Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang rembered the secret Ran Xinyue had ntioned to him before.
Quickly... he squatted down again, his eyes scanning, then lifted the head of the corpse, gently weighing it.
"The weight is a bit off!"
He widened his vision in the dim light, carefully scanning the woman’s head.
Nothing seed out of the ordinary; the dim light vision could only see through the surface, and everything appeared normal.
But....
Puff.
Zhang Rongfang precisely inserted a finger into the woman’s forehead.
Then pulled it out.
"Empty!?" His eyes were cold; he finally understood what was wrong.
When his finger penetrated the head of the corpse, after breaking through the initial layer of skull and brain matter, there were surprisingly large and small cavities inside!?
Standing up, Zhang Rongfang beca increasingly aware that this might very well be a man-made disaster.
His eyes scanned the area, following the route this group of people had taken, and he swiftly pursued them.
Following the traces all the way, he quickly crossed mountains and hills to reach a quiet little town.
Outside the town stood a stone tablet: Nanxing Town.
Standing on the outskirts, he looked inside; the houses in the town were scattered in an orderly manner, peaceful and serene.
But no one could be seen.
Zhang Rongfang already had an ominous feeling in his heart, and he quickly entered the town.
Inside the town, every household had their doors wide open, with traces of human activity everywhere.
But there was no one.
Not a single person.
Entering one house, he even saw empty bowls and chopsticks on the table left from a al, and clothes and miscellaneous items scattered haphazardly on the floor, with no one tidying up.
’These people left in a hurry....’
After a brief check of the house, Zhang Rongfang left the small house, heading straight for the most luxurious small building in the town.
Inside the small building, there was a corpse, seemingly a military officer, bleeding from the seven orifices, lying by the entrance.
Flies and small insects buzzed around the corpse, the stench unbearable, clearly dead for quite so ti. The skin was sowhat bluish, and the body slightly swollen.
Zhang Rongfang entered the building, his pupils slightly contracting.
On the first floor, a large bizarre pattern was drawn with fresh blood.
The pattern seed to depict a three-headed monster holding a vase, but due to poor drawing skills, it was only vaguely recognizable.
Beside the pattern, a white-haired, hunched old man was squatting on the ground, muttering unknown words.
"Old man, may I ask what is happen...." Zhang Rongfang frowned and asked.
Bang!!
In an instant, the old man exploded, turning into countless spiritual lines sweeping towards him.
All the spiritual lines stretched to the extre, but could only reach the empty space in front of Zhang Rongfang, just short of touching him.
Soon, the spiritual lines retracted, restoring the old man’s body, but before he could act, the old man’s entire body turned black, naturally collapsing into black ash.
’Leaving no clues at all?’ Zhang Rongfang felt a chill in his heart.
The imnse force of Snow Rainbow Pavilion showed no reaction, and many sects made no sound.
Only these thugs were recklessly plundering everything.
A thought struck him, and he stepped forward to inspect the pattern on the ground, carefully morizing it.
Then, after confirming there were no other clues, he swiftly moved away from the small town, heading towards one of the cities occupied by the Righteous Alliance’s rebel army.
The nearest rebel city was Lingshe City.
Over ten minutes later, he arrived at a small hill outside Lingshe City.
Standing on the hill, Zhang Rongfang looked far ahead, only able to see troops patrolling back and forth within the city, heavily guarded.
The new heavy city gates had re-blocked the entrances and exits, repurposing the city walls abandoned by the Great Spirit.
The Righteous Alliance’s army remained motionless, evidently aware of sothing.
Imdiately, he stepped forward, leaping towards the city.
Now, the Celestial Maiden and the others were long gone, and none of the Ti Reversal mbers could be contacted.
Yue Shi’s side was also eerily silent.
This turmoil felt like all sides were entangled, tacitly waiting for sothing.
"Who goes there!?" Suddenly, a man shouted from afar on the city wall.
All the trees around the city wall that obstructed the view had been felled, leaving an entirely open space.
Within several hundred ters, any figure approaching could be seen clearly.
Even though it was now nightti, level experts were in charge of night watch.
As soon as Zhang Rongfang approached, he was noticed.
He wasn’t surprised, unless he could instantly cross the several hundred ters and climb the city wall. Otherwise, given their level of vigilance, it was impossible not to be noticed.
"I am the newly relocated Master of the Human Immortal Temple nearby... Due to the recent rioter turmoil, I have co to seek guidance from the experts of the Righteous Alliance." He approached, giving his identity.
Upon hearing this.
One person on the city wall glanced at him from afar and quickly said a few words to the person beside him.
Soon, a soldier went down to report, not waiting long.
A figure in white suddenly leaped from the city wall, gliding out with a simple wing suit on the back, and before long, landed lightly ten ters in front of Zhang Rongfang.
"So it’s Young Master Zhang in person! Apologies for not greeting you from afar!" The man in white had an honest face with a square jaw and sincere eyes, an appearance that seed like a good person at first glance.
"My na is Lin Zhao, temporarily responsible for defense here as the City Lord of the Righteous Alliance. What brings you here, young master? Why not co inside and talk in detail? I’ve already been instructed to do my utmost to assist with any of your requests we can manage."
"No need, I just want to ask, what exactly is this revolt all about!?" Zhang Rongfang asked in a deep voice.
