Chapter 307: Coincidence

After Yaoguang left that stretch of sea, the lightning, thunder, raging winds, and torrential rain caused by the drastic celestial changes soon enveloped tens of thousands of kilometers.

The storm lingered without end, making the entire region seem apocalyptic.

If any towns where low-level cultivators gathered existed nearby, countless people would likely die because of the terrifying atmospheric phenomena.

Heavy rain poured down.

One hour later, spatial ripples pierced the void, and three streams of light appeared over the sea at the same time.

The moment the three figures appeared, the power of space radiating from their Primordial Voids, or rather, from within their grotto-heavens, began spreading in all directions, striking against the celestial changes around them.

In an instant, the torrential rain stopped, and the clouds and mist cleared.

This display directly terrified every living creature in the entire sea region into silence.

"Elder Tong Ming, Elder Hou Feng, according to my tracing, True Disciple Xuan Shuang fell here." Among the three, a man dressed like an elder and wearing the emblem of the Dao lineage spoke.

"Thank you, Elder Tu Shan." The two nodded.

They had also discerned from the celestial changes they had just calmed that a great battle had occurred here.

"To think someone dared kill a true disciple of my heavenly lineage. What audacity!" Tong Ming’s expression was icy.

"This part of the Chaotic Sea isn't far from the Heavenly Dao Sect. It is practically equivalent to our sect’s border. Yet a true disciple of the Heavenly Dao Sect died here. It seems like every faction in the Chaotic Sea no longer has any need to exist." Hou Feng’s tone brimmed with killing intent.

"It likely wasn’t done by a faction of the Chaotic Sea. For one, they wouldn’t have the courage. For another, Xuan Shuang wasn’t weak. He ranked thirty-fourth among the true disciples. There is no one in the Chaotic Sea capable of killing him." Elder Tu Shan of the Dao lineage said.

Within the Heavenly Dao Sect, the immortal lineage had always been the sect master's orthodox line, handling all of the sect’s operations. The battle lineage was the strongest, responsible for external campaigns. The heavenly lineage had the greatest number of members, with talent and character varying widely.

As for the Dao lineage, it was somewhat detached from worldly affairs. Its members focused on cultivating the Great Dao and teaching, and they rarely interfered in sect matters.

However, although the Dao lineage seldom involved itself in the sect’s development, no one dared to shortchange its resources.

That was because half of the current supreme elders of the Heavenly Dao Sect came from the Dao lineage.

"Whether or not someone from the Chaotic Sea did it, the fact remains that a true disciple of our sect died here. That makes this sea region a land of sin! Since it has become a land of sin, it must be cleansed!" Elder Tong Ming said.

Elder Tong Ming directly tossed a pouch into the void.

The pouch swelled with the wind, quickly expanding to a hundred meters wide.

From its opening, vicious birds resembling crows, yet burning all over with black flames, rapidly flew out. There were tens of thousands, and they soon blotted out the sky.

"Within fifty thousand kilometers, leave no living creature alive. Use them as offerings to the departed spirit of my heavenly lineage’s true disciple!" Elder Tong Ming commanded the birds.

At his command, all the vicious crows wreathed in devilish flames let out multiple piercing cries. Like dark clouds, they scattered in every direction at incredible speed, each one seemingly no slower than a Radiant Sun Golden Core cultivator.

"The Chaotic Sea really should be cleaned up. It stirs up trouble every few days. It is disgraceful. Having Elder Tong Ming’s Heavenly Malevolent Crow Cloud sweep through it isn’t a bad thing," Hou Feng also said indifferently.

Elder Tu Shan listened from the side. Although he did not approve of this method, he would not oppose the wishes of the two elders from the heavenly and immortal lineages over such a minor matter.

"Elder Tu Shan, please see whether you can find any more clues." After releasing the flock of crows, Elder Tong Ming gave a fist-and-palm salute again.

Elder Tu Shan nodded slightly and soon took out a Dao Artifact resembling a feng shui compass.

Formless Dao resonance immediately started radiating from that supreme treasure.

Upon seeing the treasure, Elders Tong Ming and Hou Feng both showed a hint of fervor in their eyes.

