they were two monks whom she had once favored, Hui Xizi's tone now indicated that they were dead.
"Ding Jing has completed his soul searches after interrogating them separately. He recorded their confessions and related memories on a recording stone and transmitted them to the Fuwen Pagoda. His subordinate, Yang Zongchun, a monk from the Midie Sect, has examined the two and confirmed that they were not manipulated and their memories show no signs of alteration. Therefore, he can confirm that all their confessions and memories are true."
After Yu Zhi Lai Mian's soul search, Master Ding Jing spared their lives with great effort, a favor bestowed upon Tsan Kun Zi. He lamented that his two most prized disciples' foundations had been completely destroyed, reduced to mere mortals, but he knew this was the best possible outcome. When he went to investigate the case, he would definitely visit Longlan City to express his gratitude to Master Ding Jing.
Hearing his words, Huixizi immediately took out the Fu Seal and examined it, her brows gradually furrowing. She now understood why Tsankunzi had come to ask her for instructions.
"The Internal Affairs Hall discussed and felt that this demon cultivator named Shen Ranming was secretly commissioned by the White Elm Tower?"
"That's right," Cankunzi replied solemnly after coming to his senses. "Chen Ranming had previously appeared in Longlan City, Fuji Town, and Xiaohe City. She killed three cultivators from our alliance near Fuji Town, and also killed a minor cultivator who was trying to capture her. After she slaughtered over 20,000 people in Xiaohe City, she was pursued by the formation cultivator Yunpo and was on the verge of death, and her whereabouts are unknown."
"Before this, Shen Ranming had never resorted to such euphemisms. Yu Zhilaimian's confession and memories also confirm that she was commissioned by someone else. Her actions, such as dispersing refugees and destroying crops and burning farmland, were of no benefit to her."
In fact, Luo Xuanyi had destroyed the farmland of Xiaohe City before, but the entire area within a hundred miles of Xiaohe City was destroyed by Yunpo, so the six major alliances were unaware of it.
Besides that, Tsannkuenzi had something else to say: "There were also several Puji trading houses in Baiyu Tower among the towns that were looted, but they did not suffer any losses."
"So after discussion, we decided that in addition to apprehending the demon cultivator Shen Ranming, we must also 'eliminate' the White Elm Tower as a suspect. We would like to send several elders and law enforcement guards to the White Elm Tower to investigate this matter."
They said they were investigating, but I'm afraid they've been wanting to take over Baiyu Tower for a long time. I tried to stop them before, but now I can't.
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