C1436 The Great Mystery

In the dimly lit wooden building, Yinn Xueqi's brow furrowed slowly. Dressed in a flowing yellow gown adorned with numerous gemstones and jade, her beauty was striking. In her delicate white hand, she held a gleaming silver staff, its design unlike any artifact produced by Hao Yun.

Around her, several members of the Artifact Sect, mostly in their forties and unconcerned with their rough appearances, gathered.

"Why bother with him, Yinn?" asked a burly man, his hands calloused and his face marred by burn scars, giving him a menacing look. "That kid in the Divine Soul Sect, what status could he possibly have? You'd be better off asking Heixun for help than him!"

His voice boomed, "Years ago, I assisted Heixun in forging a Magic Tool! When Heixun returns, I'll have a word with him!"

"I might be able to reach out to Lvliu," chimed in a woman, her face a contrast of beauty and a fish-scale mask. Worry filled her eyes as she said, "Before Lvliu became a Demon King, my late master crafted a Demon Blade for him."

Yinn Xueqi observed them in silence before speaking. "Yu Yuan wields the masterpiece of our lineage's elder ancestor. Even the ancestor's soul was sacrificed to the Demon Blade. In that sense, Yu Yuan shares a connection with us."

Her eyes shone with fervor as she continued, "In this age, we should be distinguishing ourselves! Other factions within the Artifact Sect craft spiritual weapons solely for human use. But we can forge Demonic Weapons, powered by flesh and blood, that can even be adapted for other races!"

With an impassioned gesture, her eyes ablaze, she proclaimed, "The heavens are boundless, and now that the Divine Soul Sect and the Chamber of Commerce have welcomed outsiders, it's our chance to elevate our craft! Let the beings from other realms fight with our creations and enshrine them in their sacred places!"

As Yinn Xueqi spoke, her body quivered with excitement.

"Your ideas are too dangerous," one of them cautioned. "The Artifact Sect couldn't contain you, which is why we had to leave. Xueqi, such radical talk may pass on Babel Island, but be careful not to utter such things elsewhere!"

The woman with half her face obscured by a mask was so frantic she felt like covering her mouth. "No! No! I can't let you leave Babel Island! We're no longer with the Artifact Sect. Without their protection, we're sitting ducks!"

"I need to find Yu Yuan!"

"Calm down!"

Everyone around her attempted to soothe her worries.

...

"What's the situation with that girl?" Yu Yuan asked Zheng Luanjie as he stood in front of a stone building nestled against the mountain.

Below the modest mountain, a cluster of over a dozen stone buildings housed the internal members of the Chamber of Commerce. Currently, some of the members were curiously observing the scene.

"She's an oddity from the Artifact Sect, skilled in crafting Demon Weapons. Factions like Hao Ran's Demon Clan, the Blood God Cult, and the Ancient Desolate Sect, who draw power from their own blood and flesh, are quite fond of employing their services for weapon refinement. But most artifacts powered by blood and flesh are inherently unstable," Zheng Luanjie explained, his mouth twisting wryly. "Much like the Demon Blade you wield, they're prone to turning on their owners. That girl, Yinn Xueqi, recently acquired some exotic items from the Chamber of Commerce and has been secretly unraveling their mysteries. It appears she's stumbled upon some startling revelations."

"Subsequently, they severed ties with the Artifact Sect and have been holed up here on Babel Island, engrossed in their research night and day."

Zheng Luanjie shook his head, seemingly indifferent. "Don't concern yourself with them. The Artifact Sect didn't even request their return when they departed, implicitly condoning their actions. We're in the dark about their intentions, but as long as they've paid with Spirit Stones, they're free to stay indefinitely."

"Understood," Yu Yuan acknowledged.

He didn't consider Yinn Xueqi a threat. Following Zheng Luanjie's lead, he entered the stone building and descended through a secret passageway to the mountain's base.

Before long, he stood in a hidden cavern deep underground, invoking the Demon Blade, Blood Prison.

With a mere thought, the red soul orb originating from Qu Yun materialized, presented before Lian Hu.

"Here are some memories for you to examine. The Yin God has departed its vessel to delve deeply within them."