He wasn’t that benevolent and didn’t care about the life or death of others, but without food and drink, he and those around him would be sustained by re air, significantly affecting the speed of accumulating attribute points.
"...The young master doesn’t know?" Lin Zhao was slightly surprised.
"Am I supposed to know?" Zhang Rongfang frowned.
"Uh..." Lin Zhao gave a wry smile, "This Red Scarf revolt was initially led by the Thousand Teachings Alliance, but the organization alone couldn’t have developed it into such a large-scale event. Have you not noticed that all the major sects have gathered and transported their elite followers away in advance?"
"You an?" Zhang Rongfang’s heart sank. "They knew about this beforehand?"
"The Red Scarf rebels are strong, but the sects are no pushovers. The leaders in each province are at the pinnacle of Super Grade, grandmaster-level figures.
But so far, have you seen them anywhere?" Lin Zhao said with a bitter smile. "Even we can barely protect ourselves."
"They turned a blind eye?" Zhang Rongfang suddenly understood.
This turmoil was perhaps a calamity that all forces tacitly agreed upon.
All the high-ranking people are watching, while only the lower strata suffer, the common people being harvested.
"Young master, do not worry. If you have anyone that needs protection, you can send them our way," Lin Zhao continued.
"Why?" Zhang Rongfang asked in a deep voice. "Killing so many people, for what? What’s the benefit?"
"Apologies... I do not know either," Lin Zhao sighed.
Hesitating for a mont, he looked at Zhang Rongfang.
"However, I did receive so information earlier, though I’m unsure of its authenticity."
"Speak!" Zhang Rongfang was slightly encouraged and looked at him.
"It’s said that in this province, the Celestial Sincerity Palace suppressed an originally planned action where righteous people wanted to send masters to cooperate with the spiritual army to suppress the rebels. As for the reason, no one knows," Lin Zhao whispered.
"Is the information true!?" Zhang Rongfang’s voice turned cold.
"This matter is known by quite a few people. If you go to Fushan City, where the Great Dao Teaching’s general leader in Mountain Province is located, you’ll be able to inquire about it. As for its truth, I cannot discern," Lin Zhao replied.
"Thank you!" Zhang Rongfang was silent for a mont and cupped his fists in gratitude.
"Are you going to Fushan City?" Lin Zhao continued.
"Indeed. Is there anything you wish to teach ?"
"I’ve received information that there might be rebels attempting to attack Wushan Prefecture City soon. If you are free, it would be best to relocate people out of Wushan first and settle your family and friends," Lin Zhao kindly advised. "If you’re worried about troubles on the road, you can temporarily reside in my city."
"Thank you for your kind intentions, Lord Lin." Zhang Rongfang understood this was a kind reminder.
But he had more confidence in Wish Girl Gorge. In the quiet state of the Wish Girl, the safety of the gorge was stronger than that of Wushan Prefecture.
It’s just that for his sister and brother-in-law, it might be necessary to find a way to pick them up at a critical mont.
*
*
*
Snowflakes flew, the wind howled.
Deep within the Great Snow Mountain, inside the towering main pavilion of the Snow Rainbow Pavilion.
A tall man clad in gray-white stone armor slowly stepped into the main hall with open doors — Wan Jun Hall.
Wan Jun Hall stood 22 ters high and 45 ters wide. The whole building was a rectangular prism with rounded edges, and the four walls were a shade of gray-black, resembling a giant cathedral with a pointed top.
Inside the hall, rows of black stone statues armored head-to-toe, each holding a longbow and bending slightly to shoot, were aligned on either side of the entrance passage.
Each statue was at least six ters tall.
Above, massive chandeliers shaped like bright, blooming flowers hung from the ceiling.
They were comprised of ninety-nine candlesticks arranged in floral patterns, providing light to the entire hall.
The stone-armored man steadily stepped into the main hall, his boots making a dull thud on the ground, echoes resounding.
Halfway through, he suddenly stopped and looked forward.
At the far end of Wan Jun Hall, beside a giant stone chair, stood a face all too familiar to him.
"Old Yue, it’s been a long ti. What brings you here?" The man recognized the identity of the person.
That person was Yue Dewen, the current Sect Leader of the Great Dao Teaching, renowned as the world’s top martial artist, and supposedly the contemporary Moon King.
"Just passing ti, ca to take a look," Yue Dewen replied with a smile. He was still wrapped in the gray cloak that concealed his entire body when eting Zhang Rongfang.
He still wore the perpetual smile on his face, but here in Wan Jun Hall, there was a hint of danger in that smile.
"Are you here looking for Old Dou?" the man asked.
"Yes, I haven’t reached out in quite a while, so I do miss him," Yue Dewen said with a smile. "So, where is he?"
"Among the Twelve Pavilion Masters, he’s ranked first as the Grand Pavilion Master, my deputy. His strength rivals ours. Are you concerned sothing might happen to him?" the man said calmly.
"You know better than to ask the obvious, the current situation feels strange. Previously, your Snow Rainbow Pavilion even sent soone to investigate my treasured disciple without my knowledge... This matter is a bit underhanded," Yue Dewen replied.
The Snow Rainbow Pavilion sent grandmasters to investigate, and it happened to be the Daoist he endorsed, yet Old Dou, ranked first as Deputy Pavilion Master, didn’t inform him at all.
This wasn’t right.
So he ca, to figure out exactly what was going on here.
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