Xuan Nü and Li Wuyang broke through their seclusion in an instant. With a flicker, they appeared inside the Cardinal Hall. The moment they emerged, they sensed an unusual tension permeating the immortal boat. The Inspector's projection had long been waiting there, his expression so grave it seemed water could drip from it.
"Your Majesty Xuan Nü, Venerable Wuyang, you emerged from seclusion at just the right time!" The Inspector spoke urgently, with a trace of suppressed fury. "Three days ago, a secret outpost we had stationed at the edge of the Shattered Star Belt sent back an extremely brief distress signal before losing contact completely! That signal contained a powerful energy signature from the Cult of Rebirth! I immediately dispatched an elite scouting team led by three Golden Immortals to investigate and provide support, but even now... there has been no word from them! Together with that outpost, they seem to have vanished into thin air!"
Li Wuyang's heart tightened. The Shattered Star Belt had a complex environment and was famously beyond anyone's jurisdiction in the sea of stars, so it was no surprise that remnants of the Cult of Rebirth had fled there. But for an elite scouting team and a secret outpost to disappear silently together, the enemy's methods and strength were far beyond those of ordinary routed troops.
"As if that weren't enough!" the Inspector continued, disbelief in his voice. "Just yesterday, the elder guarding the immortal boat's secret treasury discovered that a batch of treasured Nine Nether Soul-Returning Grass had vanished without a trace! It is a sacred medicine for treating Dao injuries to the soul, and an indispensable core material for certain forbidden formations that draw in remnant souls and trace them back to their origins! The treasury's restrictions remain intact, with no signs