He gestured toward Qu Yun's blood-red soul sphere, signaling Lian Hu to proceed.

Lian Hu, not daring to defy the command, released his Yin God from his brow, which dutifully entered Qu Yun's crimson soul sphere. There, he witnessed scenes deeply buried in Qu Yun's memories.

After a considerable pause, Lian Hu exclaimed in terror, "Master, who is trying to harm you?"

Back on Medicine God Island, he had referred to Yu Yuan as Sect Master Hong. Now, in this secret realm, he seemed resigned to his fate, and after encountering some bizarre images, Lian Hu had adopted a different form of address.

"Think hard, think carefully, who could be manipulating Qu Yun from the shadows?" Yu Yuan demanded in an icy tone.

Lian Hu possessed the divine ability to hear the innermost thoughts of others. The fragmented soul technique he practiced was an accidental find by Yu Yuan in the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea. Due to its incompleteness, Lian Hu had mastered only this singular secret method.

This was a secret known only to Yu Yuan and Lian Hu.

Lian Hu's survival, in Yu Yuan's view, was due to overhearing the intentions of his senior brother and Qu Yun, who had planned to send him on a mission that was meant to be fatal.

He adamantly refused to go.

Having narrowly escaped that fate, Lian Hu managed to win over his senior brother and Qu Yun. Knowing their true intentions and hearing their inner soliloquies, he continuously catered to their preferences and allayed their concerns, thus earning their trust and being reappointed to important tasks.

The ability to listen to the heart was Lian Hu's greatest secret and his most extraordinary trait. Yu Yuan knew him well enough to be certain he wouldn't divulge this secret to anyone else.

Thus, whether it was his senior brother or Qu Yun, Lian Hu would have heard their innermost murmurs.

Setting Qu Yun aside, after reviewing all his memories and finding no leads, Yu Yuan's only hope was his senior brother, Zhong Chichen.

He waited in silence for Lian Hu to slowly sift through his recollections and to initiate the conversation.

After a lengthy period, Lian Hu sighed deeply and murmured as if in a trance, "I once heard Sect Master Zhong utter a phrase that I didn't grasp at the time; it only left me puzzled. But now, having seen those images in Qu Yun's mind, I sense that something is amiss."

Yu Yuan's spirit perked up. "What are you saying?"

"Not long ago, Sect Master Zhong achieved the Unrestrained Stage. He summoned a few from the sect, declaring he'd be in extended seclusion and appointed Chu Yao to manage the sect's internal affairs. As he made these arrangements, he muttered to himself, and I accidentally... overheard."

Lian Hu's expression grew grave.

"He mused that first the Master was afflicted, then the Junior Brother, and now... could it be my turn? The Master realized his own nature was corrupting and hastily made arrangements for the Junior Brother to succeed him as sect master. Fearing he couldn't control himself, he went into hiding, yet still met his end."

"The Junior Brother was completely unaware, suffering the worst of it, with no hope for reversal."

"Is it finally my turn now..."

Mimicking Zhong Chichen's tone, Lian Hu recited the words that had never been spoken aloud, only whispered within Zhong Chichen's heart.

"After that, Sect Master Zhong declared his seclusion, becoming increasingly elusive. Chu Yao was the only one who could contact him or pay homage. Even Qu Yun was in the dark about his seclusion spot. I accidentally caught Qu Yun's inner voice too; he also sensed something strange."

He paused there.

Yu Yuan's gaze darkened as he inhaled sharply and roared, "So Master perished because of this!"

Indeed, since awakening in this life, he had found it odd how his master had hastily relinquished the role of Sect Master of the Medicine God Sect.

His master had seemed far too anxious.

Later, his master vanished abruptly. Some claimed he died failing to advance his realm, others speculated a catastrophic alchemical experiment, and yet others believed it was poison.

Rumors abounded, none conclusive.

Sect Master Zhong Chichen was evasive about the Master's death, merely suggesting that his time had come.

It seems that his master, he himself, and his senior brother were all victims of a scheme within the forbidden area of their sect.

Who in the Vast Expanse could possess such power and bear such a grudge against the Medicine God Sect?

…