However, neither dared reveal any greed.

This was the Dao lineage’s Dao Artifact, the Myriad Immortals Luopan.[1] Void-Piercing Realm elders only had the right to use it when carrying out relevant missions. Most of the time, it remained in the hands of the Dao lineage leader, and its ultimate authority was even controlled by the Great Dao Golden Book.

Who would dare court death by coveting such a Dao Artifact?

"I can’t find anything." Tu Shan shook his head. "After committing the act, the culprit deliberately destroyed the scene and left no traces behind. However, judging from the extent of the destruction inflicted upon this area, the perpetrator should have been a Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal. We can start from that angle."

"A Void-Piercing Realm battle immortal? There are only three factions in the Chaotic Sea with Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals. One has the backing of Bai Ya, guardian envoy of Haizhou. Another is secretly supported by Elder Ouyang Yan. Neither of those two had any conflict with Xuan Shuang. In that case, the only one left is Coiling Dragon Island. I’ll head there shortly and wipe out Coiling Dragon Island," Elder Tong Ming said.

Destroying Coiling Dragon Island was nothing to him.

As for whether innocents might be killed by mistake, that did not matter.

Daring to establish a faction in the Chaotic Sea without handing over profits was itself a sin in the eyes of the Heavenly Dao Sect.

Elder Hou Feng suddenly asked, "So not a single clue can be found?"

"It’s hard. The other party struck this stretch of void, erasing almost all traces. If we truly want to investigate, it will probably take a great deal of time," Elder Tu Shan said.

Although the heavenly lineage had lost a true disciple, he was still unwilling to expend too much effort or time on it.

Wouldn’t it be better to use that time to study the Great Dao? At the very least, teaching a few more disciples and receiving a few more offerings would be better than wasting time here over a dead true disciple.

"From what I can see, Elder Tong Ming would rather kill wrongly than let anyone go. If that is the case, anyone who happened to be in this area and had the strength to kill True Disciple Xuan Shuang could be the culprit, correct?" Hou Feng said with a smile.

"Of course. As a true disciple of the heavenly lineage, Xuan Shuang’s strength was beyond doubt. How many people could happen to be in this region and have such power? If the culprit wasn’t one of them, who else could it be? We can deal with them and interrogate them one by one. Eventually, we’ll find the real killer," Elder Tong Ming said, looking at Hou Feng. "Do you know something?"

Hou Feng nodded slightly. "Have you heard of the bounty that the true disciple Heavenly Venerable Jiang of the Taiyi Immortal Sect posted within the circle of true disciples? The one totaling one million Pure Yang Grand Pills?"

"Of course." Tong Ming nodded.

The Heavenly Dao Sect bordered the Great Shang Immortal Dynasty on one side and the Taiyi Immortal Sect on the other.

They might not pay much attention to every true disciple of those other powers, but a direct disciple of a Void-Shattering Realm supreme elder was naturally someone he had assigned people to monitor closely.

"Not long ago, I received news from Heavenly Venerable Jiang. The vicious culprit who destroyed his homeland fled to the North Sea Star, and not only that, he joined the Heavenly Dao Sect and became an inner sect disciple. More importantly, that criminal seems to have grown considerably stronger, and now he apparently has the strength to kill an Azure Golden Core cultivator—" Hou Feng explained.

But before he could finish, Tong Ming interrupted him. "Wait. If I remember correctly, Heavenly Venerable Jiang said that the culprit was only at the Radiant Sun Golden Core Realm. How does he suddenly have the strength to kill an Azure Golden Core cultivator?"

"He was probably concealing his strength. Besides, his Azure Golden Core Realm combat power has already been confirmed. Xi Liu, a second-rank high official of the Great Shang Immortal Dynasty, even lodged a complaint directly with our immortal lineage, claiming that a Heavenly Dao Sect inner sect disciple had long plotted in secret, discovered the Primordial Void frequencies of the two Void-Piercing Realm battle immortals of the Xi family, killed the Xi family’s two Azure Golden Core cultivators, and looted the Xi family’s ancestral estate, taking resources accumulated over centuries. And that person... is precisely the disciple named Yaoguang, the one wanted by Heavenly Venerable Jiang." After saying this, Hou Feng glanced at the sea region around them. "Through certain methods, Heavenly Venerable Jiang traced clues to Yaoguang. He was hiding in the north of the Chaotic Sea, this very region."

