Chapter 358: The thousand dao city 27.

Mo Yuxin walked among the wreckage.

The attackers had been careful.

Too careful.

They had worn masks.

They had used no obvious insignia.

They had avoided unnecessary killing.

And yet their techniques had left traces.

Mo Yuxin crouched beside a broken section of the convoy’s defensive barrier.

She touched the stone beside it.

A faint spiritual mark appeared.

Su Yubing walked over.

"What is it?"

Mo Yuxin looked at the mark.

Her expression became serious.

"I recognize this technique."

Ning Shuyue immediately came closer.

"Whose?"

Mo Yuxin looked toward the direction the attackers had fled.

Then she answered.

"The Heavenly Sword Sect."

The words settled over the ruined convoy.

Ruyan’s eyes widened.

Su Lian looked toward Ye Qinglan’s distant residence.

Ning Shuyue stared at the mark.

After a few breaths, she slowly shook her head.

"They could have copied the technique."

Mo Yuxin nodded.

"Yes."

Su Yubing looked at the broken convoy.

"Then either the Heavenly Sword Sect attacked them, or someone wants us to believe they did."

Mo Yuxin stood.

Her gaze remained fixed on the road.

"Exactly."

The attackers were wearing masks.

But Mo Yuxin recognizes the spiritual techniques.

They belong to one of the major sects from the assembly.

Now the conspiracy becomes concrete.

The night road outside Thousand Dao City was usually crowded even after sunset. Merchant wagons passed through the outer districts, spirit beasts pulled heavy carts toward the warehouse quarter, and cultivators traveled between the city gates and the many towns scattered around the central plains. Even at this hour, there were enough lanterns along the road to keep the darkness from becoming complete. Yet the stretch of road occupied by the Battle Maiden Sect supply convoy had suddenly become strangely quiet.

The quiet came after the fighting.

A dozen broken wagons stood crooked across the road. Their defensive formations had collapsed. Several spirit horses were frightened and stamping at the ground, while two larger transport beasts had fallen to their knees after being struck by the enemy’s spiritual attacks. Crates of medicinal herbs had been thrown open, and their contents were scattered across the stones. One wooden case had split down the middle, spilling dozens of sealed bottles into the dust.

The cultivators guarding the convoy were in bad shape. Nobody had died, but several disciples were unconscious, and more than twenty had suffered injuries of varying severity. They had clearly been caught between a coordinated group of attackers and the simple reality that they were already short on manpower. The masked attackers had struck quickly, cut through the lead wagon, destroyed the communication talismans, and then focused on the containers carrying medicine and spirit stones. They had not fought like common bandits. They had fought like people who knew exactly what they wanted.

The attackers were already gone.

Mo Yuxin stood beside the ruined defensive barrier and stared at the road ahead. Her expression was calm, but the softness that usually appeared when she looked at Su Yubing was absent. Su Yubing had moved through the injured cultivators with Luo Qinghe, helping stabilize those who needed immediate treatment. Ning Shuyue remained nearby with her sword in hand, her cold face even more serious than usual. Ji Ruyan and Su Lian had arrived a moment earlier and were now checking the remaining supply crates.

The first person to break the silence was Su Lian.

"They took almost all the spirit stones."

Ji Ruyan closed a broken wooden chest and nodded. "And most of the seventh-grade healing pills."

Ning Shuyue crouched beside a fallen formation pillar. "They knew exactly which wagon to target."

Mo Yuxin looked at the pillar.

There was a thin line carved into the stone. It was not part of the original formation. It had been placed there deliberately, almost like a signature left by someone who knew nobody in the convoy would have time to notice it.

Mo Yuxin reached down and touched it.

A faint spiritual pattern appeared beneath her fingertip.

Su Yubing walked over after making sure the last injured disciple had been stabilized. She stood close enough that her shoulder touched Mo Yuxin’s arm without either of them thinking about it. Mo Yuxin immediately shifted closer to her.

"What is it?" Su Yubing asked.

Mo Yuxin did not answer immediately.

The pattern was old, but the energy stored inside it was fresh. Someone had copied part of a sword formation into the convoy barrier and then used it to interfere with the defense from inside. The technique was subtle. A normal cultivator might have seen only a broken line of spiritual energy. Mo Yuxin could see the entire structure of it at a glance.

She finally said, "They wanted the medicine and spirit stones, but that was not the main reason they came."

Ji Ruyan looked up. "Then what was?"

Mo Yuxin pointed toward the rear wagon.

"That one."

The girls hurried over.

The wagon had been damaged less than the others, but its lock had been completely removed. Inside were several sealed boxes. Most had already been opened. One remained untouched.

Su Lian frowned. "They did not take this one."

"Because they could not," Mo Yuxin said.

She reached into the wagon and lifted the box.

It was heavier than it looked.

Ji Ruyan’s eyes narrowed. "What is inside?"

"Nothing dangerous."

Mo Yuxin opened it.

Inside were dozens of thin jade slips.

Ji Ruyan’s expression changed.

"Formation records."

Su Yubing looked over her shoulder. "Sect defense diagrams?"

"Old records," Ji Ruyan answered. "These were being sent back to the main hall because the eastern mountain formations have been failing."

Mo Yuxin picked up one jade slip and scanned it.

The writing described several interconnected formations built around the Battle Maiden Sect’s territory. One of the records had a strange gap where a page should have been.

"Someone removed part of the original diagram," Mo Yuxin said.

Ji Ruyan stared at her.

"How can you tell?"

Mo Yuxin handed the slip to her.

"Because the formation described here has no central anchor."

Ji Ruyan looked down and went quiet.

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TO BE CONTINUED.