"You mean... Xuan Shuang was killed by this inner sect disciple named Yaoguang? Wouldn’t that mean he has strength greater than Xuan Shuang, a true disciple?" Elder Tong Ming frowned.

In other words, wouldn’t he soon be promoted to the rank of true disciple? Should they perhaps reevaluate his potential?

"Whether he truly has greater strength is uncertain. He may have used some other method. After all, before Xuan Shuang met with disaster, his most treasured younger brother, Xuan Mo, had already died first. There may be some scheme hidden behind it all." Hou Feng said.

A scheme? After hearing that, Tong Ming gave up the thought.

Sect rules had to be upheld.

"I can’t say with certainty that Yaoguang is the killer. I’m only offering Elder Tu Shan another line of inquiry." Hou Feng turned toward Tu Shan. "If we obtain Yaoguang’s disciple imprint and use a Dao Artifact to verify it against traces on this battlefield, can we determine whether he was the one who killed True Disciple Xuan Shuang?"

"Yes." Elder Tu Shan nodded in a businesslike manner. "In fact, because he is only an inner sect disciple, once it is confirmed that he killed a true disciple like Xuan Shuang, the information can be uploaded to the Great Dao Golden Book. As long as the Great Dao Golden Book grants authorization, the Myriad Immortals Luopan can use his disciple imprint to quickly lock onto his location, arrest the perpetrator, and bring him to justice."

"Then I’ll trouble you." Hou Feng took out a token. "Out of respect for Heavenly Venerable Jiang, I’ve been investigating this inner sect disciple named Yaoguang recently. By chance, I recorded his disciple imprint from the Immortal Record, which stores the aura signatures of inner sect disciples."

Elder Tu Shan frowned at the sight.

He had also heard of Heavenly Venerable Jiang offering one million Pure Yang Grand Pills for Yaoguang.

Was Elder Hou Feng eyeing that reward?

This kind of conduct was no different than selling the information of a sect disciple for profit.

But considering that Heavenly Venerable Jiang’s master was the Supreme Jade Emperor, a supreme elder of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, and that Yaoguang was ultimately only an inner sect disciple, he found it difficult to say anything.

Despite the apparent displeasure on his face, he accepted the token. "If he is not the killer, and without obtaining authorization from the Great Dao Golden Book, I will not help you search for Yaoguang. Nor do I have that authority."

"Of course. No matter the result, I believe Heavenly Venerable Jiang will appreciate your goodwill, Elder Tu Shan. When the time comes, he will surely prepare a generous gift in thanks." Hou Feng smiled. "Yaoguang’s rate of growth is astonishingly fast. Heavenly Venerable Jiang likely sees him as a thorn in his side. Anyone who contributes to this matter will earn the sincere gratitude of a direct disciple of a Void-Shattering Realm supreme elder."

Hearing those words, Tu Shan’s attitude eased somewhat.

"Then I’ll take a look. If Yaoguang really murdered a true disciple of the sect, no outsider would need to say a word. Our sect would be the first to spare him no mercy. We would do everything in our power to arrest him and bring him to justice." As the Dao lineage elder spoke, he began to operate the Myriad Immortals Luopan carefully.

He understood the situation clearly. How could those matters possibly be a coincidence?

Xuan Shuang had died, and the killer just happened to be Yaoguang, the very person Heavenly Venerable Jiang wanted dealt with.

Hou Feng’s reasoning was simply meant to make him violate protocol and use the Myriad Immortals Luopan to search for Yaoguang through his disciple token.

But Yaoguang was ultimately only an inner sect disciple.

Since he could receive a gift of thanks, and since the request came from a fellow Void-Piercing Realm elder, he still activated the Dao Artifact once more.

However, when the Myriad Immortals Luopan fully activated and manifested a crimson glow that represented danger, he froze in stunned disbelief. "Uhh..."

1. The luopan or geomantic compass is a Chinese magnetic compass, also known as a feng shui compass. ☜